The Powers of the Prime Minister The WritePass Journal

The Powers of the Prime Minister Introduction The Powers of the Prime Minister IntroductionThe Roles of the Prime MinisterLimits of his powerIs the Prime Minister too powerful?ConclusionRelated Introduction The purpose of this essay is to describe and discuss the powers of the British Prime Minister and which implications arise from his position for the government and politics. This essay will consist of three parts. In the first part the main powers of the Prime Minister (PM), currently David Cameron, will be considered. These include his tasks as head of government, the right to select his cabinet and to dismiss ministers, to represent the country abroad and more functions, which will be   explained in more detail below. In the second part the limits of his powers will be illustrated and how effective they are. These will lead to the third section, where it will be discussed whether the Prime Minister is too powerful. The focus will be especially on the argument whether Britain has a more prime ministerial government rather than a Cabinet government. Furthermore a comparison with the powers of the German chancellor is made, and it will be reviewed if the organisation of the office of German Chancellor is a better manner to regulate the powers of the PM. Lastly, it is discussed which reforms are possible to reduce the Prime Ministers powers. The Roles of the Prime Minister As head of the UK government, the PM is probably the most influential person in British politics. To the present day 52 men and one woman have passed through the doors of Number 10 Downing Street as British Prime Minister. The office of the PM is the creation of convention, and the role and the powers conferred on him still depend mainly on convention and political circumstances. His powers are not defined in legislation, instead they evolved as a matter of political expediency and historically evolution. Moreover, it now appears to be a firm convention that the Prime Minister should be a member of the House of Commons. Most of the powers to be discussed derive from the royal prerogative.The royal prerogative is supposed to give the Monarch substantial power as the Head of State. However, the prerogative powers should be understood „not as personal discretionary powers of the Monarchâ€Å", but as „clearly circumscribed constitutional duties to be carried out on the advice of the PM. He is the principal government figure in the House of Commons and has a general authority to intervene in any sphere of government. The Prime Minister controls the central government apparatus in that he decides how the tasks of government should be allocated to departments and whether departments should be created, amalgamated or abolished. Furthermore it is the PM who appoints the members of the Cabinet and „sets the paceâ€Å" of Cabinet activity. He may ask ministers to resign, recommend the Queen to dismiss them or, with their consent, move them to other offices. Lord Atlee has said that an important quality in a Premier is the capacity to dismiss inadequate ministers. The Prime Minister is able to control Cabinet discussions and the process of decision-making by setting the order of business, and may name one of the Cabinet to be Deputy Prime Minister, or first Secretary of State. Therefore the power of appointment is one of the chief ways a Prime Minister keeps his cont rol over his party. By controlling influential committees, the PM can also ensure that he drives the policies of these committees. Accordingly, it can be said that the Prime Minister is in a position to exercise a dominant influence over the Cabinet, having powers that other ministers do not have. The PM customarily holds the titular position of First Lord of the Treasury. His approval is also required for the appointment of the most senior civil servants and important Crown appointments are filled on his nomination, for example, high-ranking members of the Church of England and senior judges. Furthermore, he also has control over the Cabinet Office. The PM, in addition, retains other patronage powers. He still advises the Queen on new peerages, on appointments to the Privy Council and the grant of honours. The Prime Ministers Office supports him in his role as head of government. This includes providing policy advice and ensuring effective communications to Parliament and the public. Most Prime Ministers must take a special interest in foreign affairs, the economy and defence. The Queen is Britain’s head of state, but the PM is Britain’s de facto representative abroad. He often takes a leading role in foreign relations, dealing directly with other heads of gover nment, and is also likely to take the lead on major issues as the national and international response to the crisis in Libya. Another function of the PM is that he is also in a position to dominate if not control the governments communication to the press, and to disclose information about government decisions and the Cabinet business. He has regular meetings with the Queen and is responsible for keeping the Queen informed of the Cabinets handling of affairs. As has become clear above, the PM is involved in all aspects of government in a way that no other government official is, and thus it is safe to say that, despite the limits on his power (see below), the PM can be considered the most influential person in politics. Limits of his power Despite the Prime Ministers emerged position within British politics there are limits to his powers. Firstly, one great limit comes from the party he represents. If the PM loses the support from his partys backbenchers, his position becomes very fragile. Therefore the biggest danger is that a Prime Minister builds up a range of enemies. One example for that is what happened to Margaret Thatcher, when another minister, who disagreed with her policies, put an effective revolt against her style of leadership, which led to her resignation. This means that if the PM loses the support of his party, he will almost always have to resign as PM, as he will not be able to exercise his role effectively. Moreover, all Prime Ministers must include most senior party colleagues in the Cabinet, who could always be some troublemakers, if they dont get the position they would like to have. The PMs powers of appointment are also limited by the need to provide a balance of party views in the Cabinet. Therefore an authoritative leadership of the party is a main factor for a PM to be successful. Additionally there are other ways in which the PMs powers are limited. For instance the fact that he is seen to be publicly responsible for any major mishap that occurs during his time in power. As the most known member of the government, it is he that the public blame when they arent satisfied with politics. Margaret Thatcher was held responsible for the problems in association with the Poll Tax and Tony Blair has been accused of being too friendly with the USA President Bush. This means that the electorate body has the power to remove the PM by way of elections, and so the PM is indirectly also controlled in this way. This is referred to as indirect as the body can not directly stop any decisions the PM makes, but can stop him from continuing in the office of PM when general elections take place by voting for another party. As another limitation can be seen the questioning time on Wednesday, which is an opportunity for the leader of the opposition and other members of the House of Commons to ask the PM supplementary questions on any subject. Therefore he is directly accountable to the Parliament for his actions and decisions. However, the PM will be extensively briefed by government departments in anticipation of likely subjects he could be asked about and they cannot force him to change his engagements. Additionally the European Union has the power to influence government policy by imposing on member states policies. Even though the Conservatives have generally not been very happy with this imposition on the British State, David Cameron still accepted when he became PM that the UK is part of the EU, and that therefore, it has to adhere to certain decisions. He, as PM, had to compromise on this point for him to effectively lead the country. Although the courts have long had the power to determine the existence and extent of a prerogative power, traditionally they have had no power to regulate the manner of its exercise. The position is now governed by the decision of the House of Lords in CCSU v Minister of State for Civil Service (1985). The judiciary placed some restraints on executive use of the royal prerogative. But not every prerogative power is justiciable: matters such as the appointment of Ministers, the disposition of the armed force and the dissolution of Parliament are still beyond judicial control.The justiciability of the prerogative powers could in theory have been a powerful limit on the PMs powers. However, in practice it has shown this was not so, as only limited part of the prerogative powers is in fact justiciable and that there are limits to what extent remedies are available. Also, this limit does not prevent or deter the PM on acting in a particular way, it will only compensate certain groups or p eople after an event has occurred, and so does not even directly affect the PM. As seen above the Prime Minister has big political powers, but this power is also balanced by the fact that there are limitations to that power. Although some of these limitations are really effective, most of the powers of the PM can not easily be influenced. Is the Prime Minister too powerful? In the last 40 years the powers of the Prime Minister within the British political structure have developed to such an extent that some critical politicians and academics now refer to Britain as having a Prime Ministerial government rather than a Cabinet government. He is the „keystone of the Cabinet archâ€Å", occupying a position which is one of the exceptional and peculiar authority. In essence this means that the office of PM is very much attached to the person by which is meant that the individual PM has a discretion in which way to exercise his powers. If the PM is very popular than the limits given above will have very little effect as most of them are heavily dependent on the dislike of and disagreement with the PM and his politics. Recently, more emphasis has been placed on the role of the Prime Minister and less on the Cabinet itself and therefore it is argued that the description of British government simply as „Cabinet governmentâ€Å" had become misleading, for „the country is governed by the Prime Ministerâ€Å". The PM has three main functions, which give him his enormous powers within the British government: being able to appoint and dismiss ministers; by setting the agenda for Cabinet discussions, and by controlling the remit and membership of Cabinet committees. Certainly the way in which these powers are operated naturally differs from one PM to another. This is an immense concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister, particularly discharging is one of his ultimate weapons. The argument of prime ministerial dominance seemed to be confirmed by the premiership of Margaret Thatcher. By displacing some important decision-making to informal, ad hoc groups of ministers convened by herself she diminished the role of Cabinet and demonstrated the dominant authority that can be wielded by a PM. As evidence of strengthened prime ministerial control under Mr Blair can be also cited paragraph 9.2 of the Ministerial Code: In order to ensure the effective presentation of government policy, all major interviews and media appearances should be agreed with the No 10 Press Office before any commitments are entered into(). As explained above, therefore the PM is in a position to dominate the governments communication to the press. Another claim of his overwhelming power is that Cabinet meetings are too dominated by the PM. The members of the Cabinet are simply yes-sayers. „With Mr Tony Blair there has been a reversion to a „command and controlâ€Å" premiership with centralised and informal processes of decision-making tending to displace collective discussions in Cabinet and Cabinet committeesâ€Å". Also the doctrine of collective responsibility helps to strengthen the powers of the Prime Minister,   as ministers must not criticise government policy in public. This is underlined by the fact that many decisions of government are not taken by the Cabinet as a whole, but by the Prime Minister in consultation with a few key colleagues. Moreover, there are those who believe that the personality of the Prime Minister is now almost as important as stated party policies. But the implication is that if people vote for personalities as much as issues, then the opponent has no chance of winning the next election as long as the current PMs personality and manner are still popular with the people. All these facts have led some to seek ways to limit or control the power of the PM in order to rehabilitate the Cabinet government. Thus far, it has been established that the PM has great amounts of power and that it seems that   Britain currently has a more prime ministerial government than a Cabinet government. However, to demonstrate whether the PM can be considered as too powerful, it would be best to compare his function with that of the German Federal Chancellor, who has the equivalent role in Germany. Even though the legal foundations of the political systems of the United Kingdom and Germany are very different, the roles of the PM and the Chancellor are in many ways very similar, and so this comparison would be a good way to show how powerful the PM actually is, and whether that could be considered as being too powerful. The German Chancellor is the head of government. Currently this position is held by Angela Merkel of the CDU. The Chancellor determines the guidelines of government policy, so called Richtlinienkompetenz. He is elected every four years by a majority of the members of the Bundestag upon the recommendation of the President. For this election a majority of all elected members of the Bundestag is required, which should ensure to establish a stable government. The Chancellor has the power to choose his ministers and to determines the number of ministries and their responsibilities. Another power is that the Chancellor himself can propose a vote of no confidence.Therefore he can test whether he still enjoys the unlimited support of the governing parties. The powers of the German Chancellor are also limited. Removing the Chancellor from office is an alternative when there is no more political consensus between the parties before a general elections for a new Bundestag.In the German history there have been only three occasions where this happened. This course of action was taken in order to prematurely dissolve the Bundestag, which according to the constitution is otherwise not possible. This ensures that no single party can form a government on its own. Furthermore limitations can be given from decisions of the Federal Constitutional court: It allows the authority and the citizens to present a complaint to abolish a law they found infringing the terms set in Basic Rights. In comparison to the Prime Minister the power to appoint members of high authority, legalise acts and dissolve parliament is vested in the German Bundesprsident. The fifty-year history of the Federal Republic has shown that despite the Chancellors strong position the ability of the government to act cannot be guaranteed by him alone. Even though the Chancellery makes it possible to impose central management and coordination, a non-hierarchical relationship between the Chancellor and his Ministers plays an important role in government practice. In this context the Cabinet deals with important interministerial issues such as the federal budget or tax reform and takes joint decisions on them (principle of joint Cabinet decision-making). In a government coalition the Chancellor is also bound by the terms of the coalition agreement and has to adhere to these terms to avoid straining the coalition. The principle of joint Cabinet decision-making means that the Chancellor and the Ministers decide jointly on matters of general political importance. When there are differences of opinion between Ministers the Chancellor mediates (as a primus inter pares). Cabinet decisions are based on majority rule. The principle of ministerial autonomy means that each Minister conducts the affairs of his ministry independently and on his own responsibility. This means that the Chancellor cannot automatically intervene in his Ministers areas of responsibility. At the same time Ministers must see to it that the decisions they take remain within the limits. As can be seen by this comparison the British PM and the Chancellor in theory have very similar powers, but in practice the PM has a lot more power than the Chancellor as he has more discretion about the execution of these powers. However, before one can say that this means he is too powerful, the effectiveness of the functions of Prime Minister and Chancellor have to be compared. In fact, in the six decades of the Bundestag, there have been only eight Chancellors – a remarkable element of stability. In the same period of time, Britain has had 14 Prime Ministers. In the British parliamentary system usually only has one party in power, because the first-past-the-post system there favours the strongest party. There have only been a few hung parliaments. The latest elections resulted in this, and currently the UK has a coalition government, existing out of the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. In May there will be a referendum to change the voting system, and if the voting system as a consequence of this is in fact changed to one of additional voting, then this might all change. Since Germany has a system of proportional representation for the election of its lower house, no one party has ever had a clear majority in the last 60 years, and for this reason all German governments have been coalitions. Finally, there is the question, which reforms of the PM’s position are could be made, and what their advantages and disadvantages would be. One way of reform would be the limit of the PM’s power to a greater extent to prevent the role of PM to be so attached to the person, and instead to be more like the German Chancellor’s position, whose powers are more controlled by the political process. The House of Commons Public Administration Select Committee recommended that the government should initiate a public consultation about Ministers executive powers, which would include proposals for legislation to provide for greater parliamentary control over all such ministerial powers. Furthermore, changing the way in which Cabinet meetings and decisions are made would be helpful in a similar way. The PM would still lead the Cabinet, but could not unilaterally ignore their opinions and views and would be forced to take them into account. In addition, by giving the PM perhaps also a more mediating role rather than just a leading role, the resources of various departments would come to better use. The PM would by supporting the other ministers in their responsibilities and by organising better co-operation between the different ministerial departments achieve better results. The better these departments function with each other, the less dependent they would be on the PM, and in that way his power would be limited. In my opinion the rules regarding the operation of parliament and its processes should be clearer as they would provide for another method of limiting the PM’s power. It can also be argued that the entire office of the PM should codified in a statute. The move away from an unwritten constitution – with statutory provisions – limits the PMs scope,for example an Act of Parliament which states that there has to be a PM, how and who should be appointed for the role, and what the powers attached to this position would be. Lastly, the changing of the voting system might lead to far reaching consequences for the office of PM, as explained above. However, at this point, this is all theory as the referendum still has to take place, and even if it takes place, it might show people do not wish a change in the voting system. Even if it does, the politicians will still first have to act on this before anything changes. As this should make clear there are ways in which the position of the Prime Minister can be reformed in a way that will limit his power to the extent that he is no longer too powerful, but still powerful enough to carry out his function in an appropriate way. Conclusion The British Prime Minister has extensive personal power, which prevent there from being an „averageâ€Å" Prime Minister. The power of the PM will change according to the personality of the PM, his popularity, the success of his government, external circumstances and the resources of other actors within the core executive.James Barber argued that by putting the three factors together – constitutional and political frameworks, circumstance and personality – the picture that emerges is one of fluctuating powers, whereby sometimes a PM may appear to have presidential-like position, and at others he is subject to obvious constraints. All these things will have an important effect on how powerful the PM is. As written above, there are some possibilities in which way his power can be reduced and more controlled, and in that way to achieve a â€Å"Cabinet government† rather than a prime ministerial government. The PM should not be a presidential figure, but able to lead the Cabinet and ensure that decisions are made. Bibliography Books: Bogdanor, Vernon _The New British Constitution, 2009 The British Constitution in the Twentieth Century, 2004_____Bradley, A. W. / Ewing, K. D._Constitutional Administrative Law, 15th ed. 2010__Brazier, Rodney_Constitutional Texts – Materials on Government and the Constitution, 1990 Constitutional Reform – Reshaping the British political system __Hilaire, Barnett_Constitutional Administrativ Law, 6th ed.__Loveland, Ian_Constitutional Law, Administrative Law, and Human Rights – A critical introduction, 2006. __Maurer/ Hartmut_Staatsrecht I – Grundlagen, Verfassungsorgane, Staatsfunktionen, 3th ed__Oliver, Dawn_Government in the United Kingdom, 1991__Parpworth, Neil_Constitutional and Administrative Law, 5th ed. 2008__Turpin, Colin / Tomkins, Adam_British Government and the Constitution, 6th ed. 2007__ Articles: Benn, article in Parliamentary Affairs,  1990. Theakston / Kevin – Prime Ministers and the Constitution, in Parliamentary Affairs, Vol. 58   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No.1, 2005, 17-37. Heffernan, article in Parliamentary Affairs,  2005. Hennessy, article in Parliamnetary Affairs, 2005

American Airlines Strategy Paper Essay Example for Free

American Airlines Strategy Paper Essay Currently the airline industry as a whole seems to be on the road of recovery. We, American Airlines, the fourth largest carrier recently avoided bankruptcy, but had a summer full of pressure due to ongoing union struggles and questionable executive compensation packages. After having incurred such big losses, this recovery has come about because of the government bailout and many of our large competitors’ abilities to survive the turbulence in the industry. So far, the prospects look promising. Revenue has improved across all regions of the business. Domestic unit revenue was up almost 10 percent and Latin American revenue has increased by close to 11 percent in the last quarter of 2012 compared to the same period the prior year. We are performing better than other airlines that have filed for protection and have done so without slashing capacity. In short, American is doing the right things to return to business efficiency and customer effectiveness. In order to establish a sustainable position for the future, American Airlines must adopt a three-pronged strategy moving forward. First, we should focus on low priced operations and increased marketing strategies to improve customer demand. We have to enhance customer experience and our volume of loyal customers to build a stronger presence in Airline Industry. Second, we must focus on increasing and improving the routes to cater to large customer base. Lastly, we must address the difficulties our company might face in integrating with the culture of US Airlines. Our future success is highly dependent on these two entities efficiently operating as a single organization. US Airline industry today is dominated by five major domestic carriers. United, Delta and Southwest each has more than 15 percent market share. American is fourth, with around 12 percent and US Airways is fifth with around 10 percent. Four of these five are profitable — all but American. We lost $2 billion in 2011 and $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2012. Our emphasis in 2013 is on operational flexibility, international growth through alliance and selective network expansion, and domestic partnerships to reduce operational and balance sheet risks. American’s market differentiation is based on emphasizing and meeting the needs and expectations of high value customers (particularly large global corporates) and better alignment with the one world airline network and value proposition. Also, being the lead carrier between not only the United States and Latin America but, increasingly, the world and Latin America—connecting through Dallas, Los Angeles, or Miami. This strategy makes sense; if they can get all labor work groups on board, they should be able to make it happen. That is still the main challenge, as is competitor contestation, particularly from larger traditional rivals like Delta and United. Improve Customer Demand Lower Operational Costs American passenger division which already has 57 fewer planes in service than an year ago, should further shrink by another 57 planes this summer. This would improve operational efficiency. Current service levels include 275 cities with a fleet of over 1000 aircraft. American carries about 80 million passengers daily and receives more than 329,000 reservation calls, handles more than 293,000 pieces of luggage and flies more than 4300 flights in one typical day. In order to reduce costs further over 27000 jobs will have to be eliminated. Because of high competition in the industry, substantial price fluctuations occur related to fares. Increase value added services offered through our interactive website, AA.com. Any differentiation that convenience added capabilities offer is the center of focus. Busy hiub systems and schedule patterns need to be looked at to improve efficiency and routing effectiveness, thereby enhancing customer experience. We need to do rigorous marketing to attract more customers. Our marketing is currently focused on seasonal and business travelers and much analysis is taken in order to optimize peak travel seasons as well as frequent flier miles programs and pints systems. The Making More Room in coach program is the original marketing ploy of American to project a perception of higher passenger comfort levels. As increased advertising and intense market share is gained, we will continue to remain a key player assuming passenger demand goes up as projected. We will focus on upgraded in-flight entertainment systems, football game special fares, and buy-on board meal options to further enhance customer experience. American Airlines’ new network strategy is designed to improve profitability by offering the routes and schedules that attract and retain not only their own high value customers but also those of alliance partners, an important source of revenue through codeshare agreements and closely aligned loyalty programs. The network is the core product that works in concert with lie-flat seats, onboard amenities, and customer service. Latin America is a prominent focus, due in part to our strong presence in key hubs to Latin America such as Dallas and Miami. This is where the profits are. Passenger growth forecasts for Latin America for 2013-17 are 6 percent for Latin America North (Central America and the northern rim of South America) and 8 percent for Latin America South (southern cone countries such as Brazil and Argentina). This compares with 3.6 percent for Europe and 4.4 percent for Asia. To follow the growth markets, we must change our portfolio mix to focus more on international rather than domestic routes. This is a gradual process, moving from 38 percent international and 62 percent domestic capacity in 2013 towards a 44/56 percent balance by 2017. As we refocus more of our flying towards international opportunities, it is likely to look towards increased code-sharing with domestic carriers like Alaska Airlines, jetBlue, and others to further enhance our network in places like Los Angeles and New York City. This is likely to have initial teething problems, due to terminal colocation and product disparity issues. For instance, the business passengers that we are pursuing may be disgruntled by jetBlue’s more restrictive carry-on baggage policies or by extra time and added security checks if they are required to change terminals. Our plan is also to diversify our domestic feed by increasing the number of regional carriers with which we do business to reduce operational and balance sheet risk. Today, we primarily get a feed from our wholly-owned subsidiary, American Eagle, which has higher costs than some other regional carriers. American Eagle is going through its own restructuring to lower its costs, and it may ultimately be spun off. Merger with US Airways will result in the largest carrier in US. It would create roughly $1.2 billion in financial benefits. American Airlines Strategy Paper. (2017, Jan 20).

Typewriter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Typewriter - Essay Example In private homes, people used it usually for the business correspondence with their lawyers, proprietors and other official purposes. They ruled over the business world for more than a century. Nineteenth century became the century of typewriters. There were quite many modifications within the existing machine, but they still had no replacements (Williams, 2003). The advent of the word processors in the end of nineteenth century took the place of typewriters in the western world, and many of the uses of the typewriters were replaced. The typewriters started to become obsolete but they were still very prominent in their use in some countries where the economy was not good or the advancement of technology was behind the western worlds. It is still very popularly used in some Countries in Africa and India. WHAT IS A TYPEWRITER? A typewriter is a mechanical or an electromechanical machine, it writes the characters in a very similar way as the characters are written when we use prin ters. The keyboard operated types when the keys are struck. The keys when struck produce an impression with the use of ink transfer or carbon impression on the paper (Wershler-Henry, 2007). Manufacturers who were in business became quite famous for their manufactured typewriters and made quite a lot of profit from it. The famous companies that were involved during the middle of nineteenth century in the making of typewriters were E. Remington and Sons,  IBM,  Imperial Typewriters,  Oliver Typewriter Company,  Olivetti, Royal Typewriter Company,  Smith Corona, and  Underwood Typewriter Company (Marie, 2006). The main concept and design of the typewriter is same, but due to the ever increasing demand of the typewriters there were many inventors who were working together or independently just to make the machine perfect. Many of the inventors were working in contest with each other while some were working for the increased social benefit. The innovations that were carried out on the typewriters were all incremental. Many people provided insights as to the improvement of the machine and the result was a more commercially useful instrument. It has been estimated that the number of times the innovations that have occurred are around fifty two to make it more workable and profitable for the business. Earlier ribbon was used for typing but then introduction of print ball made typing more easier (Kittler, Young and Wutz, 1999). HISTORY OF TYPEWRITERS AND THEIR EVOLUTION The first of its kind was a machine that was built by Henry Mill in 1714 (Marie, 2006). He had obtained a patent for a machine that was very much similar to the typewriter. The reviews that could be found about the machine all relate to a machine that could be used to write letters. The machine was said to be so perfect that it enabled the letters to be transcribed or printed on a sheet of paper in such a perfect and neat manner that it could be used repeatedly and the perfection in th e printed pages remained synchronous. It was a machine that was considered as a perfect solution for all the correspondence either business or commercial. It was considered as a machine that would produce quite a lot of ease in the maintenance of the public records as well. The reason it was considered as a more effective way as compared to the manual writing that was done to keep the records was because the print stayed for a longer time period (Daniell and Mortensen, 2007). The typewriter that continued to be in

Faculty of management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Faculty of management - Essay Example According to her, Canadian businesses have stagnant growth because they not only lack resources but they have also not enough motivation for growth. Canadian Banks have conservative notions about businesses that discourage people to be creative. She nevertheless thinks that some of the government initiatives like Canada Export Development and Sustainable development Technologies have encouraged businesses to exploit new opportunities of growth in emerging economies. I agree with Allen that businesses must innovate to compete and expand. But at the same time, government must create facilitating environment for growth. In the current environment of advancing technology and globalization, business has become highly competitive. Moreover, process of globalization has changed the dynamics of global business. Emerging markets of South East Asia, Middle East and BRIC countries offer huge potential for businesses. They are high growth markets with high income where demand for new product can be easily created (Hook, 2001). This is a very important factor that must be exploited by the business community. Growth of business contributes to the growth and development of nations. Thus, it becomes imperative that businesses must constantly make efforts to expand and grow. R&D facilities promote innovation of ideas, new product development and innovation in business processes for greater productivity. Furthermore, innovative approach and resource based strategy provide the firms with unique value creating capabilities that give them distinct advantage against their rivals. As such, they emerge as critical elem ents that facilitate businesses to compete successfully and grow even in adverse circumstances (Coombe and Georghiou, 2002). Indeed, government initiatives are major incentives for businesses to look for new opportunities and motivate them for diversifying their interests. But unless and until they are backed by conducive environment of growth,

Things Fall Apart :: essays research papers

Truman Capote was first introduced to the story of the brutal killing of the Clutter family one morning in November of 1959, while flicking through The New York Times, I encountered on a deep inside page, this headline: Wealthy Farmer, 3 of Family Slain? (Capote, 3). He decided to write about the crime committed in Kansas, because ?murder was a theme not likely to darken and yellow with time? (Capote, 3). Capote promptly headed for Kansas, where he spent six years researching, solving, and writing about the unforgivable act. Truman Capote?s In Cold Blood, the final product of his years of research, is a masterfully written account of the cold-blooded murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas in 1959. In writing In Cold Blood, Capote presents the blood-curdling story of the brutal killing of the Clutter family in a journalistic style, and is able to exclude his point of view on all of the events; ?The most difficult thing in In Cold Blood is that I never appear in it, but I sol ved it?The whole thing was done from Al Dewey?s point of view? (Newsweek, 60). Because of Capote?s immeasurable talent for writing, he is able to present factual events, just as in a journalistic article, in a style that seems similar to a fiction novel. His focus in In Cold Blood is on the facts of the events which occur before, during, and after the murder of Mr. Clutter; Kenyon, his fifteen year old son; Nancy, his 16 year old daughter; and, Bonnie, his wife. Capote?s emphasis on the facts can be seen through his thorough account of what the murderers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickock, took from the Clutter?s house, which was about thirty dollars from Mr. Clutter?s billfold, some change and a dollar or two? (239) from Mrs. Clutter, a silver dollar from Nancy, and a radio. Added up, Perry and Dick gained ?between forty and fifty dollars? (246) from their visit to the Clutter?s house. As well as being written in a journalistic style, In Cold Blood is written in a documentary style, whi ch switches back and forth from the worlds of the Clutter family, and later of the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, to the terrible half-world in which the two murderers live? (McCabe, 561). By writing in the documentary style, Capote is able to be specific about the thoughts, feelings, and actions of all of the characters separately, making each character?

Al-Fatiha

AL-FATIHA:The essential exacting significance of the articulation â€Å"al-Fati?ah† is â€Å"The Opener,† which could allude to this Surah being â€Å"the opener of the Book. It is the main part (surah) of the Quran. Its seven verses (ayat) are a petition for the direction, lordship and benevolence of God. This section has a basic part in Islamic supplication(prayer). It is also known as †mother of the book†. It is the Mecci Surah of the Holy Quran . THEME:Allah has taught in this Surah to mankind to offer prayer to Him, who is the Lord of this universe before seeking guidance and Who alone can grant it. The reader should have a firm belief that the Creator of the universe is the source of all knowledge and the study of Quran can provide him guidance. Islam requires a man to begin everything with the name of Allah. By doing this he will keep himself far from detestable and wrong deeds. knowledge and the study of Quran can provide him guidance. Allah is the Master, Owner, Sustainer, Provider, Guardian, Sovereign, Ruler, Administrator, Organizer and master of day of judgement and we are answerable to him. VIRTUES:There are numerous ethics related with this Surah. Hazrat Abu Saeed al-Khudri describes: â€Å"While on a voyage we stopped at a place. A young lady came to us and stated: â€Å"The head of this clan has been stung by a scorpion and our men are absent, is there anyone among you who can recount something upon him to treat him?† Then, one of our men obliged her despite the fact that we didn't believe that he knew any such treatment. In any case, our companion went to the boss and discussed something upon him and the boss was cured. Immediately, the boss gave him thirty sheep and gave every one of us drain to drink. When he returned, we asked our companion: â€Å"Did you know anything to present upon him to cure him?† He stated: â€Å"No, I just recounted Umm al-Kitab (i.e. Surah Al-Fatihah) upon him.† We said that don't do anything until the point when we achieve Madinah and ask the Prophet with respect to this (hone and rewardwhether the sheep were legitimate or not for us). TAFSSER:In the Name of Allah: The first ayah of the Surah Al-Fatihah is: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful. This phrase is known as the bismillah. It is good to recite it before doing any action.The Meaning of the letter Baa The Baa in the Arabic dialect can have three unique implications:With – With/for the sake of Allah.Seeking help – Seeking assistance from the name of Allah.Seeking favoring – Seeking favoring with the name of Allah.The Meaning of al-Rahman and al-Raheem Both these names are gotten from a similar root letters: raa, haa, meem; which intends to show kindness.They are hence comparable in significance and both are associated with Allah's (SWT) Mercy. The way that Allah (SWT) notices two of His Names which show to do with Mercy, as opposed to Might and Power or so on, demonstrates exactly how critical this Attribute is. The distinction between al-Rahman and al-Raheem is that al-Rahman alludes to Allah's (SWT) Mercy to all of c reation. It is His Mercy which is stretched out to the two devotees and skeptics; creatures, and everything that exists.All Praise is due to Allah The second ayah is: All praise be to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds. The Meaning of Hamd and the Difference between Hamd and Shukr :Hamd means praise and also thankfulness. Shukr is done with the tongue, the limbs and the heart; whereas hamd is done with the tongue only. It is also said that hamd is more general than shukr. In hamd, it contains the meaning of shukr (thankfulness) as well as madh (praise). The Meaning of Rabb Rabb is usually translated as Lord but it is much more encompassing than that. It also includes the meaning of Nurturer, Sustainer, Cherisher and so on. The Rabb is the creator, king, master and the one who controls everything. The Meaning of ‘Aalameen:Some of the differing views about it are that it refers to:Everything which exists other than Allah ta'alaMankind and the jinnThose things which have an intellect, and they are four: mankind, jinn, angels, and devilsThose species which have souls The best view is the first one.The Beneficent, The Most Merciful: The third ayah is: The Beneficent, The Most Merciful. (Al-Fatihah: 3) The explanation of these two names has already been given. Why then is it repeated? This is to once again emphasis the importance of the quality of mercy. Master of the Day of Reward: The fourth ayah is: The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. (Al-Fatihah: 3) The Meaning of Maalik : Malik means king, and it refers to â€Å"mulk† – the dominion of a person. He will judge us all, that He is so absolutely powerful, that on the Day of Judgement no one will have the power either to resist the enforcement of punishments.You (Alone) We Worship: The fifth ayah is: You (alone) we worship and You (alone) we ask for help.†We Worship† implies we comply. Love is acquiescence and self-dishonor. It intends to lower yourself before Allah (SWT) and to submit to His Will. Apparently it is self-dishonor, yet as a general rule, it is brilliance and beautification. This ayah asserts the Lordship of Allah and confirms that love is because of Him.Guide us on the Straight Path:The sixth ayah is: Guide us on the Straight Path. This ayah is a dua which we make to Allah (SWT). We ask Him to show us the Straight Path and to guide us on it, so that we will get His Guidance which draws us closer and nearer to Him. The Meaning of Sirat:Sirat is a road or a path. There are conditions that it must be straight. It must reach the goal and it must be the shortest route to get there. It must also be wide and spacious enough for everyone who wants to travel it. The Meaning of Mustaqeem:Mustaqeem is derived from istaqaama, which means to be straight, upright, correct. The Path of Those†¦:The seventh and final ayah is: The path of those you have blessed, not of those with anger on them, nor of those who are astray†. Who are the people who have been blessed by Allah (SWT) and whose Path we ask to guide to? This is explained by Allah (SWT) in another ayah where He says: Whosoever obeys Allah, and the Messenger, they are with those whom Allah SWT) has favored, the Prophets (AS), the sincere, the martyrs and the righteous, and these are the best company. Impact of surah on Muslim lives:This surah Is one of the most important surahs of Quran. A Muslim needs to recite it in every prayer 5 times a day. If a Muslim follows it to its core their lives ill become easy. This surah explains us how merciful and kind Allah Almighty is and he is the only one to worship and seek help from.If we understand it and apply in our lives then we will lead true and right life, as we will know we are answerable to God on the day of judgement then we may try to restrain from evil deeds and activities. We will always speak truth no matter what because we are only afraid of Allah and on one else.This is a dua we make everyday and so it will protect us and surely and will show us right path.

The Civilian Conservation Corps Saving Land, Saving Man

The Civilian Conservation Corps: Saving Land, Saving Man Nothing short of tragedy struck America in the 1930s. When Franklin D. Roosevelt took office in 1933, unemployment rates had reached a staggering 25% (DeGrace). With over 13 million Americans void of both work and hope, the necessity of government intervention became evident (DeGrace). The New Deal, a legislation encompassing various relief, reform, and recovery programs, was Roosevelt’s proposed method of revival. One of the first, and perhaps the most well-known, agencies, was the Emergency Conservation Work Act (ECW), which would later become the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) (CCC Brief History). Through this organization, Roosevelt aimed to assuage impacts of The Great Depression beyond simply its detriment to economic prosperity. Ultimately, he prevailed in doing so. The Civilian Conservation Corps, having aroused incredible public support, was an extremely effective agency due to its success in granting America ns economic, environmental, and spiritual relief that would prosper throughout its undying legacy. The Civil Conservation Corps was the first of several job programs intended to relieve the nation’s suffering through providing work as quickly as possible. Roosevelt, who was particularly fond of the program and personally designed many of its endeavors, aimed to preserve â€Å"two wasted resources: young men and land† (CCC Brief History). With a longtime interest in conservation, he sent thousands ofShow MoreRelated Recessions and Depressions Essay1653 Words   |  7 PagesA stock market crash in 1929 caused loss of savings which led to unemployment, lower wages, and a distrust of the banking system. The affects of it lasted into the 1940s. 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Roosevelt was elected into office. Roosevelt entered the White House with a yearning for the country’s trust and support. Vulnerable and impatient, American’s were quick to endorse Roosevelt who was viewed as not only a new beginning, but a man with enough courage to try and fix the downfall that America was in. Roosevelt’s ideas for a national change were a series of federal programs called The New Deal. These programs consisted of two main goals: job recreation and economic recovery. ConsideringRead Mo reMain Features of the New Deal Essay1683 Words   |  7 PagesRoosevelt came to power. He aimed to invest government money in making America prosperous again after the depression years of Hoover. Roosevelts main aims were to reduce unemployment and get Americans earning money again, to protect peoples savings, homes and livelihoods, to provide relief for the ill, the elderly and the unemployed and to get American industry and agriculture running once again. In his first hundred days in charge in charge Roosevelt worked tirelesslyRead MoreFDR’s Alphabet Soup1364 Words   |  6 PagesThis particular speech was regarding the banking crisis. He dove right in and mentioned the issues on the forefront of American’s minds. In the last days of February and into the first weeks of March there was surge of people that took their entire savings out of their banks for cash or gold because they feared loosing their money all together. Roosevelt explains that, â€Å"The bank puts your money to work to keep the wheels of industry and of agriculture turning around.† Meaning that the banks cannotRead MoreThe New Deal: Radical Policies towards a Conservative Goal1539 Words   |  6 Pagesgovernment programs that can still be seen to this day. Through its enactment of social reform and conservation programs, the New Deal mounted radical policies that gave the federal government unprecedented power in the nation’s economy and society, however, the New Deal did not bring America out o f the Great Depression and could be considered conservative in the context of the era, ultimately saving capitalism from collapsing in America. Many of the New Deal’s relief programs were revolutionary;Read MoreEssay about The New Deal1030 Words   |  5 Pagestheir shares. This meant that there were much more sellers than buyers which meant the whole system crashed. This caused banks to go bankrupt, along with everyones money that were in those banks. This caused people to withdraw their savings from banks, causing even more to close down. Also there was the weakness of the US economy. After the boom, there was a strain on the consumer goods being bought, and other such things. The companies that sold cars and otherRead MoreEssay about Main Features of The New Deal4123 Words   |  17 PagesMain Features of The New Deal In 1929, the stock market collapsed causing a worldwide economic depression, destroying America’s economy with many people losing their life savings therefore thrusting them into unemployment and poverty. Unemployment reached highs of over 13 million whilst the GNP for the country reached as low as $58 billion, compared to the $100 billion+ pre depression figures, because demand and production fell so dramatically. People were forced outRead MoreThe Great Depression and World War II1795 Words   |  7 Pagesmiddle-class people had more freedom because they had more income. In addition, banks in our state, as well as other states in the union, were small and unprotected. That means that when a bank went bankrupt, they could not pay back all of their loans or savings. Many farmers in North Carolina started to mechanize their new, larger farms to compete with other farms. This increased supply and dropped demand, lowered the price of food and made it harder to pay back the loans for the new tractors and machineryRead More The Great Depression in America Essay2388 Words   |  10 Pagescountry in search of food, work, or a roof. There was a popular song from this era known as â€Å"Brother, can you spare a dime (Modern)?† A big step that happened for the unemployed were the Civilian Conservation Corps, a government program that brought relief to men between the ages of 18 and 25. The Conservation Corps gave jobs to young men in work camps across the country for about $30 per month. There were about 2 million men that took advantage of these jobs (The Great Depression). These men took