CRH the Strategic Positioning and Direction Essay

CRH the Strategic Positioning and Direction - Essay Example As the discussion highlight, CRH through its core business of building material products has positioned itself as a market leader by acquiring promising established firms in diverse markets both locally and globally. The firm has also evolved a stratagem of varying its expansion in varied geographic, merchandise and diverse sectors hence spreading or securing a financial stability from the different regions while offering expansion prospects. This has enabled the firm to surpass other companies within the same industry through its unique competitive advantage. In this regard, CRH acquisition or expansion unto the US market has greatly propelled its growth as the region has become its main growth market from the 1990s. Nevertheless the domestic Irish market has been dominated by CRH with a 60 percent share of the cement market that generates a 40 percent return on net assets reflecting the vibrant Irish building segment and minimal mechanized company tax at 12.5 percent and the profou ndly devalued chattels. One of CRH’s management stratagems is the operation of a federal structure consisting of undersized core home office and four regional product oriented segments. CRH has thus encouraged autonomous management utilising local market familiarity of the local managers to take advantage of local market knowledge while maintaining a tight leash on company guidelines and rules. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management advocates the application of the Balanced Scorecard framework to evaluate various growth sectors in an organisation. This encompasses a transformation stratagem into functioning conditions by evaluating a complete assortment of perceptions including: financial, clients, in-house, and information and development. CRH uses a similar strategy by closely monitoring its various divisions and regions. CRH espouses a thorough move towards projects appraisals, progress and reassessment.

Philosophy of managing people in higher educational settings Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of managing people in higher educational settings Essay Capability to manage a team effectively is one of the main qualities which any professional seeking success needs to possess. However, the position of a leader requires many outstanding skills, and it may be very challenging at times. According to Sun Tzu, Chinese General who lived in the 5th century B. C. , â€Å"when one has all 5 virtues together: intelligence, trustworthiness, humanness, courage, sternness, each appropriate to its function, then one can be a leader† (Deal, Kennedy, 1988). Leadership means the ability to influence other people and guide them to the success. During many centuries it has been believed that the key to success in a team lies in the skills of the manager. No company can remain on top unless it has an outstanding manager who guides it into the right direction. Management of people in higher educational settings is a very challenging task due to the complexity of the field of education. Some of the general principles of management can be applied efficiently, but at the same time additional attention needs to be devoted to characteristic features which are common only for educational sphere. The task of the leader in higher educational settings is to manage the staff in such a way that all the skills which the members of the staff possess turn out applied at their maximum. This task is very complicated because â€Å"building the winning team requires more than just hiring a bunch of talented people. It means hiring people who will work well together. It means developing a shared vision and commitment. It means physically bringing people together in formal group meetings for open discussion of broad-based issues. It means encouraging positive, informal interactions between group members. It means instilling a â€Å"winning attitude throughout the organization. It means watching for and quickly trying to reverse team-building problems such as jealousy, cynicism, and defensive behavior. † (Building a winning team. Retrieved on November 14, from source: www. businesstown. com). The most important issue in managing the team in higher educational settings is choosing the right form of motivation for them. Since all people in the staff are different, all of them need different forms of motivation. For some staff members, only money works, and they do not get motivated by any other benefits. For others, there is nothing more important than social recognition of their efforts. Other staff members will care about the possibilities of future promotion in case of their successful performance. Therefore, in order to manage the staff effectively, the first task to do is to define where the needs of employees fall in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. After some communication with the members of the team it is easy to discover what staff members are very ambitious. They have a very high need of esteem. They need to be praised for the work they do, get recognition from senior-level management, be aware about the possibilities of their future promotion, and fulfill tasks which require lots of responsibility. These staff members are very experienced, they have already made large contributions into the university’s success, and therefore they can be motivated only through getting more and more complicated tasks to fulfill. Other staff members will not be as success-oriented, and not as experienced. They can be rather knowledgeable in the field of education but they do not seek promotion because they are quite happy with their present work. Therefore, they can be motivated by money awards and praise for their work because their needs fall into the category of belonginess and love. The next step of successful staff management in higher education setting is defining relationships between staff members, and making a sociogram which identifies the types of interactions within the social network. Without the knowledge of interactions between the staff members, there is no way to manage the team effectively. In order to manage the members of the team, it is useful at times to apply the approach of influencing some members of the team through other members. It is necessary to identify the member of the team who has the strongest influence on other members because teams are usually aligned to such staff members. It is also necessary to keep up â€Å"healthy culture† in the educational setting. â€Å"A healthy culture can promote identification (who we are), legitimation (why we need to do) communication (with whom we talk), coordination (with whom we work) and development (what are the dominant perspectives and tasks)†. (Davies, 1997, p. 135). The last step of managing the team is choosing the leadership style. Such styles include â€Å"considerate, structuring, autocratic, democratic, laissez-faire and the like† (Bjerke, 1999, p. 57). Some authors determine supporting, directive, coercive, transformational leadership styles. The most efficient styles in the majority of establishments of higher education are democratic and supportive styles, but for some types of situations autocratic and directive styles might be appropriate. For example, when the faculty leader wants to set direct goals for the staff members and make them increase their performance, it can be appropriate to use directive style. The choice of the style mainly depends on the environment in the organization and the goals which it needs to achieve. Autocratic and directive styles can sometimes represent some danger of faculty leaders becoming power-oriented. When managers care only about their own power, they tend to choose those 2 styles of leadership. It is well-known that leadership styles can be oriented on the performance of the team or on the concern about staff members. The analysis of these theories is particularly important for managing staff members in educational settings. Blake and Mouton (1964) have introduced a grid in which they identified the main styles of leadership according to those 2 characteristics. Orientation on the performance of the team means that the manager is very concerned about the results which they are going to have in the end of the period, the extent to which goals will be met. Orientation on people means that the leader will pay lots of attention to maintaining trust in the company, establishing warm relations with all the employees, giving them only appropriate tasks and motivating them. Blake and Mouton have come up with several types of managers based in their grid. â€Å"Under the style referred to as impoverished management, managers concern themselves very little with either people or results and have minimum involvement in their jobs. † (Bjerke, 1999, p. 59). Such managers usually do not achieve good results because they show minimum concern about the activity of the company. â€Å"Team leaders†, on the contrary, manage to combine both concern about people and achieve great performance of the company. This type of managers cannot be accepted in education settings because it prevents the faculty staff from making large contributions to the development of the educational establishment. â€Å"Another style is management called country club management, in which managers have little or no concern for results but are concerned only for people. † (Bjerke, 1999, p. 59). Such companies might not have great results because employees will not be working to the fullest. â€Å"Autocratic task managers are concerned only with developing an efficient operation, who have little or no concern for people and who are quite autocratic in their style of leadership. † (Bjerke, 1999, p. 59). This type of manager is more favorable than the previous one, but it is also inefficient in the educational setting. In order to make the staff work efficiently, the faculty leader needs to choose the style combining both concern about staff members and concern about the performance of the team. It is very difficult to make the faculty function effectively, but this task can be achieved through the right choices of staff members’ motivation and leadership style. The field of education requires a leader with good communication skills, able to provide success-oriented policy, capable of solving all the possible problems which may arise in the team. Bibliography. 1. Alison, H. Managing people Managing Universities and Colleges Guides to Good Pratice Open University Press McGraw Hill. 2003. 2. Bjerke Bjorn. Business Leadership and Culture: National Management Styles in the Global Economy. Edward Elgar. 1999. 3. Blake, R. R. and J. S. Mouton. The Managerial Grid, Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Company. 1964. 4. Building a winning team. Retrieved on November 14, from source: www. businesstown. com. 5. Davies, J. The evolution of university responses to financial reduction. Higher Education Management, 9(1), 127-140. 1997. 6. Deal, T. and A. Kennedy. Corporate Cultures, London: Penguin Books. 1988. 7. Garvin, David A. What makes for an authentic learning organization? Management Update: Newsletter from Harvard Business School 2, no. 6 (July 1): 7-9. 1993.

Contribution Of Women To Embroidery Work Cultural Studies Essay

Contribution Of Women To Embroidery Work Cultural Studies Essay The present study is about the contribution of women in handicrafts. The current theme of research regarding handicrafts is to find out the type of embroidery work that women do in their houses and also the problems and benefits they get from their embroidery work. While there is a lot of researches are presented on this topic but there is a lack of attention on those home base women workers and their contribution in handicrafts (embroidery). This study would add a knowledge and information to the existing one. Moreover in Pakistan this work is impossible without womens contribution. So, it would also help us to understand the women problems regarding their works. Handicrafts are items made by hand, often with the use of tools, and are generally artistic and traditional in nature. They include objects of utility and objects of decoration. (Geographical Indications of Goods Act, 1999).Handicrafts are the things that are produce completely by hand or with the help of tool. They also kn own as craft work in which useful and decorative things are used to complete it. Generally the term is used to traditional way of making things. Handicrafts are unique ideas that represent a culture and tradition of a country and it is most important in terms of economic development. Handicrafts are the mirror of culture, tradition and the beauty of this work is depending upon the artistic sense of the workers and also on the quality of material and art. Pakistan has a rich history of handicrafts. The great workers of Pakistan have great skills to show their care in craftsmanship and beauty, dignity, form and style are main components of Pakistani culture. (Shaukat, 2006) Handicrafts are the mixture of significance and artistic feeling of its people who assess the level of culture and expressions of national identity. People serve them with cotton, thread, silk, wool, metals, wood and stone and use their talent to shape these things in beautiful designs so in this way, actually they play very important function for the society. (Quddus, 1992) Handicrafts are also most important symbol in terms of economic development. Economically home based work has helped men and women both for the long time period. Now a days this market get progress and became internationalized but men get more benefits from it then women and move to the many profitable areas and the adaptation of these workers into unorganized sector have made women more insecure and lead them to the exploitation of their skills. (Gyanendra Dastidar, 2000) The fact is that more wealthy countries have less informal economy but developing countries more expansive one. Denmark has 18 percent, Nigeria and Thailand 80 per cent informal economy as compared to their respective formal economies, there is nothing insulting to confess the fact that Pakistan has an informal economy of about 70 per cent. (Bhatti, 2002) The craftsmen and craftswomen of Pakistan both struggle hard to survive; they express their environs and objects in their beautiful production or art for their profit. There are so many crafts that give the Pakistan a place of compliment in the international crafts. (Sarfaraz, 1987) The credit goes to the craftsperson that makes the very important link between the various traditions through his art or work within the country. Each region has rich in its crafts and the crafts persons of that region put their full effort or feelings in their work. Every region has specialized in its handicrafts and there is variety of its traditional handicrafts. Like the important handicrafts of Baluchistan region are Baluchi embroidery, leather work, carpets and rugs, jewellery, pottery and basketry. NWFP has a rich tradition in textiles including embroidery and block-printing, basketry, leather, wood and metal work. Sindh has a wide variety in textiles in which sindi embroidery, silk, ajrak, block-p rinting and tie-and-die is very famous work, bangles, lacquer work, jewellery and pottery. Punjab is a land of five rivers and very famous for its local cotton textiles, embroidery, gotta work, basketry, tile and wood work, the silks, ivory, silver work and naqshi art. (Hussain, 1984) Handicrafts involve the different types of creation including clothing, religious symbols and jewelry, and different types of paper crafts. (Malcolm Tatum, 2003) There are hundreds if not thousands of different varieties of handicrafts. Carpets Textile The carpet-making tradition of Pakistan is old for the thousands of years. 4000-5000 year ago Weaving was a developed as an art in the Mohenjo-Daro in Sind. In the 16th Century, The handmade carpets produced in Lahore. Islamic designs are part of the culture that depicts in Knotted woolen carpets and very famous in both South Asia and the Middle East. Fine carpets are produced in Pakistan especially in Karachi and Lahore. (Shaukat, 2006) In textiles, Sindhis bedspreads and shawls are popular and its mirror work and ajrak are also famous, Doz in Baluchistan, Phulkari work of Hazara and Sawat, kashmirs kashidakari and cotton Lungies and gotta work of Punjab are magnificent work. (Sarfaraz, 1987) Appliquà ©, Crocheting, Embroidery, Knitting, Lace-making, Macramà ©, Quilting, Weaving are also included in textile handicrafts. (Ruskin Morris) Brass, Onyx Wood Crafts The Handicrafts obviously through Brass, onyx and wood are our traditional handicrafts and are able to be proud. Our hard-working craftsmen put their effort to the carving on metal and wood item and make them very beautiful. Craftsman made these items in small villages and it can easily be purchased in big cities. Metal lanterns, mirror frames, decoration pieces and many other things are included in such crafts. (Shaukat, 2006) Pottery The pottery is very common almost in every village. Bahawalpur, Rawalpindi, Gujrat and its surrounded places are famous for colorful pottery. Multans blue glazed pottery is also very familiar since the 13th century. Copper and brass work is mostly done in Lahore. Ceramics and glazed pottery are the oldest art in Pakistan. Blue design techniques are very famous in Pakistan. Pakistani potters are well-known for making the intricate tiles that are used to beautify mosques and public buildings. (Shaukat, 2006) Woodcrafts Wood-carving, Wood-turning, Cabinet making, Furniture making, lacquer ware include in woodcrafts. The furniture of Pakistan is well-known in the whole world for its attractive designs and the artistic sense of the worker. Pakistan has a good wood, Shesham is one of them solid wood and only find in Pakistan. The furniture of this wood is very prominent in the whole world for its finishing. (Shaukat, 2006) Jewelry Leather goods Carved swords, boxes, dishes and tea sets are metal work that is made from silver and gold and precious stones and pearls jewellery are very important crafts. Necklaces, bracelets, rings, hair and forehead decorations and nose ornaments are the main items of jewellery. Leatherwork and basketry are also important crafts. The baskets of Sindh are colorful and complicated, while weavers in the Northwest Frontier prefer geometric patterns. (Shaukat, 2006) Embroidery Embroidery is the art or handicraft of decorating cloth or other materials with needle and thread or wool. Workers also enhance its beauty with uses of other materials such as metal strips, pearls, beads, quills, and sequins. Embroidery is an ancient textile art which uses strands of embroidery floss or wool to create a picture in thread on canvas, linen or other cloth. It forms a part of needlework. Embroidery has recognized as a creative expression of people and it is storage of our oral traditions which have been maintained by the women. (Dhamija, 2004) Embroidered textiles are often used to decorate living spaces, temporary or permanent, impressive or modest depend upon choice and the sense of owner. Historically, embroidered textiles shows the wealthy and influence touch of rulers, courtiers, and courtesans. Among South Asias many people are identified by this textiles frequently, personal status or religious affiliation. (Gluckman, 2007) The folk embroidery tradition deeply exists in the Punjab. Village women still practice the craft, also stitching bed and cushion covers and a variety of other cloths, but the art probably reached its peak in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. (Beste, 2009) In Pakistan embroidery goes back since time immemorial. Bronze needles were excavated out at Mohenjo-Daro. (Sarfaraz, 1987) However, embroidery is a full activity of female and they individually do this work at their homes and it is not as organized work as any other works. (Hussain, 1984) Embroidery is a work that offered women to freely express their feelings by hand and it is also convenient for them to do this in the home. Women embroidered depict all kinds of traditions, nature and their family life also. Women are more dominated in textile work especially in embroidery. (Hashmi, 1987) Embroidery uses various stitches and combinations of stitches. Each embroidery stitch has a special name to help identify it. There are many different styles of embroidery, often with regional variations. Baluchi Embroidery Baluchi mirror work is very famous and also called sheeshagi. In this embroidery small pieces of round mirrors are coated on cloth with button-hole stitch. (Magsi, 1987) Traditionally Baluchi women do it in their homes. Baluchi pushk is very familier and make in traditional seven colours; black, maroon, purple, dark blues, greens, orange and white. (Hussain, 1984) Sindhi Embroidery Sindhi embroidery is covered with flowers and petals with colourful threads by the artistic hands of women. In this embroidery, women used beads, sea shells, precious stones and other pieces of peacock features to enhance its beauty. It is also interesting that women learnt all sindhi embroidery from their mothers and neighbors. The outstanding embroidery of sindh is patch work done on sari, kurta, kanjro, polki , pti, dhanak, pehran and shalwar. (Shah, 1987) Phulkari Phulkari embroidery is an embossed work done on handspun and hand-woven cotton clothes. It is embroidered with untwisted silk thread and mostly geometrical and floral designs are made in it. (Ram, 1987) The centre of this work is Hazara in Pakistan and Punjab is also famous of this work. (Quddus, 1992) Kashmiri Embroidery Kashmiri embroidery is a type of appliquà © work, using waste woolen fabrics and kashida wrought on various kinds of clothing and the cloth used is either silk or wool. (Dhamija, 2004) It is extremely a delicate and refined work and look likes almost drawings and geometrical patterns. The main varieties of Kashmiri embroidery is namda and gabba. (Quddus, 1992) Chikan embroidery Chikan embroidery is a fine needle-craft done by hand mostly using white thread on a variety of fabrics from cotton and silk to synthetics. It is the most famous fine art of embroidery at word level, and is famous not only in India, but also abroad. (Sarna Shukla, 1994)White work White work is embroidered in white thread, on pure white fabric; it is not at all difficult, and not very expensive. The tools for white work embroidery are minimal. The fabric that is used in this work is depending on the person that is according to demand, it may be white muslin, weave or linen. Appliquà © work Appliquà © work is every kind of embroidery which, being worked solidly on one material is then cut out and lay down upon another, and secured by various ornamental stitches. (Dhamija, 2004) In this type of embroidery, different pieces of clothes are cut out in the number of shapes and then pasted them in the basic fabric by using different stitches. (Ram, 1987) Zari embroideries From the second half of 18th century until the early 20th century, two different types of gold embroidery found ready patrons; these were: zardozi work, heavy silver-gilt thread work upon a foundation padded with cotton thread or paper, on velvet or sation ground; and Kalabattu work: light delicate embroidery, in gilt-silver or silver threads, strips of gilt-silver, gilt-silver sequins, upon fine silk cotton or muslin. Punjab is very famous for its zari work. (Dhamija, 2004) Embroidery work is a time-consuming work but in Pakistan traditionally women do it in their homes and pass this art to their daughters too. (Hussain, 1984)

The Symbols In The Awakening English Literature Essay

The Symbols In The Awakening English Literature Essay In Kate Chopins The Awakening, the underlying meaning is imparted to the reader through the use of explicit symbolism. The major role of the use of symbolism in the novel is to attempt to draw a link between the world that Edna knows and her several awakenings and make that link more powerful and compelling. Analyzed in this essay are three prominent symbols of interest which are birds, the ocean and the houses Edna resides in. The avian allusions and symbols that are present throughout the story serve to represent the ability to fly and the freedom it enables. The references to oceans and seas within the novel are symbolic of freedom and empowerment as it relates to Edna. Further houses allow the reader to observe the different transformations that Edna undergoes. The Awakening, written by Kate Chopin, is filled with numerous symbols and motifs that allow the reader to develop a deeper understanding of its message. The first symbol to be analyzed is the recurring sign of birds present throughout the novel. When birds appear in the novel they serve as a reflection of Ednas self, and her thoughts. The novel opens not with a main character speaking but with parrot, Allez vous-en! Allez vous-en! Sapristi! (pp. 3). This declaration from the bird translates to Go away! Go away! For heavens sake! It can be inferred that these lines are representative of the thoughts that are passing through Ednas mind for much of the novel. Much like the parrot which could speak a little Spanish, and also a language which nobody understood, (pp. 3) Edna is unable to communicate her true desires and her true feelings to anyone else because they could not understand. Edna wishes to abandon her role as a compliant wife, and acquiescent mother that the Creole society demands she be. Further the bird discussed above is caged symbolizing the entrapment of Edna by society and its expectations for females of that era. Perhaps the only other character in the novel that understands Edna is Mademoiselle Reisz, who stirs Ednas soul with music, and gives advice to her. Edna informs Arobin that Mademoiselle Reisz: Put her arms around me and felt my shoulder blades, to see if my wings were strong, she said, The bird that would soar above the level plain of tradition and prejudice must have strong wings. It is a sad spectacle to see the weaklings bruised, exhausted, fluttering back to earth. (pp. 103) It appears that Reisz knows beforehand that Edna will attempt to fly and expresses an uncertainty as to whether or not Edna is strong enough to succeed. Mademoiselle Reisz is warning Edna in this passage that her flight may ultimately end in failure but Edna does not receive this message for she is not thinking of any extraordinary flights. I only half comprehend her. Reisz is attempting to help her with this flight by inferring that she is perhaps not strong enough, and may fail but it falls on deaf ears as Edna does not comprehend what Reisz is trying to do. The reader encounters birds towards the conclusion of the novel during a pivotal moment in Ednas life, All along the white beach, up and down, there was no living thing in sight. A bird with a broken wing was beating the air above, reeling, fluttering, circling disabled down, down to the water. (pp. 113) Edna observes this as she is about to walk into the ocean and go through her final awakening. This bird with a broken wing em bodies Edna representing that she, much like the bird, is unable to fly away and escape from the things that confine her. Further it also illustrates that Edna is already dead before she enters the water like the bird that is doomed to death. The second symbol to be analyzed is the frequent appearance of the ocean/sea. Of all the symbols in the novel, the ocean appears most regularly. Edna consistently connects the ocean with a certain personal free will even when she is a child, [a meadow] seemed as big as the oceanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦she threw out her arms as if swimming when she walked. (pp. 21) Clearly Edna feels freedom and excitement in the above passage illustrated through the reference to the wide open ocean. Further, it is in the ocean located off from the Grand Isle where we observe on of Ednas awakenings. Before this awakening she has already learned how to swim, and when she attempts to swim out into the ocean for the first time a certain metamorphosis occurs, A feeling of exultation overtook herShe grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman has swum before. (pp. 37) This scene is critically important in the progression of the novel because with her discovery o f her ability to swim she also realizes that her life is an empty shell. Perhaps this realization serves to assist her in the changes that she will encounter later in the novel. But there is an aspect of foreshadowment in the line she grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. Though swimming in the ocean gives her many positive feelings of freedom she has not the strength to swim for longer periods of time and as a result will drown. Her desire to swim far out, where no woman has swum before is a noble desire to escape from her entrapment due to Creole society, and she somewhat accomplishes this wish but ultimately fails with her demise. The ocean in the novel allows Edna some of the feelings of freedom, but it also serves as an instrument of her demise; Exhaustion was pressing upon and over possessing her. Good-bye, because I love you à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He did not know; he did not understand. He would never understand à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ it was too late; the shore was far beh ind her, and her strength was gone. (pp. 116) Edna believes that the ocean allows her to express herself and escape from the power that is exenterated over her by society. But she realizes that no matter what she attempts to do she will always be trapped by society, for she lacks the ability to change the way her life is. After coming to this realization she decides that she will retire where she feels the most free and away from being influenced; into the ocean. The third and final symbol to be analyzed in this paper is the dynamic symbolism of the houses that Edna resides in. These houses are a direct reflection of the numerous mental and emotional states that Edna experiences throughout her journey. The cottages that are located on the Grand Isle have several symbolic meanings. They serve as separate cages for Edna and also are a reflection of the families that reside within them. Further, all of the cottages at places like this are nearly identical suggesting that all families that dwell in them are identical according to the traditions of the Creole society. Perhaps the most iconic and important house that is encountered during the novel is Ednas pigeon-house. The imagery relating to this house instantly gives the reader insight into why this house is so important to Edna, In a little four-room house around the corner. It looks so cozy, so inviting and restful. (pp. 79) This pigeon house serves to provide Edna with the comfort and indepe ndence that her old house with her husband never provided. Her freedom she experiences allows her to realize how much control she can have over her life, she had resolved never again to belong to another than herself. (pp. 80) This can be considered one of her many awakenings for she realizes that she does not need a man in order to fulfill and complete her life. It is also important to note the contrast from her previous feelings to the new feelings and abilities that arise after Edna moves into the pigeon house; before when she kisses Arobin in the house of her husband she has feelings of reproach looking at her from the external things around her which he had provided for her external existence. (pp. 84) Yet when she engages with Arobin at her new pigeon-house she experiences no feelings of reproach or regret. This illustrates how she is now more free in this house than she has been in any other setting. There are many symbols in the novel The Awakening, and in this essay three of the most prominent have been examined leading us to a huge conclusion. Clearly it is necessary in this novel, and most others to analyze and apply the occurrences and meanings behind symbols scattered throughout the work. Birds serve as an allusion to Edna herself and as an instrument of foreshadowment in regards to her own demise. The ocean is used numerous times throughout the novel as a source of freedom and self expression that allow Edna a release from everything going on in her life. The last symbol was the many houses that Edna was in during the novel that were representative of her current feelings and were a reflection of her. Without the analysis and acknowledgment of these symbols the story becomes just a simple piece of writing and lacks significant deeper meanings.

Exposing Boundaries in Wilsons Fences :: Wilson Fences Essays

Exposing Boundaries in Fences Fences is a play that deals with boundaries that hold people back and the trials and tribulations of those who try or wish to cross them. The characters are African-Americans in a time before the civil rights movement, living in an industrial city. The main character, Troy Manxson, is a talented baseball player who never had the chance to let his talent shine, with restrictions on race and his time in jail as the main obstacles that held him back. He is now hard working and loves his family. However, he tends to exaggerate and has his faults, most prevalent a wandering eye when it comes to women. His wife, Rose, is younger than him and loyal, but she may not have known about all of his faults when she married him. At the beginning of the play, Troy has a son from a previous marriage, Lyons, and a son with Rose, Cory. Also appearing are Bono, Troy’s drinking buddy, and Gabriel, his brother. All of the characters are "fenced in," by various barriers. Troy is working in a job where African Americans can get the lowest and most difficult tasks. On the home front, he has responsibilities to his family. Rose has chosen life with Troy as an alternative to "a succession of abusive men and their babies, a life of partying, or the Church." Troy’s son, Lyons, is supposedly a musician but is going nowhere. Cory has potential but has his dream of playing college football extinguished by both protective and jealous Troy. The characters must deal with hardships of daily life, racial discrimination, straining relationships with each other, and the feeling that this is all their lives are: somewhat of a confined space with no escape; fenced in. Troy’s brother Gabriel, although minor, is important to the play for many reasons. The most important is that while Gabriel perhaps has highest and most impassable fence around him, he is the only one who ignores it; he is not bounded, at least not in his own mind. Gabriel is seven years younger than Troy. They were both in a large family with a frustrated and abusive father. Gabe is the only family Troy speaks with now. Injured in World War II, Gabriel had part of his head blown away. He now has a metal plate and is confused and somewhat delusional.

The Beginning of Victory :: Example Personal Narratives

The Beginning of Victory    As the music seeps through the air of the dark basement theater, my fingers begin to slide up the neck of my guitar. Instinct starts to take over. The notes flow through my veins, swim up the cables, and are flung into the sphere of energy that has formed around the small theater. The spotlight falls onto the closed eyelids of the audience as their steps coincide with the rhythmic beat of the improvisation. My mind slips away from the scene.    The freshly fallen snow clings to the limbs of the evergreen trees, forming a canopy over the path that winds its way up the mountainside behind my home. This is where I go when I need to think. As I hike up the narrow trail, I find solitude in nature. There are no houses to fill my view. There are no super-highways cutting through the middle of the path. Most of all, there are no people. A family of deer freezes to look at me in search of a place where the snow has not covered the grass. Further up the trail I stop to watch as two black squirrels chase each other up and around the skeleton of an aspen tree. Through a hole in the canopy the sun glistens off the snow and warms me. As I break out of the trees, I look up and see the sun perched alone in the sky with not one cloud to hide behind.    The band begins to slow the music and the rambunctious dancing turns to hypnotic swaying. A calm, almost mesmerizing jazz progression takes form, and with a slower, more sensuous feeling my body takes command of my instrument once more. I start to drift away again, but this time a different scene surfaces.    I take my usual seat on the rock outcropping that overlooks all of Eastern Colorado and take a very deep breath. As I look upon the city, I see the tops of the skyscrapers poking through the brown cloud of pollution. The entire valley is enveloped in this smog. To the South, where the clouds begin to dissipate, highways and houses flow over the land that animals and vegetation once inhabited. Urban sprawl is replacing nature. Even from this point high above the city, the sounds of cars roaring along the highway are intertwined with the magpie's call and blue-jay's song.

Management Economics Essay

Introduction. The business cycle or economic cycle refers to the ups and downs seen somewhat simultaneously in most parts of an economy. The cycle involves shifts over time between periods of relatively rapid growth of output (recovery and prosperity), alternating with periods of relative stagnation or decline (contraction or recession). These fluctuations are often measured using the real gross domestic product. To call those alternances â€Å"cycles† is rather misleading, as they don’t tend to repeat at fairly regular time intervals. Most observers find that their lengths (from peak to peak, or from trough to trough) vary, so that cycles are not mechanical in their regularity. Since no two cycles are alike in their details, some economists dispute the existence of cycles and use the word â€Å"fluctuations† instead. Others see enough similarities between cycles that the cycle is a valid basis of studying the state of the economy. A key question is whether or not there are similar mechanisms that generate recessions and/or booms that exist in capitalist economies so that the dynamics that appear as a cycle will be seen again and again. Just as there is no regularity in the timing of business cycles, there is no reason why cycles have to occur at all. The prevailing view among economists is that there is a level of economic activity, often referred to as full employment, at which the economy theoretically could stay forever. Full employment refers to a level of production at which all the inputs to the production process are being used, but not so intensively that they wear out, break down, or insist on higher wages and more vacations. If nothing disturbs the economy, the full-employment level of output, which naturally tends to grow as the population increases and new technologies are discovered, can be maintained forever. There is no reason why a time of full employment has to give way to either a full-fledged boom or a recession. Text. Business Cycle, term used in economics to designate changes in the economy.  Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the level of business activity in industrialized capitalist countries has veered from high to low, taking the economy with it. Characteristics of business cycle are: -A trade cycle is wave like movement. -Cyclical fluctuations are recurrent in nature. -Expansion and contraction in a trade cycle are cumulative in effect. -Trade cycles are all pervading in their impact. -It is characterized by the presence of crisis i.e. downward movement is more sudden and violent than the change from downward to 0upward. -Cycles differ in timing and amplitude they have a common pattern of phases, which are sequential in nature. Phases Of Business Cycles: The ups and downs in the economy are reflected by the fluctuations in aggregate economic activities such as production, investment, employment, prices, wages, bank credits etc. The various phases of the trade cycles are: Prosperity: Expansion And Peak. This phase begins with the rise in the national output, consumer and capital expenditure, level of employment and inventories. Debtors find it more convenient to pay off their debts. Bank rate increases so credit facilities, idle funds for investment in production since stock prices increases due to increase in profitability and dividend. Purchasing power continues to flow in and out of all kinds of economic activities. Expansion continues with the multiplier process. In earlier/ later stages additional workers can be obtained by giving higher wage than prevailing in the market. Input prices increases rapidly which leads to increase in cost of production. As a result price increases and cost of living increases which lower the consumption rate. The demand for new houses, cement, iron, labor tends to halt and same is for furniture, automobiles etc. This makes reaching the peak. To summarize we can say that: -It is a turning point in the business cycle – the end of expansion -Economy at or close to full employment -Capital and Labor Utilization at a high -Prices and cost rise at a moderate rates -Firms profit at high -Interest rates rise -Consumers and firms expectations favorable Turning Point And Recession. After reaching the peak, demand starts declining. Producer unaware of this fact continues to increase production and investment. But after sometime they realize that their inventories are pilling up and they have indulged in over-investment. Consequently further investment plans will be given up-order for new machinery, raw materials. Demand for labor ceases. Temporary and casual workers are removed. Producers of capital goods and raw materials cancel their order. This is the turning point and beginning of recession. Further the income of wage and interest earners also decreases. This causes demand recession. Producer lower down the prices to get rid of inventories  but consumer expects further decreases in price and hence postpones their purchase. Investments starts declining leading to decrease in income and consumption, bank credit shrink and prices decrease. At this stage the process of recession is complete and the economy enters the phase of depression. To summarize this: -Consumer spending falls -Investment spending falls -Inventories accumulate -Firms profit’s decline -Business Failure increase Depression And Trough. This is the phase of relativity low economic activity. It indicates fall in production, increased unemployment and a rapid fall in the general price index. Workers lose their job, debtors find it difficult to pay off their debts, and investment in stock becomes less profitable. At the depth of depression, all economic activities touch the bottom and phase of trough is reached. Weaker firms are eliminated from the industry. At this point, the process of depression is complete. Due to unemployment, labor starts working at lower wages. Consumer expects no further decline in price and start spending. Hence demand picks up. Stock prices fall during recession; the prices of raw material fall faster than the prices of the finished products. Therefore profitability tends to increase after the trough. Producers’ start replacing worth-out capital, investment picks up and employment gradually increases. Following this demand increases, bank credit becomes easily available at a lower rate. Due to increase in income and consumption, the multiplier effect increases the economic activities. The phase of depression comes to an end over time  depending on the speed of recovery. To summarize this: -The turning point in the cycle – the end of contraction -Characterized by high unemployment and low consumer demand relative to industry capacity -Greatest period of excess capacity over the cycle -Business profits are low or negative -Some prices are falling other unchanged -Consumers and firms expectations about future are bleak Recovery. It starts when prices further stop falling. Producers see no risk in undertaking production. Firms use idle capacity to increase production. This generates employment and income, which creates additional demand for consumer goods and services. Businessman when realize increase in profitability. Hence they speed up production machinery. Businessman starts increasing their inventories, consumer start buying more and more of durable goods and variety items. With this process catching up, the economy enters the phase of expansion and prosperity. The cycle is thus complete. To summarize this: -Employment, production, prices and wages begin to rise at roughly the same time -Expectations of consumers and firms optimistic or favorable -Investment spending increases -Consumer demand rises Causes of Cycles. Economists did not try to determine the causes of business cycles until the increasing severity of economic depressions became a major concern in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Two external factors that have been suggested as possible causes are sunspots and psychological trends. The sunspot theory of the British economist William Jevons was once widely accepted. According to Jevons, sunspots affect meteorological conditions. That is, during periods of sunspots, weather conditions are often more severe. Jevons felt that sunspots affected the quantity and quality of harvested crops; thus, they affected the economy. A psychological theory of business cycles, formulated by the British economist Arthur Pigou, states that the optimism or pessimism of business leaders may influence an economic trend. Some politicians have clearly subscribed to this theory. During the early years of the Great Depression, for instance, President Herbert Hoover tried to appear publicly optimistic about the inherent vigor of the American economy, thus hoping to stimulate an upsurge. Several economic theories of the causes of business cycles have been developed. According to the under consumption theory, identified particularly with the British economist John Hobson, inequality of income causes economic declines. The market becomes glutted with goods because the poor cannot afford to buy, and the rich cannot consume all they can afford. Consequently, the rich accumulate savings that are not reinvested in production, because of insufficient demand for goods. This savings accumulation disrupts economic equilibrium and begins a cycle of production cutbacks. The Austrian-American economist Joseph Schumpeter, a proponent of the innovation theory, related upswings of the business cycle to new inventions, which stimulate investment in capital-goods industries. Because new inventions are developed unevenly, business conditions must alternately be  expansive and recessive. The Austrian-born economists Friedrich von Hayek and Ludwig von Mises subscribed to the overinvestment theory. They suggested that instability is the logical consequence of expanding production to the point where less efficient resources are drawn upon. Production costs then rise, and, if these costs cannot be passed on to the consumer, the producer cuts back production and lays off workers. A monetary theory of business cycles stresses the importance of the money supply in the economic system. Since many businesses must borrow money to operate or expand production, the availability and cost of money influence their decisions. Sir Ralph George Hawtrey suggested that changes in interest rates determine whether executives decrease or increase their capital investments, thus affecting the cycle. Regulating the Cycle Since the Great Depression, devices have been built into most economies to help prevent severe business declines. For instance, unemployment insurance provides most workers with some income when they are laid off. Social security and pensions paid by many organizations furnish some income to the increasing number of retired people. Although not as powerful as they once were, trade unions remain an obstacle against the cumulative wage drop that aggravated previous depressions. Schemes to support crop prices (such as the European Common Agricultural Policy) shield farmers from disastrous loss of income. The government can also attempt direct intervention to counter a recession. There are three major techniques available: monetary policy, fiscal policy, and incomes policy. Economists differ sharply in their choice of technique Some economists prefer monetary policy, including the American Milton Friedman and other advocates of monetarism, and is followed by most conservative governments. Monetary policy involves controlling, via the  central bank, the money supply and interest rates. These determine the availability and costs of loans to businesses. Tightening the money supply theoretically helps to counteract inflation; loosening the supply helps recovery from a recession. When inflation and recession occur simultaneously–a phenomenon often called stagflation–it is difficult to know which monetary policy to apply. Considered more effective by American economist John Kenneth Galbraith are fiscal measures, such as increased taxation of the wealthy, and an incomes policy, which seeks to hold wages and prices down to a level that reflects productivity growth. This latter policy has not had much success in the post-World War II period. Conclusion. Thus we can say that the central idea of business-cycle literature, that the economy has regular and periodic waves–a cycle–lasting for several years, has few adherents today. Perhaps such cycles never existed, or perhaps they once did but no longer do because the government now plays an active role in the economy. However, the business-cycle approach remains useful because it is an easy way to introduce a number of macroeconomic topics, including the adjustment process that remains central in macroeconomics.