Motherless Brooklyn By Jonathan Lethem Essay Example

Motherless Brooklyn By Jonathan Lethem Essay Motherless Brooklyn By Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Lethem was an American author born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Lethem graduated high school in Brooklyn and continued his education in Vermont at Bennington University. By his sophomore year, he decided to drop out of college and move to San Francisco, California to pursue his career in writing. Lethem is known for writing in the genre of science fiction. His success came pretty early when his novel Gun, With Occasional Music, was a finalist for the 1994 Nebula Award. Two years after the arrival of his success in 1996, he decided to move back to his hometown Brooklyn where he began to write his novel, Motherless Brooklyn. After publishing this novel in 1999 Lethem was met with a great deal of success, yet again. It won the National Books Critics Circle Award for fiction and the Macallan Gold Dagger for crime fiction. Letham was referred to as a â€Å"genre blender† by the New York Times because of his ability to mix detective, science fiction, literary elements and autobiographical elements in his novels. Some also referred to him as â€Å"something of a hipster celebrity.† We will write a custom essay sample on Motherless Brooklyn By Jonathan Lethem specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Motherless Brooklyn By Jonathan Lethem specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Motherless Brooklyn By Jonathan Lethem specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn is a novel set in Brooklyn published in 1999. The novel is a detective story about a man named Lionel Essrog and three others who set out to find their boss’s killer. Lionel Essrog is the narrator of this story. At the beginning of the novel, we learn that our detective suffers from Tourettes syndrome, a psychological disorder that causes him to have random outbursts or compulsive behaviors. In the novel, he describes it in vivid details and uses phrases like â€Å"my mouth won’t quit† and â€Å"ventilating pressure off my head† to explain how he feels. So far throughout the novel, we can see that his Tourette’s syndrome is very significant in understanding the character. We learn how his mind works up the words he says and the actions he makes. This gives the novel a c

Free Essays on Response To “Good Country People“

As I read Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People† the response that I felt was pity. The character that made me feel that was Joy/Hulga. The basic theme of the story is to not make conclusions about a person’s character before you really get to know them. This is exactly what happens with Joy/Hulga in this story. Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs. Freeman and Manley Porter all treat Joy/Hulga in a manner that can evoke feelings of pity. We assume that Joy/Hulga is a very negative person and not very likable, but in the end we realize that she is just like her mother in that she truly believes in â€Å"good country people.† Joy/Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell is the first person to do something that causes the feeling of pity for Joy/Hulga. She treats Joy/Hulga like a child. In the following statement from the story, â€Å"Mrs. Hopewell thought of her as a child though she was thirty-two years old and highly educated,† we learn early on how Mrs. Hopewell feels about her daughter. Mrs. Hopewell also like telling people that Mrs. Freeman’s daughters, â€Å"Glynese and Carramae were two of the finest girls she knew.† That had to cause Joy/Hulga to have feelings of worthlessness and probably contributed to her acting the way she did. Mrs. Freeman’s fascination with Joy/Hulga’s artificial leg is the next thing that causes a feeling of pity. She enjoyed hearing the details of the hunting accident that caused her to lose the leg. It would seem that her artificial leg is something Joy/Hulga wants to keep private and doesn’t want everyone talking about it over the kitchen table. As we reach the middle of the story Manley Porter enters Joy/Hulga’s life and seems to be the biggest cause for pity. Joy/Hulga believes that Manley is a Christian Bible salesman with a heart condition. Manley and Joy/Hulga arrange to meet the following day. All the while Joy/Hulga is planning to seduce Manley and then she will be able to console him after... Free Essays on Response To â€Å"Good Country Peopleâ€Å" Free Essays on Response To â€Å"Good Country Peopleâ€Å" As I read Flannery O’Connor’s â€Å"Good Country People† the response that I felt was pity. The character that made me feel that was Joy/Hulga. The basic theme of the story is to not make conclusions about a person’s character before you really get to know them. This is exactly what happens with Joy/Hulga in this story. Mrs. Hopewell, Mrs. Freeman and Manley Porter all treat Joy/Hulga in a manner that can evoke feelings of pity. We assume that Joy/Hulga is a very negative person and not very likable, but in the end we realize that she is just like her mother in that she truly believes in â€Å"good country people.† Joy/Hulga’s mother, Mrs. Hopewell is the first person to do something that causes the feeling of pity for Joy/Hulga. She treats Joy/Hulga like a child. In the following statement from the story, â€Å"Mrs. Hopewell thought of her as a child though she was thirty-two years old and highly educated,† we learn early on how Mrs. Hopewell feels about her daughter. Mrs. Hopewell also like telling people that Mrs. Freeman’s daughters, â€Å"Glynese and Carramae were two of the finest girls she knew.† That had to cause Joy/Hulga to have feelings of worthlessness and probably contributed to her acting the way she did. Mrs. Freeman’s fascination with Joy/Hulga’s artificial leg is the next thing that causes a feeling of pity. She enjoyed hearing the details of the hunting accident that caused her to lose the leg. It would seem that her artificial leg is something Joy/Hulga wants to keep private and doesn’t want everyone talking about it over the kitchen table. As we reach the middle of the story Manley Porter enters Joy/Hulga’s life and seems to be the biggest cause for pity. Joy/Hulga believes that Manley is a Christian Bible salesman with a heart condition. Manley and Joy/Hulga arrange to meet the following day. All the while Joy/Hulga is planning to seduce Manley and then she will be able to console him after...

Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 89

Summary - Essay Example The author argues that in order to improve communication relationships with people in a particular organization, it is vital to combine critical inquiry, dialogue, and discussion, which in turn will provide a clear insight of the information being disseminated (Senge 13-15). In this book, the author centers his discussion on the significance of â€Å"system† thoughts, which he perceives as indispensable for required qualities that strengthen long-term institutional change. For instance, he views an organization as systematically grounded partly in a holographic truth where each one represents the image of the organization as a whole. A system view permits a reader to look beyond the surface of events to the fundamental structures of attitudes and behavior in order to obtain an advantage for constructive change that was not accessible via a concentration on specific occasions. The author calls for the application of system maps or diagrams that depict the core aspects of systems and how they fuse or connect (Senge 41). Basing on the organizational theory, an organization or institution has the ability to understand and gain insight from experiences by observation, analysis, experimentation, and the willingness to examine failures and success. In this concept, an organization or institution learn through individuals who act as mediators for them. In addition, individuals also learn from organizations or are controlled by the organization’s learning system. The author clearly illustrates this notion by labeling organizations with the best opportunities to succeed. The author argues that organizations that regularly communicate, generate, and control their intellectual assets as organizations, allow people to frequently expand their capacity to initiate the results they really desire. Moreover, such organizations nurture expansive and new thinking patterns, where collective aspiration is

Journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 74

Journal - Essay Example Hence, the story brings out the conflict, which is one of the components of a newsworthy story, and consequently, this gives the story a controversial element. While this is a developing story on a recent outbreak of protests in Hong Kong, the writers fail to offer a clear background into the issue concerning its origin. They only give a brief history, which comes at the end of the article. Therefore, a person reading the story and unaware of the happenings in Hong Kong will be confused, not knowing what exactly is happening. Though focusing mostly on police actions, the story is detailed giving accounts of the protests including areas where the protestors are located. Additionally, the authors use descriptive terms that allow the reader to draw a mental image of what is happening in Hong Kong city. Additionally, the story is timely given that there is an ongoing unrest in Hong Kong regarding the issue of democracy, which has occupied news headlines all over the world in the past days. The residents seem fed up with the current system and want a more democratic system both on paper and in

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show - Essay Example The paper "The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show" explores the Fashion Show of Victoria Secret. People who are always attracted to Victoria's Secret Fashion Show are the middle class. One of the reasons as to why it is believed that Victoria's Secret Fashion Show can target both is that they are always entertaining. Victoria’s Secret knows exactly how they can be able to attract both men and women to their fashion shows. Aspects such as sparkling runway, unique fashion creations, and performances by artists are ways through which these fashion shows have been able to become irresistible to men. While men go to the show to watch the gorgeous models, women would go with the aim of catching up with some of the trends in fashion. The main objective of Victoria's Secret Fashion Show is to market products that are produced by Victoria’s Secrets. The company is well aware of the fact that the targeted market is always keen on fashion, fashion show is a way through which they can be able to showcase women of their new products so that they can enhance awareness or individual products and the brand at large. Through the use of some of the popular fashion models, the company is able to enhance the demand or their products. This is a more interactive way of advertising products as it has been observed to enhance brand loyalty. Even the men who are not always keen on fashion, especially women fashion can be introduced to the world of lingerie and nightwear because they will definitely be exposed some products.

Role of Technology in Travel Management

Role of Technology in Travel Management TRAVEL INDUSTRY CURRENT PRACTICES INTRODUCTION In this chapter I will take an overview of the travel industry in order to better understand the context about which I am writing. Consideration of the value of the business travel spend, the role of Travel Management Companies and the role of technology in its operation and future vision, are the relevant issues in this regard. An outline of the various managerial approaches used by private industry will help inform my analysis of travel management in the public sector and what lessons can be learnt. VALUE OF BUSINESS TRAVEL In 2013 Hermes Consultancy Management produced a white paper on ‘Corporate Travel Management in Western Europe: Opportunities and Challenges’. The research was commissioned by Amadeus (a Global Distribution Service provider) in order to better understand how organisations manage their travel activities and to identify saving opportunities for travel managers. The white paper calculated that in 2011, business travel in Western Europe amounted to almost â‚ ¬ 200 billion, concentrated in five countries: Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain. Hermes (2013). Eleven corporations in the UK, France, Belgium, Ireland and the Netherlands took part in the research study and numerous travel mangers, executives and travellers from these companies were interviewed. The Central Statistics Office tells us that in 2011, the Irish business travel spend was â‚ ¬548 million on 698,000 business trips (CSO 2013) of that public sector travel under the Government air travel contract was : â‚ ¬5.9 million for 18,358 trips and in 2013 it increased to â‚ ¬6,972, 477 for 25,902 trips. The increase in volume can be attributed to Ireland Presidency of EU during 2013. Business travel is a substantial and growing sector with a significant travel spend. As globalisation continues apace, companies and governments will reach out to newer markets for their goods and services, at the same time as continuing to consolidate traditional markets in a challenging economic climate. Figures from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) indicate that spending on business travel within the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain is forecasted to climb by 6% next year, an increase which may be set to come about as a result of improvements to the global economy. Government travel is predicted to increase by 4.9% according to GBTA, who believe that the slightly lower percentage for government travel might be because governments have already successfully cut travel spend, while corporate business is enjoying an uptick as it starts and continues to hire new employees who travel. Government business in Europe accounts for 4.7% (â‚ ¬940 mil) of all business travel demand compared with 5% globally. The Director of Operations with GBTA McGavock believes that, that share is expected to increase for at least the short term. â€Å"While 2012 was a difficult year, by the end of 2013 we predict an upturn, and in 2014 we believe we will see extensive growth. The next five years should see a bounce back in business travel among all of Western Europe’s major markets.† The European Commission predicts that the 27 countries it represents will emerge from recession in the fourth quarter of 2013, with its overall economy growing by 1.4% in 2014, Eurostat (2012). Accompanying this growth will be an increasing requirement for corporate travel and this expansion will require robust and innovative management in order to control costs and spend. TRAVEL MANAGEMENT COMPANIES Travel Management Companies are the medium through which organisations use to implement and manage their business travel requirements. They should not be confused with the work of a traditional Travel Agency which provides travel to the leisure traveller on behalf of suppliers, airline, hotel, car hire companies. Most travel agencies have a separate department that deals with business travel, and some travel agencies specialise in commercial and business travel only. This department would trade as a travel management company and implement the organisations travel policy. They procure travel on behalf of the organisation according to its policy on the class of travel permitted to fly, negotiate corporate fares/rates with airlines and hotels as well allowing the organisation use its corporate credit card to procure flights online via their online booking tool. According to the Buying Business Travel magazine (2013) the top five (5) TMC’s operating in Europe based on their European spend are: CarlsonWagonlit Travel (CWT), ( £1,157m) HRG Travel, ( £1,000m) American Express, ( £958.1m) Capital Travel and Events ( £525m) BCD, ( £480m) FCM Travel Solutions ( £428) All of the above have a presence in Ireland through either partner agreements or wholly owned. The current provider for the Irish Government travel contract is CarlsonWagonlit Travel. The previous government providers were; HRG (Club Travel) and FCM Solutions. Due to the size of the Government spend approximately â‚ ¬6 to â‚ ¬9 mil annually it is not surprising that the top TMC’s have continually competed for the business. In addition as it is a centralised contract, a large sized company would be required to deal with the volume of transactions generated by Irish Government travel. Each of these companies use a global distribution system (GDS) which provides a network whereby TMC’s can access fares from the various airline reservations systems and facilitates online transactions. This in turn provides a portal for clients of TMC’s to procure their air travel through the use of online booking tools OBT). The most popular GDS providers are, Travelport, Galil eo, Sabre and Amadeus, public sector has had access to Travelport through KDS OBT licensed by CWT and Galileo OBT licensed by HRG. ECONOMIC CLIMATE The impact of the global economic downturn has resulted in an increased emphasis on generating savings, as companies strive to operate within an ever decreasing resource envelope. This is relevant to all organisations and Travel Management Companies in particular. Economic stringency has allowed travel managers to take a more prominent role within their companies, and has made travel management, as a profession, an important element of a company’s strategic planning. According to the Global Business Travel Association (2014), travel managers have been asked to lead company-wide efforts to reduce travel costs, track relevant savings, and report them back to senior management. The knock-on effect of this to TMC’s is increased competitiveness within the travel management sector. The natural ambition of business organisations is specifically the transformation of inputs (resources) into outputs (goods or services) (Worthington Britton, 2006: 4). In the context of a TMC, th e company employs the relevant staff to carry out specialised travel advisory duties, and provides the necessary booking systems to their staff in order to maximise their input to output ratio; in the current economic climate this is becoming more and more challenging. So the drive is on in every sector to achieve greater value for money. TECHNOLOGY In Chapter 2, I looked at technology in relation to the procurement of travel; here I will examine it as it impacts on the business environment, in which TMC’s operate. In terms of external environmental factors, Thomas Davenport (2013) indicated that technological change is one of the main issues currently impacting TMC’s, with the potential of completely transforming the way in which the companies operate. Davenport ( 2013) and a number of other authors including Fred Gebhard (2013), highlighted that the travel industry is at a ‘Big Data’ crossroads, and that complex, large volume and unstructured datasets are beginning to reshape and transform the industry. Additionally, Davenport suggested that big data will require the industry to address a number of challenges, in order to unlock its potential: technological complexity; data accuracy and rights of use; business and technological alignment. At the corporate buyer level gaining access to accurate travel reporting data is a major factor in the effective management of air travel and presents opportunity to identify where savings can be achieved. This is very important for both the buyer and supplier of air travel. It is interesting to note that technological developments pose both an opportunity; and a threat to TMC’s. The opportunities for the companies may involve ensuring the company is up to date with technological advancements within the industry in order to remain competitive. Conversely, if TMC’s are slow on the uptake of embracing and implementing new technology in their organisation, they may be at a disadvantage within the business travel market. Overall, the rapid advancements in technology alone present a significant challenge to the travel industry, specifically to TMC’s. Voice BASED AND MOBILE TECHNOLOGY A key writer on the travel industry, Scott Gillespie (2012) identified various technological changes which he emphasised are a ‘tipping point’ for the corporate travel industry. Some of those changes mentioned include the technological advancements of voice-based user interfaces from Apple, Google. Gillespie asserted that these new interfaces may be a threat to company policy compliance, due to the convenience of using such interfaces for travellers; which may in turn cause them to purchase travel outside of company policy direction. If the traveller does not book through the proper channels directed within company policy, there is no way for the TMC or corporation to track the traveller’s whereabouts or provide them with services in an emergency (West, 2013) In Chapter 2 we looked at ‘M’ technology and the growth of that market and its increasing importance in the procurement of air travel. CarlsonWagonlit Travel has invested in this area in its rece nt acquisition of Worldmate a leading mobile technology company. This will bear fruit in CWT’s mobile app ‘CWT TO GO’. Airlines are slowly moving towards mobile phone app technology which will replaces the requirement for printing of electronic tickets and boarding passes by using mobile phone QR code (barcode) technology to check in for flights. The ongoing evolution of technology emphasises the importance for TMC’s to keep up to date with it in the provision of procurement systems for clients which are not only economical, efficient and effective but contemporary and convenient to use. CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY (CSR) The concept that organisations should be held accountable for the effects of their actions on people, their communities and the environment is known as CSR. There are many aspects of CSR which impact on the travel industry and consequently their end users. There are increasing concerns for rising carbon emissions; this coupled with rising costs naturally leads organisations to seek alternatives to air travel. These alternatives include video conferencing and webinars, however, it has been emphasised that face-to-face meetings still remain an important aspect of business negotiations (Forbes, 2009). This affects the competitive environment of TMC’s, since a threat of a substitute method to conduct meetings is available. Travel Management companies need to maintain their relevance in a rapidly changing business environment. And Government travel needs to be particularly vigilant as penalties are imposed on increasing carbon emissions under the Kyoto Protocol. MODELS OF TRAVEL MANAGEMENT It is not feasible to produce a definitive list of air travel procurement models, but in general they fall under the following categories; INHOUSE CENTRALISED MODEL TMC; This model is one where all travel is procured from a centralised office within the company in association with a TMC, who provides online and offline bookings. This model allows greater control over travel policy and spends and is used by both private and public sector. Business travelers would feel this model is too restrictive and doesn’t allow flexibility but that is mute point when it comes to controlling spend. INHOUSE DECENTRALISED MODEL TMC This model is one where travel can be procured by the individual employee either directly with the TMC for offline booking or online through the corporate booking tool. This model allows greater control to the individual and is favored by high-tech or internet based companies, E.G. EBay, Google, independence over their booking. This model tends to be accompanied by an incentive programme, whereby travelers can gain perks by purchasing travel within company policy and in this way costs can be controlled. INHOUSE CENTRALISED AND DECENTRALISED TMC This model is a mixture of the two above and is a very inefficient model of travel procurement as it is very difficult to control travel expenditure and policy compliance. It is generally adopted by organisations where there is little senior management buy in to control the travel spend. INHOUSE TMC IMPLANT. This model allows a staff member of the TMC to reside within the organisation to procure all of the travel requirements of the organisation. This can be an expensive option unless travel policy is strictly enforced. INHOUSE GDS IMPLANT( verify with Volker in Amadeus/ Microsoft ) This model allows for the provision of a staff member of the GDS provider to be embedded within the organisation to assist the procurement of all travel requirements of the organisation. This can be a very efficient option as it eliminates the ‘middle man’ charges of the TMC in the procurement of air travel as it procures direct with the GDS provider. Some organisations who favour this method also have a TMC contract for the provision of VIP or specialised travel only. In the public sector in Ireland government travel is purchased through a centralised contract but managed and procured in many different ways by each of the Government Departments, bodies and agencies with varying usage of online and offline methods. Some use the contract to procure only air travel, others use it for air and hotel (Brussels hotels only as per the contract) and car hire. More and more private companies are using a travel expense management system (OBT) where all expenses related to travel; air, hotel, car, and subsistence/entertainment are captured on the same system, in this way making it more transparent and easier to control and analyse travel expenditure. SUMMARY The world of business travel is a valuable, innovative and technologically evolving industry. The opening up of new markets and the drive to expand business into new frontiers is a reality. Coupled with this is the requirement to develop new business relationships which must be nurtured though face to face meetings thus giving continued impetus to this sector. We have reviewed the role and function of TMC’s and technology in the travel industry and the future challenges they face. The various models of travel management gives us an insight into how the travel industry operates and provides a framework that can be compared against the research findings when examined in more detail and assist in establishing what can we learnt by both the private and public sector in the management of air travel

How does Hardy show social injustice in the 19th Century in England? :: Free Essay Writer

How does Hardy show social injustice in the 19th Century in England? Thomas Hardy was born in 1840 and died in 1928 at the age of 88. Thomas Hardy’s father was a stonemason and his mother a servant to a vicar. Hardy could not afford to continue his education as he wished and was apprenticed to John Hicks, a local church architect from 1862 to 1867. He served as assistant to Arthur Bloomfield, a London architect. Hardy hated London and returned to Dorset and worked for Hicks until 1874. Despite his employment Hardy was writing continually during this period of life. Over the next 22 years Hardy wrote 15 novels, more than 1000 poems and 4 volumes of short stories. Hardy wrote in these short stories about the law, class difference, women’s position in the society and city versus the countryside. Most of his stories are set in the Wessex, a fictional name that he gave to his stories. His stories are set 50 years back in the past and show the hardships, sufferings, trials and tribulations experienced by the working class. This book is from the collection of the stories The Withered Arm and other Wessex Tales. When Hardy became an architect he went to work in London. However, he missed the Dorset countryside so much that he returned there in 1867 and began writing novels and poetry. This was the first of many of his novels describing characters and scenes from country life. Hardy’s views about the countryside versus the city were about the injustice of the loss of the old way of life. Hardy went to work in London in 1862. He took a return ticket with him in case he repented his decision to work there. His aversion for London is apparent in his comments where he describes London as, â€Å"the monster with four million heads and eight million eyes.† Hardy describes the city in The Son’s Veto, as Sophie is looking through the window at â€Å"a fragment of lawn,† which shows the lack of greenery and space in London. He describes the air as, â€Å"hazy air,† which shows the huge amount of pollution in London unlike the pleasant and fresh air of the countryside. Hardy portrays all the houses in London as, â€Å"drab house facades,† which shows the ugly and depressing houses in London. The, â€Å"ever flowing traffic,† and other quotes just shows the repulsive and the disheartening city of London. Hardy approves of smuggling in The Distracted Preacher. Legally smugglers are to be penalized but every one ignores the law in The Distracted Preacher. Lizzy says, â€Å"it has been their practice for

Cowboys and Cattlemen Essay

The United States as a nation is ever changing. The U. S. population is growing every year, and the different types of ethnicities continue to flood into the country searching for the â€Å"American Dream. † However, how many people actually see this dream become a reality? The answer to that is incredibly disheartening and was even harder to obtain in the earlier years of America’s history. Unless you were a white male in the late 1800s to 1900s, the American Dream was exactly that: a dream. This failed ideal can be explored through the inequality expressed in that of race, gender, and class throughout American history, specifically during the time of cowboys and cattlemen. Additionally, such injustices can be portrayed in today’s fast food industry with the struggles of the employer to employee. Comparing and contrasting cowboys with cattlemen and managers with employees will demonstrate how such issues come into affect. In order to express the inequality faced within the workforce between cowboys and cattlemen, the background of their field of work, who did the work, and their differences need to be taken into account. When the Conquistadors came to the Americas in the 16th century they brought their cattle and cattle-raising techniques with them. Huge land grants by the Spanish government that was part of the hacienda system, allowed large numbers of animals to roam freely over vast areas (Wikipedia)[1]. Numerous traditions developed that often related to the original location in Spain. For example, the Vaquero tradition of Northern Mexico was more organic, developed to adapt to the characteristics of the region from Spanish sources by cultural interaction between the Spanish elites and the native and mestizo peoples (Wikipedia). As settlers from the United States moved west, they brought cattle breeds from the east coast and Europe and adapted their management to the drier lands of the west by borrowing key elements of the Spanish vaquero culture (Wikipedia). From 1865-1900, raising cattle was the most prominent job position in the western United States. The Homestead Act of 1862 attracted more settlers to come west and set up farms. This is because the Homestead Act gave someone the ability to own farmland for no cost at all; however, the only requirement needed was proof that the land had improved during the time of ownership. Therefore, it was very easy to obtain land, but improving it was the biggest challenge. Ranching is a difficult task of raising grazing livestock such as cattle for meat. The owners of these lands known as cattlemen had to invest time in farming and raising crops such as hay and grains for feeding their animals to produce a profit. The cattle would go from the ranch to the trail, to the slaughterhouse, and eventually be distributed throughout America. But who are the people behind the scenes that raise and break the cattle or horses, and who does all the work on the ranch? Cowboys. Cowboys were the workers on the ranch who helped maintain it. Cowboys strived toward becoming ‘men’ and they viewed the title of being a ‘man’ based upon the masculinity shown. Cowboys demonstrated their masculinity in terms of their skills on the job, their control over their working conditions, and their ability to make independent decisions. Even in their time of leisure, they still would do things to prove their masculinity such as gamble, drink, fight, and indulge in sexual pleasures with prostitutes. In the book, Cowboys and Cattlemen by Jacqueline Moore, she explains how Anglo cowboys recognized skill regardless of color, which provided exceptional men other than whites a chance to gain respect (Moore)[2]. However, a majority of the hard work was left to the Mexican or black cowboys. That’s why many black cowboys were so skilled in the more difficult areas of work such as breaking bulls because they were forced to do it the majority of the time. Today, many industries like the fast food industry employ people considered as the lower class. It is not common to walk into a McDonalds and see Donald Trump working the cash register. Cowboys are seen as these lower class people and it so happens people of color both in this time and today are still struggling to climb out of the lower class and into higher economic standing. Moore goes on to argue that cattlemen trusted the loyalty of their black cowboys and would often have them carry out sensitive missions, such as guarding large sums of money while on the trail (Moore). However, cowboys of color, despite their ability to gain respect with their amazing skill level, were still not able to become cattlemen themselves. Many cowboys for that matter didn’t have much room to improve, which is why the relationships the cowboys had with one another were so strong. Many of the cowboys weren’t ashamed to show affection towards each other because these relationships were the most important in their lives. The death of a friend was always the worst tragedy. Furthermore, many of these friendships seemed to be more than superficial. People questioned them because the cowboys bunked together which created chances for sexual relationships. To continue with their intimate relationship woes, these men had a tough time attracting the more respectable women, who usually fell for cattlemen because they were more financially stable (Moore). This lead to the cowboys’ encounters with prostitutes. Not many cowboys, for that matter, were married, and if they did get married it usually meant their career was over. To make matters worse, towns began to find ways to drive away cowboys by prohibiting guns and fining, arresting, and punishing them on the job which forced them to comply with the regulation of their public leisure. Discredited at work and in leisure, cowboys seemed more and more marginalized, out of step with the rest of American society† (Moore). Though cowboys of color were respected for their skill and, to an extent, racially tolerant, racism was still prevalent within society and in their work. Racism was not only existent during the era of Martin Luther King Jr. and the historic Civil Rights Movement, which was steered toward breaking color barriers in the â€Å"Solid South,† but it was seen as early as the times of â€Å"the trail† and cattle ranching. It affected the lives of the workers. People of color and women both were victims of discrimination. Women especially had no say in the way of life of the ranch because their opinion was not taken into account. The job of a women consisted of only three things. One: raise the children, two: do all the housework such as cooking cleaning and laundry amongst other daily household chores, and three: handle financial situations such as doing the bills and buying groceries. There were cowgirls; however, their stories aren’t heard because there were very few and women’s cattle raising positions at the time were irrelevant. Prostitutes were even more greatly degraded because of their less than condonable lifestyle. On the ranch, cowboys of color had no chance of becoming cattlemen. White Anglo cowboys had a slim chance but colored cowboys had even fewer. This is because these nonwhite races were seen as not sufficiently â€Å"evolved† to achieve true manhood. Segregation between white cowboys and nonwhite cowboys was also consistent on many ranches during this period. For example, Anglo cowboys ate with the owner while Mexicans would camp out with the herds. Such segregation and discrimination didn’t allow women or nonwhites to move up in the social class. Cowboys in general, if born into a cowboy family, were destined to be that and that only. Freedom for cowboys is a myth. Ultimately, cowboys were simply employees and lost what independence they had in their field of work. Cattlemen on the other hand had easy living. Cattlemen usually obtained their position because their fathers before them were. In a way, it’s like they were taking on the family business. Inheritance was a huge starting point for many of the men. However, to fully become a cattleman, emphasis on being â€Å"men† to prove themselves was stressed. This was done with a proper education, the contribution they made towards society, and getting married. Marriages usually lead to gifts or property, which was also another marker of manhood. The jobs cattlemen did were similar to that of businessmen- they did whatever they could to make a profit. Most of the successful cattlemen experimented with different types of breeding techniques and invested heavily in land. They even had other business interests outside of the cattle industry (Moore)[3]. Cattlemen looked to socialize with people in the towns around them rather than just the men on the ranch. As towns grew, so did the development of associations and entertainments that the men had known before coming to town, and socializing with men of equal status was more common (Moore). Nonwhite ranchers were nonexistent and those who were in lower classes would never be seen socializing with cattlemen unless it was on the ranch. Furthermore, the way ranchers carried themselves in public, and the economic stability they possessed allowed them to attract the more respectable women who were better suited to be housewives. Similarly, in order to understand the workforce of the fast food industry, background information about the industry needs to be taken into account. The fast food industry goes hand in hand with the cattle industry. In Central America, nearly 40% of the land was cultivated to become pasture for cattle that would supply cheap beef to North America’s fast food industry (Myers)[4]. Furthermore, the cattle raised in Central America are raised on grass, making the beef lean and only suitable for the fast food trade (Myers). Fast food has become in high demand because of its low prices and its convenience of location. It’s hard to miss these restaurants because driving around in a city you are guaranteed to see some of these consumer-crazed fast food chains on just about every corner. They can even be found in local retail stores, airports, and gas stations. Fast food is quicker than preparing home-cooked meals and according to the article, â€Å"Convenience, Accessibility, and the Demand for Fast Food,† fast food accounts for 35% of the total away-from-home food expenditures (Binkley, et al)[5]. Moreover, according to the same article, fast food chains have an increase in consumption when located in areas inhabited by African-Americans and Hispanics (Binkley, et al). Targeting low-income races with cheaply priced food allows this industry to continue to grow because those of low-income won’t be consistently eating at a sit down restaurant ordering a meal for twenty dollars when they can order one at McDonalds for as low as four dollars. Price, accessibility, and convenience are major factors to the success of this industry. Similarly to the point previously made about the low socioeconomic standing of cowboys, a majority of the employees of the fast food industry are working class people. The working class is becoming only certain ethnic groups- Hispanics, African Americans, and both legal and illegal immigrants. Once immigrants enter the U. S. they are placed in the lower class regardless if they have been in the middle class in their country of origin. These people of color are hard-working employees and have families. However, they still earn only minimum wage after years of experience. Typically, these ast-food jobs are oriented to be temporary positions for teenagers who are looking to make some extra cash before going to college. But it has become a social norm that it’s the job position of those who are living off a paycheck-to-paycheck basis, struggling to make ends meet. Jennifer Talwar’s book, Fast Food Fast Track: Immigrants, Big Business, and the American Dream, states, â€Å"the fast food restaurant offered me a way to understand how different ethnic groups relate to each other in their attempt to survive but also improve their circumstances at the bottom of the American urban economy† (Talwar). 6] Like the cowboys, workers in fast food become separated from the owners and higher-class society so they turn to the relationships of one another. However, unlike the cowboys who were unable to become cattlemen, employees of color in the fast food industry can become even owners of a McDonald’s or Burger King for example. According to Talwar, Phil Hagans an African American man started out as a burger flipper and later became an owner of four McDonald’s restaurants in Houston, as he was able to climb the hierarchies (Talwar). [7] Just because there is marginal room for improvement of a worker’s position in this area of work doesn’t mean there is an absence of inequality. The fast food industry is a business built on the ideal of low prices resulting it in having to keep labor and other operating costs to a minimum. According to the book, Labour Relations in the Global Fast-Food Industry, Royle and Towers explain that low wages, minimal benefits, tight staffing, and efforts to intensify labor are predictable due to competition environment (Royle and Towers). 8] This allows employers to have control and does not allow workers to have a say in changing working conditions. Such factors are not subject to change and the issue of unionizing poses no threat to the fast food business. This is because â€Å"major fast-food companies†¦are employed by franchisees, many of whom own only a few restaurants or just one,† like Phil Hagans (Royle and Towers). This fragments the workers not only physically but also to the extent that they are under different management. Unionization is also unable to arise due to the role technology plays in standardizing the work of fast-food crews. These new machines basically tell the employee when to proceed on to the next step of the routine of preparing a burger or fries, resulting in a minimization for the need of skilled workers. Furthermore, having an education is not needed to work for fast food places such as McDonalds because these jobs don’t require higher-level skills. However, â€Å"while fast-food work is generally treated unskilled, it is not easy to perform well† and it â€Å"can be hard and exhausting work, especially during busy periods† (Royle and Towers). 9] Mangers have complete control over their workers, starting with the scheduling of the workers’ hours. It is also a way to keep employment costs down and can be used as a disciplinary system. For example, managers can call in employees on their days off and have them work late hours. Cattlemen of the ranch had different tactics for maintaining control but the outcome was the same. Unionization is further challenged in the fast food industry because many unskilled workers are young teens that only see this type of work as a temporary position. According to Royle and Towers, only one third of those employed by the industry actually try to turn it into a career (Royle and Towers). Cowboys needed to have specific skill sets such as riding horses, being able to round herds up the trail, and manage the farmland. Teens and those who work the oven and fryers don’t need to have a specific skill set because each skill is specialized. It can be juxtaposed to an assembly line where a worker will perform one task all day that requires low input of labor. Therefore, the value of work from cowboys compared to employees of the fast food industry is diminishing. As seen with managers and employees of the cattle industry of the past and fast food industry of today, the hierarchies of the workforce are evident and haven’t been drastically modified. On the ranch, a cowboy (especially one of color) couldn’t become a cattlemen. In the fast-food industry a burger flipper can become an owner of his own franchise but, unless its handed down like a ranch from cattlemen to cattlemen, its an outrageous number of years to climb in rank. The hierarchy in a typical fast-food restaurant is as follows, from lowest job to highest: crewmember, crew trainer, manager trainee, second and first assistant manager, associate and general manger, store supervisor, and finally owner. By the time a worker reaches the top they’ll have white hair and be ready for retirement. Climbing the different levels isn’t promising. That’s how owners of big industries want it. The higher class will continue to improve and gain wealth while the lower class will struggle to fight for a higher economic standing for the majority of their lives. Many workers won’t ever obtain the life they thought they would achieve in a nation known to be the home of the free and the land of the brave and where an â€Å"American Dream† is possible. The United States needs to adapt to make lives easier for its people by giving health care, increasing minimum wage, and actually listening to the voices of the people who inhibit this great country. If the United States’ industries continue to suck the life out of their workers and have total control over every aspect of these laborers, then the ideology of being â€Å"equal† will be never be in existence.

College Essay Topic #1 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About Your Grandmother

College Essay Topic #1 7 Essay Tips for Writing a College Application Essay About Your Grandmother One of the most popular topics for the college application essay is â€Å"My grandmother.†Ã‚   If you are planning to write an essay about your grandmother, you have a challenge ahead of you. How will you make your essay stand out amongst all the other grandmother essays? How will you make the admissions committee remember your essay and not just yawn over it? Here are some essential tips to write a college application essay about grandma: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Focus on you, not on your grandmother.  Ã‚   When you wrote your first grade school essay about grandma, it was all about grandma.   Now its gotta be all about you. Write about your experience, your thoughts, and your opinions as they relate to your grandmother. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you find you have written more than one sentence in a row that is all about your grandmother instead of about you, add the word â€Å"I† or â€Å"me† to at least one of the sentences! 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Use very specific examples of conversations you had with your grandmother.   That way you can’t possibly write the same essay someone else has written. 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Know your starting point and ending point, and show growth. Perhaps your grandma used to give you help and advice, and now that you are older you have become her advisor.   Perhaps you used to judge certain things as negative that you now see as positive.   Or maybe you didn’t understand something as a young child that you now understand. Any growth or changes of perspective are great to write about. 5.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Keep it real.   Although a certain amount of description is necessary, if you get overly flowery with your language you’ll lose the reader’s attention. 6.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Consider writing about an object or activity that is related to your grandmother, but isn’t directly your grandmother. For instance, let’s say your grandma was a gardener.   You could write about an aspect of gardening as your theme, so your grandmother would be part of the essay but not the sole focus.   Grandma may have taught you about gardening and you may have used some of those lessons in other parts of your life.   Your essay would then be about gardening as a metaphor. 7.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Want to write about grandpa instead?   He’s less popular but the same principles apply. For examples of successful college essays, The Essay Expert recommends Accepted!   50 Successful College Admissions Essays by Gen and Kelly Tanabe. Still not sure how to write a great college application essay about your grandma (or grandpa)?   Contact The Essay Expert for a FREE 15 minute consultation.

Free Essays on A Farewell To Arms

such as â€Å"dark†, â€Å"brown†, â€Å"muddy†, and â€Å"gray†. The river started clear and blue, but has now become dark and muddy. This symbolizes the emotions of the people as the troops march and fight. Progressing seasons of nature symbolize the progressing sadness of the people also. As summer leaves and autumn comes mud is splashed over everything and covers the bright beauty of it all. Even the muddy capes of soldiers show how weary and bogged down they are. â€Å"Six months gone with child† is an example of metonymy used to show how weary and vulnerable the troops are. Terms such as â€Å"motor car† suggest that the time period is around the 1940’s. Mentioning of a King rules out the place being the United States. Still many questions go unanswered making the reader want to read farther (which battle?, which King?) â€Å"Winter and permanent rain† bring dreary times and cholera makes these times worse. There is a small chance of hope since only seven thousand troops died. This is ironic because seven thousand is usually thought of as a lot; however, Hemingway wants readers to understand this is small compared to the... Free Essays on A Farewell To Arms Free Essays on A Farewell To Arms A Farewell To Arms All fiction is autobiographical, no matter how obscure from the author's experience it may be, marks of their life can be detected in any of their tales. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is based largely on Hemingway's own personal experiences. The main character of the novel, Frederic Henry, experiences many of the same situations that Hemingway lived. Some of these similarities are exact, while some are less similar, and some events have a completely different outcome. Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star after graduating from high school in 1917. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver in the Italian infantry and was wounded just before his 19th birthday. Hospitalized, Hemingway fell in love with an older nurse. Later, while working in Paris as a correspondent for the Toronto Star, he became involved with the expatriate literary and artistic circle surrounding Gertrude Stein. During the Spanish Civil War, Hemingway served as a correspondent on the loyalist side. He fought in World War II and then settled in Cuba in 1945. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. After his expulsion from Cuba by the Castro regime, he moved to Idaho. In his life, Hemingway married four times and wrote numerous essays, short stories and novels. The effects of Hemingway's lifelong depressions, illnesses and accidents caught up with him. In July 1961, he committed suicide in Ketchum, Idaho. What remains, are his works, the product of a talented author. A Farewell to Arms is the story of Frederic Henry, an American, driving an ambulance for the Italian Army during World War I. The novel takes us through Frederic's experiences in war and his love affair with Catherine Barkley, an American nurse in Italy. The novel starts in the northern mountains of Italy at the beginn... Free Essays on A Farewell to Arms Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms In Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms Fredrick Henry’s lust eventually turns to love for Catherine Barkley. Fredrick Henry is an American who is studying architecture in Rome when WWI starts. He joins the Italian army and becomes an officer in charge of overseeing the ambulances in a small town a few miles from the front. He likes to drink rather heavily with the other officers and goes with them to the local bordello. Him and his friend Rinaldi often talk about girls and the women of the bordello. â€Å"Here now we have beautiful girls. New girls never been to the front before† (11). Henry is happy with his flings and does not think much about them except that they are fun. Rinaldi meets two new women, two English nurses at the hospital and have just arrived to the town. Rinaldi takes Henry to meet the two nurses. Henry then meets Catherine Barkley and at first is only interested in her physically like he is with the other girls. When he goes the next couple of afternoons to see her he acts like he is playing a game. One visit he tries to kiss her and gets slapped for it but this only worked to his advantage. â€Å"I was angry and yet certain, seeing it all ahead like the moves in a chess game† (26). He plays it off and is able to finally get a kiss from her.... Free Essays on A Farewell to Arms A Farewell To Arms All fiction is autobiographical, no matter how obscure from the author's experience it may be, marks of their life can be detected in any of their tales. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway is based largely on Hemingway's own personal experiences. The main character of the novel, Frederic Henry, experiences many of the same situations that Hemingway lived. Some of these similarities are exact, while some are less similar, and some events have a completely different outcome. Ernest Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. Hemingway worked as a reporter for the Kansas City Star after graduating from high school in 1917. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver in the Italian infantry and was wounded just before his 19th birthday. Hospitalized, Hemingway fell in love with an older nurse. Later, while working in Paris as a correspondent for the Toronto Star, he became involved with the expatriate literary and artistic circle surrounding Gertrude Stein. During the Spanish Civil War, Hemingway served as a correspondent on the loyalist side. He fought in World War II and then settled in Cuba in 1945. In 1954, Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. After his expulsion from Cuba by the Castro regime, he moved to Idaho. In his life, Hemingway married four times and wrote numerous essays, short stories and novels. The effects of Hemingway's lifelong depressions, illnesses and accidents caught up with him. In July 1961, he committed suicide in Ketchum, Idaho. What remains, are his works, the product of a talented author. A Farewell to Arms is the story of Frederic Henry, an American, driving an ambulance for the Italian Army during World War I. The novel takes us through Frederic's experiences in war and his love affair with Catherine Barkley, an American nurse in Italy. The novel starts in the northern mountains of Italy at the beginning of World War I.... Free Essays on A Farewell To Arms The Leaf Of Life In the beginning of â€Å"A Farewell To Arms† a scene of a nice, peaceful summer is presented. Questions such as what year?, what village?, what river?, and what mountain? are drawn from the first few sentences. Imagery is further displayed with words such as â€Å"blue†, â€Å"clear†, and â€Å"swiftly† to provide a peaceful, flowing scene of nature. Simple words and sentences contribute to this mood. â€Å"The’s† and â€Å"and’s† are repeated often, except â€Å"the† was omitted from in front of leaves in the fourth sentence to provide a sense of change. Leaves fall as the soldiers walk by and all else seems to change with these events. Switching from a bright summer to a darkening season serves as a foreshadowing of the upcoming problems of war. Diction changes as the chapter progresses to words such as â€Å"dark†, â€Å"brown†, â€Å"muddy†, and â€Å"gray†. The river started clear and blue, but has now become dark and muddy. This symbolizes the emotions of the people as the troops march and fight. Progressing seasons of nature symbolize the progressing sadness of the people also. As summer leaves and autumn comes mud is splashed over everything and covers the bright beauty of it all. Even the muddy capes of soldiers show how weary and bogged down they are. â€Å"Six months gone with child† is an example of metonymy used to show how weary and vulnerable the troops are. Terms such as â€Å"motor car† suggest that the time period is around the 1940’s. Mentioning of a King rules out the place being the United States. Still many questions go unanswered making the reader want to read farther (which battle?, which King?) â€Å"Winter and permanent rain† bring dreary times and cholera makes these times worse. There is a small chance of hope since only seven thousand troops died. This is ironic because seven thousand is usually thought of as a lot; however, Hemingway wants readers to understand this is small compared to the...

The distinction between ethics and the law in the context of Gary's Assignment

The distinction between ethics and the law in the context of Gary's business situation - Assignment Example With ethics, there is need for a good relationship with customer whether you are giving them what they need or you are short of what they need. With ethics, arrogance is not in the picture. With the law, it is necessary for your employees to give you value for your money but with ethics, offering service to you is on consensus where you both benefit from. Ordering them to work extra hours at the regular rate with no complain is a form of dictatorship baring in mind that they have responsibilities they have to meet especially for the single moms. There should be a point of negotiation where one airs their likes and dislikes for a peaceful coexistence between the owner of the business and the employees. Though the business has flourished, it is important for ethics to be upheld for the business to continue growing. This is because with such an attitude, Gary risks incurring losses due to hiring cost. People want to work where they are accepted and respected. Adopting a different view and different behavior will not only save him money, but will create an atmosphere conducive for his employees, customers and

Performance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Performance Management - Essay Example With the help of this system a company motivates its employees to delivery good performance. Retail sales associate are very important part of retail business. They directly interact with the customers and contribute a lot in satisfying them. Sale of a retail company highly depends on the behavior and approaches of its sales associate. Performance of retail sales associates is influenced by their skills. Job description of a retail sales associate helps the business in hiring desirable salespersons. The theory of organizational behavior modification (OBM) involves with changing behavior of the organizational members and their performances. This theory considers two important things which influence the performance of the employees. As per this theory a behavior which produces positive effects or consequence tends to become repeated. The organizational members become motivated to perform that specific type of behavior which helps them to get some positive results. Another thing which influences the performance of the employees is the behavior of the seniors towards them. The senior organizational members like managers, team leaders can change or influence the behavior of the employees by giving punishment or rewards to them. In the retail business for delivering successful job, sales associate needs to have some key behaviors which help them in achieving the goals and objectives of the business. These key behavioral factors are as follows: Confidence: The sales associate needs to very confident for performing their job. Sales associates need to interact with the customers directly. If they are confident about what they are saying and about their knowledge then they can convince the customers easily. It is easy for the sales associate to influence the customers with their high confidence level. Customers tend to trust the sales associate who are confident about themselves. The company can modify the confidence level of its sales associates by giving