Free Essays on Comparing Romantic Relationships

Love and Romance Throughout Word Count: 1,293 Most of the novels that we have read have a theme of love. Different kinds of love are shown throughout the stories, but one type of love interests me the most, romantic love. The romantic relationships are so different from each other in all the books. Some are true love, while others seem to be convience love. I wish to explore the feelings of two particular women who have very different ideas on love and marriage. Elizabeth and Janie are two independently minded women, living in times when such independence is not widely accepted. â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† focuses mostly on Elizabeth and her changing feelings of Mr. Darcy. â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† is all about Janie and her three very different relationships throughout the novel. Elizabeth was unlike her sisters is many ways. One way that she thought completely different was on the subject of love and marriage. Elizabeth’s siblings were all about searching for husbands. Their only goal in life was to get married to wealthy men. Jane, the eldest sister seemed to be the only Benedict sister besides Elizabeth who did not necessarily want to marry for money, but for love. Getting married was extremely important to Jane but not for all the wrong reasons like her sisters. Elizabeth, however, did not seem to be in any hurry to get married. She refused two men before finally accepting a marriage proposal from Mr. Darcy. The difference between the men was that Elizabeth was truly in love with Mr. Darcy, while she did not even like the other two men who were chasing her. We could see from the beginning that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were meant to be together. They may have shown dislike and Elizabeth expressed much hatred, but there is a thin line between love an d hate. I don’t believe a person can have one without the other. When Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth finally express their feelings for one another and get engaged, we can feel... Free Essays on Comparing Romantic Relationships Free Essays on Comparing Romantic Relationships Love and Romance Throughout Word Count: 1,293 Most of the novels that we have read have a theme of love. Different kinds of love are shown throughout the stories, but one type of love interests me the most, romantic love. The romantic relationships are so different from each other in all the books. Some are true love, while others seem to be convience love. I wish to explore the feelings of two particular women who have very different ideas on love and marriage. Elizabeth and Janie are two independently minded women, living in times when such independence is not widely accepted. â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† focuses mostly on Elizabeth and her changing feelings of Mr. Darcy. â€Å"Their Eyes Were Watching God† is all about Janie and her three very different relationships throughout the novel. Elizabeth was unlike her sisters is many ways. One way that she thought completely different was on the subject of love and marriage. Elizabeth’s siblings were all about searching for husbands. Their only goal in life was to get married to wealthy men. Jane, the eldest sister seemed to be the only Benedict sister besides Elizabeth who did not necessarily want to marry for money, but for love. Getting married was extremely important to Jane but not for all the wrong reasons like her sisters. Elizabeth, however, did not seem to be in any hurry to get married. She refused two men before finally accepting a marriage proposal from Mr. Darcy. The difference between the men was that Elizabeth was truly in love with Mr. Darcy, while she did not even like the other two men who were chasing her. We could see from the beginning that Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were meant to be together. They may have shown dislike and Elizabeth expressed much hatred, but there is a thin line between love an d hate. I don’t believe a person can have one without the other. When Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth finally express their feelings for one another and get engaged, we can feel...

Abba Kovner and Resistance in the Vilna Ghetto

Abba Kovner and Resistance in the Vilna Ghetto In the Vilna Ghetto and in the Rudninkai Forest (both in Lithuania), Abba Kovner, only 25 years old, led resistance fighters against the murderous Nazi enemy during the  Holocaust. Who Was Abba Kovner? Abba Kovner was born in 1918 in Sevastopol, Russia, but later moved to Vilna (now in Lithuania), where he attended a Hebrew secondary school. During these early years, Kovner became an active member in the Zionist youth movement, Ha-Shomer ha-Tsair. In September 1939, World War II began. Only two weeks later, on September 19, the Red Army entered Vilna and soon incorporated it into the Soviet Union. Kovner became active during this time, 1940 to 1941, with the underground. But life changed drastically for Kovner once the Germans invaded. The Germans Invade Vilna On June 24, 1941, two days after Germany launched its surprise attack against the Soviet Union (Operation Barbarossa), the Germans occupied Vilna. As the Germans were sweeping east toward Moscow, they instigated their ruthless oppression and murderous Aktionen in the communities they occupied. Vilna, with a Jewish population of approximately 55,000, was known as the Jerusalem of Lithuania for its flourishing Jewish culture and history. The Nazis soon changed that. As Kovner and 16 other members of the Ha-Shomer ha-Tsair hid in a convent of Dominican nuns a few miles outside of Vilna, the Nazis began to rid Vilna of its Jewish problem. The Killing Begins at Ponary Less than a month after the Germans occupied Vilna, they conducted their first Aktionen. Einsatzkommando 9 rounded up 5,000 Jewish men of Vilna and took them to Ponary (a location approximately six miles from Vilna that had pre-dug large pits, which the Nazis used as a mass extermination area for Jews from the Vilna area). The Nazis made the pretense that the men were to be sent to labor camps when they were really sent to Ponary and shot. The next major Aktion took place from August 31 to September 3. This Aktion was in pretense a retaliation for an attack against the Germans. Kovner, watching through a window, saw a woman dragged by the hair by two soldiers, a woman who was holding something in her arms. One of them directed a beam of light into her face, the other one dragged her by her hair and threw her on the pavement. Then the infant fell out of her arms. One of the two, the one with the flashlight, I believe, took the infant, raised him into the air, grabbed him by the leg. The woman crawled on the earth, took hold of his boot and pleaded for mercy. But the soldier took the boy and hit him with his head against the wall, once, twice, smashed him against the wall.1 Such scenes occurred frequently during this four-day Aktion - ending with 8,000 men and women taken to Ponary and shot. Life did not get better for the Jews of Vilna. From September 3 to 5, immediately following the last Aktion, the remaining Jews were forced into a small area of the city and fenced in. Kovner remembers, And when the troops herded the whole suffering, tortured, weeping mass of people into the narrow streets of the ghetto, into those seven narrow stinking streets, and locked the walls that had been built, behind them, everyone suddenly sighed with relief. They left behind them days of fear and horror; and ahead of them were deprivation, hunger and suffering - but now they felt more secure, less afraid. Almost no one believed that it would be possible to kill off all of them, all those thousands and tens of thousands, the Jews of Vilna, Kovno, Bialystok, and Warsaw - the millions, with their women and children.2 Though they had experienced terror and destruction, the Jews of Vilna were still not ready to believe the truth about Ponary. Even when a survivor of Ponary, a woman named Sonia, came back to Vilna and told of her experiences, no one wanted to believe. Well, a few did. And these few decided to resist. The Call to Resist In December 1941, there were several meetings between the activists in the ghetto. Once the activists had decided to resist, they needed to decide, and agree, on the best way to resist. One of the most urgent problems was whether they should stay in the ghetto, go to Bialystok or Warsaw (some thought there would be a better chance at successful resistance in these ghettos), or move to the forests. Coming to an agreement on this issue was not easy. Kovner, known by his nom de guerre of Uri, offered some of the main arguments for staying in Vilna and fighting. In the end, most decided to stay, but a few decided to leave. These activists wanted to instil a passion for fighting within the ghetto. To do this, the activists wanted to have a mass meeting with many different youth groups in attendance. But the Nazis were always watching, especially noticeable would be a large group. So, in order to disguise their mass meeting, they arranged it on December 31, New Years Eve, a day of many, many social gatherings. Kovner was responsible for writing a call to revolt. In front of the 150 attendees gathered together at 2 Straszuna Street in a public soup kitchen, Kovner read aloud: Jewish youth!Do not trust those who are trying to deceive you. Out of the eighty thousand Jews in the Jerusalem of Lithuania only twenty thousand are left. . . . Ponar [Ponary] is not a concentration camp. They have all been shot there. Hitler plans to destroy all the Jews of Europe, and the Jews of Lithuania have been chosen as the first in line.We will not be led like sheep to the slaughter!True, we are weak and defenseless, but the only reply to the murderer is revolt!Brothers! Better to fall as free fighters than to live by the mercy of the murderers.Arise! Arise with your last breath!3 At first, there was silence. Then the group broke out in spirited song.4 The Creation of the F.P.O. Now that the youth in the ghetto were enthused, the next problem was how to organize the resistance. A meeting was scheduled for three weeks later, January 21, 1942. At the home of Joseph Glazman, representatives from the major youth groups met together: Abba Kovner of Ha-Shomer ha-ZairJoseph Glazman of BetarYitzhak Wittenberg of the CommunistsChyena Borowska of the CommunistsNissan Reznik of Ha-Noar ha-Ziyyoni At this meeting something important happened - these groups agreed to work together. In other ghettos, this was a major stumbling block for many would-be resisters. Yitzhak Arad, in Ghetto in Flames, attributes the parleys by Kovner to the ability to hold a meeting with representatives of the four youth movements.5 It was at this meeting that these representatives decided to form a united fighting group called the Fareinikte Partisaner Organizatzie - F.P.O. (United Partisans Organization). The organization was formed to unite all the groups in the ghetto, prepare for mass armed resistance, perform acts of sabotage, fight with partisans, and try to get other ghettos to also fight. It was agreed at this meeting that the F.P.O. would be lead by a staff command made up of Kovner, Glazman, and Wittenberg with the chief commander being Wittenberg. Later, two more members were added to staff command - Abraham Chwojnik of the Bund and Nissan Reznik of the Ha-Noar ha-Ziyyoni - expanding the leadership to five. Now that they were organized it was time to prepare for the fight. The Preparation Having the idea to fight is one thing, but being prepared to fight is quite another. Shovels and hammers are no match to machine guns. Weapons needed to be found. Weapons were an extremely hard item to attain in the ghetto. Even harder to acquire was ammunition. There were two main sources from which the ghetto inhabitants could obtain guns and ammunition - partisans and the Germans. Neither wanted the Jews to be armed. Slowly collecting by buying or stealing, risking their lives every day for carrying or hiding, the members of the F.P.O. were able to collect a small stash of weapons. They were hidden all over the ghetto - in walls, underground, even under a false bottom of a water bucket. The resistance fighters were preparing to fight during the final liquidation of the Vilna Ghetto. No one knew when that was going to happen - it could be days, weeks, perhaps even months. So every day, the members of the F.P.O. practiced. One knock on a door - then two - then another single knock. That was the F.P.O.s secret password.6  They would take out the hidden weapons and learn how to hold it, how to shoot it, and how not to waste the precious ammunition. Everyone was to fight - no one was to head for the forest until all was lost. Preparation was ongoing. The ghetto had been peaceful - no Aktionen  since December 1941. But then, in July 1943, disaster struck the F.P.O. Resistance! At a meeting with the head of Vilnas Jewish council, Jacob Gens, on the night of July 15, 1943, Wittenberg was arrested. As he was taken out of the meeting, other F.P.O. members were alerted, attacked the policemen, and freed Wittenberg. Wittenberg then went into hiding. By the next morning, it was announced that if Wittenberg were not apprehended, the Germans would liquidate the entire ghetto - consisting of approximately 20,000 people. The ghetto residents were angry and began attacking F.P.O. members with stones. Wittenberg, knowing he was going to sure torture and death, turned himself in. Before he left, he appointed Kovner  as his successor. A month and a half later, the Germans decided to liquidate the ghetto. The F.P.O. tried to persuade the ghetto residents not to go for the deportation because they were being sent to their deaths. Jews! Defend yourselves with arms! The German and Lithuanian hangmen have arrived at the gates of the ghetto. They have come to murder us! . . . But we shall not go! We shall not stretch our necks like sheep for the slaughter! Jews! Defend yourself with arms!7 But the ghetto residents did not believe this, they believed they were being sent to work camps - and in this case, they were right. Most of these transports were being sent to labor camps in Estonia. On September 1, the first clash broke out between the F.P.O. and the Germans. As the F.P.O. fighters shot at the Germans, the Germans blew up their buildings. The Germans retreated at nightfall and let the Jewish police round up the remaining ghetto residents for the transports, at the insistence of Gens. The F.P.O. came to the realization that they would be alone in this fight. The ghetto population was not willing to rise up; instead, they were willing to try their chances at a labor camp rather than certain death in revolt. Thus, the F.P.O. decided to escape to the forests and become partisans. The Forest Since the Germans had the ghetto surrounded, the only way out was through the sewers. Once in the forests, the fighters created a partisan division and performed many acts of sabotage. They destroyed the power and water infrastructures, freed groups of prisoners from the Kalais labor camp, and even blew up some German military trains. I remember the first time I blew up a train. I went out with a small group, with Rachel Markevitch as our guest. It was New Years Eve; we were bringing the Germans a festival gift. The train appeared on the raised railway; a line of large, heavy-laden trucks rolled on toward Vilna. My heart suddenly stopped beating for joy and fear. I pulled the string with all my strength, and in that moment, before the thunder of the explosion echoed through the air, and twenty-one trucks full of troops hurtled down into the abyss, I heard Rachel cry: For Ponar! [Ponary]8 The End of the War Kovner survived to the end of the war. Though he had been instrumental in establishing a resistance group in Vilna and led a partisan group in the forests, Kovner did not stop his activities at the wars end. Kovner was one of the founders of the underground organization to smuggle Jews out of Europe called Beriha. Kovner was caught by the British near the end of 1945 and was jailed for a short time. Upon his release, he joined Kibbutz Ein ha-Horesh in Israel, with his wife, Vitka Kempner, who had also been a fighter in the F.P.O. Kovner kept his fighting spirit and was active in Israels War for Independence. After his fighting days, Kovner wrote two volumes of poetry for which he won the 1970 Israel Prize in Literature. Kovner died at age 69 in September 1987. Notes 1. Abba Kovner as quoted in Martin Gilbert, The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985) 192.2. Abba Kovner, The Mission of the Survivors, The Catastrophe of European Jewry, Ed. Yisrael Gutman (New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1977) 675.3. Proclamation of the F.P.O as quoted in Michael Berenbaum, Witness to the Holocaust (New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1997) 154.4. Abba Kovner, A First Attempt to Tell, The Holocaust as Historical Experience: Essays and a Discussion, Ed. Yehuda Bauer (New York: Holmes Meier Publishers, Inc., 1981) 81-82.5. Yitzhak Arad, Ghetto in Flames: The Struggle and Destruction of the Jews in Vilna in the Holocaust (Jerusalem: Ahva Cooperative Printing Press, 1980) 236.6. Kovner, First Attempt 84.7. F.P.O. Manifesto as quoted in Arad, Ghetto 411-412.8. Kovner, First Attempt 90. Bibliography Arad, Yitzhak. Ghetto in Flames: The Struggle and Destruction of the Jews in Vilna in the Holocaust. Jerusalem: Ahva Cooperative Printing Press, 1980. Berenbaum, Michael, ed. Witness to the Holocaust. New York: HarperCollins Publishers Inc., 1997. Gilbert, Martin. The Holocaust: A History of the Jews of Europe During the Second World War. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985. Gutman, Israel, ed. Encyclopedia of the Holocaust. New York: Macmillan Library Reference U.S.A., 1990. Kovner, Abba. A First Attempt to Tell. The Holocaust as Historical Experience: Essays and a Discussion. Ed. Yehuda Bauer. New York: Holmes Meier Publishers, Inc., 1981. Kovner, Abba. The Mission of the Survivors. The Catastrophe of European Jewry. Ed. Yisrael Gutman. New York: Ktav Publishing House, Inc., 1977.

Why the father and son relationship in the plays Hamlet Oedipus and Essay

Why the father and son relationship in the plays Hamlet Oedipus and the King and Death of a Salesman were important to the tragedy of each play - Essay Example The most important scene in the play is the supernatural confrontation of Hamlet with the ghost of his dead father. It is this scene that erupts a volcano of tragic and deepest feelings and emotions in Hamlet. We are enlightened on the character Hamlet and the relationship he shared with his beloved father. In the conversation that takes place between the father and son, the deep and intense admiration that Hamlet has for his father is clearly exposed, in addition to the differences they encountered between them. These experiences accounted for Hamlets inability to neither act in a decisive manner nor find real or concrete moral truths in his world. In ‘Oedipus and the King’ Oedipus was cursed due to the sin of his father and from birth it was prophesized that he would kill his father and would marry his mother. The Oracle had said – Lord of Thebes, do not sow a furrow of children against the will of the gods; for if you beget a son, that child will kill you, and all your house shall wade through blood." (The Oracle of Delphi to Laius  1. Euripides, Phoenician Women 20).To avoid such a catastrophe Oedipus leaves Corinth never to return again. But unfortunately, Oedipus had accidently killed his father after he confronted him on a narrow road and refused to let him pass, and following the solving of the riddle of the Sphinx was crowned the king of Thebes and unwittingly got married to his mother. In ‘Death of a Salesman’ by Arthur Miller, the author brings out the agony and angst of the middle-class in America who were trapped in a world of illusion. Everyone dreamed of the American Dream and wished to achieve it at any cost. The protagonist of Miller’s story is Willy Loman, a man in his sixties who seemed to be chasing the American Dream. Though he worked hard, he gradually understood that the dream was nothing but an illusion which he had been breathlessly pursuing all along. The

The Strengths, Weaknesses and Uses of the Economic Value Added (EVA) Essay

The Strengths, Weaknesses and Uses of the Economic Value Added (EVA) Mode - Essay Example Economic Value Added (EVA) EVA is a relatively new technique of measuring financial performance of companies. This tool relies on three basic elements which are Net Operating Income adjusted after taxes (NOPAT), the investment amount and the weighted average cost of capital (Hansen & Mowen, 1997). EVA can be calculated as: EVA = After tax operating income – (investment in assets x weighted average cost of capital) The amount calculated under EVA is an absolute dollar amount. The amount calculated can be either have a positive value or can have negative value. The positive value shows that the organization has remained successful in generating more Net Operating Income After Tax (NOPAT), well covering the cost of investments that were employed. On the other hand, negative values shows organization’s failure in recovering the costs of investment as its cost of investments exceeded the Net Operating Income After Tax (NOPAT). Obtaining the positive value of EVA is the core objective of any organization. Strengths of EVA EVA has significant strengths which have increased its popularity tremendously. In the following discussion, more attention will paid on different aspects of EVA. 1. Better Measure EVA has turned out to be a better measure in terms of performance measurement of different stakeholders in organizations. ... In order to achieve personal and individual goals, the broad objectives and goals of organization are put aside courtesy this technique. However, EVA is the technique which measures the performance of financial managers in an absolute dollar amount. This technique explains the absolute value added by the financial managers to their divisions and the organization as a whole. So the financial managers try to increase the EVA in comparison with other financial mangers to exceed the amount of EVA as much as they can, this effort causes benefits to financial managers, their divisions and the overall organization. 2. Absolute Measure of Performance One of the most promising strengths of EVA is that is explains the amount of value added by the financial managers in an absolute dollar amount. Other techniques such ROI measures performance in relative percentage terms which is not a true reflection of the performance of financial managers. The reason behind the failure of relative measures is that they do not take into account the size of amounts on which they are based. There are likelihoods that a financial manager earning too much with a huge amount of investments behind him/her, yet he/she end with lower ROI as compared to that financial manager who is responsible for lower magnitude of amounts. As a result, the true performance cannot be reflected if relative measures are used. On the other hand, EVA exactly explains the specific dollar amount that is added to the organization as a whole. 3. Similar to NPV This technique is very much similar to that of Net Present Value technique. In finance, the NPV technique has the importance of

The Death of the Traveling Salesman Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Death of the Traveling Salesman - Essay Example Sometimes the silence can be deafening; the song of the birds can be maddening. At times I find myself thinking of some other places, meeting other people, living another life. It would be nice to have another friend, just perhaps to have somebody to tell me about other places and things that are far beyond the woods that surround me. But then I thought, it won't be long and Sonny and I will have another one with us, and I quietly smile in anticipation. I brought out mother's old lamp outside to clean it. It was dusty and dull, but if I just give it a scrub, it would show, though not quite as clearly now, the beautiful lamp it once had been. Gently, as if in reverence to my mother's relic, I let the rag touch the lamp. At once, I was lost in reminiscence of all those wonderful times when this lamp shone in the center of our room. The many nights that we spent together sitting around it telling stories and laughing at jokes seemed to flood back to my memory as I began to push with more force into the crevices of the lamp. Ah, how I miss all of them - my family and our life in this very same house. I missed them all, but I could not shake the thought of wishing that someday, I'd be somewhere else. Half-smiling, I meticulously worked on cleaning my lamp while lost in reverie when, suddenly, a crash somewhere down below jolted me back to the present. I looked out and waI looked out and waited, my heart pounding like a thousand drums inside my chest. What could that be It sounded like a giant rock falling down the ravine, but it could have been something else. I remember hearing a whirring sound before the crash, something like a car, but cars never go this way. Was it possible that a car jumped of the ravine Were there people inside Are they hurt I found myself trembling, not just because I worried about people I never even knew, but also because I was excited that someone had wandered this way. I was scared to know what happened to them, while at the same time it scared me not to know anything about them. I was thinking what to do when I heard footsteps coming towards the house. There in front of me was a man, middle-aged and dressed too impeccably for somebody wandering through the woods. Immediately, I thought, this man survived falling down the ravine. "Good afternoon, madam," he said. I just looked at him in shock: I was shocked that somebody got out of the car before it fell, shocked that he was still able to gather his things, shocked at finding him there in front of me. Then there was something else: perhaps, I was too dumbfounded to have someone else here to break the silence for me. He began to talk about his car; he had an accident he was saying. "Sonny ain't here now, but he'll be home soon," I told him, "he can pull your car out of the ravine for you." My husband Sonny could do just about anything; he is my hero. "Are you okay" He didn't seem to hear my question. He was looking at me with glazed eyes, as if he was looking at me but not seeing me. He was detached, as if his mind was wandering perhaps in disbelief at how he had survived the accident. I do not blame him. "I am still sick" he goes on to tell me that he isn't well. Before he could finish, I open the door to let him in, not knowing why I trusted this man to come inside with me. Perhaps I pity him for what happened, perhaps because I was lonely and I wanted some company. Probably because I could see that, despite his

How Apple Incs Strategy Is Affected After Globalization Economics Essay

How Apple Incs Strategy Is Affected After Globalization Economics Essay In this twenty first century, globalisation has an impact in every economy. World of today is considered to be united as a bunch countries with no boundaries. Raw materials from different countries are being processed in another country to manufacture goods products are being marketed in another country. It is the modern concept of the globalisation. A company goes international for so many reasons like, small domestic market, adverse government policy in home country, high demand of the product in foreign market etc. FDI across the globe had a fixed upswing with a sharp growth in the second quarter of 2008. Even it was not affected so much by financial crisis during recession in 2008. FDI is mainly originated from the advanced economy like USA.[ Peter Dicken] In this essay we have chosen famous electronic gadget manufacturer APPLE as our company, which is mainly based in USA, has expanded its production unit in EUROPE and ASIA. It is manly famous for introduction of a new age in mobile phone industry by brining iPHONE MACBOOK in pc section. Recently they have launched iPAD in the market which turn to be a great success. How their strategy has been affected when they go global by the main three factors (1.Technology.2.geography.3.goverment policies ) has been described below. TECHNOLOGY: For a product to become more acceptable by quality, implied technology of production plays an important role. Foreign direct investment prospects can be propelled to a new level if the quality of production can be retained in a cost effective manner. Hence, investment opportunity of a country is significantly influenced by its internal development, technology and growth. These intrinsic developments are always in the lamplight of MNCs and are effectively made use by them. Apple has met its investment prospects in China as this country maintains the unique work quality in assembling the inputs for final production. As a part of corporate global strategy, company has given outsourcing more importance at the same time imparting mandate high control over product integrity. When apple produce iPods in China, it is not produced in a factory owned by Apple. It is been contracted with third party to produce IPods with the specifications Apple provides. Moreover from outsourcing, Apple is sourcing quality products for assemblage from foreign countries and some even from China itself by fragmenting its supply chain very effectively. The standard of factors of production is set to meet the requirements set by Apple Inc. If the company is not successful in monitoring the strategy which is being implemented in a country, it will eventually destroy companys reputation. The subtle implementation of internationalisation strategy is been spawned in such a way that Apple products are leveraged to its maximum utility. For leveraging the products to its maximum levels, sophisticated research and development is being carried out through international investments and intrinsic ground-breaking technologies. Trade theory gives light by how much proportions the various factors of inputs needed at each stage of a production process, together with various inputs at comparative costs, influencing the investment proposal. As technology is one of the important input of production, while framing up an international strategy it has to be dealt well while investing in a foreign country. The comparative cost of the technology brought forth for production is very significant as it contributes to the international pricing strategy. The quality technology which is been generated in China holds cost advantage when it is compared to the same technology implemented in US. Advanced technology is pioneer to production of any innovative products but this technology has to be accessed in a cost effective manner to produce competitively priced product. Skilled labour is another requisite which should be considered in quality production. High cost of labour in United States of America can be a down beating fa ctor in home country which can be eliminated through foreign direct investment. Hence, advantage is been derived in the host country in terms of technology implementation through skilled labour force at low cost. Apple Incs business establishment in China is a subtle example for their tactical part in internationalisation strategy. GEOGRAPHY: The geographical dispersion means that companys activities are not concentrated to a single country rather it is dispersed between different countries. The production in foreign country can be commenced in two ways namely Merges acquisition and Greenfield investment. Greenfield investment means setting up a new plant and physical assets in the foreign country whereas Merges acquisition means merging with a foreign firm or buying existing assets in a foreign country. The cost of geographical dispersion can be of three types which is firm level, plant level and the economies of integration foregone. Almost 54% companys geographical market place is situated in United States. Final assembly of companys product is mainly done in Ireland by external vendors in California, Texas, China, Korea, etc. Manufacturing supply of many critical components is executed by sole sourced third party vendors from Taiwan, Germany, US, Germany, Korea, Netherlands etc. But main assembly part is done in China by sole sourced third party vendors. That means its production input has been divided into sub category situated in different countries. So it is an example of centralized vertical Foreign Direct investment by apple where its headquartering is situated in US. The benefit of geographical dispersion for the company is that, it is able to reduce the cost of primary input as the price for inputs varies in different locations. It also helps the company to lower operating cost and reduces the companys direct control over the production and distribution. This also helps in lowering the trade cost and enables it to capture the markets. For example, the investment decision to manufacture the products from China helps the company to have a better control over the Asian markets. Also the cost incurred in exporting the products from United States to Asian market is much lower when it is from China. The firm also enjoys economies of scale as the cost of production is less due the dispersion and the company is able to employ skilled and cheap labor. In spite of its benefits, its uncertain what negative effects will this have on the company. The diminished operational control may have an effect on the quality of the products or services or its flexibility to respond to changes. This may adversely affect the reputation of the company. Another problem is that, if the manufacturing or providing logistical services in the other country is disturbed for any causes like natural disaster, war, political issues, public health, failure in information technology system, financial crises may materially affect the companys financial condition and operation. GOVERNMENT POLICIES: The vertical foreign direct investment strategy of Apple is advantageously and manifestly framed up by the influence of political environment or trade policies that operate within the country. The supply chain is fragmented and for assemblage, the Apples input commodities are sourced from special enterprise zones of China where much of import duties and taxes are waived. The government trade policy influences the intricate supply chain management and outsourcing of the company. Apple being an American multinational propels a strategy that insulates itself from foreign exchange risks. The price the company has to pay for a specific input item in a specific country is influenced by the exchange rates of currencies at the time. The company exhibits a pattern of a good net receiver of currencies except the American dollar. As the US dollars gains strength, it will negatively affect the Apples net sales and gross margin articulated in American dollars. Financial innovations are spawned by the international financial flows. The financial innovations are greatly influenced by the monetary and fiscal policy of a government. This level of influence determines the stability of economic performance. As US government tends to maintain very low interest rates to support the demand for housing and promoting the revival of building industry, international capital flows are possible. It may result in more capital outflows and a weaker dollar. An immediate effect can be not iced in the US output as a result of more US exports. Thus for Apple, weaker dollar gives more euro earning and allows it to state an elevated profit rate to it stakeholders. [Linden 2008] Many financial innovations are spawned out from the introduction of capital flows. There is an economic significance of international financial instruments like forwards or options when Apple deals with it. July 2008 Company reports stated that the Apple inc was willing to enter into forward and option dealings of foreign currencies. This also included some strategically committed transactions, the investment company possessed in foreign subsidiaries, forecasted future cash flows etc. Evidently, practice of the company was to hedge a large number of its material foreign exchange exposures for some months. [Apple inc, 2008] The progression of this model imparts light into the strategy framed up by Apple in tackling the effect of rising prices too. A developing country like China has remarkable success in controlling the inflation. Apple has a peculiar stake in China where country exhibits success in managing its economy from extreme pressures and creating higher inflation rates. Chinese central bank put forward a straight policy in framing up the exchange rates. Till July 2005, the policy upheld was to fix the rate it levied to exchange Chinese currencies for American dollars. In this context, Apple could assertively forecast the exchange rates weeks in advance. [Apple inc, 2005] Apple endeavours to do outsourcing in the country where there is minimal legal regulations as they can maximise their profits. As the operations are mainly concentrated in China, Apple Company has got relaxation from heavy tax burdens. Vertical specialisation with internalisation keeps the production cost low at the same time company benefits from low trade cost. The company is getting more and more innovative by research and development. Proper caution is taken as the economy breeds the risk of a global financial downturn that could have disastrous effect in their business. At last , after analysing the all the factors that affects companys internationalisation foreign direct investment we can conclude Apple is truly globalised . That means it has stretched its corporate arms in such a way that we can say that for Apple the difference across countries does not matter. They have fragmented their production parts across countries sell its products all most around the world just to take the benefit of the internationalisation globalised concept. Their main strategy is to take advantage from different counties favourable condition that helps their business to gain more revenue using economics of scale. As we have discussed the main reason of their expansion of business in China are cheap labour costs, higher productivity of Chinese labour output huge demand of Asian market. They also want to take benefit from the exchange rate investment friendly government policy. It is proved from their establishment of unit in China Ireland. Their well organized gl obalised business strategy has helped them to spread their products world wide almost in every country, which is much more appreciated from the point of view of internationalisation of a company. In every of their business strategy the concept of true globalised company can be visualised.[ Peter Dicken]

Black Hawk Down - Summary of the book as written by Mark Bowden :: American America History

Black Hawk Down - Summary of the book as written by Mark Bowden It was mid-afternoon on October 3, 1993. There were approximately 160 men eagerly awaiting the signal to proceed. Matt Eversmann sat waiting in Super Six Seven, a Black Hawk helicopter. He noticed that things were being done differently from the other setups, which had been false. This time they were packing more ammo and the commander had come out to see them off. The troops were being sent in because warlords were allowing their people to starve to death. The world had sent food, and the warlords hoarded it. The world had decided to stop this. Today's mission was to invade the Habr Gidr clan that was in Mogadishu Somalia. The clan was led by Mohamed Farrah Aidid, but that day's targets were two of his lieutenants. They were to be arrested and imprisoned with other clan members that had already been captured. At 3:32 P.M. the armada launched. They flew from the coastal airport into the city of Mogadishu. Above the city the men could see the destructions the city had experienced during civil war. Many buildings were demolished and the streets were crumbling. The Black Hawks were down low over the city, and the Little Birds were closing in on the target. Tires burning on the street near the target set alarm. It was a way Somalis signaled trouble and summoned militia. When the Little Birds came down people and cars began to scatter. Some people were gesturing eagerly. The Black Hawks would move in next. People began poring into the streets with weapons. Others were building barricades or lighting fires. The Rangers captured the two targets along with 22 other Somali men on the first floor of the target house. When the Rangers entered the second floor, shots started coming through a window. Rangers on the ground were shooting at their own men. The young Rangers were poorly trained and dangerous. In the streets fire was rapidly exchanging. The Somali men took advantage of the Americans decency and hid behind women and children. The Somalis moved in groups. The Rangers could not single out the ones with weapons. Things had gone pretty well. It was 3:50 P.M. The force would be one their way in ten minutes. The Humvees and trucks waited outside the main gates for the D-boys to wrap up. About this time