Financial perspective Essay Example for Free

Financial perspective Essay As seen balanced scorecards does not totally disregard financial measures of performance. Thus, timely and accurate data is essential to the successful implementation of balanced scorecard. This implies that handling and processing of financial data should be swift and centralize perhaps fully automated. The financial data should be integrated with corporate databases and especially data regarding risk assessment and cost benefit analysis (Stewart, 2000). Learning and growth perspective This category recognizes that people are the only repositions of knowledge i. e. people posses intangible assets of the company. In this information age intelligence is the heart of organization success and hence Ned to ensure continuous learning through employee training. This is because technology changes rapidly as aloes people exiting an organization for greener pastures. (Lipe Salterio, 2000) As a result, corporations’ culture and attitude need to be shaped to ensure that people within the organization pursue self-improvement and reverse brain drain to other companies. The cost of recruitment and training people is usually high and measures of allocating the funds to reap maximum benefits need to be developed. Knowledge sharing is equally important. Notably not all training translates to learning but the most effective learning occurs, using mentors and group discussions and communication within the organization. Intranets may contribute towards facilitating communication and learning (Norton, 2001) Process perspective This category identifies two kinds of process within the business one, the mission oriented processes and two the support process. Support processes are repetitive in nature and nature and hence easier to measure on the other hand mission oriented involve government offices and hence difficult to measure. Attention to these perspectives enables managers to know how well the operations of the business are and whether they are in tandem with customer requirements and expectations. (Kaplan Norton, 1996) Problems associated with financial measures. The move to adopt the balanced scorecard at Intel has been triggered by the inefficiency of financial measures to link corporate strategy and goals to measurement it ahs been difficult for Intel to link the strategies used in say marketing and advertising campaigns to the effects or anticipated results. Thus a shortfall in gauging performance has been experienced.. As pointed out, Intel faces strong competition from Microsoft and there has been to re-strategize its operations in order to gain competitive advantage and adopt with the changing technology. The previously used financial measures are outdated as the PC industry how shifted from the industrial age to become more knowledge based. White previously, Intel management of the company’s property equipments and plant was adequate to accord the company competitive edge, now a days the intangible asset i. e. the employee’s knowledge plays a great role in ensuring that Intel stays ahead of its game. The company’s income statements, and balance sheets are still used to capture revenues and profits but they still account very little to the company’s market value hence the need for balance scorecard. The balanced scorecard becomes handy for Intel to link its strategy i. e. deploying its intangible assets to the company’s goal i. e. dominate the PC industry. The problem of financial measures utilized at Intel is its failure to measure how effective customer relationship operating process product innovation skill of the workforce culture and other variables are in contributing to the company’s goal of maintaining lead in the PC industry. The financial measures i. e. balance sheets and incomes statements fail to assist management describe its asset and link it to strategy and goal. The pitfall of this measure is that without a clear description of the situation and the company’s possessions in terms of assets then it is difficult to know what to manage or measure. Recommended design and implementation of Intel’s balance scorecard Intel balance scorecard design will incorporate strategy aimed at increasing the company’s revenues by twenty percent in a period of 18 months. In order to do so the balance scorecard components will be used in designing the strategy. The invaluable contribution of the employees at Intel is recognized in this design. They contribute indirectly to the company’s revenue investment in the employees will improve their functional competence and hence lead to better quality products and innovations hence greater customer satisfaction. This satisfaction in turn will translate to higher sales and thus increase in revenue and profit margins. Rewards systems for hardworking employees will be given in form of cash incentives and recognition awards. More importantly, dead wood employees will not be retained in the company, as they are liabilities to the company. The workplace culture and climate will also be representative of the company’s goal; hence performance appraisals will also be used to boost hard work. The no-office policy at Intel will be retained in order to ensure equality among the company’s employees. Communication and knowledge sharing will be boosted by upping Intel intranets and using monthly meetings in departments to achieve this end. Intel will have to upgrade its internal processes to improve its customers and shareholders satisfactions hence achieve revenue. The way to do this will be by availing its microprocessors speedily to its customer’s at the time when needed. Intel will need to keep track of releases of operating systems by software hence increase sales and revenues. Intel should also develop new products and services that are relevant to meeting customers’ wants and needs. Perhaps, there is need to identify new markets in order to broaden its customers base also promote satisfaction among customers. Grievances and complaints will handle with immediacy and accuracy. Additionally, Total quality management and zero tolerance production techniques will be used in its manufacturing plant to ensure that consignment delivered to customers have zero defects. Intel will also ensure that it exercises social responsibility and that its activities benefit the greater society and don’t harm the immediate environment. The customers’ perspectives components of Intel balance scorecard will work towards creating a image of value and distinction in its customers. Intel will achieve this by incorporating a mix of different products and service that uniquely identify the customers to the company. Intel will sustain intimacy with its customers by being a representative of the customers’ diverse traits. It will ensure indiscriminate customers service to customers regardless of race, gender or religion its branding and advertisement campaigns will be acceptable to the customers. Intel will employ competitive pricing to attract and retain customers. At the same time Intel will assure great performance and auxiliary features in its products so that customers get value for their money, hence boost revenue. Delivery lead times will equally be reduced by half in order to encourage customers to buy more from them. The financial position of Intel will be influenced by the effects o customer’s internal process and the learning perspectives of the company’s workforce. Ultimately, if the positive changes on these sections are effected then the company will realize profitability and increased revenues. In effect, the company’s value in the eye of the shareholder will also improve, more to that; an increase in company assets value will be evident.

Culture Importance in Business

Culture Importance in Business Culture is an important part of international business because it defines the collection of beliefs, values, behavior, customs and attitude of the member in the society. Culture is basically the behavior that people act in the community. Characteristics of culture also reflect learned behavior which is transmitted from one member to another. Some basic elements of culture are social structure, language and religion. Foreigners who want to establish their business in an other than their own and become successful, they should learn the culture and the local market. A lot of quotations have been made towards culture one of the quotations made is by Geert Hofstede who said that: Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from another.ÂÂ  (Geert Hofstede) Culture does not only refer to doing business in another country but within an organization there are challenges for example, Managers today will need special skills in order to meet these challenges. Culture awareness, Language differences and management skills are necessary for success. These challenges often lead to a debate which is better for a company or foreign national workers. There are pros and cons to the use of each. Business accomplishments in the future will depend greatly on the ability of managers to meet the challenges of culture and its impact on international business. Current research has shown that not a lot of companies have been successful in this. Too many businesses still have the attitude that because they do not understand the way something is being done, the method or philosophy used is not right. Whether these are old traditions or business practices. Similar studies also indicates that majority of the people who are sent on international assignments often fail in achieving a good working environment and have a good social relationship with the people of the foreign country. This creates problems on the individual front, the family front and starts taking a toll on the productivity of the individual as well as the business. The cultural differences are one of the biggest issues when it comes to working abroad and be successful. According to the studies the main reason why managers fail is not because the persons technical or managerial competence but due to the fact that there are cultural variances. For example, if a manager is asked to do an assignment abroad in a country like China the steps to success may be very little even though a lot is known about the culture in China. The results may vary from different managers depending on how fast they adapt to the culture of the country. It is very important for a manager develop and adapt. To become successful one needs to appreciate the differences to develop and accepting the attitude on both fronts so that the necessary goals can be accomplished. Another cultural difference in business is between the Arabic countries and the Western countries. When negotiating in Western countries, the goal is to do the business as quick as possible and come to an understanding shake hands which is a cultural signal of the end of negotiations and the agreement has been reached and start doing business together. In other hand, Middle Eastern countries, a lot of negotiation takes place and also shake hands after a negotiation. However, the deal is not complete in the Middle Eastern culture. In fact it is a cultural sign that serious negotiations are just beginning. That is why it is very important to understand that culture impacts international business far more than domestic business. Most of the principles remain the same for both domestic and international business but there are certain added complexities that they need to be aware of and need to be trained to handle, most important of which is intercultural communication. Intercultural communication The term intercultural communication does not necessarily mean learn the local language it has more to it. It actually used to describe the wide range of communication problems that naturally appear within an organization. Besides language it also focuses on social attributes, thought patterns, and the cultures of different groups of people. It also involves understanding the different cultures, languages and customs of people from other countries. Most businesses see this as an important factor in the international trade and insist that their employees learn the way people socialize, the way they think even though each individual is different there are certain things that are shared within the community. When they are being send off to a country they have an idea on how to interact, communicate and socialize with people and simply blend in. If one has not the ability to adapt quickly he/she would not be suitable for the job. Because when they get send off it is necessary to succeed and all the research has to be done in order to understand the people. Making people feel comfortable will open doors. This does not mean compromising your business values, it means respecting the values of others so that they respect yours and so that together, you can work productively for the success of your organization Attitude and culture Attitudes are positive or negative evaluations, feelings and tendencies which make an individual behave in a particular way towards people or objects. Attitude can refer to many subjects such as the role of sexes, individual freedom, justice, love etc. But the main focus is the attitude towards work, business and time in the future. It is important to have a good attitude towards work because it impacts motivation, morale, job satisfaction, productivity and other aspects of HRM. Positive attitude towards work also referred gives that extra over the other employees because of the productivity. When there is a positive attitude towards work there are certain compensations and bonuses that can be earned. It doesnt necessarily mean that bonuses are just rewarded because of positive attitude but mainly because the job is well done. An international business firm has to devise a system of compensation that promotes work ethics, and of course is similar with the other country culture. Japanese people are supposed to have a strong working ethic. And for example in India the average takes work as worship because for him/her work is everything. No worker does anything before closing his/her eyes for a few seconds to thank their almighty and expressing gratitude for having bestowed his blessing in the form of work. Which is why the Indian worker has earned appreciation from everywhere for his/her sincerity, hard work, loyalty and honestly. In capitalist systems an individual perceives business basically as a profit seeking organization producing goods and services for the market demand. In an Islamic social system business is based upon personal relationships, trust and respect. To them business firms are not just viewed as providers of goods and services but as partners in progress and prosperity Implications for international business Global businesses are repositories of multi cultures. It basically means that people from many cultures from different countries interact regularly. Another word for it is MNC. It has a home country and several host countries where the head offices and subsidiaries are located. The situation is highly complex with several national cultures and subcultures interact regularly. Cultural differences The 5 dimensions of Dr. Geert Hofstede From 1967 to 1973, while working at IBM as a psychologist, he collected and analyzed data from over 100,000 individuals from forty countries. From those results, and later additions, Hofstede developed a model that identifies four primary dimensions to differentiate cultures. He added the fifth dimension later. Geert Hofstedes research proves an insight into other cultures and can be used to analyze all cultures. The idea behind the 5 dimensions is to intera with other countries and trying to understand them more. If the dimensions are understood and applied properly it could reduce a lot of frustration, anxiety and concern because a lot is more is known about a certain culture. Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster.ÂÂ  (Geert Hofstede) Power Distance Index (PDI) Focuses on how much a culture does or does not value hierarchical relationships and respect for authority. This basically refers to human inequality. People are downgraded when it comes to prestige, wealth and power. Cultures with high PDI scores include Arabic countries, Russia, India and China. Those with low scores include Japan, Australia and Canada. The inequality is mainly formalized in a hierarchy of boss-subordinate relationships. According to Mulders power reduction theory, subordinates will try to reduce the power distance between themselves and their bosses. And bosses will try to maintain the power that they already have or enlarge it. According to the research done Geert Hofstede in 1977 countries with lower education and lower status tend to produce high PDI value and countries with higher education and higher status tend to produce low PDI value. Education is the dominant factor. If people are not educated they cannot get higher positions in the hierarchy so they will always end up on the bottom of the hierarchy. Individualism (IDV) Uncertainty avoidance (UAI) uncertainty avoidance deals with the level of worry that people have for the future of a country and also the necessary needs to protect the society trough kinds of measures: technology, rules and rituals. High anxiety leads to higher stress and a more hurried social life but also to higher energy release which means and inner urge to be busy. On the high UAI side anxiety is more released trough the showing of emotions for which society has created outlets. So basically they are more open to deal with problems and will try to solve if there is any. For lower UAI anxiety is released more trough passive relaxation, which is not a good thing because emotions need to be controlled. However there is more openness to change in low UAI. In other hand on the high UAI there is more conservatism and a stronger desire for law and order. Masculinity (MAS) ÂÂ   Masculine cultures use the biological existence of two sexes to define very different social roles for men and women. They expect men to be assertive, ambitious, and competitive, and to strive for material success, and to respect whatever is big, strong, and fast.(Geert Hofstede) Masculinity refers to how many a society sticks with, and values, traditional male and female roles. Countries that have High MAS scores tend to give the man a more superior role than the women. Men are thought to be the providers, assertive and to be strong. For example in Arabic countries it is likely that a women is seen working in a male environment. Or have the same profession as a male. Females do not have the same right as men. Especially in Saudi Arabia women are not even allowed to drive a car. In these countries it is very hard for a female to do business because its a males job because they are not allowed to have physical contact with a man they are also not allowed to wear certain types of clothes. This does not refer to all the Arab countries. In some of the countries female are getting more rights and are working themselves up the hierarchy. In a low MAS society the situation is different and men and women share equal rights, which means that men and women have the sam e profession without one being discriminated due her gender. Long term orientation (LTO) this dimension was added later by Hofstede Over the years people have had a critical view on Hofstedes 4 dimensions. To overcome this problem Hofstede introduced a fifth dimension. In this dimension he was trying to find out the different thinking between the east and the west. He used the information from the original IBM study. It was a difference that could not be figured out. To do this dimension a research was carried out on 23 countries and was called the Chinese Value Survey (CVS). Long Term Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular perseverance and thrift. Its opposite pole, Short Term Orientation, stands for the fostering of virtues related to the past and present, in particular, respect for tradition, preservation of face and fulfilling social obligations. ( Geert Hofstede) Cultures with a high long term orientation such as China, Japan and South Korea would most likely have a strong work ethic and show great respect for status differences. People who live in these societies mostly value the social order and long range goals. However the cultures that show a low long term orientation often do not place a high priority on status and are concerned more about short term results and also seek quick satisfaction of their needs. Low long term orientation countries are, United States, UK and Canada. There are obviously more countries because the research is based on 23 countries. Trompenaars 7ds model Trompenaars is a European researcher he conducted a research with 15.000 manager from 28 countries, representing 47 national cultures. He described cultural differences using 7 dimensions. The 7 dimensions were: universalism versus particularism, individualism versus collectivism, specific versus diffuses, neutral versus affective, achievement versus ascription, past versus present and internal versus external control. The first five dimensions deal with how people relate to each other. The other two deal with how culture manages time, and how it deals with nature. National regional culture Corporate culture Professional culture Hofstede Problems Solutions Conclusion While doing this essay I have found out a lot more about culture. I did not expect culture to have such a large impact on international business. Culture is not just the way people dress or the way they behave but have various types of stages that majority of the people dont know. At first I only knew about Geert Hofstedes 5 dimensions but I also found that there are a lot more theories that refer to culture. This essay thought me that if I am ever going to work abroad there is a lot I need to learn and to make sure that I know a lot more of the country than just the language. And also trying to understand the people and try to adapt to it. I now believe that culture is one of the main aspects that has to be understood before planning to establish a business abroad or doing an assignment abroad. Refrences http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ XIV. Masculinity versus femininity http://www.cyborlink.com/besite/hofstede.htm Long-Term Orientation http://www.andrews.edu/~tidwell/HofstedeLongTerm.html

Recording technology in music

Recording technology in music There have been dramatic advances in music technology; this has led to the use of technology in music being far greater and wider spread. There has been a dramatic impact on musicianship. The music recording process is defined as the act of composing, rehearsing the piece and physically making the recording, through to doing final editing and mastering to perfect the recording.The first music recording was made by Emile Berliner in 1884, this was recorded on a tin foil coated cylinder,but since then recording technology has vastly improved and editing techniques have became easier and more advanced. Through the transition from recording on wax cylinder, analogue tape, compact disc and digital download. These developments have had many effects, both positive and negative. There has been a lot of debate related to these developments. One of the main areas in which recording technology has affected musicianship is that advances in recording technology, thus the music that the end listener hears is hardy ever what the musician originally played, as recording and editing technology advances, this is becoming more apparent, and edited songs are drifting further away from what the musician had performed. This idea has created a lot of controversy with the listener, as they are unsure of what the artist is capable of, and what parts of the music have been manufactured artificially during the editing stage. Some people argue that these advances are an advantage as it means that the music that they listen to is of a higher quality, and has a higher musical accuracy and is free of performance errors, this is due to advances in technologies such as pitch correction, which allows for sections in the performance that are out of tune to be corrected, it also allows for new sections of a song to be written by adjusting the pit ch of a single note, to give samples of a range of other notes that can then be arranged to construct new melodies for the piece. In a similar faction sections of music can now be speeded up, slowed down and moved through time in order to allow a artists performance to be corrected if he or she falls out of time during there performance. Both of these techniques are product of improved recording technology, and a lot of listeners appreciate that music is of a higher quality and more enjoyable to listen to. In the contrary there is a group of people that think these improvements in technology are a disadvantage, due to the fact that the final edited version of a piece of music that the listener hears is often extremely different to the original recording that the musician actually performed. It is also criticized that how anyone can become a pop star due to the increased use of technology, which means that you dont have to have any musical knowledge or talent as any errors that are made can now be corrected. These opinions are reflected by Neko Case who says: Im not a perfect note hitter either but Im not going to cover it up with auto tune. Everybody uses it, too. I once asked a studio guy in Toronto, How many people dont use auto tune? and he said, You and Nelly Furtado are the only two people whove never used it in here. This shows that despite people like Nekos protest against the use of these editing techniques they are used in almost every piece of music nevertheless. These technologies have also given way to new genres of computer based music. Developments in recording technology, recording moving on to computer based systems has also largely effected musicianship, as now that most recording systems are computer based a lot of editing techniques are far simpler, and no edit or process is final, as all processes can be undone with the press of a button, where as in more traditional tape based recording systems undoing processes required a lot of manual work, or may even be unachievable. An advantage of this development is that music producers are able to experiment with different edits and processes, in order to find an outcome that they are satisfied with, if they try any processes that they are not happy with the piece can easily be reverted to its former state. When traditional tape recording methods where used editing involved cutting the tape up, then sticking it back together again, this means that it requires far more skill than using a modern computer systems. When using a traditional tape system undoing edits is f ar more difficult, so producers may be discouraged from experimenting with edits as it would require more work. In the other hand the same factors have disadvantages, such as the fact that producers may make edits on a traditional system that do not sound quite right, but it may be impossible or ineffective to rectify this, these small flaws would add character to the piece, which would not happen when using a modern computer systems, as any small imperfections can easily be removed without any bother. These facts about how recording and editing require far less skill is explained by David Wiliams and Peter Webster: When computers where large and delicate and required trained system operators, and when the first sound devices relied on complicated procedures to connect one element to another, you needed to know a great deal about technical things. This has all changed. This has given way to home recording which has enabled a lot more musicians to be able to produce there own pieces and become well known as home recording equipment is readily available. As recording technology has developed sound quality of recordings has improved dramatically. The initial recordings that where made on wax cylinders had a lot of hiss and crackling in the recording, a low signal to noise ratio, this made the music in the recording very hard to make out and the recording unpleasant to listen to, where as in modern recordings these noises have almost been eliminated. An example of this improvement in sound qualities is shown in this news article regarding new microphone technology: ‘new high-performance MEMS microphones enable dramatic advancements in sound quality.This has made listening to music far more pleasant. Which has improved musicianship as it has made it easier for musicians to listen to others performances and use them as inspirations for there own pieces. This has also allowed backing tracks to be produced to help musicians learn pieces which they can use to make there performances sound more realistic when they are playing solo or in small groups. As recording technology has developed and new distribution mediums have became available, music has became more portable, more widely available, and in general a higher quality. This has improved musicianship, as it has made it easier for musicians to listen to others performances, and use them to motivate and inspire themselves. In general this has improved musicianship but it has also had some detrimental effects such as sound quality being lost, particularly when music became digital in 1982 with the release of the compact discthat would replace the vinyl record. Many people argued that the use of digital data to represent audio led to a severe loss of quality in the music, as some of the sound is lost due to compression and digital sampling, which can give digital recordings a dull tone compared to the brighter tone or analogue recordings, one person that says this is Wayne Ellis Lee who says that: ‘vinyl has a warmer, fuller sound while CD has a digital, mechanical sound. In the contrary a digital compact disc recording can be played an infinite number of times without a loss in quality, but with an analogue recording some of the quality is lost, and you get a noticeable hiss if it is played repeatedly. Modern mp3 technology and internet downloading of music also has both positive and negative effects on musicianship. An negative effect is that due to internet downloading and peer to peer networks, it has became a lot easier for individuals to obtain free copies of an artists music illegally, this is expanded by Mark Katz who says: ‘While there is nothing illegal about MP3 and P2P technology per se, it is illegal to download or distribute digital files of copyrighted recordings with-out the permission of the copyright holder.These illegal downloads mean that the artist is not getting the royalties for there song that they deserve, and may be discouraged from producing there own music because it is not financially feasible for them. When music was distributed on a physical medium it was more difficult for listeners to obtain illegal copies of a recording. Consumers where also encouraged to purchase an artists product due to the fact that they where obtaining a physical copy of the song. Where with modern music downloading the listener gets a virtual file containing the music performance, the fact that the music is not in a physical form is also an advantage, as musicians and listeners are now able to have much larger music collections. The music retailers can offer a wider selection as they are not limited by the physical space needed to store the music. In conclusion there have been many advances in recording technology that have affected musicianship, most of these developments have made in easier for musicians to record, market and improve there performances, but these developments have also produced many disadvantages for both the musician and the listener.

The Emancipation Proclamation :: essays research papers

The Emancipation Proclamation The emancipation proclamation was issued by Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863, during the American Civil War, declaring all "slaves within any State, or designated part of a State... then... in rebellion,... shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free." The states affected were enumerated in the proclamation; specifically exempted were slaves in parts of the South then held by Union armies. Lincoln's issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation marked a radical change in his policy. After out break of the Civil War, the slavery issue was made acute by the flight to Union lines of large numbers of slaves who volunteered to fight for there freedom and that of there fellow slaves. In these circumstances, a strict application of established policy would have required return of fugitive slaves to their masters. Abolitionists had long been urging Lincoln to free all slaves, and public opinion suported that view. Lincoln moved slowly and cautiously nonethe less; on March 13, 1862, the federal government fforbade all Union Army officers to return fugitive slaves, thus annulling in effect the fugitive slave laws. On April 10, on Lincoln's initiative, congress declared the federal government would compenste slave owners who freed their slaves. All slaves in the District of Columbia were freed in this way on April 16, 1862 . On June 19, 1862, Congress enacted a measure prohibiting slavery in United States territories, thus defying the supreme court decision in the Dred Scott case, which ruled that Congress was powerless to regulate slavery in the territories. Finaly, after the union victory in the battle of antietam, Lincoln issued a preliminary proclamation on September 22, declaring his intention of promulgating another proclamathion in 100 days, freeing the slaves in the states deemed in rebellion at that time.

Urban Transportation :: essays research papers

The development of urban transportation has not changed with the cities; cities have changed with transportation. In the early years of transportation it was the mass transit of horse and buggies or electric rail cars that shaped cities. Then as the automobile became affordable to the public, personal transportation redefined the city as it was known. It is the automobile and the movement to the suburbs that has public transportation struggling to make money today. The very first transportation was with the horse. Then someone came up with the idea to pair a horse up with a buggy. Now four to six people could be carried at one time. These horse and buggies began to be common sight in cities and public transportation was born. Before the horse and buggy people were confined to the distance they could walk, so cities could not grow much. People lived in the central business district because that is where they worked. Now with the simple horse and buggy, people that can afford the transportation can move a mile or two out of the central city (Guathier 174).The big explosion of growth and increased ridership came at the turn of the century. The cause of this explosion was the electric streetcars that were installed in many cities. Whichever direction the rail lines were laid down and the streetcar moved, people began building their homes in that direction. The automobile was just getting its beginning and people were depending on public transportation to get them to work. As the streetcar's tracks expanded east and west, the city's population shifted that way as well. People did not need to be in walking distance of their workplace anymore, but in walking distance of the nearest pickup point of the streetcars (Guathier 175). As streetcars increased their length of lines and service, the public increased their choices of residential locations. People with higher incomes were able to move out of the central part of cities and into outer areas (Guathier 174). This also fostered the concentration of different ethnic groups within separate neighborhoods (Guathier 175). This separation reversed the intermingling that had been taking place during the late 1800's between various economic groups and the different ethnic groups in the cities. Social stratification and sorting of different groups throughout the city was rapidly increased thanks to the streetcar spreading out the cities (Guathier 175).As cities spread out in the early 1900's, railroads developed interurban and suburban railroad to connect the outlying areas of the city.

Lost Gen And Harlem :: essays research papers

The Artists of the Harlem Renaissance and the Lost Generation diverged from the mainstream to begin a separate cultures. Harlem was an area in New York with an extensive African American population. During the ‘20s poets, writers and musicians like Langston Hughes, Claude Mckay and Zora Neale Hurston made the Harlem area the center of black art and culture. The lost generation was based mainly in Paris, France. It consisted of war torn men who could not re-enter society after World War I. In Europe nearly sixty two percent of men had been killed, captured or debilitated in the Great War. Famine and poverty plagued every nation. The Lost Generation was truly lost – they felt angered by the problems at home and many choose to abandon their pre-war land and values to move abroad and adapt a new culture and morals. The black artists of the post WWI era did not conform to mainstream society or even â€Å"regular† black society. Instead they formed their own culture aside the mainstream and the movement was dubbed the Harlem Renaissance. It was truly a coming together of black, and to some extent white, cultural figures. There was little outside influence on the Renaissance. Neither big industry, with their endless promotions to lure customers, nor the anti-prohibition, or speakeasy culture, that characterized the roaring ‘20s affected the diverse Harlem culture. Langston Hughes was a very prominent writer during the Renaissance. He was a very well cultured man who had traveled all over to places such as the USSR, Haiti and Japan. Refered to as the poet Laureate of New York, his writing was a vehicle to express social and political protest. His diverse use of Jazz and black folklore influenced many black writers of his time. He was also one of the first, along with Claude Mckay, black writers to attract a substantial white audience. Mckay was a Jamaican born poet and novelist. He was attracted to Harlem because of its immense diversity of culture. He had been oppressed and harassed during the Red Scare, a nationwide hunt for radicals, because of his status as a leftist newspaper editor. His style of writing attracted crowds of people never exposed to black culture. He â€Å"used traditional forms to express unfamiliar ideas†. Zora Neale Hurston was the prominent woman during the Harlem movement. She was very much involved in black heritage and southern culture.

Presidents of the Vietnam War Essay

President Nixon’s move to end the war in Vietnam and propagate peace there is the most noble move compared to that of the John F. Kennedy’s and Lyndon Johnson, who, at that time have deployed 500,000 soldiers, more than 300 of which are held prisoners. More so, the citizens were divided over the purpose of the war. Nixon plotted a strategy to end America’s involvement in that struggle without sacrificing the dignity that it has upheld in the global scene. With his strong intentions, he was instrumental in the signing of a peace treaty that benefited both countries.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   John F. Kennedy views the war as only a small part of a bigger struggle between freedom and communism, an idea that he widely advertised to the Americans. His stand on America’s defense for freedom in Vietnam is rooted from the legal relationship that it tried hard to uphold. With this, JFK pursued all possibilities of winning the war. His pledge to â€Å"pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and success of liberty† (John F. Kennedy, 1962) was considered ambitious.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lyndon Johnson’s move to give support to Diem in order to make sure that the waging of war against the communist was not effective in the course of the Vietnam War. His obvious support to continue waging war and sending young soldiers made him the antagonist by many Americans who felt that by doing so, it is synonymous to genocide with a different purpose.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   President Nixon’s intentions handled the Vietnam War best since he made sure that the war was fought in a manner he knows will be a win-win situation to both countries. Works Cited Herring, George C. America’s Longest War The United States and Vietnam, 1950-1975. America in crisis. New York: Wiley, 1979. Small, Melvin. Antiwarriors The Vietnam War and the Battle for America’s Hearts and   Minds. Vietnam–America in the war years, v. 1. Wilmington, Del: Scholarly Resources, 2002.