What made him write An Inspector Calls and why set it before World War One Essay Example

What made him write An Inspector Calls and why set it before World War One Essay If men will not learn that lesson, they will be taught it in fire and blood and anguish. This is an extremely powerful quotation that the Inspector leaves us with. Without a doubt these words are very true. In 1914 World War One began and all this fire, blood and anguish became reality. Britain had entered a four-year war that would have an unimaginable effect on her people. Thousands of towns, cities, homes and businesses were destroyed. Millions of people, men the majority, died horrific deaths. Limbs blown off in explosions, bodies burnt alive in scorching heat, shells blasting, bombs lighting up the dark night, poison gas smothering trenches trapping screaming victims below its green deadly surface. One can only imagine the pain, agony and shear devastation and lost of human life. The war ended in 1918 and much of Europe including England was left destroyed. For people like Mr. Birling it was time to rethink. Is it every man for himself? Is community nonsense? This could be one function of the Inspector; to get the Birlings, especially Mr. Birling, to care for others and accept responsibility before it is too late. Only twenty-one years later in 1939 another war broke out in Europe. World War Two lasted for six years, an extra two years of fighting the enemy. In 1945 the war ended. In that same year An Inspector Calls, the play that I will be analysing was written. John Boynton Priestley the author set his play in 1912, before these terrifying events. We will write a custom essay sample on What made him write An Inspector Calls and why set it before World War One specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on What made him write An Inspector Calls and why set it before World War One specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on What made him write An Inspector Calls and why set it before World War One specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer This is very significant in order for his play to work effectively, as the themes included in the play are one way or another, directly related to this time and the years and events that will follow. An Inspector Calls covers very clearly a variety of different themes and ideas that Priestley is concerned about in society. He uses the Inspector as the main character, or one could say a tool, to express these themes and ideas to the audience. The sort of ideas Priestley is concerned about in society and is trying to show are the aspects of: responsibility, community, lies and truth, honesty and self-deception, equality, social snobbery and double standards. I will be covering these aspects and indeed many more as I progress through this assignment. What inspired Priestley? What made him write An Inspector Calls and why set it before World War One? The answer lies in his life before the year of 1945. To answer these questions we must first establish and be aware of the following background information. The Edwardian times seemed to be a very exciting and secure time for Britain and many of her people. She was quickly advancing in industry and technology. Her armed forces were also growing and obviously she was extremely wealthy. For the people living in the upper class society times were good however millions were not having such a good time. For the millions struggling there seemed to be no hope, there was no legislation to save workers from exploitation which of course was occurring in factories all over the country and no Welfare State to support these living such a poor life if times were very bad. The Inspector (Priestley in one sense) could see that this is not the right sort of society and that it had to change otherwise severe consequences would follow. The play is based around this Edwardian society and the Inspector tries his best to cover these important issues and express them to the Birlings in order to make them see what it is like for the other people, not just their breed. Priestley was born into a middle class family and did not suffer like the lower classes, however, this doesnt necessarily mean he did not know what was going on or how these people felt. Priestley as a young man spent four years on the battlefield fighting against the Nazi enemy in World War One. During this war Priestley on numerous occasions, narrowly escaped death, this period in his life allowed him to look at life differently and without a doubt he was directly influenced by these experiences. These four years were the platform which he could build upon. Now with his ideas Priestley needed a suitable date to set his play, the most appropriate date was the year 1912. By specifically choosing to write An Inspector Calls after World War Two and by including the material he has done and indeed the Inspector, Priestley could very effectively attract and hold his audience, as many of them felt the way he did and had lived through the wars and shared his experiences. As a result of the wars everyone was brought together. Everyone united as one country and worked together to defeat the Nazis. The children were brought together by evacuations, the women working in factories to produce uniforms and war goods for their men were brought together and of course the men on the battlefields fighting together managed to build a strong relationship among themselves. As a direct result everyone learnt to look after one another and to care for each other, reflecting the fact that; We are all members of one body. as the Inspector would say. The audience now more aware could look at certain characters i. e. Birling and see how wrong he actually is. How does the Inspector represent and present Priestleys central themes or ideas could one say? First I shall establish what Priestleys central themes actually are. His central ideas are the aspects of: responsibilities the responsibilities people can and cannot accept, personally and socially; community the environment people are living in and how it affects them; lies and truth can certain people tell lies and get away with them easily and how some people can tell constant lies whilst some cannot even tell one; honesty and self-deception can people be honest or indeed cannot, if so how can they without being affected in any way, how can they deceive themselves; equality and social snobbery why do some people believe they are superior to others and party; double standards how and why do the men act differently and have different rights than the women and why are they considered less affected by bad news. Mr. Birling believes that a man should make his own way in life, stands on his own two feet and should only look after himself and his family. He says; a man has to make his own way has to look after himself and his family too, of course community and all that nonsense a man has to mind his own business and look after himself and his own-. This quotation clearly expresses Birlings feelings about community, he believes its nonsense, and he doesnt seem to care for others, only blood relatives and his wife. The audience now looking back to this attitude may well have thought like that before the war but probably have a totally different view after. The Inspector arrives and talks about community, he somehow manages to predict (hence his name Goole supernatural quality) the future and so his view on community is just like the audiences only that he is in the year 1912 whilst the audience are in the year 1945. This is an example of forward thinking and because many members of the audience felt like Priestley he could try to persuade them to take his point of view. This is a very good example of a deliberate attempt made by Priestley to get the audience thinking about this attitude of Birlings and the past, maybe even Priestley himself thought like this before the experiences of the wars. Priestly enables the audience to use their hindsight to reject Birlings opinions because Priestley has made Birling say the Titanic would not sink; the titanic and unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable, and there would not be a war Nobody wants war theres too much at stake these days nothing to gain by war, and we as the audience know he is wrong on this, we therefore also reject his other views and thus accept the Inspectors point of view as a result. Mrs. Birling is another example of someone who will not admit personal responsibilities. She clearly does not want to accept any responsibility for the death of Eva Smith. A quote that shows this; father of the child, its his responsibility. We can clearly see that Mrs. Birling is trying to blame the death onto someone else and we begin to gather an image of this woman in our imagination. Another quote that backs up this view is; I accept no blame for it at all. Again Mrs. Birling is refusing responsibility. The audience know that everyone is responsible for one another because they have been shown this through the Inspectors comments. The Inspector talks about social responsibilities. Although Eric and Sheila do show signs of this the Inspector is the one who stands out the most. He says just before he leaves; One Eva Smith is gone but there are millions more Eva Smiths and John Smiths all intertwined with our lives We are all members of one body what we do affects others. This quotation is very important. The Inspector says these words because he is very aware of the fact that war will occur in the future which will cause the people no matter what position in society or class to come together, everyone will be responsible for one other, there will be no superior individuals. The audience will most certainly agree with the comment as they too just like Priestly have lived through the wars and are very much aware of the changes that are going to happen. The upper class community at the time was very formal. There were successful businessmen and their very snobby wives who were totally dependent on their husbands business. There were frequent dinner parties where these upper class people met, and obviously their conversations were dominated by business. The Inspector enters on the stage during one of these parties. The upper class people were very shocked to find out if someone in their community misbehaved; it was more likely to be a lower class person who did so. Mrs. Birling shows this when she discovers that someone she thought was a respectful citizen actually frequently abuses young women, she says; (staggered) well, really! Alderman Meggarty I must say, we are learning something tonight. This quotation with the direction staggered shows that Mrs. Birling is clearly shocked and amazed that this man is carrying out these activities on young women and also she is ignorant of the activities that are happening in the upper class society. Imagine the Inspector being a sharp object i. e. a pin and the Birlings are being protected by an invisible shield i. e. a bubble that only contains ignorance and what ever they want it to contain, the Inspector pops this bubble and the truth about the world rushes in. The Birlings are pretty much so protected from the terrible world and the Inspector is pouring these terrible facts onto them, exposing them. This could be another function; to present the facts to the Birlings, to make them see the truth about the real world and so learn from what they are doing. The Inspector manages to expose some of the characters double standards, Mrs. Birling being a good example. She says to her daughter Sheila; Girls of that class in response to an opinion of Sheilas, one which shows signs of sympathy towards Eva. Mrs. Birling also says; .. As if a girl of that sort would ever refuse money! in response to one of the questions the Inspector asks, showing that Mrs. Birling is an upper class snob who could not possibly have feelings or consideration for other classes of people. She believes she is so much better and more superior to others, she is totally stuck up, mocking others from her over hanging, protective bubble. When the war ended especially the First World War everyone including people like Mrs. Birling, were refreshed i. e. reminded that humans are one species and there is no reason why some of them should feel or believe that they are more superior to others. The war if you like was a warning or indication of some sort from somebody and was a deliberate event to make society realise what it has become. Another function of the Inspector is to try to warn the Birlings that if society will not change then war will follow. Priestley himself is using the Inspector as a tool to do this. Each character in the play has an individual personality and of course their personal view on different matters will be very different from others, in one sense each of the Birlings can represent each member of an upper class society. Some characters tell lies whilst others admit the truth straight away. In my view Eric and Sheila are very alike and are the sort of people who would admit to the truth straight away with no hesitation although Sheila is more honest. Gerald and Mr. and Mrs. Birling seem to me to be a little more difficult to get the truth out of. The Inspector very cunningly manages to get a confession or something with significance out of all the characters one way or another, for example he leaves Sheila and Gerald to talk alone whilst he is listening to the conversation and waiting for that key confession. Sheila and Mr. Birling say their part in the role of Eva Smiths death with little persuasion, although Mr. Birling needs to be convinced occasionally. Quotes that show the characters lying, telling the truth, being honest or being deceiving are (Gerald lying); And I have already told you I was awfully busy at the works all that time. We later discover that Gerald was actually having an affair not working at his works. Gerald clearly is feeling nothing when he says this even though he is lying to his fiance and deceiving himself. Sheila shows honesty and responsibility when she confesses that she got Eva Smith sacked from Milwards. She does not hesitate and takes responsibility for her role in the death of Eva Smith. The quotes that show her honesty is when she says; (miserably) so I am really responsible? this quotation is showing that Sheila is felling guilt for her participation in the death of Eva Smith. Also; Im trying to tell the truth. This quotation is showing that Sheila is someone who is honest, kind and caring unlike her mother. The Inspector has in one way done a good thing by introducing this news, he has made the Birlings, Sheila in particular, realise that things terrible do happen, for example the suicide of Eva Smith, and if you have been responsible somehow then you should accept the consequences that await. Sheila explains what happened freely, and throughout she shows signs of guilt. Sheila is an honest person unlike her fiance Gerald who needs persuasion to admit his role in the death. Mr. Birling being a businessman like Gerald has similar opinions (these two characters represent all upper class businessmen) and so when the Inspector and Eric try to make Mr. Birling feel responsible he obviously tries to blame it onto the girl and Gerald backs him up. The quote that shows this is when he says; Rubbish! If you dont come down on some of this people they will soon be asking for the earth. Gerald replies I should think so! These quotations show that Mr Birlings honest opinion is to be tough and harsh to the employees if they ask for more so that you do not show weakness. It also shows that he feels strongly about this as he has used said this view in a loud manor (exclamation mark shows this). Is this view wrong? Should he be saying this? Priestley is trying to get the audience thinking about these aspects he is concerned about and he uses the Inspector or numerous occasions very effectively to get these views out of the characters. Mrs. Birling as I mentioned before doesnt want to accept responsibility for Eva Smiths death. When the Inspector asks her questions, she could be considered a liar as she says; Ive done nothing wrong and you know it. Mrs. Birling has done something wrong however she cannot admit it this quotation is showing that she is in fact lying. The Inspector is using what the characters have done in the past to question against them and to see how much they can tolerate, he in one way winds them up by going against what they think is right. There are frequent examples throughout this play that show that the men are more able to accept bad news. Mr. Birling and his wife try to protect their young daughter from the suicide on numerous occasions one such occasion is when Mr. Birling says to the Inspector; (angrily) there is not the slightest reason why my daughter should be brought into this unpleasant business. Mr. Birling does not want his daughter to be exposed to the horrible truth of life, at least not at the moment. Again there are examples throughout the play that show that the men are more likely to have a sexual relationship before marriage and it is considered natural, unlike for the upper class women who are not allowed or presumed not too. Priestley doesnt believe that women should be protected we can tell this because he uses the Inspector who says in affect that there is no reason why Sheila should not hear the truth. He says to Sheila when Mr. Birling tells her to run along; No, wait a minute Miss Birling, in other words he wants Sheila to be involved in the conversation.

The american holocaust essays

The american holocaust essays What Ever Happened to the Indians?-A Look into the American Holocaust For years and years students across the world have studied and memorized endless gory facts about massive genocides such as the Jewish Holocaust, the World War Two atomic bombs, and the religious Crusades. These were extremely significant events during the history of the world because they changed the lives of so many people. Millions of people were killed during these three events simply because of their religion or the color of their skin. All of these genocides were unique for one reason or another including the numbers of people killed or the time period in which it took place (Stannard 151). Several books, including school textbooks, often go into great detail describing these bloody events. However, as horrible as these extensive murders were, there was another massive genocide that occurred right in our own country that is barely acknowledged when compared with these other three, especially the Jewish Holocaust. The extermination of almost all Native American Indians was easily one of the most horrific genocides in history, totaling nearly 100,000,000 deaths (Stannard 151). Yet this particular genocide is barely given any attention. In his book American Holocaust, David Stannard questions why we, the world as a whole, dont seem to care about the terrible things that the Europeans did to the Native American Indians. Also, why, when more Indians were killed, is there more emphasis on the Jewish Holocaust and other extreme events? And finally, why did the Europeans find it necessary to exterminate virtually every American Indian? He seeks to answer these questions and more through examples of torture techniques, European attacks on Indians, and other evidence that he researched. Stannard comments on how there is a traditional Eurocentric bias that lumps undifferentiated masses of Africans into one single categ...

Communication Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Communication Strategies - Essay Example Generally beach areas are populated with tourists and young families who always desire a source of balanced meal nearby. Currently the visitors in Lido Beach are found to survive with only carbonated drinks and packaged snacks. Therefore, the owners have come up with this business opportunity of pizza restaurant in this location. This report presents the effective communication strategies for some possible critical situation that might takes place in the away of project implementation or project development process. These will help the company to efficiently and successfully complete the project within estimated duration of time. First possible situation is that a technical team member has requested a transfer due to project team conflicts. This is a very common situation in project development process. For overall completion of projects, multiple teams work together for different purpose and different categories of work. A project like establishment of a pizza restaurant consists of multiple activities carried by different teams. Each team has individual objective but the overall goal or mission is same. So, there are different teams working together and in each team few people works together for similar works. Conflicts among the team members are very common in project development process which results a major decline of a team’s overall output. Conflicts might happen for many reasons. It might be unequal work pressure of each employee of a particular team. It also can be for major difference in the performance level of each worker in a team which results a higher work pressure on one or few efficie nt employees. Communication gap among the employees or between the employees of a team and supervisor or team leads might results conflicts in a project team. Lac of transparent subjective communication is responsible for conflicts in a team, lower output and delays in completion of

Managment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managment - Essay Example The paper ends with drawing on general and specific lessons out of the case study for management today. The Issue mainly in concern is the importance of political instability in management decision making. Popular uprising Before starting this paper let’s have a look at the word popular uprising. Popular Uprising as defined by the free dictionary has got two meanings: Widely appealed 1. Revolt against a state authority or constituted government or its laws; a rebellion. 2. Act or any instance of rising or of rising up. While the reverso.net dictionary defines it as Popular: An act widely accepted or appealed Uprising: A revolt or a rebellion Introduction to popular uprisings in Middle East Between the late 2010 and the early 2011 a wave of many spontaneous revolts in Tunisia along with Egypt led to the downfall of local regimes. The foreign exporters and the investors in these countries are being affected by the ongoing events, including industrial action, supply chain disrupt ions, looting, and increased counterparty risk. Furthermore, the success of initial protests ignited new tensions across the Middle East and the North Africa (MENA), threatening the very stability of Bahrain, Iran, Jordan, Algeria, Libya and Yemen. Uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt The catalyst for uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia revolts was the suicide of, Mohamed Bouazizi, in the Tunisian town in December 2010; he set himself on fire to revolt against a decision by local authorities to seize his wares. Within few weeks’ demonstrations spread in whole country, as many Tunisians took to the street for protest against political repression and living conditions. Unrest in Egypt Overthrown President Hosni Mubarak’s regime in February led to an unprecedented uprising that was unable to stop. The aims of the revolt were to topple Ben Ali and replace his authoritarian reign with a multi-party democracy. General effects on economy and businesses The wave of recent uprisings that is sweeping across the Middle East along with the North Africa is set to have a major impact on the risks of doing businesses in such country. As political instability keeps on rising in these regions, companies around the world would need to prepare for thereafter knock on effects on the supply chains and business costs occurring across most sectors. This would in the short term cause political instability and economic breakdown in the affected countries which is likely to impact the supply chains around the world; and the textile companies in Europe and consumer goods producers from China and other Asian economies are the ones most vulnerable to these shocks. The careful monitoring of such political and economic trends, the alternative sourcing and the stockpiling are the strategies that can reduce the impacts of these disruptions. The longer term effects would include heightened political risk that could lead to deteriorating economic conditions and tighter access to credit, rais ing the payment risks for the companies that are dealing with MENA (other emerging markets). Adequate political and export risk insurance cover and safe trade terms, such as the documentary credit, will be essentials to mitigating counterparty risk. In the wake of the recent crisis in the MENA region, the lenders and insurance companies are likely to upwardly re price the risk premium that is attached to dealing with such

Wake Forest University President Nathan O’Hatch Essay Example for Free

Wake Forest University President Nathan O’Hatch Essay Wake Forest University President Nathan O’Hatch hinted that the success of the University has come directly from the students that inhabit the institution, along with the campus atmosphere created by them. He confirms that the university strives to obtain a vibrant and exhilarating community that moves toward success through education and character development. I believe that Wake Forest University is searching for students who will leave a positive impact on the establishment while having a strong concentration on their goals. I believe that my intellectual growth and experiences, religious background, and morally driven values and characteristics will contribute greatly to the expansion of the Wake Forest community. Lou Holtz once quoted, â€Å"Ability is what you’re capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it. † This inspirational commitment to challenge your mind to attain success each and every day measures the achievements that a person will achieve throughout their life. Throughout my high school career, I have experienced many educational opportunities and held many leadership roles that were vital to shaping my future. A person’s ability, motivation, and attitude are imperative characteristics that define their motives throughout all of their endeavors. I have found it very important for one to surround oneself with positive influences, along with a diverse group of people in order to expand and grow as an individual. If one converses with the same community each day, they will never challenge themselves in their knowledge, and in turn become less intellectually rounded. I strive to be an active student in my school who engulfs many ideas and is well-rounded in the aspect of education and extra-curricular activities in order to leave a positive impact on my peers for the betterment of my future, and theirs. At the beginning of high school, I embarked in a program that has impacted my life in many ways. I have been molded into a confident leader who strives to make a positive impact at my high school, and on my community, due to my advisor and my personal commitment. This organization was Student Council. In the ninth and tenth grade, I was elected Secretary and then Vice President of my class. I then was nominated and selected to serve as the second vice president of the entire student body, which ultimately set me up to be the Student Body President my senior year. I have grown into a person through experiences that have come along as a result of my being an active part of the Student Council. My organizational skills have proved effective as I have planned and implemented many ideas throughout my high school career in Student Council. I have actively planned three Homecoming skits and dances, four spring dances, three Powder-Puff games, two dodge ball tournaments, three Mr. Central Cabarrus Pageants, two volleyball tournaments, and many more events as a head leader in leadership class and Student Council at my school. During my last two years as the Student Body second Vice President and Student Body President, I have actively led the council in a direction that has not been travelled before as we have embarked on a community service project and active participation throughout the community. As the second vice president of my council, we successfully raised $19,000 for Juvenile Diabetes through fundraisers including a dodge ball tournament, a spring dance, and many other small projects. We have set ourselves a challenge of exceeding this goal as a school this year. I have organized the council to participate in the Special Olympic Games at the Cabarrus Arena for the past three years to support and encourage these amazing athletes. I strive to lead the council and my school with a positive force that places a strong emphasis on community service and school betterment projects. Student Council has allowed me to work with the administration and high level officials in the community, building confidence in myself along with furthering my social skills. On numerous occasions, I have submitted proposals to the principal and school board to implement events, and I have had to professionally stand as the student body’s voice as I discuss these issues with officials of our community. Although disappointed after the Renaissance breakfast was rejected, I responded with enthusiasm to begin the next project of Darfur Awareness Week, a cause for which I am very passionate. I have actively taken a role in the Beta Club, Mu Alpha Theta Math Club, National Honors Society, and Junior Civitan Club, as I hope to do everything in my power to leave a legacy at Central Cabarrus High School. I strive to leave the school in a better place than I found the thriving establishment. On an educational basis, I have enlisted in numerous advanced placement and honors courses to further my intellectual ability throughout my middle school and high school career. Currently, I am challenging myself to complete two rigorous courses consisting of AP English IV along with AP Government just in this semester. These two classes are the most demanding at our school, and I am one of only ten individuals of each class who dared to confront these two challenging courses in the same semester. I admire each individual in these classes and learn new ideas and beliefs by surrounding myself with these amazing and bright students. In my AP English class, I have been exposed to many philosophies, and many forms of literature, including Shakespearean sonnets and plays, which I would have previously never studied. In AP Government, I have watched and analyzed the differing views of Democrats, Libertarians, and Republicans as we analyze the modern constitution and judicial system. I have set a high goal of myself to achieve success in each class with a broad knowledge of information from each lesson. If I keep a strong focus on my ability, motivation, and attitude, I will continue succeeding in each of these classes. I believe Wake Forest University President indicates the success of the University comes directly from the character development and diversity which is learned from surrounding oneself with individuals of intellectual and diverse backgrounds, and this is something that I have learned to embrace. Along with challenging me each day to intellectually grow from my experiences and education, the importance of Christianity has impacted and shaped my life in many areas. I was blessed to have the opportunity to attend a Christian school until the age of thirteen, which assisted in molding me into a compassionate, honest, and respectable individual. I received a well-rounded education that allowed me to allocate a strong moral background and foundation for my life. I learned the importance of keeping a respectable reputation, giving back to the community, and continuing to practice humbleness before God. I have been a Christian for as long as I can recall and have grown as an individual due to this commitment. I have challenged myself to spreading the many blessings of God and exemplifying a positive Christian attitude in my every day encounters. I have portrayed an active role throughout the community and have an ambition of making a difference in as many lives as possible. As the Student Body President, a member of leadership class, and the Varsity Cheerleading Captain, I have had the opportunity to achieve my ambition already in my adolescent years. I am very active in Race for the Cure, Walk for Juvenile Diabetes, Special Olympics, Join the World of Winners, and Darfur Relief efforts. It is extremely critical to participate in volunteer community service projects for the good of your community. I have served as a volunteer Special Olympics Cheerleading coach for a gym in my area. As I have surrounded myself with these children on a weekly basis, I have learned the importance of dedication, open-mindedness, patience, optimism, and compassion. They have challenged me to live up to their standard, which in return has played a huge role in the basis of my character. Jesus once quoted, â€Å"It is more blessed to given than to receive† (Acts 20:35). With this verse in mind, a person can grow to see the importance of giving and, in return, receiving the satisfaction of impacting a person’s life. As an eight year old, I was one of five girls to raise $10,000 for the Masonic Home for Children in Henderson, North Carolina. This amazing experience left me passionate about helping others at an early age after seeing the impact that I had left on the lives of those children after we delivered the check. As I have visited numerous nursing homes and children hospitals throughout my lifetime and directly met victims of the current Darfur genocide, I have learned the impact that an individual can leave on another person needing support. With Wake Forest building their foundation upon a Baptist, Christian philosophy, my desire to reach out and help those in need along with exemplifying Christian character displays my willingness to continue to build upon the Wake Forest Community. Due greatly to my educational growth and religious background, I have developed many characteristics that will greatly benefit me throughout my life. After being selected as the Student Body President, I have had the privilege to lead Student Council and the Student Body in all of our endeavors. I have learned so many important qualities such as the importance of teamwork, reliability, dedication, and the ability to motivate a group of individuals throughout the leadership roles that I have held oover my high school career. My leadership advisor has inspired me to grow as a person and expand my leadership qualities into becoming the most successful leader that I can become. Over the last three years, I have become closer and closer to one of my goal: Striving to obtain success through keeping a positive attitude and leading a life of upstanding moral character. With each of the clubs and activities that I have been active in, I have learned responsibility and commitment is the key to victory. After my second day of AP English, I was asked to recite a speech concerning the topic â€Å"Who I am, Who I am not†. I was very nervous and spent much time preparing for what turned out to be an inspirational speech of what I strive to attain each and every day. After completing the speech, my English teacher asked me to give this speech to her Varsity Volleyball team. I was so honored and anxious, and before their big game I recited the speech to them. This meant an immense deal to me, and I was very grateful to do my best to inspire this amazing team. Through my English teacher’s boost, and my Leadership advisor’s inspiration, I have become a more relaxed and comfortable public speaker along with building a strong leadership character to follow with me throughout my life. I am a person who strives to build upon my leadership qualities for the betterment of myself along with keeping an open mind to all ideas of individuals as I build on my values and characteristics. Wake Forest University seeks to â€Å"wed knowledge with experience† just as a leader must do each and every day. â€Å"Two roads diverged in the wood and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all of the difference. † Throughout an individual’s life they encounter many paths and decisions that define them as a person. They must sometimes choose the best direction for their life in preparing for their future aspirations. As a person of high motivation, I always choose to challenge myself with high goals and new challenges. Sadly, in today’s modern world it seems that the road less travelled is the right road; the road where, instead of walking alone through life never taking notice of others, a person stops along the way to reach out a hand to help those who are left by the wayside. This is the path which I have chosen to take for myself. I use all of my life experiences to build upon my life and achieve all goals that I strive to accomplish. I believe that with a diverse education, strong religious background, and character inspiration to becoming a great leader, I will greatly contribute to the Wake Forest community. Nathan O’Hatch’s praise to the beautiful campus and community of Wake Forest illustrates the intention of continuing to build upon one of the greatest universities in the nation. I strive to be a unique individual with high goals to leave an impact on the world. I am ready to meet the challenge of continuing to expand Wake Forest University through education and experience.

Retail Inventory :: essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Retail Inventory-Level Planning consists of retail inventory method (RIM) which is an accounting procedure whose objectives are to maintain a perpetual. It also can book inventory in retail dollars amounts and to maintain records that make it possible to determine the cost value of the inventory at any time without taking a physical inventory. Also known as book inventory system or perpetual book inventory. Retailers also have another important choice to make the stock to sales ratio. The stock to sales ratio is derived directly from the planned inventory to determine monthly additions to stock in the merchandise budget plan.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Retailers generally think of their inventory at retail price levels rather than at cost. Retailers use their initial markups, additional markups, and markdowns, and so forth as percentages of retail. When retailers compare their prices to competitors’, they use retail prices. The problem is that when retailers to design their financial plans, evaluate performance, and prepare financial statements, they need to know the cost value of their inventory. Retailers use physical inventories. This process is time consuming and costly. Retailers take physical inventories once or twice a year.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Many retailers use point of sale terminals that keep track of every item sold its original cost, and its final selling price. The rest of the retailers face a problem of not knowing the cost value of their inventory at one time. These retailers with either computerized or manual systems can use retail inventory method. Their are five advantages for using RIM over a system of inventory at cost. The does not have to â€Å"cost† each time. When retailers have many SKUs, keeping track of each item becomes difficult and expensive. It is easier to determine the value of inventory with the retail prices marked on the merchandise than unmarked or at coded cost prices. The second advantage for using RIM is that it follows the accepted accounting principal of valuing assets at cost or market value, which is lower. This system lowers the value of inventory when markdowns are taken but does not allow inventory’s value increase with additional markups.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When using RIM, the amounts and percentages of initial markups, markdowns, and shrinkage can be identified. This information can then be compared with historical records or industry norms.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  RIM is useful for determining shrinkage. The difference between the book inventory and the physical inventory can be attributed to shrinkage.

Can Globalization Be Reversed Essay

With the coming of the industrial age, the wheel of progress turned. Factory based mass production replaced independent artisans, who now worked for business firms (Volti, 2009, p. 187). The workers became dependant on businesses to provide facilities to work in, tools to work with, and wages to take home, creating a society of employees (Volti, 2009, p. 187). Since work and income was now dependant on the factories, workers need to find homes in relative proximity, thus leading to higher density of individuals within the urban areas surrounding the manufacturing centers. With urbanization came a need for production and transportation of food to the growing cities. In the 18th and early 19th centuries, this food was generally produced locally on the surrounding farmlands with only the occasional delicacy imported from a foreign land. While factory work was hard and the hours long, people chose it over subsistence farming as it lead to a better standard of living for themselves and their offspring. Bertha Black remembers her family’s move to a mill town: We all went to work, in the Amazon Cotton Mill and we all worked there all our lives. We were all anxious to go to work because, I don’t know, we didn’t like farming. It was so hot from sunup to sundown. No, that was not for me. Mill work was better. It had to be. Once we went to work in the mill after we moved here from the farm, we had more clothes and more kinds of food than we did when we was a farmin’. And we had a better house. So yes, when we came to the mill life was easier (Rivoli, 2009, p. 110). Thus began urbanization which continues to this day, with 50% of the global population residing in urban centers (Satterthwaite, 2010, p. ). This urbanization is directly coupled with wealth, where the â€Å"more urbanized a country, the higher the individual incomes (Satterthwaite, 2010, p. 1)†. The United States, one of the top 20 global incomes per capita (World Bank, 2011, p. 1), supports this, as 82. 1% of the population live in urban centers (Satterthwaite, 2010, p. 2). Urbanization trends have been linked to enhanced democracy, technological innovations, economic progress, and higher living standards (Satterthwaite, 2010, p. 2). Is it any wonder then that â€Å"[n]o matter the path of economic development a country has chosen, urbanization remains an inevitable outcome of this effort across the world (Satterthwaite, 2010, p. 1)†. As the living standards and population densities of urban centers increase, so too do the distance that food needs to be transported. Today, a large urban center, like the greater New York City metropolitan area with a population of over 21 million people (US Census, 2010), has to reach to great distances for its food. This is because 1. acres of arable land are required per person to maintain the diverse diet American’s enjoy (Pimentel & Giampietro, 1994). This translates to 25. 2 million acres of arable land being required to feed New York City. Thus 7% of the US population (US Census, 2010) requires 10% of America’s farmland (USDA, 2012, p. 56). It should come as no surprise then that our agriculture imports exceeded $94 billion in 2011 (USDA, 2012, p. 90). The comparative wealth of the American populace, coupled with their culinary desires leads to a demand for imports of produce and other horticultural items during the off seasons in the US. Put another way, Americans’ desire for fresh tomatoes on their Del Taco tacos in February in the American northeast drives global trade to farmers in Central and South America. The motivation of the labor market, to increase quality of life, explains the willingness of individuals to accept factory work and their desire to progress to better, higher paying jobs. Neo-classic economic theory explains business motivation to achieve maximum profitability through efficiency of production (Weintraub, 2002). Efficiency is maximized through three inter-related and adjustable parameters: technology; labor; materials. Technology, as expressed in terms of facilities and equipment, is a fixed cost of production, whereas labor and materials, including transportation expenses, remain variable costs (Starr, 2008). In achieving the optimal balance, any large discrepancy will heavily weight the calculation. For example, the wages for textile workers in southeast Asia are 7% of the wages in United States (Rivoli, 2009, p. 104). This large of a differential in the variable cost makes it virtually impossible to create an equivalent model through enhanced technology, especially when most technology advances can be applied to factories located in the lower labor cost countries. Thus Rivoli’s â€Å"Race to the Bottom† continues (Rivoli, 2009, pp. 92–104), bringing with it industrialization and urbanization. As with any race, there are winners and losers. The countries acquiring the manufacturing jobs and the companies maximizing their profits through relocating manufacturing to the lower labor cost countries are obvious winners. The employees of the factories being off-shored are initially the losers, until the race progresses to the next industrial sector. A clear example of this is the Carolinas, where many textile worker’s jobs have been lost to southeast Asia, now have opportunities for better paying jobs in auto manufacturing. BMW opened a plant in Spartanburg, SC, the middle of the cotton belt, which generates over $1. 2 billion in wages and salaries annually (Ramsey, 2009). Thus the race continues, moving from industry to industry, as total production cost dominates companies’ decisions on where to locate manufacturing. However, many of those losing their jobs in America raise the cry to stop globalization, reconstitute local manufacturing and local food markets. This would not appear to be a feasible alternative for three reasons. First, the degree of urbanization present in the United States makes it unreasonable to expect food to be produced locally. Similarly, the relative wealth and current lifestyle lead many to expect and demand fresh produce year round. Together, these preclude a shift to locally grown and produced foods. Second, most companies in America today have some aspect of globalization present in their value chain. This can be upstream in their suppliers of materials and/or equipment or downstream in their customers. This is readily apparent in large corporations, such as Nike and WalMart, but it is also present in smaller companies. Rygaard Logging, Inc. out of Port Angeles, Washington is a good example. This small company relies on equipment imported from South Korea and Germany to harvest logs. China has become the largest buyer for timber from the northwest, thus becoming an attractive customer for Rygaard (Springer, 2011). Unwinding these value chains to bring manufacturing back to America may be possible, but would require the will of politicians in Washington to face the public backlash as prices increased, and selections decreased (Rivoli, 2009). Third, the growing population requires more land be utilized for their living and working environment. Current estimates show each person in the US consumes one acre for housing, work facilities, and supporting infrastructure (World Bank, 2011). Further, the current population growth is over 50,000 new people per week (Pimentel & Giampietro, 1994), meaning that over 2. 5 million acres of arable land or bio-diverse forest land is lost annually, increasing the pressure on food production. Plus, these people are generally employed by firms that rely on globalization in their value chain, as described above. Together, these factors make it highly improbable that the US can return to 100% locally produced foods and companies whose value chain resides 100% within America’s boarders without significant changes in lifestyle.