The Powerful Eunuchs Of China History Essay

The Powerful Eunuchs Of China History Essay Their stories are almost completely shrouded in mystery. These people are mentioned only as minute details in historical accounts, their lives often kept in seclusion from the world, probably even from history itself. These people play major roles in the unfolding of significant historical events, yet they are rarely even mentioned. From the shadows, they exercise their power. From behind the scenes, they carefully manipulate the government to their own interests. These incomplete men are very powerful. Yet, at the same time, they are pitiful. Their seemingly quick rise to power comes at a price, a price almost as valuable as their very lives. These people are called eunuchs. Eunuchs: An Introduction A eunuch, in general, is a term given to castrated men. However, for the purpose of this paper, the term eunuchs will be used to refer to Chinese eunuchs; more specifically, those that were in imperial service during the era of Chinas dynastic rule. Eunuchs served the primary function as guards and servants in womens quarters and to the emperors. But in time they gained power and control as they gained functions as advisers to the emperors of China (Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica Online 2010). In fact, in certain time periods, the eunuchs grew to be more powerful than the emperor. Indeed, the role of eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty has become an important portrayal of political society of that era (Hammond 2002). Castration started out as a form of punishment, particularly for the crime of rape. But as eunuchs became more and more popular and rich, poor families opted to have their sons castrated for a chance at a better life in the Imperial Court (Scholz 2001). From the definition itself, one becomes a eunuch by undergoing the process of castration. While castration is usually viewed as a gruesome and horrific procedure, there are some accounts that have actually romanticized it. In Piotr Scholzs Eunuchs and Castrati, there is a cultural account left by the emperors last eunuch, Sun Yao-ting pertaining to the delicate procedure of castration. In his account, he explains that the process starts by setting a date when the castration will be performed. He narrated that they would notify the person to be castrated that he must quickly urinate after the procedure so that his urethra would not be blocked and not get infected. The person, consequently then drinks lots of water to prepare for the ur ination. Then the castrator takes a rope and ties the one to be castrated in such a way that he was unable to move his hands or feet, (Scholz 2001, 137). After that, he prays for guidance with incense sticks. Then he moves on with the slicing of the organ. The mutilation is vividly described as fountains of red, white and yellow liquid gushing from the wound (Scholz 2001, 137). Then the castrator inserts a goose quill into the urethra of the castrated so as to retain the opening formed by the slit. Then finally, the castrator treats the wounds with tampons dipped in wax, sesame oil and paper. A few days later, after the castrated man urinates, and in essence his excretory system is functioning well again, he is checked if he is already cleared to go to the palace. Once all the preparations are complete, before he leaves for the palace, the castrator gives the castrated a package wrapped in oilpaper and instructs him on what to do with the package. The castrator says that for everything to go well, he must follow that set of instructions: When youre in the palace, put it in a bushel of grain, hang the bushel on the beam supporting the ceiling of your room and raise it a little higher each year. Then it will protect you and ensure you that you will grow every year. And remember one more thing: when you are near death, it must be with you in the grave or the six lines of your ancestors will be incomplete. Those who are neither man nor woman cannot be reborn!(Scholz 2001, 138). So basically, even after the castration process, there is a routine to be followed by the castrated . The responsibility of the eunuch to the part that has been separated from his has not been lost but must carry on till his death. Castration leads to several physical and supposedly emotional and mental changes among castrates. Depending on the age in which castration took place, eunuchs vary in characteristics. Often, males who are castrated earlier in boyhood generally do not obtain the male characteristics obtained during puberty. Facial hair and pubic hair do not grow and their voice remains high pitched and unchanged. Males, who are castrated well after their puberty, will still grow pubic hair despite the absence of facial hair. The pubic hair will however, be much more diminished. A common characteristic among eunuchs though is the characteristic of never going bald. (Wilson and Roehrborn) As such, eunuchs were unable to have heirs and were thus seen to be more trusted as it would prevent dynastic overthrows by their heirs. In fact, it was this very reason why the Chinese dynasties sought to utilize eunuchs as servants and attendants to the emperor and his family, and even other high-ranking officials in the government. Essentially, the main reason why people aspired to become eunuchs was the having the honor of working as an imperial attendant, which more often than not meant an improvement of economic status. On numerous occasions, fathers would have their sons castrated as early as seven years old in order for their sons to leave for the imperial palace as soon as they recover from the castration. Especially among poorer families, having someone from the family become a eunuch meant honor, and economic improvement. For the eunuch himself, becoming a eunuch meant indirect access to power and relationships with the higher officials. History of Eunuchs Historical anthropologic evidence proves that the earliest eunuchs emerged from the Shang Dynasty. According to Piotr Scholz Eunuchs and Castrati, In 1976 little figurines of servants (c. 9 cm in height) were discovered in the grave of Fu Hao, wife of Emperor Wu-ting (Wu-ding); they are the oldest known representations of palace eunuchs, (Scholz 2001, 129). This is proven by statues excavated in Lingjiatan. The statues excavated show no distinct sexual characteristics. Originally, castration was used very early as a form of punishment both for criminals among ones own population and for prisoners taken in war, (Scholz 2001, 131). Here it is clear that castration was not intended to be beneficial to the castrated as what has later turned out in the course of history. What is fascinating is how the paradigm shifted from the eunuchs being looked down upon, to them almost assuming most of the imperial powers. Such series of events will lead to famous rise of the eunuchs to their subtle fading. Sun Yao-ting (1902-1996), the last eunuch of Emperor Pu-I, tells of how he was insulted by a Chinese Republican officer with the line: Since time immemorial, you eunuchs have been the ruin of China! (Scholz 2001, 131). This was because, with regards to castration as punishment, it is most likely assumed that it was used early on as a substitute for the death penalty in cases involving political crimes, (Scholz 2001, 133). With this, as Piotr Scholz further writes: This allows us that eunuchs represented a political intelligentsia that did not conform to the notions of the dominant Confucian bureaucracy which was constantly trying to shape the empire in its own imageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Scholz 2001, 133). The way it really was is therefore contradictory to the previous claim of the Chinese Republican who looked down on eunuchs when the fact that the reason for their castration was the fear of their intellect and political prowess comes into play. The eunuch Tsao Tsao (144-220 C.E.), son of eunuch Tsao Sung and grandson of eunuch Tsao Teng, even became the grand counselor and was a victorious general. Tsao Teng, the grandfather, have already been influential enough because he had already owned a large land and has served four emperors, but Tsao Tsao became part of the circle that helped Emperor Huan-Ti (r. 146-167 C.E.) to ascend the throne, following the murder of Huans predecessor, Liang Chi. (Scholz 2001, 143). Furthermore, when child emperor An-ti (106-125 C.E.) was enthroned, he was involved in every conceivable kind of intrigue at court. (Scholz 2001, 143). Because of this and through Empress Dowager Tengs help, he also gained favor and influence over the prince and next emperor Shun, such that during the reign of Emperor Shun (126-144 C.E.) of the Han Dynasty, the eunuchs reached the peak of their powers when they were allowed to adopt sons to succeed them and go to even greater heights. They even became personal secret aries (shang-shu) to the emperor, (Scholz 2001, 143). Ultimately, Tsao Tsaos son, Tsao Pei (188-227) soon ruled as emperor himself. However, with great power comes great responsibility, such that during the reign of Emperor Yuan Shao (189 C.E.) during the Han Dynasty, thousands of them [eunuchs] were slaughteredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in an attempt to curtail their influence, (Scholz 2001, 135). It is clear then that eunuchs got the point when they were feared even by the strongest imperial power, the emperor. But because Emperor Yuan Shao never succeeded in finishing the eunuchs off, their intellect was, rather than countered, utilized once more, thus marking the rebirth of the eunuchs shaping of the kingdom. By 800 C.E., the situation had reached a point where eunuchs have become a determining factor in choosing who was to accede to the imperial throne, (Scholz 2001, 146). Eunuchs had the preference of Buddhism over Confucianism because they found it congenial to their life. But in the course of the 9th century, as old doctrines were revived, Buddhist doctrine and practice was decreed as un-Chinese, (Scholz 2001, 148). In 903, eunuchs who had accompanied the emperor to their last day were killed in a bloody massacre led by Chu Chuan-chung (Zhu Wen, 907-923), the founder of the later Liang Dynasty, (Scholz 2001, 149). With the collapse of the Ming Dynasty, the eunuchs collapsed as well. Due to the high level of corruption in government, it was running out of capital. Inflation compounded the impact of dwindling resources. As local administrative costs rose, the imperial government levied irregular taxes to meet pressing financial obligations (Atwell 1988). With this, the decline of the influence of eunuchs started as a new era ensued in which the court no longer regarded the aristocratic ideas of status and ritual, espoused by many eunuchs, as vital to maintaining the interests of the state. These ideas, in fact, degenerated into a seemingly ineffectual court etiquette, (Scholz 2001, 149). But its not as if though they were stripped of all their power in the court, they were still assigned positions and sent to expeditions. The difference is that they no longer directly affected the decisions of the emperor. Eunuchs were perceived as very corrupt officials. Despite having only meager salaries, upon their deaths, their massive fortunes were discovered. An example is the eunuch Li Yung-chen (1583-1628). When he was executed in 1628, his confiscated properties were said to have been worth 270,000 taels of silver. Ming historians contrast this to the annual wage for some manual workers in Beijing at the turn of the sixteenth century, was approximately 4.2 taels (Atwell 1988). This was due to the fact that they were known to misappropriate funds. Such practices were extremely common, to claim military supplies for 100,000 named soldiers when there were in fact only 50,000 troops, and only have less than half of the 50,000 needing the supplies. The court thus pays for four solders for one soldier (Atwell 1988). Such is only one example of the great corruption the eunuchs made. Eunuch influence in economic activities was made possible because they fulfilled the capricious demands of their emperors despite the growing financial needs of the state. Their positions allowed the eunuchs to build a base, which in turn strengthened their positions in the economic as well as political and military worlds. The power over labor, land and taxes made it impossible not to cooperate with eunuchs. This brought them to great power. Using such privileges, they were able to exploit the sy stem further to increase power and wealth (Crawford 1961). By 1644, it is estimated that there were 70,000 eunuchs in the palace alone and 100,000 in the entire empire (Crawford 1961). At this point, castration became widespead and despite the emperors decrees against such, castration still became common for poorer families who could not afford to send their children to school (Crawford 1961). Compounded by the fact that the emperor was not consistent, eunuchization became very rampant as a means to get rich and powerful easily. The Chinese imperial eunuchs ended with Sun Yao-ting as the last of the emperors eunuchs. He left an account that though it is embellished, it is of interest as an example of cultural history, (Scholz 2001, 136). It is important to note that what ended was the Chinese and imperial element of eunuchism. Eunuchism itself has existed far out through time into todays era and now has a new connotation depending on the culture and surrounding society of the eunuch. The Roles of Eunuchs in Government Eunuchs had been used as servants in the imperial palace since the late fourteenth century, and from the early fifteenth century, their functions, numbers, and power increased. By the mid-fifteenth century, eunuchs were a well-established element of the Ming bureaucracy, serving in the capital and in the provinces in both military and civil posts. Numbers fluctuated, but early in the sixteenth century, there are said to have been over 12,000 palace eunuchs in Beijing alone (Robinson 2010). The Ming government was divided among six ministries in the 1390s, Personnel, Revenues, War, Punishment, Rites, and Public Works (Tsai 1995). While each ministry had its own minister, they were really under direct control of the emperor, who frequently used his eunuchs to run the state. Constantly locked in adversary positions with the eunuchs, the scholars despised and hated the eunuchs, blaming them for the ills of society (Tsai 1995). Eunuch influence was greatest in periods of weak emperors. During the Ming Dynasty, where the eunuch abuses were most rampant, there were some periods of history where the eunuchs were practically running the empire. As emperors felt that eunuchs represented the best interests of the imperial family at heart, the contact between emperor and bureaucracy was carried entirely through eunuchs (Crawford 1961). Eunuchs were first organized into a Directorate of Palace Servants. But as their functions expanded beyond the inner court and their number increased, they were repeatedly reorganizeduntil after I400, they were finally organized into twenty-four offices. At this point, they had ceased to be entirely personal tools used at imperial discretion and became instead an institutionalized bureaucracy with its own inner development and history (Crawford 1961). In the final organization, there were twelve Directorates, four Offices, and eight Bureaus. Each Directorate had one Director with th e rank of 4a; a senior and junior Vice-director each with the rank of 4b; a senior and junior Assistant director with the rank of 5a; one Recorder with the rank of 6a; and a varying number of lesser officials. The Directorates had charge of such matters as staff supervision, imperial provisions and food, seals, ancient and modern archives, metal tokens given to meritorious statesmen, credentials, instructions, construction of storehouses, weddings, gunpowder, constructionof temples, the imperial insignia and tent, the imperial stables, military tallies and other such items. Some of these Directorates were thus closely associated with the Ministry of War (Crawford 1961). The main contribution of eunuchs was in the field of military and secret service. Emperors used eunuchs as emissaries to foreign countries. In fact, by the end of the Ming Dynasty, what existed of the central military arm was largely in the hands of eunuchs (Crawford 1961). In the end, the eunuchs were less like household servants meddling in state affairs and more like an administrative hierarchy who exercised powers in all areas of government (Tsai 1995). Famous Eunuchs of Ancient China Eunuchs were often seen as the antagonist to the Confucian court officials. Differing in priorities, they had different agendas. While most eunuchs have been depicted negatively and in an antagonistic manner, there were some eunuchs that rose above and became important figures in Chinese history, and there is no other greater eunuch than Zheng He (also Cheng Ho). Zheng He was from the early Ming dynasty and was both a Muslim and a Eunuch. He had won the reputation as a great diplomat and military strategist. Unlike most eunuchs, he was a delegated in the military, in charge of seven official oceanic expeditions, a first in Chinese history. With an armada of 63 ships, Zheng He traveled around the world, first primarily to South East Asia, then eventually to the Middle East and Africa (Willetts 1964). In fact, he was even known to have brought back some African animals such as giraffes, lions, and tigers from the fifth expedition (Willetts 1964). Zheng He died in extreme old age in 144 4. Despite numerous voyages that brought China closer to the world, scholars agree that the voyages actually had no practical results, essentially meaning that it was a waste of money and that from the perspective of the Ming dynasty, it was an absolute waste of resources given that they were not empire builders, Ming did not have a sense of mission (Willetts 1964). This then provides an answer as to why after Zheng Hes final voyage of 1431, there no on longer any naval excursions by the Chinese. But while there were no longer any naval operations afterwards, in the time that Zheng He lived, he was by no means the only eunuch in the high seas (Willetts 1964). In contrast to Zheng He who had the best intentions are the four infamous tyrannical eunuch dictators, Wei ZhongXian in the late Ming, Wang Zhen in the 1440s, Wang Zhi in the 1470s, and Liu Jin in the 1500s (Dillon 1998). Wang Zhen was voluntarily castrated as a youth and entered palace eunuch school. Wang was made Director of Ceremonial when Emperor Ying-tsung ascended. He was killed by an army on its retreat (Crawford 1961). Liu Jin was also voluntarily castrated. He attached himself to a higher eunuch in order to advance, then subsequently took the position. He was put in charge of the Bureau of Cymbals and Gongs. But more than that, he controlled the secret police Eastern Depot. He is considered to be one of the eight tigers (Crawford 1961). Wei is often compared to Yang Lian, a Confucian adviser who late becomes an adversary. Their tales are often contrasted as they both experienced hardship in becoming high officials in the court. Yang Lian had to study and take many licensure exams in order to receive what is equivalent to the doctorate, while Wei ZhongXian had to live castrated and maneuvers his way in the eunuch system (Tsai 1995). As a child, Wei chose castration as a way out of his gambling debt (Crawford 1961). Because of his cunning nature, he was able to work his way into the system and become a grand eunuch in the Ceremonial Directorate of the Ming court. As a palace eunuch, he cheated his superiors and gained advantages by swindling them. But amidst that cruel life, his path into becoming a eunuch was a turbulent one, scarred emotionally, physically, and psychologically. Physically, his hormone levels caused wrinkled skin, stiffened joints, and weak muscles. Eventually, he became evidently more feminine than masculine (Tsai 1995). In order to rise above the ranks, Wei aligned himself only with the most powerful eunuchs and palace women. He worked first in the imperial stable, moving his way up until he became assigned to be the cook for Emperor Wanlis grandson, who later became Emperor Tianqi (Tsai 1995). It was this connection that gained him much of the fame and fortune. It was cooking for Tianqi as well that he met Ke, Tianqis mistress. The teenage Tianqi felt a deep, more than childlike devotion to Mistress Ke. In fact it was Ke who recommended Wei in 1622 to become the grand eunuch in the most powerful Ceremonial Directorate (Tsai 1995). Together with Ke, Wei had an improper and unhealthy influence on the young emperor. Wei received the emperors approval to train a eunuch army, and he was also made director of a secret police establishment called the Eastern Depot (Tsai 1995). He used his position to remove people he deemed undesirable and began a reign of terror by demoting and then murdering his former patron. As Tianqi lived a life of luxury, Wei killed countless number of people, dismissed honorable officials, stole jewelry from the imperial treasure, and acquired riches for his family (Tsai 1995). It was then tha t Yang Lian, now a censor, decided to impeach Wei. While 100 other officials sided with yang in denouncing Wei, Tianqi stood by Wei and ordered the high ranking officials including Yang to be flogged to death (Tsai 1995). It was only upon Tianqis death at the age of 23 that the reign of terror ended. Wei left Beijing with a guard of 800 eunuchs, 1000 horses, 40 wagonloads of jewelry. On his way to a prison outside Nanjing, he took his only and his copse was dismembered and displayed in his hometown as a warning to the public (Tsai 1995). Modern Eunuchs The word modern eunuchs may refer to either of two things: one, a modern eunuch may refer, in literal sense, to people who have been castrated, and two, it may also refer to people who are not the highest ruling body but play a big role in forming the decisions of the said ruling body through their political influence. With regards to the first meaning, it is not surprising that eunuchs still exist today since castration has not been fully ruled out as a punishment for heavy crimes. Reports about the activities and movements of eunuchs are spread out on the news all over the world, and clichà © enough, the world has some good news and bad news about eunuchs. Starting off with bad news so as not to break spirits after lifting them with the good news, news from BBC News South Asia reports that in India, eunuchs actually cut off mans penis. This is according to BBC correspondent in Himachal Pradesh, India, Baldev Chaunan. According to the report, the victim, Sonu, has been working as a drummer with a group of eunuchs, because apparently, dalits in India live by turning up uninvited at weddings, births and other major family events and singing until they are paid enough to go away. The said report also says that the reason why the eunuchs cut off the mans penis was unclear. It is just known fact that Eunuchs in India generally live in self-contained communities, ostracized [sic] by the rest of society. Countering this ruling fact is a news report by Reuters India dated November 10,2006 that reports: Dancing and singing eunuchs are knocking on doors in the Indian City of Patna in a bid to embarrass shopkeepers into paying their taxes. It is further said in the news article that they were hired by the government as a new shock strategy to make tax evaders pay their lot. It has been proven in the report that this strategy has worked, and who knows? It might just be the solution to the tax evasion that has been going on in India for some time. The eunuchs dont go home penniless either, they were promised by the taxmen 4% of the total commission. So the strategy was indeed a win-win case for both parties. It would be pleasing to hear that there still are good news like these once in a while where even the ostracized get to contribute to the betterment of the country. Now the meaning of eunuchs as castrated individuals may, in itself, take a figurative form with the meaning anyone who has lost their balls or sense of manliness. To be straightforward about it, the third sex, especially gays who have lost their balls when they decided that they were women trapped in a mans body, and transsexuals, who have had reconstructions of certain body parts, fall under this classification of modern eunuchs. This is because not only should the physical aspect of a human be considered, what is important to the person should also be considered, for what is a part if its meaning is empty? A mans genital would be just another part of the body if he does not give value to it nor take care of it. From this angle, it could be said that those who belong to the third sex and transsexuals are also eunuchs. Finally, eunuchs have always been known to have influential powers over the ruling forces, so ultimately, for the researchers of this topic, people who are influential enough to make the slightest differences in the decision of the higher authorities are also to be considered as eunuchs. People such as Chiz Escudero who, though he is part of the opposition, which is even the counter force of the administration, makes an impact on the decision that the authorities make and on the moves they execute next. A lot of forces outside the administration are actually making slightest effects on the decrees that the president makes. For example, rich and powerful clans like the Lopezes and Cojuangcos are always taken into consideration in the making of policies although they are not necessarily part of the ruling force itself. They are eunuchs not by appearance, but by essence. Insights and Learnings So in the course of writing this paper about Chinese eunuchs, we, the researchers, have learned a lot and have acquired a lot of insights in relation with eunuchs. And with that, we contest with the thought that the eunuchs rose to power. There can be no rise of they were at the top to begin with. How can I say that they were already at the top when castration was a grave punishment to begin with? and Shouldnt it be that they started from humble beginnings and rose from the ranks? are some of the questions that might grapple with us in this matter. Here we reiterate the point mentioned in the history part of this paper; the part that says that eunuchs were castrated in exchange for death penalty. It also said that they were castrated because of political crimes. There is logic as to why this assumption could be drawn. If what the person has done has been completely barbaric and criminal like stealing and killing, then the government might as well do off without them, but in this case , the government didnt kill the criminals. Why? Because the crimes they have committed were political crimes. They were crimes against the ruling political view, Confucianism. In short, the soon-to-be-eunuchs were actually political analysts in the sense that they were able to find flaws and possibly solutions to the flaws in the government. This is why instead of disposing them; the government was able to use them as political advisors of some sort in the form of what would soon be called eunuchs. They already had this richness in them to begin with, the richness of knowledge of what to do, of whats wrong and how to correct that wrong. They were already powerful in that whatever the emperor couldnt solve, they already had a plan of action in their minds. Ranking was of no relevance. After all, there is no way to measure knowledge in its most raw form. What could be measured is the ratio of intelligence to age or IQ, but that isnt knowledge in itself. More than this insight, we were able to learn a few things in relation with eunuchs. People cant have everything. This is a chip from the clichà ©: nobodys perfect. People cant be rich, famous, intelligent, influential and still have no flaws. We just realized that one way or another, no matter how high up they are, there will always be one thing they lack. Well, in the case of eunuchs, the readers should know by now what the rich, intelligent and influential eunuchs lack. Thats right. Facial hairà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and more. Also, what goes up, must come down, is another learning from this topic about eunuchs. When there is too much yang, yin must sink in. Meaning, there must always be balance. Things will always return to their normal state. They will always try to equalize themselves out. A ball launched high into the sky, no matter the peak height, will always go back to the ground right after. The closer you are to something, the harder it is to see it. The emperors really had a ha rd time solving their problems. It was because they were in too deep that they forgot to look at the bigger picture and how to move the puzzle pieces in that picture. They needed an outsiders perspective to assess and evaluate the situation because they are the ones who are able to see clearly. It is important sometimes to look at the thing as a whole to see what is wrong with it from a different and easier-to-handle angle.

Dismissal or Termination of Employment Contract

Dismissal or Termination of Employment Contract The dismissal or termination of an employment contract by an employer may entitle an employee to seek redress through the courts based on a finding of wrongful and/or unfair dismissal. The pertinent distinction between the two is that a claim for wrongful dismissal is essentially an allegation of breach of contract, a common law action, whilst unfair dismissal is a dismissal committed in breach of relevant statutory provisions. In defence of such an action, an employer may wish to argue that a dismissal was justified or indeed may wish to raise a defence of fair dismissal. Examination of legal authority in this highly contentious area of Employment Law will reveal the circumstances in which the dismissal of an employee may be deemed to be wrongful, fair or unfair. Dismissal in breach of contract may lead to a finding of wrongful dismissal. This may occur where an employee, without being afforded the notice, which their employment contract stipulates they are entitled to, is dismissed. In fact any dismissal which is in breach of a contract of employment may be tantamount to a wrongful dismissal and this position is neatly dealt with by Smith and Thomas:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if a contract is for a fixed term, or expressly stated to be terminable only in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  certain ways, and it is terminated before the term expires or in an improper way,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  that may be a wrongful dismissal. More typical, however, is the case where the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  employer dismissed the employee with no or inadequate notice, or purported to   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  dismiss him for cause where the facts did not justify such action. It should be noted that the Employment Rights Act (ERA) 1996, s.86(1) applies minimum notice periods to be given by an employer in terminating a contract of an employee who has been continuously employed for one month or more. However, an employer may be liable for damages for wrongful dismissal where the contract of employment specifies a longer notice period than that laid down by ERA 1996 and the employer in reliance on the statutory provisions, serves the minimum notice. The court may nonetheless import a reasonable notice period into a contract of employment as occurred in the decision of Hill v CA Parsons Co Ltd. In this case a chartered engineer had refused to join a trade union, despite his employers request for him to do so. The employer did not wish to dismiss the employee, but had negotiated terms with the union which required employees to join the union. The employer gave one months notice of dismissal., but should have provided three months notice under the relevant statutory provision at that time. It was held by the Court of Appeal, by a majority decision, that reasonable notice in this case would have been between six and twelve months in length. In defence of an action for wrongful dismissal an employer may contend that the dismissal was justified and such a defence will succeed where, for example, the employees behaviour amounts to gross misconduct. In accordance with s.94(1) of the ERA 1996, an employee has the right not to be unfairly dismissed. However, the first hurdle for an employee to overcome in an action for unfair dismissal is that he must have been continuously employed by that employer for a period of at least one year: s.108(1), ERA 1996. The employee must also show that he has been dismissed in accordance with one of the definitions of dismissal contained within the ERA 1996. Section 95 of the Act deals with the circumstances in which an employee is dismissed. The first situation under which an employee is dismissed is where the employment contract is simply terminated by the employer, whether with or without notice: s.95(1)(a), ERA 1996. This type of dismissal is otherwise known as direct or express dismissal. Difficulties may arise in interpreting an employers words and whether or not these can be said to have amounted to a dismissal. In Tanner v Kean the words used by the employer were youre finished with me. It was held by the Employment Appeals Tribunal that the words used should not be interpreted to signify a dismissal by the employer and that the test was what a reasonable employee would understand from the words used. In fact bad language by the employer used to signify the employee leaving the work place, will not amount to a dismissal: Futty v Brekkes. In this case the words Fuck off! were held not to constitute a dismissal, but it should be noted that such words were common in the dock yard workplace in question. The next category under which an employee is deemed to be dismissed by his employer is where an employees limited term contract terminates by virtue of the limiting event without being renewed. Sections 235(2A) and (2B) provide that a limited term contract is one which is not intended to be permanent. A limiting event in a contract for a fixed term means the expiry of the term, in a contract made in contemplation of performance of a specific task means the performance of the task and in a contract which provides for termination on the occurrence of an event or the failure of an event means the occurrence of the event or the failure of the event. The third category of dismissal under s.95 of the ERA is where:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  the employee terminates the contract under which he is employed (with or   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  without notice) in circumstances in which he is entitled to terminate it without   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  notice by reason of the employers conduct: s.95(1)(c), ERA 1996. This is otherwise known as constructive dismissal as best explained by Lord Denning MR in Western Excavating v Sharp:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If the employer is guilty of conduct which is a significant breach going to the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  root of the contract of employment, or which shows the employer no longer   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  intends to be bound by one or more of the essential terms of the contract, then the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  employee is entitled to treat himself as discharged from any further performance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If he does so, then he terminates the contract by reason of the employers conduct.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He is constructively dismissed. Lord Denning went on to explain that the conduct of the employer must be sufficiently serious to entitle the employee to leave at once and the Court of Appeal went to great lengths to stress that the employers conduct must have amounted to a repudiatory breach of the employment contract. This will occur where, for example, the employer breaches a fundamental term implied into employment contracts, to treat the employee with trust and confidence. In Stanley Cole (Wainfleet) Ltd v J F Sherridan the behaviour of the employer was held to open the door for a constructive dismissal claim as the employer issued a final warning to the employee for conduct which was considered to be minor in nature. As explained by Gwyneth Pitt:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This illustrates how the standards of acceptable behaviour have risen over the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  years, so that there is more likelihood of bad behaviour being held to destroy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  mutual trust and confidence. It should be noted that even if an employee does not initially commence an action for constructive dismissal, where the employer commits repudiatory breaches of the contract, but remains in employment, the employee may still rely on those breaches as establishing breach of trust and confidence, at a later date: Lewis v Motor world Garages Ltd. In this case the Court of Appeal held that numerous, relatively minor repudiatory breaches could cumulatively amount to a breach of trust and confidence and that the employee could rely on earlier breaches committed by the employer, despite the employee initially having remained in employment following those breaches. It should be noted that before taking the draconian measure of dismissing an employee, an employer should follow the standard procedure set out in the Employment Act 2002, Schedule 2, Part 1. For example the employer should invite the employee to attend a meeting and must set out in writing the employees alleged misconduct which has led to the dismissal. If the employer does not follow these procedures the employee will be regarded as unfairly dismissed unless the employer can show that would have decided to dismiss the employee even if he had followed the standard procedure. Upon the employee establishing that he meets the requirements of one years continuous employment and that he has been dismissed, the burden of proof shifts to the employer to establish the reason for the dismissal and that the reason falls within one of the fair reasons for dismissal, contained within s.98, ERA 1996. The first of the reasons relating to fairness relates to the capability or qualifications of the employee: s.98(2)(a), ERA 1996. Capability means the employees capability assessed by reference to skill, aptitude, health or any other physical or mental quality (s.98(3)(a), ERA 1996) whilst qualifications relate to any degree, diploma, or other academic, technical or professional qualification relevant to the position held (s.98(3)(b), ERA 1996). The second reason relates to conduct (s.98(2)(b), ERA 1996) for which the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures (2004) provides guidance. For example, the Code makes provision for a written warning to be given in the case of a first finding of misconduct, other than gross misconduct: Para 21. However, where a warning would clearly not prevent an employee from committing the act of misconduct in future, dismissal in the absence of a warning may be held to be fair: Retarded Childrens Aid Society v Day. Other factors which are considered fair reasons for dismissal are redundancy and that the employee could not continue in his employment without breaching statute law: s.98(2)(c) and (d), ERA 1996. Finally, a dismissal may be fair if it is for some other substantial reason of a kind such as to justify dismissal (s.98(1)(b), ERA 1996) and it shall be for a tribunal or court to determine whether a dismissal fair for some other substantial reason. In any case, whether or not the dismissal is construed to be fair will depend on whether, in the circumstances, the employer acted reasonably or unreasonably in treating the reason as a sufficient reason for dismissal: s.98(4)(a), ERA 1996. In interpreting s.98(4), Lord Browne-Wilkinson in Iceland Frozen Foods v Jones stated that in many cases there is a band of reasonable responses to the employees conduct within which one employer might reasonably take one view and another employer might reasonably take another view. His Lordship stated that the function of an employment tribunal is to determine:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  whether in the particular circumstances of each case the decision to dismiss the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  employee fell within the band of reasonable responses which a reasonable   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  employer might have adopted. It should be noted that it is sufficient for the employer to hold an honest belief, based on reasonable grounds, in the set of facts justifying dismissal. This position is best explained by Lord Denning MR in Alidair Ltd v Taylor:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If a man is dismissed for stealing, as long as the employer honestly believed it on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  reasonable grounds, that is enough to justify dismissal. It is not necessary for the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  employer to prove that he was in fact stealing. Whenever a man is dismissed for   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  incapacity or incompetence it is sufficient that the employer honestly believed on   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  reasonable grounds that the man is incapable or incompetent. It is not necessary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  for the employer to prove that he is in fact incapable or incompetent. If an employer fails to establish a fair reason for dismissal it is quite possible that an employee may succeed in an action for unfair dismissal and the employer may in fact be liable for both wrongful and unfair dismissal in the same action. However, provided that the employer follows the procedural safeguards contained within the Employment Act 2002 and the ACAS Code of Practice he should generally speaking, be safe in an action for unfair and/ or wrongful dismissal.

Coke Strategy Essay -- Strategic Management Business

Coca Cola is the leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of soft drinks in the world. With domestic market nearing saturation, the potential for growth lies in international markets. In recent years, economic, political and social changes have made the global environment more uncertain, forcing Coke to reevaluate its strategy, structure and culture to maintain a competitive advantage. The following is a dynamic analysis that tracks the evolution of Coke’s strategy from global standardization to a multi-domestic strategy that emphasizes national responsiveness. During Goizueta’s management term, Coke is already a large, mature company in the formalization stage of its life cycle and in the international stage of global development. The organization’s official goal is to dominate the global beverage market and maintain its market leadership position over Pepsi and other competitors. Its primary operative goals are productivity, efficiency and profit. Coke is a highly formalized, centralized organization with a clear hierarchy of authority and a mechanistic management process. Employees believe in the supremacy of the product, and the company’s rigid, heavy-handed culture helps maintain control and drive aggressive marketing and expansion plans. Given the steady consumer demand and low uncertainty created by the simple/stable environmental dimensions, the vertical structure is appropriate because it provides management with high degree of efficiency and control. Coke’s effectiveness is a result of the synergistic fit between its structural and contextual dimensions. Coke realizes economies of scale/scope and low-cost production from a globalization strategy that enables product design, manufacturing and marketing to be ... ...our product categories. With greater distances between regional units, Coke needs to establish more global coordination mechanisms such as transnational teams and functional managers to link resources, disseminate knowledge and bring products to market faster. To ensure that regional units don’t act too autonomously, headquarters needs to develop unified plans and procedures to ensure control and coordination. With more differentiation, Coke’s challenge is to stay competitive in new product categories without weakening the flagship product or diluting its brand image. Looking to the future, Coke should consider moving to a transnational model, which would transform the organization into a network of interdependent global operations that work together to achieve multi-dimensional goals by simultaneously achieving efficiency, national responsiveness and shared learning.

Brave New World Essays :: essays research papers

Brave New World Essay Test   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Q: How does life in Brave New World change John?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A: Life in The Brave New World changes John in an unusual way. Being a child from the savage reservation, John was taught that morality, rather than conditioned by the Controller. John learned his rights and wrongs from his mother, and his own experiences. John knew a personal relationship was valued, and everyone loved one another. He learned that religion was a major part of his morals. Sex was something done with a mate that is loved.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When John was brought to the Brave New World, his inhibitions were happening by other people right in front of him. He saw sex as a common occurrence, and nobody really had any emotion toward it. Everyone enjoyed it, but not spiritually. In sense, sex did not light an eternal flame for the Brave New World like it did in the savage reservation. A piece of a mother and father could be put together for a child in the savage society, but in the Brave New World, everyone had their own life. There were no personal relationships, and there was no love. Also, drugs were looked down upon by the reservation, and yet, in the Brave New World, drugs, specifically soma, are the food for life. Instead of living through rough situations, society went on soma holidays for their problems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  All these â€Å"wrongs† to John, were making him upset. John tried to give the hospital workers freedom. He threw away their soma, and made them more upset. The workers rioted against John, and he realized he could not change society. John argued with the Mustapha Mond about the way society was, but it seemed Mond had a response to everything. John decided to indulge himself in the Brave New World’s lifestyle. John tried sex, and soma, and enjoyed it. John knew he had sinned to his own religion, and he felt so wrong, that he murdered himself.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The change that John went through was simple. John actually committed his inhibitions. John normally, and in theory, would never do those things. John would only have sex with his soul mate for life, and would absolutely not do soma. Society turned John around so much, that he did all of this, and did what society called happiness. He committed suicide.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Q: What faults does John find with the philosophy of happiness, identity, and social stability.

Julius Caesar :: English Literature Essays

Julius Caesar Julius Caesar was a big Dictator. He was very power hungry and wanted to be in charge of everything he did. He was assonated for being to power hungry he was thought of a threat to the senate in result assonated by the senate. Julius Caesar’s was a dictator throughout his political years. Julius Caesar was born on July13th 100BCE to Gaius and Auriliea. Julius Caesar has been involved in politics as early of 20 years old. . When Julius was little he lived in the worst time of the Roman. The city was attacked numerous of times. Government and religious positions when he was around 20 years Julius’s the ruler of Rome was Caius Marius. Marius Marring his father’s sister related Julius to the ruler. Marius left Rome because he became unpopular. Julius’s father became praetor and later became Governor. As you can see from reading this paragraph you can see that some people were involved in politic Julius Caesar was murdered on the ides of March also known as March 15th 44 one is that was witnessed by Julius Caesar’s biographer he was also present at the murder of Julius Caesar’s murder. The Senate very well planed the murder of Julius Caesar. They got Julius’s best friend Brutus. They had sixty people and Marcus Julius Brutus, Gaius Cassius Longinus, Decimus Brutus Albinus, and Gaius Trebonius stared charging at Julius with dagger at least stabbing him twenty- three times, when stabbing him they were standing on the base of the pompey statue. Every one stabbed him at least once. After killing Julius Caesar the senators fled. The senators killed him because he was trying to become king. As you can see Julius Caesar had an unexpected death. Julius Caesar was a big dictator and was very power hungry. Julius Caesar entered the political era part of his life through 77-59 BCE. Julius Caesar had numerous of political jobs such as General of Rome, Statesmen, Consol, and head of roman army. Julius Caesar was part of the triconsols that held one of his biggest enemies Pompey. He was elected Consol in 59 BCE the next year appointed govenor of Rome. Julius Caesar’s Dictator era started at 47 and ended 44. Julius Caesar had such a powerful army when defeating Pompey’s army he fled to Egypt. Then he followed him to Egypt to meet him man to man but when he arrived the King of Egypt, Ptomeley the 13th, already killed him.

People Are Getting Overly Dependent on Technology

Running head: IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 1 Is information technology becoming the primary necessity of our existence; as we are getting dependent on it? Raisa Sadat Sharmin Brac University IS IT BECOMING THE PRIMARY NECESSITY OF OUR LIFE? 2 Abstract This paper explores four published articles that surveys and gathered information on about the usage of information technology. the articles, however gives various data about the statistics of using internet from different groups of peoples. Another reflected the development of Google within last ten years, and also about the expenditure on information technology. One of the article deals with the facts that young students are addicted towards sexting. And lastly one paper deals with the decrease of printed materials. In fact this paper is a research work on the dependency and independency of humans on the information technology. IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 3 Is information technology becoming the primary necessity of our existence; as we are getting dependent on it? â€Å"Could you please hurry up? I’m getting late† a customer in a renowned super shop is becoming restless due to the long queue in the payment desk. But what happened? Why has everything halted suddenly? It was just a case of system failure, which stopped all the works inside the shop and the cashier was unable to make the bills, as the bar code reader and all other software were not responding. As a result, the waiting list got longer and created chaos inside the shop. Look, how such a simple system failure is creating so much of distraction in our life. The above situation was just an example from a super shop, but it is not the only thing based on information technology. In fact, most of the things in our country are now based on information technology. Even if the world recognizes Bangladesh to be a poor, developing country with many people living below the poverty line, the usage of technology is considerably high. In a report published in Internet world statistics, the author (2010) stated that the number of mobile phone usage increased from 100,000 to 995,560 with the rate expanding from 0. 1% to 0. 6%, during 2000 to 2010. Nowadays, cellular phone usage has become very common amongst the lower class in our country. Also offices and stores are relying on technology for storing their records and dealings. Moreover, students have become dependent on the Internet for searching essential information. Why are we using this information technology? Because these technology makes our life easier, for example it enables us to communicate with others at a distance within a second, IM and video conferencing are allowing us to be in touch with our relatives staying abroad, and that also for free; only the line rent is enough to let us exchange few words with our relatives. In addition information on the Internet are allowing us to get updates in a matter of seconds. Even if it is providing us with ample benefits, it is giving rise to dependency. I strongly believe that people are getting over dependent on technology, as these facilities are making us inefficient in manual work procedure, handicapped without technology, and it is also becoming a main reason for wastage of money in the case of the young generations, though IT is providing us a less time consuming lifestyle, low cost communicating facility and a digital way of refreshment. IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 4 Just recall the previous times, when we were not touched by the digital life system; what happened in that time? Students did not got any help from the internet for their assignments, in spite of that they did their assignments and other works, they were not thrown out of the institutes for getting bad grades. Scientists, doctors, engineers were born previously; they also did their research works, as well as new inventions. They worked hard, without looking for something simpler they went through the printed books, to gather information for themselves; but nowadays students cannot even think of doing their papers without the help of the technology, they are becoming inefficient to go through the manual working procedure. As time changes, we are getting new technologies to improve our lifestyle, as for example, now assignments, projects and other brainstorming works are easier today. Just type the word and click to search anything about the related topic in Google (the most efficient search engine). According to Dingle (2010), Google did a revolution in the business sector by starting its journey of giving free service to search information in its sites, and day-by-day Google is expanding its services. Google obviously makes our life easier, and that is why students tend to rely upon it for their academic purpose. Zillien and Hargittai (2009) did a survey on different types of Internet usage on the various classes of people in the society; the most common usage amongst all the group of peoples was email and search engine usage. From higher class to lower class, everyone is dependent on Google, as almost 86% of the sample replies to it, and above 90% responds to the email usage. Karen et al. (2010), says students are getting dependent on the electronic and search engine sources mostly within 1996 to 1999, as between those years, the number of printing sources like books decreases. All these experts are telling us about the efficiency of IT in our lives, where we are actually becoming more inefficient. Most of the companies and offices are using IT to maintain all their documents, records and dealings. They said that IT is helping them to maintain all the complex works in a simpler way. For example, Apollo Hospital is a worldwide chain hospital, which has opened in to our country recently. An employee of the hospital was asked about the system maintenance of the hospital, and he answered that from the appointment to pharmacy billing, every single thing are maintained by the IT system. They have interred linkage within the computers throughout the hospital, and everything is monitored centrally. All the patients and staff have got different ID IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 5 numbers and servers where all information about them is saved. Then the question arises, what would happen if the system fails for one day? The employee become silent, and says we cannot even think the system failure for one hour, and it is impossible to run a day without these systems. The employee was also asked whether there is manual system, in case of emergency in the hospital, he says no; by chance if there is any system failure, nothing can run on that building, patients would have to wait for getting prescription as well as their appointment. He also said that, â€Å"we are handicapped without technology†, as they cannot perform any of the action without computers. Though IT allows them to maintain all the things very swiftly, it also makes them to be dependent o it. The most surprising fact is that, humans invent technology, and now they cannot proceed without the technologies. Nowadays, almost every people confess his or her dependency on IT, while in a survey people of different ages were asked about this dependency, and according to the figure 7, 62. 5% of the people said that they are dependent on the information technology; and figure 5 says that 100% of the people cannot imagine themselves without their cell phone or laptop. So, we can say that IT is making us handicapped, as often we cannot work on their unavailability. The young generations of today are now up to date with all the latest technology available. They are getting dependent, and wasting money to buy different gadgets. Dingle (2010) gathers information from the research firm Gartner, where the author found that Global IT has spent US$1,4 trillion, from where a huge amount of money went for both hardware and software, which in turn helps us by increasing the availability of computers in almost every corner of our lives. We are progressing, and new inventions are coming everyday; companies like Apple, Nokia, Blackberry and etc. are contributing a lot to serve the necessity of the young generations. Dingle (2010) cites the research of Gartner who expects that the customers will spend quiet about US$6 billion to get mobile applications. Teenagers and also adults are now using huge amount of money to satisfy their hunger for getting latest technology. As in figure 5, while in a survey, 96. 7% people said that they spend money on IT, whereas only 3. 3% said that they do not spend money for the usage. Many students, who lives abroad, works for hours to receive extra payments, by which they can fulfill their needs. All this factors are pointing out that IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 6 our young generations are getting dedicated towards the IT, and wasting lots of money to get their needs. Computer invention is believed as a revolution in world, it was made for human beings, to make their life easier, faster and more comfortable. Many people believed that before we wasted most of our times by being in a manual system, where as those works can be done within a moment. From figure 7, we can see that 76% of the people said that information technology is making our life easier and faster. Students from different universities and institutes say that without information technology it would be much harder for them to complete the assignments and other research works. These technology are allowing them to communicate experts throughout the worldwide, whenever they need they can go to the web sites and gather their required information. The students argued that, they have lots of works to do, for which they need to be multi tasking. And information technology is giving them a route to be successful in their live. But if we consider about the ancient times, people were also successful at that times, scientists, engineers, researchers also did their challengeable jobs at those times. Without the help information technology, they did work hard and become successful in their lives. Again students said that on that time, life was not that much competitive, and for this current and present situation no one can work without the help of IT. While aged peoples said that, young generations do not want to work harder as they can get anything they want within a second. Nowadays it is familiar to get everything done by sitting in a computer, even products can be ordered in internet, so our young generation is becoming lazy and inefficient because of IT. From Figure1 we can see that, 64% of the people surveyed says that information technology is making us inefficient. What is the use of that life, which is making us unproductive to work of our own? â€Å"Time and tides wait for none†, especially in this competitive world of ours, we cannot even think about wasting a single second from our lives. Everyone is in the struggle to do well in their life and in order to get establish, people are getting away from their close ones, sometimes they are going abroad to study or for job. Information technology helps us to communicate with our loved ones from a long distance, and that is also with a very lower cost. Facebook, twitter, all other IM and video conferencing services do not even let us to feel that we are away from our IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 7 connections. Though it is letting us to communicate freely, it is also hampering teenagers and even the adults. Corbett (2009) concludes the popularity of cell phone amongst the teenagers and young adults. A survey conducted by the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) amongst 2000 teens, were found that, their parents gave them mobile phone for their safety, and specially to be in contact with the teens while they are out of their house. But quiet about 57% of the teenagers said that they use cell phone to communicate with their friends. Not only that, the awesome features of taking pictures in cell phone and uploading instantly in Facebook or Twitter is quiet famous among them. Text message and multimedia message are also a very popular way of communicating with peers. Corbett (2009), says about â€Å"sexting†, that is, while in a relation, girls send their nude pictures to their boyfriends, and after they break up, the boy upload those pictures on the internet, and in this way teenagers are affected by the impact of technologies. Usually it is seen that, adolescents use IT for most of their works, most of them are unaware of the intentions of their friends, and this is how IT is affecting our teenagers and adults. Lastly, adults and teenagers cannot even think of themselves without their mobile, computers, and all other entertaining devices. They believe that, life is becoming so busy, they did not get extra time to communicate with others, and there are also no extra time to play outdoor games, or to hangout with friends randomly. As from Figure 3, we can see that 75% of the people says that they use IT also for their personal purpose rather than academic or officials, and in Figure 4, 82. 5% people said that in this current situation IT is needed in every step of our life. Due to the lack of time, most of the peoples are now relying on the digital form of entertainment. As I have mentioned above that, students are willing to spend money for buying gadgets for them. Movies, games music is now considered as a form of entertainment. Students are found to do chatting in messenger, while they are in class. In order to get all this facilities they often buy expensive mobile phones. Many people believe that this way of communication is decreasing the intimacy and values between ones relation. Expenditure on the technologies is increasing, which in fact is reducing the development of all other sectors. For example, Bangladesh is a poor country, we have an unequal distribution of wealth, many times higher class people supports the lower class peoples for their survival. But as they are now up to new technologies everyday, they are spending much money for their own. Even the students and IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 8 workers in abroad, they work hard to get all the latest inventions, they are not concern about their future, instead of saving money for themselves they are wasting money by buying devices. We really feel proud to be Bangladeshi, after a long struggle, we became independent, and only within a age of 40 years we developed a lot. May be the development is much less compared to the outside world, but we cannot deny that we recovered a lot. Most of the companies and systems in our country, rather than the public ones are running with the help of information technology. So, I think that IT is taking over humans, by working more efficiently, making us â€Å"handicapped† and also because we love to spend money for it, though it needed in our life for less time consuming lifestyle, for giving more options for interacting on the go, and also for our recreations. Small stores to big ones are using IT for their convenience; according to the example mentioned earlier IT can also create chaos for us. Human being can be rectified with in a moment, but a system failure cannot be adjust within a few seconds. We need time to fix certain types of error. So we can use IT for our convenience, but there should be an alternative for a system failure. If the super shop had a manual operating system, then that would not cause that much harm to them. Also IT is hampering our young generations, while asking the solution of this problem, 17% people answered that there should be more restrictions on the teenagers, and 83% says that there should not be any misuse of technology, this results are shown in Figure 10. We invented information technology, and it is for our convenience. Human being are considered as the most prominent creation of God, no other thing can be compared with us, but all the above research and survey says that people are now getting inefficient. So I think people should use IT, but should not be that much dependent on it that it will be making them handicapped when there are no facility of IT. We should not consider ourselves incapable of doing any work that IT can do for us, it is us who makes computers, and no computer can work like humans. IS IT BECOMING OUR PRIMARY NECESSITY? 9 Reference list: Corbett, Don. (2009. ) â€Å"Let’s talk about sext: the challenge of finding the right legal response to the teenage practice of â€Å"sexting†. Journal of Internet Law 13, no. 6: 3-8. Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 20, 2011). Internet world statistics (2011) from (http://www. internetworldstats. com/asia/bd. htm). Retrieved: 20th march, 2011. Naufel, Karen Z. , Katherine E. Briley, Lacey K. Harackiewicz, Amanda S. Johnson, Kristin P. Marzec, and Michael E. Nielsen. (2010. ) â€Å"How do Psychology Students Use Web-Based Information? Trends and Implications from a Descriptive Study. † North American Journal of Psychology 12, no. 1: 1-14. Academic Source Premier, EBSCOhost (accessed March 20, 2011). Zillion N. and Hargittai E. (2009) â€Å"Digital distinction : Status-Specific types of internet usage† Social Science Quarterly, 90, 284. Dingle S. (2010) â€Å"Clean state† Finweek 14-19. Sample questionnaire: Name: _______________________________ Sex: ____________ Age: ____________ 1. Do you support or like the invention of information technology for communicating? a. Yes- its excellent b. Yes – its good c. Yes – its needed d. Yes- but it is making us inefficient e. No – it is not needed 2. How many times do you use your mobile, email or browser in a day? a. Never b. 1-5 times c. 6-10 times d. 11-15 times e. More than above 3. Do you use technology only for official or academic purpose? a. Yes b. No 4. Do you agree that, in this stage of life we need information technology in every step? a. Strongly agree b. Agree c. Neutral d. Disagree e. Strongly disagree 5. Do you think that it is necessary to spend money for on the use of information technology? a. Yes b. No 6. Can you imagine yourself without your cell phone or laptop? a. Yes b. No c. No comment 7. What is your opinion about the contribution of information technology in our daily life? ____________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________ ______________________ 8. Do you think that you are getting overly dependent of this technology? ———————————————— ____________________________________________________________ __________ 9. In your point of view, what are the impacts of information technology that are affecting our society and the young generations? ____________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ____ ______________________ 10. Give your suggestion regarding the issue of getting dependent and other impacts of information technology. ____________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________ _____________________ Thank you for your participation and cooperation Survey result 1. Do you support or like the invention of information technology for communicating? FIGURE: 1 2. How many times do you use your mobile, email or browser in a day? FIGURE: 2 3. Do you use technology only for official or academic purpose? FIGURE: 3 4. Do you agree that, in this stage of life we need information technology in every step? FIGURE: 4 5. Do you think that it is necessary to spend money for on the use of information technology? FIGURE: 5 6. Can you imagine yourself without your cell phone or laptop? FIGURE: 6 7. What is your opinion about the contribution of information technology in our daily life? FIGURE: 7 8. Do you think you are getting overly dependent on this technology? FIGURE: 8 9. In your point of view, what are the impacts of information technology that are affecting our society and the young generations? FIGURE: 9 10. Give your suggestion regarding the issue of getting dependent and other impacts of information technology. FIGURE: 10

Vans Paper

Vans Homework Assignment (Racquet Club) | | |Stephen Smith | |Shelby Harris | |Lauren Lindsey | |John Krc | |Aleksandra Petronijevic | 1. Product: What products does Vans sell? Vans sells skateboard shoes, appeal, and outer wear for guys and girls. 2. Mission Statement: Describe the Vans mission in less than three sentences. The mission statement of Vans expresses that they want to provide an attractive look to teenage kids.The employees of Vans want their customers to be happy and enjoy their new clothes. 3. Target: Who do they target in terms of gender, geography, lifestyle, income, interests and activities? Vans targets mainly males, but lately females are making a greater appearance. Originally, they focused on the west coast but they quickly expanded eastward. They target younger kids with interests that include: action sports, music, art, and street fashion. 4. Competitive Advantage: How does Vans describe its competitive advantage?How are they different and better than other b rands? They see themselves as the original; therefore, being original is their competitive advantage. They were the first to make the canvas, checkerboard skate and active wear shoes. 5. Distribution: Where is Van’s sold? What is their pyramid distribution strategy? How does it work? Vans are sold at most shoes that sell shoes; however, they decided to only give the mainstream retailers specific shoes. This is to protect their popular shoes in hopes to keep them popular.If only certain stores hold their most popular shoes, the shoes will not sell immensely all at once but will sell well over time. The most exclusive shoes goes to the top of the pyramid sellers and then the middle level shoes go to the more mainstream sellers. 6. What is their strategy in terms of their use of traditional media (TV, radio, magazine, outdoor)? List the different media and examples of specific media vehicles. They mainly rely on magazine promotion. They put their ads in all of the true skate, su rf, snow, and motocross magazines that are available.Then after magazines are events, for example: skateboard competitions, surfing competitions, etc. Next in the line of media is television and radio. 7. What is their strategy in terms of the role of the internet in Van’s communication strategy? Provide examples. 8. What is their promotional strategy in terms of their use of sales promotion with consumers? (samples, tours, contests, vacations, giveaways)? Provide examples. Some promotional strategies used by Vans are documentaries like Dogtown and Z-Boys, which is a 90 minute documentary.Vans has many commercials that advertise their shoes while people are skateboarding. 9. What is their promotional strategy in terms of their use of sales promotion with retailers? (samples, tours, contests, vacations, giveaways)? Provide examples. Vans gives away clothes and shoes to retailers so that they can promote them to customers and get their brand out and make it more well-known. 10. What is their promotional strategy in terms of public relations/publicity where events are staged to engage potential customers and the media? Provide examples including events.Later in their years Vans became a marketing company now their promotional strategies consist of many events such as, The Vans walk tour, Vans Triple Crown surfing, Vans downtown showdown, and many more skateboard, snow board and surfing events. 11. How do they make use of interactive marketing? Vans is known for hosting an array of events that are seemingly enjoyable and fun. It is very interactive more so because the Vice President of the company makes sure of he is at all events in a very approachable form. 12. How do they use spokespersons?Their events where they team up with different television stations and so on stands as there spokesperson. They more so work on letting the brand as a whole speak for itself. 13. How do they use cause marketing? Give examples of sponsorships. Vans uses cause marketing in the ads they have consisting of magazines, events, television and radio. One of cause marketing sponsorships they have is â€Å"Surf Rider† which is an organization founded upon keeping the ocean water clean. Vans teamed up with this organization by making exclusive shoes that has the name of the branch where Surf Rider branches are.Vans causes marketing by magazines and ad’s in only the true skateboard, snowboard and surfing magazines. They host actual events pertaining to all of these events to not only drive sales but form an interpersonal relationship with all Vans customers. Lastly they turn to television and radio to keep the name of the company in the mainstream media. 14. What types of information and research does Vans use to determine the effectiveness of their promotional strategy? Vans information and research comes from â€Å"bottom line†. As well as the constant surveys they receive from countless market research groups.Their website remains the number one action sport website. They also notice at events the numerous amount of clients that are wearing vans everywhere. 15. Do you think Vans’ promotional mix focuses more on a pull strategy or a push strategy? Why? I feel Vans’ promotional mix focuses more on a pull strategy than a push strategy. Vans’ does not chase different competitors out of their range of products. They focus more on pleasing the current clients who are looking for what Vans as a company has to offer. They pride themselves on being original and work on continuing to keep it that way.