Responding Techniques

Responding and summarizing begins with using active and responding where I preview the author’s background as well as the writing context. Summarizing accurately and objectively represent key ideas. A summary cites the author and title, quotes key phrases or sentences directly and describe the main ideas and feature of a text. Responding is critiquing the ideas in the text. Responding technique gives responses that may agree or disagree with the argument in the text.Responses may analyze the argument, organization or quality of evidence in the text; and/or they may reflect on assumptions or implications. Summary includes main ideas and key features while a response includes my reactions, comments and questions. A summary gives a reader an objective and condensed account of the main ideas and features of a text while a response. A response should include own perspective, experiences, attitudes and beliefs that will guide in a particular response.To make it effective, a response paper effective, I need to say what I think and show why I think so. The response should show the relationship between my opinions and the argument in the text. A response requires analyzing the effectiveness of the text, agreeing or disagreeing with the author’s ideas and interpreting and reflecting on the text. Responses must be supported by evidence, facts, examples and details.Personal experience, evidence form the text and other texts form supporting evidence for good responses. In responses, there is need for in text citations like sentences and phrases. Ideas from other books, essays and articles are relevant. Usually, summary appears first and then the reader’s response. The two parts are carefully integrated where the response focuses quickly on the main idea summarized. Use a clear transition from the summary and response or integrate both the summary and response throughout.

The Matrix

The Matrix The Matrix A Pop Culture Fusion of Western Literature Literary Masterpieces ? Professor Hirschberg ? 12/6/00 Initially, I didn?t get it. Having heard that the Matrix was a smooth sci-fi fusion of virtual reality, amazing martial arts effects, and philosophical undertones I took my girlfriend to see it at the local theater as soon as she was back from college. The special effects were truly breathtaking: I found myself dumbfounded at the first fight scene as the camera panned 180‚Â ° around a hovering Trinity before she delivered a lethal flying center kick to the police officer foolish enough to try to arrest her. I have to admit, though, that as the movie progressed I found myself struggling to keep up with the plot line. By the time the movie ended with Keanu Reeves? character ascending into the sky, I had that warm, fuzzy feeling that the protagonist had won out in the end?I just wasn?t sure why.English: User:Spencerian and close friend, dressed...It wasn?t until having watch ed the movie several times that I could appreciate its storyline, and then several more times that I could appreciate its complexity. Not only does the movie appeal to my enthusiasm for technology and my lust for martial arts acrobatics, it also appeals to my interest in early Western and postmodern thought and Christian theology. Apparently, according to box office numbers and the rise of Matrix ?web rings? and chat sites, I am not alone in my fondness of this movie.Since its debut in April of 1999, The Matrix has grossed over $171 million in the box office, putting it in the top 100 moneymaking films of all time. The movie has also drawn over $500 million in DVD sales, making it the most sought-after DVD video of 1999. Several ?web rings? have sprung up all over the...

Mergers & Acquisitions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Mergers & Acquisitions - Essay Example A merger takes place when the firms involved in the combination are of unequal size. The larger or stronger firm continues to exist because of its stronger bargaining power and the smaller or weaker firms go out of existence. Four periods of economic history have witnessed very high levels of merger activity, which are called a merger waves. These periods are characterized by cyclical activity i.e. large number of mergers followed by relatively fewer mergers ((ICMR), 2003). The current period is called as the fifth wave. In the first three waves, merger activity was concentrated in the United States of America. The fourth and the fifth waves were global in nature though the impact of the wave is most pronounced in the United States of America. First Wave The first merger wave occurred after the depression of 1883. It peaked between 1898 and1902 though it began in 1897 and ended in 1904. The merger had the greatest impact on eight specific industries i.e. primary metals, bituminous coal, food products, chemicals, machinery, transportation equipment, petroleum and fabricated metal products. These industries accounted for almost two – thirds of the total mergers during these periods.The mergers in the first wave were predominantly horizontal combinations. These resulting industrial consolidations led to creation of large monopolies. For example, US steel founded by J P Morgan merged with Carnegie Steel founded by Andrew Carnegie.The merged firm US Steel also acquired several other smaller steel producers and the resulting giant capture 75% of the steel market of the United States of America. ... Second Wave The second merger wave occurred between 1916 and 1929. George Stigler, a winner of the Nobel Prize in Economics, has contrasted the first wave as "merging for monopoly" and the second wave as "merging for oligopoly." The consolidation pattern resulted in the emergence of oligopolistic industrial structures. The second wave was primarily fuelled by the post World War I boom in America Economy and a buoyant capital market. The second merger wave lasted until the Great Depression. The wave ended with the stock market crash on the "Black Thursday" i.e. October 29th of the year 1929, when the stock market witnessed one of the steepest stock price falls in history. Some of the corporate giants like General Motors, International Business Machines (IBM), Union Carbide, and John Deere etc., are a product of this era. Third Wave The third merger wave occurred during 1965 to 1969. This wave featured a historically high level of merger activity. One of the reasons for this factor is that this wave occurred in the background of a booming American Economy. One of the new trends started by this wave was the acquisition of larger companies by smaller companies. In the waves prior to this, the acquirer was always bigger in size than the target. A large proportion of transactions that took place during this wave were conglomerate transactions. The conglomerates formed during this period were highly diversified and simultaneously operated in several unrelated industries. For example, during the sixties ITT acquired such diversified businesses like car rental firms, bakeries, consumer credit agencies, luxury hotels, airport parking firms,

Character biography of Wintertime by Charles L. Mee Essay

Character biography of Wintertime by Charles L. Mee - Essay Example Although she is married, Maria is happy to stay in an illicit relationship with her lover Frank. She invents her own views on love in order to justify the complex relationships that define her social life. Maria emphasizes on the value of her freedom on matters of love, family and the discourse of sex. For instance, she reinvents the aspect of womanhood by projecting views that appear abnormal to the larger society. Her philosophies on matters of sex appear to be idiosyncratic and even rebellious. She tells her husband about the desire of a woman to engage in some form of wild sexual engagements and deliberate deviation from the order and tranquility of the domestic space without a free conscience that operates on the sidelines of the acceptable. Although she admits her love deep love for Francois, he shocks him by admitting that she reserves every Friday night for a routine sexual relationship with Frank (Mee 6). This sense of strange freedom and order unsettles Francois whose conce pt of love appears to be bound in philosophies that are more conventional than Maria’s is. A clear understanding of Maria’s peculiar approach to life could gbe drawn from a comparative assessment between her views on love and those projected by Ariel. The two women have exactly opposite views about then discourse of love. While Ariel indulges her mind in the innocence of youth by upholding the sublime and real element of love, Maria takes an opposite view by establishing categories of love. For instance, she views love in two broad perspectives. One of the perspectives is about romantic love. Maria believes that romantic love should be separate from the other kind of love that attaches couples in a marriage. She reminds Frank, her husband, that she never intended to love him in a romantic kind of love. She only loves him as some kind of duty that a wife ordinarily owes to her husband. Maria’s personality has a redemptive effect to the social disadvantages that w omen have to endure because of traditions, values, and expectations. She presents life in terms of a sum total of her own views and the practical things of life. Maria lives in a conservative society. This society demands women to live in accordance with specific laws and specifications. There is a patriarchal undertone in the dominant philosophies that undergird perspectives and reactions. As a result, she rebels and creates a world that would accommodate the feelings and opinions of a liberal woman (Case and Elaine 56). Her defiance could be understood as a rebellion against the domestic space. She affirms ownership of the Winterhouse and does not regard Frank in any terms larger than a companion. She comes to the defense of fellow women whenever situations demand. In this manner, Maria could be considered as an influential matriarch of women liberation with a deep desire to create an alternative frame of reference for the conquered women in the society. On this score, it makes se nse to consider her attitude in terms of the multiple challenges that are systematically created to stifle the course of women empowerment. Normally, the society would want to convert Maria into an ideal woman who dutifully plays the role of wife and mother in total submission. Instead, Maria appears to be untamed and subscribing to strange philosophies that define her relationship to both Francois and Frank. She is a strong defender of women freedom

Determine if there are similarities or differences with respect to the Essay

Determine if there are similarities or differences with respect to the treatment of Aboriginal youth by the governments of Canada and Australia, - Essay Example It is reported that the indigenous people have the highest incarceration rates in both countries as compared to any other lots. It is realized that the two governments treats and victimized offenders in the similar manner resulting from highest number of criminal activities undertaken by these indigenous groups. In Australia, statistics shows that 15.1 percent of the homicide victims are felt by the indigenous groups despite their less population of 2.2 percent of the Australian population and 15.7 percent of victimized offender’s results from same indigenous groups according to the 2011 Mouzous research (In Chall,& ProQuest Firm,1953, p.123). Aboriginal are also found in police custodies mainly because of violent and justice offences as compared to other lots who mainly being in custody for drug and traffic offences. Governments in both countries are thus find it necessary to detain more number of Aboriginals with Australian figure rated at 26 percent of all the people detained calculated to be 17 times that of non-indigenous persons. Australian government differs in terms of Aboriginal policing with that of Canada in the sense that indigenous policing systems seen to be relatively centralized divided into eight main police services with one attached to each state and territory and federal department. Unlike in Canada where there is correctional institutions and absence of federal-state split in sentences, Australian states are mandated to enactment of criminal laws and the policing programs are only within the state jurisdictions. Australian aboriginal have found themselves tasks with self-policing as well as hired as police officers after the discussion erupted on the failure of the government to include indigenous in such services but to use police services throughout course of Australian history in which police were universally expected to apply government policies to Aboriginal which led to Aboriginal

Why does the middle east is important to obama Essay

Why does the middle east is important to obama - Essay Example This became evident in 2007 when a plutonium-producing reactor of Syria in cooperation with North Korea, was discovered. Israel released photographic evidence of the said partnership leading to the raid of the nuclear reactor in Deir ez-Zor region and the dismissal of a terrorism attempt (Blackwill and Slocombe). Israel is skillful in making aerial systems, armored vehicle protection, and short-range rockets defenses, and robotics. It has been known as a world leader when it comes to developing devices and techniques for force protection (Blackwill and Slocombe). Because of the unifying goal of both countries to eliminate terrorism and nuclear proliferation, Israel shares its assets to United States which on the other hand, finances Israel’s projects and endeavors. In this case, the role of Obama’s partnership with the Israelis is to further develop missiles which would help him protect his forces and allies and span its influence over Europe, Middle East, and Persian Gulf (Blackwill and Slocombe). In all of these involvements, Obama does not only interestingly gain the assets of Israel but a possible underlying reason for this involvement is for him to expand its power over Middle East. This is evident in Michael Oren’s book, â€Å"Power, Faith, and Fantasy†. He stated, As an explanation to this, Oren mentioned about Jefferson and the May 1787 Articles of Confederation. In the meeting that followed, Americans felt a great threat from the kingdoms of Middle East countries. They stated, As a result of this, America waged wars all intended for Middle East. By imposing wars and force, America gained power over its greatest enemy – the Middle East countries and thus worry less about this threat (Oren). United States’ gaining of power and influence becomes more convincing when Obama expressed his interest in the oil industry of Middle East in his speech in

The Virgin Group An insight into the organizational structure and culture

The Virgin Group An insight into the organizational structure and culture Introduction The Virgin Group of companies is one of the largest business organizations in the world. Founded by Richard Branson, the Virgin Group has established itself into many diverse facets of the business industry. This paper analyzes the organizational structure and culture of the Virgin Group and how it has helped this organization attain such success in many diverse industries. Much of the culture of the Virgin Group is influenced by the personal beliefs and philosophies of its founder, Richard Branson, and is one of the reasons for the organizations success. Branson highly values all of his employees and takes personal responsibility to ensure that his beliefs are instilled among all of them. Branson has created a decentralized structure in the organization by giving his employees the authority to take decisions thereby reducing bureaucracy. Employees are encouraged to not always follow rational procedures and instead think on their own. This paper will first briefly give an overview of the Virgin Group of companies and its history and development. The organizational structure and culture of the Virgin Group will help the reader understand the organizations processes and business practices and how the values and belief system of its founder has shaped its structure and culture. In addition, the reader will learn how the Virgin Group has established itself as a successful organization based on its structure and culture. The paper will apply some of the theories and concepts from the course textbook to the Virgin Group which will help to understand the working of this organization better. In conclusion, this paper hopes to emphasize the Virgin Groups overall journey through the years and the role that its structure and culture has played in its success. About the Virgin Group The Virgin Group is one of the most successful business empires today. This organization has established itself in diverse industries including mobile telephony, retail, music, financial services, travel, and many more. Virgin has ruled the British market and has expanded worldwide into other regions like North America, Asia, Africa and Australia. Starting out as a simple mail-order record retailer in 1970, Virgin has grown into one of the most successful business empires in the world. The Virgin Group has established more than 300 companies, employing around 50000 people in 30 countries. Its global revenues in 2009 exceeded US$18 billion. (Virgin, n.d.) The majority of the Virgin Groups success has been credited to the founder and CEO of Virgin, Richard Branson. Bransons beliefs and philosophies are deeply rooted in the corporate culture of the Virgin Group. This has helped the Virgin Group to flourish in todays competitive business world. History and Development Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group of companies. When he was a student at Stowe, he published a magazine called Student. The magazine was a success and it encouraged Branson to leave school and try his hand at new business ventures. His first target was mail-order records. He found that by putting a single advertisement in an issue of Student magazine, he was able to establish a thriving business with almost no up-front investment and no working capital. The name Virgin was suggested by one of his associates who saw the name as proclaiming their commercial innocence, while possessing some novelty and modest shock-value. In 1971 Branson opened his first retail store on Londons Oxford Street. Virgin then expanded into the recording industry and the result was the Virgin record label. By 1983, the Virgin Group was earning profits of 2 million pounds on total revenues of just under 50 million pounds. (Grant, 2008) Gradually Branson expanded into other ventures. The Organizational Structure Many assume the Virgin Group to be a multinational, but such is not the case. Each of the 300 odd companies of the Virgin Group operates separately and Branson serves as shareholder, chairman, and public relations supremo. Most of them are operating companies that own assets, employ people, and offer goods and services. These operating companies are owned and controlled by about 20 holding companies. The Virgin Group has a very complex structure. It has been termed both as a brand franchising operation as well as a keiretsu. (Grant, 2008) However, based on its structure, the Virgin Group can be safely termed as an organization with a keiretsu structure. A keiretsu is a group of organizations, each of which owns shares in the other organizations in the group, and all of which work together to further the groups interests. (Jones, Mills, Weatherbee, Mills, 2006) Furthermore, such a large organization with a complex structure needs to be organic in order to be able to adapt to changes in its environment. An organic structure promotes flexibility, so people initiate change and can adapt quickly to changing conditions. ( Jones et al., 2006) Considering each of the individual companies as a department providing a unique product or service, it is evident that they exhibit product departmentalization. Product departmentalization is the division of the departments of an organization based on the type of product or service offered. (Jones et al., 2006) For example, Virgin Mobile offers cellular services while Virgin Records is a music label. However, the structure of the Virgin Group is so complex that it is necessary for it to not just have one type of departmentalization. For instance, Virgin Mobile has operations in many different countries like the UK, India and Australia. As such, the type of service varies in each of these countries. This shows that Virgin Mobile also exhibits geographic departmentalization. Geographic departmentalization is the division of an organization based on the geographic location. (Jones et al., 2006) In addition, type of service and products also varies depending on the customer base hence ex hibiting customer departmentalization. Customer departmentalization is the division of an organization based on the kind of customers it serves. (Jones et al., 2006) Since the Virgin Group of companies exhibit so many types of departmentalisations, the organization as a whole is said to have a hybrid structure, which is a mixture of two or more kinds of departmentalisations. This multi-divisional approach helps the Virgin Group to easily adapt to the cultural, technological and other forces in the region it expands to. The division of labour and the hierarchy is also an important aspect of an organizations structure. The number of levels of authority, the control, and the amount of communication are key factors in the proper working of an organization. As mentioned, the Virgin Groups companies operate as separate organizations. The companies are part of a family rather than a hierarchy. They are empowered to run their own affairs, yet the companies help one another, and solutions to problems often come from within the Group somewhere. In a sense, Virgin is a commonwealth, with shared ideas, values, interests and goals. (Virgin, n.d.) In fact, Branson himself has provided all his employees with the authority to make unsupervised decisions based on their intuition rather than following a chain of command. This leads to the employees having more confidence in them and in the management. Since interaction among all the levels of the hierarchy is promoted, it increases effective communication. This is e vident from the fact that Branson personally interacts with employees on a regular basis discussing ideas and receiving feedback. The Virgin Group expresses self-sufficiency and effective communication. Virgin has a flat hierarchical structure and this enables quick and efficient decision making. The flat structure is one of the reasons that the Virgin Group has been able to expand into new ventures. In addition, a flat structure allows a wider span of control, and decentralization. Span of control is the number of subordinates a manager manages directly. (Jones et al., 2006) The decentralized structure of the Virgin Group gives more power in the hands of its employees when it comes to decision making. Decentralization is the delegation of authority to all levels of the hierarchy. (Jones et al.,2006) Branson believes that the employees are the backbone of the company and hence it is important that they have enough involvement and authority in decision making. Since the Virgin Group comprises of so many companies, along with a decentralized structure, it should show some signs of organizational bureaucracy. However, Branson has ensured since the beginning to minimize bureaucracy as much as possible since he strives to flatten the hierarchy. Bureaucracy is a structure in which people are held accountable for their actions because they are required to act in accordance with rules and standard operating procedures. (Jones et al., 2006) The efficiency of the employees is enhanced under Bransons leadership who emphasises a wide span of control and self management. Bransons scepticism of organizational hierarchy and a formal structure has contributed to organizational cohesiveness to a great extent. His adoption of this unorthodox strategy rather than traditional business practices and non-traditional structuring of the organization may be the reason for the Groups success. The Organizational Culture Much of the Virgin Groups culture is influenced by its founder Richard Bransons personal philosophies. Just as his employees are important to him, so are the customers the Virgin Group serves. The ability of the Virgin Group to operate effectively with almost a non-formal structure is because of its unique organizational culture. The culture of the Virgin Group reflects Bransons casual nature, his disrespect for hierarchy and formal authority, commitment to employees and consumers and his belief in hard work and responsibility. (Grant, 2008) This influences all of the companies in the Virgin Group and its organizational culture. This in turn, enables the Virgin Group to provide an environment in which talented, ambitious people are motivated to do their best and strive for a higher level of performance. However, even in an informal environment, a high level of commitment, acceptance of personal responsibility and long hours of work when needed is expected. Performance incentives at V irgin for most employees are diffident but Virgin provides benefits like social activities, company sponsored weekend getaways and impromptu parties. (Grant, 2008) Such an environment promotes better relations among the employer and the employees. Virgins unique culture has gradually progressed to where it is today. Virgin describes itself as a family emphasizing its informal but strong belief system and values. Possessing such a culture enables the Virgin Group to have effective coordination among its various departments. Working as a community rather than a corporation, instils the ability to communicate effectively among the many companies in the Group. The Group as a whole works together based on these shared set of values which are continuously strengthened. This is important considering the vast size and complexity of the organization. Following in the footsteps of its founder, Virgin has always maintained the belief that the employees are the biggest force of the organization and as such, should be treated with respect. (Virgin, n.d.) The management cares for the welfare of the employees and allows them to work in a free environment. Because of these primary beliefs and values, Virgin has been able to compete, thrive, a nd challenge new business opportunities. As mentioned before, Richard Branson has influenced the culture of the organization the most. He has managed to instil his belief system into all of his employees and this has motivated them to strive to perform better. One of the many strong points in Virgins favour is the fact that it is non-traditional; revolutionary even; in the manner it does business. Virgin believes in grasping opportunities. Contrary to what many people may think, Virgins constantly expanding and eclectic empire is neither random nor reckless. Each successive venture demonstrates their devotion to picking the right market and the right opportunity. This has proved beneficial to the organization and is one of the many reasons for its success. (Virgin, n.d.) Conclusion Based on the analysis of the corporate culture and structure of the Virgin Group, it is evident that it is a highly successful organization most of whichs credit goes to the founder and his values and beliefs. Even though the industry considers much of his methods to be unorthodox, these methods have proved highly beneficial to him and the Virgin Group and have been deemed to be effective. Not many today can dream of venturing into so many diverse industries starting from scratch. If Virgin continues to strengthen its culture and structure, it has the potential to become one of the most successful companies ever.