Wednesday, July 31, 2019

The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received

The Best Cover Letter I Ever Received Harvard Business Review – David Silverman – 1:18 PM Monday June 15, 2009 In my last post I talked about how to make your resume more likely to catch the attention of a hiring manager. As a follow up, I'd like to discuss cover letters. Here's my basic philosophy on them: don't bother. That's because the cover letters I see usually fall into one of three categories: The recap: The resume in prose form. It's redundant, harder to read than the resume, and provides no additional insight. The form letter: This says, essentially, â€Å"Dear Sir or Madam: I saw your ad in the paper and thought you might like me. † And it's clearly a form letter where maybe they got my name and company right. If they're lucky, I will still take the time to read their resume after being insulted with a form letter. The â€Å"I'm crazy†: This one's rare, and it expands on the resume of experience with some personal insights. Examples range from the merely batty (â€Å"I find batik as an art form has taught me to become both a better person and project manager. ) to the truly terrifying (â€Å"I cast a pentagram hex and the central line pointed towards your job listing. I know you will find this as comforting as I do. â€Å") There are really only a few times to use a cover letter: 1. When you know the name of the person hiring 2. When you know something about the job requirement 3. When you've been personally referred (which might include 1 and 2) Under those conditions, y ou can help your cause by doing some of the resume analysis for your potential new boss. To illustrate, here's the best cover letter I ever received: Dear David: I am writing in response to the opening for xxxx, which I believe may report to you. I can offer you seven years of experience managing communications for top-tier xxxx firms, excellent project-management skills, and a great eye for detail, all of which should make me an ideal candidate for this opening. I have attached my resume for your review and would welcome the chance to speak with you sometime. Best regards, Xxxx Xxxx Here's what I like about this cover letter: It's short. It sums up the resume as it relates to the job. It asks for the job. The writer of this letter took the time to think through what would be relevant to me. Instead of scattering lots of facts in hopes that one was relevant, the candidate offered up an opinion as to which experiences I should focus on. And that means the writer isn't just showing me skills related to the job, he's showing me he'll be the kind of employee who offers up solutions — instead of just laying problems on my desk. What do you think? Have you ever secured a job thanks to a cover letter? What's your view on the value — or lack thereof — of cover letters?

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Import Substitution vs. Export Promotion

Import Substitution vs. Export Promotion Econ 240 Term Paper Group (19) Members: Amjad Hussain (13020031) Awais Javed (13020529) Fahd Mukaddam (13020407) Haider Shah (13020528) Hassan Jamil (13020023) Muhammad Bilal Ayub (13020413) Words (using page 2): 371*7 = 2597 IS vs. EP 2 How do the strategies of international trade affect growth? Why at times countries adopted different strategies of international trade? How does Import Substitution Industrialization weigh against Export Promotion as a trade strategy?How does the empirical evidence help us understand this? Trade strategies are classified into two broad strategies, outward-looking development policies and inward-looking development policies. Outward-looking development policies encourage free trade and free movement of the factors of production. While inward-oriented development policies encourage greater self-reliance and restricted trade. Within these two broad approaches lies the debate between Import Substitution (protectio nism) and Export Promotion (free trade).Import substitution (IS) is a well tested way to industrialization which has been followed by most of the currently developed and industrialized countries. Alexander Hamilton’s â€Å"Report on Manufactures† (1791) argued in favor of tariffs to protect American manufacturers from inexpensive imports from Britain. In the mid 19th century, Germany, Russia and Japan also practiced protectionism to develop their domestic industries. After the great depression of 1930’s, LDCs particularly Latin American and some Asian economies started practicing ISI and in 1960’s IS became a dominant strategy for development.However in the next decade, when industries protected through import substitution failed to achieve targeted productive and allocative efficiencies, countries switched to export promotion strategies. Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan and Singapore were among the first to adopt the export promotion strategy. Later, Chile , Thailand and Turkey also joined in. Over the years, the stance of countries has shifted from protectionism to free trade and globalization. So we will begin our paper by analyzing the arguments in favor and against ISI policies.Then we will discuss the benefits and drawbacks faced by the countries that switched to the export promotion strategy. The paper also explains the reasons for this transition. Finally, it concludes by giving empirical evidence of the real world regarding the effects of these strategies. It has always been in the vested interest of the economies to protect country’s large and strategic markets from foreign competition so that the local industry not only becomes self sufficient but also is in a position to induce industrialization led economic growth.In order to accomplish such goals, trends have shown (as mentioned above) countries’ increased dependence on Import IS vs. EP 3 substitution policies. Government plays a vital role in the implementa tion of these policies by imposing tariffs and quotas or altering the exchange rate and interest rate, using macroeconomic policies, to shield its local industries from the competitive foreign producers. Simultaneously, the foreign direct investments (FDIs) are expected to fill the gaps in technology and technical skills between the domestic and foreign industry.The introduction of IS policy can be attributed to the Infant Industry Argument (Import Substitution In General Equilibrium can be used to demonstrate that how the IS works in infant industry) 1, which favors the protection of domestic industry from international competition. The aim is to remove distortions between the out-dated locally produced goods and the industrialized high quality imports of similar products. Policies which governments adopt includes introduction of tariffs 2; discouraging cheaper import and at the same time encouraging production of the same goods domestically.Mostly consumer goods are produced under this strategy which ensures that the country is capable of meeting its basic necessities. Moreover, these types of goods require considerably less advanced technology, making the policy easier to adopt. Aristotle has said â€Å"What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing†; import protection is the best way to initiate this learning process because the economy is now producing goods that it previously imported – a process of development and learning by doing sets up. The economy can then move towards higher efficiency.This eventually improves the balance of payments as fewer consumer goods are now imported. It is essential that the learning process is followed by accumulation of capital. This requires the manipulation in Interest rates so as to encourage savings, and these savings can then be invested back in the protected industry. There are some macroeconomic gains associated with this policy, including reduced unemployment and increased tax revenue for the govern ment; increased local production is expected to generate job opportunities and at the same time, tariff on imports become a source of income for the government. See Appendix 1. 4. 1 & 1. 4. 2 See Appendix 1. 2 2 IS vs. EP 4 However, the IS policies have been criticized by economists for various reasons. According to them, the protection provided to the industries makes the industries inefficient because the firms start to rely on the provision of subsidies. They have no incentive to cut down costs to achieve minimum efficient scale of production and to increase productivity. Bhagwati in â€Å"Import substitution – a survey of policy issues† said that, â€Å"†¦such sheltered monopoly positions in import substituting industries are the prime cause of low productivity†.Also, the government protection to infant industries is for a limited time period, in which most industries that lurk behind the wall of tariffs never grow up. In import substitution, main focus is on the consumer goods, and therefore the prospects of economic growth are relatively short-lived. For countries to achieve long term economic growth, structural shifts are required towards the production of capital-intensive goods.However according to Jaleel Ahmad, the protection requires normally zero or low tariff on import of capital goods, hence discouraging development of forward linkages – manufacturing of the capital goods by local industries. Also for Import Substitution to be successful, according to Hirschman, forward and backward linkages need to be well-developed for the industries. This shows that for a country to have a manufacturing sector free from international dependence, it will need to develop other industries in consumer durables, non-durables, intermediate and capital goods.Another argument against ISI strategies is that it leads to the worsening of Balance Of Payments (BOP) due to the overvaluation of exchange rate, causing the prices of exports to rise but at the same time lowering the prices of imports. As a consequence, producers of exportable goods become less competitive in world market, causing a negative impact on the BOP. Keeping in mind the undesirable impacts of IS policies, economists felt the need to revise the trade strategies.Trade theorists therefore attempted to elucidate as to why nations engage in international trade, what combination of goods and services they trade, and how firms and consumers gain or lose from trade. It was observed that numerous international trade models rely primarily on the theory of Comparative Advantage (Appendix 1. 1), which describes trade patterns under assumptions of static conditions that hold the factors of production in fixed supply (Perkins). Theory of comparative advantage principally asserts that every country irrespective of its size can benefit from trade. Trade driven through exports of goods in which the country has aIS vs. EP 5 comparative advantage, benefits the count ry the most. Therefore an export promotion trade strategy involving goods that require raw material, that are abundant in supply, will allow a country to grow more rapidly as stated by the Hecksher-Ohlin model. Proponents of EP mainly argue that free trade utilizes previously unused resources such as land and labor, creates a vent for surplus of unused resources and allows a country to operate on its Production Possibility Frontier (PPF). In contrast, before the opening up of the economy, the market is constrained to the domestic consumers only.Once a country engages in free trade it acquires the opportunity to earn a global market share, thus earning higher revenues. As the market of local industries expands, demand for labor increases which raises the employment level in the country. This increase in exports stimulates domestic investment (an injection in the circular flow of the income of the country) which gives a multiplied effect on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the econ omy. Furthermore, the enhanced exports will lead to a greater demand of domestic currency in the exchange market leading to currency’s appreciation (given the floating exchange rate mechanism).According to the Marshall Lerner condition, which states that the sum of price IS vs. EP 6 elasticity of demand of exports and imports is lesser than 1 in short run, a currency appreciation will lead to an increase in the Balance Of Trade (BOT). 3 This relationship of BOT and time is shown through J-curve. An additional argument presented by the trade optimists states that the foreign exchange earned by selling different goods and services will relax the constraints of availability of financial capital or in other words, will fill the foreign exchange gap.This also helps in relieving the pressure on foreign exchange reserves built by the import of heavy machinery and capital goods. A further extension of export promotion policy is the process of export development. It involves innovatio n (of new export products) and penetration into new markets. Learning process is instituted and hence increased productivity is observed. This initiates a process of transfer of technology and foreign investment from developed countries, helping the industry to become efficient and gain the economies of scale through mass production – lowering costs and increasing profits.The increased profits of the industry promote higher savings and as the Harrod-Domar Model suggests, an increase in savings will lead to an increase in the growth rate of the economy. The Export promotion strategy is not free of criticisms as one might expect. The leading criticism of opponents of export promotion strategy is the sluggish growth in the demand of the primary goods. As developing country relies mainly on the export of primary goods, the sluggish growth enhances the volatility in the earnings of the economy. The Prebisch Singer Hypothesis explains this phenomenon in terms of income elasticity a nd price elasticity of demand.The thesis postulates that the price elasticity and income elasticity of primary goods are both inelastic i. e. less than 1. As the national income of the developed countries increases, the demand for the primary goods does not increase proportionately. This is also stated by Engel’s Law. A decrease in the prices of the exports will not lead the quantity traded to increase by the same percentage, thus resulting in fall of the exports revenue. This fall in exports revenue leads to a deterioration of Terms of Trade (TOT) of the country.Other factors that explain the slow growth in primary goods exports include the development of synthetic substitutes and protectionist measures taken 3 See Appendix 1. 3 IS vs. EP 7 by the developed countries. The population growth of developed countries being at replacement level translates into a stagnant demand for primary exports. Empirical evidence shows that heavy reliance on the export of the primary product m ay actually result in a phenomenon known as the Dutch disease; a country rich in natural resources actually suffers from slower growth as a result of that rich endowment.This is one of the often repeated facts of history when criticizing the strategy of export promotion. It was mentioned earlier that an appreciation in a country’s currency will lead to an increase in BOT, but this will only remain true for the short run. In long-run the sum of elasticity of demands of exports and imports becomes greater than 1 which consequently causes a fall in the net exports. Therefore the aforementioned argument is valid in the short-run only as in long-run it balances out its own effect on BOT 4 as shown below with the aid of diagram.In addition to the criticism mentioned earlier, Export Promotion strategy may lead to higher budget deficit. It is a usual practice of the governments to subsidize the exporting industries. These subsidies will be financed either by an increase in taxes or b y reducing the expenditure on public and merit goods such as health, education, infrastructure, national defense and other social services. Due to this practice, the development side of the country is often sidelined or overlooked.Example of China can be the best evidence for our claims about Export Promotion here. China was a closed economy until the 1970s. Nicholas R. Lardy in his article, Trade liberalization and 4 See Appendix 1. 3 IS vs. EP 8 its role in Chinese economic growth, states that around 1970s, China’s export goods had no comparative advantage and at the same time, high level of control on imports was also imposed. Hence quoting from the article, â€Å"China’s share of world trade dropped markedly, from 1. 5 percent in 1953 to only 0. 6 percent in 1977†.However, during the 1980s the process of trade liberalization began and by the time china entered WTO in 2001, her structure of trade policy was completely changed. China fully realized the signifi cance of the comparative advantage principle and concentrated on export of goods that were labor intensive in production, as the article states that â€Å"China’s fastest growing exports have been labor-intensive manufacturers— textiles, apparel, footwear, and toys. Between 1980 and 1998, export of these items rose more than ten-folds, from $4. 3 billion to $53. 5 billion†.Due to the trade liberalization, China experienced high rates of economic growth. Empirical evidence strongly suggests that pragmatism and eclecticism rules over any other single purpose approaches to trade. Thinking just in terms of an all out import substitution or an export promotion strategy can pose as an impediment to one’s clear understanding of the relationship between these strategies and growth. In future it would be better to avoid labels and to construct strategies from the components of either of these trade policies that seemed to have worked.Import substitution with its d ivorce of production decisions from market conditions seems to have lost its modern day relevance. In contrast, export promotion with its orientation towards world markets appears to be in line with the new phenomenon that is globalization. No single optimal prescription in terms of trade policy can be devised for the countries at large due to the dynamism of international trade. No strategy can be concluded as the best strategy for a country but what can be said is its relevance to a country at a point in time.Although empirical evidence shows that export promotion has helped countries like China to grow rapidly and improve its trade positions but we can also find other countries which developed after adopting import substitution policies like Latin American countries. This suggests that country have to adopt a trade strategy which is most compatible for their country at that time so that they can achieve maximum gains from trade. IS vs. EP 9 Appendix 1. 1 Comparative Advantage The ory: The concept of comparative advantage, attributed to David Ricardo, refers to the ability of a country to produce at a lower opportunity cost.It is the ability to produce the most efficient product as compared to other countries. It is best explained by a two-good, two country framework where countries differ in particular factor productivity or factor endowments. This theory explains that it is welfare enhancing for both countries to specialize in one good and import the other. The conclusion drawn from this theory is that each country gain by specializing in the good where it has comparative advantage and trading that good for other. 1. 2 Trade protectionism and Tariffs:Government impose trade restrictions in form of tariff in which it collects tax on goods imported by the people, thus discouraging the people to import goods and encouraging the local industries to produce good quality substitute goods. Introduction of tariff increases the world price, which reduces the amount of imports and increases the amount of locally consumed products. IS vs. EP 10 1. 3 Inverted J-curve for revaluation of currency: The inverted J-curve refers to the trend of a country’s trade balance following a revaluation or appreciation of the currency.A revalued currency means that exports are more expensive for the foreign countries, but as in the short run demand for the more expensive exports remain price inelastic so the quantity demanded for exports remains same although foreigners are paying higher prices. This leads to the improvement of balance of trade. Over the long term, as the foreign consumers are able to switch to the other goods, the quantity demanded for exports becomes price elastic so reduction in the export volume and hence export revenues.This leads to the deterioration of balance of trade and the gains in the short run are off-set by the losses in the long run. In case of devaluation of currency, there are opposite affects. IS vs. EP 11 1. 4 Infant In dustry Argument(ISI in general equilibrium) : IS vs. EP 12 From diagram 1. 4. 1 it can be seen that before the imposition of tariff the country was producing at point A while consuming C amount of goods under world terms of trade (favorable to its export).But after the imposition of tariff, production moves towards point B where more of the importable and less of exportable goods are being produced. Assuming that this does not affect the world prices, trade will take place at same TOT. So the new consumption is indicated by point E along the line BD (parallel to line representing world TOT). Initially, by practicing ISI polices, both consumers and trade welfare has fallen due to lower consumption and fewer imports and exports (BE

Monday, July 29, 2019

Ethical analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ethical analysis - Essay Example The treating physician has to maximize the benefits and decrease the harm for his/her patient .However, there are times when the physician, the patient and/or patient`s family might find it difficult to proceed; due to the fact that harm and benefit are not in a balance. In the case of J.R., the patient was complaining of leg pain for which he sought medical consultation. Further, the medical consultation resulted in a recommendation for a bone biopsy; a biopsy which showed bone cancer. The physician decided to start the treatment immediately. The treatment was chemotherapy with a chance of leg amputation. But it was not clear what was the probability of amputation. Considering the medical situation, a decision to disclose the information regarding the treatment plan with a chance of leg amputation will result in a psychological harm to the patient. The harm is that the patient knows the diagnosis before the graduation. Another harm would be expected when the patient gains an access to his lab results and knows the diagnosis by himself. This will prevent the patient from enjoying the graduation. The physician is facing a challenge to his duty in truth telling. This quadrant is derived directly from the ethical principle of respect for patient autonomy. Furthermore, this deals with what the patient prefers if he is competent and his presumed wishes if he is not competent. J.R. is a competent adult. This is clear when the treating physician had obtained J.R permission to speak to his parents after the surgery.This suggest that the physician had assessed the capability of J.R and realized that the patient has the right for confidentiality and to choose whom to share the medical information with. What is the preference of this capable adult? This is unknown with regards to this particular case; however, it is related that the mother`s preference is to let her son fully enjoy the graduation which will not be possible if

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Organzational Development The Process of Leading Orginzational Change Essay

Organzational Development The Process of Leading Orginzational Change Case Study 3,4, & 5 - Essay Example Although, they both give individual feelings and perceptions, the first data will take a lot of time because the ideas are not organized in a simpler manner. Not much difference can be noticed from the two data. While meeting Nancy we will majorly focus on the demand that are not being attended to and that need adjustment. The purpose of individual assessment of the team was to mix each other a bit so as to enhance a good understanding of one another. During this assessment it would be possible to realize areas that should be improved and what deficiency is at the working place. In addition to this, it will also ensure that the workers are able to open up to each other. The interrelation will ease the team’s interaction which will enhance maximization of an individual’s output. The instrument that is used was purposely to ensure that the workers are aware of one another discrete working style. It is good to have knowledge of your working partners’ style so as to enhance a good working environment. The instrument was introduced as a way of analyzing individual style of work. Lori describes it as way of letting the workers have a good understanding amongst them, and not to mean that was what they really are. Every member of the team needs to know what style he/she prefers when part of the team. The explanation was done well, although, an improvement on the description should have been enhanced. This is because some employees would make decision without clear understanding of what really describes them. An example is when Cindy objects the word controlling as it has been used to describe someone who seeks attention and lead the rest. She finds the term so negative. Actually controlling does not fully describe someone who follows teams’ decisions. The idea of separating the workers according to the style that they think of themselves was a good idea. They are divided to help us identify what one thinks is the best style to

Saturday, July 27, 2019

( Human Resource Management ) Do Emotional Intelligence and Dissertation

( Human Resource Management ) Do Emotional Intelligence and Leader-Member Exchange affect the job satisfaction & turnover Intent - Dissertation Example It is suggested that further investigation on the arbitrating consequences of Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) and Team-Member Exchange (TMX) on Emotional Intelligence, job satisfaction and job performance is required. 1. Introduction 1.1 Why teams are important? As Thomas Edison once coined, "If we did all the things we were capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves". According to Katzenbach and Smith, (1993), "A team is a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable." The team performance curve by Katzenbach and Smith, 1993 Source: Katzenbach and Smith, 1993, Business in today’s world flourishes only because of teams and team work. A team in an organization can actually prevail over almost any complexity to be successful in its objectives when it works with the right attitude. Sometimes difficulties may arise in certain projects then under such circumst ances the determination and cooperation of teams can conquer it and triumph. Under situations of ‘no pressure’ In most projects there will be times when only the determination of the team can overcome the difficulties and carry the initiative through to success. Even when there is no pressure, the team's strength and zeal will be mirrored in the feature of the solution. In reality teams have more flexibility in operations, talents and experience with a good lot of diversity of resources. Leadership in Teams The requirements of team performance lead to team leadership which tilts just about team need contentment so that team efficiency can be built up. Who ever is ready to take up the responsibility and satisfy the needs of a team can be assumed to take up team leadership, irrespective of the fact whether he/she acts from inside the team or outside it (McGrath, 1962). This analysis of team leadership is coherent with functional leadership presumption. Fleishman et al., 1 991; Hackman & Walton, 1986; Zaccaro et al., 2001 also support that functional leadership model of team leadership is the best leader ship model. According to Schutz, (1961: 61) â€Å". . . leader as completer . . . the best a leader can do is to observe which functions are not being performed by a segment of the group and enable this part to accomplish them†. Style of Team Leadership ? Dictatorial style of team leadership is one in which a single person prescribes the result of the team and the remaining people do not contribute towards it at all. This type of leadership is also known as autocratic leadership (Goleman, 2000). In integrative team leadership the sources of the team are taken up together into an incorporated result of the team. In reality this kind of team leader ship is not as simple as it reads. This kind of leadership is a holistic, meditative and receptive approach to conducting oneself, guiding others, and contributing in the organization. Autocratic Style of Leadership This style of leadership involves in giving all the powers to the leader in decision making. The

Lesson Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Lesson Plan - Essay Example This article will be referred to in the context of presenting information to students and organizing the lesson plans. Specifically, the lessons are divided into several levels, which include recall, guided discussions, memory, critical thinking and reflection. The ability to combine these levels of learning is one that relates specifically to the statements and examination of this article as well as how teachers must approach learning in the classroom. At a specific level, there is a different role for management and implementation of different levels of critical thinking as well as an overall examination of how the overall curriculum should be both engaging while providing several levels of learning skills for students so they continue to be engaged in literacy and reading. The result will be the ability to impact students at both a basic and dimensional level, specifically with a focus on literacy and reading as well as critical thinking. Bull, G., & Anstey, M. (2003). Strategies for practicing multiliteracies. In G. Bull and M. Anstey (Eds.) The Literacy Lexicon 2nd ed., pp. 161-180. Sydney: Pearson Education Australia. (page 125 - 143 from Pedagogies in Practice) The concept of using multiliteracies will be highlighted in this article. The focus is to understand how literacy and reading doesn’t provide only a strong basis for reading and literature. More importantly, cognitive levels of responses, learning and evaluation will be understood through this specific article.

Friday, July 26, 2019

Disprove the argument provided below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disprove the argument provided below - Essay Example In the case of a freshly made solid bee-wax, the wax has scent of a flower but the tongue perceives it as honey. This means that the perception of the senses in justification of knowledge lack coherence and consistency. When touched, it further reveals hard substances that do not have any taste of honey as perceived by the smell. The eye sees the bee wax to be cubical. Introspection thus helps in relating the perception of senses with the already known facts to justify knowledge. In premise 3, SBW melts from the heat in fire and changes to MBW. The physical properties change entirely from perceptions in proposition 2. We are sure that we cannot be aware and ascertain any belief. The two cases present skepticism because the same bee wax cannot portray same characteristics in two different states. It is not, therefore, easy to prove any assertion in the two cases of SBW and MBW that there exists the knowledge through the senses. Senses perceive solid Bee wax, both SBW and MBW as two different things yet from the general knowledge, it is the same thing. Consequently, it is important to consider using other methods of determining knowledge besides the

Thursday, July 25, 2019

Health Topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Health Topic - Essay Example and consequences of drug abuse in relation to consumption of Methamphetamine, analyze its significance, discuss the cultural similarities and differences, provide statistics and locate the various local and national agencies offering assistance to people under the influence of such harmful drugs. The use and popularity of Methamphetamine increased immediately post the Second World War which was used to as a tool to demote / drive down exhaustion and restrain appetite. The harmful effects and addictive quality of the drug led to it being recognized as a substantial health risk in the 1960s prompting the health agencies to initiate corrective measures and policies to restrict its medicinal usage. During the 1980s the problem of Methamphetamine abuse began to be recognized as a severe health hazard in the United States where the drug was popularized by California based motorcycle gangs named Hells Angels. It was used in a smokable form and was largely imported from the Phillipines (methamphetamine.org, 2008). Methamphetamine is a powerful and highly addictive stimulant that drastically upsets several areas of the central nervous system of a human body. Popularly known as Speed, Meth, chalk, crystal, grass, crank, and ice the drug can be consumed in various forms – smoked, snorted, or orally injected into the body. It resembles a white, odorless and bitter tasting powder which could be dissolved in water or alcohol for consumption. It is easy to make and can be made in surreptitious laboratories from easily available and relatively inexpensive ingredients and sold / purchased at a low cost. These factors are largely responsible for its widespread abuse (NIDA, 2008). The key findings from report on primary methamphetamine admissions to substance abuse treatment, as presented by the Drug and Alcohol Services Information System (DAIS Report, 2008) is mentioned below: In the year 2005 there were over 1.8 million admissions recorded for substance abuse of which

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Should school uniforms be mandatory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Should school uniforms be mandatory - Essay Example The students believe that the can dress up on their own on a daily basis and thus be different in their own right. What they do not understand is the fact that uniforms bring in politeness and courtesy for one another. This paper will specifically discuss why school uniforms are required and what kind of critical comments are made in the wake of not wearing them by the students. The stance of the teachers as well as the parents will also be taken care of here so as to justify the equation related with school uniforms in the present day and age. Moving ahead, uniforms are important and thus must be made mandatory. The reason for this implementation is that school uniforms implement understanding for one another. Students from humble backgrounds can feel at ease while the ones who are well-off can also come down to their level (Burke 2003). It is a fact that the uniforms create equality within the students, which goes down well with their upbringing regimes for the future. The deeply embedded theories of oneness and equality that are taught within school themselves have a practical basis as soon as the children see their own selves wearing the school uniforms. One should believe that this is the best example of equality that a school can give to its own students. They can practically teach their students to wear school uniforms and thus be active participants of the society that they are a part of. What is even more interesting is the fact that the written word which is presented to them through theory is manifested in its t rue form through the application of school uniforms. The children also understand that their oneness and equality would go a long way in building up their character and in comprehending how to walk hand in hand with the different strata of the society. The different members of the society will co-exist which is indeed the order of this day and age. They will work to good effect for the betterment of one and all, and

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Forced Segregation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forced Segregation - Essay Example By confronting the injustice and potential violence, African-Americans organized in a courageous effort to claim their constitutional rights as guaranteed and backed by the US government. The same year that the Supreme Court ruled on Brown v. Board of Education over 100 lawmakers across the South signed the Southern Manifesto, which opposed integrated schools. State legislatures further cut off funding to any public school that allowed integration. African-Americans used this affront to their dignity to organize a concerted effort against the South's segregationist policies. On New Years Day in 1959, the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) organized a march to condemn racial inequality. After a prayer meeting in Richmond VA. 800 members marched on the Capitol where they passed a resolution calling for an end to Virginia's public school crisis (The Civil Rights Movement in Virginia). Two weeks later the law that removed financial support for integrated schools was overturned and led to a massive integration movement. The US Government had supported the integration of public education since the ratification of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868. However, at that time there was little political will to enforce the amendment. Racist extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) ruled the rural south through intimidation and terror.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Cause of action assignment Essay Example for Free

Cause of action assignment Essay Task A (1) ‘Duty of care’ means to exercise a degree of attention and caution to avoid negligence which would lead to harm. Duty of care in a childcare setting is keeping children and young people safe, protecting them not only from physical harm but also emotional and sexual harm. Working with children and young people need a significant amount of duty of care, the younger and more vulnerable the child the greater the duty of care because of a child’s limited ability to care for themselves. Good vigilance is needed to keep a child safe, for example to foresee and cope with potential dangers. This extends to respecting the rights, cultural beliefs and values of the parents and family. (2) Duty of care contributes to the safeguarding and protection aspects of a setting. An example would be carrying out risk assessments to prevent potential hazards which would then reduce the risk of harm to the children. A further example would be setting clear boundaries/ expectations by communicating with the children what is unacceptable behaviour. Consistent reinforcement of this may be necessary to discourage the children from repeating hazardous behaviour that could cause harm to themselves or others. Understanding of the signs of neglect/abuse if any signs/indicators of abuse or neglect were noticed they should be reported to the relevant third parties to protect the child. Making observations and assessing children help to check to see if individual children are progressing and developing at suitable rates, if not so then I would need to take relevant action with other parties such as parents or professionals Task B Example of potential conflict orDilemma | How to manage the risk| Where to get additional support| Risk taking – such as a child accidently slipping of a step of a climbing frame and the child’s parents asking for that equipment to be put away, this would conflict with all children’s opportunity to develop and learn | The risk would be managed by explaining that in order for children to learn to cope with risky situationsand acquire life and physical skills these small risks must be taken, in asafe environment. Also by filling ina risk assessment to minimize any risk | People such as my room supervisor, Manager or Ofsted, the EYFS may also be helpful | Confidentiality- such as if there was concerns we had about abuse of achild, in order to safeguard it mayoverride the families right to privacy .| It would be managed by only sharing the information with appropriateprofessionals to protect the right to privacy | I would share the information with Only my room supervisor/managerFor advice on what steps to take and Refer to the polices and procedures On safeguarding | Weather disturbance- such as it’s wet and cold outside but the children wantto have their outside play| Make sure a full risk assessment is completed (including all wet/slippy equipment is wiped down and large puddles are brushed away), all children have suitable clothing and shorten the length of time they’re outside for| Refer to the EYFS that states childrenShould have outside play and also Discuss wi th colleges | Task C The main points of a complaints procedure include ensuring complaints are handled in a way that protects the rights of individuals involved. Issues or concerns are encouraged to be resolved verbally as they arise. If a concern cannot be resolved immediately the person raising the concern should ask to speak with a manager, and a meeting can be arranged at a certain place and time. If satisfactory resolution still can’t be found, a written formal complaint can be raised. If the manager feels that the situation is a child protection allegation, they should inform the designated child protection officer. If any individual involved in the complaint has reason to believe a criminal offense has been committed then they will contact the police.

Feminism Essay Example for Free

Feminism Essay Feminist ideas of freedom suggest that outside social forces that are repressive can corrupt an individual’s desires and limits their thinking abilities. Jean Grimshaw was a feminist philosopher who analyzed this concept. Grimshaw with other feminists believed that these repressive forces come from male domination in society. Questions about the self are important to feminists because they are constantly trying to figure out a woman’s autonomy. Feminist philosophers have come up with many approaches to the self. Jean Grimshaw goes back to an argument from Aristotle. Aristotle questions what makes people do things voluntarily and out of free will. Aristotle says that that actions that originate from inside the self are desires or intentions and actions that originate from outside are not. Jean Grimshaw however questions whether those desires that come from outside are not really one’s own desires. There is a constant conflict between internal and external constraints. Feminist authors such as Mary Daly, Marilyn Frye and Kate Millet wrote books on how women have been conditioned in their thinking by men, therefore cannot have their own desires. Feminists agree that women are deprived of their free will because men treat them as robots and this changes a woman’s personality. Based on the books of these three authors there is many things to conclude about the self. The self is aware of its interests, it is altered because of the interference of male domination and the only way to really have a true self is to fight against those social effects of domination. A woman must understand the changes they are going through by men in society in order to reveal the self. I believe that if someone is constantly thinking that there are outside forces that disable form being they they must change that. If the male society undermines women, and women continue to accept it then they are not following their own desires. One must understand the constraints that they are dealing with in order to make independent choices to be liberated.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Yakult Marketing Plan

Yakult Marketing Plan INTRODUCTION: History of Yakult Yakult Honsha Ltd. was founded in 1930 by Dr. Shirota. For over the past 75 years, the company has expertise in the field of beneficial bacteria. The main activity of Yakult is to introduce a wide range of healthy foods, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. In 1930, Dr. Minoru Shirota, who was conducting his research in a microbiology lab at the Medical Faculty of Kyoto University in Japan, became the first person in the world to create a strain of lactic acid bacteria beneficial to human health. This bacterium was named after Dr.Shirota Lactobacillus casei Shirota strain (Our History, 2010). In Malaysia, Yakult is still a young and growing company. Yakult Ace was only launched in Malaysia in 2004. Yakult (Malaysia) Sdn.Bhd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Yakult Honsha, Japan (Yakult-Malaysia, 2010). Vision Yakult’s vision is to push forward with the quest for new possibilities for probiotics in the academic and medical fields. Mission Yakult’s mission is to contribute to the health and happiness of every person throughout the world through the pursuit of excellence in life sciences and the excellence in life sciences and the study of microorganisms. Philosophy SHIROTA-ISM Preventive medicine A healthy intestine leads to a long life A healthy life for all We contribute to the health and happiness of people around the world through the pursuit of excellence in life science in general and our research and experience in microorganisms in particular (Philosophy, 2010). Issues and challenges In the recent years, several major issues and challenges were faced by Yakult. Yakult is facing a shortage of stock to meet the demand of the people around the world. It is reported that there is high stock turnaround (Cruz, 2013). SWOT ANALYSIS: Strengths Dynamic Research Development power Retrieved from the annual report of (â€Å"Global Yakult†Ã¢â‚¬â€ Entering a New Growth Stage, 2013), one of the strengths portrayed by Yakult is its dynamic research and development power. With its 252 medical doctors and scientists, they actively pursue research aimed at applying bacteria effectively in the prevention and treatment of many diseases. The RD Division tails basic research in life science meant at applying and developing basic materials in pharmaceuticals, food, cosmetics and other fields. Besides that, Yakult does their research and development at the Yakult Central Institute for Microbiological Research, which is situated in Tokyo, Japan. The aim of this central is to the study is to the use of beneficial bacteria in the promotion of health. Therefore, there are continuous improvements inYakult’s products that can improve consumers’ health for today and in the future. Good distribution channel Another essential strength of Yakult is the unique distribution channel byYakult Ladies. It is a type of delivery service that delivers Yakult cultured milk drinks directly to the consumers’ home through a network of Yakult Ladies. According to managing director Kouichi Nakayama (abhishek_g, 2012), door-to-door sales through the Yakult Lady System are more profitable than supermarkets sales.In Japan, more than 60% of Yakult products are distributed by Yakult Ladies. They deliver door-to-door every day, from rural areas to high-rise buildings in the city. However, in Malaysia, Yakult Ladies is also available in delivering of goods. However, it is only available in certain place such as Klang Valley, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka, Penang, Kuantan, Ipoh and few other areas. The best thing is there is no minimum order or delivery charge for the products (Fong, 2007). Weaknesses Less product choice for customers in terms of flavours The first weakness of Yakult is lack choice of flavours. There are only two flavours available which are Yakult Ace and Yakult Ace Light. Unlike its competitors, such as Vitagen and Nutrigen, these two brands come out with products with variety of flavours which will attract more people to buy their products. As Malaysia is a multiracial country, different races of people have different tastes. Thus, Malaysians usually prefer to choose their drinks from a variety of flavours. Storage difficulty Second is storage difficulty. The products are fermented milk drinks which contains active bacteria under low temperature. However, if the temperature increases, the bacteria will eventually become inactive that will turn the taste sour. This is because the bacteria will begin to make lactic acid when the temperature drops (FAQs, 2010). Therefore, refrigerators are necessary. However, consumers who do not own a refrigerator will find it a problem. By the way, it will also lead to a storage difficulty for retailer outlets with little storage capacity as they still have other products brand they need to keep. This will cause an imbalance of stock availability during different time of the outlets. This problem also influences consumers’ purchase intention that does not have a refrigerator. Smaller packaging and higher price compared to competitors Another weakness of Yakult is that the packaging of Yakult is small compared to its competitors. One bottle of Yakult contains 80ml cultured milk drink while competitors such as Vitagen and Nutrigen serve in 125ml per bottle (TK-eShop, 2010). Besides that, according to Yakult, it is fine for consumers to drink more than 80ml of Yakult cultured milk. Therefore, consumers who drink more than one bottle may go for other competitors’ product who sells in larger packaging (FAQs, 2010). Yakult products are sold in a bundle of 5 bottles, which is the same with its strong competitors such as Vitagen and Nutrigen. However, the Yakult cultured milk drink’s price is higher than the competitors, who offer their drinks in bigger bottles too. Opportunities Trends in health concerns Few studies shows that more and more people are concerned about their health problem and health awareness is becoming increasingly important nowadays (Rollins, 2008); (Senterfitt, Long, Shih, Teutsch, 2013). This is an opportunity for Yakult since Yakult has already scientifically proven that their products are good for health. Consumers are turning to dairy products, yogurts and so forth to start their day. In Yakult’s advertisements, the company informs consumers that their products are probiotic drinks which are good for people’s health. This increases health awareness of the people. Besides that, Yakult’s brand recognition also increases among consumers during this process. The creative thinking of Yakult’s advertisement helps in promoting health by emphasizing beneficial bacteria for intestinal balance of consumers which ultimately leads to good health. Increase in number of convenience stores and hypermarkets According to (Wong, 2007), the number of convenience stores and hypermarkets are increasing. It means that Yakult’s distribution channel will also increase. Yakult’s product can be sold in more and different places. Consumers will also find it easier and more convenient to buy Yakult’s product from the hypermarket or convenience stores nearest to them. Threats Intense competition Yakult faces a tough competitive environment in the market. There are similar healthy foods and also probiotic drinks in the market. Yakult’s main competitors are Vitagen and Nutrigen that has strong brand recognition in the Malaysian market. Vitagen is the first cultured milk to be introduced in Malaysia which is also known as the number one cultured milk in Malaysia. As for Nutrigen, it also provides cultured milk which is similar to Yakult and also Vitagen. These competitors have their own competitive advantages compared to Yakult in terms of the flavours they offered which can suit different consumers’ taste with their different flavours available. Low switching cost Besides that, consumers in Malaysia do not incur high switching cost if they choose to switch to other category of healthy foods. Yakult’s price offering is also a threat as they offer in higher prices and also smaller packaging compared to competitors. Consumers who are price sensitive may choose competitors’ product instead of Yakult’s. Thus, Malaysians can switch to another drinks or brands whenever they want if there are substitute products available with lower prices. They can also shop favourably and also choose selectively without sticking to one supplier. Competitors use aggressive marketing technique Yakult’s competitors uses aggressive marketing plan to promote their products such as advertising in traditional media like television advertisement, radio, social network sites and forth, especially Vitagen. With this, competitors are more recognizable to consumers than Yakult. As Yakult does not usually do aggressive advertisements to promote their brand, consumers are more likely to be aware of competitors’ brand than Yakult. Besides that, the marketing plans that are not heavily invested are usually advertisements that are easily duplicated. Decrease in consumer’s purchasing power Millions of middle-class Malaysians are suffering from low consumer spending growth while increasing in state controlled electricity and gasoline costs since 2008 (Koon, 2014). As a result, mid to higher end choices of beverage suffered a decrease on the sales (Consumer spending to slow down in 2014, 2014); (Koon, 2014). The economic downturn has contributed greatly to the slow growth of the purchasing power as Yakult is not a necessity in consumers’ daily life. Yakult is a probiotic drink, where consumers who desire for a better health can consume it continuously and not a necessity for consumers to drink them as a must in order to survive. INDUSTRY ANALYSIS BY USING PORTAL FIVE FORCES a) Threat of new entrance Yakult probiotic beverage falls into a broad and safe market, especially the awareness and concern of people on health are increasing. Probiotic drinks are favourable and popular for consumers and bring a considerable return to the company. This has made the cultured milk market seems attractive to the market, where it attracts many outsiders that tries to enter this industry. However, the capital cost to enter this industry is relative high compared to other beverage industry. As probiotic beverage requires friendly bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus that are hard to produce and refine it to produce a drinkable beverage. Potential entrants who wish to enter this industry need to invest heavily on Research and Development as well as pharmaceutical department in order to produce a probiotic beverage. As Yakult has been proven by many professors such as Dr Ko Okumura (Juntendo University, Japan), Dr. Haruji Sawada and others, the credibility of Yakult beverage is high, which result to a high entry barrier for new entrants as well. Furthermore, potential entrants need to make sure they are able to differentiate their product from Yakult in term of higher nutrition or lower price or both. If firms are not able to come out with a better beverage than the existing beverage in market, then there is no point they enter the market as this will deficit the company. In a nutshell, the entry barrier for new entrants to enter this industry is high. Yakult is facing low threat of new entrants. b) Threat of substitute Porter’s threat of substitute definition is the availability of a product that the consumer can purchase instead of the industry’s product with similar benefits. Eventhough Yakult is the pioneer of probictic, substitutes products are still able to replace them. Customers can easily replace Yakult by purchase bottle of probiotic capsule, probiotic powder or probiotic drink. Example of probiotic supplements is Kordel’s Protect probiotic powder, which cost around RM70 for 30 sachs. Yogurt drink and yogurt powder are also substitutesthat can replace Yakult products. The more substitute the products are, the more competitive the industry is. In the long run, Yakult may suffer less profit. In this case, there are few substitute products in market that can replace Yakult products, so they are facing high threat of substitute products. c) Bargaining power of supplier Bargaining power of supplier occurs when buyers are too many but only few suppliers in the market. When it is too costly to change suppliers, the bargaining power of suppliers is relative high. The Yakult Plant in Calamba city, Laguna, is able to produce 1.6 million bottles of Yakult a day. In order for them to produce a bottle of 100ml Yakult Probiotic beverage, they will need few raw materials such as skimmed milk powder, sugar, and dextrose is blend with sterilized water to create a sweet, milky solution. While all these raw materials are not unique or highly differentiated product. Which means Yakult can get them from few suppliers, as there are not only one supplier in the market that supplies sugar, skimmed milk powder and dextrose. The suppliers industry is not dominated by small number of firm, thus the bargaining power of supplier is not harmful for Yakult. Furthermore, Yakult uses backward integration, where they have their own manufacturing factory to produce their probiotic beverage. The main ingredient in the probiotic dairy beverage, liveLactobacillus caseistrain Shirota is carefully cultured and tested in Yakult own laboratory. In other words, Yakult does not rely on outsider to get their main raw material, but they produced it themselves in their own laboratory and factory. In a nut shell, Yakult is immune with the power of supplier, as they having few suppliers instead of rely on one supplier. d) Bargaining Power of Buyers Buyer power is one of the forces that shape the competitive structure of an industry. When the power of buyer is strong, they can pressure the sellers to lower down the prices, improve product quality or better service. In contra, weak bargaining power of buyer will often makes an industry less competitive and increases the profit potential for seller. In this case, Yakult are facing high bargaining power from their buyers. Firstly this is because there are available substitute and large range of probiotic drink in the market that offered similar benefit to the customers, for example Vitagen, Nestle Yogurt drink, and probiotic supplement beverage. Yakult is not the only firm that produce probiotic daily beverage. Customers can easily switch to other product that available in the market, customers switching cost is low. Secondly, customers are price sensitive towards the beverage. If Vitagen probiotic drink is having promotion and the prices are much cheaper than Yakult Ace drink, customer will simply switch to purchasing Nestle yogurt drink. Thirdly, Yakult probiotic daily drink is not highly differentiated and standard. It become a daily basis for some consumer, thus consumer can switch to other brand that provide the same function as Yakult. In a nutshell, the bargaining power for Yakult buyer is relatively high. e) Threat of rivalry The intensity of rivalry among competitors in an industry refers to the extent to which firms within an industry put pressure on one another and limit each other’s profit potential. High intensity of rivalry means competitors are aggressively targeting each other’s markets and aggressively pricing products. While low intensity of competitive rivalry makes an industry less competitive and increases profit potential for the existing firms. The rivalry in probiotic beverage is minimal. Firstly this is because few competing firms are roughly doing the same size and serving the same amount of customers. Yakult, Vitagen, Nestle are sharing the almost similar market share. Secondly, there are lack of product differentiation for the existing brand in the market, Yakult, Vitagen, Nestle are offer the almost similar probiotic daily beverage in the market. This three probiotic beverage different in some ways but they do share the similar characteristic as well, which are help strengthen immune system and smoother the digestive system. Thirdly, customer brandloyalty is not significant, customer who consume Vitagen beverage might switch to consume Yakult on some day, and same goes to consumer for Yakult. In a nutshell, the threat of rivalry is minimal for Yakult Company. REFERENCES abhishek_g. (12 June, 2012). Yakult. Retrieved 17 June, 2014, from Slide Share: http://www.slideshare.net/abhishek_g/yakult-13298536 Consumer spending to slow down in 2014. (9 January, 2014). Retrieved 26 June, 2014, from The Sun Daily: http://www.thesundaily.my/news/925542 Cruz, H. (13 January, 2013). Vision, Mission, Objectives, Goals, Prob. its Background. Retrieved 30 June, 2014, from Prezi: http://prezi.com/mvkfvph4nkz0/vision-mission-objectives-goals-prob-its-background/ FAQs. (2010). Retrieved 15 June, 2014, from Yakult: http://www.yakult.com.my/html/faqs.html Honsha, Y. (2013). â€Å"Global Yakult†Ã¢â‚¬â€ Entering a New Growth Stage. Japan. Koon, C. P. (7 January, 2014). Malaysians Seen Curbing Spending as Living Costs Surge: Economy. Retrieved 26 June, 2014, from Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-01-07/malaysians-seen-curbing-spending-as-living-costs-surge-economy.html Philosophy. (2010). Out Philosophy. Retrieved 10 June, 2014, from Yakult: http://www.yakult.com.my/html/our_philosophy.html Rollins, C. (16 December, 2008). RAISING HEALTH CONSCIOUSNESS UTILIZING â€Å"UNNATURAL CAUSES† SERIES AS STIMULUS . Retrieved 30 June, 2014, from https://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-121808-155128/unrestricted/Chris_Rollins_Health_IQP_Final_v3.pdf Senterfitt, J. W., Long, A., Shih, M., Teutsch, S. M. (January, 2013). How Social and Economic factors affect health. Retrieved 26 June, 2014, from Social Determinants of Health: http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/epi/docs/SocialD_Final_Web.pdf TK-eShop. (2010). Cultured Milk Drink. Retrieved 30 June, 2014, from tk-eshop: http://www.tk-eshop.com/about-us/articles/articles/vitagen-nutrigen-yakult Wong, L. C. (2007). Development of Malaysia’s Agricultural Sector: Agriculture as an Engine of Growth? Retrieved 28 June, 2014, from ISIS.org.my: http://isis.org.my/attachments/386_Territorial_Disputes_in_East Asia.pdf Yakult. (2014). Profile. Retrieved 13 June, 2014, from Yakult: http://www.yakult.co.jp/english/ir/management/profile.html Yakult-Malaysia. (2010). Yakult Malaysia General. Retrieved 23 June, 2014, from Yakult: http://www.yakult.com.my/html/yakult_my_general.html

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Economics of Federal Defense Policy :: Political Science

Three out of four Americans polled in the 1992 election year believed that the United States was heading in the wrong direction. With such an overwhelming consensus, the country hired a new president to attempt to fix the vital issues at hand. Although both Republicans and Democrats believed that the United States was still the "sole superpower", the people of the United States saw that their quality of life was deteriorating. In fact, the signs of economic, social, and political decay were undeniable. For example, the wages of production workers in America have declined twenty percent in the last twenty years due to large corporations shifting their operations overseas. Over thirty-seven million Americans are without health insurance due to its exploding costs. There are about sixty million people below the poverty line; fourteen million of which are children. Our crime rate is at an all-time high as well as the population in our prison system. The United States has nineteen preceding nations that have lower infant mortality rates. Among the twenty most developed countries in the world, the United States has the highest divorce rate and the highest teen pregnancy rate. The most incredulous fact of all is that the Pentagon continues to absorb twenty percent of the federal budget-over a third of which is spent protecting Europe against an enemy that no longer exists. In fact, that is the most probable source of America's problems: the budget. Forty-seven percent of the national federal budget is spent for a military expense. The National Defense, the topic of this paper, is what is stealing money from the poor in our own country and lessening our status as the "sole superpower" of the world. The National Defense was a program initiated from day one of the United States' existence. It was a program designed to protect the people of the world, but primarily the people of this nation. It was designed to protect human rights and the ideals of democracy and capitalism. However, in lieu of recent events, the use for such a program is now debatable. The world has changed significantly and dramatically within the last five years. The threat of an evil empire such as the Soviet Union is no longer; the Cold War is over. Ultimately, demilitarization is needed for many reasons. Both Democrats and Republicans alike supported the development of a gigantic- industrial complex. Both are content with only minor budget reductions.

Friday, July 19, 2019

The Life & Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche :: Biographies Biographical Essays

The Life & Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche Philosophy Class Essay Born: 1844. Rocken, Germany Died: 1900. Weimar, Germany Major Works: The Gay Science (1882), Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1883-1885), Beyond Good & Evil (1886), On the Genealogy of Morals (1887), MAJOR IDEAS Self deception is a particularly destructive characteristic of West Culture. Life is The Will To Power; our natural desire is to dominate and reshape the world to fit our own preferences and assert our personal strength to the fullest degree possible. Struggle, through which individuals achieve a degree of power commensurate with their abilities, is the basic fact of human existence. Ideals of human equality perpetuate mediocrity -- a truth that has been distorted and concealed by modern value systems. Christian morality, which identifies goodness with meekness and servility is the prime culprit in creating a cultural climate that thwarts the drive for excellence and self realization God is dead; a new era of human creativity and achievement is at hand. -- Great Thinkers In The Western World. By: Ian P. McGreal, 1992 PREFACE Much information is available on Mr. Friedrich Nietzsche, including many books that he wrote himself, during his philosophical career. I took this as a good sign I would find a fountain of enlightened material produced by the man. I've had to go through a bit of my own philosophical meditations to put my own value judgements aside, and truly look for the contributions Nietzsche gave to philosophy. Much of my understanding came only after I had a grasp of Neitzsche's history; therefore, I encourage you to read-up on his history before diving into his philosophy (see Appendix I). The modern Westerner might disagree with every aspect of his philosophy, but there are many things one must unfortunately admit are true (only if you put your morality aside). So, from here, I will present his contributions to philosophy, and do my best to delete my own opinions, other than to say that he was not the chosen topic of this paper out of any admiration. THE PHILOSOPHY OF FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE Sometimes philosophy is called "timeless," implying that it's lessons are of value to any generation. This may be hard to see in Nietzsche's work; but, we are assured that it was appropriate thought for his time. However, even Nietzsche's critics admit that his words hold an undeniable truth, as hard as it is to accept. Perhaps this is why his work is timeless, and has survived 150 years in print.