What Was Absolutism

Absolutism is a political theory and form of government in which unlimited, complete power is held by a centralized sovereign individual, with no checks or balances from any other part of the nation or government. In effect, the ruling individual has absolute power, with no legal, electoral, or other challenges to that power. In practice, historians argue whether Europe saw any true absolutist governments, but the term has been applied—rightly or wrongly—to various leaders, from the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler to monarchs including Louis XIV of France and Julius Caesar. Absolute Age/Absolute Monarchies Referring to European history, the theory and practice of absolutism are generally spoken about with regard to the absolutist monarchs  of the early modern age (16th to 18th centuries). It is much rarer to find any discussion of the 20th century dictators as absolutist. Early modern absolutism is believed to have existed across Europe, but largely in the west in states such as Spain, Prussia, and Austria. It is considered to have reached its apogee under the rule of French King Louis XIV from 1643 to 1715, although there are dissenting views—such as that of historian Roger Mettam—suggesting that this was more dream than reality. By the late 1980s, the situation in historiography was such that a historian could write in The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought that â€Å"there has emerged a consensus that the absolutist monarchies of Europe never succeeded in freeing themselves from restraints on the effective exercise of power. What is now generally believed is that Europe’s absolute monarchs still had to recognize lower laws and offices but maintained the ability to overrule them if it benefited the kingdom. Absolutism was a way in which the central government could cut across the laws and structures of territories that had been acquired piecemeal through war and inheritance, a way of trying to maximize the revenue and control of these sometimes disparate holdings. The absolutist monarchs had seen this power centralize and expand as they became rulers of modern nation-states, which had emerged from more medieval forms of government, where nobles, councils/parliaments, and the church had held powers and acted as checks, if not outright rivals, on the old-style monarch. A New Style of State This developed into a new style of state that had been aided by new tax laws and centralized bureaucracy allowing standing armies reliant on the king, not nobles, and concepts of the sovereign nation. The demands of an evolving military are now one of the more popular explanations for why absolutism developed. Nobles weren’t exactly pushed aside by absolutism and the loss of their autonomy, as they could benefit greatly from jobs, honors, and income within the system. However, there is often a conflation of absolutism with despotism, which is politically unpleasant to modern ears. This was something absolutist era theorists tried to differentiate, and modern historian John Miller takes issue with it, too, arguing how we might better understand the thinkers and kings of the early modern era: â€Å"Absolute monarchies helped to bring a sense of nationhood to disparate territories, to establish a measure of public order and to promote prosperity†¦we need therefore to jettison the liberal and democratic preconceptions of the twentieth century and instead think in terms of an impoverished and precarious existence, of low expectations and of submission to the will of God and to the king. Enlightened Absolutism During the Enlightenment,  several absolute monarchs—such as Frederick I of Prussia, Catherine the Great of Russia, and Habsburg Austrian leaders—attempted to introduce Enlightenment-inspired reforms while still strictly controlling their nations. Serfdom was abolished or reduced, more equality among subjects (but not with the monarch) was introduced, and some free speech allowed. The idea was to justify the absolutist government by using that power to create a better life for the subjects. This style of rule became known as Enlightened Absolutism. The presence of some leading Enlightenment thinkers in this process has been used as a stick to beat the Enlightenment by people who would like to go back to older forms of civilization. Its important to remember the dynamics of the time and the interplay of personalities. End of Absolute Monarchy The age of absolute monarchy came to an end in the late 18th and 19th centuries as popular agitation for more democracy and accountability grew. Many former absolutists (or partly absolutist states) had to issue constitutions, but the absolutist kings of France fell the hardest, one being removed from power and executed during the French Revolution. If Enlightenment thinkers had helped the absolute monarchs, the Enlightenment thinking they developed helped destroy their later rulers. Underpinnings The most common theory used to underpin the early modern absolutist monarchs was the divine right of kings, which derived from medieval ideas of kingship. These claimed that monarchs held their authority directly from God and that the king in his kingdom was as God in his creation, enabling the absolutist monarchs to challenge the power of the church, effectively removing it as a rival to the sovereigns and making their power more absolute. It also gave them an extra layer of legitimacy, although one not unique to the absolutist era. The church, sometimes against its judgment, came to support absolute monarchy and to get out of its way. A different train of thought espoused by some political philosophers was natural law, which held that there are certain immutable, naturally occurring laws that affect states. Thinkers such as Thomas Hobbes saw absolute power as an answer to problems caused by natural law: that members of a country gave up certain freedoms and put their power in the hands of one person to safeguard order and give security. The alternative was violence driven by basic forces such as greed. Sources Miller, David, editor. The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Political Thought. Wiley-Blackwell.Miller, John. Absolutism in Seventeenth-Century Europe. Palgrave Macmillan.

Little Brother Succeeds By Cory Doctorow - 1243 Words

In all mediums of storytelling, storylines never follow a singular plots. Writers often attempt to shovel in various subplots as a means of trying to captivate audiences who are not as interested by the main story. These subplots often revolve around the main story in the sense that they coexist but do not affect it. This entirely ruins the purpose of including subplots, as they should intertwine with and almost become a part of the main plotline. This is where Cory Doctorow s novel Little Brother succeeds. Throughout the novel, Doctorow focuses mainly on the story of Marcus Yallow, a high schooler living in San Francisco with gifted abilities in hacking, and his friends as he fights the manipulative government branch: The Department of†¦show more content†¦He writes Ange and Marcus’ characters so that together, they have a natural chemistry together in both dialogue and actions. At one point, near the middle of the novel, Marcus and Ange go out on date to one of Ange ’s favorite restaurants. The two decide to go to a burrito place. While there, Ange pulls out a stainless steel canister and excessively sprays her burrito with it’s contents. Marcus asks her what she sprays her burrito with, to which she informs him that This is like pepper spray but slightly more dilute. And way more delicious. Think of it as Spicy Cajun Visine if it helps(68). There is no other passage in the novel that can exhibit Marcus and Ange’s almost comedic chemistry together so perfectly. Ange is, by heart, more of an eccentric. She enjoys going out of her way so that she may eat spicy foods. She has an excessively liberal sense of mind and lives life how she sees fit. On the other hand, Marcus has a much more conservative mentalities despite literally fighting against the government. He openly voices his disgust to his date in a way that lets Ange know he feels appalled, but still still likes her by asking What the hell are you doing to that poor, de fenseless burrito?(68). The two are an unlikely pair that is both entertaining and relatable to readers. The sincerity of their

Leadership Effectiveness and Capabilities

Question: Discuss about the Leadership Effectiveness and Capabilities. Answer: Introduction: The ASB Bank in New Zealand was founded in 1847 by the mother company; the Common Wealth Bank of Australia and provides banking and financial services. The organization is guided by the values of integrity, respect, passion and ambition in its quest to achieve profitable growth. The institution offers a broad range of services such as savings accounts, personal loans retirement schemes, business accounts and business insurance products. The ASB bank growth strategies encompass business diversification, creating capacity and adoption of technology in service delivery. ASB CEO Leadership Qualities The ASB Bank chief executive officer; Barbara Chapman displays the qualities of a visionary leader through the adoption of technology in the bank. Barbara pioneered customers communication through social media platforms after data emerged that most people are embracing the use of social media. Additionally, she championed for mobile banking to make it easy for customers to access banking services. Barbara is a courageous leader and informed risk taker (Bergh, 2011). The CEO invested more than $460 million in a new banking computer system and launched 25 branches across the country in anticipation of business growth. The banks chief is optimistic that technology adoption will create capacity for the customers, enabling easier and fast service and grow the organization revenues (Vaughan, 2016). Moreover, the CEO is an ambitious person and leads the team in setting reasonable targets and motivates the members to focus on achieving the goals. Leadership Capabilities in Building Relationship and Trust A leader influences, guides, and direct people in taking certain actions in an attempt to achieve the set goals. However, leadership does not only entail guiding people to common goals but also demands the capability to build healthy relationship and trust among colleagues and followers. An effective leader must have excellent communication skills to persuade and convince people. Successful leaders must communicate clearly to relate their visions to the team (Chuang, 2013). Real leadership must invest in effective communication to motivate the team. Building trust in the workplace demands honesty and trustworthy leaders. Conducting oneself in an honest and ethical manner is a bridge to an effective leadership (Daft, 2014).Followers emulates the behavior of their leader and, thus, to build trust leaders must always tell the truth. Integrity calls for truthfulness all the time irrespective of the situation. Leaders must delegate duties to followers to create trust which is critical for a healthy relationship. Task delegation signals strength and a quality of good leader (Martindale, 2011). Trusting individuals and teams with the responsibility of driving the organization vision will create confidence and good relationship. The teams will share the vision of the company and give the best in duties. Good leaders are humble and approachable. Humility in leadership builds a good and trustable relationship through recognition of other people (Chuang, 2013). Great leaders are humble and appreciate the contribution of others and not taking the credit for everything. Leaders with the capability to suppress their egos are admirable and build trust among followers. An approachable leader gets along with everyone and builds a good relationship. ASB CEO Capabilities in Building Relationship and Trust The ASB bank CEO displays excellent communication skills in her leadership. Barbara communicates the management vision to employees and persuades them towards adopting the goals. The ASB bank has scored highly on management-staff engagement since 2012 (ASB, 2013). During the adoption of technology, the CEO informed people on the potential changes. The group CEO is an honest person and emphasizes on the values of integrity. Barbara engages the employees in a truthful manner and not afraid of talking about potential repercussions of taking certain actions (Parker, 2012).Moreover, Barbara builds confidence in her juniors through delegation of duties. The CEO trusts other executive managers with strategy execution. Transformational Leadership in ASB ASB bank practices transformational leadership. Transformational leadership spurs changes in individuals and social systems and instilling leadership qualities to followers (Garca-Morales, Jimnez-Barrionuevo Gutirrez-Gutirrez, 2012). The leadership enhances employees morale and motivates them to good performance. Transformational leadership develops challenging visions in consultation with the employees and comes up with a strategy to achieve the objectives (Chuang, 2013). Thus, the style inspires employees, instill confidence and express optimism. The ASB CEO came up with the vision to embrace technology in customer services through social media platforms and involved employees in the set-up of a new banking computer system (PricewaterhouseCoopers, 2015). Additionally, the CEO motivates the juniors through delegation of duties and challenges them to take responsibility for the bank's projects execution. Barbara expresses optimism that the bank adoption of technology will yield positive results in service delivery. Strengths and Weakness of Transformational Leadership Transformational leadership mentors and inspires teams to work together to enhance productivity. The style draws more commitment from employees due to a shared organization vision. In the quest to improve production, employees are trained and develop skills to stimulate innovation that benefits the company (Daft, 2014). However, the leadership style permits excessive risk which can be harmful and disruptive to the institution. The style can drive a company into persuading ideas that do not benefit the organization and cause employees burn out due long working hours in an attempt to achieve the goal. Shift from Control-Empowerment Paradigm Contemporary Organizations should move from a paradigm of power to empowering through involving the staffs in the decision-making process on critical changes. Employees should be consulted when the management conceives the vision of the organization (Ali, 2012). The organizations should adopt a transformational leadership that engages the workers through consultation and not coercion. Leaders should involve employees in the planning and evaluation of the companys projects to build trust and create a healthy working environment. Additionally, leaders should delegate duties to staffs to build confidence and give a sense of responsibility for them to make important decisions. ASB Implementation of Control-Empowerment Paradigm The ASB bank can adopt the empowerment paradigm through getting the employees suggestion on critical decisions. Organizations can collect employees opinions through survey and questionnaires (Ali, 2012). Additionally, the company can have employees representatives on the management table to contribute to the decision-making process. The bank can have a policy on employee participation compelling the management to have meetings with all employees when they want to implement significant changes. Moreover, leaders delegating important organization task to employees is the greatest route to empowerment. The employees will be responsible for the projects and exercise control for the success of the projects, hence, Instilling confidence and trust. Possible ASB employees Reactions Embracing empowerment paradigm will give employees a voice on the organization's decision. Thus, ASB bank employees might respond to the changes with a positive vision (Wittig, 2012). The employees will be aware that empowerment is good for their welfare and thus will appreciate the changes and have trust with the organization leadership. Furthermore, the employees might react with enthusiasm eager to face the new challenges of decision-making. Personal Leadership Style Democratic leadership My take on Leadership is the ability to guide and motivate people to work towards a common goal on their volition through consultation. I would love to acquire the capabilities of a democratic leadership style. This leadership style will enable me to create a harmonious environment for my followers. My Strengths I am a good communicator. I am able to clearly communicate my argument through writing and speech. I have very strong persuasive nature through facts and tend to convince people to adopt my thinking. I am a good turn taker and give people time to express themselves. I hear, listen and observe non-verbal ques to respond effectively. Democratic leadership involves discussion and building consensus with other parties (Woods, 2004). The ability to listen and comprehend other people point of views will put me in a good position to embrace what I do not know and evaluate the suitability of the decision. Additionally, good communication will help me persuade the disgruntled parties to accept my stand which I perceive as effective. I am very co-operative and committed. I dedicate myself towards the achieving of an agreement. I am a team player and interact well with people during team duties. I give my best to ensure success of a group task. Democratic leaders should have the ability to hono r an agreement and stick to it. Being able to accept and commit to the actualization of a decision is an added advantage. This personality would make me a good democratic leader through committing myself to the negotiation process and the overall outcome in the consensus. I am respectful and humble. I respect peoples views irrespective of the situation whether positive or negative. Additionally, I recognized the value of everyones contribution and not perceive myself to know everything. I always acknowledge where I went wrong and apologize. Democracy involves receiving different views of people at the bargaining table and the ability to stomach differing views is critical for this leadership style (Woods, 2004). These traits would help me accommodate varied reactions and be confident and humble. I will ready to learn from others and apologize for any wrong. I am honest and truthful. I am a person of integrity and tell the truth regardless of the consequences. I value other people an d act in a way that benefits them. Successful democratic leadership would entail being truthful at the negotiation table. Democracy demands openness with information and motives, and this would position me at good leadership position as I always act in good faith and integrity. My Weakness I am a very impatient person. I always want instant results to various actions. I am bored by lengthy meetings and delayed decisions. Democracy entails negotiation and listening to every person point of view which would take a lot of time. Being impatient would put me in a tough situation as I would love to make fast decisions that would mean I ignore other peoples concerns. The negotiation process would go for days and months and thus, would demand patience so as not to compromise negotiations and the final decision. Capability to Develop Throughout the course, I would love to develop the ability to delegate duties and trusting on others to do a good job. Being able to assign important responsibility to other people bestows confidence and indicates a strong leader. I will try to let my colleagues handle some key personal duties that mean a lot to me. Additionally, I will take the responsibility of sharing different class task to friends and learn how to trust people. References Ali, A. (2012). Significance of Paradigm Shift from" Management to Leadership"-A Review of Literature. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 2(10), 499. ASB (2013, September 16). Experience the Future of Banking with the ASB Innovation Lab. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://blog.asb.co.nz/posts/2013/09/experience-the-future-of-banking-with-the-asb-innovation-lab.html Bergh, R. (2011, June 7). The Woman Taking ASB Beyond Goldstein. Retrieved from https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/5240946/The-woman-taking-ASB-beyond-Goldstein Chuang, S. F. (2013). Essential Skills for Leadership Effectiveness in diverse Workplace Development. Online Journal for Workforce Education and Development, 6(1), 5. Daft, R. L. (2014). The Leadership Experience. Cengage Learning. Garca-Morales, V. J., Jimnez-Barrionuevo, M. M., Gutirrez-Gutirrez, L. (2012). Transformational Leadership Influence on Organizational Performance Through Organizational Learning and Innovation. Journal of Business Research, 65(7), 1040-1050. Martindale, N. (2011). Leadership styles: How to handle the different personas. Strategic Communication Management, 15(8), 32-35. Parker, T. (2012, December 13). Business Leader of the Year Finalist: Barbara Chapman. Retrieved from https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3objectid=10853705 PricewaterhouseCoopers (2015, August 11). Barbara Chapman: NZ CEO Interview. Retrieved August 30, 2016, from https://www.pwc.co.nz/nz-ceo-survey-2015/ceo-interviews/barbara-chapman/ Vaughan, G. (2016, February 11). ASB, CBA CEOs Barbara Chapman Ian Narev Sanguine about Turmoil in Global Financial Markets; Narev Suggests over Reaction also a Threat. Retrieved from https://www.interest.co.nz/business/79938/asb-cba-ceos-barbara-chapman-ian-narev-sanguine-about-turmoil-global-financial Wittig, C. (2012). Employees Reactions to Organizational Change. OD Practitioner, 44(2), 23-28. Woods, P. A. (2004). Democratic Leadership: Drawing Distinctions with Distributed Leadership. International journal of Leadership in Education, 7(1), 3-26.

The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (Chapter XV of Problems of Philosophy) Essay Example

The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (Chapter XV of Problems of Philosophy) Paper Rubric: Explain Russell’s take on the central value of philosophy. In the final part of your answer, provide a reasoned evaluation of some aspect of Russell’s defense of philosophical inquiry that includes some discussion of an example or two that you think illustrates the importance of philosophy in relation to living and acting in the world. Russell’s argument is of the vein that studying philosophy is an end in itself. Many fields in science offer us technical knowledge to enhance our material comforts. But this cannot be the sole objective of our existence. Deliberating fundamental questions on the meaning of life, human nature, the cosmos, etc do not have any commercial value. But a life lived without such philosophical speculation is quite limited and enslaved. Philosophy helps us to broaden our intellectual and emotional horizons by subjugating our self-interest. It cultivates in us to focus on the non-Self, which liberates us from individual petty concerns and veers our consciousness toward bigger questions on the human condition. In other words, if specialized disciplines in science are preoccupied with the ‘how’ question, philosophy is concerned with the ‘why’ question. As Russell aptly terms it, philosophy helps us to move beyond the ‘here and now’. In doing so, it makes us separate from the particular circumstances of history and culture, thereby experiencing a universal mode of existence. We will write a custom essay sample on The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (Chapter XV of Problems of Philosophy) specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (Chapter XV of Problems of Philosophy) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Value of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell (Chapter XV of Problems of Philosophy) specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Uncertainty is a basic feature of philosophy, where various answers are proposed for any given question. It is this element of uncertainty that distinguishes philosophy from other scientific disciplines. But instead of causing ambiguity, the open-ended speculations actually enhance our imagination and identify novel solutions. As the magisterium of our mind is expanded we become calmer and more secure. Unlike the defensive and anxious behaviour of the unenlightened person, the one well-versed with philosophy is able to negotiate all sorts of contingencies in life with relative ease. I totally agree with Russell’s assessment of the value of philosophy. I strongly believe that philosophy should be moved into mainstream academia, away from its perception as an esoteric pursuit. Today, almost every major problem in society is caused as a result of an unenlightened citizenry. With education increasingly becoming skill-oriented or vocational, generations of adults graduate from college without social consciousness. Studying philosophy mitigates this phenomenon by prompting us with valid questions. And in attempting to answer them we will actually find answers to many pressing problems of our time. Problems such as environmental degradation or potential nuclear warfare could be prevented through widespread philosophical discussions. For example, in order for us to seek solutions to the problem of global warming, we first have to agree on salvaging our species from extinction. Here, philosophy helps set our priorities. Finally, my impression is that Russell’s take on the central value of philosophy harks back to Plato’s famous remark that ‘a life lived unexamined is not worth living’. This statement was delivered just before Plato was executed for disobeying royal orders. In his view, there can be no greater liberty than that afforded by truth, even if it were to lead to our death. On the contrary the one who lives a compromised life for the sake of safety has displayed disregard for the truth. Hinduism is one of the oldest religions of the world. It evolved in the Indian subcontinent over 5000 years ago and has a rich body of literature. Unlike monotheistic religions such as Christianity or Islam, Hinduism is polytheistic, with thousands of deities and gods being worshipped. Even in terms of ethnography and culture there is a rich diversity of Hindu expression. The sacred rituals and beliefs related to Hinduism vary across ethnic communities in India. The Hindu scriptures explain morality in the form of legends and myths. More than a religion per se, Hinduism can be looked at as a philosophical system. The key themes of this system are that of the interconnectedness of life, repercussions of good and bad deeds (karma), the temporariness of earthly existence and the aspiration toward liberation from it (moksha). Texts such as the Upanishads and epics such as Ramayana and Mahabaratha serve as mediums of this philosophic discourse. In Geeta Kothari’s short story the major theme is one of entrapment. She regrets the condition of her married life with Evan. She wonders morosely if she had erred by agreeing to marriage in the name of security and conformity. There are parallels to it in the Hindu conception of life, whereby, our present life carries forward and expiates the Karma accumulate from our previous life. In this cycle of birth and rebirth thus continues the one constant reality is that of suffering. Certainly Maya has a legitimate feeling of betrayal in her marriage, and she wonders why things had turned out this way. Hinduism’s answer to her pondering would be that she is presently suffering on account of the bad Karma she had acquired in previous incarnations. While the Hindu idea of karma is deterministic, it does not promote fatalistic attitude. While the circumstances we find ourselves in are somewhat arbitrary, there is much we can alter about our future through the exercise of free will. Towards the end of the story Maya seems to realize this truth. She is seen to slowly make a resolution that she will henceforth be more faithful to her feelings and no more live in denial. Hindu spiritual practices in the form of yoga, dhyana and yagnya are deviced to alleviate our suffering by altering our natural state of ego-consciousness. By subjugating the impulses of the ego and attuning our senses toward cosmic consciousness we reach a state where suffering ceases. It is called in Sanskrit as mukthi. Maya’s project of self-actualization is not articulated in such esoteric Hindu philosophic terms. But hers is a project of great import in the context of the constricting and adversarial reality her marriage has turned out to be. In my own experience I’ve faced issues of melancholy in the past. In the early days, I used to feel very let down and feel victimized. But slowly I realized that remorse and helplessness lead us nowhere. I then started undergoing an attitudinal change in two aspects. First I trained myself to accept difficulties as part of life. Second I trained myself to proactively mitigate adversities. As a result I can claim that I am a much happier person now than I was a few years back. The important thing is that my circumstances have not drastically changed but my outlook and behaviour has changed. And it has made a world of difference. In this regard I share the same spirit of Maya. Between me and her, we share the Hindu philosophic outlook to addressing problems, although it took us both some time to make this transition.

Dr. caligari layers or meaning essays

Dr. caligari layers or meaning essays The meanings of "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" are numerous. It is a film with layers that keep peeling away and never come to an end, similar to the conclusion of the film. There is no pit, your mind keeps going, the layers keep coming. You are left with questions; what did this film mean explicitly, implicitly, symptomatically, and referentially? Also quite undeniably, this film more than an illusion. A state of indecisiveness jumbles your mind and the feeling of naivete comes over you. Dr. Caligari strategically tricks Francis as well as myself into believing his innocence, which in the end is left unanswered completely but leaning toward wrong. A man named Francis relates a story about his best friend Alan and his fiance Jane. Alan takes him to a fair where they meet Dr. Caligari, who exhibits a somnambulist, Cesare, that can predict the future. When Alan asks how long he has to live, Cesare says he has until dawn. The prophecy comes to pass, as Alan is murdered, and Cesare is a prime suspect. Cesare creeps into Jane's bedroom and abducts her, running from the townspeople and finally dying of exhaustion. Meanwhile, the police discover a dummy in Cesare's cabinet, while Caligari flees. Francis tracks Caligari to a mental asylum. He is the director! Implicitly the film implies that the world around might seem fine, normal, but in fact below the surface there is a world of corruption and deceit. The film was made when Hitler and the nazi's where coming into power and taking over the country, influencing the germans significantly on his idea of the perfect german, obviously promoting anti-semitism. It is possible that this film implies the question of Hitler's innocence in the nazi german minds. It is possible that Dr. Caligari is implied to represent Hitler. In which Cesare, the somnambulist, represent the nazi's under Hitler's command who conduct murders wrongly for the sick minded manipulator. In the film...

10 Facts About Adolf Hitler

10 Facts About Adolf Hitler Among the world leaders of the 20th century, Adolf Hitler is the most notorious. The founder of the Nazi Party, Hitler is responsible for starting  World War II and unleashing the genocide of the Holocaust. Although he killed himself in the waning days of the war, his historical legacy continues to reverberate in the 21st century. Learn more about Adolf Hitlers life and times with these 10 facts. A Surprising Artistic Dream Throughout his youth, Adolf Hitler dreamed of becoming an artist. He applied in 1907 and again the following year to the Vienna Academy of Art but was denied admission both times. At the end of 1908, his mother, Klara Hitler died of breast cancer, and Adolf spent the next four years living on the streets of Vienna, selling postcards of his artwork to survive. Parents and Siblings Bettmann/Getty Images Despite being so readily identified with Germany, Adolf Hitler wasnt a German national by birth. He was born in Braunau am Inn, Austria, on April 20, 1889, to Alois (1837–1903) and Klara Hitler (1860–1907). The union was Alois Hitlers third. During their marriage, Alois and Klara Hitler had five other children, but only their daughter  Paula (1896–1960) survived to adulthood. Soldier in World War I Hulton Archive/Getty Images As nationalism roiled Europe, Austria began conscripting young men into the military. To avoid being conscripted, Hitler moved to Munich, Germany, in May 1913. Ironically, he volunteered to serve in the German army once World War I began. During his four years of military service, Hitler never rose higher than the rank of corporal, though he was decorated twice for valor. Hitler sustained two major injuries during the war. The first occurred at the Battle of the Somme in October 1916 when he was wounded by shrapnel and spent two months in the hospital. Two years later, on Oct. 13, 1918, a British mustard gas attack caused Hitler to go temporarily blind. He spent the remainder of the war recuperating from his injuries. Political Roots Like many on the losing side of World War I, Hitler was furious at Germanys capitulation and the harsh penalties that the Treaty of Versailles, which officially ended the war, imposed. Returning to Munich, he joined the German Workers Party, a small right-wing political organization with anti-Semitic leanings. Hitler soon became the partys leader, created a 25-point platform for the party, and established the  swastika  as the partys symbol. In 1920, the partys name was changed to National Socialist German Workers Party, commonly known as the  Nazi Party. Over the next several years, Hitler often gave public speeches that gained him attention, followers, and financial support. An Attempted Coup Motivated by the success of Benito Mussolinis seizing power in Italy in 1922, Hitler and other Nazi leaders plotted their own coup in a Munich beer hall. In the overnight hours of Nov. 8 and 9, 1923, Hitler led a group of about 2,000 Nazis into downtown Munich in a putsch, an attempt to overthrow the regional government. Violence broke out when police confronted and fired upon the marchers, killing 16 Nazis. The coup, which came to be known as the Beer Hall Putsch, was a failure, and Hitler fled. Apprehended two days later, Hitler was tried and sentenced to five years in prison for treason. While behind bars, he wrote his autobiography, Mein Kampf  (My Struggle). In the book, he articulated many of the anti-Semitic and nationalist philosophies he would later make policy as German leader. Hitler was released from prison after only nine months, determined to build up the Nazi Party in order to take over the German government using legal means. The Nazis Seize Power German President Paul von Hindenburg (left) in a car with Nazi leader and Chancellor of Germany, Adolf Hitler in Berlin, 1st May 1933. Culture Club/Getty Images Even while Hitler was in prison, the Nazi Party continued to participate in local and national elections, slowly consolidating power throughout the rest of the 1920s. By 1932, the German economy was reeling from the Great Depression, and the ruling government proved unable to quell the political and social extremism that roiled much of the nation. In the July 1932 elections, just months after Hitler became a German citizen (thus making him eligible to hold office), the Nazi Party obtained 37.3 percent of the vote in national elections, giving it a majority in the Reichstag, Germanys parliament. On Jan. 30, 1933, Hitler was appointed chancellor. Hitler, the Dictator On Feb. 27, 1933, the Reichstag burned under mysterious circumstances. Hitler used the fire as an excuse to suspend many basic civil and political rights and to consolidate his political power. When  German President  Paul von Hindenburg  died in office on Aug. 2, 1934,  Hitler took the title of fà ¼hrer and Reichskanzler (leader and Reich Chancellor), assuming dictatorial control over the government.   Hitler set about rapidly rebuilding Germanys military, in clear defiance of the  Versailles Treaty. At the same time, the Nazi government began swiftly cracking down on political dissent and enacting an ever-harsher series of laws disenfranchising Jews, gays, the disabled, and others that would culminate in the Holocaust. In March 1938, demanding more land for the German people, Hitler annexed Austria (called the Anschluss) without firing a single shot. Not satisfied, Hitler agitated further, eventually annexing Czechoslovakias western provinces. World War II Begins Adolf Hitler plans military strategy at the German Army Headquarters, circa 1940. Keystone/Getty Images Emboldened by his territorial gain and new alliances with Italy and Japan, Hitler turned his eyes east to Poland. On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany invaded, quickly overrunning Polish defenses and occupying the western half of the nation. Two days later, Britain and France declared war on Germany, having pledged to defend Poland. The Soviet Union, having signed a secret nonaggression treaty with Hitler, occupied eastern Poland. World War II  had begun, but the real fighting was months away. On April 9, 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway; the following month, the Nazi war machine crossed through Holland and Belgium, attacking France and sending British troops fleeing back to the U.K. By the following summer, the Germans seemed unstoppable, having invaded North Africa, Yugoslavia, and Greece. But Hitler, hungry for more, made what would eventually be his fatal mistake. On June 22, Nazi troops attacked the Soviet Union, determined to dominate Europe. The War Turns The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, drew the U.S. into the world war, and Hitler responded by declaring war on America. For the next two years, the Allied nations of the U.S., the U.S.S.R., Britain, and the French Resistance struggled to contain the German military. Not until the D-Day invasion of June 6, 1944, did the tide truly turn, and the Allies began to squeeze Germany from both east and west. The Nazi regime was slowly crumbling from without and within. On July 20, 1944, Hitler barely survived an assassination attempt, called the July Plot, led by one of his top military officers. Over the following months, Hitler assumed more direct control over German war strategy, but he was doomed to failure. The Final Days In his last official photo, Adolf Hitler leaves the safety of his bunker to award decorations to members of Hitler Youth. Keystone Features/Getty Images   As Soviet troops neared the outskirts of Berlin in the waning days of April 1945, Hitler and his top commanders barricaded themselves in an underground bunker to await their fates. On April 29, 1945, Hitler married his long-time mistress, Eva Braun, and the following day, they  committed suicide together  as Russian troops approached the center of Berlin. Their bodies were burned on grounds near the bunker, and the surviving Nazi leaders either killed themselves or fled. Two days later, on May 2, Germany surrendered.

How Can Service Firms Incorporate Strategies to Improve Customer Thesis

How Can Service Firms Incorporate Strategies to Improve Customer Engagement Using Online Media - Thesis Example The study revealed that fierce competition in the recent era and escalating consumer desires have generated a climate where â€Å"quality† is considered to be the chief strategic variable for enhancing consumer satisfaction and consequently the profitability of the service providers. According to the report findings as a lot of service firms opposing for a restricted number of prospective consumers, their relevant marketing and consumer engagement strategies should consist of methods on how to compete successfully from their rivals. As no firm can meet up every consumer each requirement, all company ought to decide which ability sets it possesses and stress on those proficiency. A law firm having expertise in bankruptcy law will strain its aptitude to customers looking for assistance in reorganizing their debts. Aside these, consumers engagement strategies of the service firms indicated that Social media has rapidly become one of the main efficient marketing tools for service firms. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr provide companies latest outlets to widen their messages to a global audience. Professional networking sites such as LinkedIn allow marketers and sales staff to connect with potential consumers’ dependent on work familiarity and ind ustry position. Emergence of social media has resulted to a fundamental shift in the way of businesses of the service firms of every size engaged with their customers.

The London Riots of August of 2011 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The London Riots of August of 2011 - Essay Example One of the dangers of the news is that often rumour becomes presented as fact creating a reaction by the public that can turn to undesirable action. While the news provides an important service to the people of a nation, the reports must be accurate and ethical to have the social importance that is needed to create an informed public. Information that has been created to have the highest inflammatory effect in order to create the best possible entertainment for viewers or readers does not provide an accurate service to the public. A recent example of the dissemination of premature information that incited the public to action can be seen through the example of the riots in London during August of 2011. These riots were the result of both police action that people of the area of Tottenham found objectionable and unjust, as well as the reports made by the media that constituted rumours that had yet to be substantiated. Between the erroneous news releases and the reports on various soci al media outlets by eye witnesses who could refute the news reports, protest was made that was not met with adequate response from authorities, finally leading to riots and looting which resulted in death and destruction. In examining the reports made by the BBC and those made by The Guardian, an understanding of varying perspectives can be achieved as the outlets released news on the events that was based on how the information was that interpreted by the journalists. The following paper will first examine the background as perceived from reading various reports and written from the understanding of how those reports become a story in the mind of the reader. The news reports from the BBC will first be examined for their perspective on the riots, followed by the reports made The Guardian that can be compared to the reports from the BBC. Background During the month of August a series of riots and protested were motivated by the shooting death of a 29 year old man named Mark Duggan as attempts were made to arrest him. The incident occurred on 4 August 2011 at the Ferry Lane Bridge next to the Tottenham Hale station and was associated with Operation Trident, a police investigation into crimes associated with guns within the black community. The IPCC (Independent Police Complaints Commission) was put in charge of the investigation of the shooting according to policy after a death that occurred through police involvement. Confusion within the media occurred through erroneous statements that seemed to be intended to quell the resulting violence after the incident. In the end it is possible that the false information did nothing more than to incite a larger backlash as the inconsistencies emerged through eye-witness accounts and retractions from the police department. One of the primary problems occurred as the media was lead to believe that Duggan fired on the police where eye witnessed did not see him fire. On 6 August a peaceful protest was planned that was to be a march from the Broadwater farm to the Tottenham police

Pride and Prejudice Argumentative Essay Essay Example for Free

Pride and Prejudice Argumentative Essay Essay Part I Select three of the identity categories below and name or describe at least 3 related stereotypes for each: †¢ Race †¢ Ethnicity †¢ Religion †¢ Gender †¢ Sexual orientation †¢ Age †¢ Disability |Category |Stereotype 1 |Stereotype 2 |Stereotype 3 | |Religion |Fanatical Christians |Islam extremists |All mormons are poligamists | |Gender |Men should never cry |Women can be in power because of |Pink is for girls | | | |their periods | | |Age |As you get older you cannot learn |Older people are not as sharp as |Old people are not interested in | | |new things |younger people |sex |. Part II Answer each question in 50 to 100 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. What are the positive aspects of stereotypes, if any? Some stereotypes have been found to have a positive view of certain groups by other minority groups, Asian Americans are admired for â€Å"placing a high value on intellectual and professional achievement† and â€Å"having strong family ties†, Hispanic Americans â€Å"take deep pride in their culture and work hard to achieve a better life† (R.Schaefer, 2012), African Americans â€Å"have made a valuable contribution to American Society and will work hard when given a chance† (National Conference of Christians and Jews 1994). Another positive aspect of stereotyping (and I had to dig to find it) is that middle-class or afflcuent African Americans’ feelings of self esteem and self-image are more positive than those of comparable Whites. Our text does not tell us why just that it has been measured and exists and that one positive aspect. What are the negative aspects of stereotypes? Stereotyping has caused people to view certain groups of people in a negative light, even though people do not express such views openly, prejudice and stereotyping still exists. In an article written by Tim Giago, â€Å"National Media Should Stop Using Obscene Words†, Tim describes how the term â€Å"Redskins† is so readily used in football and how derogatory it is to hear for Native Americans. He likens the use of this term to such terms as â€Å"nigger†, â€Å"gook†, â€Å"kike†, and â€Å"wop†, and expresses how â€Å"ridiculous† it is to hear the fans doing the â€Å"tomahawk chop†. This is modern day stereotyping in a negative way and it should be stopped. Why do large corporations have the right to offend and stereotype? This should be stopped. Part III Answer each question in 50 to 150 words related to those stereotypes. Provide citations for all the sources you use. Define stereotypes and prejudice. What is the difference between stereotyping and prejudice? Use examples to illustrate the differences. According to Racial and Ethnic Groups, by R. Schaefer, stereotypes are unreliable, exaggerated generalizations about all members of a group that do not take individual differences into account. Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, such as a racial or ethnic minority. The difference between prejudices and stereotypes is that prejudice is learned over time by people who influence a person as they are growing up and books, movies, Internet and tv also play a part in a person becoming prejudice. Stereotypes are beliefs about people which are generally accepted that are based on something previously accepted about them. Examplese of some stereotypes are: all women are bitches, or all Arabs are terrorists. Examples of prejudices are: being afraid if you are on the bus and see a mentally ill person get on the bus because you are afraid that they may become violient. Statistic show that mentally ill people are no more or less prone to violence than normal people, please see this link about mental illness and violence: http://depts. washington. edu/mhreport/facts_violence. php What is the relationship between stereotyping and prejudice? Stereotyping and prejudice are not the same but can seem similar in a way, however the difference is important. There can be a stereotype about girls only like pink and boys only like to play with guns but a prejudice is when you are racist or have a â€Å"negative attitude toward an entire category of people† (R. Schaefer, 2012). What can be done to prevent prejudice from occurring? Diversity training and awareness is a way to prevent prejudice from occurring in the workplace. Education about diversity is a way to prevent it at schools. Much studying has been done about the prevention of prejudice but unfortunately if the training and/or education is not followed up with practice and further education and training it can lead to people going back to their old habits. This means that we must be diligent about fighing prejudice in our society, in our homes, at work, and in our schools. www. wikipedia. org Religious fanaticism http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Religious_fanaticism Main Street Plaza www. latterdaymainstreet. com A Community for Anyone Interested in Mormonism. Religious Stereotypes Venn Diagram According To Google: Expanded Mormon Edition www. religious-stereotypes-venn-diagram-according-to-google-expanded-mormon-edition Cracked. com 5 Gender Stereotypes That Used To Be the Exact Opposite By: J. F. Sargent April 24, 2012. http://www. cracked. com/article_19780_5-gender-stereotypes-that-used-to-be-exact-opposite. html#ixzz2KNtJBSML www. discoveryfithealth. com 10 Stereotypes About Aging (That Just Arent True) by Tom Scheve and Christine Venzon http://health. howstuffworks. com/wellness/aging/aging-process/5-stereotypes-about-aging6. htm Racial and Ethnic Groups, Thirteenth edition, by Richard T. Schaefer. Published by Merrill Prentice Hall. Copyright  © 2012 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Booker T. Washington :: American America History

Booker T. Washington Following the smoke of Confederate and Union gunfire emerged the self-reliant and awe-inspiring Booker Taliaferro Washington. As a distinguished black educator, a commanding broker, and an ethical as well as economical constructionist, he stepped up to the podium of civil reform with authority. Life was not easy for young Booker T; from the moment of his delivery on April 5, 1856, he was clamped into bondage. Toiling in the backbreaking salt furnace from the age of ten with his father, whilst partially attending school in Malden, West Virginia was a demanding schedule, which was only alleviated by his acceptance to the Hampton Institute, a school set up by whites to edify newly freed slaves after the Civil War. It was there, he worked as a janitor to support himself and pay his tuition and boarding fee. Completing his regular studies at Hampton in 1875, he was later hired in the fall of 1879 to teach Native Americans youths and direct night classes for black men and women. Evidently, well acquainted with the hardships of the common (black) man, Booker T. Washington was an exemplar of black solidarity and idyllic for the institutionalization of economic reform for the betterment of the Negro community. His revolutionary outlook on the enhancement of African Americans up the slippery social ladder of white supremacy proved to be very effective in post-Civil War America; by the injection of ultramodern reformist thought into the Negro psyche and the restructuring of outdated modes of 'black behavior' by means of an economic guise, he propelled blacks irretrievably forward. Booker T. Washington's beliefs still echo through our society today. The aforementioned Hampton Institute provided Washington with a sturdy foundation for his later achievements. Although the curriculum was centered on industrial arts and moral cultivation rather than intellectual pursuits, he unearthed the goodness in character formation and modeled his behavior accordingly. In 1881, these principles chiseled the infrastructure of his Normal and Industrial Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. Erected from a dilapidated shanty and church, came forth the foremost educational institution for blacks, which simultaneously sponsored and built momentum for the "Tuskegee Movement:" an array of policies, views, and tactics that illuminated Booker T. Washington as "the race leader" in dealing with the "Negro Problem" (as his supporters in both the North and South saw it). From his southern small-town nucleus he bejeweled the nation with a network of schools and newspapers, offering a means by which the Negro populace could liberate themselves of Jim Crow's noose and Uncle Tom's iron-grip.

National Food Marketing Report Essay

Pakistan is known for spice in the world, as it has brought several sub continental taste from India after independence. National Foods is the leading sub continental recipe masala company of Pakistan with distinct market share as compare to the competitors. National Foods began its journey in 1970 as a Spice company, with a revolutionary product that popularized the concept of having clean, healthy food. National foods’ initiatives were, to make food that is hygienic, reduce time spent in the kitchen by women, foster health and contribute towards personal attractiveness, so that people who use our products would be able to experience a more rewarding life-style. This was long before the phrase ‘Corporate Mission’ had even been invented. However, founder’s philosophy remains unchanged over time. Even if their language – and the notion of only women doing the housework – have become outdated, in this age of rapidly changing lifestyles, fuelled by the rampant development of technology; consumers are compelled to alter their eating habits. National Foods responds to this challenge of developing innovative food products based on convenience and quick preparation in line with modern lifestyles and yet retains traditional values through its diverse collection of food products. In a history that now crosses three decades, National Foods’ success has been influenced by the major events of the day – economic boom, depression, wars, changing consumer lifestyles and technological advancements. Even after three decades the company’s focal point still remains on customer’s needs through product development in line with the changing market trends. COMPANY PHILOSOPHY National Foods must focus on customer’s needs and serve them with quality products at affordable prices at their doorsteps. Our products must be pure and conform to international standards. Our research must continuously produce new adventurous products scientifically tested, hygienically produced in safe and attractive packaging. We must create environment in our offices and factories where talents are groomed and have opportunity to advance in their careers. We must prove to be recognized as good corporate citizens, support good causes-charity and bear fair share of taxes. Reserves must be built, new factories created, sound profits made and fair dividend paid to our stock holders through building a reliable brand. National Foods Ltd. must get itself recognized as leader in Pakistan and abroad. With the help of almighty God, the company can achieve its targets in years to come. VISION STATEMENT The vision of National Foods Ltd. is â€Å"To be a Rs. 50 billion food company by the year 2020 in the convenience food segment by launching products and services in the domestic and international markets that enhance lifestyle and create value for our customers through management excellence at all levels. † BUSINESS PRACTICES NFL believes in conducting its operations with strong ethical and moral standards. NFLs statement of code of conduct & business practices aims to provide guidance on carrying out its business related decisions and activities. We wish to achieve excellence in all spheres of our operations for which code of conduct form the basis. Any party entering any form of contract with NFL is bound to comply with the given guidelines. NFLs statement of code of conduct & business practices has the following seven guidelines: 1. Unfair Means: Any use of bribery, kickbacks or any form of payment in cash/kind to obtain business related or otherwise gainful benefit for the company is strictly prohibited. Excessive business gifts and entertainment also hold the same meaning and NFL does not approve of such payments. 2. Respect and Integrity: NFL believes in giving respect to individuals. We aim to operate in a manner that discourages discrimination, harassment and/or influence. Discrimination refers to favoritism based on a particular aspect of an individual personality. 3. Conflict of Interest: NFL prohibits actions that are in conflict with the company business interests. This may include but is not limited to providing assistance to the competition or holding ownership interests in a customer, supplier, distributor or competitor and making personal gains at company expense. 4. Confidentiality: NFL believes in confidentiality of information related to company business activities. The company expects employees not to disclose or divulge by any means the confidential and commercially sensitive information except to the authoritative personnel requiring it. 5. Statutory Compliance: NFL believes in providing total support and cooperation to all the governmental and regulatory bodies irrespective of the extent of prevalent enforcement. 6. Financial Integrity: NFL believes in complete compliance with the accepted accounting rules and procedures. This includes but is not limited to Transparency: NFL discourages any illegal activity for the purpose of any benefit to the company or others. All information supplied to the stake holders and/or auditors must be authentic & transparent and Disclosure: All transactions must be fully disclosed and must be for the purpose stated for. 7. Health, Safety and Community Responsibility: NFL is fully committed to safety, health and responsibility towards environment and community. All activities of NFL must portray responsibility towards the community and nation as a whole. NFL seeks to employ procedures that are safe, healthy and environment friendly. SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS This year brought a series of challenges and transformation for the Sales Team. As the magnitude of the socio-political upheavals increased in the country, the Sales Team was not only determined to face all the adversities, in the face of the law and order situation, but also introduce valuable changes which would be favorable for the overall growth and development of the company. In spite of the prevailing conditions of strikes, shutter downs and political turmoil, the Sales Team delivered its targets. In certain key categories like recipe and salt, we even over delivered. These categories have a significant impact in volume growth and bottom line as well. The Channel Specific approach implemented is beginning to yield results, where the Sales Team capitalized on the market sales potential in areas of Public Account, Local Modern Trade, International Modern Trade, Food Service Division, Special Category and General Trade. Sales growth in Public Accounts (USC-CSD) has more than doubled this year. In Special Category Management (SCM), sales of salt was at an all time high. The 2013 environment was once again challenging on account of deteriorating law and order situation, high inflation, counterfeits and energy shortages. However, in the wake of such challenges, we delivered 20% sales growth (Volume 15%) with an improvement in trading operating margin and EPS growth thereby demonstrating the value of strong alignment of our people behind our strategic priority to become Rs. 50bn business by 2020. Strong presence in international markets is at the core of our vision statement and in line with our aspiration we established a subsidiary in Dubai NFL – DMCC to strengthen our export operations and plan to set up more subsidiaries in Europe and North America soon. The sustained business growth that we have evidenced in National Foods as well as strategic alignment provides framework for accelerated innovation, increased engagement with consumers and enhanced operational and financial capabilities. This will enable us to remain fit to win in more intense environment in future. Pakistan is the part of sub-continent, which is known for the high spicy foods and National Foods is the leading recipe masala of the country. But National Foods faced tough competition from the founder of the recipe masalas in the country that is Shan Foods’ Recipe Masalas. National Foods has different food categories and in each category they faced different competitors. National Foods started their operations with Jam, Jelly, Marmalades and Pickles and became a major competitor to Michelle’s and Ahmed Foods. National Foods are perceived as Pioneer in Ketchups and Sauces by competing with Shezan and now Shangrilla too. Following is the SWOT Analysis and Matrix as per National Food’s Strategy Formulation: Strengths: Cultural Image Developer Largest Food Exporter High Advertising Budget International Recognition. Weakness: High Pricing Strategy Limited Products Conventional Packing Stuck with Tradition Opportunities: High Food Entertainment Fond to International Tastes Multi-Cultural Lifestyle Technological Communication SO Strategy National Foods should introduced International Recipes WO Strategy Associate National Food’s Brands with Interactive Social Media Threats: Increasing Dine-in Hangout Low Priced Masala Brands Ready-to-Eat Food Availability Chef’s TV Demonstrations ST Strategy Sponsored the Cookery Shows on Leading Food TV Channels in Pakistan WT Strategy. Cobranding the National Foods with Leading Fast Food Chains for building association Proposed and Designed by Afnan Khan OLD VERSUS NEW BRAND LOGO OLD LOGO For over 40 years, we’ve been known as the one brand women all over Pakistan count on, but just like people grow and change, we’re growing too. And now it’s time for a change. Every year we’re growing bigger, brighter, more global, and our NFL spirit of adventure – which has been the energy behind every new and innovative product – is now the encouragement behind our new logo. The new Pakistani homemaker is feisty and vibrant and our new image is helping her feel just as we have generations of food lovers feel – completely at home. NEW LOGO At NFL, freshness is what keeps us going. We keep life updated with new recipes, new products, and now we’ve got ourselves a Transformed logo. As with everything we do, we took a careful look at what we had, kept the best of the past, and introduced elements that were exciting, appealing, and yet always true to our soul. We’re still caring, optimistic, and reliable and now we’re livelier than ever before! MARKETING MIX Product Categories National Foods Limited has Fourteen Product Categories: 1. Chinese 2. Desserts 3. Health foods 4. Jams 5. Ketchups 6. Pickles 7. Raj masala National Food’s Recipe Masalas are the high revenue generated product, competing with Shan Foods shoulder by shoulder. National Foods launched Rivaaj Pastes in last decade and received acclaimed response from the market by having a competitive advantage in product line. National Foods’ Chinese Recipes are pressured by the Knorr’s Chinese Recipes and failed to receive estimated targets. National Foods’ Ketchups are the followers in the market despite of being founder in the ketchup industry because of Shangrilla’s Chinese flavored ketchups. National Foods’ another product category of Pickles are the second most sales generated product and successfully beating the competing brands of Ahmed Foods and Shangrilla. National Foods launched Fruitily instant drinks around four years back but failed to receive the customer’s response because of mismanaged distribution and high advertising of competing brand of Tang Fruit Juices. Product Growth as per National Foods Annual Report 2013: Recipe Mix: National Recipes sales grew by 25. 2% further establishing its market leadership. Gross margin improved, thereby further strengthening the financial health of this important category. The National Recipe Princess contest was conducted in fifty colleges across six cities in Pakistan targeting college going female students. The Karachi Special launch was a laser focused activity to cater to Karachi by launching the recipe mixes keeping in mind the Karachi taste palette. Ketchup: The Sauces Category recorded star performance of 39. 6% growth underpinned by highly successful consumer offering of Ketchup and Chat Masala Combo Pack during peak seasonal period of Ramazan. Gross margin also improved significantly in this category. In addition to well-planned and tightly orchestrated advertising and promotional campaign, penetration, availability and visibility provided the brand fuel for growth to register impressive growth. Fruitily: Despite strong competitive environment in this category, Fruitily recorded 5. 6% growth, gained market share with noticeable improvement in Gross margin. As this is new addition to National Foods portfolio, we will continue to invest in this category to accelerate growth for the future. Salt: Sales grew by 26. 5% with Gross margin improving significantly thereby delivering healthy bottom line. This category has significant potential on health platform as it serves the human body’s requirement for Iodine. Pickles: The category grew by 18%, despite stiff competition. However, Gross margin was diluted on account of higher material cost as we did not pass on inflationary pressure to consumers. The manufacturing process has been redesigned to fully exploit the potential of automation and further upgrade the safety standards. Pricing Strategy National Foods launched their brands with penetrating marketing strategies especially for Masala Recipes, Pickles, Jams but found to be involved in skimming strategy for their brand Rivaaj. National Foods’ Masala Recipes are following the same pricing of Shan Recipes Masalas, but after the recent launching of Mehran Recipe Masalas and Nice Recipe Masalas at high priced strategy, National Foods are counted as on the skimming pricing. As National Foods are following the international quality standards with high marketing budgeting, they compel to be on their well settled prices instead of getting down, but to tackle the competition raised by Mehran Recipe Masalas and Nice Recipe Masalas, National Foods introduced Sachet at half price. Distributional Sales Force The National Foods sales team has also made a significant development toward rural penetration and coverage through a dedicated Rural Development Force (RDF). RDF has extended its operations up to 370 uncovered rural settlements and expanded its distribution to more than 4,000 outlets. To improve our distribution operations in Balochistan, they have appointed Muller and Phipps (M&P), which is expected to enhance our sales performance in this geography. They have also taken initiatives to deploy IT solutions to maximize the benefit of information management in sales. A new software was implemented across Pakistan with key distributors to capture information on real time basis that will assist NFL to take quick action, provide analysis and assist in decision making. Promotional Activities National Foods is pioneer in developing state of the art promotional ideas in the food industry of Pakistan. Due to extra ordinary creative marketing and advertising campaigns, National Foods is perceived on the priority level as compare to their direct competitor i. e. Shan Foods in recipe masalas. Following are the leading marketing and advertising campaign: Rang Bharti Jao National Recipes celebrated its vivid persona with a two minute TVC, bursting with colors, emotions and sensorial shots of rich home-cooked food. In the background, the majestic voice of Tina Sani singing â€Å"Rang Bharti Jao† added to the surreal delicacy of the video. The â€Å"Rang Bharti Jao† campaign was a great success, as it won over the hearts of consumers due to its emotional appeal, and impressed the jury at the PAS awards. The amazing response led to National Recipe acquiring the Best Campaign Award in the Culinary Category. Karachi Special Launch After National Recipe’s great success, the Marketing Team was set out to cater to Karachi by launching recipe mixes especially made keeping in mind Karachi taste palettes. These recipe mixes have five different variants that are fierier and more flavourful to accommodate and satisfy the bold taste buds of Karachiites. Campaigning for these special recipe mixes was also in full throttle; with a TVC, hoardings and a massive BTL campaign, where the NFL float would go to different apartments and cook for the people there (trial activity). Moreover, Chef Saadat in support of National Foods would go to the float and cook for consumers all across Karachi. All this information was shared on our Facebook page for added hype. The Karachi Special Launch was a great stepping-stone for the brand’s aspirations of having long-term National Recipe loyalists in Karachi. National Ketchup Campaign National Ketchup experienced a huge boost in sales due to creative campaigns that coined the product as 100% tomatoes, making it synonymous with â€Å"real tomatoes†. Consumers highly appreciated the pre-emptive organic link to freshness and made the campaign, which ran on ATL and POS, very effective. The campaign also supported Ramadan season, which provided added exposure. National Recipe Princess Hundreds of college students were given a chance once again by National Foods to showcase their culinary skills. The National Recipe Princess contest was conducted in fifty colleges across six cities in Pakistan, with the aim of searching talented young girls who have a flair for cooking to compete for the title of Recipe Princess. This activation was highly successful as electronic media and digital media (Facebook page) gave it a huge boost. College students could keep track of the competition through photos, maps of the contest route, and group discussions and comments, resulting in colossal exposure of over a million views of the competition nationwide. Celebrity guest judges were also invited to the competitions for added hype and brand publicity creating the ideal recipe for success! National Pickles Campaign The attempt to reinvent the brand image of National Pickles proved to be a great success. The aim was to reposition it as a happening brand with an added zing, along with highlighting the pure, delicious and rich ingredients that make National Pickles the best. From the hummable tune to mouth-watering food shots and sensational ingredient shots, the campaign spoke to audiences of all ages, and increased the number of National Pickles fans in no time. National Ka Pakistan Pakistan’s culinary diversity and vivid culture are its joy and pride. National Foods sent out television’s renowned Chef Saadat on an exciting journey to discover the culinary gems hidden in the country’s nooks and crannies. Being the first ever attempt by a food company to create exciting episodic content that reflects the rich fusion of tradition and taste, this series was an attempt to showcase a safer and softer image of Pakistan along with highlighting Pakistan’s unparalleled love for food. The episodes were aired on 9 channels and were heavily supported by digital media as well. The show attained top ten ratings on news and entertainment channels, making it incredibly popular. National Ka Pakistan also bagged the prestigious Passion for Pakistan Award in the PAS awards 2012, triggering overwhelming success. Taste Of Pakistan National launched ‘Taste of Pakistan’, a unique cookbook that captured Chef Saadat’s journey from ‘National ka Pakistan’, and also celebrated Pakistan’s wonderful cuisine with 50 mouth-watering recipes from all across Pakistan. The response to this book was extremely positive because of the fact that the informative cookbook was not only a source for scrumptious recipes, but also a travel log, which helped consumers discover different regions of Pakistan and their delectable cuisines. Facebook Page Support By creating a presence on Facebook through the brand page, National Foods was able to interact with consumers on a much more consumer-friendly forum. It encouraged engagement as National Foods fans could now be updated about all the latest launches, BTL, contests, recipes, amongst other activities. Likes skyrocketed from a mere 15,000 to 60,000 within only eight months which resulted in an increase in the National Foods fan following, while setting sails to rising success for the brand. One-Minute Recipes In the fast-paced world of today’s times, people are always looking for quick solutions to everything. Taking the growing digital users as a base, National Foods launched the first ever one-minute video recipe cards in Pakistan. These one-minute videos were the quickest way to view a recipe with ease, and therefore, they gained a great deal of popularity, especially among the younger audience. The videos are now available on Google Play for Android cell-phone users too. To date, these videos have been viewed more than 55,000 times and the application software has been downloaded more than 6,000 times, thereby demonstrating its success. NATIONAL FOODS AS LEADING EXPORTER BThe wide range of National Foods products enjoys unparalleled acclaim across the world as we believe in providing nothing but the best. National Foods products are famous globally for their freshness, taste, hygiene and value for money. Providing you the exotic taste of Pakistan, National Foods products are distributed in over 35 countries in 5 continents, through our strategic partners. And with our continuous success, we are rapidly making inroads into new markets worldwide. NATIONAL FOODS IN COMMUNITY Commitment to CSR has been a part of the NFL strategy since its inception. Different initiatives reflecting our values are undertaken to give back to the society that has supported our business throughout the years. At NFL, we believe that CSR starts with providing the highest quality of products and services at the least cost and with the least environmental impact. From this foundation, our CSR aspirations continue to grow, incorporating processes and activities that aim to strengthen society and ensure sustainable social delivery. Sustainability underlines the foundation for NFL’s business endeavors, where we especially engage in strategic social investments, working to empower and uplift communities. The CSR Mission of National Foods is â€Å"Our CSR commitments must reflect all facets of our corporate personality – NFL as a manufacturer, an employer, a consumer in itself and as an industry leader. We uphold these commitments through our values, policies and our practices. †

Color of Water Essay Essay

What factors contribute to who you are today? A question that many struggle with including James McBride, the author of The Color of Water. James struggled with finding himself because of his mixed background, a white Jewish mother and a Black father. When James finally gets an understanding of the culture, races, and religions that surrounds him it helps him to gain his own identity, point of view, and allows him to share his experiences with others who may be going through the same things in his writing. As James enters many different cultures he comes to realize what type of surrounding and life he wants for himself when he visits his sister jack in Louisville, Kentucky. The culture in Louisville was very violent. James and his friends participated in illegal activities such as breaking into cars, shoplifting, and doing illegal drugs (McBride 139). After complaining about life, doing illegal things, talking to Chicken Man a man that sat on the corner on a crate, and drank alcohol all day who told James that no one will know who are you unless you make something of yourself and that sitting on the corner all his life is a bad decision (150), and taking Jack’s advice, â€Å"you have to choose between what the world expects of you and what you want for yourself† (161), he enrolls back into high school and later goes on to Oberlin College. Growing up James’ mother Ruth always tells him that white people are no good, but as a young adult his perspective changes altogether. As James completes high school and early into college a white lady by the name of Mrs. Dawson who donated most of her time and money to inner city kids sponsors James to be able to go to Europe and travel with the American Youth Jazz Band and continues to help him get into graduate school. When James’ friends in college talk about how all white people are rich and they have no problems James had no choice, but to agree because of the surrounding he was in, but in his mind he was strongly disagreed with the statement that had just been made having just read the letter from Mrs. Dawson about her husband dying suddenly of cancer (187). Church plays a big part in James’ life. As a kid James goes to church every Sunday and experiences people crying and being uplifted. Also his father starts the New Brown Memorial Church, which James goes back to visit later in life. From going to church every Sunday James develops his own relationship with God after he goes through the part of his like where he is very rebellious and disobeys the law. After he enrolls back into school he turns to God to ask him for strength (161). This shows James getting his own opinion from God and his religion instead of just going to church because he’s being going all his life. Suffolk had begun to suffocate me. The isolation my family felt, the heartbreak they had suffered† (223). James researching into his mother’s history shows him why he went to Jewish schools instead of the public schools, what happens in Suffolk that causes Ruth to leave, start a new life, and become very secretive. Heritage is important because it lets you know what struggles, accomplishments, etc. your family has overcome, why things are the way they are, and how you can continue a tradition, or better understand who you are. Knowing about my Mother and Father’s background gives me an idea of what our family is about and what type of things I should stand for, or if I believe in the same things that my parents believe in. Learning about heritage and the different factors that make up his surrounding James McBride finds his identity, gains his own opinion, and point of view. Reading The Color of Water and going through this experience along with James encourages others to learn more about their heritage and who they are, and if you already have that information interpret it into a way that benefits you and can maybe even help someone else.

Corporate Governance in Malaysia Essays

Corporate Governance in Malaysia Essays Corporate Governance in Malaysia Paper Corporate Governance in Malaysia Paper Corporate Governance is a concept in which it has been existence for decades; although not in the exact form that it has come to be understood today (Anandarajah, 2001). The term corporate governance was introduced in Malaysia in 1997 during the Asian Financial Crisis. It also drew the public’s attention on the weaknesses of the Malaysian corporate governance practice (Nor Azizah Zainal Abidin, 2007). Besides that, the downfall of Sime Bank, the Bumiputera Malaysian Finance (BMF) scandal, the irregularities in Renong Berhad, the Perwaja fiasco and the internal management problem faced by Malaysian Airline System (MAS) forced government to enhance corporate governance regulations (Norwani, Mohamad, Chek, 2011). The High Level Finance Committee Report 1999 on Corporate Governance in Malaysia defined corporate governance as the â€Å"process and structure used to direct and manage the business and affairs of the company towards enhancing business prosperity and corporate accountability with the ultimate objective of realizing long term shareholder value, whilst taking into account the interest of other stakeholders. † (Malaysian Code on Corporate Governance, 2012). The code that governs the corporate governance in Malaysia is called the Malaysia Code of Corporate Governance (MCCG). This code was recently revised in March 2012 and it is known as the MCCG2012. Besides providing relevant information to investors, this code also aims to encourage transparency management of companies, to enable investors to guide the direction of the company (Nor Azizah Zainal Abidin, 2007). The MCCG 2007 was revised with the aim to enhance the directors’ duty to the companies. With the revised MCCG 2012, there are still many issues arising from corporate governance. However, to some extent there are improvements in some area of the corporate governance. The revised MCCG 2012 contained a few improvements in the recommendation. This Code now establishes clear roles and responsibilities where ethical standard should be formalized through the code of conduct by the board to ensure its compliance. Through the company’s code of conduct, it mandates the board to formulate system of compliance and ethical standards. Besides, it also includes ensuring that the company’s strategies promote sustainability. There are many improvements made under reinforcement of independence. 3. 1 mandate boards to undertake an annual independent director assessment. For an individual to serve as an independent director, 3. 2 mandate a cumulative term to nine years. Under 3. 3, justification and shareholder’s approval is needed if the board retains as an independent director. And lastly MCCG 2012 recommends that a majority of independent directors must be in the board and the board chairman is not an independent director. These were not in the MCCG 2007. The most important improvement under the MCCG 2012 is to ensure timely and high quality disclosure. Under this the board should make certain the appropriate disclosure procedure and policies of the company. Also, for effective dissemination of information, board should encourage the company to leverage on information technology. This is to promote better use of technology. Furthermore, with the existing recommendation, MCCG 2012 also state that the board should also encourage pool voting in order for strengthening the relationship f the company and shareholder. This imposes duty to inform the shareholders of their right to demand a poll vote by the general meeting chairman. The concern here is whether the revised MCCG have enhanced the corporate governance of the companies in Malaysia. This code calls for voluntary compliance, coupled with the requirement in the listing rules of KLSE which make mandates disclosure of the extent of compliance with the best practice sets out in the Code, while allowing for some flexibility in its implementation by companies. The aim here is to provide necessary information and encourage disclosure to investors who entrusted their funds to companies, so that they can monitor the way it is being run (Finance Committee on Corporate Governance, 1999). This Code has somehow reduced the number of financial scandal but definitely not completely clear it off. There are many scenarios that company collapsing due to financial scandal as what was initiated by the BMF (Bank Bumiputera Finance) scandal. The law governing director’s duty consist of various forms of law. These duties have been observed also contain a plurality of legal fields such as company law and employment law (Hee, 2003). Section 132(1) of the Companies Act 1965 requires a director to use reasonable diligence and to act honestly in the discharge of his duties. The duty to act in the best interest of the company as a whole also from common law covers the collective interest of both existing and prospective shareholders. It is suggested that the common law fiduciary duty to avoid conflicts of interest should be codified to allow directors to be clear about their obligations in conflict situations. KLSE listing Requirements stipulates that public listed companies must got at least two independent directors. Individuals who are expressly excluded from being eligible to act as independent directors include major shareholders, professional advisers or relatives of an executive director or major shareholder of the listed company (Hee, 2003). This provides a better equilibrium of powers between directors and independent directors. The auditor actually provides a check on the information aspect of the governance system rather than having a direct corporate governance responsibility. As widely recognized, the duties of the audit committees have been related to internal audit financial reporting and external auditor. The importance of an audit committee in the framework of corporate accountability is where audit committees are expected to act as the guardian of investors’ interests and corporate accountability suggested by the wide adoption of audit committee (Saidin, 2007). The main duties are to inspect and form an opinion as to whether the financial statements have been drawn up in accordance with the financial reporting standards of Malaysia and the Companies Act 1965; to obtain reasonable assurance that the financial statements are free from material misstatements; and to examine and form an opinion whether the financial statements give a true and fair view of the financial position of the Company as of the financial year end and of its financial performance and cash flows of the year end (Yycadvisors, 2012). The pertinent issue in corporate governance is due to mismanagement, director’s duty not well performed, abusing the minority projection / shareholders and not having meetings often to update what is going on. Management or board should practice the commonly accepted principles of corporate governance such as independence, accountability, roles and responsibilities, integrity and ethical behavior, and transparency. A company’s board should have a number of independent directors. They should be individual with no connection with the company other than a seat in the board. Also, selected independent directors should meet the â€Å"independence† test under the regulatory rules and also to serve with independence of minds. This process of selecting independent directors is likely to maintain their independent mindedness (Rahman Salim, 2010). To create a system that holds decision makers accountable while according proper respect to their authority over corporation is a challenging thing for corporate governance. The market, shareholder voting, and civil and criminal liability is the regular accountability mechanism. In theory, to create incentives for deterring self-dealing and other forms of misconduct and for responsible decision making these mechanisms work together. However, in reality, these contain flaws that allow individuals to occasionally exercise an irrational discretion when making decisions that will affect many others. The impact can be distressing for investors, employees, and the economy when the governance system fails (Jones, 2010). Given the control of publicly held companies, management should be accountable to its board of directors. The board, in turn, should be accountable to the shareholders and other stakeholders. The principle of accountability can be enhanced by many ways, such as enforcing rules and laws, protecting shareholders’ rights, imposing duties on officers and ensuring the scrutiny of the company’s financial statements by independent auditors (Rahman Salim, 2010). To provide creditors, depositors and shareholders creditable assurance that they will abstain from fraud activities, financial transparency would be an important mechanism. Timely and accurate disclosure should be made regarding all materials matter concerning the corporation is one way to ensure excellent corporate governance. The voluntary items disclosed in the annual reports, the time of the information to be released and quantity of information influenced by the board of directors. In disclosing all the relevant information in the financial reporting, the BOD will be transparent when they are independent and examine their responsibility to be accountable to the shareholders. To ensure the quality of the financial reporting process is one of the main functions corporate governance play. Financial reporting should be prepared with integrity which relies on corporate governance. Dependency of the integrity of financial reporting is highly on the performance and conduct of individual involved. What lead the company to reporting failure is when the corporate governance fails where most of them manipulated their financial statement to meet the performance expectation. Research also has found that there is a connection between weaknesses in corporate governance with bad financial quality, fraudulent financial statement weak internal control and earnings manipulations (Norwani, Mohamad, Chek, 2011). Problems that arise in companies in Malaysia regarding corporate governance have to do with the political interference to certain extent. State/government can be said as the â€Å"real† company controller compared to law/policy regulated under corporate governance. For example, the famous corporate governance failure in Malaysia the scandal of Perwaja Steel Sdn. Bhd.. Perwaja, a company owned by the government in collaboration with a Japanese company, Nippon Steel Corporation that was established by HICOM Bhd. in 1982, to fulfill the government’s mission in implementing the heavy industrial policy (Nor Azizah Zainal Abidin, 2007). This can be seen as an example where the state, as a shareholder in the company, has direct interest to it. Fraud and corruption can easily happen with the existence of this relationship. Due to the misconduct of directorship the corporate governance of Perwaja collapsed. Perwaja faced with corruption and mismanagement in tender and contract awarding. Furthermore, doubtful trading transactions and payments were carried out to non existing companies (Netto, 2004). There are one sided contracts between Perwaja and both local and foreign companies plus with erroneous records and many of millions ringgit were unauthorized (Norwani, Mohamad, Chek, 2011). This shows the failure of corporate governance in Perwaja Steel Sdn. Bhd.. However, with fresh funds being injected by the government today, Perwaja is still in business (Netto, 2004). In other case, like the Malaysian Airlines System Bhd. (MAS) faced with internal management problems. Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli, the largest shareholder in MAS who held both Chief Executive Officer plus with chairman position, entered into unprofitable business activities whereby he had over expansion the flight destination, has caused the occurrence of governance failure (Norwani, Mohamad, Chek, 2011). The new management under Tajuddin Ramli had already cause MAS to suffered huge debts, prior to the Asian Financial Crisis. This had put MAS at risk during the crisis as all their transaction were done is UD dollars (Nor Azizah Zainal Abidin, 2007). Due to the veto power of the government in MAS’s management the decision on airlines destinations were subjected to government’s decision and approval. To comply with Malaysian foreign policy, MAS had to oblige and extend its services, where at that time, not popular destinations or less concentrated areas were decided by the government. This decision contributed lower return to MAS. From this point of view, we can see that the government/political involvement in business have a huge influence in the management of the company. Besides another reason of governance failure of MAS was due to increased in capital expenditure caused by many orders on planes from 1998 to 2001. It was simply a mismatch between earnings and expenditure in the financial reporting, whereby earnings were is ringgit while the latter was in US dollar. MAS ended up paying a higher cost than what was originally ordered for. MAS was then repurchased for more than double of the market price. The question here was before the government’s buyback, why an audit was not conducted which would have a very important bearing on the proper price of the government buyout. An international case study example would be the Satyam Linggam scandal, the biggest corporate scam in India has come to the most respected businessman. Satyam founder resigned as its chairman after admitting to cooking up the account book. The CEO was responsible for the board accounting improprieties that reported a large amount of cash holding that does not exist and overstating the company’s profit and revenue. With a successful effort on the part of investor’s in order to prevent an effort by the minority shareholding promoters to use the firm’s cash reserves to buy two companies owned by them, the scandal all came to know. Consequently, this failed the attempt of expansion on Satyam’s part, which in turn led to a collapse in company’s stock prices, followed by a shocking confession from Raju. History has played a part in the development of corporate governance in India. The first code for corporate governance was published in 1988, but by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) entitled desirable Corporate Governance. Unlike codes in some other countries, the CII code did not make statements of principle but addressed specific business issues in India. The code called for â€Å"professionally competent, independent non-executive directors† to make up the board. None should hold more than ten listed company. The code also called for audit committees. A year later 1999 a government committee released India’s National Code on Corporate Governance (Ticker, 2009). Reflecting international standards, the code had the approval by the SEBI and incorporated into stock exchange rules. The government issued guidelines on corporate governance in central public sector enterprises in 2007, covering the composition of the boards, audit committees, accounting standards and risk management (Ticker, 2009). However, corruption remains entrenched in India, not at least in the government administration. The Ministry of Company Affairs and the Securities and Exchange Board need more competent staff experience in corporate governance matters. But rapid economic growth and potential in India suggest that the next few years will see significant changes in both attitude and practice (Ticker, 2009). The failure in corporate governance forced rules and regulations to be enacted (Norwani, Mohamad, Chek, 2011). Recent corporate scandals and the near-collapse of the global ? nancial system all demonstrate the importance of maintaining an effective corporate governance regime (Jones, 2010). With the revised MCCG 2012, duties of all the board of directors are clearly stated, and this will serve as guidance and should improve the corporate governance of the company.

Importance of Court Case of Korematsu v. United States

Importance of Court Case of Korematsu v. United States Korematsu v. United States was a Supreme Court case that was decided on December 18, 1944, at the end of World War II. It involved the legality of Executive Order 9066, which ordered many Japanese-Americans to be placed in internment camps during the war. Fast Facts: Korematsu v. United States Case Argued: Oct. 11-12, 1944Decision Issued: Dec. 18, 1944Petitioner: Fred Toyosaburo KorematsuRespondent: United StatesKey Question: Did the president and Congress go beyond their war powers by restricting the rights of Americans of Japanese descent?Majority Decision: Black, Stone,  Reed,  Frankfurter,  Douglas, RutledgeDissenting: Roberts, Murphy, JacksonRuling: The Supreme Court ruled that the security of the United States was more important than upholding the rights of a single racial group during a time of military  emergency. Facts of Korematsu v. United States In 1942, Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, allowing the U.S. military to declare parts of the U.S. as military areas and thereby exclude specific groups of people from them. The practical application was that many Japanese-Americans were forced from their homes and placed in internment camps during World War II. Frank Korematsu, a U.S.-born man of Japanese descent, knowingly defied the order to be relocated and  was arrested and convicted. His case went to the Supreme Court, where it was decided that exclusion orders based on Executive Order 9066 were in fact Constitutional. Therefore, his conviction was upheld. The Courts Decision The decision in the Korematsu v. United States case was complicated and, many might argue, not without contradiction. While the Court acknowledged that citizens were being denied their constitutional rights, it also declared that the Constitution allowed for such restrictions.  Justice Hugo Black wrote in the decision that all legal restrictions which curtail the civil rights of a single racial group are immediately suspect. He also wrote that Pressing public necessity may sometimes justify the existence of such restrictions. In essence, the Court majority decided that the security of the general citizenry of the US was more important than upholding the rights of a single racial group, during this time of military  emergency. Dissenters in the Court, including Justice Robert Jackson, argued that Korematsu had committed no crime, and therefore there were no grounds for restricting his civil rights. Robert also warned that the majority decision would have much more lasting and potentially damaging effects than Roosevelts executive order. The order would likely be lifted after the war, but the Courts decision would establish a precedent for denying rights of citizens if the current powers that be determine such action to be of urgent need.   Significance of Korematsu v. United States The Korematsu decision was significant because it ruled that the United States government had the right to exclude and forcibly move people from designated areas based on their race. The decision was 6-3 that the need to protect the United States from espionage and other wartime acts was more important than Korematsus individual rights. Even though Korematsus conviction was eventually overturned in 1983, the ​Korematsu ruling concerning the creation of exclusion orders has never been overturned.​​ Korematsus Critique of Guantanamo   In 2004, at the age of 84, Frank Korematsu filed an amicus curiae, or friend of the court, brief in support of Guantanamo detainees who were fighting against being held as enemy combatants by the Bush Administration. He argued in his brief that the case was â€Å"reminiscent† of what had happened in the past, where the government too quickly took away individual civil liberties in the name of national security.