Thursday, October 31, 2019

Climate Change and Soil Formation in Southern England Essay

Climate Change and Soil Formation in Southern England - Essay Example At the same time there has also been an increase in the population, and a change in the way individuals make a living and support themselves and their families. The first people to live in southern England were hunters and gatherers, but they slowly evolved into farmers as more people inhabited the area and methods of farming improved. Later, another change occurred with the coming of the Industrial Revolution, which changed farmers into industrial workers. These changes, along with climate changes have had an impact on the soil in southern England (Jarvis, 1984, 12). The start of climate change and its effect on soil began in southern England with the ice age. Approximately one-third of the earth was covered in snow and ice, and due to its location in the northern hemisphere, England was affected. While much of the country was covered year round with ice and snow, the southern parts occasionally had periods where the temperature would raise enough to melt some of the snow and ice and provide precipitation for the soil underneath (Bridges, 1997, 36). However, due to the cold temperatures, the ice age slowed the process of soil formation and change, essentially slowing the rate soil was able to intake precipitation. It also slowed the speed at which organic matter decomposed and the rate of plant and vegetation growth. This in return slowed the rate at which the soil could consume needed nutrients and organic matter, which slowed the entire process of formation and change. The ice age made an important contribution to the soil of southern England by bringing in new soil. The ice and snow that covered the area was brought from the north, and with it came a large amount of debris that included fine particles, small rocks, and even huge boulders (Bridges, 1997, 36). When the ice melted, the debris remained and became embedded in the soil. This provided the ground with a large amount of parent material in which young soil was able to begin formation and maturation. In certain areas, the effects of the ice age on soil and landscape can still be seen today. After the ice age passed and the climate changed to warmer weather, people started migrating from other parts of Europe into England. This was considered the Neolithic period and started around 4500 B.C. This period of time was essentially similar to the Stone Age, when houses, buildings, fences, etc. where all constructed out of rocks and stones. Many of these structures still exist, while others have been torn down or broken apart. This had an impact on the soil in southern England, due to the fact that remnants of this period, in the form of small rocks can be found embedded in the soil in certain areas. In addition, during this time and even into the Bronze Age, individuals moving to England were beginning to develop agriculture fields. These early farmers impacted the soil on their land by using domestic waste as fertilizer to provide extra nutrients and organic materials to the soil and the crops they were trying to grow. In addition to using fertilize during the Bronze Age to change the soil, tools, such as the plow, were introduced that assisted individuals in developing fields for agriculture. This led to farmers having the ability to grow a crop, plow the ground, and immediately replant a new crop. The constant presence of plant growth on

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

International Trade Theory and Policy Essay Example for Free

International Trade Theory and Policy Essay Multilateral trade negotiations forums are organizations established to regulate trade between many countries of the world. The agreement involves establishing organizations which regulate trade in the entire world. The increase in globalization has forced many countries to form regulatory organizations to avoid bad trade practices. To enhance trade many countries have created trade agreements to remove barriers to trade. Economic integration is the most important aspect discussed by the trade agreement organizations. The organizations aim at achieving an integrated economy where countries can trade with each other. After the World War II many leaders of the world felt that the economies of the destroyed countries could only be improved through trade. One of the proposals to improve trade was to create a laissez-faire global economy but this was rejected since it was not applicable. The leaders agreed to establish global trade organizations which would enhance trade by reducing the barriers to trade which had been placed by the countries. During the war many countries created strict barriers to trade to protect their economies from external influence (Anderson, 2005). The General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs was the first agreement to be established. The agreement was established to enhance trade between the member countries but was later converted into World Trade Organization (WTO). The International Monetary Fund was also created to regulate the economic status of the developing nations as well as regulate international economic activities (Smith, Sumner Rosson, n. d. ). Reconstruction of the damaged economies after the World War II was the priority of these organizations. For many years several amendments have been made to accommodate the changing economic climate. Trade liberalization has been the most important aspect during the amendments. For example, according to Anderson. (2005, pg. 414), the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations led to agreements signed in 1994 that contributed to trade liberalization over the subsequent 10 years. † Despite the many advantages accompanied by the establishment of the international trade organizations, there have been several disadvantages accompanied by the activities of opening up of domestic markets to international trade. An example is the global economic recession of the 2007-2009 that was experienced by the world economies after the banking industry and the mortgage industry collapsed due to poor financial practices by the U. S. banks. Importance of multilateral trade institutions The multilateral trade organizations were created to enhance trade and stability of the economies of the member countries. Initially they were established to reconstruct the economies which had been destroyed during the World War II. Many countries realized the importance of trade in improving the economies after the war. Trade was the only tool that could restore the original status of the economies. Before and during the war many countries had put a lot of trade barriers to prevent trade with other countries. Opening up domestic economies required negotiations with all countries of the world to enhance a more open economic system (Warnke, 1996). Multilateral trade institutions improve international trade since they encourage member countries to open up their domestic markets to international trade. Trade disputes are resolved more easily between and among conflicting countries, hence leading to a good relationship between countries. Production according to comparative advantage has been encouraged by the improvement in international trade. Countries are encouraged to produce goods which they can produce most economically. Different countries have different resources which give them the potential to create income generating products. Through international trade resources are utilized optimally since an economy will specialize in the production of products which it has greater advantages (Bernard et al. 2007). International trade has encouraged countries to specialize in the production of goods and services. The mobility of factors of production has been accelerated by globalization. More industries are encouraging division of labor to increase the productivity of labor factors of production. More industries have developed with the expansion of international trade. These industries create more employment opportunities to the citizens of a country. As the par capita income of the people increases their living standards is improved. Poverty alleviation campaigns have encouraged improved international trade as one of the strategies to enhance development of nations (Bernard et al. 2007). Opening up the domestic market to international trade creates more advantages than disadvantages. The international prices are lower than the domestic prices. The consumers obtain goods and services at lower prices. The competition created by the international trade encourages the domestic firms to be efficient in their production systems. The customers are provided with a wide variety of products to select from (Bernard et al. 2007). Multilateral trade organizations control the globalization of economies. Globalization refers to the international operation of business activities and the transfer of information between countries. Globalization has affected business activities both positively and negatively. Global markets have emerged and many companies are operating in several countries. This has created competitiveness of the companies since the global markets are larger than regional markets. Globalization is the process of integrating the global economies, societies and cultures by connecting communication and trade networks. Economic globalization refers to the integration of global economies by enhancing trade, foreign direct investment, sharing of technology, movement of people and flow of capital. The factors which influence the rate of globalization are the world economies, technology, and socio-cultural, political and biological aspects (Warnke, 1996). Globalization has improved the exchange of technologies and knowledge. This has increased the capacity of businesses to expand on the number of innovative products in the market. The public sector alone cannot accommodate all the skilled labor in a country and trade provides more employment opportunities for the people in a nation. As economies become more global people with skills can move to countries where there is high market potential for their labor. The introduction of internet has increased efficiency in trade by enabling people transfer information more easily. Trade attracts private investment and this generates more capital in the economy. The gross domestic product of a country increases with increase in trade. Growth and development of an economic is accelerated by trade since more income is generated and the living standards of the people are improved (Daniels, Radebaugh Sullivan, 2007). Poverty levels in both developing and developed countries have declined by greater margins due to participation of countries in the international trade. Economies have acquired more wealth and the gross domestic product of countries has improved. WTO has become the custodian of international law on trade. The enforcement of trade laws about good trade practices has been possible after the creation of WTO. The establishment of regional and multilateral trade agreements was experienced after WTO was created. This has encouraged many countries remove barriers to trade (World Trade Organization 2010). Weaknesses of multilateral trade institutions Most of the multilateral trade organizations are affected by the political climate in the member countries. Any political war between the member countries can ruin the operation of the organizations. When the organizations support some political organizations; they affect the interests of the members and this reduces the delivery of the required obligations. Politically strong countries have dominated the operations of the multilateral organizations and this is causing a lot of concern to the global trade communities. Decision making at the trade organizations has become very difficult since many participants are not willing to accept rules which affect their economies negatively. Anderson (2005, pg. 417) suggests that although trade can and should play an important role in allowing developing countries to lift themselves out of poverty, in reality international trade agreements and institutions have more often than not contributed to the continuation of global social and economic injustice. The developed nations have dominated the multilateral trade organizations. For example, according to Anderson (2005, pg. 31) with decision-making based on a consensus system, so each member has equal decision-making power, the WTO is held to be the most democratic of all the international institutions with a global mandate. In practice, however, the working methods of the WTO lack transparency, inclusiveness and equity. There have been conflicts as the developing nations are becoming concerned about the great influence the developed nations have on the decisions in these organizations. Multilateral trade agreements are complicated to establish since many countries are involved. The interests of each country should be represented during the negotiations to ensure that conflicts do not arise afterwards (Amadeo, 2010). Despite the establishment of the trade organizations many countries continue to place more trade discrimination measures upon other countries. They include not just trade taxes-cum-subsidies but also contingent protection measures such as anti-dumping, regulatory standards that can be technical barriers to trade, and domestic production subsidies Anderson (2005, pg. 415). Many trade distortions have occurred since the global economies were established. Multilateral trade organizations have encouraged the opening up of economies to international market influence. The opening up of domestic markets has affected the global economies. Several disadvantages have been accompanied by the opening up of the domestic markets, for example, the global economic meltdown of the 2007-2008. The crisis started with the rise in prices for basic products due to the international increase in fuel prices. The prices of oil and food products increased within a short duration leading to an economic crisis which affected many people in US. The prices for many products increased and inflation was experienced all over the country. Many subprime borrowers had low incomes and the rise in prices for basic products increased the expenses for their living. Many companies retrenched employees to accommodate the increasing production costs. The borrowers were unable to repay the loans resulting to massive defaults. More than 100 subprime mortgage intermediaries filed for bankruptcy. Reacquisition of the houses from the defaulters caused a lot of people to become homeless (Platt, 2008). Subprime mortgages are policies which have a high risk of default. Subprime borrowers are the people with low incomes and have a poor credit history. They have higher risk of default compared to the prime borrowers. The US government had deregulated the real estate mortgages leading to massive investment in subprime mortgages. This caused the risky lending of subprime mortgages. The subprime mortgages were not popular initially but they became widely used in the 1990s. The climax of the sub prime mortgages was in 2006 when they accounted for more than 21 percent of all mortgages traded in the US market. The value of subprime mortgages in 2006 was valued at $600 billion. Many subprime mortgage intermediaries were established to reap the benefits of the expanding industry (Helleiner, 2009). The world economies have experienced a major decline due to poor performance of many industries. This is a crisis which has affected all sectors of the economy. Williams (2009) claims that the crisis was initiated by the subprime mortgage lending crisis in US. The banking sector issued many loans to subprime mortgage intermediaries. Due to the expanding market in the sub prime mortgage market many banks issued unsecured loans to the intermediaries. The climax of the boom was reached in 2007 when the prices of products started to increase and many subprime mortgage lenders were unable to repay their loans. This led to massive default of debts and banks registered huge losses. This reduced the lending capacity of many banks. The resulting effect was lack of credit in the economy and the collapse of many companies (Stapledon, 2009). The government of US is to be blame for the crisis. The 102nd Congress under the leadership of George W. Bush deregulated the housing sector in 1992 (Guttmann, 1994). The main aim was to increase the availability of money for buying housing. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac companies were deregulated and could spend $97. 50 to buy housing loans. Banks with $100 could spend more than $90 buying mortgage loans. The companies had been ordered by the congress to retain more capital to for risk allowance but this was not practiced. Since 1992 the mortgage sector experienced the highest boom with many companies investing heavily in the sector. Subprime mortgage intermediary companies were developed to assist homeowners acquire loans from the banks (Stapledon, 2009). The banking sector was the worse hit by the crisis. Inter-bank lending declined and banks had no money to issue to their customers. Most of the banks collapsed while others registered huge losses. This was as a result of failure by many subprime mortgage intermediaries which defaulted the huge loans they had acquired from the banks. The central bank could not lead to all the banks due to the massive crisis that affected the entire country. Since US is a market for many commodities from other countries there was an extension of the crisis to other economies causing a global economic meltdown. Many economies declined since they had no market for their goods. Inflation increased as prices persistently increased. The entire world encountered economic crisis which resulted into failure by all sectors of the economy in the world (Stapledon, 2009). Many international organizations have intervened to eradicate the problem. The intervention by the World Bank has created better results in the efforts to reduce the impacts of the crisis. World Bank has issued loans to many countries to increase the income levels of the people. Many companies have been able to access loans due to the fun ding by World Bank. The availability of loans has increased since last year and many companies have regained their capacity (Bayne, 2008). The World Trade Organization has negotiated with the oil producing countries to reduce the oil prices as one of the measures to reduce the effects of the crisis. The global oil prices increased causing the prices of many products to rise. The high product prices caused inflation in the whole world. WTO has also encouraged trade by persuading some countries remove the trade barriers they had placed upon their trade partners when the crisis was at the climax (Stephen, T. 2008).

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Executive Summary Of The 3 Idiots Movie Media Essay

Executive Summary Of The 3 Idiots Movie Media Essay 3 idiots, the movie made it a fashion for people to say All izz Well in any kind of situation, whether truly a problem or not. But as Aamir Khan says in the movie: it gives you faith in yourself to face the situation in a more confident manner. Crisis has always been a part of the world. Everyday, accidents and disasters make the news headlines. It is vital that the potential damage is limited by providing clear messages to the public and media. Crisis could be at any level, but it affects all individuals. According to the 6 degrees of separation theory, we are only 6 links away from being connected to any person in the world. So any kind of crisis can snowball into something that affects you. What we have focused upon are some national level crisis, some organizational level crisis and personal level crisis. In these we have taken cases of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai, The Satyam Scam, The fall of Lehmann Brothers and Winston Churchill and his crisis communication. The terrorist attacks have been one of the most disturbing times for modern India. However it is important to see how the parties affected: the government, the people, the expatriates; how did they communicated between themselves and what was the message thus delivered. The Satyam scam took the corporate India by surprise. No one had anticipated that a good, and respectable company like Satyam could have such a level of fraud going on at the senior management level. It was important that internally it be communicated that the employees (most of them) had little to do with the scam and are as surprised by the revelations as the world was. To the world, it was to be communicated that India is not a country where this is the norm and we do take business seriously. Adequate enquiry and restructuring was done to ensure that. The fall of Lehman brothers marked an important period in recent history. It was an indicative fall. The world was already staring in the face of a downturn. It was a signal that the crisis has only worsened when Lehman brothers declared bankruptcy. It was like a final nail in the coffin and the world did accept the reality that yes, we are in trouble and lots of it! It was important here that the governments be extremely cautious with their words. People are one step short of hitting the panic button and it is the governments duty to ensure that it is communicated to them that even if such iconic institutions are at huge risk, the people shall have minimal damage. Some part will definitely be affected, but not all. On a personal level crisis, it could be getting a divorce or unemployment or for teenagers, it could even be peer pressure. It is also a secondary level of crisis where one of the national or organizational level crisis results into a personal level problem. What we have taken here are cases of David Letterman and Tiger Woods, celebrities whose personal crisis was for the world to witness. Crises are an important part of life. They help us identify the weak links in the system and correct itself for future. A crisis can be turned into an opportunity if the paradigm is unconventional and the communication is clear. It is upon us as to how do we make the best use of the resources at disposal. Contents Sr. No. Topic Page No. 1. Introduction 5 2. When Terror strikes 6 3. The Satyam Saga 10 4. Big Brothers in deep trouble 13 5. Am I OK!?!? 16 6. To V-E Day- Winston Churchill 19 7. Conclusion 23 8. References 24 Introduction According to Murphys Law whatever can go wrong, will go wrong (or whatever can go wrong, will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way). Mr. Murphy certainly didnt envision himself being the face of all the tongue-in-cheek truths that we put across in his name. But that law sums up most crises. It is essentially things going wrong. While all crisis are unique, the method of handling each one of them is also different. But what connects them is the fact that communication is an integral part of all these crises. Senior management and leaders within companies, organizations and governments embroiled in a crisis have leart the hard way what happens when the unthinkable becomes reality. These crises are then made public and are often grossly exaggerated by the media. The fact that we live in the age of transparency and the Internet, no one and nothing is immune to crisis. We identified crisis on three levels: National level crisis: These include natural disasters, wars, terrorist attacks, and other crisis of this scale. These disasters affect the nation as a whole and are nation wide effects. We have taken terrorist attacks and Winston Churchill and his communication tactics during the WWII as the examples for national level crisis. Organisational level crisis: These are the crisis that affect organizations internally and the outside world too. It could happen in any industry or field. We have chosen two examples namely Satyam and Lehman brothers as a case in point. Personal level crisis: Personal crisis are a part of each and every persons life. Celebrities are people whose personal life falls in the public domain. David Letterman and Tiger Woods are the cases we have picked up from recent past. Their crisis was made public and the world learnt lessons. When terror strikesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Crisis communication is at times considered as the branch of PR that is mainly designed to defend and protect the reputation, dignity and the self respect of and individual, government or an organization. This may come in either form like economic crisis, natural disaster, inquiry by the government or the terrorist attacks on the country. Now, India is a country whos almost all the sides are surrounded by some or the other attacks made on the people and the government officials. But history proves that some of the worst and the worst attacks happen from the Maoists and from the Islamic terrorist groups in Pakistan. Right from the partition, there have been multiple wars or terrorist attacks done on India. The other way, India is a country with more than 100 crore of population. So, even a small attack has a capability to create a greater impact killing quite a huge number of people. And the role of media and the government is highly important during these attacks because, people are kept away from the proximity and hence the only source of information from them is the media reporters and government officials. So the situation can be judged as the crisis situation and the communication to be made to the public is very crucial. There have been multiple attacks like akshardham attack, Mumbai train attacks and the most recent, Taj Mahal hotel attack. A large part of crisis communication is the prevention of situations before they escalate to full-blown crises. For example, the communication was very badly handled by the government and the media during the Taj Mahal attack. Media was just involved in minting money without thinking that their communication strategy is indirectly harming the country and the emotions of the countrymen. While good crisis communication is useless without a good response, bad communication can cause a needless loss of lives. Take, for example, the time when news channels reported that the Nariman House siege was over, and thousands rushed onto the street in a spontaneous outpouring of relief. They did this because they saw a RAF officer signal a thumbs up on the roof of the building. It turned out that the siege was not over, and the army had to take a loudspeaker onto the street in an attempt ultimately in vain to disperse the mob. Imagine if someone had been hurt subsequently. It would have been a direct result of faulty lines of communication between the responders and the media. Also, whenever the terrorist attacks are going on and still all the terrorists are not killed, it should be noted that the basic form of communication which media should use is to avoid going into the depth of the news and still provide a sigh of relief to the people in brief. Whenever it goes into the depth of the events, it will give unnecessary information to the person who is controlling the terrorist operations and hence for that instant, he remains well informed on what is exactly happening there. So, this is the way, media should control the crisis communication during the attack. But, immediately, after the terrorists are killed and operation is declared over, the same government can give the whole news in detail. Thus, this way, government should realize the strategies of communicating even at the times of crisis. In the Mumbai terror attack the media was criticized for 3 most important reasons as far as the poor communication by them is concerned. 1) Why is it that they had to leak out the most sensitive information as a part of the news? It should remain sensitive till the time it is not going to affect the situation there. Some TV channels showed the positions of security forces stationed outside the buildings that were under siege, and some aired information about commandoes movements. That alarmed security officials: They worried that the information might reach the terrorists, who Indian authorities believe carried cellphones. 2) Media was more involved in covering Trident and Taj hotel, but it give very little information on what happened at CST. Whenever, the communication is being made, all essential information should have been passed and CST could have been the first thing they should have reported as any common man would not go to Taj but would surely remain at CST and hence the density of population there at any time would always be more than that at Taj. So, this was the lack of proper communication that prevented them from managing crisis. 3) Why is it that the media was involved in asking about the same situation to different police officials and the government? There was a wide-spread difference in opinions and information among all the information passed by every individual. It is very well understood that there should have been only 1 point of contact who could become the spokesperson and hence the only authority to report to the media. This could have created less discrepancy and hence only the authenticated information could have reached to the people. This is the model called Joint Information Centre where all the messages from different forces working to manage the crisis and only 1 appointed person is responsible to decide and speak out only the required information to the country. This might take some time to co-ordinate with all the departments, but once implemented, it can bring good clarity along with adequate security in every address to the country. As much as the media, government has also equal responsibility in handling the crisis communication effectively. It was observed at times that some parties did not forget to criticise not only the attack, but the ruling party, home minister, chief minister of the state and most importantly few people who lost their lives in this attack. Some rude politician immediately asked for the resignation of the home minister of the country, of the state and the chief minister of the state. Now, this crisis situation was not the time when communication should contain this type of communication. It should have been towards the concern for all those who lost their lives and purely the prayers for getting the operations ended at the earliest. This was the time when the country should have managed the communication showing unity and integrity. Everyone which includes the ruling as well as opposition parties to completely support the ethics of the country, the public and those trapped inside. The co mmunication could have been aimed at increasing the confidence and trust of the people on the government and not at increasing the vote banks by spitting out 4-5 sentences. The communication was mainly aimed at the countrymen, but the event as a whole was a major event to create its place in the history of terrorist attacks in the world. So, every communication by the government and the media was watched carefully by not only Indians but the world too. And hence, the communications should have been made to give a clear and strong message to the world that India still believes in Unity in Diversity. The Satyam Saga It has been more than a year since Mr. Ramalinga Raju confessed to orchestrating one of Indias biggest frauds. Still the crisis haunts the country and gives umpteen opportunities to learn from the situation. The scandal was scrutinized by media day in and day out. On one hand, shareholders and promoters were flabbergasted by this revelation. On the other hand the employees and internal staff were left in the lurch, not knowing what their future would be. How the company dealt with the crisis internally is an interesting story. Communication in such a crisis should become top priority for managers and the organization as a whole. In a crisis as that of Satyam the information can reach the employees faster from outside source than their managers. The crisis gets magnified when wrong information is gathered by employees. The managers cannot assume that employees already have all the information and that too the correct ones. It became important for the managers of Satyam to interact with his/her team on a daily basis and ease their tension. Satyam managers actually met their team hourly and several times a day. In a crisis every word heard is taken to be authentic information. It usually dissipates the organizational energy when the employees are trying to figure out what is fact and what is fiction. The efficiency of the work gets reduced, leading to sub standard or incomplete deliverables. Satyams strategy to communicate effectively was to use web television and turn their web communication expertise into a n emergency broadcast system. This they called the lights on strategy. The main focus of this strategy was to ensure that the employees have complete control over the information so that they are well informed and they dont end up making up things. In India communicating bad news has always been a tough job. Most people shirk away from communicating any bad news. They do not have the courage to look into the eye of their team and tell them that the news they have been getting from the outside world about their company is actually true. The senior management were confident enough in telling that there will not be any layoffs and they would be continuing to pay them the salaries. Since the situation was not very clear immediately, the managers had to talk about all the possibilities that could happen. Reassure the employees that the lights were still on and there will be some solution coming out soon. The government appointed a board and made the strategic decision of not laying off anyone till the organization was transferred to a new owner. Other companies started to lure the best employees of Satyam knowing that they will be available for a much lower pay given the extent of the crisis and the psychology the employees at that time. Since there was continuous communication from the management to employees, this made them feel belonged to the company. All the employees came forward to help the company come out of the crisis. They volunteered for pay cuts, did not protest against cut of variable pay and stood united in companys dark hour. Satyams consultants had always planned in preparing the employees to face the worst situation. Every team had a contingency plan for their deliverables in case of worst-case scenarios. For the safety of the employees the administration planned mock fire drills. Hence, during crisis the employees became their first priority. They setup a 24 hour helpline for counselling and guiding the employees. Employees were even given therapeutic help if needed. Web television was used extensively during these days. Meet the Board series was run for employees where the interview with every board member was telecasted. Employees could then send their questions to the board member. The management did not lose any time and tried to take as much control of the situation as possible. They kept all the stakeholders in the loop of their decision making. Communication had to be done not just to the employees, but also to the customers. They needed to be told that the company was still in business. This reassurance could be given mostly because of the excellent relations that the company had with its customers over the years. Satyam did not wait for the resolution of the crisis to serve its customers and clients. The projects that was underway continued to give its deliverables to the clients. They made sure that there was no break in the service. After the sale of stake to Mahindras was confirmed, the customers were spoken to again; this time to ask their feedback about how happy they would be to continue their ties with newly formed Mahindra Satyam. Many of them having heard of Mahindra, its reputation and its financial strength had confidence to continue their ties. This happened because of the perpetual communication that the management of Satyam had with their clients. It is always essential to communicate the right message, to t he right person, by the right authority and at the right time. The shareholders were also a worried lot. The day Satyams Chairman B Ramalinga Raju resigned as a result of the fraud, the stock prices fell by 70% to an all time low of Rs 58. There was a panic selling of a sort where nearly 13 crore shares had changed hands within an hour. Declining stock prices are always an indicator of the declining reputation of the company. The management needs to constantly keep in touch with the investors, be open to financial analysts and the media. Once a trust relationship is built with the investors a short-lived second opportunity can be expected from them. This can also avoid the panic selling which is the case in most situations of this sort. Opinions are formed almost immediately in case of fraud cases and stock prices are gravely affected by this. The government of India also became one of the stakeholders because of the magnitude of the issue. It was a question of the countrys reputation as the IT hub. This was the reason that government intervened and established a board to resolve the issue. The shareholders, clients and customers needed a reliable team on the board and the government came to the rescue. Communication through a neutral team becomes effective to pacify the various stakeholders. The government appointed people who were not related to the company and had in the past acted as consultants for the government to resolve issues. This proved to be successful strategy of communication. A management always needs a competitive, straightforward and yielding strategy while handling crisis. The communication strategy used in Satyam scandal was effective and this led to a smooth transition and change of ownership. Big Brothers in deep trouble It takes 20 years to build a reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it- Warren  Buffett This encompasses the importance of Communication during crisis. Every organization is vulnerable to crisis. The most challenging part of crisis communication is reacting but what is more important is reacting with the right response and the speed with which ones reacting. This is because inaction or inappropriate communication leads to humiliation, prolonged visibility and unnecessary litigation. Success in crisis management depends largely on how an organization communicates with its stakeholders. Stakeholders have something at risk, and therefore something to gain or lose as a result of your organizations activity. During a crisis an organization has to look at itself from their stakeholders perspective because stakeholders would be most concerned at how the crisis incident would affect them. They are expecting the organization to communicate with them, so it is vital to be proactive if possible. One of the worst managed crises during recent times has been the financial meltdown in United States of America (USA). We would be concentrating on Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. whose downfall commenced the meltdown. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc was a global financial services firm which, until declaring bankruptcy in 2008, participated in business investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales, research and trading, investment management, private equity, and private banking. It was a primary dealer in the U.S Treasury securities market. The history of Lehman Brothers parallels the growth of the United States and its energetic drive toward prosperity and international prominence. What would evolve into a global financial entity began as a general store in the American South. Henry Lehman, an immigrant from Germany, opened his small shop in the city of Montgomery, Alabama in 1844. Six years later, he was joined by brothers Emanuel and Mayer, and they named the business Lehman Brothers. The firm, thus, was founded in 1850. In 1858, they opened an office in New York, which was the commodity trading centre of the country. Later firm also moved into the area of financial advisory, which provided th e foundation for underwriting expertise. On September 15, 2008, the firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following the massive exodus of most of its clients, drastic losses in its stock, and devaluation of its assets by credit rating agencies. The filing marked the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history. The following day, Barclays announced its agreement to purchase, subject to regulatory approval, Lehmans North American investment-banking and trading divisions along with its New York headquarters building. Lehman went down and it was evident in April. Why? Because of what didnt happen. As I have mentioned earlier inaction can be hazardous, in this case it was. Now let us understand from where it all began. In March, 2008 David Einhorn, founder of Greenlight, a famous hedge fund asked a simple question of Lehmans CFO, Erin Callan during a conference call with Wall Street analysts. The question was not answered. So scepticism set in. A month later Lehmans shares plunged by 40%. What did Dick Fuld (then the CEO of Lehman Brothers) do? He sued a Japanese trading company for 35 billion yen in unpaid fees. In April, Einhorn announced he was short selling Lehman stock (This meant that he believed Lehmans stock would decline). Callan called Einhorn and asked for a copy of his speech and he complied. After reading it Callan spent her time badmouthing Einhorn. Why would anyone do that? Try to deflect attention from issue and blame someone else? This implied that something was drastically wrong. But Fuld did nothing. What should have happened? At this juncture, Dick Fuld should have gotten out in front of his investors, his clients, the market and he didnt. He should have studied history. What did similar companies do in such situations? All Dick Fuld had to do was take the situation in his hands, address the financial situation, support his CFO, develop a new plan of action, if there were mistakes admit them, and be realistic. The problem with Lehman was Dick Fulds refusal to understand what Lehman was worth! Its called the art of negotiatingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦he thought it was worth more than it was. He should have sat down with his lieutenants and asked the question, what are our options? Instead Fuld demoted Callan, in June after raising $6 billion in new capital, after disclosing a $2.8 billion loss the quarter before, then fired a long time lieutenant and friend Joseph Gregory. Then the stock fell. What message did he send to his customers and investors? One needs to be 1000 times more committed to your customers, clients and owners than anyone else. One must have integrity to your owners, your stockholders and Fuld didnt do that. When you are a public company your legal obligation is to your stockholders, your customers and your employees. As a hedge fund your legal obligation is to your investors and your employeesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦its not all about you. So what should a company in crisis do to salvage the situation? The CEO should surround himself with good people that challenge you to mitigate executive hubris. When there is a crisis, emulate other companies that have successfully managed through a crisis. The minute a crisis begins, the company should hire a consumer research company to start polling consumer and client perceptions about the organization. Identify five executives on the crisis team. Develop a risk scenarios and contingent plans. Identify a Public Relations expert who can help the company through the crisis (before the crisis not during!). Create a culture that is committed to challenging one another. Create a board of directors that has at least one naysayer on it. If theyre all yes people, trouble is in brewing. Recognize the weakness of the company When there is a problem, develop the plan and get out in front of the issue right away. Dont procrastinate, which includes a media plan! When peoples livelihoods depend on you, it better not be about your ego, you need to serve the greater good. Am I OK?!?! When written in Chinese, the word crisis is composed of two characters-one represents danger, and the other represents opportunity. The personal crisis a person encounters in life pales in comparison to how he communicates and responds during the crisis. Effective communication can palliate the crisis and turn it into an opportunity .On the contrary, ineffective communication amplifies the crisis and results in the person enrolling himself in a crash course towards destruction. A quintessential crisis communication would be to analyze how Tiger Woods and David Letterman communicated after being embroiled in infidelity .It is hands down one of the greatest personal crisis communication story of the decade. Both these individuals have touched the acme of success in their respective fields. Tigers Woods is arguably the greatest athlete to have walked on the face of this planet and David Letterman,to his credit is one of the most renowned talk show hosts of this era. The parallels between their ways of communication was very vivid. David Letterman emerged from his story relatively unscathed and Tigers story appears to keep going and going, putting his endorsement deals and his status as the first Billion-Dollar Athlete in serious jeopardy. David Letterman, isnt just a talk show host, he is a huge brand. He and his show are an integral part of the multi-billion dollar CBS brand. So when the crisis hit Letterman, there were ramifications that could have gone far beyond mere personal embarrassment. He did what most brands or people are terrified to do, he released the information first. This was a positive thing to do as the story was then coated with his version of events.He didnt sugarcoat the worst news and acceded that he had affairs with his woman staffers. He ensured that the most damaging information came out from his lips first. He apologized to his family ,all his fans and all the woman over the world for his actions. He exercised his gift of gab and turned his parched sarcasm on himself .It was deadpan candor and ace crisis management. It made him look like a person who took complete responsibility for his actions and was genuinely contrite for the same. David Letterman was proactive to get in front of his situa tion, he told people what happened, what he did, and he made it a non-story. He emulated crisis communication 101- which is to describe the situation, be honest, apologize, say what you are , make an honest attempt to fix it and live your life. When it becomes a story is when you lie, when you avert questions, and when there clearly is something people want to find out to bring you down. He communicated the crisis in an exemplary way which precluded it from decimating and sabotaging his entire career . Tiger Woods communication after a similar crisis was a complete contrast to how David Letterman tackled the situation. Their ways are at the opposite ends of the spectrum. It would be the understatement of the year to say that Tiger Woods bungled the crisis. Essentially, Tiger should have ripped the bandage off the wound in one clean sweep when the story first broke. Instead he slowly peeled it away, which only created more curiosity and media interest. He should have stood up and owned the issue before the issue started owning him. Tiger Woods forgot that there are two courts a legal court and the court of public opinion, and he ignored the court of public opinion. If he had come forward with his side of the story and an act of contrition, it would have played better than having it come out piecemeal. It would have taken all the oxygen out of the womens statements. The announcement and the coverage would have been painful, but quicker. He also would have looked like a man who was t ruly sorry. His silence and then denial prolonged the story, and left reporters looking for other sources to talk about the scandal. Initially, he continued to sport his squeaky clean image and finally when he apologized by reading a scripted message ,it was very disjointed and discombobulated. Tiger Woods should have realized that world, both his fans and the general marketplace, are very forgiving but when you deliberately make yourself inaccessible or disguise the truth, it inevitably comes out and its always worse. It is a perfect example of how a man communicated terribly in a crisis which resulted in irreparable damages . His brand value has plummeted to an all time low and the odds of him recovering from it are very low.This case reinforces the importance of communication in a crisis. There are a plethora of personal crises that an individual faces in life ,but none of them can be as tangible,as palpable and as common as mid life crisis. It is something which majority of people on the wrong side of thirty or forty go through. These people act inconsistently with who they believe they are and set the stage for the societal clichà © of an identity crisis. When the crisis hits, they are immediately disoriented, questioning their previous convictions. Their whole world is turned upside down, and they experience an intense fear of pain. Often these people identify themselves as being young, and some environmental stimulant(turning a certain age, comments from friends, graying hair,wrinkles )causes them to dread their approaching years and the new, less desirable identity that they expect to experience with it. Thus, in a desperate effort to maintain their identity, they do things to prove theyre still young: buy fast cars, wear gaudy clothes, divorce their spouses, ch ange jobs. It is imperative that people understand the gravity of the predicament and do some soul searching and brutally honest self introspection to identify the problems in their life which they could rectify. They need to engage themselves in an intrapersonal communication to tackle the crisis. It is an incredibly potent but often underestimated way to deal with a personal crisis. It helps people have a solid grasp of their true identities and have a broader sense of who they are, hence their identity never becomes threatened. Intrapersonal communication helps them become more secure and comfortable in their skin as they realize that it is prudent to link their identity to something which is not ephemeral. Intrapersonal comm

Friday, October 25, 2019

Toatlitarian Gov. :: essays research papers

Totalitarian Governments use the people in a total movement to achieve a goal. When this goal is finally met, the government finds a new goal to strive for to keep the population in check. This type of government sprang up during the 1930’s in Europe and Asia. Totalitarianism came into being for many reasons: class struggle, nationalism, and a need for a better way of life. However the biggest reason that totalitarian government came into play was because of the Great Depression. Three nations in particular were able to model this take over by using the lower classes as a boost to achieve power. The Russian nation was in a state of distress. The country was being ruined by drought, fire, and the lack of industry. Russia was falling way behind the rest of the world, and with the death of Lenin they were looking for a new leader. The single party system made it easy for a totalitarian style leader to take hold of the reigns of power. Trotsky and Stalin were the two candidates for the take over Russia’s government. They both used socialism to try to move into power, but Stalin used socialism on the home front to his advantage. Where Trotsky wanted to use the rest of the world for socialism, making the people think that they needed a crutch. This idea did not go over well and Stalin won increasing support. He used this support to banish and kill Trotsky and his opposition. After Trotsky was out of the way, Stalin killed his supporters and furthered his totalitarian role. With the introduction of his â€Å"Five Year Plan†, to increase industry by two hundred and fifty percent and agriculture by one hundred and fifty percent, he solidified his position and the birth of a totalitarian government through the goal of industry. Earlier, in the nation of Italy, totalitarianism had been introduced before the grounds had been laid in Russia. There was a great hate that was rising between the upper and lower classes. The socialist movement was in full effect, and factory workers and peasant were taking over factories. And with the pope lifting the ban on Catholics, there were an increasing number of different opposing factions in government making an already unstable government worse. Mussolini, a nationalist and fascist, steps in asking for a greater sense of nationalism. He helps this idea with promises of better benefits for the working class and land reform for the peasants.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

A Socio-Economic Model for Sustainable Fashion

Abstract At times when sustainability seems to be the mantra for not only corporations but also the lay man, sustainable fashion is a much less understood term as â€Å"sustainability† alongside â€Å"fashion† are two seemingly contradictory concepts as fashion is all about change and sustainability is all about preservation. Sustainable fashion, in its purest form generates new ideas on how to produce fashion with a sense of ethics, organic or renewable resources, and socially responsible manufacturing techniques. Simply put, the term â€Å"eco-fashion† refers to stylized clothing that uses environmentally sensitive fabrics and responsible production techniques. Our first motive is to spread awareness amongst the mass about sustainable fashion and the affects its absence has on our environment. The fashion industry is based on a model of continual economic growth fuelled by ever-increasing consumption of resources. What needs to be retained is – continual economic growth and what needs to be changed is – ever-increasing resource consumption. So what I propose here is an idea which can possibly be a giant step towards sustainable fashion. The concept central to this idea is – reusability. So what is to be done is that there is a central organization called SFO, Sustainable Fashion Organization. The SFO buys all the to-be-thrown or to-be-wasted clothes on a massive scale. Then the clothes are analysed and classified on the basis of their reusable ratio. The clothes which are good enough have a high reusable ratio. The best breeds are recycled and reused to create new clothes that are eco-friendly, economic and sustainable. While the not so good breeds are used in other areas like manufacturing doormats and bags. In this paper, we try to present a model of business, that will be in optimal interest to industry, consumers, earth and ecosystem. A Socio-Economic Model for Sustainable fashion Sustainable fashion is creating a sustainable product with creativity and great innovation. Fashion is subject to creativity but sustainability is preserving, thus with fast moving competitive world it is hard to find the space for the word sustainable. There is lot of research taking place to find the most sustainable fiber but we all know that times flies and research continues. Many designers have begun experimenting with bamboo fibre, which absorbs greenhouse gases during its life cycle and grows quickly and in plenty without pesticides. Although it also causes environmental harm in production due to the chemicals used to create a soft viscose from hard bamboo. Hemp is one of the best choices for eco fabrics due to its ease of growth, though it is illegal to grow in some countries. Other alternative is synthetic fibers while critics still point to the chemicals used in making synthetic materials, this method significantly reduces water consumption and pollution, while cotton (organic or not) uses a tremendous amount of water during the growth and dyeing phases. Future holds a great deal of importance in our world but the present is equally responsible for it. All research and development is for future something which is uncertain, which is yet to be discovered. My business model is for present and preserving future. Current Scenario Gorman clothing, Stewart +Brown, Avita, Delano Collection, Look Organics etc are some of international brand which are into organic eco fashion but cost of production is still high due to the small market. Fashion industry is doing a lot to preserve the future but return on investment is low, the market share is small as the products are not readily available and they are expensive. People are not aware of fashion sustainability and they do not know which fibers life span is high with less carbon footprint. They are not familiar with the problems associated with fashion products as for most of the people cotton is sustainable and eco friendly; they are not educated on things like which garment is harmful, how to dispose the garment etc. What is the difference between the jute fibers or organic cotton is not known SFO We need to understand how SFO generate value for the consumers and how they generate revenue for their profitable running. Value Generations Maintaining sustainable development – the main reason and production of the sustainable fashion is eco friendly environment. Inculcating new habits – making the consumer understand the essence of sustainability and building loyal brand. Awareness – perception of fast fashion is quite wrong as it is actually not about throw away clothing but a management system that can improve the efficiency. Business Model SFO is an organization which is formed to help the other existing brand and organization working on sustainable fashion by reusing the fashion products and re design them for further usage. SFO is using the zero wastage method of sustainability and helps out other fashion organization in achieving zero waste. The method will be a continuous method of sustainability. The organizations will purchases the used garment or clothes and then check the life span of the garment. After evaluating the durability of the garment it is either reused to form a new garment or send to NGO’s. SFO will be having a tie with NGO’s and will be seeking cooperation from their end as well. Wearable will be given to NGO’s and those garments will be further utilized to the extent that they cannot be termed as wearable and then the NGO’s return the garment to SFO. Then the garment is again evaluated and divided in different slots according to their life span and fabric type. Garment is further cleaned and disinfected and made presentable in a form of raw material and once the procedure is completed it supply’s the garment to different brands. The brand then reuses recycle or redesign the garment and manufacture a new garment. Business functioning Step 1 – Understanding the working of different organization and brand and pursuing them to be a part of sustainable fashion. Taking help from NGO’s and seeking cooperation from their end. Step 2 – Purchasing the used garment from the public after evaluating the depression of the product. Step 3 – The garment is further studied and after understanding the durability it is supplied to NGO’s Step 4 – NGO’s will return the garment after using them. Step 5 – Then the used garment is cleaned and converted into raw material and supplied to different brands. Step 6 – These brands then manufacture a new garment by using the second hand raw material Revenue Generation Sustainable fashion can be profitable because shoppers today are looking for something more meaningful. Consumers are accepting the concept of reuse and recycle in a creative way. SFO will be affiliated with other organization or brand. So that SFO can afford and buy the used products from the public and keeps a certain margin with them. It is basically formed for readily available sustainable fashion therefore the garment wouldn’t be purchased or sold with high margin. The motto of SFO is employment and sustainable fashion with profitability. Risk Hesitancy level might be high as the products are used and then reproduced with new designs – people normally don’t like wearing second hand garment considering the health problem associated with it. Consumer might prefer to buy expensive organic product rather than going for low product sustainable fashion – with high economic growth rate people would like to spend more rather than going for redesigned products. Chaos among the brands associated with SFO – consumer might not have a clear picture of the product quality as every organization has its own quality measures. Opportunity Willingness to buy sustainable fashion – majority of people are fashion oriented and sustainable fashion is in demand. Consciously worried toward the environment – with rapid educations and consumer awareness people understand the importance of eco friendly environment and they are willing to be a part of it. Easy collaboration with other brands practicing sustainable fashion – existing brand association is not difficult with the help of their sustainable new ideas and concept of reuse , recycle and redesign can be inculcated. Low amount of investment – SFO doesn’t need huge investment as it will be associated with brand and organization. The purchase of the second hand garment can be done with the help of these brands. Employment – lot of people are working on sustainable fashion these people can be employed and given a platform to exhibit their ideas and concept. Sustainable institutes – the sustainable fashion academy, Danish fashion institute, refashion designers can be of great help. These institute and designers can work with SFO and help in achieving the goal of eco friendly environment. Recommendation Adequate awareness among the consumer is required regarding the SFO and its redesigned products. Any preconceived notion should be eliminated and customer helpline should be there to help out them with their questions. Not compromising on product quality should be maintained so that the consumer believes in the brand and its products. Hygiene should be given priority keeping in mind that people are hesitant towards the second hand products so one mistake can dilute the brand image. Initially the profit would be low as the market share is small. Therefore to attract huge market share product quality at low price should be done. Pricing strategy should be market penetration and later on price skimming can be adopted with new products. Brand should be responsible for their product quality and design. Each brand should remain a ‘brand’ without merging with SFO. The competition level remains the same within the brands. Each brand will use their own designing team to redesign the garment. SFO can be set as a standard mark for the organization for recognition and brand building. Conclusion Sustainable fashion will be really profitable and there is a huge potential, but first we need to create an ecosystem for that. Sustainable fashion organizations can be a milestone to set standard and accountability among different brands and organization. Every process is a continuous process but I believe time is money so while the research for sustainable fiber is in progress, we should restructure the existing industry to achieve certain sustainable development. Fashion is hard to stop but it can be preserved forever. The redesigning for the same garment gives more scope to innovation and creativity. With the big brand a small plan can be executed to make the consumer equally responsible for the eco friendly environment along with the industry. It is every individuals responsibility to play its duty properly considering the welfare of the society and rather than being completely dependent on government and industries. SFO is an organization which is awaking the public to stand and support the cause of sustainability. Reference Sustainable fashion meets eco-friendly energy, 27 October 2009 -http://www. meridianenergy. co. nz/AboutUs/News/SustainableFfashionMeetsEecofriendlyEnergy. htm Sustainable Fashion – http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sustainable_fashion Fashion conscious, may 15- July 13, 2008 , University of California Davis design Museum Davis CA – http://sustainablefashion. blogspot. com/ Sustainable fashion forum – http://www. fashionaccess. aplf. com/TheFair/OnsiteEvents/SustainableFashionForum/tabid/1106/language/en-US/Default. aspx

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps

Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps Take the women into the armed service, who then will do the cooking, the washing, the mending, the humble and homey tasks to which every woman has devoted herself? From the mouth of a man who was against women joining the Armed Forces of the United States during World Wars I (WWI) and II (WWII) (Monahan). In 1917, thousands of women served during World War I (WWI), constantly fighting a battle to become part of the United States Army, a battle they were not winning (Monahan).They were nursing, supporting and helping the military forces overseas, but they were not recognized. During that time period many Army Officers put formal requests into the War Department to allow the recruitment and enlistment of women, trying to create a bill to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC). Secretary of War, Newton D. Baker, disagreed with this suggestion of a bill and the requests to establish a women’s service corps within the U. S. Army ( Monahan).After the war was over the push for a WAAC was forgotten, out of sight out of mind, until World War II. The basis of the WAAC was to allow women into the Army and to try to create an equal environment for men and women from which the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence says we are built upon. When WWII kicked off women were not considered part of the Army, but they were allowed to help with many different roles. This time period posed many opportunities for American women, both domestically as well as roles they could play in the war.A big issue that dominated women’s lives during this period was how to combine home-life with the new demands of the war economy in the public’s eyes. Women had made a few gains between WWI and WWII in the military in terms of the political influence; female workers were utilized for short-term gains during the war, with a long-term goal of seeing women return to the domestic sphere and reinforcing traditional gender roles (Crockrord).Women who chose to help the military in times of war had to obtain their own food and quarters, they had no legal protection or medical care and most importantly they were not entitled to any type of disability benefits or pensions the Veterans were entitled to (Holm). Congresswoman, Edith Nourse Rogers of Massachusetts was determined to change this, she introduced a bill on May 28, 1941, to establish a Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, and the bill eventually succeeded because there was no hint of full status for women; which meant women would be ecognized as supporting the Army but they would still not be a part of the Army (Holm). She felt women and men should have the same benefits and should be treated equally. When the final bill for the WAAC was presented both sides had to compromise, the women and the men’s side serving in the military (Bellafaire). The bill passed, and the bill passing meant that women would be allowed to serve with the Army but they still would not receive the same pay or promotions and lot of the benefits that the men received. They did however receive food, uniforms, living quarters, minimal pay and medical care.There was also a lot of focus on preventing women from attaining high rank and on placing women in positions where they could give orders to men (Bellafaire). For example, although the duties of a WAAC first officer were comparable to those of a male captain, she received pay equivalent to that of a male first lieutenant (Bellafaire). Unfortunately, there were still many things that women had to overcome serving with the military. Men constantly criticized female soldiers, saying that they needed to be home with their family and community.They didn’t want a change and women in the military represented just that. The Office of Censorship ran a pole and discovered 84 percent of soldiers’ letters mentioning the WAAC were unfavorable (Bellafaire). They were questioning the moral values of women attracted to the military service and passed these beliefs to their families at home (Bellafaire). One of the biggest challenges that were faced with the WAAC was the rumors. Most of the rumors were started because they many were trying to force women back to â€Å"their domestic lifestyles† (Bellafaire).Many men started to say women of the WAAC were pregnant or were prostitutes; the women were often returned home based on the rumors and not factual evidence (Bellafaire). One story that was told was that any soldier seen dating a WAAC would be seized by Army authorities and provided with medical treatment (Bellafaire). Though there were many rumors about the WAAC and they were under serious scrutiny, Congress opened a hearing in March 1943 on the conversion of the WAAC into the Regular Army, hoping that it would help to mitigate the rumors and help the women become more of an integral part of the Army (Holm).Army leaders asked for the authority to convert the WAAC in to the Women’s Army Corps, which would be part of the Army itself rather than merely serving with it (Holm). On July 3, 1943 the WAC was signed into law and all WAAC’s were given the choice of joining the Army as a member of the WAC or returning to civilian life. Many decided to join, 25 percent decided to leave the service (Bellafaire). Women in the military have been an instrumental part of our history. The WAAC was the first step for them becoming part of the military.Looking at the bigger picture, whether women were a part of the WAAC, the WAC or just the plain old Army today there will always be a place for women. Even in today’s world women constantly have to fight for their roles and to prove themselves. The Declaration of Independents states, we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal (Jefferson), â€Å"men† is all people, including women. It is always a constant battle for equality, the WAAC was a positive step in tha t direction and it has only gotten better. Works CitedBellafaire, Judith. â€Å"The Women’s Army Corps: A Commemoration of World War II Service. † www. history. army. mil/brochures/WAC/WAC. htm. CHM Publication, 17 Feb. 2005. Web. 29 June 2012. Crockrord, Vanessa. â€Å"Oveta Culp Hobby and Her â€Å"Lieutenants† Transformational Leadership in Action in the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps of World War II. † Dissertation. 2003. Electronic. 29 June 2012. Holm, Jeanne. Women in the Military: An Unfinished Revolution. Novato: Presidio Press, 1982. Print. Monahan, Evelyn. A Few Good Women. New York: Random House, 2010. Print.