Balance Between Sense and Sensibility in Jane Austens Northanger Abbey

Balance Between Sense and Sensibility in Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey Throughout her novel, Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen integrates parody with characterization to emphasize the necessity of a balance between sense and sensibility while reflecting a theme of the initiation of a young woman into the complexities of adult social life. This novel can be traced back as one of Jane Austen's earliest works. It was written in 1798, but not published until 1818, and is an excellent example of what Austen believed a novel should not be. In the work Jane Austen's Novels Social Change and Literary Form, Julia Prewitt Brown states "The evident purpose of Northanger Abbey is to burlesque the popular fiction of her day, to carry its conventions and assumptions to an absurd extravagance" (50.) To achieve her purpose Austen uses parody to portray a comic version of a gothic novel while presenting false emotions of romanticism and concentrating on pure human beings and their mutual reactions. "The writer of the pure novel sets out to delight us not by prodigality of invention, the creation of a large gallery of characters, the alternation of a large number of contrasted scenes, but by attention to the formal qualities of composition, to design, to the subordination of the parts to the whole, the whole being the exploration of the relations between his characters or of their relations to a central situation or theme." (Allen, pp114.) In Northanger Abbey, Austen intended to reflect a contrast between a normal, healthy-natured girl and the romantic heroines of fiction thorough the use of characterization. By portraying the main character, Catherine Moorland, as a girl slightly affected with romantic notions, Jane Austen exhibits the co... ...ne show his sensibility. His imagination and creativity motivate him to read Gothic romances and to indulge in the effects that his inventive tales produce. His decision to marry Catherine is motivated by feelings of love that further exemplifies his sensibility. Throughout the novel the readers see an excellent display of Henry's ability to maintain equilibrium between the two qualities. He passes his knowledge onto Catherine to help her to become a better person. At the end of the novel it is apparent that Henry has taught the keys of his success to Catherine. Works Cited Allen, Walter. The English Novel. New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc., 1954. Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. 1818. Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2000. Prewitt Brown, Julia. Jane Austen's Novels Social Change and Literary Reform. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1979.

Report on NatWest Bank’s Creativity and Innovation Essay

NatWest Bank is a member of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS Group). In 1968 National Provincial Bank (est.1833) and Westminster Bank (est.1836), fused as National Westminster Bank. Jointly, these banks could outline their history back down the centuries through a ancestry of influential constituents, since the 1650’s. The declaration totally astonished the public, but to both banks the benefits were obvious – the merger enhanced balance sheet strength, created opportunities to streamline the branch networks and enabled greater investment in new technology. The statutory process of integration was completed in 1969 and National Westminster Bank commenced trading on 1 January 1970, with the three-arrowheads symbol as its Logo of the company with 3,600 branches, established a wide range of new services, including the bank’s first credit card, Access, in 1972, and computer-linked cash dispensers, Servicetills, in 1976. Deregulation in the 1980s, culminating in ‘Big Bang’ in 1986, also encouraged National Westminster Bank to enter the securities business. County Bank, the Group’s merchant bank, acquired stockbroking and jobbing firms to create NatWest Investment Bank. In the mean time, the International Banking Division appeared to offer international banking services to large companies and to focus on expansion in the USA, the Far East and Europe. In the 1980s new services were developed such as telephone banking and touch- screen share dealing to assist the government’s privatisation programme. The 1980’s also saw the National Westminster Home Loans established in 1980 and the Small Business Unit in 1982. The Switch debit card extended the electronic transfer of money to point of sale in 1988. In the 1990s financial services markets world-wide underwent huge variations and in response the bank refocused its activities, exiting from a number of markets and adopting the title of NatWest. In March 2000, The Royal Bank of Scotland Group completed the acquisition of NatWest in a  £21 billion deal that was the large st take-over in British banking history. NatWest ranks fifth in the world and is now part of a financial services group which is the second largest bank by market capitalisation in the UK and in Europe. (NatWest 2006) Read more: Essay About National Westminster Bank Creativity and Innovation of the Bank: With granting a muscular competitive encourage to innovation, creativity and efficiency, it always attains lead on rival firms. Innovation is a driver of productivity growth. Novel products, processes and methods of working can relent efficiency gains and quality improvements not only within the innovating firm, but also within other firms that recap or institute on the innovation within their own firms. There are a number of reasons why the rate of innovation is likely to fall below socially optimal levels, and smaller innovating firms may face particularly severe barriers to innovation. The key constraints are: †¢ Limited access to risk capital: The informational impediments to free- functioning markets for SME finance were discussed earlier in this chapter, but it is particularly difficult for potential lenders or investors to assess likely risk and returns accruing to future research or to the implementation of unproven innovations. Newly-established innovating firms often m ake a loss and face severe cash-flow constraints in their early years. †¢Difficulties appropriating the full benefits of innovation: Whilst a competitive environment will provide the best general incentive for firms to innovate, firms need to be confident that they can reap the rewards of their innovation. This is why the intellectual property regime allows firms to prevent, for a limited period, their competitors from copying their innovations. This is a necessary reward for the costs of R&D, and helps to encourage innovation. Nevertheless, the internal return to innovation may still be modest relative to the industry-wide benefits that arise once the innovation can be replicated by other firms. †¢ Inability to diversify risk: While larger companies may have a large portfolio of innovative activity, innovation in smaller firms may be concentrated on a single product or process, and the cost of undertaking the necessary R&D may be very large relative to the overall financial assets of the company. Accordingly, where SMEs are risk-averse, they will be discouraged from investing in innovative activities with uncertain returns. Assembling the enterprise confront will rely on the innovation and creativity of entrepreneurs themselves, but the Government must also provide the right cond itions and the necessary support for successful enterprise. (Cosh and Hughes 2000) The NatWest Group has a total of 6 UK banking licences and licences from several other authorities. There are two principal costs linked with getting to the position where a bank is in a position to obtain and maintain its banking licence: 1) Implementing a reporting system that satisfies the requirements of the regulators. In addition to standard financial reports these would include implementing the systems to monitor and report capital adequacy, liquidity, credit risk, and interest rate risk etc. 2) Ensuring that there is the necessary infrastructure in place to satisfy individual regulatory requirements on operational areas such as money laundering, advertising and sales of financial products. There are also noteworthy sunk costs in coping with the provision of creativity infrastructure. To replace the existing branch and service centre network and administrative buildings is a major project in its own right and in addition to the costs of such physical assets, which are on the balance sheet it would be necessary to handle the stipulation of such facilities. Costs would also be involved in the provision of such items as HR policies, for example the sunk costs associated with setting up employee benefit programmes, such as pension plans, stock options, bonus schemes, car schemes, health care etc. The same tactic has been adopted and this turns up at an total expenditure of  £ [255] m. This is probably a conservative estimate. Over the period 1996 to 2000 NatWest incurred expenses of around  £ [13] bn in respect of its Retail Transformation programme, which was only a modification of part of its existing infrastructure rather than creation of a totally innovative one. (RBSG, 2002) NatWest depends entirely upon the qualities of innovation, and suffer more acutely from the rapidity of transform. Whether in presentation, writing, the visual arts or advertising, the progress of new ‘product’ is at the heart of all doings. Without this self- generated action, there is not anything to put up for sale. The sector therefore has a specific and challenging manufacturing process or value chain which, at each stage, demands different talents. At the raw development end of production (ideas generation, creating, training) there is a need for concepts, leading edge ideas and formulations, creativity, innovation and initiative customer orientation. Problem solving is paramount. At the moment of production (turning ideas into products, locations for production) – this first set of aptitudes is still important but must be supplemented by: _ï€  Intelligence, understanding of the market, industry foresight and strategic view; _ï€  Effective management o f resources; _ï€  Ability to develop and manage relationships with partners, explore new connections and collaborations with suppliers. The merger of the Royal Bank of Scotland (BoS) and Halifax to form HBOS resulted from increasing competitive pressures in the financial sector. Since about 1980, with the decline of heavy industries and growth of a service economy, like other clearing banks, BoS was obliged to expand further into small business lending and new retail products (e.g. residential mortgages, financial services, credit cards, etc.). Competition was exaggerated by banking deregulation, which led to the growth of a secondary banking sector, the transformation of many building societies (including Halifax) into banks, and new amalgamations into ever-larger banks (as cited in Leyshon and Thrift 1993). During this period there was increasing concern in the Scottish banking community about the potential for takeovers to erode a distinctive Scottish banking sector (as cited in Saville 1996: 717-40), which had been partly maintained by an historical ‘gentleman’s agreement’ between the English and Scottish banks to limit their presences in each other’s markets. In September 1999, BoS surprised The City of London by making a  £20.85 billion bid to take over NatWest Bank, in effect striking first in an environment where further bank mergers seemed inevitable. Many in the financial press were quick to point out that under these new terms, BoS and other Scottish banks could not expect to have the ir future ‘independence’ protected. In late November the Royal Bank of Scotland, BoS’s main competitor in Scotland, made a successful counter bid of  £25.1 billion. The City now anticipated a takeover of BoS, compelling BoS to keep pace with the Royal Bank. BoS and Halifax began merger negotiations in April 2001, and the new banking group, HBOS, began trading on the stock market on 10 September, 2001. The Halifax was the dominant partner in the merger, being about twice the size of BoS in terms of number of employees and market value at the time of merger, and supplying key organizational leadership, including the CEO. The core rationale of the merger was that it brought together Halifax’s substantial mortgage lending income and BoS’s expertise and placement in the corporate banking world to create new business opportunities for the merged organisation. It also saw the dislocation of BoS’s rather conventional, cautious and habitual banking ethos by the more modern, competitive and market driven ethos of the Halifax organisation. Thus the merger was experienced by staff as an encounter between two different corporate cultures, and two different national cultures, at the same time. By ‘the ideology of change’ it specifies an ideological condition that corresponds closely with Therborn’s conception of modernity. With this phrase I want to dire ct attention not so much to a set of ideas and beliefs about change, but more to a disposition, or attitude toward change. I mean to suggest a normatively charged attitude in which established ways of doing things are devalued and innovation and change is positively valued in principle, regardless of the particulars of any given situation. It is, in a sense, a ‘presumption of guilt’ in regard to the old, and ‘presumption of innocence’ in regard to the new. This attitude is deeply naturalised, so that the imperative and positive value of change is widely regarded as self-evident, and not easily questioned. Thus rather than the great social critiques and political programmes associated with the formation of modernity, I mean to invoke a routinized and normalized aspect of established modernity—seen in the way political parties and governments promote themselves through promises of reform, in the way corporations and public institutions are constantly restructuring in order to ‘modernize’ and keep pace with their competitors, and in the way consumer-citizens in capitalist society come to expect scientific and technological advances that will increase knowledge and improve commodities and services, while fashions in popular culture rapidly replaces one another. The ideology of change is mundane, relentless common sense. Some problems of ‘innovation and creativity’ lay with the organization and its leadershi p, rather than personnel, the exhortation to embrace change was ultimately being translated into a message of personal moral reform. In this way the ideology of change, while meeting resistance, percolated down to beleaguered selves seeking some greater purchase on their state of affiars. (Hearn 2006) HRM Strategic Milestones in NatWest: During 1990–91 County NatWest, an investment bank, asked all its business units, including its personnel department, to set up strategic milestones for a five-year period. Their performance was to be measured against those milestones at specified target dates. The requirement to produce strategic milestones as an input to the bank’s five-year marked an important watershed in defining the contribution of personnel to the business at a strategic level. It forced the department to reflect on the nature of that contribution. Senior management of the bank duly authorised 18 separate strategic milestones. The milestones were consistent one with the other, and overall addressed issues that consultation within business units and across the three personnel teams had shown to be critical to business success. Each milestone was assigned to a designated individual and was incorporated into his or her own targets of performance. Quarterly reviews on progress, involving the whole department, were subsequently held to ensure that the milestones were on target. The operational tasks that a centralised T&D planning process involves seek to ensure that: T&D considerations are taken fully into account when business strategy is formulated. They form part of a human resource plan within the wider business plan. At business unit/divisional level there are policies to ensure people are trained and developed in line with the needs of the business. At the individual level T&D is an integrated part of daily routine and procedures, helping people to achieve performance standards and behavioral objectives and building up the kind of workforce needed in terms of productivity, quality and flexibility. T&D staff operates a collaborative approach to planning at every stage in order to ensure a high level of buy-in from line management and other stakeholders. (Harrison 2001) Conclusion: NatWest Bank had recently a remarkable triumph over the competitors on November 15 2006 in the 12th Annual Convention- CCA Excellence Awards categorized for â€Å"Best Customer Focus: Financial Services† (details available on http://www.ccai.org.uk/events). The Bank is the second giant bank in the entire Europe (after Deutsche Bank) and incredibly progressed in a very short span of time (as discussed in the historical background). NatWest’s creativity and innovation â€Å"line of attack† led the bank to the stature of success. Chinua Achebe (1930 – ), Nigerian novelist, poet, and essayist rightly says: â€Å"Contradictions if well understood and managed can spark off the fires of invention. Orthodoxy whether of the right or of the left is the graveyard of creativity†. (Anthills of the Savannah) References NatWest; A History, (2006), NatWest Bank, available on accessed April 29 2007. Cosh and Hughes, (2000), Tackling Market Failures, British Bankers Association. Jonathan Hearn, (2006), National Identity, Organisational Culture, and the Ideology of Change in Scotland, BSA Annual Conference, Scottish Study Group. Rosemary Harrison, (2005), Producing and Implementing L&D Strategy, CIPD Publications. Appendix A: NatWest Glossary AER – Annual Equivalent Rate. This shows what the interest rate would be if interest were paid and added to your account each year. APR – Annual Percentage Rate. The interest payable on what you’ve borrowed is added up along with other charges (e.g. arrangement fees) and then expressed as an annual rate of charge. The APR helps you compare the true cost of borrowing, for example for a mortgage. The APR takes into account all fees and charges applied to the mortgage as well as the monthly payments over the life of the loan. arrangement fee â₠¬â€œ a fee to cover administration. arrears – money that was due to be paid but has not been paid. When you are behind in payments, you are in arrears. assets – your money, property, goods and so on that have a financial value. assurance – a policy that you pay for, and that pays money to your next of kin when you die. banker’s draft – a cheque drawn on the bank (or building society) itself against either a cash deposit or money taken directly from your own bank account. A banker’s draft is a secure way of receiving money from someone you don’t know and where a cash is inconvenient. Banker’s drafts are commonly used for large purchases such as homes and cars. base rate – the interest rate from which lenders set their rates for lending and savings products. It’s usually based on the base rate set by the Bank of England. capital – money that you’ve invested or borrowed (e.g. to buy a home). It doesn’t include the income or profit you get from an investment, or the interest you have to pay on a loan o r mortgage. CHAPS – Clearing House Automated Payment System. This is a system that enables money to be transferred from one bank account to another on the same day. chip and PIN – a system to reduce card fraud. A chip and PIN card has a ‘smart’ chip that holds your four-digit Personal Identification Number (PIN). When you pay in a shop with a chip and PIN card, you’ll be asked to enter your PIN into a keypad instead of signing a receipt. This PIN is the same number that you use to withdraw money at a cash machine. cleared balance/cleared funds – includes credits (cheques and cash) that have completed the clearing cycle. You can only withdraw or transfer money to another account with money from your cleared balance. The cleared balance is updated during the day as you make payments into and out of your account. clearing cycle – the process that your cheque goes through when you pay it into your account. A cheque won’t be cleared if, for example, the person who gave it to you doesn’t have en ough money in their account. credit card – allows you to borrow money to pay for goods and services without using cash or cheques. credit balance – the amount of money in your account. credit limit – the maximum amount of money that you may borrow. debit card – allows you to pay for goods and services without writing cheques or using cash. The money is taken directly from your current account (you don’t borrow the money as with a credit card). Some debit cards can also be used to guarantee cheques. debt – an amount of money that you owe to a person or company. Direct Debit – an instruction from you to your bank or building society allowing someone to take money from your account. The amount of money taken can vary, but you must be told the amounts and dates beforehand. Direct Debits allow you to pay bills automatically from your account on a regular basis. discounted rate – a variable rate that is set at a fixed percentage amount below the lender’s standard variable rate for a period of time. At the end of the period, the mortgage goes back to the lender’s variable rate. EAR – Effective Annual Rate. This is the amount of interest charged on an overdraft and is stated as an annual rate. Unlike the APR, the figure does not include any fees or charges. Equity (in property) – the difference between how much your property is worth the balance of your outstanding mortgage and any other debts secured on the property. Equity release – a way of releasing extra money by borrowing against the equity in your home. ERTF – Exchange Rate Transaction Fee. This is a fee that you pay when withdrawing foreign currency from a cash machine or when paying for something in another currency (e.g. when you’re on holiday abroad). The foreign currency is converted into pounds sterling (using the bank’s exchange rate) and a fee for doing this is added. fixed-rate interest – an interest rate that stays the same throughout an agreed period. flexible mortgage – a mortgage that allows you to make overpayments and underpayments on the mortgage without penalty, and, in some cases, to take payment holidays. gross – the whole amount before any deductions (such as tax or fees) are made. gross interest rate – interest before income tax is deducted. Insurance policy – a policy that you pay for, and that pays money to you to cover possibilities such as theft, damage to property, loss and so on. interest – the amount that you pay when you borrow money. It’s expressed as a percentage rate over a period of time. interest-free – no interest is charged on money that you borrow. interest-only mortgages – a loan on which you only pay the interest element. The amount of capital you owe remains the same throughout the term of the mortgage and is due to be repaid at the end of the term. interest rate – the rate at which you pay back interest, expressed as a percentage of the amount you borrow. investment – something you put money into that will provide income in the future (such as savings) or gain in value so that you can sell it at a higher price later (such as a house). loan – money that you borrow (e.g. to buy a new car) on condition that you pay it back. lifetime mortgage – a type of equity release product for the over 60s, which allows you to release money by borrowing against the value of your home. There are no monthly repayments, instead the interest is added to the loan and the whole amount is repaid when you die or move into long-term care, usually from the sale of the house. This means more interest will build up than with a conventional mortgage. mortgage – a loan to help you buy property on condition that the company giving you the loan has certain rights, including the right to sell the property if you don’t pay back the loan. net – the amount after deductions (such as tax or fees) are made. net interest rate – the rate payable after the lower rate of income tax is deducted. (NB the rate of tax may vary, so a net rate is usually only given as an example.) nominal annual rate – the rate of interest that would apply if the interest were not added each year and if there were no inflation. overdraft – borrowings from your current account. overpayment – higher or extra mortgage payments that you make (usually to pay off your loan or mortgage early). p.a. – ‘per annum’, which means ‘each year’. payment holiday – a period of one or more months when you don’t make repayments on your loan or mortgage, although interest continues to accrue during that time. PIN – Personal Identification Number. This is the four-digit number that you enter into a cash machine when you want to take out cash, and that you use when you pay with your chip and PIN card. Never give this number to anyone, or write it down. rate – the percentage interest rate charged by a lender. remortgage – replacing a mortgage with a new one (from your existing or a different lender), without moving home. You use the money you borrow for the new mortgage to repay the old one. repayment method – the means by which a mortgage is repaid. The two main repayment methods are ‘interest only’ and ‘repayment’. repayment mortgage – a loan where you pay back some of the capital as well as interest each month. The amount you owe is gradually reduced. return – the profit you get, for example, when you invest money. share – a unit of ownership in a company. share certificate – shows the amount of ownership. share dealing – the process of buying and selling shares. standing order – a method of making regular payments directly from your bank account. It’s a fixed sum and you tell your bank when to start and stop paying it. stock – another term for share. transaction – each time you pay money into or take money out of your account, it’s called a transaction. unarranged borrowing – an overdraft that is higher than your bank or building society has agreed to. uncleared balance – the amount of money in your account including all the uncleared items in your account and any items paid in during the day. underpayment – a loan or mortgage payment that is less than the amount that you should normally pay for that month. variable-rate interest – the interest rate that you pay on your loan or mortgage and that rises and falls roughly in line with a stated index, such as the base rate set by the Bank of England. (NatWest , 2006, available on http://www.natwest.co.uk/glossary.htm/>)

Deception Point Page 92

Through the darkness, a staccato burst from the nose of the chopper sent a torrent of bullets chewing across the Goya's fiberglass deck, slashing a line across the stern. Rachel dove for cover too late and felt the searing slash of a bullet graze her arm. She hit the ground hard, then rolled, scrambling to get behind the bulbous transparent dome of the Triton submersible. A thundering of rotors exploded overhead as the chopper swooped past the ship. The noise evaporated with an eerie hiss as the chopper rocketed out over the ocean and began a wide bank for a second pass. Lying trembling on the deck, Rachel held her arm and looked back at Tolland and Corky. Apparently having lunged to cover behind a storage structure, the two men were now staggering to their feet, their eyes scanning the skies in terror. Rachel pulled herself to her knees. The entire world suddenly seemed to be moving in slow motion. Crouched behind the transparent curvature of the Triton sub, Rachel looked in panic toward their only means of escape-the Coast Guard helicopter. Xavia was already climbing into the chopper's cabin, frantically waving for everyone to get aboard. Rachel could see the pilot lunging into the cockpit, wildly throwing switches and levers. The blades began to turn†¦ ever so slowly. Too slowly. Hurry! Rachel felt herself standing now, preparing to run, wondering if she could make it across the deck before the attackers made another pass. Behind her, she heard Corky and Tolland dashing toward her and the waiting helicopter. Yes! Hurry! Then she saw it. A hundred yards out, up in the sky, materializing out of empty darkness, a pencil-thin beam of red light slanted across the night, searching the Goya's deck. Then, finding its mark, the beam came to a stop on the side of the waiting Coast Guard chopper. The image took only an instant to register. In that horrific moment, Rachel felt all the action on the deck of the Goya blur into a collage of shapes and sounds. Tolland and Corky dashing toward her-Xavia motioning wildly in the helicopter-the stark red laser slicing across the night sky. It was too late. Rachel spun back toward Corky and Tolland, who were running full speed now toward the helicopter. She lunged outward into their path, arms outstretched trying to stop them. The collision felt like a train wreck as the three of them crashed to the deck in a tangle of arms and legs. In the distance, a flash of white light appeared. Rachel watched in disbelief and horror as a perfectly straight line of exhaust fire followed the path of the laser beam directly toward the helicopter. When the Hellfire missile slammed into the fuselage, the helicopter exploded apart like a toy. The concussion wave of heat and noise thundered across the deck as flaming shrapnel rained down. The helicopter's flaming skeleton lurched backward on its shattered tail, teetered a moment, and then fell off the back of the ship, crashing into the ocean in a hissing cloud of steam. Rachel closed her eyes, unable to breathe. She could hear the flaming wreckage gurgling and sputtering as it sank, being dragged away from the Goya by the heavy currents. In the chaos, Michael Tolland's voice was yelling. Rachel felt his powerful hands trying to pull her to her feet. But she could not move. The Coast Guard pilot and Xavia are dead. We're next. 111 The weather on the Milne Ice Shelf had settled, and the habisphere was quiet. Even so, NASA administrator Lawrence Ekstrom had not even tried to sleep. He had spent the hours alone, pacing the dome, staring into the extraction pit, running his hands over the grooves in the giant charred rock. Finally, he'd made up his mind. Now he sat at the videophone in the habisphere's PSC tank and looked into the weary eyes of the President of the United States. Zach Herney was wearing a bathrobe and did not look at all amused. Ekstrom knew he would be significantly less amused when he learned what Ekstrom had to tell him. When Ekstrom finished talking, Herney had an uncomfortable look on his face-as if he thought he must still be too asleep to have understood correctly. â€Å"Hold on,† Herney said. â€Å"We must have a bad connection. Did you just tell me that NASA intercepted this meteorite's coordinates from an emergency radio transmission-and then pretended that PODS found the meteorite?† Ekstrom was silent, alone in the dark, willing his body to awake from this nightmare. The silence clearly did not sit well with the President. â€Å"For Christ's sake, Larry, tell me this isn't true!† Ekstrom's mouth went dry. â€Å"The meteorite was found, Mr. President. That is all that's relevant here.† â€Å"I said tell me this is not true!† The hush swelled to a dull roar in Ekstrom's ears. I had to tell him, Ekstrom told himself. It's going to get worse before it gets better. â€Å"Mr. President, the PODS failure was killing you in the polls, sir. When we intercepted a radio transmission that mentioned a large meteorite lodged in the ice, we saw a chance to get back in the fight.† Herney sounded stunned. â€Å"By faking a PODS discovery?† â€Å"PODS was going to be up and running soon, but not soon enough for the election. The polls were slipping, and Sexton was slamming NASA, so†¦ â€Å" â€Å"Are you insane! You lied to me, Larry!† â€Å"The opportunity was staring us in the face, sir. I decided to take it. We intercepted the radio transmission of the Canadian who made the meteorite discovery. He died in a storm. Nobody else knew the meteorite was there. PODS was orbiting in the area. NASA needed a victory. We had the coordinates.† â€Å"Why are you telling me this now?† â€Å"I thought you should know.† â€Å"Do you know what Sexton would do with this information if he found out?† Ekstrom preferred not to think about it. â€Å"He'd tell the world that NASA and the White House lied to the American people! And you know what, he'd be right!† â€Å"You did not lie, sir, I did. And I will step down if-â€Å" â€Å"Larry, you're missing the point. I've tried to run this presidency on truth and decency! Goddamn it! Tonight was clean. Dignified. Now I find out I lied to the world?† â€Å"Only a small lie, sir.† â€Å"There's no such thing, Larry,† Herney said, steaming. Ekstrom felt the tiny room closing in around him. There was so much more to tell the President, but Ekstrom could see it should wait until morning. â€Å"I'm sorry to have woken you, sir. I just thought you should know.† Across town, Sedgewick Sexton took another hit of cognac and paced his apartment with rising irritation. Where the hell is Gabrielle? 112 Gabrielle Ashe sat in the darkness at Senator Sexton's desk and gave his computer a despondent scowl. Invalid Password – Access Denied She had tried several other passwords that seemed likely possibilities, but none had worked. After searching the office for any unlocked drawers or stray clues, Gabrielle had all but given up. She was about to leave when she spotted something odd, shimmering on Sexton's desk calendar. Someone had outlined the date of the election in a red, white, and blue glitter pen. Certainly not the senator. Gabrielle pulled the calendar closer. Emblazoned across the date was a frilly, glittering exclamation: POTUS! Sexton's ebullient secretary had apparently glitterpainted some more positive thinking for him for election day. The acronym POTUS was the U.S. Secret Service's code name for President of the United States. On election day, if all went well, Sexton would become the new POTUS. Preparing to leave, Gabrielle realigned the calendar on his desk and stood up. She paused suddenly, glancing back at the computer screen. Enter Password:_ She looked again at the calendar.

Holocaust Ghettos Essay Example

Holocaust Ghettos Essay Example Holocaust Ghettos Paper Holocaust Ghettos Paper In this paper, I will discuss what life would be like to be a Jew inside one of the 1,000 of ghettos within Poland and the Soviet Union. I will imagine myself a member of the Jewish council, describing the conditions of ghetto life and reflect on my role and relationships inside the ghetto. Ghettos were set up all over Poland and the Soviet Union, with some of the major ghettos Including Warsaw, Load, Love, Lubing, Krakow, and Bilabials. The German authorities were supposed to oversee the dally actively of the Jews Inside the ghettos. Instead, the Nazis appointed Jewish Councils or Juddered In each ghetto to implement Nazi policies. The Jewish Council served at the whim of the German authorities but also tried to be the voice for the Jews. In each ghetto the Jewish Council also distributed scarce resources, organized social life, set up charities, and tried to find ways to maintain some kind of human community (Genocide 1 15). As the book explains, They [Nazis] appointed recognized Jewish leaders-prominent people, businessmen, teachers, lawyers-to these boards and assigned them the task of carrying out German orders within the ghettos (Genocide 115). Living conditions Inside the Ghettos were absolutely horrendous with overcrowding, starvation, disease, little running water or electricity, lack of medical aid, and hard labor. Alternative ways to feed their females by smuggling In food or sending their children out to find food became prominent as the Jews sought any means possible to keep themselves fed. There was already famine at that time in the Ghetto, and the streets were littered with people dying of hunger (Images 137). Very little resistance was possible in most of the ghettos, as the Nazis kept a strict eye on everything. As we saw in the movie, The Pianist, a young boy was beaten to death limning through a small hole in the wall trying to bring food back into the ghetto (The Pianist). Jews were given small rations of food a week that could barely feed one person. Jews were made to contribute to the German war effort by working in German factories making uniforms, boots, bed linen, and underwear. The reason why working cards were so essential was because It was the only way the Jews could officially stay In the ghettos. They were given more of an opportunity to not be deported to the death camps by working. Jews who didnt have work cards frantically tried to get them. We saw that In the movie when Adrian Brood got his father a work card to save him. He believed that if he got everyone in his family a work card then teen would stay together ( plants). I nee wealthy Jews were Trace to live Walt poor Jews but they seemed to live a better life by buying what they wanted. Only the wealthy Jews could buy on the black market. The Pianist gave us an idea about the class divisions between the wealthy and poor Jews. Adrian Brood played a pianist, and in one scene he was playing in a cafe © where the wealthy Jews ate. While the poor Jews were on the streets dying, starving, and dirty, the wealthy Jews were smoking, ringing, laughing, and listening to good music (The Pianist). The Jewish Councils relationship with the Nazis was an uncommon one. To a lot of the Jewish leaders it was a burden. They were powerless to help but yet they were forced to do what the Nazis wanted. In cases when members of the councils refused to cooperate, German officials dismissed them or had them shot and then replaced with more compliant men (Genocide 115). Some believed that cooperating with the Germans would help them survive longer but they too eventually were killed. There was a love hate relationship with their fellow Jews. Above them loomed German orders; below them spread the ever more desperate needs of the Jewish communi ties (Genocide 116). Some of the Jews resented the Jewish Council, saying they should have warned them or done more. They didnt like the Council collaborating with the Germans. The Jewish Councils tried to help their people, to maintain order, save lives, and to feed, clothe, and doctor the Jews in the ghettos (Genocide 116). There was hostility from their own people and in some ways it pushed them to behave the opposite of their goal. They tried to mediate and plead on the Jews behalf. Some Council members helped with the resistance and some believed it would doom the entire ghetto. An example of the Jewish Council in the ghetto is, New proclamations from the Juddered have been hung up which have caused panic among the Jews. The families of those working are no longer protected (Images 161). The Jewish Council formed its own Jewish Order Police. The Jewish police were also made to enforce order and deport Jews following the commands of the Germans. Like the Council, the Order Police were also disliked among the ghetto tenants. The purpose of the police was to prevent crime, supervise notation, and direct traffic. The Jewish police delivered to the Germans exactly the number of people needed, rounding them up any way they could, beating and kicking those who didnt want to go (Images 141). They collected ransom payments, stole valuables, fetched people for forced labor, forced payment of taxes, guarded the gates, and rounding up Jews for deportations. One of the problems with the police was evident in, A Cup of Tears, The Jewish police have been looting, breaking open flats, emptying cupboards, smashing crockery and destroying property, Just for the UN of it (Images 158). Henry Gordon proclaimed, It wasnt long before the Jewish police had an opportunity to profit even more from our misery (Images 141). There were a lot of problems and tension with the Jewish police. Ghetto police carried out the orders of the Nazis, assisting with deportations, punishment and oppression. Deportation required organization on a massive scale with the help of many people and organizations. Jews would be rounded up from the Ghettos and made to prepare for their resettlement taking with them few of their most valuable possessions, IT teen were addle. I nee Germans uses Torrent Ana passenger trains for the deportations. The Germans demanded that members of the Jewish council assist in organizing the deportations. The Wannabes Conference was held to coordinate the deportation of Jews to killing centers. The Germans attempted to disguise their intentions. They sought to portray the deportations as a resettlement of the Jewish population in labor camps in the East. They were consumed by fear and anxiety, not knowing their fate. By now an ever-growing number of Jews tended to believe the horrible new rumors that all the German remises were false and that the so called resettlement actually meant only one thing-death (Images 145). In, The Pianist, we saw how Jews were rounded up in small areas waiting for the trains. Some of the Jews were questioning it and some didnt want to believe that they were being sent to their death. We also saw the family working, taking the valuables out of thousands of suitcases from the people who were deported. Obviously they never came back but no one really knew for sure what was happening (The Pianist). Every day children became orphaned, and many had to take care of even younger children. Orphans often lived on the streets, begging for bits of bread from others who had little or nothing to share. Many froze to death in the winter. They were broken full of despair. Simon tells us that, Little Eli in the Ghetto survived miraculously the many raids on the children, who were looked upon as non-working, useless mouths (Images 137). Women and children were usually the first to be deported because they werent as useful as the men. It looks like there is a policy to liquidate women and children (Images 156). The fear of keeping their wives and children fed and hiding them from the Germans consumed most men. Kristin Kern explains, My father was always looking for places to hide my little brother, Pale, and me because the Germans were intent on getting rid of all the Jewish children (Images 46). The way that families dealt with their fate and their families fate included giving up their children to save themselves, hiding, working, becoming part of the resistance, committing suicide, doing whatever you can to fed and clothe your family, and escape. Some people followed their families on the deportation trains even when they had work cards because they didnt want to leave heir family. I personally would hide, escape, and do anything to save my family and myself. Many Jews responded to the ghetto restrictions by forming Jewish resistance groups and engaging in illegal activities. Others believed that becoming part of the Jewish Council mediating between the Germans and Jews would help maintain order and save lives and some became servants to the Germans, with the power and cruelty of the Jewish Police. In the end, ghettos were used as a central step in the Nazi process of control, demutualization, and annihilation of Jews.

How the Movie Crash Presents the African Americans

How the Movie Crash Presents the African Americans Racial discrimination, prejudice and stereotype issues remain complicated matters in America. The theme of the movie the Crash is about racial discrimination in the modern America. Its creator, Paul Haggis, utilizes dialogue as well as the physical actions of the characters in the movie to illustrate the stereotypes that each of the characters holds about a particular race.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on How the Movie Crash Presents the African Americans specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The main style that haggis applied in the creation of the movie was the antagonist and protagonist approach. The movie setting was in a variety of scenes including; snow, fire as well as day and night settings. Another aim that Haggis achieves in the movie is to reveal to the audience the different roles that each of the many races play in the modern America. The movie presumes that people always feel prejudice and express racial s entiments against members of the other group; they also face the consequences of these feelings and resentments (Ebert 2006, p. 217). This paper analyses how the movie portrays the African American race as far as racial prejudice and discrimination is concerned. The crash was filmed in Los Angels which Haggis points out through the movie as a fertile ground for racial tension. The movie paints a picture of the racial tensions that are rife in any multicultural society. Los Angels is the battle ground of the problems of racial discrimination and prejudice. The black’s community is the most oppressed and the poor victims of racial discrimination. What comes out clearly from the movie is that racism is not entirely a white problem but rather a human problem. All human beings tend to react against one another with prejudice based either on race or ethnicity. Every character in the movie is either a creator or a victim of the racial prejudice of the other. The crash fearlessly p oints out the whites as the dominant racists starting from the racist cop all to the prejudice of the purse clutching wealthy woman (Vera Feagin 2007, p.124). One can easily conclude that the other ethnic groups react in a revenging manner to the treatment they receive from the whites and hitting back at them and against each other. Methodology This paper reviews the movie â€Å"the Crash† with particular interest to how the movie portrays the African Americans. This analysis will review the various episodes of the movie, paying special attention on the treatment that the African Americans receive from the other groups and how they also respond to members of the other groups. Advertising Looking for report on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Instances of racial prejudice against the various black characters shall be pointed out as painted by the author of the movie. We shall also point out i nstances where the African Americans characters react in racial manner against the other races. The paper relies on scholarly reviews of the movie to emphasis the position taken in the discussion and validates it more. The incidences of racial prejudice from either way shall be analyzed and reported to reveal how the group of focus in the movie by this paper is portrayed. Findings and Analysis Most of those who have viewed the movie the crash hold the view that this movie presents an amplified reality that serves to rekindle the viewers’ conscience about racial prejudice. The episodes of racial prejudice are presented in a way that leaves the viewer wondering if he or she has can react in a similar manner to members of different races. It is not a mirror to reflect the reality of life but instead a magnifying glass to humanity, reflecting on the weakness that mankind has towards one another, based our differences. Human differences exist as a result of race, culture and ethn icity. The name of the movie seems to be an analogy of the several car crashes that are featured in the movie. The storyline begins some days to Christmas in Los Angeles with an episode where two the lead character of the movie Sandra Bullock together with her husband who was also the district attorney is carjacked. The carjacking incidence involves some African American guys. In this episode, the carjackers who are African Americans are presented as primitive and barbaric individuals whose prejudice targets the whites. Their heinous activities target the whites with an aim of hitting back at them. Another episode occurs in a different part of Los Angeles in which the cops Ryan and Hanson show racism by pulling over on Cameron an African American director together with his wife. The attack occurs without any apparent cause; Ryan goes a head to sexually molest the Christine the wife of Cameron in front of her husband who appears helpless at this moment. He justifies his actions by saying he was searching for hidden weapons in Christine’s cloths. Advertising We will write a custom report sample on How the Movie Crash Presents the African Americans specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This episode paints the cops a different picture of what they are supposed to be. The cops are supposed to provide security and ensure that victims of racial prejudice are defended according to the law. When the agents of security instead turn out to be the racists then it becomes trickier for the victims. It appears like the cops would rather attend to cases where fellow whites are victims rather than where the African Americans are the victims. The acts of the cop towards Christine are very dehumanizing considering that the cop was molesting her right in front of her husband. Christine was so angered that her husband Cameron did not react to what the cop was doing to her right in front of him. In response, the husband defends his quietness saying that was the right thing to do at that time. The scene at Cobalt’s house where a locksmith Mr. Michael Pena was called to change the lock also shows a racist act by Sandra. Sandra is in an argument with her husband Rick to change the locksmith. Being black, Sandra argues that the locksmith was a member of the gang that carjacked them. The locksmith overhears the argument and the negative comments directed to him. The locksmith leaves feeling insulted; this scene carries the prejudice that Sandra has towards the blacks and especially after being carjacked by the two young black men. The locksmith was indeed not a member of the gang but because of the prejudice that Sandra had towards the blacks, she generalizes the experience she had from the black thieves to all blacks. According to her, any black is a car thief and she does not want to interact with them in any way. The locksmith is apparently very sensitive to the racial comments hurled against her b y the Sandra and leaves feeling insulted. The two car thieves Anthony and peter proceed to the SUV, discussing issues of racism and country music. While in the discussion, they hit an Asian man, the two are puzzled by the event and instead of helping the injured victim they dump him in front of a hospital. Under normal circumstances, one would expect immediate first aid to the car accident victim or being rushed to hospital for medical check-up. The negligent attitude by peter and Anthony can be linked to the racial difference between them and the Asian man. This shows how bad racial prejudice can be; to an extent that on looses the human feelings towards fellow humans just because they belong to a different race. When eventually the two return the car to the owner, Mr. Lucien, he refuses to take the car because it had bloodstains. The demand that Lucien places on peter and his friend Anthony are too high and can also be linked to the racial differences between them. Advertising Looking for report on ethnicity studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There is also an episode where the car thief Anthony refuses to board a bus that was carrying fellow blacks with a claim that he can not rob a black man. This was a clear indication that gang targeted members of different races but not their fellow blacks. Their target is clear prejudice directed towards other races. There is general hatred for the racist cop by Shaniqua. Ryan pays Shaniqua a visit to explain the condition of his ailing father and how he badly requires a transfer. Because of the hatred that Shaniqua has towards Ryan, she refuses to grant her the transfer arguing that the health cover on offer does not take care of the fathers’ case. Ryan is annoyed by her objection and tries to tell her how the now ailing father fought tirelessly for affirmative action to grant equal rights to the blacks as the minority group. Shaniqua reveals that he could only accept to the request if it was the father who had come but not Ryan. This episode is an illustration of the preju dice that those holding office position have to people who do not belong to their race. Services even in public offices are offered with divided loyalty based on which race one belongs. This are samples of new forms of racism that are currently replacing the older forms of racial prejudice (Ebert 2009, p. 232). The racist cop Ryan seems to have been noted by many people who are equally waiting for a chance to revenge against his behavior. When Cameron goes to the studio where he works, the producer who is a white claims one of the black actors in the movie is not acting as a black. The producer insists the black actor should act properly like a black person. Because of this, the producer suspends the production of the movie and orders Cameron to re-shoot the movie again. The treatment he receives from the white producer leaves him disgusted and annoyed by the comments made by the producer about the blacks. Two racial issues are clear from this episode, one is the perception that t he white producer has about how the blacks should act in the movie and the attitude that he has towards Cameron as to force him to reshoot the movie to look like black. At the same incidence, Cameron’s wife Christine arrives and reminds him of the previous instance in the hands of the racist cop. Memories of the act makes Cameron more annoyed and he leaves her crying. Farhad refused to pay Daniel a black man for fixing the lock to his door after he told him he needed a new door. Daniel left disgusted and a few days later, Farhad’s shop was wrecked and labeled with racial impressions in graffiti. Farhad was so much annoyed by the act and set out to find the locksmith. He went to an insurance company for compensation but was turned away the company terming it an act of negligence. Farhad proceeded to the locksmith company demanding to be told the name of the fellow who had fixed the lock to his shop but the company refused to disclose the name to him. Farhad wanted to launch revenge to Daniel for the racist illustrations and the wrecking of his shop. Racial prejudice is revealed in the decision that the locksmith takes to put racist illustrations on the shop as revenge against the owner refusing to pay him. There are definitely many legal steps Daniel would have taken to demand payment from Farhad, instead he choose to hurt Farhad by the graffiti illustrations on his shop. Discussion When Christine was involved in an accident, Ryan was on patrol and ran to the scene of accident to assist the casualties. Christine was trapped in the crashed car and crying out for help, when Christine saw Ryan as one among those who had come to her rescue, she screamed at him. She remembered the ordeal she underwent in the hands of Ryan and felt he could easily do the same again. Ryan was more human this time and assisted together with others at the scene to pull her out of the nearly burning wreck. This time Christine was more grateful to Ryan for the effort to a ssist her out of the nearly burning wreck. As Hilliard (2009, p. 147) points out, racism is more of a personal responsibility and should not be generalized to a group. The impact of racism is felt more by those who have ever been victims of the act from others. Another scene that depicts the role of African Americans in racial prejudice is brought out when Cameron was driving as stopped at a road sign. Peter and Anthony the two black carjackers pulled over to carjack him, not realizing that he was one of them. A fight ensues between them which attract the nearby cops to the scene. Cameron and Anthony take off together in the car which the cops decide to give a chase. Their car is eventually cornered and Cameron comes out threatening the cops, Anthony instead hides in the back seat. The two are arrested by the police for investigation but later released from the cops’ custody. Cameron is annoyed by Anthony terming him an embarrassment. It is clear in this episode the prejudic e Anthony and peter have against the whites, their attack on Cameron a fellow black was a mistaken. They targeted to carjack at least a person of different race but not one of their own. When they are cornered Cameron comes out to threaten the white cops but Anthony instead hides in the car. Cameron is annoyed at how Anthony can not come out to assist him hit back at the cops. Peter and the cop Hansen meet in a controversial scene; peter picked up Hansen and was seen to be in a friendly mood chatting heartily with him. A problem later ensues when peter points at the statute on Hansen’s dashboard. It was a statute of sir Christopher, instead peter pulls out his statute from the pocket and tries to justify how his was more superior than that of Hansen. Hansen is annoyed by peter’s reaction to his statute and shoots him dead. The movie begins with characters that seem to be all independent but only reveal their dependence towards the end of the movie. After shooting pe ter, Hansen abandoned his car and set it ablaze, this may be associated likely to the guilt that he had after shooting and damping peter’s body. Cameron comes across the burning car and instead of trying some effort that could stop the fire; he threw a piece of wood into the fire. This was intended to even fan the fire more. The act was because the car belonged to Hansen who was a white cop. On visiting the chop shop, Anthony met a group of illegal immigrants to whom Lucien offered $500 each, Anthony refused the money and instead offered to drop off the immigrants to Chinatown, he also gave one of them some money to buy himself food. This act towards the immigrant left him more redeemed. Conclusion Haggis succeeded in painting the picture of human weakness in the face of racial or ethnic differences. The modern America comprises of different racial groups from all over the world who have migrated and settled in search of opportunities. Others were taken there during the days of slavery. There are also illegal immigrants who continue to flock in from various parts of the world seeking for better opportunities or running away from problems in their countries. The differences based on race, culture and ethnicity often brew serious tensions among the various groups. It is worthy noting that racism is not a problem of one particular group or race but a problem of humanity. There is no one group that is a victim forever just as there is no group that is a perpetual creator of racism. Human beings tend to cluster one another according to the similarities they have in terms of race and ethnicity. Some of the scenes in the Movie Crash can be offending to viewers from the different various racial groups but holds a lot of truth (Garret 2007, p. 126). Racial prejudice and discrimination can only be dealt with by cultivating consciousness through movies like the crash. Reference List Ebert, R. (2009). Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook 2009. Kansas City: Andrew McMeel Publishing Company Ebert, R. (2006). Awake In the Dark: The Best Of Roger Ebert: Forty Years Of Reviews, Essays. Chicago: university of Chicago Press Garrett, G. (2007). The Gospel According To Hollywood. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press Hilliard, L., R. (2009). Hollywood speaks out: pictures that dared to protest real world issues. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Vera, H., Feagin, R., J. (2007). Handbook of the Sociology of Racial and Ethnic Relations. New York: Springer

Capital Budgeting and Investment Analysis

As per our calculations based above we recommend the company, Equator Ltd to accept plan A. this is so because Plan a offers higher net present value than plan B (Au and Au, 1992). as already mentioned plan a is a highly automated project which involved use of more machinery and use of less physical labour. Though using automated techniques of production has its own advantages, it also carries a lot of disadvantages (Bierman and Smidt, 1975). Therefore, before accepting the plan A based on its high Net present value, the company should also consider the following points: Therefore, before acceptance of proposal A the company should consider all monetary and non-monetary factors. (Jordan, 2014) Efficient capital market refers to the market structure where the share prices of an entity reflect the latest information. This statement implies that any event or action or information which may affect the financial position of the company (Seitz and Ellison, 1999), be it directly related to it or indirectly, gets incorporated in the share price as soon as the information is received. The intrinsic value of a financial security represents a claim on cash flows of company which are expected to be earned in future. This intrinsic value is the present value of the future cash flows. Therefore, if the future cash flows are affected in any manner by any information, then it should be reflected in the price of the security, this is the whole concept of efficient capital market. (Warren, 2017) Equator Limited in the given case plans to invest ina new line of product which will require huge investments (Shapiro, 2005). If the company decides to raise capital by way of Equity shares then efficient capital markets would be highly productive and beneficial for the company. This can be understood buy the following discussion. The above analysis of the plan of the company represents high returns. If the capital markets are efficient then the investors will also read the same information and would want to invest to invest in the shares of Equator seeing its high expected return and growth. The capital markets being efficient will incorporate the same information in the share price and in turn will help increase the value of the company. (WARREN, 2017) Therefore, the capital market efficiency will help Equator Limited to raise capital since the company has a high growth and return projected. Aldridge, A. (2005). The market. 1st ed. Cambridge: Polity. Au, T. and Au, T. (1992). Engineering economics for capital investment analysis. 1st ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Bernstein, P. (2007). Capital ideas evolving. 1st ed. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley & Sons. Bierman, H. and Smidt, S. (1975). The capital budgeting decision. 1st ed. New York: Macmillan. Capital Budgeting Valuation. (2013). 1st ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Chernobai, A., Rachev, S. and Fabozzi, F. (2007). Operational risk. 1st ed. Hoboken, N.J.: Wiley. Danthine, J. and Donaldson, J. (n.d.). Intermediate financial theory. 1st ed. Dayanada, D. (2002). Capital budgeting. 1st ed. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Fabozzi, F. (n.d.). Capital markets. 1st ed. Fleming, D. and Chamberlin, S. (n.d.). Surviving the future. 1st ed. Hitt, M., Ireland, R. and Hoskisson, R. (n.d.). Strategic management. 1st ed. Jordan, B. (2014). Fundamentals of investments. 1st ed. [S.l.]: Irwin Mcgraw-Hill. Seitz, N. and Ellison, M. (1999). Capital budgeting and long-term financing decisions. 1st ed. Fort Worth: Dryden Press/Harcourt Brace College Publishers. Shapiro, A. (2005). Capital budgeting and investment analysis. 1st ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Warren, C. (2017). Financial & managerial accounting. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: Cengage Learning. WARREN, C. (2017). ACCOUNTING. 1st ed. [Place of publication not identified]: SOUTH-WESTERN.

Acquisition Reform Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Acquisition Reform - Research Paper Example Now, it is evident that there exists mutual dependency between the US military and the economic performance of this country. In this context, it becomes logical to evaluate the eminent relationship between them. Therefore, the defense department depends so much on the economic sector of the American population. The military’s economic dependency is depicted in the budget allocation and on other aspects like military logistical acquisition. Based on these facts, the US government has seen the need to blend these two sectors together to harmonize their dependency on each other. This led to the formulation of the acquisition reform program (Hanks, 2005, p.234). Acquisition reform is an exercise meant to integrate the United States military with the civil business practices. The US department of defense acknowledged the need to integrate the civil industrial sector with the military. The economical production of the US had direct relations with the military in terms of logistics p roduction and supply. From the late 1980’s through 1990’s to the present times, the US department of defense has undertaken numerous exercises meant to develop an optimal program to integrate these two sectors. The goals of the reform exercise are aimed at streamlining the performance of the US military by initiating close relationship between the civil logistics producers and the defense department.... These deliverables were to provide an insight into the objective purpose of the acquisition reform process. The main objective of the reform exercise is for the civil economic sector to respond efficiently to the military needs. Based on this goal, the project designers saw the need of integrating the national industrial base into the military systems (Lorrel & Graser, 2005 p. 70). In this case, the Department of Defense considered adopting the ideal customer processes in their relationship with the US industrial sector. Since the program’s inception, the numerous modifications are aimed at focusing on the long-term emphasis of the business problems and solutions of the military. Some of the projected deliverables is meant to encourage commercial industries to work with the defense sector. Based on this underlying objective, every acquisition reform process is aimed at considering the policies, behavioral or cultural changes and the business values that will facilitate the ach ievement of the reform goals (Dirk, 1994 p. 38). Now, it is clearly understood that the main aim of the acquisition reform program is to address the issue of commercial relations between the military and the industrial sector in terms of logistical supplies and service provision. Before this program, there was an inherent problem in the military concerning the economical processes of acquisition and usage of military equipments and services. The producers of these equipments and providers of the services were the major stakeholders in the US civil industrial sector. Therefore, the masterminds of this program aimed at articulating the procurement practices of the defense department by blending the concepts of commerce and the consumer