Case discussion Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Discussion - Case Study Example According to Susan, John had bypassed her and several other women in previous promotion exercises. As the Vice President, Kyle had the responsibility of ensuring that the stalemate was resolved amicably. Since the stalemate was a multi-faceted affair, there was a need to encourage dialogue to ensure that any decisions arrived at were amicable and acceptable among all persons involved. However, despite having the responsibility to ensure an amicable resolution of the dispute was obtained, it was also Kyle’s responsibility to ensure that employees respected authority. In this regard, it would be Kyle’s responsibility to insist that John’s instructions ought to have been followed since he had the power to make the decisions that he had already made. It would be appropriate if Kyle were to reverse John’s decisions because some employees were unhappy with them, and especially because any decision that would be made would affect Westco directly. The existing organizational culture at Westco could also have contributed to the stalemate. Westo had an ‘open door’ policy, and Kyle, being the Vice President, had promised to take employee concerns seriously. These two aspects contributed significantly to the employees’ notion that they were entitled to disagree openly with John’s decisions. On the other hand, the organizational structure indicated that in the seniority order, Adam was more senior in the company as compared to Oscar. Similarly, Bob and Susan were at the same level. John had complete discretion to promote any of these employees. This is because he had the responsibility to promote and protect the company’s interests. Additionally, the employees’ rankings were not too far apart as to cause any significant protocol problems. The best employee to promote would have been the employee who, in John’s opinion, was most suitable to perform the job regardless of any other considerations. As a result,

Production of one tonne of a bioproduct by fermentation process Essay

Production of one tonne of a bioproduct by fermentation process - Essay Example It is also found the apple cider vinegar is good agent is reducing the risk of cancer. It also fights diabetes, high cholesterol and heart problems. Vinegar is used massively is a number of products including foods, pickles, beverages, detergents and glass cleaners. The major use of the vinegar is in the foods and pickles. Vegetables and raw fruits are dipped into vinegar to preserve the vegetables and raw fruits. Chinese sauces are made up of vinegar and the more Chinese soups and foods enter the market, the use of vinegar will increase. United Kingdom imported vinegar of worth $30 million Canadian dollars in 2009, while the exports of the vinegar remained under $17 million Canadian dollars in 2009. This shows that vinegar has a great local market as well as foreign market. The increasing demand of the pickles round the world increased the demand of the vinegar. At this stage, white vinegar is utilized the most. It has the most application considering various types of the vinegar. The health benefits of the vinegar increased the market demand of the vinegar to a considerable level. The process that had been utilized to manufacture vinegar for many years is simple but it takes many days to complete. However, current industrial processes are considered to be a little complex but the time consumption for the completing of process dropped significantly. The very first process is to collect the fruit or crop. Industrial processes recommend that crops that are rich in sugars or derivatives. The fruits juices are extracted and processed by adding several enzymes and microorganisms. In case of crops, the crops are grounded, refined and mixed with adequate amount of water, then enzymes and added and then the product is fermented. The basic steps of the process include the refining, adding distilled water, fermentation stage 1, fermentation stage 2, fermentation stage 3, distillation, pasteurization and dilution to suite the exact taste. Fruits,

Balance Scorecard for Air India

Balance Scorecard for Air India Introduction Air India is the prime and oldest Airline of India. It is the State carrier which currently connects to rest of the world such as the Americas, Asia, Europe, etc. It is headquartered at Nariman Point, Mumbai in the Air India Building. It is the 16th largest Airline in Asia serves out of two major Domestic hubs in India at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi CST Terminal, Mumbai. The airline started its journey with the Maiden flight from Karachi Airport to Mumbai Airport via Ahmedabad in July 1932. It was founded by JRD Tata and later on acquired by the State. Air India has two subsidiaries and two affiliated carries. Together Air India, Air India Cargo, Air India Express, Indian and Air India Regional form the National Aviation Company of India Limited. It currently serves 11 countries across the globe apart from the various domestic destinations. Air India Cargo It serves as the cargo operator for the airline serving in conjunction with on ground truck-transportation systems and achieving synergies to increase returns. The carrier also is allowed to carry dangerous (hazardous cargo) animals under IATA rules. Air India Regional The airline previously known as alliance air serves the interior small airports domestically to serve the needs of such regions with smaller aircrafts. The hub for this is at the IGI airport in Delhi. Indian It focuses on the domestic touch points for the airline. It serves various destinations in the country with two major hubs at Delhi Mumbai. Air India Express The airline subsidiary was formed in 2005 to serve the low cost space in the South east Asia and the Gulf region. This is a no frills airline which focuses on the low cost travel mind space for its consumers. Tangible Assets Fleet and Material Resources Air India has continuously being trying to improve its Aircraft fleets. It has recently added 17 new aircrafts which include B777s- Long range aircrafts and it has also procured some 15 new airbus aircrafts to serve its domestic destinations. Currently the Air India fleet stands at a strong 136 aircrafts. Air India serves various international destinations such as in the USA which includes Newark, JFK Chicago with its non-stop Boeing Long range aircrafts. The detailed aircraft distribution is as given in the table below: Network Air India operates from various cities across India like Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Jaipur, Varanasi, Tiruchirapalli, Gaya and Thiruvananthapuram in totality 16 cities for its international location flights. The need of boarding flights from metros for international locations has thus ceased thus providing better opportunities to other cities to develop economically and aid in the countrys growth story. The various requirements in terms of customs, etc. are directly done in these cities. Air India also has code sharing agreements with various airlines across the world providing better accessibility to other locations. International Hub: Air India has established its international hub at Frankfurt for better transfers and code shares across the world. It has forged partnerships with Lufthansa and is currently vying for being a part of the Star Alliance. These alliances has strengthened AIs network in the US and Europe to a large extent. Indian Hub: Air India has its domestic hubs in Delhi IGI Airport and Mumbai CST Airport. The firm services 64 Indian cities domestically from these locations. Out of these locations seventeen service to International flights too thereby providing seamless connectivity. The domestic locations are service by Airbus A321 aircrafts with all world class services. Star Alliance Air India is currently in the process for vying to become a part of the International Alliance which will connect it to 916 cities in the world and have code share agreements with 17000 daily routes across the world. Air India club members can enjoy the benefits of International lounges, code shares, loyalty programmes, etc across all the 21 top airlines across the world increasing the service levels to a new height. The alliance is pending at March, 2011. Human Resources Air India has a large base of human resources which makes it one of the poorest in terms of the Human resources quality and performance. The airline pays around 17 per cent of its expenditures as salaries which is much higher than the global average of around 10 per cent. There are around 31000 employees which are serviced by around 14 unions in Air India which creates a huge scope of non-improvement of its current strength of employees. Post the merger the unions have introduced their intent of cooperating with NACIL towards achieving a better way ahead for the airline however issues pertaining to retrenchment and privatization are still serious concerns which the unions take very seriously and are averse to compromise on. The SBU structure which has been brought about in the organization further increases the woes of the Airline as well as the management. The organization has been split into smaller units which are responsible for better management of resources. However the reporting structure is a big catch. A Mumbai Airport Manager is reviewed by the ED of west zone but reports to his SBU head which is in no way related to his performance appraisals. The award of International postings is carried out by a third party who in no way is related to the current chain of reporting and is a commercial director who sits in the HO at Mumbai. Such an organizational structure calls for low performance and lack of accountability from the employees which will lead to non-performance from the organization in the long term. IT Technology resources IT is one of the most critical resources for the success of organizations in the modern times. The merger synergies would have IT as a critical input. One of the major exercises is to have a common airline code which would also help in the eligibility to the Star Alliance. As a measure the airline has contracted the IT serviceability to SITA (Society International Telecommunications Aeronautics) which has had more than 50 years of experience with the airline systems in Air India. The deal worth 845 crores is for a period of 10 years and is aimed at establishing network connectivity at all domestic and international locations for Air India, fare management, baggage tracing and reconciliation system, online booking engines, automated boarding control systems, check-in, air to ground communications, etc. SITA will also provide its horizontal passenger service system. Currently SITA provides its facilities to 140 airlines all over the world serving over 120 million passengers across the world to provide seamless connectivity to Air India to International routes and carriers. It would help to strengthen strategic partnerships for AI across the globe. Air India has also been invited to participate in the SITAs horizon board in India which is a partnership between SITA and airlines to develop the next generation passenger service systems across the globe. All these developments would help AI to establish itself as a brand in the PSS system delivery across the globe. SITA in India works with its strategic partners Mindtree NIIT to implement its technological systems and has a workforce of more than one lac employees. Low Cost Resources Livery The new livery which was launched after the merger has characteristics of both the descendants namely AI and IA both. The livery consists of the flying swan and the Konark chakra placed inside it. The Air India brand is mentioned on the tail of the Aircraft in hindi proudly depicting Indias national language. The aircraft colour is ivory with streaks of red retaining Air Indias colour. Also the red and orange streaks presence on doors signifies the merger of the two giants into one single entity. Maharajah Maharaja is the most reminiscent figure which is associated with the airline. It was designed by the duo of Bobby Kooka, AIs Commercial Director and Umesh Rao, J.Walter Thompson Ltd. Way back in 1946 primarily as a memo symbol; however it has translated into much more than that over the years. The maharajah has won various awards around the globe for its uniqueness and antics. The first word customers associate with AI is the puns and antics of the Maharajah. The maharajah is a unique brand proposition created by the Airline which has served it as a brand ambassador across the world. In- Flight Entertainment Air India has a variety of channels which cater to both the audio and video entertainment of its passengers. The customers have a variety of Indian channels such as popular music, ghazals, bhajans, etc. There is also a variety of English music channels having various genres like rock, pop, jazz, alternative rock , classical , etc. There are also a variety of regional channels available in Indian regional languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, etc. and also movies in similar languages are available for flights connecting the South Indian regions to the Gulf and South East Asia. On Ground Facilities Air India has its own exclusive lounges at Delhi, London, Hong Kong and New York in addition to the one in Mumbai. At other international airports, Air India has tie-ups with other international airlines or local Airports Authorities for lounge facility. There is a lounge for unaccompanied minors as well. Online Booking The quick, easy and convenient way to book AI tickets online through the Air India website. An e ticket will be generated and the details with the e ticket link will be emailed to the passenger. Air India has extensive facilities for Web check in and Tele check in for its passengers to provide ease of facilities. Dining Air India has a variety of menus to cater to a variety of tastes for its passengers. There is a choice of Indian, Continental, Western and Asian cuisines. There are certain special cuisines available on some routes like Japanese cuisine on the Tokyo route, etc. The special requirements of certain passengers also met with a variety of more than twenty six dishes available. There is a large assortment of wines and drinks to choose from giving the passenger a world class dining experience. Balance Scorecard at Air India The balanced scorecard is a holistic design of looking at an organization. It helps align the activities of the business to the vision, mission and the strategy of the organization. It helps improve communication, both internally and externally as well as measure the performance against said goals using proper metrics. Balanced Scorecard concept was started by Dr. Kaplan and David Norton as a means of measuring performances of organization. It was a measurement framework, which for the first time added non-financial metrics along with the traditional metrics that gave managers a better view of the performance of the organization. Over the years, balanced scorecards were refined to become a complete planning and management system for strategy. It helps operationalize vision and mission documents; progress on which can be monitored daily. The airline industry is cyclical in nature. Demand fluctuates seasonally; while planning for capacity and investments have to be done long term. This means that airlines usually go through sessions when they are operating in the red financially. Hence, it makes perfect sense to use a Balanced Scorecard to evaluate the performance of the organization. It gives a better indication of the health of the organization as well as helps create proper milestones for evaluating the progress towards strategic goals. Air India has been facing turbulent times recently. A lot of reorganization, restructuring with regards to the organization, finances and fleet have taken place. The company is deep in the red and there have been calls to divest this white elephant. As Air India struggles through this mess, using a balanced scorecard will give clarity to their goals and help them focus their efforts in achieving the said goals. Balanced scorecard has been implemented in several airlines, the most documented one being the Balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airline is a USA based low-cost airline company and is also the worlds largest no-frills airline. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. Southwest has among the largest fleet of passenger aircraft among all of the worlds commercial airlines, operating more than 3200 flights daily. Southwest is also a very profitable airline, having posted profits for 37 consecutive years. The balanced scorecard implementation at Southwest airlines has gone through a series of iterations and they are currently in their 3rd generation. We suggest a similar balanced scorecard for Air India. For the balanced scorecard we must have: Vision Mission Core Goal Activities and Outcomes Vision statement is the picture of your company in the future. It forms the lynchpin around which strategy formation takes place. Mission statement is the fundamental purpose of the existence of the company. It clarifies Why do we exist? Core Goal is the goal that is to be achieved by the balanced scorecard. Activities refer to processes that take place inside the organization, that lead to desired outcomes. Activities consists of Internal Processes Learning and Development Outcomes consists of Financial Performance Customer Satisfaction Activities are internal to the organization, while the outcomes in terms of financial outcomes and customer outcomes are visible outside the organization. Also internal processes, Learning and Development are long-term goals while financial and customer outcomes are more short-term goals. However they act as leading indicators of the changes happening in internal processes and Learning and Development. These show that the activities that were internal to the organization has reached a point of maturity that they have started impacting the customer and financial outcomes. As shown in the balanced scorecard given below, activities and outcomes interact with other activities and outcomes and hence no item can be looked at in isolation. The interactions between the strategic goals in each of these four divisions (2 activities and 2 outcomes) have been identified and dwelled upon in the balanced scorecard. The internal processes which must be measured for the scorecard that we identified were: Faster Turnaround of flights Increased Utilization of fleet Adherence to Schedule These will help rationalize workforce, fleets and bring in incremental improvements in operational efficiencies, bringing down costs and making Air India more competitive vis-Ã  -vis low cost carriers. Adherence to Schedule will help Air India rebuild customer confidence in the ability of the Airline to perform. The Learning and Development initiatives that need to be taken up and measured are: Alignment of employees with company goals Cross Functional Training Team work Cross functional Training and teams will increase the efficiency of the organization allowing it to make decisions faster and hence respond more quickly to changes. This is very important for Air-India as the general perception is that the company is slow to change and lethargic in decision making. The financial outcomes from these activities are: Profitability Lower Costs Increased Revenue Fewer Planes The customer outcomes are: Lower Prices On-Time flights Frequent flights Friendly Service Given below is the pictorial depiction of the balanced scorecard for Air India. Resource Based Turnaround Strategy for Air India This part of the report deals with understanding the reasons for the near collapse of Air India and proposing a turnaround strategy for the airline. Since its establishment by the Tata Group and the subsequent takeover by the Indian Government, Air India has seen a lot of issues emerging and changes in the competitive environment in which it operates. These issues and changes have been intensified by uncertain economic conditions, various crises and subsequent recoveries in the European and Asian economies, and a general lack of confidence in professional fields. This has led to a general reduction in the average time available to the organization which seeks to affect a successful turnaround. Also, the rising competition in the field it operates has compounded the problems by making Air India fight for limited resources with players which quite often have people with greater conviction at the top and therefore can allocate a greater part of important resources to the firms operation s. This challenge is primarily faced by organizations which operate in industries that have high technology orientation and companies which typically have high gestation periods where an investment made in any particular area or domain impacts the companys bottom line for a long period. Airlines business being one that is fairly high technology is characterized by factors that include product and/or process sophistication, research and development (RD) intensity, and a large population of technical employees. High-tech firms often encounter rapid changes in technology, demand, and a competition which is overlaid by sharp and unpredictable change. Thus, the AI management must be equipped for change management in line with the changes in the airlines industry environment. Unless this happens it will continue to struggle to remain profitable. This is precisely what has been encountered in the case of Air India. Within this high-velocity context, any turnaround strategy is faced with unique challenges. These have been depicted in the figure below. Business Decline The framework that the group uses in analysing the reasons for Air Indias failure and proposing the turnaround takes a new view of turnarounds by integrating constructs drawn from existing turnaround literature with others from the resource-based view of the firm. It proposes that efficient business operations are based on a combination of factors like key resource availability, germane strategy, and appropriate implementation of that strategy through adequate resource leveraging. In this case the financial and human resource would be the resources AI must look to leverage. Important resources within an enterprise can also act as the base for a turnaround strategy which would foster sustainable competitive advantage. Such resources are often the products of historical strategy and environmental action and are invariably capable to withstand rigorous tests of quality. A list of the key attributes of these resources is provided below: (Refer High-Velocity Environment Trims Time to Act Creating a Framework for High-Tech Turnarounds by Rolph N.S. Balgobin, Naresh Pandit; Nov 1, 2002) Turnaround Strategy Turnaround attempts are often the result of existence-threatening decline, there exists a lot of uncertainty with the origin of the points of change intervention and the role of the new top management. Frequently, a turnaround attempt is initiated after pressure from a significant stakeholder, such as a parent company or strong shareholder group. Air India has witnessed this quite a few times as with the ascent of every new government at the center of Power in New Delhi, the attitude towards the airline has changed. Hence pressure often came from the private players whose bids to take over the airline provided the fillip to the management of the airline to change the scheme of things at Air India. In most cases, the need for the change happens internally, usually started by the management who sees the signals of an impending decline. Also in new age high-technology firms, turnaround need not always be a management driven effort. However, the attitude of managers is just as necessary as having new leadership in getting the turnaround efforts going. The success of turnaround recovery plans are different from the unsuccessful ones in many ways (refer to the points mentioned below). In the cases of turnarounds that are successful, analysis-led understanding of the dynamics of the business is done using a diagnostic review. This provides a clear indication of the turnaround opportunities that are available. These opportunities have to be pursued with the goal of creating a sustainable competitive position in the market. Successful turnaround Plan characteristics Result from a diagnostic review (inductive rather than prescriptive) Profitability is explicitly set as an objective A single turnaround plan rather than competing initiatives or no plan at all Communication with stakeholders to ensure alignment A turnaround team develops and implements the plan Causes of decline are appropriately addressed The Process of Turnaround The frameworks used to portray turnaround are often depicted as a sequential process, which starts with the management initiating the attempt, then retrenchment, consolidating and then returning to a growth stage. But in high tech turnaround process there are four distinct stages crisis development, management change, transformation and stabilization, and return to growth. In the case of Air India, the Crisis Development phase started in the year 2008-2009 when the airline reported financial losses of 5000 crores. Due to this, the airline couldnt pay the salaries of its employees leading to a massive announced by the employees in the summer of 2009. This was one of the biggest human resource crises in the history of Indian business with nearly 30000 Air India employees going on strike. Immediately following this, the disastrous incident of the crash of Air India Express Flight 812 leading to the death of 158 people, happened. The change phase, unlike in the more traditional sectors, change happens not at the top as turnaround starts happening. There is often a change of problematic management, mostly purporting the point of view that a CEOs knowledge and relationships are crucial to a successful recovery. The same happened in the case of Air India. The entire top management of Air India was recast in a period of 30 days by the then aviation minister Mr. Praful Patel. As part of the shakeup, several old time directors were asked to leave and a Professional Chief Operating Officer was appointed under the CMD, Mr. Arvind Jadhav. In the third phase, a lot of actions happen simultaneously; these include cost rationalization, asset rationalization, revenue creation and product and market reorganization. In turnarounds that are successful, organizations should be careful not to lose resources that may be useful to recovery. This happens when they concentrate on surviving rather than on competitive leadership. Reflex cutbacks should not result in loss of key resources in firms successful in turning around their organizations. Instead, the focus should be on reducing costs. Also Air India disinvested some of the less efficient parts of its operations, while retaining the more important and useful ones. After an early emphasis on cost reduction, the focus of Air India then shifted to Structural alterations, joint-venture participation, investment, and the introduction of new products. There is a significant deviation in the experience of firms operations in more stable industries, which suggests that it is the high-competitive environment that demand that the changes occur simultaneously rather than sequentially. But as the transformation takes place, the turnaround of the firm goes through an inflection point that causes a shift in focus from cost and asset reduction to growth of the firm. In the case of Air India this has been characterized by the commitment of the top management to the growth of top line and sales and a conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up volumes and occupancies of the airlines. The airline plans to reduce its price up to 23% by the end of this year. Industry experts see this as a clear sign of conscious effort on the part of the airline to drive up its volumes and occupancy rates. The last phase of the turnaround is punctuated by the assumption that for survival the focus has to be on growth and acquisition. In high competitive industries, this phase does not usually require that the CEO change or that the management change. Our group expects the same to happen by the end of the nest fiscal year when the economy would have recovered and new opportunities would arrive at the horizon for the troubled airline. Influencing Factors Literature study says that significant differences exist between successful and not so successful cases when they are compared in terms of their contextual and situational factors of turnaround attempts. Factors related to macroeconomic improvement and market growth appear to be assisting turnaround attempts. Though, it also has been seen that these environmental changes are not deterministic. With each organization being a unique collection of resources, external events do not seem to be having a uniform impact. Thus, a rising tide seems to lift only the seaworthy boats. External influencing factors include: Macroeconomic Improvement Market Growth Stakeholders attitude. Interaction of an organization with stakeholders such buyers, employees, suppliers, unions, bankers, the government and the community play a major role in determining the success of the turnaround efforts. When important stakeholders hold an active interest in the business viability of the firm, the chances of success appear to be greater. Internal Influencing factors include: Mission institutionalization Availability of financial resources Power concentration, and Perception of the permanence and controllability of decline. Mission institutionalization, primarily driven by the internal and external expectations of the businesses the firm should be in, can be a major abettor or inhibitor of positive change demanded by an intended turnaround. In cases where the changes required put the firm in a new strategic domain (say that of the low cost carriers), mission institutionalization can often hinder efforts of a swift shift in strategy if a firms constituents instinctively negate or refute out courses of action that are seen to be inconsistent with the vision and mission of the firm or its founders. This in Air Indias case can be explained by the reluctance of the airlines part to move into low cost carriers strategic domain. While this remains a possible strategic domain for the future, the airline showed remarkable reluctance in adopting this as a possible strategy. Maybe the Maharaja cant fly cheap after all. Available financial resources are one of the important requirements for a turnaround attempt, especially if the firm has considerable cash demands. Even then, availability of funds has still not been found to be one of the deciding factors in the outcome of a full-fledged turnaround effort. This is a significant finding as it often is suggested that firms in stress require only a steady input of cash until their products or services regain market acceptance. Also in the case of Air India with the airline being heavily government funded, the opportunity to save money and possible publicize it makes a great political success story and a PR opportunity. Of greater impact on the success of a turnaround attempt is the concentration of power within the organization. Firms with higher levels of power concentration are a lot freer to strategize, develop and also implement successful turnaround plans, while the cases that fail are often constrained or reined in by parent companies, powerful stakeholders like political parties, or internal politics. In non-turnaround cases, the management appears to have far less power relative to that owned by the stakeholders. In the case of Air India, with the creation of a new position of power of CEO, can potentially dilute the power vested in the top management. Yet considerations of operational efficiencies far outweigh the concern for power dilution. Similarly, with the entire airline industry showing signs of recovery with the economy firmly on the path of recovery, the perception of the permanence and controllability of decline is that of impermanent and one that can be managed by suitable strategy implementation. Strategy Implementation Successful firms reduce their resource base in those areas which are no longer core activities. Failed firms are more far likely to dispose or sell off on otherwise lose valuable resources than those that might support a recovery attempt. In the successful cases, the remaining resources are often realigned and augmented with the resources which are borrowed through joint ventures, development agreements, or outright acquisitions. This is depicted in the diagram as shown below. Resource Leveraging diagram As a rule, the successful turnaround cases concentrate a majority of their critical resources on a single and consistent turnaround plan, emphasize on a few improvement areas at a time, and focus on a few critical performance levers. They have a strong feedback mechanism to instill new learning deep into the organization. In the case of Air India it would be taking the voice of customers very seriously and trying to create a culture which cares for the people the firm serves. Firms which go through very successful turnarounds are also in a position to blend and balance resources to bring in products and services into the market, while unsuccessful firms often have seem to have an imbalance of skills, which neutralizes capabilities that exist elsewhere in the organization. Finally, parsimonious and frugal resource use and the useful ability to implement turnaround plans quickly also form one of the chief characteristics of successful recoveries. Thus, this is the comprehensive resource based turnaround strategy that we propose for Air India.

A Comparison of the Divided Self in Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein :: comparison compare contrast essays

Wuthering Heights and Frankenstein - Theme of the divided self Theme of the divided self within Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Thematically, the divided self is one of the most interesting themes within both novels and is of great importance to the development or ruin of the characters in both 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Frankenstein.' Both authors when primarily exploring this theme focus upon the physical, mental or spiritual division within certain characters. In Emily Bronte's novel 'Wuthering Heights,' the principal characters Cathy and Heathcliff are presented as needing this division within themselves to recognise their need for each other. This endurance of physical, mental and spiritual division whilst alive, allows them only tragically to experience when in death, complete entity within themselves. Primarily Cathy is not depicted as divided; instead, she is presented as belonging to a family unit, which seems to stay intact until the arrival of a 'gypsy brat.' Although Heathcliff creates a divide within the family due to his arrival, Cathy is seen to gain a friend with whom she feels she has an affinity both physically, spiritually and mentally, which will become increasingly evident as the novel progresses. However, this alliance throughout the novel is frequently thrown into turmoil by outside influences or factors. As we are informed from the onset, the "greatest punishment" that could be bestowed upon Cathy was separation from Heathcliff. Cathy and Heathcliff's separation only therefore ensues as a result of their initial outing to Thrushcross Grange. Their promise to grow up together as 'rude as savages,' is destroyed when Cathy and Heathcliff are separated physically by many factors resulting from this visitation. Just as the Linton's dog 'holds' Cathy, so too is the Linton's house symbolically presented as separating her from Heathcliff, when Heathcliff resorts to peering in through their 'great glass panes' to see Cathy, after being physically 'dragged' out of Thrushcross Grange. Cathy is also depicted as physically separated from Heathcliff even when she returns to Wuthering Heights. Instead of a 'wild, hatless little savage' with whom Heathcliff has an affinity with, she returns as a 'very dignified person.' Heathcliff is now therefore separated physically from Cathy, not only by appearance but as he said in the previous chapter, her superiority "to everybody," including him. The presentation of Cathy and Heathcliff as physically divided is not only literally seen through the differing households but also through Cathy's own actions and attire.

Inter-American system of human rights protection Essay

Human Rights are certain inherent, inalienable, immutable, inviolate freedoms and rights of man which no one can take away. These include the right to life, liberty, equality and dignity. The United States of America recognizing these rights established the Inter American system of Human Rights by adopting the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the American Convention on Human Rights. Pursuant to the adoption of these instruments the Inter American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter American Court of Human Rights were established to promote and protect Human Rights of individuals. PART A 1. It is pertinent to note that the Inter American Commission on Human Rights primarily seeks to promote consciousness about Human Rights amongst the people of the country. Its functions mainly include receiving complaints, analyzing and investigating them. It has powers of observation and collection of data regarding Human Rights violations in the member States. It can also visit on site and conduct seminars and meetings to promote awareness regarding Human Rights. When a complaint is referred to the Commission, it can after conducting its investigation and analysis publish a report and send it to the State. This report is recommendatory in nature and not mandatory. Hence the Commission can only recommend that the State take due notice of the human rights violations and take appropriate reparatory measures. In the alternative, the Commission can seek opinion from the Inter American Court of Human Rights. So also, in the present case, the Commission has no powers to enforce the law laid down by the State of Colorado but can only request the State to take precautionary measures so as to ensure that human rights are not infringed upon. 2. With respect to the second question, it is seen that as per Article 2 of the Statute of the Inter American Court of Human Rights, the Court has adjudicatory jurisdiction vis a vis a human rights violation brought before it by the Commission or any Member State of the Organization of American States. The said Article refers to Articles 61-63 of the American convention on Human Rights which clearly state that the Court can order the State to allow the human being to enjoy his human right and also order for either monetary or non monetary compensation for the injury so caused. Such an order passed by the American Court would be binding on the State. The provision further clarifies that in case an act or omission on the part of the State would cause irreparable loss to the person, the Commission can take such provisional measures to ensure that the irreparable loss is not caused. It would thus transpire that in the present case, the Inter American Court of Human Rights can enforce the law requiring the Colorado State police to arrest an individual disobeying the restraining order. 3. In the present case various provisions of the various human rights enactments are violated. The Commission can primarily seek to apply Articles 1, 5, 6, 9, 18 & 24 of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. Article 1 of the American Declaration states that all persons have equal right to life, liberty, and personal security. Article 5 & 6 deal with a person’s right to protection of self as well as family. Article 9 talks about a person’s right to inviolability of home while 18 & 24 talks of fair trial and the right to approach the court for remedy. A brief reading of the petition tells us how each of these rights have been violated by omission to act on the part of the State. These clauses are applicable even if the United States have not ratified this Declaration. Further Article 11 of the American Convention on Human Rights which deals with a persons right to protect his honor and home and also gives him the right to seek judicial remedy in case of infringement is another provision that the Commission can consider and apply to this particular case. According to the Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons, a duty is laid on the State to punish those persons or their accomplices who commit the crime of forced disappearance of others. This clause has been violated by the husband of the petitioner who allegedly kidnapped their daughters and the police department can be held liable as they stood mute spectators to the whole thing. Article 7 of the Convention of Belem do Para (the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women) condemns all forms of violence against women and seeks to punish such persons who have committed such crimes by enacting proper laws and proper investigation. The Convention also requires that the State should enact and adopt such laws which will help refrain a person from committing such acts of harassment and also ensure that persons who are victims of such violence are given timely and proper hearing. This is a right guaranteed to all women and more so to women who are victims of domestic violence. The police in this particular case having full knowledge of the fact that the petitioner was a victim of domestic violence chose to ignore her pleas and thereby ignore this provision. 4. Prior to considering the kind of jurisdiction that the Inter American Court of Human Rights would have in this present case, it is necessary to list the basic kinds of jurisdiction available to the Court in general. Jurisdiction of the Inter American Court is broadly classified into– Provisional, Advisory and Adjudicatory or contentious Jurisdiction. In provisional jurisdiction, the Court has the power to act in situations that are grave and urgent and require immediate intervention without which grave harm shall be caused to the victim (Buergenthal, 1982, p.241). In Advisory Jurisdiction the Court can give its opinion on the various provisions of the Convention as well as other treaties and also opinionate on the compatibility of the domestic law with any treaty (Buergenthal, 1982, p. 242). In order to avail the adjudicatory or contentious jurisdiction is concerned, it is necessary that the member States subject themselves to the jurisdiction of the Inter American Court (Pasqualucci, 2003, p. 88). It is also necessary for the Convention or treaty in question to grant the jurisdiction to the Court. An illustration to explain this point would be that the Inter American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women very clearly states that the Commission has only advisory jurisdiction and no contentious jurisdiction in respect of complaints filed under its provisions (Pasqualucci, 2003, p. 91). The jurisdiction clause also states that the Inter American Court cannot naturally assume the role of an appellate authority. It cannot make right any wrong decision of the national courts. However, if there is a gross violation of the human rights enshrined in any treaty and if this gross violation were to cause irreparable harm to the individual, then the Inter American Court may interfere and record that the proper procedures as laid down in the treaties were not followed. In the present case, the United States by virtue of having ratified the American Convention, has given people the individual right to approach the Commission for violation of human rights. However, this jurisdiction in advisory in nature and not adjudicatory as it has not yet subjected itself to the jurisdiction of the Inter American Court. Thus any person through the Commission can seek the advisory jurisdiction of the Inter American Court even if the Member State has not subjected itself to the jurisdiction of the Court (Buergenthal, 1982, p. 244) 5. Procedurally, the Commission on receiving a petition shall initially register it and see if it has complied with all the rules of procedure and if the petition does not comply then the Commission will send it back to the petitioner so as to ensure compliance. Once the petition conforms to the rules then the Commission shall then send relevant parts of the petition to the State for its response, for which the State is given two months time. However, in serious and urgent cases, the State is asked to respond immediately. This is done to ensure the veracity of the petition and to ensure that the petition still subsists. The commission may also require the State to present its observations on the admissibility and merits of the case at hand. Once the observations of the parties are submitted or the time period given to each party has lapsed, the Commission will verify the merits of the case based on the facts before it and decide whether to admit it or reject it. In the present case too the Commission should first satisfy itself as to the compliance of all the rules of procedure and then seek observations from the State and other parties concerned. 6. The Commission will then confirm as to whether the petitioner has exhausted all the available domestic remedies. However, in cases where the domestic legislation does not provide for due process of law or where the petitioner is refrained from pursuing domestic remedies then the above provision does not hold true. The Commission has to ensure that the petition before it has been filed within six months of receipt of the decision of the domestic remedy. In this case the petitioner has exhausted all the possible domestic remedies and has not been successful in the same. The Supreme Court of the United States has also rejected the petition of the petitioner and has passed its final judgment in the matter. The Commission should then decide on the admissibility of the petition by setting up a working group. In the present case, it is seen that the Commission has held the petition admissible. When the Commission finds a petition admissible it creates an admissibility report that is made public and the case is then registered and the parties are notified of the same. After the case has been registered, the Commission invites additional observations in writing from all parties concerned. A time limit for submitting these observations is set by the Commission. In some cases, the Commission can also convene a hearing to enable the parties to present their points of view. In this case too, the Commission has opened the case and the parties are informed about the same. Additional observations have been requested from the parties and the Commission has in fact convened a hearing. In this case, the United States government has responded by stating that it has taken proper and adequate measures to combat domestic violence and that the remedies in the domestic judicial system are adequate to tackle the problem. In the hearing the Petitioner will be able to present her case before the Commission in person. After hearing the case of both sides and also after going through the written observations submitted by both parties, the Commission will deliberate on the merits of the case and formulate a report. 7. The first document that the Commission publishes in response to a case is the admissibility report wherein it admits the case and registers it. This report has already been published by the Commission and has been sent to the parties concerned. The Commission has then convened a hearing on the issue and will deliberate on the case after the hearing. The next important document that the Commission publishes is the Preliminary report on the merits of the case. This report contains the preliminary observations and the recommendations of the Commission. 8. If the Commission feels that there is no violation, then the report is published and sent immediately to all parties concerned. In case the Commission feels that some provisions have indeed been violated then a preliminary report is made and sent to the State along with the recommendations proposed by the Commission. 9. In case the State complies with the recommendations given in the preliminary report, the Commission will notify the petitioner as to the same. However, in cases where the State does not comply with the same, the Commission can approach the Inter American Court for adjudication. However, in the present case as the United States has not subjected itself to the jurisdiction of the Court, the said remedy is not available to the Commission in case of non compliance. In the present case, the Commission should deliberate on the observations sent by the parties, investigate on site to determine the veracity of the facts, interview the various concerned individuals and then send its preliminary report to the State along with its recommendations. If the State fails to comply with the same within three months of it being sent, the Commission then has to issue a final report that contains its opinion, final conclusions and final recommendations. The Commission should then send it across to all parties concerned and make a note of it in its Annual report. The Commission should take active steps in terms of follow up to evaluate the actual compliance of the recommendations by the parties. 10. In this present case, if the Commission publishes its preliminary report wherein it holds that there has been violation of human rights and recommends certain precautionary measures to the State then it would mean that the petition has succeeded partially. By partially, it is meant that the violation has been recognized by the Commission. However, for the petition to succeed completely, the State has to comply with the recommendations given by the Commission. If the State refuses to accept the recommendations of the Commission, then the petition would have failed as the petitioner has not achieved any major reliefs but has only obtained a theoretical order that envisages the ideal situation vis a vis human rights.

The world is fast becoming a borderless place

I have come to a point in life that many people have not.   I have made a firm decision to recommit myself to pursuing my dreams.   While there are those who believe that with an ounce of luck and a ton of persistence anything can be accomplished, I believe that there is no reason to expend so much energy and rely on luck.I believe in taking hold of my destiny and carving out a future for myself based on the decisions that I make in life.   Life is simply too short and too precious to be left to luck alone.   This is why I have chosen to apply for this major in electrical engineering at the University of California Los Angeles.As the world continues to change and the workplace becomes more and more challenging and competitive, it becomes imperative for anyone looking for a successful career to not only have the drive to succeed but also the training and expertise to do so.I am not saying that I do not have the training and expertise at the moment but I do believe that there i s still room for more.   The rich and diverse academic community at the UCLA will definitely be the perfect place for me to learn and be prepared for the challenges that lie ahead.There have been so many opportunities in life that I have not been able to take advantage of because of the competitiveness of the working environment.   I believe that this experience and background of mine will help me pursue this dream.   Being a (insert career) is only the beginning of a long journey for me.I realize that it will not be easy and I look forward to that challenge.   In the short term, I see myself completing this degree and fulfilling the requirements for this course.   I believe that this experience will be sufficient to prepare me for the next step which is applying for a good internship position that will give me the training that I need.   I eventually plan to pursue larger goals such as taking a doctoral degree and perhaps starting my own business.The world is fast becom ing a borderless place.   Cultures, races, beliefs and ideologies are blend together and interact because of the growing advances in communications.   In order to succeed in this world, one needs to be able to adapt to the various cultural differences as well as be able to maintain a certain sense of individual identity.This is the advantage that I feel I can get at this fine academic institution; the training to be competitive in the global economy and at the same time the flexibility to be able to deal with the different cultures in the diverse business world.That is why I believe that this course is a crucial step for me.   My success and my accomplishments here will herald the beginning of the fulfillment of my personal and professional goals.   It is said that the one thing that nobody can ever take away from you is your education and that is the one thing that I plan to not only gain for myself but for others as well.I am currently a student at Pasadena City College in California taking up electrical engineering.   My interest in this field comes from my exposure during my childhood in Shanghai, China, which is one of the largest industrialized cities in the world.As a national of China and a resident of the United States of America, I strongly feel that technology holds the key to the future of not only the people of China but the entire world as well.   The evolutions and advances in technology have indeed expanded the frontiers of man.   Every facet of man’s life has been changed by the new technological innovations that have been introduced.   Life has become so much easier yet at the same time it seems however that life has also been turned into something more complicated; presenting new challenges and providing new frontiers to conquer.It is for this reason that I plan to be able to find gainful employment in one of the industries and do more research in this field.   I am confident that my studies in college have adequatel y prepared me for further study.I am now learning differential equations, general physics and programming. I have also been particularly interested in electrical power circuits’ generation, electrical inspection and codes.   In the near future, I intend to develop skills in physical science and engineering, skills in management science and skills in problem solving in engineering field as well as solving computer related problems.As an active participant in extra-curricular activities such as soccer, badminton, I have participated in charity and community service within the community and back at home. I usually visit senior center and volunteer donations such as foodstuffs and essential items to them. Also I am the member of AGS club and Math Club. Last spring semester I got dean’s award and William Miller Scholarship (This is a scholarship from Math Division).