Native Americans And The United States - 1443 Words

Many people think that the African-Americans are the most oppressed group of people ever in the United States. That may be true based on the quality of oppression, but not the length of this type of treatment. The Native Americans have been the most oppressed group of people ever in the United States, and even in the colonies that preceded the US. From the early 16th century until even today, the Native Americans were and are being oppressed in this country. The cause was because of colonization. The Europeans colonization of what is now America led the Natives to despair and destruction. Before Christopher Columbus came to the Americas unintentionally and started to colonize, there was a â€Å"belief that the Americas in 1491 were an almost†¦show more content†¦Through the Europeans’ diseases, increased welfare, and introduction of new technologies, the old life that the Natives had known was all but gone (American History). The Europeans had different views on how to deal with the Natives. Significant European contact with the Natives didn’t start until the 17th Century. It would start when some Europeans would go dry fish on the shores; a small fur trade began with the Natives that were local to the area. This was the beginning of the French-Indian fur trade that helped the two nations become allies for a long time. The way this trade worked was fueled by the French desire for beaver fur. They heavily relied on the Native Americans to hunt and trap beavers in order to fulfill this desire. In return, the Natives received many European goods, including firearms, which would put fear into the enemies (American History). All in all, this was one of the greatest European-Native American relationships to ever arise, as many colonist groups would degrade them and fight them. The English were the only other group to somewhat match the peace with the Natives. This was because they depended on them for food, trade, and technology. The English w ould not last very long, as the English settlement patterns were destructive to the Natives. The English desire for land ripped this relationship apart, and would eventually lead to war. The Pequot tribe, for example, were hit hard by European

Feasibility Study for Bookstore business free essay sample

Customer driven strategic thinking and planning †¢ Mission statement †¢ Target markets and customers †¢ Partnerships †¢ Teams, kaizen, communication and training †¢ Background The GSM Group supplies metal and plastic components mainly to the automotive and electronics industries worldwide, and has ca. 200 employees on 3 sites in the UK: †¢ GSM Graphic Arts in Thirsk †¢ GSM Valtech Industries in Wetherby †¢ GSM Primographic in Brecon Thirsk produces labels and front panels for the electronics and other industries, Brecon produces large volume metal labels and Wetherby produces sheet metal kits for the electronics industry. The owner manager, Barry Dodd, is quoted as saying, â€Å"We are engineers who print†. The company started in 1976 at the Thirsk site and has grown from its roots by a series of well-planned acquisitions and a strategy of continuous improvement in all aspects of its business. †¢ Strategic Thinking Barry, the three site general managers and two project managers form the strategy team. Barry says, â€Å"There is a time in a company’s development when vital decisions have to be made, and if you don’t make these decisions, things start to drift away, and thereafter it doesn’t matter what decisions you make, you’ve lost†. He believes having clear goals and objectives is paramount. The GSM Group’s mission statement is: †¢ GSM Group is committed to supplying metal plastic components to all industries, realistically priced, with zero defects, delivered when required and produced pro? tability. †¢ Our customers come ? rst. GSM will always be helpful, friendly, responsive and pleasant to deal with. †¢ Using the latest manufacturing techniques and quality systems, GSM will maintain its leading position in UK industry. †¢ Our team is dedicated to becoming the number one manufacturer in Europe by being more innovative, more cost effective and consistently more reliable than any of our competitors. †¢ By caring for all its team members, protecting the environment and being active in the community, GSM will be regarded as a good neighbour and a ? ne place to work. From to Quality Excellence www. dti. gov. uk/quality/casestudies page 1 of 3 GSM holds regular strategy reviews, recently spending a whole day discussing how they saw the automotive industry in two years time. Strategic initiatives are then taken forward by setting up a project team containing three to ? ve people, usually including Barry. Progress on these initiatives is fed into the general managers’ meeting, held every two months. †¢ Target Markets and Customers The strategy at GSM has focused on 2 growth industries that it wishes to be in electronics and automotive. It has plotted where it wants to be in both of these, and how it intends to get there: †¢ In automotive, GSM targeted Ford, already having contacts with General Motors and Nissan. †¢ In electronics, GSM intended to be a â€Å"one-stop shop† in badging, labelling, fascias, chassis, etc. offering a bespoke service to the industry, with customers such as Zero 88, Advance International Group and Wayne-Kerr Electronics. The strategy is customer-driven, concentrating on what the customer wants now, and what they are going to want in ? ve years time. To ? nd out their future requirements, GSM is close to its customer, with its designers talking to the customers’ designers. In the automotive industry, the key is for a supplier to be involved at the design stage of the car platform. Barry went to Detroit to ask Ford what their needs were from suppliers for the next ten years, listened carefully to their response, then got all management team together to devise their strategic objectives. One of these was that GSM needed an international liaison with a reputable raw material supplier, and 3M was chosen. The strategic plan involved raising GSM’s pro? le in the eyes of 3M, and this was achieved by becoming involved in several outside organisations including local business support bodies, trade and professional institutions and central government. When GSM ? nally did approach 3M, the two company’s business plans were very similar! The whole process, from visiting Ford in Detroit to becoming a 3M â€Å"supported converter† took three years, and GSM was only one of six UK ? rms to achieve this. It means GSM undertakes vital product testing and is involved in delivering 3M’s products to the automotive market. An additional bene? t from this strategy is that GSM now has access to the automotive industry and to 3M’s technology at least 6 months before GSM’s competition, and is supported by 3M in dealings with customers. The result is a win-win partnership relationship, with bene? ts for GSM, 3M and the customers in the automotive industry. For the electronics market, customers were saying they wanted one supplier for all non-electronic parts of their products. GSM is now making everything that had originally been made by different suppliers, and has achieved its strategic objective of being the â€Å"one-stop shop† for this target sector. Continuing on down the supply chain, GSM has made great efforts to keep the number of its suppliers to a minimum, searching for single source arrangements where possible. Within these relationships, GSM expects prices to come down as raw material prices ease, but also accepts the reverse situation. Suppliers supply within 48 hours or they cease to be suppliers, and GSM guarantees to pay on the same day each month. From to Quality Excellence www. dti. gov. uk/quality/casestudies page 2 of 3 †¢ Teams and Communication The 3 sites are each run by a general manager, each having a large degree of freedom. The sites can, and do, sell to each other, but can buy outside the group if it is more effective. Every employee, including Barry, has a contract saying they are employed as a team member. There is much emphasis on teamwork, with each site split into ca. 6 teams, the overriding consideration when choosing the team leaders being that they must be good communicators – GSM provides all team leaders with training in communication. GSM spends 1. 4% of its revenue on training, and all training is linked to the business plan, with everyone having a personal development plan that is reviewed every three months. Each team operates as a mini-business and is in charge of its own day-to-day activities. This self-containment requires a good company communication system. It comprises the site managers and team leaders having a ten minute meeting each morning, with a ? xed agenda prepared beforehand, including what the site produced the previous day, what it must produce that day, customers pulling jobs forward, scheduled visitors, equipment problems, etc. The team leaders then brief their team for ? ve to six minutes, so by six minutes past eight every morning, everyone on the site knows what is happening. †¢ Kaizen – Continuous Improvement Kaizen is very, very active throughout GSM – 4000 suggestions for improvements have been made over the last 4 years at the Thirsk site alone, and these are the ones that have been carried out! It concentrates on time, rather than money, with the emphasis on people identifying frustrating and time wasting aspects of their job, and suggesting ways to eliminate or improve those practices. Almost everyone is involved, with Kaizen forms on all notice boards, and all suggestions receiving a response within a week – if it’s decided not to proceed, the reasons why are explained, and if it is to be progressed, a timescale and cost estimate on its implementation is determined. One example of a Kaizen resulted in the elimination of the wrapping process at GSM, the time consuming unwrapping process at the customer and the cost of wrapping. The Kaizen committee deals with incremental process improvements, and in 1999 a continuous improvement team leader was appointed at the Thirsk site, with training provided. This role deals with site-wide issues and has responsibility to collate ideas, get agreement on the initiatives to pursue and research their feasibility. †¢ Planning, Policy and the Future A written targeted business plan is produced annually for the next twelve months, plus a set of two year targets exists, and a â€Å"wish list† of where GSM wants to be in ? ve years time. The business plan is continually audited – GSM looks at what it has achieved, why something hasn’t been achieved and what changes are needed. At a recent meeting, Barry gave an overview of the products/markets the company wants to be in, then current customers and competitors were considered, plus a way for GSM to benchmark itself. Internal issues, such as GSM’s selling proposition, service levels, equipment needs, media presence and marketing and sales status were also covered. Team leaders’ conferences are held every six months to go through their objectives and ideas. Decision-making is not democratic, but the process ensures everyone is listened to, and that the decision taken is in the best interests of the customer.

The Importance of Childrens Summer Camps and Programs free essay sample

A paper which discusses the importance of organized summer camps and programs in youth development. This paper presents to the reader the importance of organized summer camps and programs in youth development. A special emphasis throughout the paper is placed on the influence of recreation on child development and personal growth. By defining the effect of the summer camp experience and presenting relevant statistics from reputable opinion leaders, this paper reveals that summer camp programs play a significant role in the youth development. There are three key development areas discussed in this paper, which include social skills, self-identity and physical/ health. Camps offer the opportunity for attendees to gain a wide exposure to different people in different walks of life. Campers come from diverse socio-economic classes, different backgrounds and different family structures. Therefore, the development of compassion and empathy for fellow human beings is a core social development area. Camps offer children opportunities to share stories around a campfire, to contribute their thoughts, ideas and suggestions. We will write a custom essay sample on The Importance of Childrens Summer Camps and Programs or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As children acknowledge the thoughts and feelings of other children, it is natural to develop compassion for each other. Learning to be understanding, to be civil and accepting of other individuals will aid campers in social situations as they grow older and particularly as they become adults.

ghost story Essay Example

ghost story Essay Example ghost story Paper ghost story Paper Essay Topic: Amy Tan Short Stories Blankets ghost story BY sahi12112 Sign In Sell Your Art Top of Form Bottom of Form etchagirl Portfolio Wake Up Call (a ghost story in about 500 words) Wake Up Call (a ghost story in about 500 words) The lake closed over her nose and mouth as Sara sucked in a lung-full of cold, black water. On her next breath, she opened her eyes and saw the red LCD shining: 12:02 AM. Again. Three nights in a row, same dream, same time. Sweat dripped from her hair and drenched her nightgown. Sara stumbled to the bathroom, turning on all of the lights to shake off the aura of the dream that still clung to her. Steam from the shower filled the bathroom and Sara breathed it in deeply. She could still smell the dankness of her dream. She dropped her head and closed her eyes. They snapped back open as a hissing vortex suddenly sucked all of the steam into the drain at her feet. In the same instant, a fish-dead hand slid across her shoulder. She screamed and threw her body against the shower wall, turning the showerhead to the left. The water scalded her neck, shoulder and hand as she battled to stop the flow. Adrenaline, pain and fear drove her stiffly from the shower. : The room was bright. Normal. Her body shook convulsively and she reached for a towel to warm herself. The towel brushed her badly burned shoulder and she hissed in pain. It sobered her and she headed to the kitchen where she kept the emergency burn salve. In the kitchen, the salve was already laid out, with fresh gauze, waiting for her. Normal went away again. The old woman spoke warmly, Here, let me get that for you. It was my fault so sorry but it IS awfully difficult to get your attention! Sara was frozen in shock. The woman placed a cup in her hand. Here drink this. Coffee. You need it. Sara sipped wordlessly, numb to the un-reality. l cant stay long, said the old woman. Manifestation takes sooo much energy. Easier to show up in a dream, but you kept drowning on me! She let out a little chortle. Shock and disbelief turned to annoyance and the very-real pain in her shoulder made her angry. Well, youVe got my attention now what do you WANT? Its not what I want, but what you want, my dear. l want you to go leave me alone. Thats one option. YouVe been given a choice. You are due to die. The old woman let it sink in. Im here to prove that we do go on, after we die. Thats supposed to be reassuring? The hair on Saras arms stood up. For many people it is. Your choice is this: tell people what youVe experienced here tonight give them hope, or die at 12:02 tomorrow. As the last word left her lips, the woman started to fade. Its up to you, dear.. . For the first time in days, Sara felt calm. She placed a terry-cloth robe gingerly on her freshly-bandaged shoulder, took a sip of coffee and dialed the phone. Next Previous Skip to content. EServer ? » Tlctlon nome ? » snort Hctlon ? » Fiction Search Sections Home Contact Us Journals News Novels Short Fiction SiteMap Web Links Navigation Biographies Criticism The Innocence of Father Brown Un Mudo en la Garganta Rex Stout: Short Stories Short Fiction of Ovidiu Bufnila Short Stories of Charles Chesnutt A Ghost Story A GHOST STORY by MARK TWAIN A Gnost story From Sketches New and Old, Copyright 1903, Samuel Clemens. This text is placed in the Public Domain (May 1993). I TOOK a large room, far up Broadway, in a huge old building whose upper stories had been wholly unoccupied for years, until I came. The place had long been given up to dust and cobwebs, to solitude and silence. I seemed groping among the tombs and invading the privacy of the dead, that first night I climbed up to my quarters. For the first time in my life a superstitious dread came over me; and as I turned a dark angle 0T tne stalrway ana an InvlslDle cooweD swung Its slazy WOOT In my race ana clung there, I shuddered as one who had encountered a phantom. I was glad enough when I reached my room and locked out the mould and the darkness. A cheery fire was burning in the grate, and I sat down before it with a comforting sense of relief. For two hours I sat there, thinking of bygone times; recalling old scenes, and summoning half-forgotten faces out of the mists of the past; listening, in fancy, to oices that long ago grew silent for all time, and to once familiar songs that nobody sings now. And as my reverie softened down to a sadder and sadder pathos, the shrieking of the winds outside softened to a wail, the angry beating of the rain against the panes diminished to a tranquil patter, and one by one the noises in the street subsided, until the hurrying foot- steps of the last belated straggler died away in the distance and left no sound behind. The fire had burned low. A sense of loneliness crept over me. I arose and undressed, moving on tiptoe about the room, oing stealthily what I had to do, as if I were environed by sleeping enemies whose slumbers it would be fatal to break. I covered up in bed, and lay listening to the rain and wind and the faint creaking of distant shutters, till they lulled me to sleep. I slept profoundly, but how long I do not know. All at once I found myself awake, and filled with a shuddering expectancy. All was still. All but my own heart I could hear it beat. Presently the bed- clothes began to slip away slowly toward the foot of the bed, as if some one were pulling them! I could not stir; I could not speak. Still the blankets lipped deliberately away, till my breast was un- covered. Then with a great effort I seized them and drew them over my head. I waited, listened, waited. Once more that steady pull began, and once more I lay torpid a century of dragging seconds till my breast was naked again. At last I roused my ener- gies and snatched the covers back to their place and held them with a strong grip. I waited. By and by I felt a faint tug, and took a fresh grip. The tug strengthened to a steady strain it grew stronger and stronger. My hold parted, and for the third time the blankets slid away. I groaned. An answering groan came from the foot of the bed! Beaded drops of sweat stood upon my forehead. I was more dead than alive. Presently I heard a heavy footstep in my room the step of an ele- phant, it seemed to me it was not like anything human. But it was moving FROM me there was relief in that. I heard it approach the door pass out without moving bolt or lock and wander away among the dismal corridors, straining the floors and Joists till they creaked again as it passed and then silence reigned once more. When my excitement had calmed, I said to my- self, This is a dream simply a hideous dream. And so I lay thinking it over until I convinced yself that it WAS a dream, and then a comforting laugh relaxed my lips and I was happy again. I got up and struck a light; and when I found that the locks and bolts were Just as I had left them, another soothing laugh welled in my heart and rip- pled from my lips. I took my pipe and lit it, and was Just sitting down before the fire, when down went the pipe out of my nerveless fingers, the blood forsook my cheeks, and my placid breathing was cut short with a gasp! In the ashes on the hearth, side by side with my own bare footprint, was another, so vast that in comparison mine was but an infants! Then I had HAD a visitor, and the elephant tread was explained. I put out the light and returned to bed, palsied with fear. I lay a long time, peering into the dark- ness, and listening. Then I heard a grating noise overhead, like the dragging of a neavy Doay across tne moor; tnen tne tnrowlng clown 0T tneD y ana tne snaKlng of my windows in response to the con- cussion. In distant parts of the building I heard the muffled slamming of doors. I heard, at inter- vals, stealthy footsteps creeping in and out among the corridors, and up and down the stairs. Some- times these noises approached my door, hesitated, and went away again. I heard the clanking of chains faintly, in remote passages, and listened while the clanking grew nearer while it wearily climbed the stairways, marking each move by the loose surplus of chain that fell with an accented rattle upon each succeeding step as the goblin that bore it ad- vanced. I heard muttered sentences; half-uttered screams that seemed smothered violently; and the swish of invisible garments, the rush of invisible wings. Then I became conscious that my chamber was invaded that I was not alone. I heard sighs and breathings about my bed, and mysterious whis- perings. Three little spheres of soft phosphorescent light appeared on the ceiling directly over my head, clung and glowed there a moment, and then dropped two of them upon my face and one upon the pillow. They spattered, liquidly, and felt warm. Intuition told me they had turned to gouts of blood as they fell I needed no light to satisfy myself of that. Then I saw pallid faces, dimly luminous, and white uplifted hands, floating bodiless in the air floating a moment and then disappearing. The whispering ceased, and the voices and the sounds, and a solemn stillness followed. I waited and listened. I felt that I must have light or die. I was weak with fear. I slowly raised myself toward a sitting posture, and my face came in contact with a clammy hand! All strength went from me ap- parently, and I fell back like a stricken invalid. Then I heard the rustle of a garment it seemed to pass to the door and go out. When everything was still once more, I crept out of bed, sick and feeble, and lit the gas with a hand that trembled as if it were aged with a hundred years. The light brought some little cheer to my spirits. I sat down and fell into a dreamy contem- plation of that great footprint in the ashes. By and by its outlines began to waver and grow dim. I glanced up and the broad gas flame was slowly wilt- ing away. In the same moment I heard that ele- phantine tread again. I noted its approach, nearer and nearer, along the musty halls, and dimmer and dimmer the light waned. The tread reached my very door and paused the light had dwindled to a sickly blue, and all things about me lay in a spectral twilight. The door did not open, and yet I felt a faint gust of air fan my cheek, and presently was conscious of a huge, cloudy presence before me. I watched it with fascinated eyes. A pale glow stole over the Thing; gradually its cloudy folds took shape an arm appeared, then legs, then a body, and last a great sad face looked out of the vapor. Stripped of its filmy housings, naked, muscular and comely, the majestic Cardiff Giant loomed above me! All my misery vanished for a child might know that no harm could come with that benignant countenance. My cheerful spirits returned at once, and in sympathy with them the gas flamed up brightly again. Never a lonely outcast was so glad to welcome company as I was to greet the friendly giant. I said: Why, is it nobody but you? Do you know, I have been scared to death for the last two or three hours? I am most honestly glad to see you. I wish I had a chair Here, here, dont try to sit down in that thing! But it was too late. He was in it before I could stop him, and down he went I never saw a chair shivered so in my life. Stop, stop, Youll ruin ev loo late agaln. I nere was anotner crasn, ana anotner cnalr was resolved Into Its original elements. Confound it, havent you got any Judgment at all? Do you want to ruin all the furniture on the place? Here, here, you petrified fool But it was no use. Before I could arrest him he had sat down on the bed, and it was a melancholy ruin. Now what sort of a way is that to do? First you come lumbering about the place bringing a legion of vagabond goblins along with you to worry me to death, and then when I overlook an indelicacy of costume which would not be tolerated anywhere by cultivated people except in a respectable theater, and not even there if the nudity were of YOUR sex, you repay me by wrecking all the furniture you can find to sit down on. And why will you? You damage yourself as much as you do me. You have broken off the end of your spinal column, and lit- tered up the floor with chips of your hams till the place looks like a marble yard. You ought to be ashamed of yourself you are big enough to know better. Well, I will not break any more furniture. But what am I to do? I have not had a chance to sit down for a century. And the tears came into his eyes. Poor devil, I said, l should not have been so harsh with you. And you are an orphan, too, no doubt. But sit down on the floor here nothing else can stand your weight and besides, we cannot be sociable with you away up there above me; I want you down where I can perch on this high counting-house stool and gossip with you face to face. So he sat down on the floor, and lit a pipe which I gave him, threw ne of my red blankets over his shoulders, inverted my sitz-bath on his head, helmet fashion, and made himself picturesque and comfort- able. Then he crossed his ankles, while I renewed the fire, and exposed the flat, honey-combed bot- toms of his prodigious feet to the grateful warmth. What is the matter with the bottom of your feet and the back of your legs, that they are gouged up so? Infernal chillblains I caught them clear up to the back of my head, roosting out there under Newells farm. But I love the place; I love it as one loves his old home. There is no peace for me like the peace I feel when I am there. We talked along for half an hour, and then I noticed that he looked tire d, and spoke of it. Tired? he said. Well, I should think so. And now I will tell you all about it, since you have treated me so well. I am the spirit of the Petrified Man that lies across the street there in the Museum. I am the ghost of the Cardiff Giant. I can have no rest, no peace, till they have given that poor body burial again. Now what was the most natural thing for me to do, to make men satisfy this wish? Terrify them into it! haunt the place where the body lay! So I haunted the museum night after night. I even got other spirits to help me. But it did no good, for nobody ever came to the museum at midnight. Then it occurred to me to come over the way and haunt this place a little. I felt that if I ever got a hearing I must succeed, for I had the most efficient company that perdition could furnish. Night after night we have shivered around through these mildewed halls, dragging chains, groaning, whispering, tramping up and down stairs, till, to tell you the truth, I am almost worn out. But when I saw a light in your room to-night I roused my energies again and went at it with a deal of the old freshness. But I am tired out entirely fagged out. Give me, I beseech you, give me some hope! I lit off my perch in a burst of excitement, and exclaimed: This transcends everything everything that ever did occur! Why you poor blundering old fossil, you have had all your trouble for nothing you have been nauntlng a IER CASI 0T your- selT tne real car01TT Glant Is In AIDany! 1 Footnote by Twain: A fact. The original fraud was ingeniously and fraudfully duplicated, and exhibited in New York as the only genuine Cardiff Giant (to the unspeakable disgust of the owners of the re al colossus) at the very same time that the latter was drawing rowds at a museum in Albany. Confound it, dont you know your own remains? I never saw such an eloquent look of shame, of pitiable humiliation, overspread a countenance before. The Petrified Man rose slowly to his feet, and said: Honestly, IS that true? As true as I am sitting here. He took the pipe from his mouth and laid it on the mantel, then stood irresolute a moment (uncon sciously, from old habit, thrusting his hands where his pantaloons pockets should have been, and medi- tatively dropping his chin on his breast), and finally said: Well I NEVER felt so absurd before. The Petrified Man has sold verybody else, and now the mean fraud has ended by selling its own ghost! My son, if there is any charity left in your heart for a poor friendless phantom like me, dont let this get out. Think how YOU would feel if you had made such an ass of yourself. I heard his, stately tramp die away, step by step down the stairs and out into the deserted street, and felt sorry that he was gone, poor fellow and sorrier still that he had carried off my red blanket and my bath tub. END. Personal tools You are not logged in Join our Editors Log in Copyright 1994-2013 by the EServer. All rights reserved.

Evaluate the importance of women disciples in Mark Essay

Evaluate the importance of women disciples in Mark - Essay Example In the Gospel of Mark, women are presented as the ones who faithfully remained with Jesus Christ during His passion till His death3. In the Gospel of Mark we read the following â€Å"There were also women working on a far off; among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less, and of Joses, and Salome; Who also, when he was I Galilee, followed him, and ministered unto him; and many other women who came up with him unto Jerusalem’’4 . In the Gospel of Mark therefore, women disciples are contrasted with the male disciples who ran away during the passion of Jesus Christ. Even Simon peter, who had early promised Jesus Christ that he would never abandon him, eventually abandoned Jesus Christ. Women therefore are presented in the Gospel of Mark as faithful disciples, who are ready to endure all manner of sufferings for the sake of their faith. Again, as we have seen in the above quotation, the women who remained faithfully with Jesus Christ during his passion had been with Jesus Christ, throughout his ministry, ministering to him. This fact shows that women disciples were quite important in the ministry of Jesus Christ. Besides enduring sufferings and remaining faithfully with Jesus Christ during his passion, women disciples also discovered, as it were, Jesus’ suffering messiahship before the male disciple. On this view, the feminist Bible scholar Elisabeth Fiorenza in her book, A Feminine Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins, states that it was a woman who recognized Jesus’ suffering messiahship, and in a prophetic sign-action, the woman anointed Jesus for his burial, while some of the male disciples of Jesus Christ reprimanded her5. The women disciples in the book of Mark, therefore, are presented as having a clear knowledge of the mission of Jesus Christ as a suffering Messiah. In the Gospel of Mark, in the healing miracles of Jesus Christ, women are portrayed as a model of Jesus Christ’s

The History of Racism in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The History of Racism in Australia - Essay Example In the Australian learning environment, the issue of racial discrimination has affected the way aboriginal students are treated. As a teacher, I feel the war against racial discrimination in Australia should begin in the education sector. The PDHPE teachers should be committed to implementing the various efforts that have been put forward to eliminate racial discrimination in this country. I feel that creating a fair learning environment that empowers the aboriginal students and establishes equity in activities such as sports will work well in the war against racial discrimination. Â  In Australia, the sports sector has been dominated a by a great manifestation of racial discrimination. Shannon (2013) points out that if the sport was a litmus test for racism the results would be pretty damning. The idea of Shannon is that Australian sports sector has shown the highest level of racial discrimination. This racial xenophobia in sports is a factor that has a long history in Australia and still persists today. One of the ways that racial discrimination is dominated is through the absence of aboriginal players within the existing sports teams. For instance, the first Aborigine to play cricket in Australia was seen as a great asset to the society. Shiney was the first person to play Cricket in 1835 in Australia and he became a historical icon. When he died, his head was kept in a museum to signify the rarity of such an aborigine icon. Between the year 1850 and 1987, after the death of Shiney, only 10 Aborigines has made it into the cricket teams in the country. The s tatistical coverage of the involvement of Aborigines in the Australian sports environment shows that racial discrimination in the sports sector was severe and affected the aborigines negatively. Â  Secondly, there were many stereotypical references to the Aborigines who enrolled in the sports teams.

Google Case Study Essay Example for Free

Google Case Study Essay Google was founded in 1999 and has been around in your everyday life ever since. Ranging from search engines to books to email, Google is somehow incorporated in your lives everyday. Originally beginning with their focus on search engines and algorithms, Google has since widened their availability of products. In 1999, when Google first came about, the company’s mission was: Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. 15 years later, this is still the mission of the company. According to the article, it will take upwards of 300 years to obtain and organize all of the world’s information. That being said, it is safe to say Google has a long way to go but are they headed in the right direction? Google, just like any other company has goals and objectives. Some of their goals include: Growth Develop and maintain the â€Å"perfect† search engine Provide innovative products early and often To organize information and make the web faster and better for everyone (These will be discussed in strategies and throughout the case analysis) Strategies Google is no different from Burger King or from LA Fitness. All companies share a same goal, regardless of the industry they are in: market share and growth. Google’s main goal is to continuously grow and dominate the market/industry and be a leader for years to come. Upon entering the market in 1999, Yahoo and AOL were some of leaders in the industry. Google immediately changed that by becoming working at becoming a player in the industry. As of 2009, Google had 65.6% share of all US searches and 90% of all international searches. Meanwhile, the closest rival (yahoo) had only  17.5%. Since the very beginning, Google came about to change search engines everywhere. They wanted to offer a faster search engine that provided more relevant results, incorporating history of search, keyword frequency, and important pages. Thus began the creation of paid listings. At the very beginning, paid listings were advertisements all around the page: top, bottom and in the margins. Additionally, cost per click (CPC) came about as well. Advertisers began to pay for clicked links by consumers to compete for position on search results pages. The higher their link was on the results page, the more likely it would be clicked. Google changed this aspect into a cost per impression, meaning if the ad is viewed and nothing clicked, then the client is still charged a fee. Google also developed a CPC rate based on actual clicks to expected clicks forecasted by Google themselves. In 2003, Google began advertising editorial content along with blogs, something that had not been done by any competitor yet. AOL ended up giving Google the rights to advertise on their website costing Google $1 billion and giving AOL $330 million advertising credit. Over the years Google has encountered many rivals and competitors ranging from Yahoo and Bing to Ebay and Amazon. These rivals came about due to the innovative products created at Google. Google purchased companies such as YouTube, DoubleClick and Channel Intelligence while coming up with products such as cloud applications, Google Docs, Gmail, Google Finance and so much more. Google was leaving their main focus of search engines and dabbled into other categories in the industry. To some, this could be seen as dangerous and deadly to the company itself. Not for Google, anything they touched turned into gold. Google Docs immediately challenged Microsoft Office while Gmail challenged any and all free email websites. Google has also come out with tablets and mobile phones of late, allowing them to compete in yet another industry. Some might ask what is so appealing about all of their products? In my personal experience, I would say the ease of use is what appeals to me. Anytime I have used a product of Google, it is so easy to use and has lots of capabilities. Some might see this ease of use as a competitive advantage. When it all comes down to it, developing the â€Å"perfect† search engine is their main focus. Google has a philosophy that says, â€Å"Do one thing really, really well.† That is why the main focus of the company is developing the perfect search engine and organizing the world’s information.  Through paid as well as free listings, Google has developed a faster and more accurate way to sort search results. This will continue to be their focus in the future and Google hopes to master the art of the search engine. Google Culture and Values During its existence, Google has proven to be loyal to a certain set of values, principles and culture. In my opinion, this can be swayed as part of their business strategy as well. As part of there culture, they make these three things consistently known: 1. â€Å"Don’t be evil† – Do not compromise the integrity of search, effective advertising without being flashy, and do not allow ads on webpages that have no relevance. At Google they have a firm set of beliefs and this is an important one. Google makes sure to do things the right way and follow their moral and ethic code. They do not take advantage of publishers, clients or the customers. Google is here to provide a service as well as products and they do so in an honest way. 2. â€Å"Technology Matters† – Technology rules everything. Developing a faster and more accurate search query could only be done so through new and advancing technology. Google developed custom hardware to decrease costs a nd improve speed. 3. â€Å"We make our own rules† – The founders at Google ran the company in a different and unconventional way. They were very secretive to outsiders, only unveiling things that they were required to and nothing more. This leads into their unconventional governance structure as well. Governance at Google was an interesting situation when it came to the IPO. They decided to offer dual class equity, giving 10 votes per share of Class B and Class A receives 1 vote per share. Assuming that majority of people will sell their shares anyways; that left the CEO Schmidt and the founders, Brin and Page, with 80% control of the vote. This allowed them to control the strategy and direction of the company. They made it very well known the direction the company was headed in and that anyone who invests is not only investing in Google, but the idea and direction that Brin, Page and Schmidt want to go in. 4. â€Å"Do one thing really, really well† – This is basically a quote that Google has and will always live by. When Google first came about, the main focus of the company was providing a better search engine than what already existed. Google created algorithms that allowed for  quicker and more relevant search results. Between these algorithms and the deals Google scored with companies, they quickly jumped into majority market share. To this day, Google still acquires companies and has deals with clients to continuously improve search quality on and day-to-day basis. Do not expect this to ever change. There are other points that Google lives by but these four are the most important and outline their every decision, their every move. Situation Analysis SWOT Strengths 1. Brand Recognition – Everyone knows and has heard of Google. People have begun to use the company’s name as not only a proper noun but also a verb, â€Å"Googled it or Googling it†. To be so popular not just in the form of a search engine, but with all the products offered, that is a huge strength. Reputation is everything. 2. Acquisitions – â€Å"If you can’t beat them, join them†. That is a popular quote heard from time to time. Google has dominated the market since entry in 1999 and lots of companies have fallen to this quote. Google acquires competitors (current and possible future) from time to time, such as YouTube, DoubleClick and Channel Intelligence. This increases their reach towards possible new target markets, increasing revenue and profit. Most importantly, it increases market share. As a company absorbs competition, one would assume their market share becomes absorbed as well. 3. Algorithms – Google created an algorithm to link pages together that deserved attention. This allowed for faster and more relevant search results leading to Google becoming a true threat to competitors. Irrelevant results always swamped and spammed customers. Google found a way to trim this down and it also became a competitive advantage. 4. Free Services – Google offered free software to optimize advertising campaigns. Google Analytics allows companies to focus spending on specific keywords that are more popular so they are more likely to lead to sales. Weaknesses 1. Variety of products – I very well could have considered this one of their strengths as well. I firmly believe when Google came about, their main focus was to improve the quality of the search engine. Since then, Google has developed a wide variety of products ranging from books, email and videos all the way to mobile phones, operating software and Google docs. Offering a myriad of products and services can cause a company to lose their main focus. 2. Legal issues – Google seems to not be bothered by their legal issues. From copyright infringement (books) to searches by trademarks, Google has faced legal issues throughout their existence. There was a class action lawsuit in which Google ended up settling for $45 million with book authors/publishers for copyright infringement. In addition to that, placing competitor ads when a company is searched did not sit well with companies such as Geico or American Airlines. It created customer confusion and led to possible loss in sales for the clients of Google. These suits were also confidentially settled. 3. International Reputation- These legal issues were not solely domestic. Litigation for companies overseas ended in a different result, with the courts siding with multiple trademark holders rather than Google. Book scanning was resolved domestically as well but the results were opposite once again overseas. It seems as though Google has a poor reputation as a result of these legal issues overseas. Opportunities 1. Mobile Devices – Google has created an Android phone that is currently competing with top market mobile devices. They also have come up with Google Glass and tablets. There are more opportunities in this industry and large room for improvement on their existing products. Apple may dominate this part of the industry but it is not farfetched to think a company like Google cannot deplete Apple’s market share. 2. Full Service Portal – Yahoo currently offers a full service portal inclusive of sports, finance, email, calendar, tasks, etc. Google already individually offers some of these products. Maybe getting into the idea of a full service portal could be their next step? 3. Improving existing products – After initial releases of products, Google can weigh the popularity and success of each product. They  will know what is failing, what interests society and what they can/should improve on. Innovation is not only creating new products but also improving existing ones. 4. Advancing Technology – Google has acquired many companies throughout their existence, which allowed them to use new and uncharted technology. There is always new technology and Google is a multibillion-dollar company allowing them the possibility of purchasing if not creating this technology themselves. Adapting to new technology allows Google to gain an advantage over others in the industry Threats 1. Replacement Advertising – Google began advertising on search pages. Since the start of web advertising, we have come a long way. Now there are mobile phone apps that include advertising as well as social media sites. This could begin to threaten the market share and revenue of Google 2. Privacy Laws – As we know, Google is no stranger to legal issues. Privacy has begun to threaten Google in many different forms. One common for was through Gmail. Advertisements were chosen based on what the email said but no one was actually looking; there was simply an algorithm in place to extract that information and process it. The search history can be accessed and people think this invades their privacy as well. Your search history is available for up to 18 months. 3. Substitution- With the variety of products offered, each one has one or more competitors. If legal issues continue to rise or prices become too high, it is possible that customers switch from Google to their competitors. The threat of substitution is high in the sense of products other than search. Some would say they do not see a difference between Yahoo, Google and Bing BUT this is not a threat because as of 2009, Google had 65.6% of all US searches. If there is no difference, then where is the threat of this number to decrease? Why would anyone switch from the current search engine that they use? Competitive Advantage and Resources Resources and competitive advantages seem to go hand in hand here at Google. A key resource is the employees. Google has approximately 48,000 employees; this calls for a wide variety of knowledge and talent. Each employee brings  something different to the table. Google stresses individualism and personal projects. If 48,000 people are striving to improve the company and create new possibilities, that would make employees a phenomenal resource. Another resource is their algorithms. As I have stated throughout this discussion, Google created algorithms to create a faster, more dependable and relevant search engine. Developing these algorithms allowed them to sustain a competitive advantage. In fact, some competitors even wanted to purchase the use of these on their engines (Yahoo and AOL)! Instead, Google went ahead and created a search engine becoming a direct competitor. Another resource, which might actually seem odd, is the founders and CEO of the company. They run Google in an unconventional way but it has really paid off. They developed a set of values and pounded this culture into all heads at Google. Technology is another resource used at Google. Technology in general is always changing and people constantly have to adapt. Google is a driver of technology and constantly brings products to the market. Google uses technology to succeed as well as incur a profit. The above resources can also be considered competitive advantages for Google. The algorithm that was created set Google apart from competitors and allowed them to enter the market. They immediately began obtaining market share and competitors could not compete with that type of search engine. Brand recognition is another competitive advantage. If people were to give me the option to use Bing, Yahoo or Google, I would hands down always use Google. Not that I can tell a difference but simply because I am accustomed to it. It is well known and developed in so many facets of the industry. Another competitive advantage that Google has is its free software. The competitors cannot afford to offer free services to clients, which gives Google a leg up on the competition. It allows Google to tap into new markets, further tap into current markets and please current clients. Data scraping abilities (which I have direct contact with) is another competitive advantage. The data scraping capabilitie s at Google are unbelievable. The resources they have here allow them to analyze every bit of data possible. This leads to better and more accurate services for clients, enhanced keywords, and an enhanced overall experience for clients. Porters 5 Forces Threat of new entrants – Some would consider this high but I think it varies depending on which segment you are discussing. In the search engine segment, I would say the threat is low but when you look at the multitude of products offered elsewhere, there is always a high threat. Costs to enter could be high in some segments while low in others. While profits are attractive and could result in new companies entering the market, Google as a dominant firm can turn these potential threats away. Threat of Substitutes – This has the same basis as threat of new entrants. Depending on the product, the threat could be high or low. Cell phones and tablets have a ton of possible substitutes out there and that can cause customers to switch brands. Varying prices of products or differences in quality can cause a high threat of substitution as well. Rivalry- High. There are rivals in every segment of Google’s business. Search engine has Yahoo as its biggest competitor but not limited to just them. There is also Bing, AOL, and other small competitors. The existence of innovation and new products keeps the rivalry intense amongst competitors in the industry. Similar products and similar goals keep the rivalry constant Bargaining power of suppliers – Low. The main suppliers of Google are engineers. Due to the number of engineers, the supplier has low bargaining power. Google has 48,000 employees and if engineers feel they can do better elsewhere, then Google will find replacements. Being such a large and successful company almost has Google on a pedestal. Who wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to work for them? Bargaining power of consumers – Also varies based on what product is being discussed. When you discuss tangible products such as mobile phones or tablets, power is high. When it comes to search engines, Google Docs, Gmail, etc, power is low. Although there are other substitutes to these items listed above, the interface and software of Google sets it apart from  the rest. The threat of switching is non-existent. Critical Success Factors – these are factors that are necessary for a company to achieve its mission. For Google, the following are CSF: Speed and accuracy- The faster results can be displayed with accuracy then the more likely that people will use Google. This is how Google set themselves apart from the industry. New algorithms allowed for more relevant results at a quicker pace. Quality search results – As I stated above, the algorithm allowed for relevant results. People were being spammed by random links not relevant to what they were looking for. Innovation- Google is constantly bringing products to the market and attracting new target markets. Not only are they bringing new products to light, they are changing and improving existing products Culture – This is a CSF for Google because it sets them apart from competitors. Google stands by their beliefs and their culture 100%. They do not deter from these beliefs regardless of the situation. It allows them to think outside the box and differently than competitors Ease of use – Older generations are not completely acquainted with the use of technology and probably never will be. The ease of use could help close that gap tremendously and allow for Google to tap another market. The multitude of products, software, hardware or tangible products need to be easy to use. Even my generation has trouble with software and hardware, it is like a second language to some! Alternatives and Recommendations A few possible alternatives that Google can do are become a full access portal, increase personal time to 20% (making it a 60-20-20 system) and focus on improving existing products. Becoming a full access portal will allow Google to take some additional market share from Yahoo. Currently Yahoo offers finance, sports, mail, news, etc. all in one place. Google needs to put this into action. The pros of this are that Google already has these things but offers them separately. Google has the Gmail option, finance, news, maps, books and much more. It already has the pieces and just needs to combine them into  one place. This should not be hard with all the talented engineers on staff. Another pro is that the market share is bound to increase. Google already has many loyal customers to different segments of the market. Some might use Yahoo for things not currently offered in the same place. If Google offers sports where it has email and finance (for example), it could take away customers from Yahoo. A con is that this is a big risk. If the interface is not easy to understand or follow, people might abandon these options altogether and go directly to a competitor. Increasing personal time spent on projects to 20%, changing the culture to a 60-20-20. Currently Google encourages personal projects and stresses to work on a 70-20-10 basis. Google says they do not mind spending money now if it can lead to possible wealth over time. For this idea, there are a few cons. Employees could get caught up in their personal ideas and projects leaving the important ones assigned by managers past due. This could also be seen as free time and some might take advantage of it as a break from work in general. Another con is if 48,000 employees are working on their own projects 20% of the time, it might not be time well spent amongst everyone. Even if everyone is working diligently on a project, these projects might not pan out and that is a lot of wasted time. One of the biggest pros is high risk, h igh reward. Google is willing to take a risk after evaluating projects developed by employees. Allowing them to work on personal projects 20% of the time can create more opportunities to â€Å"hit big† for Google. Another pro is the encouragement of creativity. Personal projects call for creativity and this can then transfer over into the 60-20 time spent elsewhere. My last suggestion is to focus on existing products rather than continue to increase the amount of products they have already. Google came about and was focused on search but since then have brought multiple products to the forefront of the market. While they have been mostly successful, existing products can still be tweaked to gain maximum exposure. The main pro of this suggestion is that the kinks and problems existing could be resolved. Google could perfect already popular and existing products with the possibility of taking demand from competitors. Another pro is redirecting their focus back to the original product and the main source of revenue. Search was the first product of Google and even today it makes up the majority of the revenues (including advertising since they are hand in hand). Some cons are that they could be missing out on the next big thing. Putting all focus on existing products might have Google miss out on a hot new product that could really bring a big boom to the company. Another con is there might not be much more additional potential to focusing on existing products. They have acquired companies and competitors throughout their time and this is one way to focus on existing products. Another recommendation is pretty simple and quick to the point. Get rid of products that do not have high value to the company. The scope of the product line is wide and I do not think it is possible that all are value-adding products to Google. While some might be reaching large audiences and bringing high profits to the company, there are always some that are not doing so well. While they still might be making a profit, the workforce could be used elsewhere and that might have a higher value than the non-core product. Resources and time could be used elsewhere to perfect other products or to create new and innovative ones. The con is that while it might not be adding â€Å"value†, the product is still bringing in a profit. Google is very successful and would not have a product existing that currently has costs outweighing benefits. They are too smart for that. Giving up on a product might not be the correct decision just because it is not bringing in expected amounts of money. My recommendation would be to combine the 60-20-20 option with the focus on existing products option. While the 60-20-20 idea can cause a lack of focus, intertwining it with the existing products idea allows that focus to still be there. Employees can incorporate work on existing products in that additional 10% of time as well. Allowing companies to work privately on anything could prove to be a bad idea but pairing it with existing products will benefit the company. Imagine 48,000 employees focusing on existing products. The sky is the limit and Google can really blow competitors out of the water. I decided the full service portal is not a good suggestion. The risk of it not being easy to access and maneuver around does not outweigh the benefits. Customers already use a variety of products regardless if they are all in one location. If putting theses product in one place backfires due to difficulty of use, customers may go to Yahoo and begin using their portal. Google already has a sense of customer loyalty so  why try and change something that is working. Implementation The recommendation at hand here is to increase personal time to 20%, making the culture at Google 60-20-20 while maintaining focus on existing products. To begin this recommendation, Google should select a percentage of employees to test this out. Of 48,000 employees, they cannot have everyone working on personal projects right off the bat. It might lead to laziness and lack of effort across the board. Google should select maybe 5% of the workforce and allow them to allocate additional time towards personal projects. Google can then compare it to prior months focus on core business and see if they still maintained focus. If this was successful, then little by little introduce the workforce to this new concept. Another part of this implementation would be to have different shifts. Everyone cannot work on personal projects at the same time. Setting aside different shifts for the personal time could prove pivotal to the success of this idea. Google likes the idea of these creative concepts and have used them before. Gmail is an example of the â€Å"personal project† and now that has flourished into a leading email in the industry. Google has no problem investing in long shots and extending to 20% would do just that. Another part of the recommendation was to put focus on existing products and tweak or perfect them. To begin implementation, analysts at Google need to perform an industry analysis and provide some data on the competitors that exist with similar products. Google needs to have numbers and data comparisons so that they know how their products are doing in comparison to possible substitutes. After analyzing the industry, Google would send out customer surveys. All customers are in a database and have their emails, addresses, phone numbers, etc. on file. Google will find a way to reach the customer, send them a short survey on what they like, what they don’t like, what needs improvement and other beneficial questions. To figure out what needs improvement, you MUST talk to the users of the product. Upon finding out what is liked, what needs fixing, Google must assign a task force to tackle the job. This can now be intertwined with the 60-20-20 change stated above. While it may be a core business task, the idea of how to fix a problem or tweak a product can  be completed during the 20% personal time. Once the task force has been assigned, the product will be evaluated by everyone on the task force. They will be encouraged to give blunt honest opinions on the product as well. These employees are more knowledgeable than the everyday user so they might have different ideas that could be acknowledged as well. Once the survey period has ended for both customers and employees, brainstorming must begin. Individualism is encouraged but working in teams can help brainstorming run more smoothly. Ideas will be bounced around and once they can settle on what needs to be done, the â€Å"how† part takes place. Strategies on changing, marketing, and promoting the new product need to be derived and approved by managers. Once the strategies are derived, products will begin to go through the makeover process. Throughout this makeover process, Google will begin marketing and promoting the changes that are coming. The public will become aware, arousing curiosity as to what Google did to make this amazing product even better. This will lead to some hype and Google, like usual, will please the customers and the public. Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. They have been doing this since 1999 and have a long way to go. Focusing on existing products by fine-tuning them will help change the world forever. Allowing new and great ideas to develop internally and then possibly taking a risk is what makes Google great. Google is an innovative company, changing many segments of many industries ever since Day 1. Just as the article says, everyone fears Google†¦as they should.