Evaluation Of The Employment Practices

Evaluation Of The Employment Practices Introduction Wal-Mart as a large private retailing player in both America and the world, has recently gained public concerns over its employment lawsuits. The employee lawsuits against Wal-Mart include illegal immigrants child labor, low wage poor benefits, sex discrimination, compulsory overtime work. This has greatly degraded Wal-Mart reputation. It is obvious that Wal-Mart has offended the the ethical principles stated in Global Business Standards Codex and deformed its Employment Practices by the above lawsuits. Therefore, in this essay, based on the current issues, it will evaluate Wal-Mart Employment Practices by involving three ethical principles of GBS Codex (Dignity, Fairness and Citizenship Principles). At the end of the essay, based on the previous evidence and analysis, proper conclusion will be made to furtherly address the business ethics in corporation employment practices. The Dignity Principle There are eight principles covered in the Global Business Standards Codex including fiduciary, property, reliability, transparency, dignity, fairness, citizenship, responsiveness (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008). These principles are not only applicable for business but also for the emloyment practices within organization. All of these codes should be respected by organizations when designing and implementing to govern their employment practices. The Dignity Principle refers to the respect for the individual, health and saftey, privacy and confidentiality, use of force, association and expression, learning and development and employment security and so on (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008). It requires organizations to respect the rights of employees in the working environment, and provide sound system to maintain the individuals development career within the organization. Wal-Mart has been found guilty of forcing employees to work â€Å"off-the-clock† in the meal time, rest breaks and keeping employees locked in Wal-Mart stores after closing. Wal-Mart is accused of not paying employees for the time worked off-the-clock. Employees are forced to work off-the-clock but without additional payment, from this perspective, Wal-Mart is not doing the right business ethics. By ignoring the feelings of employees towards the overtime working, Wal-Mart has offended the dignity principle and abused its rights as an employer. In this way, Wal-Mart was sued by its employees with the evidence that the company did not respect individuals labour. Low wage and poor benefits are also complained by most employees especially those working at the lower level. As Wal-Mart has been long-term making the consistent commitment to customers with low prices and quality goods, on the one hand, Wal-Mart continually push pressure on its suppliers, and on the other hand, it has to reduce its expenditure on the labor costs by offering lower wages and fewer benefits than many comparable retailers (Hemphill, 2008). In 2006, â€Å"American Victory Union† representing 6 million American labors organized assembly in 35 cities in United States to protest Wal-Mart not providing medical insurance and low salary etc (Mathoda, 2006). From the GBS Codexs view, this betrays the ethic standard in terms of giving the corresponding salaries and benefits according to what they have done to the organization. Therefore, Wal-Mart has violated the dignity principle. In this way, employees are keeping leaving the company and contribute to the loss of human resources. The Fairness Principle The fairness principle in GBS Codex refers to fair dealing, fair treatment, fair competition, fair process (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008). Any organization in the market should comply with these fairness requirements both in its business transaction with its suppliers, customers, and its treatment principle to its employees. As employees are the best fortune for an organization, it is very crucial for an organization to realize it as one the key elements for its business success. Unfair treatment to employees is a violation of ethical principle. Wal-Mart was charged of sex descrimination by two women in 2001. Three years later, the sex descrimination case upgraded into collective case. The plaintiffs of over 1.6 million were all the women employed by Wal-Mart since 1988 (Crosby, Stockdale Ropp, 2007). This case has aroused great concerns from American and international communities. Wal-Mart has been found the practice of gender bias with great discrimination against female employees and it has also been accused of demeaning employees with disabilities and inequality based on sexual orientation. The unfairness of treating women is reflected in many ways including salaries, promotions, training etc (Besen Kimmel, 2006). In the case of a woman who was qualified for promotion and has worked for the position for many years, however, when she turned to her manager with regard to requiring for promotion, her manager directly refused the proposal just because she is a woman. While man employees would get promotion under the same s ituation. In this way, Wal-Mart is greatly disobeying its employment practices as it will give every employee the fair opportunity of training, developing and promoting. From the GBS Codex perspective, Wal-Mart also violates the fairness principle to a great extent. The Citizenship Principle The citizenship principle refers to behaviors of abiding by law regulation, public goods, cooperation with authorities, political noninvolvement, and civic contribution (Carroll Buchholtz, 2008). Any organization firstly is a citizen in the society and should do what a citizen should do to the society so as to increase its image as a qualified organization. Wal-Mart has not been cooperated with Union Organizations. It shows great resistance to Unions. Since its establishment, Wal-Mart remains the position as not allowing Unions involvement. Prior to American nationwide Union movement, Wal-Mart printed and distributed â€Å"Managers Practical Guide for Resisting Union† to train and emphasize managers are the first line of defense (Tilly, 2007). Many Unions have given up the hopes of persuading Wal-Mart to join in. Wal-Mart has its own opinion on this issue. It declares it is not anti-union organization, and it is making efforts to close partner. Since it implements an â€Å"open policy† for its employee staff and allow any employee to tell problems and concerns. Therefore, Wal-Mart does not need Unions. Like most of organizations, it is hard for Wal-Mart to change its attitudes towards Unions. It thinks Unions will object the corporation culture, and are just interested in receiving â€Å"expensive† Union member charges or organizing strikes but can not make any practical commitment to the growth of company. However, this is bad for employees since they do not have a third party organization to supervise and protect their rights. Although it is not compulsory for an organization to join in Union, in United States Union plays a significant role in protecting employees rights in many aspects. By resisting Unions involvement, Wal-Mart actually deprived employees legal rights (Ness, 2005). Therefore, Wal-Mart as a mass retailing player does not comply with the citizenship principle to some extent. Conclusion In conclusion, as the results of analyses of the above three ethcial principles of Global Business Standard Codex and Wal-Mart ethical issues in terms of its employment practices, Wal-Mart was continually confronted lawsuits or complaints from its employees with regard to overtime work, less wage, poor benefits, sex discrimination etc. It is also impressive to be resisting Union involvement. For many years, Wal-Mart has been facing the most serious accuses with a calculation of 13 lawsuits every day. For the long time, Wal-Mart has been focusing exclusively and continously to strive to reduce the prices and has ignored the deal with other issues such as wasting time with medias. However, as it grows fast and internationally, Wal-Mart may start to concetrate on making efforts to improve its reputation as a good employer and retailer.

Teaching From A Design Perspective Essay -- Philosophy Education

Teaching From A Design Perspective Developing a philosophy of education is more than asserting a love of wisdom in the theory and practice of teaching. It may be heartening to feel, but it lacks backbone. For a philosophy to have weight and merit, it needs truth, logical strength, and soundness. (Hughes 19) My philosophy of education asserts the following premises that if we teach: learning as relational; creativity as skill; and knowledge as design; then, we create an instructional approach that is cross curriculum. The logical strength of my argument is delivered after each premise has been explained, and the proof statements of each are proposed as truth claims. In doing so, my philosophy of education is a sound argument challenging the existing education paradigm that makes a distinction between required and elective courses. Currently, the Ministry of Education’s requirements for graduation weakens elective courses as having less academic credit, strengthens required courses as having more educational disc ipline, and subsequently, unequally distributes creativity into the curriculum. However, as Perkins points out in his article â€Å"Creativity by Design†: If all knowledge were presented and discussed from the perspective of design, education would yield a much more creative view of knowledge. (23) In my philosophy of education, I argue that teaching creativity is the most significant skill a student can learn, and is a cross curriculum attribute that has equal weight in every type of discipline. Thus, my philosophy of education supports an interdisciplinary curriculum where predominately elective subjects, such as technology education and fine arts, stand on equal footing with required subjects typically regarded as... ...pose cross-curriculum equality begins by removing the academic and social prejudices that exist between required and elective courses. Works Consulted Conference Board of Canada. Solving the Skilled Trades Shortage. 28 March 2002. Fischer, Gerhard. â€Å"Social Creativity: Turning Barriers into Opportunities for Collaborative Design†. 8th Conference on Participatory design (Toronto). 2004.152-162. Hughes, William. Critical Thinking. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 1996. Perkins, David. â€Å"Creativity by Design†. Educational Leadership. 14.1 (1984): 18-25. Petrina, Stephen. Advanced Teaching Methods for the Technology Classroom. Hershey: Information Science Publishing, 2007. Pollack, Sidney. Sketches of Frank Gehry. 2004. Reid, Anna, Peter Petocz. â€Å"Learning Domains and the Process of Creativity†. The Australian Educational Researcher. 31.2 (2004): 45-62.

What is the Future of Internet Radio?

Since the days when the family radio was a focal point of the home, where everyone gathered as the main source of news and entertainment to the present day of Internet, satellite and digital radio content, the basic concept of radio has not only survived, but thrived. With all of the new options in radio, however, the question of the future of Internet radio has generated many ideas, controversy and discussion over the past several years. This essay will take a balanced approach to discussing both the pros and cons of Internet versus traditional radio in an effort to ultimately answer this question in an intelligent way. Will Internet Radio Replace Traditional Radio? The knee-jerk tendency when considering whether or not Internet radio will replace traditional radio would be to assume that this would be the case if for no other reason than due to the natural progression of technology, much like the compact disc eventually replaced the vinyl record and the like. However, a closer look at the question requires that a more thorough review of source material take place before jumping to conclusions. In less than a decade, Internet radio has gained the same status as a mass media source as radio has over approximately the last century-clearly a force with which to be reckoned (VanHorn). This begs the question of how this was able to take place so rapidly and whether it is due to the faddish nature of some new technologies or because of distinct advantages that Internet has over conventional radio. Few would argue that the massive increase in the availability of Internet access over the past several years has added to the power of the medium- this includes not only the fact that most every workplace in America has some level of Internet access for most employees, but also that Internet access has been made available to the vast majority of households across a range of economic classes, races and cultures. With this, a new group of media consumers has evolved. Called â€Å"streamies†, these individuals are those who use the Internet for shopping, communication, work, and media/entertainment access (VanHorn). The streamies are now beginning their second, and in some cases third generation, with children gaining access to the Internet as soon as they are able to point and click a computer mouse. So, we see a well established and growing audience for Internet radio. Internet radio producers have not been blind to the fact that they are looking at a seemingly endless supply of listeners and that the future potential is all but endless. Knowing that this audience is technologically savvy, and harnessing the power of the Internet, there have been many enhancements to the Internet radio experience that in fairness are hard for conventional radio to compete with, including interactive broadcasts that allow listeners to provide feedback to broadcasters, blogs that allow for the audience to communicate with each other, and additional Websites which could give a listener access to other materials of interest. Evidence suggests that this type of multimedia experience is very well suited to the modern person, who not only wishes to hear a media source, but also wishes to have something to watch or that will give the chance for one’s intellect to be exercised (Crisell). While Internet radio seems to have quite an assortment of options to offer to the modern audience member, traditional radio should not be counted out just yet. From the advent of Internet radio, traditional radio has attempted to slow down the proliferation of competing Internet radio, first through lawsuits which alleged that Internet broadcasters were taking unfair advantage of the broadcasting system because of the fact that they were exempt from many of the regulations which at times saddle the traditional radio broadcaster and represent a huge expense for them (Mckibben). Failing that, the traditionalists have in recent years likewise gotten involved in Internet broadcasting, using online technology to reach a wider audience with the content that was popular with conventional listeners for years in the past (Crisell). It would appear that in the present stalemate between Internet and conventional radio, the future for both seems cloudy. However, as we will see in a later portion of this essay, there is a very viable future that remains to be seen. Should Internet Radio Pay the Same Royalties as Traditional Radio? The point was made earlier that conventional radio has long argued that Internet radio has unfair advantage in areas such as regulation, technological requirements, etc. Another consideration that has financial implications is the question of whether or not Internet radio should pay the same royalties as traditional radio if the two media sources are different but fundamentally similar. Ironically, when discussing royalties, Internet broadcasters have a disadvantage over conventional broadcasters, at least on the surface. Conventional broadcasters pay a set royalty into order to broadcast copyrighted materials such as songs, whereas Web-based broadcasters are charged a fee per download. Therefore, given the huge size of online audiences that do not have the limitations like those who receive broadcasts on regular radios, royalty fees can quite literally be without limit (Harwood). On the other hand, the possibility of endlessly large audiences, if properly marketed, can result in substantially larger advertising revenue if advertisers can be convinced of the value of such large target audiences for their message. With the evidence that exists, it would seem that the answer would be not to arbitrarily assess higher royalty fees to Internet broadcasters, or to lower fees to traditional broadcasters to try to give them some sort of competitive edge over the massive power of online broadcasters, but to find a way to create a percentage-based royalty fee for both media sources. For example, Internet broadcasters who are mostly content-based and do not emphasize a large amount of advertising would not be held responsible for massive royalty payments since the content they are utilizing is not being used for the purposes of driving massive revenues in the first place. Conversely, when Internet content results in massive advertising revenue, it would only make sense that royalties be fairly paid for the content that made the profits possible. Careful auditing and a process of verification for the numbers that are used to determine the royalty rates would alleviate any possible errors and disputes from the outset. What Does the Future Hold? The point was earlier made that the destruction of traditional radio in favor of Internet radio may not be what the future holds, and there are compelling reasons for making that assumption, for as cutting-edge and attractive as Internet radio may be, there is something to be said for the grass roots way that traditional radio operates, serves and entertains. In times of emergency and local interest, people will always look to the traditional, local radio station for what they crave-something that computer servers and satellites from around the globe simply cannot provide, as if they are too big and cumbersome to be as nimble and versatile as the smaller broadcasters in the traditional sense tend to be (Armstrong). Also, as was said earlier, traditional broadcasters can likewise participate in Internet broadcasting while still retaining their local ties and flavor. Therefore, it is quite reasonable to predict that the future will save a place for the traditional, and cutting edge broadcasting worlds. Conclusion At the risk of sounding outrageous, there are surely new applications of broadcasting technology that currently exist only in the minds of those trying to make them a reality. Therefore, in closing, the point should also be made that radio, to paraphrase a line from a classic song, has only just begun.

Dawn Riley Essay

CEO of America True, Dawn Riley, faces several issues of various criticalities that require careful decision making. The preeminent decision that Dawn Riley faces is whether or not to spend limited funds and resources on upgrading Tag, their training boat. Concurrent with that decision, Dawn is facing several other issues and challenges that need to be addressed. In order to address each of the challenges, a standard issues matrix used below highlights the severity of an issue and the likelihood of it requiring immediate or drastic action. Red: Critical and require immediate management action or decisions Yellow: Lesser critical nature, requiring monitoring of controls to ensure that controls stay in place and does not lead to a more critical ranking. Orange: Lesser critical nature, requiring monitoring of controls and process improvement. Maroon: Issue of a least critical nature – more related to Operational Housekeeping then control concerns. Issue Analysis The issues are divided into two primary areas, leadership and technical. The technical issues include design changes and costs, determining the A-Team, how to manage constructability reviews between the sailing team and the design team, and funding challenges. Each of these issues has a technical solution that can be managed through a process or controls change. The former area, leadership, deals with Dawn Riley’s role in the team and how she shepherds the America True team through these challenges and are solved through adjusting leadership styles. Technical Issues: Funding: Part of Dawn Riley’s role is to prioritize the available budget and to seek new sources of funding. This is a constant source of strain as re-design efforts take additional funding as â€Å"there was a common perception that syndicates with unlimited resources could â€Å"outgrunt† other syndicates by making limitless adjustments. This issue is critical and requires constant management oversight and controls. The action here would be making â€Å"judicious decisions† on how to spend the funds. Tag Upgrade: America True was a smaller syndicate than normal, and their designer Kaiko could not be performing two tasks at once, designing a new part for Tag, or designing a new raceboat keel. This issue would also have implications on funding. This was a critical issue and required executive action to solve. Constructability Reviews: Fostering communication between the designers and the sailors was listed as a potential problem area given that â€Å"sailors ca n get the feeling that designers are too far removed from the problem.† However, in the same token, the sailors also felt that they could contribute more than previous experiences. This is an important issue that probably requires more monitoring than corrective action. A-Team members & Sexism: There was a limited amount of tension between A team and B team members compared to other syndicates. However, â€Å"some of the men who were afraid there would be a â€Å"quota† of women on the raceboat.† For this reason Picking A-Team members and Sexism were identified as a joint issue. Dawn faced the challenge of picking a team that was best qualified and not perceived to have favoritism or quota’s determining who would be on the boat. This is a delicate issue as lack of confidence in your team members and the selection process could lead to a breakdown of trust, one of the first symptoms of Dysfunction in a team. This is a particularly sensitive issue given that the entire issue rests entirely on personality dynamics which take leadership to successfully navigate. Leadership Issues Consensus Style of leadership: Since the outset of the project, Dawn Riley and her management team â€Å"had grown accustomed to making consensus-based decisions.† There are different times when Consensus style of leadership work well and there are times when it does not. The flaws inherent in it are obvious: time consuming, people can be hurt if their choice is not selected, etc. Tag Upgrade: This issue shows up also in the Leadership side of our issues ledger. Dawn is approaching this upgrade as though it is a singular event, however in reality it is a process that has been unfolding over time. â€Å"An â€Å"event† leader would mull in solitude, ask for advice, read reports, mull some more, then say yea or nay and send the organization off to make it happen.† In reality this decision is a process that has been unfolding over the 18 months that Dawn has been leading the team, and would have implications towards group dynamics, and affect the personal and professional relationships within the group. Riley’s leadership role in the pit: As the only Syndicate head who sailed with the crew, there is a certain amount of tension regarding her role on the boat. Even though Dawn recognized that her subordinate Cutler might have a certain amount of discomfort with Dawn in that position since she might step in to take over at any given time she chose to disregard that. Dawn’s role in the pit was to function as the â€Å"integrator† and was at a central position within the boat to react and direct as required. This suggests that Dawn likes to have a strong role on the boat similar to her role off the boat, in the middle of everything and in the know. Muddled Organizational Structure: Throughout the text, there are indications that the organizational structure is unclear or not scrupulously followed. There is no hierarchy to the organizational chart and while Dawn may make it believe it is clear on what her roles and responsibilities are, it appears that she muddles the roles herself given that there was a perception that people were â€Å"working for two masters.† Recommendations and Resolutions Were this in an earlier stage, then there would be a recommendation to solicit additional funding, however given the criticalities of the schedule and the need for the management team to focus on resolving other technical and management issues, it would be recommended that the Dawn and Chris Coffin make the decision to stay within their existing financial plan structure and field the best team they can. It is likely, given Dawn’s many responsibilities, that she could successfully attract additional sponsors unless she gave away other responsibilities regarding the team, which is unlikely to occur.

Biography of Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander

Biography of Field Marshal Sir Harold Alexander Born December 10, 1891, Harold Alexander was the third son of Earl of Caledon and Lady Elizabeth Graham Toler. Initially educated at Hawtreys Preparatory School, he entered Harrow in 1904. Departing four years later, Alexander sought to pursue a military career and gained admission to the Royal Military College at Sandhurst. Completing his studies in 1911, he received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Irish Guards that September. Alexander was with the regiment in 1914 when World War I began and deployed to the Continent with Field Marshal Sir John Frenchs British Expeditionary Force. In late August, he took part in the retreat from Mons and in September fought at the First Battle of the Marne. Wounded at the First Battle of Ypres that fall, Alexander was invalided to Britain. World War I Promoted to captain on February 7, 1915, Alexander returned to the Western Front. That fall, he took part in the Battle of Loos where he briefly led the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards as an acting major. For his service in the fighting, Alexander was awarded the Military Cross. The following year, Alexander saw action during the Battle of the Somme. Engaged in heavy combat that September, he received the Distinguished Service Order and the French LÃ ©gion dhonneur. Elevated to the permanent rank of major on August 1, 1917, Alexander was made an acting lieutenant colonel shortly thereafter and led the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards at the Battle of Passchendaele that fall. Wounded in the fighting, he quickly returned to command his men at the Battle of Cambrai in November. In March 1918, Alexander found himself in command of the 4th Guards Brigade as British troops fell back during the German Spring Offensives. Returning to his battalion in April, he led it at Hazebrouck where it sustained heavy casualties. Interwar Years Shortly thereafter, Alexanders battalion was withdrawn from the front and in October he assumed command of an infantry school. With the end of the war, he received an appointment to the Allied Control Commission in Poland. Given command of a force of German Landeswehr, Alexander aided the Latvians against the Red Army in 1919 and 1920. Returning to Britain later that year, he resumed service with the Irish Guards and in May 1922 received a promotion to lieutenant colonel. The next several years saw Alexander move through postings in Turkey and Britain as well as attend the Staff College. Promoted to colonel in 1928 (backdated to 1926), he took command of the Irish Guards Regimental District before attending the Imperial Defense College two years later. After moving through various staff assignment, Alexander returned to the field in 1934 when he received a temporary promotion to brigadier and assumed command of the Nowshera Brigade in India. In 1935, Alexander was made a Companion of the Order of the Star of India and was mentioned in despatches for his operations against the Pathans in Malakand. A commander who led from the front, he continued to perform well and in March 1937 received an appointment as an aide-de-camp to King George VI. After taking part in the Kings coronation, he briefly returned to India before being promoted to major general that October. The youngest (age 45) to hold the rank in the British Army, he assumed command of the 1st Infantry Division in February 1938. With the outbreak of World War II in September 1939, Alexander prepared his men for combat and soon deployed to France as part of General Lord Gorts British Expeditionary Force. A Rapid Ascent With the rapid defeat of Allied forces during the Battle of France in May 1940, Gort tasked Alexander with overseeing the BEFs rearguard as it withdrew toward Dunkirk. Reaching the port, he played a key role in holding off the Germans while British troops were evacuated. Assigned to lead I Corps during the fighting, Alexander was one of the last to leave French soil. Arriving back in Britain, I Corps assumed a position to defend the Yorkshire coast. Elevated to acting lieutenant general in July, Alexander took over Southern Command as the Battle of Britain raged in the skies above. Confirmed in his rank in December, he remained with Southern Command through 1941. In January 1942, Alexander was knighted and the following month was dispatched to India with the rank of general. Tasked with halting the Japanese invasion of Burma, he spent the first half of the year conducting a fighting withdrawal back to India. To the Mediterranean Returning to Britain, Alexander initially received orders to lead the First Army during the Operation Torch landings in North Africa. This assignment was changed in August when he instead replaced General Claude Auchinleck as Commander-in-Chief, Middle East Command in Cairo. His appointment coincided with Lieutenant General Bernard Montgomery taking command of the Eighth Army in Egypt. In his new role, Alexander oversaw Montgomerys victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein that fall. Driving across Egypt and Libya, Eighth Army converged with Anglo-American troops from the Torch landings in early 1943. In a reorganization of Allied forces, Alexander assumed control of all troops in North Africa under the umbrella of the 18th Army Group in February. This new command reported to General Dwight D. Eisenhower who served as Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean at the Allied Forces Headquarters. In this new role, Alexander oversaw the Tunisia Campaign which ended in May 1943 with the surrender of over 230,000 Axis soldiers. With victory in North Africa, Eisenhower began planning the invasion of Sicily. For the operation, Alexander was given command of the 15th Army Group consisting of Montgomerys Eighth Army and Lieutenant General George S. Pattons US Seventh Army. Landing on the night of July 9/10, Allied forces secured the island after five weeks of fighting. With the fall of Sicily, Eisenhower and Alexander rapidly began planning for the invasion of Italy. Dubbed Operation Avalanche, it saw Pattons US Seventh Army headquarters replaced with Lieutenant General Mark Clarks US Fifth Army. Moving forward in September, Montgomerys forces began landing in Calabria on the 3rd while Clarks troops fought their way ashore at Salerno on the 9th. In Italy Consolidating their position ashore, Allied forces commenced advancing up the Peninsula. Due to the Apennine Mountains, which run the length of Italy, Alexanders forces pushed forward on two fronts with Clark in the east and Montgomery in the west. Allied efforts were slowed by poor weather, rough terrain, and a tenacious German defense. Slowly falling back through the fall, the Germans sought to buy time to complete the Winter Line south of Rome. Though the British succeeded in penetrating the line and capturing Ortona in late December, heavy snows prevented them from pushing east along Route 5 to reach Rome. On Clarks front, the advance bogged down in the Liri Valley near the town of Cassino. In early 1944, Eisenhower departed to oversee planning of the invasion of Normandy. Arriving in Britain, Eisenhower initially requested that Alexander serve as the ground forces commander for the operation as he had been easy to work with during earlier campaigns and had promoted cooperation a mong Allied forces. This assignment was blocked by Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, who felt that Alexander was unintelligent. He was supported in this opposition by Prime Minister Winston Churchill who thought the Allied cause to be best served by having Alexander continue to direct operations in Italy. Thwarted, Eisenhower gave the post to Montgomery who had turned Eighth Army over to Lieutenant General Oliver Leese in December 1943. Leading the newly re-named Allied Armies in Italy, Alexander continued to seek a way to break the Winter Line. Checked at Cassino, Alexander, at Churchills suggestion, launched an amphibious landing at Anzio on January 22, 1944. This operation was quickly contained by the Germans and the situation along the Winter Line did not change. On February 15, Alexander controversially ordered the bombing of the historic Monte Cassino abbey which some Allied leaders believe was being used as an observation post by the Germans. Finally breaking through at Cassino in mid-May, Allied forces surged forward and pushed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring and the German Tenth Army back to the Hitler Line. Breaking through the Hitler Line days later, Alexander sought to trap the 10th Army by using forces advancing from the Anzio beachhead. Both assaults proved successful and his plan was coming together when Clark shockingly ordered the Anzio forces to turn northwest for Rome. As a result, the German Tenth Army was able to escape north. Though Rome fell on June 4, Alexander was furious that the opportunity to crush the enemy had been lost. As Allied forces landed in Normandy two days later, the Italian front quickly became of secondary importance. Despite this, Alexander continued pushing up the peninsula during the summer of 1944 and breached the Trasimene Line before capturing Florence. Reaching the Gothic Line, Alexander commenced Operation Olive on August 25. Though both Fifth and Eighth Armies were able to break through, their efforts were soon contained by the Germans. Fighting continued during the fall as Churchill hoped for a breakthrough which would allow for a drive towards Vienna with the goal of halting Soviet advances in Eastern Europe. On December 12, Alexander was promoted to field marshal (backdated to June 4) and elevated to Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces Headquarters with responsibility for all operations in the Mediterranean. He was replaced Clark as leader of the Allied Armies in Italy. In the spring of 1945, Alexander directed Clark as Allied forces launched their final offensives in the theater. By the end of April, Axis forces in Italy had been shattered. Left with little choice, they surrendered to Alexander on April 29. Postwar With the end of the conflict, King George VI elevated Alexander to the peerage, as Viscount Alexander of Tunis, in recognition of his wartime contributions. Though considered for the post of Chief of the Imperial General Staff, Alexander received an invitation from Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King to become Governor-General of Canada. Accepting, he assumed the post on April 12, 1946. Remaining in the position for five years, he proved popular with Canadians who appreciated his military and communication skills. Returning to Britain in 1952, Alexander accepted the post of Minister of Defense under Churchill and was elevated to Earl Alexander of Tunis. Serving for two years, he retired in 1954. Frequently visiting Canada during his retirement, Alexander died on June 16, 1969. Following a funeral at Windsor Castle, he was buried at Ridge, Hertfordshire. Selected Sources History of War: Harold AlexanderWorld War II Database: Harold Alexander

Words for Names of People

Words for Names of People Words for Names of People Words for Names of People By Mark Nichol Words that include the element nym, and some that include nom, pertain to names and naming. Such terms as anonymous (literally, â€Å"without a name†) and pseudonym (â€Å"false name†) are ubiquitous, but most others in this class are more or less obscure. This post lists and defines such terms that pertain to individuals and groups of people. An allonym (â€Å"other name†) is the name of one person employed as a pseudonym by one or more other people, as in the case of the name Publius, the non de plume of Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, which called back to Publius Valerius Publicola, a founder of the Roman Republic. (â€Å"Non de plume† itself, and â€Å"nom de guerre,† which mean, respectively, â€Å"pen name† and â€Å"war name,† are terms adopted from French that are synonyms of pseudonym.) An anthroponym (â€Å"man name†) is a proper name or a surname. (A gamonym is a name acquired as a result of marriage.) Aptronym is a recent coinage playing on apt, denoting a surname coincidentally appropriate to a person’s profession, such as when someone who makes beer is named Brewer. Autonym (self name)- or the synonym endonym, or â€Å"inner name†- refers to a term used by inhabitants of a place for that place (or themselves or their language), as in Deutsch, the German term for the German language; German is an exonym (â€Å"outer name†). (An ethnonym- people name- is a name for an ethnic group.) A charactonym is a fictitious character’s name that alludes to a quality of that person; literature is replete with such names, including those characterizing combative spouses in the early radio sitcom The Bickersons and the comic strip The Lockhorns. An eponym (â€Å"above name†) is a person, place, or thing after which someone or something is named. A mononym (â€Å"one name†) is a single name, such as Leonardo or Madonna. A patronym (â€Å"father name†), or patronymic, is a name based on a male ancestor’s given name, especially those with prefixes and suffixes integrated into surnames, such as Mac- or Mc- or Fitz- in Gaelic, -ez and -es in Spanish and Portuguese, and -son and variants such as -sen in Germanic languages. The female equivalents are matronym/matronymic; such forms are rare (at least in Indo-European languages), though -dottir is used in Icelandic surnames. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What Is Irony? (With Examples)How Long Should a Paragraph Be?Empathic or Empathetic?

Barilla Essay Research Paper Barilla SpA AGiorgio

Barilla Essay, Research Paper Barilla SpA ( A ) Giorgio Maggiali was going progressively frustrated. As manager of Logistics for the universe # 8217 ; s largest pasta manufacturer, Barilla SpA, he was acutely cognizant of the turning load that demand fluctuations imposed on the company # 8217 ; s fabrication and distribution system. Since his assignment in 1988 as Director of Logistics, he had been seeking to do headroom on an advanced thought proposed by Brando Vitali, who had served as Barilla # 8217 ; s manager of Logistics before Maggiali. The thought, which Vitali called Just-in-Time Distribution ( JITD ) , was modeled after the popular # 8220 ; Just-In-Time # 8221 ; fabricating construct. In kernel, Vitali proposed that, instead than follow the traditional pattern of presenting merchandise to Barilla # 8217 ; s distributers on the footing of whatever orders those distributers placed with the company, Barilla # 8217 ; s ain logistics organisation would alternatively stipulate the # 8220 ; appropriate # 8221 ; bringin g quantities-those that would more efficaciously fitting end consumer # 8217 ; s needs yet would besides more equally administer the work load on Barilla # 8217 ; s fabrication and logistics systems. For two old ages Maggiali, a strong protagonist of Vitali # 8217 ; s proposal, had tried to implement the thought, but now, in the spring of 1990, small advancement had been made. It seemed that Barilla # 8217 ; s clients were merely unwilling to give up their authorization to put orders as they pleased ; some were even loath to supply the elaborate gross revenues informations upon which Barilla could do bringing determinations and better its demand prognosiss. Possibly more disconcerting was the internal opposition from Barilla # 8217 ; s ain gross revenues and selling organisations, which saw the construct as impracticable or unsafe, or both. Possibly it was clip to fling the thought as merely impracticable. If non, how might he increase the opportunities that the thought would be accepted? Company Background Barilla was founded in 1875 when Pietro Barilla opened a little store in Parma, Italy on via Vittorio Emanuele. Bordering the store was the little # 8220 ; research lab # 8221 ; Pietro used to do the pasta and staff of life merchandises he sold in his shop. Pietro # 8217 ; s boy Ricardo led the company through a important period of growing, and in the 1940s, passed the company to his ain boies, Pietro and Gianni. Over clip, Barilla evolved from its modest beginnings into a big, vertically incorporate corporation with flour nothings, pasta workss, and bakery-product mills located throughout Italy. SPA ( Societa per Azioni ) can be translated as # 8220 ; Society for Stockholders # 8221 ; and interpreted as In a crowded field of over 2,000 Italian pasta makers, Pietro and Gianni Barilla differentiated their company with a high quality merchandise supported by advanced selling plans. Barilla revolutionized the Italian pasta industry # 8217 ; s selling patterns by making a strong trade name name and image for its pasta, selling pasta in a certain -cardboard box with a recognizable colour form, instead than in majority, and puting in large-scale advertisement plans. In 1968, to back up the double-digit gross revenues growing the company experienced during the 1960s, Pietro and Gianni Barilla began building of a 1.25 million square metre state-of-the art pasta works in Pedrignano, a rural town 5 kilometer outside of Parma. The cost of this monolithic facility-the largest and most technologically advanced pasta works in the world-drove the Barillas deeply into debt. In 1971, they sold the company to the American multi-national house W. R. Grace, Inc. Grace brought extra capital investing and professional direction patterns to the company and launched an of import new Mulino Bianco ( # 8220 ; White Mill # 8221 ; ) line of bakeshop merchandises. Throughout the 1970s, confronting hard economic conditions -and new Italian statute law that both capped retail pasta monetary values and increased cost-of-living allowances for employees, Grace struggled to do its Barilla acquisition wage off. In 1979, Grace sold the company back to Pietro Barilla, who by so had secured the # 8216 ; necessary financess to buy it. The capital investings and organisational alterations that Grace had brought to Barilla, combined with bettering market conditions, helped Pietro Barilla launch a successful return to the company. During 1980s, Barilla enjoyed an one-year growing rate of over 21 % ( see Exhibit 1 ) . Growth was realized through enlargement of bing concerns, both in Italy and other European states, every bit good as through acquisition of new, related concerns. In 1990, Barilla was the largest pasta maker in the universe, doing 35 % of all pasta sold in Italy and 229/6 of all pasta sold in Europe. Barilla # 8217 ; s portion in Italy comprised its three trade names: the traditional Barilla trade name represented 32 % of the market, the staying 3 % of market portion was divided between its Voiello trade name ( a traditional Neapolitan pasta viing in the costly section of the semolina pasta market ) and its Braibanti trade name ( a high-quality, traditional Parmesan pasta made from eggs and semolina ) . About half of Barilla # 8217 ; s pasta was sold in northern Italy and half in the South, where Barilla held a smaller portion of the market than in the North but where the market was larger. In add-on, Barilla held a 29 % portion of the Italian bakery-products market. In 1990, Barilla was organized into seven divisions: three pasta divisions ( Barilla, Voiello, and Braibanti ) the Bakery Products Division ( fabricating medium to hanker shelf-life bakeshop merchandises ) , the Fresh Bread Division ( fabricating really short shelf-life bakeshop merchandises ) , the Catering Division ( administering bars and frozen crescent rolls to bars and pastry stores ) , and the International Division. ( Exhibits 2 and 3 show the organisational construction of -the company. ) Corporate central offices were located next to the Pedrignano pasta works