What Impact Did the Major Political, Economic and Social Changes of the Meiji Restoration Have on Japan?

Japan’s goal of achieving fukoku kyohei, â€Å"rich country; strong military†, fuelled major political, economic and social changes during the Meiji Restoration. By the 20th century, Japan had a modern constitution and national parliament, though it was not truly democratic. The modernization of the nation also made Japan richer and more economically stable, with a structured education system. Japan, an impotent, closed feudal state, was transformed into a formidable nation focused on nationalism. In attempt to acquire strength and unity in the government, political changes focused on creating a centralized government and a western constitution. In consequence, the Japanese government became more united and organized. As the western nations were the most influential countries at the time, Japan believed that following a western example would prove most effective. In order to create a fully centralized government, feudalism was ended. The government was then able to establish power over all of the 260 feudal domains. The court nobles and the feudal lords were given the same rank†¦compelled to hand back (land). † (Miocevich, 25) The use of the word ‘compelled’ suggests that there was some dissension within the government. There was also argument over public voice and the style of the constitution. As a result, the first constitution was abandoned, leading to the creation of a second Meiji Constitution in 1889. Although the government was still under imper ial rule, it was slowly moving towards democracy, as a Prussian parliamentary system was adopted. Regardless, various parties were still excluded from political influence, as the oligarchy, ruling in the emperor’s name, continued to hold significant authority. The constitution did however foster a more organized and united government in Japan. During 1883, the Progressive Party founded by Okuma, which opposed the constitutional model, fell apart. All political parties eventually unified under one government. These changes provided Japan with the unity and strength it needed to transform itself, a victim, into one of the powerful aggressors. The economic changes that occurred in Japan focused on increasing revenue and in turn, helped Japan achieve its goal in becoming a richer nation with stronger defenses. With industrialization as a key aim in Japan’s economy, the shokusan koygo, a government policy that encouraged economic freedom, was developed. Infrastructure was also tightened, as a new banking system was developed, modern communications were constructed, and an official currency was adopted and issued. Lastly, in order to acquire more revenue, a new land tax was introduced, while the government also began allowing and promoting the purchase of certain industries from private companies in the Zaibatsu. By the end of the Meiji Restoration, Japan, as â€Å"one of the world’s largest produces of coal and exporters of copper† (Miocevich, 26), definitely possessed a progressive and prosperous economy. The land tax, which contributed to 78% of the nation’s income in 1868, had decreased to 30% by 1897. Miocevich, 27) This indicates that Japan was now receiving a constant flow of revenue by other means, such as the Zaibatsu. The nation was now economically stable, and had transitioned into an aggressive and successful nation. Japan’s triumph in both the Sino-Japanese War in 1894 and Russo-Japanese War in 1904 further confirmed Japan’s new and seemingly indestructible defenses. The Treaty of Shimonoseki (1895) gave Japan â€Å"most-favored nation rights in China, a privilege long desired. †(Miocevich, 34) The Treaty of the Portsmouth (1905) gave Japan â€Å"the lease of the Liaotung Peninsula†. Miocevich, 37) Japan would have never been able to demand these advantages if it had not conquered China and Russia. By the end of the Meiji Restoration, Japan had taken its inevitable part in the international scene. As the government and economy adjusted, the society took on many changes as well, such as the adoption of the Western culture, a reform in the education system, and the instillation of nationalism in Japan. The desire to be perceived as an equal by Westerners resulted in the adoption of the Western culture in the Japanese society. There were changes in the fashion as well as food and cuisine. Western-style haircuts were ubiquitous in the Japanese streets during 1870, while the introduction to bread, beef and dairy products made their way to the community subsequently. With the aim of a modernized society, the Meiji government also found an organized education system a vital aspect, thus instituting the Terokoya system. This change in education also launched the establishment of the Ministry of Education, which had an aim of providing education for all people. In 1868, almost 13,000 terakoyas were constructed with 837,000 students. (Miocevich, 30) By 1910, an immense advancement was made, as 98% of Japanese students were given compulsory education. (Miocevich, 30) Clearly, the Japanese had made education a priority. Finally, nationalism was probably the most prominent change in the Japanese society during the Meiji Restoration. As Japan grew stronger as a nation, their citizens grew increasingly patriotic. This newfound patriotism was displayed in the actions of the soldiers, determined to risk their lives for the benefit of Japan. An excerpt by a Japanese official further reiterates this growing sense of nation pride. â€Å"To strengthen Japan by war is to show loyalty to our country†¦our guiding principle. † (Miocevich, 30). Japan’s modernization within the society had resulted in the adoption of western cultures, an increased literacy rate, and patriotism in the nation. The Meiji Restoration had made the dream of accomplishing fukoku kyohei a reality for Japan. The adoption of a western parliamentary model aided Japan in its development towards a stable rule, which in turn, created unity within the nation. With the focus of modernization, necessary changes were also made in Japan’s industry and society, such as the adoption of a new banking and education system. Moreover, Japan’s new stable economy allowed it to thrive financially and build stronger defenses. Accompanied by the growing nationalism within the Japanese, the soldiers of the military grew more tenacious, as proven by Japan’s growing victories in wars. By the end of the Meiji Restoration, Japan had proved to the other formidable nations that it had found its rightful position with the aggressors.

Hiroshima- John Hersey Essay Essay

‘Hiroshima is not merely a documentary, Hersey manages to inject into the narrative both compassion and awareness of the ultimate triumph of humanity. ’ Discuss Hiroshima from this perspective. Hiroshima is an historic depiction of a disaster that shocked the world. Utilizing the experiences of six Japanese atomic bomb survivors Hersey expresses compassion and awareness of the city’s triumph over the disaster. The narrative creates compassion by showing perseverance of common people and their journeys to overcome the tragedy. By using the patriotism of the dying victims Hersey creates empathy and outlines the nation’s indefatigable pride, He depicts Hiroshima’s triumph as a community uniting together to help each other in a time of adversity. The narrative focuses on six bomb survivors and their accounts during and after the bomb. Using the accounts of the survivors’ Hersey is able to extract compassion to the reader. Mrs Hatsuyo Nakamura was a widowed mother of three who suffered great poverty after the bomb; she was left torn and fragile. Suffering from radiation sickness and no means of income, Mrs Nakamura never loses hope. In an attempt to overcome her obstacles she worked countless jobs but barely earned enough to suffice. Regardless of how hard the task was physically and emotionally Mrs N was willing to do and sacrifice anything for the good of her children She earned barely enough for food†¦ Her belly began to swell up, and she had diarrhoea and so much pain she could no longer work at all†¦ The doctor treated Nakamura-san†¦to pay the doctor she was forced to sell her last valuable possession, her husband’s sewing machine. (p119, 120). And after all the hardship she was finally able to rebuild her life slowly: She felt at home in her body now; she rested when she needed, and she had no worries about the cost of medical care†¦It was time for her to enjoy life. (p128). Using her experiences Hersey is able to construct an emotional bond between the reader and Mrs Nakumura by retelling the hard and miserable journey she took just to stay alive and her triumph over her sickness and poverty. Mrs Nakumara was just one of the six stories Hersey used to convey compassion to the readers of Hiroshima. Hersey’s presentation of patriotism among dying bomb victims creates a sympathetic bond to the reader for their triumph over the devastation. After the attack on Hiroshima the survivors refused to die in vain in spite of what tragedy had hit their city. Even in the face of death, the survivors were rejoicing their heritage, dedicating their last breaths of life to their motherland and were determined keep their morale even after the devastation. One of the girls begun to sing Kimi Ga Yo, the national anthem, and others followed in chorus and died. (p 116). As a reader it was hard to comprehend the significance of honour these people felt for their country. After the bomb, they were suffering from poverty and tragedy, yet by hearing the emperors’ voice on broadcast they were touched and gratified: †¦ the Emperor, they cried with full tears in their eyes. ‘What a wonderful blessing it is that Tenno himself call on us and we can hear his own voice in person. We are thoroughly satisfied in such a great sacrifice †¦Japan started her new way. † (p 85) Hersey uses the patriotism of the survivors as an example of a triumph of humanity. The survivors were too proud to let the enemy take their last shred of hope their national dignity, opting to die with honour and pride. In addition to compassion, Hiroshima also raised awareness of the city’s triumph of humanity. A new sense of community and unification was present at the time of crisis; the atomic bomb left Hiroshima demolished. Hersey painted a dark and disastrous image, yet as a result, contrasted and portrayed the high points of humanity. Father Kleinsorge, a priest of the Society of Jesus, felt that he was an outsider prior to the bomb, yet after the bomb he was filled with gratitude for the cities new found acceptance: †¦ she came to him and said†¦ † These are tea leaves. Chew them, young man, and you won’t feel thirsty. † The woman’s gentleness made Father Kleinsorge suddenly want to cry. For weeks, he had been feeling oppressed by the hatred of foreigners†¦ (p 70). The enemies’ intention to tear the city apart emotionally and physically backfired as it left the city stronger and united. One feeling they did seem to share†¦ was a curious kind of elated community spirit†¦ pride in the way they and their fellow-survivors had stood up to a dreadful ordeal(p114). Hiroshima raised awareness of the Japanese people’s indestructible spirit even when their city lay in ruins they would not be defeated and stayed strong. John Hersey’s Hiroshima gives a simple insight into one of the most devastating tragedy which creates compassion and awareness of Japans’ ultimate triumph of humanity. Hersey was able to use the perseverance of everyday people battling the effects of the atomic bomb to create compassion. In addition to this, he was able to express the importance of national-pride felt by victims who displayed patriotism, who were prepared to die for their honour. Hersey raised awareness of how Japanese civilians were able to unite and overcome the bombs aftermath. Hiroshima is not simply a monotonous documentation of the atomic bombs effects on a city, but a representation of empathy and compassion that notifies people of Japans triumph over adversity.

Christina Gold Leading the Change

Christina Gold Leading Change in Western Union Challa Fletcher March 13, 2012 GM504-01N: Organizational Excellence & Change Professor Rogerson Unit 1 Case Analysis Christian Gold is met with some opposition as she works to define Western Union’s global placement. The new president of Western Union points out that Western Union International, a single entity responsible for all of Western Union’s international organizational operations, was not sufficient enough to meet the global clientele.Fully versed in geography and varying cultures, Gold understands that each region must be treated uniquely based on its regional needs and culture (Gosling & Mintzberg, 2003? ). By 2003, Gold proposes that Western Union International be divided into three divisions: the Americas; Europe, Middle East, Africa, and South Asia; and Asia-Pacific. Each region will be led by a division head. Gold’s theory is that each leader head can better manage the cultural needs of the individual regions, helping Western Union better target its consumers in different cultural markets.The fear of lost revenue and product control is causing pause in the parent company, First Data Corporation. Gold also faces opposition of her peers who agree with her strategic plan to grown Western Union International but differ on other aspects such as profit and loss responsibility and decentralization. Major Issues Expanding globally requires putting trust in the hands of people who may not be familiar with the standards of operations. Western Union is U. S. entric and despite being in 195 different countries, they have not relinquished any control over marketing or their product lines. Giving up control of long U. S. managed projects is not well received amongst the current four senior vice presidents (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 6). There is a combination of interactive management and inactive management making decisions for Western Union . Western Union has steadily grown; gaining eighte en percent of increased revenues in 2002 (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 4).This growth took place under the current Western Union and Western Union International. It is because of this steady growth, due to nothing more than regular marketing, First Data Corporation is satisfied with the current make-up of the organization. Inactive management only responds to change when it is absolutely necessary to avoid an impending crisis (Ackoff, 1999, p. 50). Where First Data is inactive, Christina Gold is interactive. Gold is looking at future development of the Western Union and not just at where it has been or where it is now (Ackoff, 1999, p. 5). Alternate Course of Action Compromise and start small; one region at a time. Change can be big and quickly become over powering. Jana Johnson, vice president of executive development for First Data, admits that the size of both Western Union and First Data is knowingly large, and knowing which direction to grow is a challenge (Konrad & Mitchell, 20 05, p. 12). The implementations of all three international divisions do not have to take place at the same time. Rapid growth can cause issues to spring up all at once, overbearing the new system.Such difficulties could include product introduction timing and new foreign policy implantation. Addressing these issues with three different divisions simultaneously can be too much for the organization to bear at once and still remain operating effectively; without causing profit loses (the sole concern of Christina Gold). To test the international division, Western Union can begin with opening the largest of the three divisions. In the beginning the division leader will take charge of marketing for the region and slowly begin to obtain the profit and loss responsibility.The remaining two divisions will remain under the umbrella of Western Union International until the test trial of the largest division is complete. A new division can roll out based on a developed schedule. Change is not permanent. If any division is no longer feasible and begin to lose profit it can be readjusted, or disassembled with each of its parts being restructured to other divisions. Management style of organization should be changed to be more future focused. Christina Gold and her supporters are operating interactively.The new design of Western Union’s international business is being expanded before a crises need is looming over the organization. Gold proposes a beginning process for where the company should be aiming for in the future (Ackoff, 1999, p. 58). Restructuring Improvements Restructuring is a part of growth. Western Union cannot go into the international market with the same management. Western Union needs management that mirrors the culture they are to represent. The environment will better relate to this type of leaders. Marketing and new product lines will be strengthened by the change in management restructuring.The division head will better be able to assess what mar keting techniques will be better suited to the environment. These divisions will also be able to design new products an aggressively market those that their cultural environment could better utilize. Division heads will be able to asses which products to work as well as see how those products fair in the environment. They will closely adjust marketing tools, knowing what works better for their regions. This knowledge of culture can also clear up language and communication barriers.Divisional heads will understand the nuances of what is appropriate and what is not in a region (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 5). The new restructuring and international growth will optimize the six core strategies of Western Union. Two of the six core strategies, develop a global brand and enhance global network distributions, applies directly to growth in international markets. Western Union is US centric in its management and production (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 1; 6). In order to expand globally they must restrict their management style and those they use to manage the various divisions.By adding the additional foreign markets, increasing their purchasing ability and awareness, Western Union will be developing the core strategies of increasing productivity. More availability of services to a larger market will also increase awareness and improve service excellence. Finally, Christina Gold placed Make Yerington as senior vice president of business development. Mike Yerington has been with Western Union for 30 years (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005 p. 11). The position of Western Union Americas was also given to a Western Union veteran. The final strategic core strategy is to develop leaders from within the organization.This is an important strategy for Christina Gold after her own organization growth was taken from her causing the end of her career with Avon (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 2-3). Western Union can continue on this inner organizational growth by assigning the vacant Asian-Pa cific divisional leader position to some one of the region who has shown great leadership abilities throughout their time with Western Union. Recommendation Trust the individual that was placed over the company. Christian Gold was chosen as president of Western Union because she has impeccable experience in management and global operations.Her degree in geography and experience gives her a clear vision of processing needed change. Gold exemplifies strong leaderships skills demonstrated in her vision of Western Union beyond its current market placement. An innovative leader begins the change process and takes risk (Kouzes & Posner, 2009, p. 3). Gold is aware of the challenges that will be faced by Western Unions International Divisions, but she sees beyond the organizational development process and sees the vision of the organization. She shares this vision with others (Kouzes & Posner, 2009, p. 3).She gives others the power necessary to make decisions, and achieve organizational goa ls (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 13). Gold wants to give the three division leaders the responsibility of profit and loss; believing they can handle the additional task. A true leader gives control and in return they receive loyalty and support from their followers (Bryant, 2010, p. 35). Gold has this loyalty of the already placed vice president and divisional leaders. Failure to allow change in Western Union could cost First Data Corporations market growth internationally but also the resource they have in Christian Gold.Failure to trust Gold’s judgment and to look over the potential she possesses may cause her to leave the organization. In the past when an opportunity that was earned fairly by Gold was given to another she left the organization (Konrad & Mitchell, 2005, p. 3). The growth of Western Union will not continue to be â€Å"just because,† Western Union must be able to penetrate deeper into the money market and Christina Gold is beginning this process in the international market. To continue effectiveness growth, Western Union will have to see the asset they have in Christina Gold (Lawler III, 2003, p. 87). Conclusion * Western Union has experienced continual growth throughout both its domestic and international markets, however Christina Gold see the need for international change. Christina Gold, president of Western Union, proposes a plan that will not only grow the international Western Union but also develop the six core strategies of Western Union. The major issues stem around the changes to the product line control and debates of the need for management change is necessary to advance international markets. All of the challenges are not negative.Those who agree with Christina Gold’s international development, differ on the need for decentralization. Despite the opposition for change, Christian Gold still strives to be a vision focused leader, encouraging her team and creating leaders from within the organization. First Data Corporation must see the asset in Christina Gold and trust her assessment of the needs of Western Union. References Ackoff, R. (1999). Re-Creating the Corporation: A Design of Organizations for the 21st Century, Oxford University Press. Bryant, J. H. (2010).Leading with love in a fear-based world. Leader to Leader, 2010(56), 32-38. Konrad, A. & Mitchell, J. (2005). Christina Gold Leading Change at Western Union. Harvard Business Publishing. Product #906M07-PDF-ENG. Kouzes, J. , & Posner, B. (2009). Five best practices. Leadership Excellence, 26(7), 3-4. Lawler III, E. (2003). Why treating people right pays off. Treat People Right. In J. S. Osland, M. E. Turner, D. A. Kolb & I. M. Rubin (Eds. ) (2006). The organizational behavior reader (8th ed. ) (pp. 581-593). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

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History 2 - Essay Example As in earlier novels, Grass uses Crabwalk to ask whether subsequent generations of German citizens have adequately dealt with the horrors of the Third Reich. The nation's policy of remorse does not provide the analysis and the assumption of personal responsibility which Grass thinks is necessary. In the deftly-woven plot of Crabwalk, shortsightedness and regret characterize modern Germany, but this vision is far more bleak than the reality. This essay will look at the protagonist Paul Pokriefke – namely his relationships with his mother and son – as well as the significance of the sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff. Germany's reaction to its past is an issue which has not been left dormant over the seventy years since the war. The Reader, written by Bernhard Schlink in 1995 and made into a film in 2008, is just one other of the Vergangenheitsbewaltigung genre, in which German writers struggle to come to terms with their collective past. The problem to be resolved is tha t different factions of society obviously have different solutions for how to deal with the repercussions of the Third Reich. ... The first step of this process is portrayed in Tulla's relationship with her son. Paul refuses to believe his mother's statement that she went into labor with him when the ship MV Wilhelm Gustloff began to sink, attributing this to her sense of drama rather than actual fact. The repercussions of Paul's secret disbelief of his mother will be discussed below. In general terms, Tulla's demand of Paul that he write a history of the capsizing reflects her generation's incapability to deal with Nazism, and the way this responsibility was handed off to a generation who felt equally as unable, as well as far less culpable. In The Reader, Bernhard Schlink expresses the reaction of the second generation as a complete laying of the blame on the silent parents, regardless of whether they had actually been personally involved in the Nazi regime. This approach is just as untenable and unfair as Grass's insistence that the blame should be taken on the shoulders of subsequent generations. Paul's rel ationship with his mother portrays the uneasy dysfunction between those who lived through Nazism and those who came immediately after it. Tulla's silence, coupled with her wish that her son break that silence for her, creates an unhappy family and an unhappy country. This silence, borne of shame, means that following generations will not fully understand the evil of Nazism – the oft-repeated and almost clicheic statement that â€Å"those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it† (George Santayana) is wholly appropriate in the case of Konrad. Grass's antagonist is Konrad Pokriefke, Paul's estranged son, whose close relationship with his

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Managing Decision Making - Essay Example David Olsen is one person who had a visionary style of decision making through which he was able to accommodate the views of other workers with a friendly perspective and this contributed to him being liked by many employees. This style enhances transformational leadership (Mintz and DeRouen, 2010, p.47). This is as opposed to Sally Olsen who had a different perspective and a style for decision making which aimed at preserving the company regardless of the facts of the issues that other people could have. Her style of decision making may cause many people to avoid their participation in an organisation’s projects (Speier, Vessey and Valacich, 2003, p.63). Bella Murphy, Ben Simmonds and Archer Wilson are kind of managers that are using a motivator style of decision making; this is indicated by the way they respond to the different things they encounter in the organisation by ensuring that they listen carefully to the people who surround them and having their view and perspectives considered (Verma, 2009, p.37). Through their action, they are able to establish their decisions in a way that ensures that they include the perspectives of others as opposed to Gregory Jones, Madeline Roberts and Charles Morriss who remained resistant to change and never make any consultation. The decision making styles of the three prevented fast progression of the company in attainment of a reliable system of managing funds. Bella uses catalyst style as she motivated the site manager to give their views about â€Å"Trackit† and encouraged them to learn to use it. Ben Simmonds is a person that has indicate a flexible decision making style since he wa s able to decide on ways to assist different people that needed him. This style enables a leader in a management in an organisation to be productive in his or her delivery of services for he has many ways of responding to issues (Coscarelli, 2007, p. 23). In order to enhance participation

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Field observation - Essay Example The protagonist in the narrative presents the reader with a view of American teenage life that is both touching, but also alarming in its suggestion that teenagers feel alienated and insecure throughout their high school years. These feelings are perhaps amplified when the teenager is even more â€Å"different† than usual – from another culture, or identified as something other than mainstream, white, upper class American. Being an outsider, and always striving for acceptance but never finding it, is something which every American teenager may experience. But the personal experience of the narrator of the novel, and its resonances in the personal life of this writer from the basis of this essay. The First Person writing style stems from this exploration of personal opinions and reactions to the novel, â€Å"Prep†. The first and perhaps most predictable point of identification I had with the novel â€Å"Prep† is with the character, Sin-Jun. Sin-Jun is described as being from Korea, and the narrator comments that, â€Å"Like me, Sin-Jun had no friends.† (Sittenfeld, p.10) Superficially, since my background is also Korean – I have lived in the United States now for 6 years – this character is one with whom I should identify. I arrived in the United States when I was in Junior High, and graduated high school here. The difficulties I experienced when I first arrived could be paralleled by some of the experiences Sin-Jun is described as having. Perhaps the description of the squid Sin-Jun keeps in her locker, and her roommates’ reaction to its smell, as well as Sun-Jin’s sexual preferences are too radically removed from my personal experience to allow close comparisons but in one area I am able to identify with her strongly. Language is certainly one of the primary difficulties when you are trying to adapt to a new school. If your language is absolutely not understood by anyone

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Research on Project Management - Essay Example A project is a collection of activity to achieve a particular objective. It involves the directing of many activities towards a particular objective. A project is not a whole time activity. It always has a start date and end date. The duration of the project depends on the size of the project. A project is always guided and lead by a set of instructions and plans. A project always has a deadline within which it has to be completed and handed over to the required authority. The project will consume more than the estimated cost if it is not completed within the deadline. A project is a pooling up of men, money, materials and other resources for the achievement of a specific goal. A project is an effort of a group of people. A project is done in different phases. The different phases of a project are initiating stage, planning stage, executing stage and controlling stage. The initiating stage of the project is where the project idea is generated. A structure has to be given to the gener ated idea before it is being carried foreword. This structure is given in the planning stage. The executing stage of the project is the most crucial stage. It is where all the resources are pooled up properly. This is the stage that requires more cost. In the controlling stage the project is examined and reexamined for any deviations. Corrective measures are taken for controlling the deviations that have occurred. A project is entirely different from business in the sense that the project is for a specified period whereas the business is a continuing process. Therefore, in simple sense project management refers to the managing of all the activities concerned with the successful implementation of the project. Managing a project is a complex task and managing that complex task is the duty of the project management experts. The techniques used for the management of the project differ from the nature of the project. The project management is done by a team of experts comprising the

Environmental Factors Paper Research Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Environmental Factors - Research Paper Example Marketing environment factors profoundly influence company's marketing operations. The paper attempts to explore various environmental factors such as free-trade Agreements, global demographic changes, increased competition, technological advances, legislative compliance that influence marketing decisions of General Motors (GM) in its domestic and international operations. Impact of Free-trade Agreements In 1994, the US entered into a Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada called NAFTA. Just in the prior year in 1993, GM exported only 1600 vehicles to Mexico but in 1999, gearing its marketing efforts, the company could export 52,000 vehicles to Mexico despite currency crisis in Mexico (The Trade Partnership, 2004). This demonstrates that GM could take advantage of free trade agreement to boost their sales. Demographics and Physical Infrastructure People’s behavior, characteristic, their growth trends will largely influence the demand of goods and it becomes extremely impo rtant for a company to know about demographic changes taking place locally and globally so that company can divert its marketing efforts to exploit these changes. Different countries have different population growth rates. Higher population growth rate in a country or region is likely to create higher demand for a product. China and India both have huge populations of over 120 billion with huge untapped market of passenger vehicles. Both have been growing at much higher GDP growth rates relative to world average. GM recognized this fact and directed its marketing efforts toward fastest growing automobile markets in the world. GM formed a joint venture with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. Group (SAIC), China in 1997. The joint venture markets its most popular brands such as Cadillac, Buick and Chevrolet and in 2010, it sold 1 million vehicles. China sales are rising at a record rate and in 2011 it touched over 1200,000 units. In order to harness full potential, GM has formed 11 jo int ventures in China and currently, GM is a leader among all automakers in China selling almost 2.5 million vehicles there. Saturated markets of Western Europe and many developed countries show either negative or near zero population growth rates and it is obvious that GM is not likely to achieve favorable results by any level of marketing efforts in that region (General Motors China, 2012). Legal/Political Environment Marketers need to understand the legal/political environment of the country before embarking on the business in an alien land. GM expanded into the countries such as China, India, and Russia for manufacturing and marketing their products only after when these countries liberalized in their bid to become market economies. No company would like to work in a hostile environment. Legal setup is equally important so that whenever required the company can approach an independent judicial system for a fair hearing and remedy. The company needs to follow local laws on enviro nment, on emission standards, corporate laws and the laws that are enforced by regulatory bodies in that country. That is why it becomes extremely important for the company to get fully acquainted about all applicable legal requirements of the country where it plans to market its products. This will also ascertain whether it is in the benefit of the company to operate there or not if the stringent laws may impede its growth. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 and Social Responsibility The

Domestic Violence and Culture Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Domestic Violence and Culture - Coursework Example In our daily lives, the occurrence of situations of domestic violence is often because of the presence of our diverse cultural identities (Freeman, 2008). Despite the fact that domestic violence is universal, an individual’s cultural upbringing is what will influence how the abuse in a domestic relationship will being handled. Traditions and culture provide families, individuals and domestic unions with strength. Our cultural upbringing affects our beliefs, behaviours, values and how we deal situations of conflict in our daily lives. Besides, our religion, ethnic group, economic background and cultural considerations are all the contributing factors that determine how we deal with disagreements in families. Culture influences our principles, traditions, beliefs and guides the way we behave or react. While culture may be the force that strengthen and unite families, it is may also lead to obstacles that prevent couples from amicably resolving domestic issues without resorting to violence. The peer-reviewed article I identified is â€Å"Beyond Behavioural Adjustments: How Determinants of Contemporary Caribbean Masculinities stop Efforts to Eliminate Domestic Violence†. The journal focused its study on the complexity evident in the Caribbean men behaviour as determined by their social life and culture. The article identified a scenario that is depressing to them that included: unavailability of education opportunities, seasonal unemployment, and the tendency towards abusing females. The above disparities formed a culture that harboured men who perpetrated domestic violence directed to women. What spread are the incidences of violence directed to the female gender was the reason that males felt more masculine and the urge to prove or demonstrate it (Haniff &Hill, 1995). The article identified correctly that the Caribbean had a history of its men asserting their

Creating TV Drama Essay Example for Free

Creating TV Drama Essay The Public Defenders – We all know about the lives of top-league lawyers who rake in millions of dollars settling class action suits or representing celebrity clients. We all also realize, somewhere back in our minds that for every high-priced lawyer whos working to spin celebrity Q-ratings and turn high-profile crimes into high-tax bracket success, there are ten public defenders (PDs) sweating out in the innards of some state or federal building, working for peanuts to save the dregs of society from an indifferent and often unjust legal system . The Public Defenders chronicles the toll that long hours and short pay take on the personal lives of four PDs who walk a tightrope of action and suspense while balancing their self-sacrificing professional lives with their all-too-self-absorbed sex lives and driving ambitions. The viewer enters the world of The Public Defenders from the vantage point of the common citizen: first glimpsing the four PDs in their professional roles. Each episode begins with four short but conflict-heavy teasers representing the beginnings of four distinct, but sometimes interweaving cases. The bulk of each weeks episode is devoted to the resolution of the four cases, by each of the PDs respectively. In some episodes, a case will be left hanging to be resolved in a later episode or episodes. As in real life, the PDs will often represent the same client or clients on repeated cases and it is likely that many defendants and clients of the PDs will become running fixtures as minor characters throughout the series entirety. Each of the PDs: Emmanuel Gonzalez: a young Yale graduate who chose to work in the trenches, student Jonathan Smith: a closet alcoholic, Sara Kentowitz: a compassionate but highly sexual do-gooder, and Joann Bonier: an ambitious but flawed attorney, becomes embroiled with their clients, often in sexual or romantic entanglements and sometimes, events unfold so rapidly and chaotically that the PDs themselves may cross the lines of legality. The plot-lines for specific episodes are based on showcasing the thin line between subjectivity and objectivity. The scripts will show blatantly that attorneys are anything but neutral when it comes to pushing their cases and working for their clients. Instead they are either emotionally engaged or coldly indifferent form the start of their cases and their professional work shows the degree to which they are personally engaged, invested, and interested in their clients. Ongoing plot-lines which thread through all the episodes will help to flesh out the characters and add a linear narrative dimension to the episodic format. Emmanuel is dealing with the process of a complicated divorce from his wife of 7 years, coupled with a child custody battle while his soon to be ex-wife is dealing with extreme alcoholism. He is also defending a repeat offender on trial for murdering his brother. Sara deals with an abusive husband while defending a 16 year-old being charged with rape. Jonathan is scheduled to go before the disciplinary committee for a hearing followed by an altercation in court, and is currently the sole care-giver for is aging parents. His father is showing symptoms of the early stages of Alzheimers. His mother suffers with depression. Joann, who is single, struggles to balance her work-load with the needs of her co-workers and her desire to have a personal life. Each of these over-arching plot lines will continue to spin threads and exert influence over the individual episodes which, as previously mentioned, may or may not resolve individual plot-lines. To allow our targeted viewing audience to connect and identify with the characters, The Public Defender will be filmed in courtrooms, jail cells and in the homes of our characters, giving an in-depth real life feel for the struggles that the characters are dealing with. In stark contrast the personal scenes will be filmed in a romantic idealized style which emphasizes hope and humanity. The sub-text of these visual contrasts is that the shows characters draw their inspiration to keep fighting from their real life relationships and not from law-books or high-flying principles. In fact , The PDs are willing to subvert principles and even laws to win cases that have moved them or touched them personally because they have to do so to win. The deck is stacked against them: the are over-worked, under-trained, and representing those who are least able to defend themselves. The depth of the real life affects on the characters is intended to attract eductaed audiences of a predominantly mature demographic. The target audience would be compatible with that of Law and Order or West Wing. However, many of the shows minor characters and sub-plots will be devoted to youthful issues and themes which impact younger people, so it hoped that 18-25 year-old college students may also find the show worthy of attention. Crime buffs, CSI fans, and fans of courtroom dramas should also be targeted with advertising and scheduling as much as possible as it is hoped that this demographic will also prove fruitful for The Pubic Defenders. The hook for taking viewers out of the competitions time-slot is The Public Defenders no-holds-barred romanticism coupled with its no-hold-barred realism: the PDs love hard, they play to win but they lose just as often and their clients pay the price. Airing this program will allow the network to not only capture the targeted audience but hold them for each and every episode. It will be the talk of the campus, the office and coffee shops everywhere. Those that miss these episodes will be looking to see when the reruns will be airing.

Satows Perception of the Meiji Revolution

Satows Perception of the Meiji Revolution Between 1853 and 1868, Japanese society underwent a profound and violent societal, economic, and cultural upheaval, the likes of which it had not seen in over 200 years. The ruling military government of Japan, the clan-pure Tokugawa Shogunate and its ancient feudal system of governance, disintegrated under internal pressure to reform to meet the challenges of the Industrial Age, embodied by foreign interests, particularly that of the United States and England, which used the threat of their military and technological superiority to force the Japanese to accept trade agreements. In doing so, the Shogunate wrote its final chapter and set the state for a return to power of the Emperor, a quasi-religious position which since the 1600s had been relegated to ceremonial duties as the spiritual godfather of Japan, while the Shogunate and its samurai warrior culture administered the country’s affairs. TheBritish Empire of the time was preoccupied initially with wars with Russia and China, but observed with keen interest the initial rumblings of discontent and reform within Japan, precipitated by the bold moves of the United States to establish relations with Japan. Once the British wars had been concluded and Americans had done the proverbial dirty advance work of opening Japan up, the British established their own presence within Japan as it underwent a rapid societal metamorphosis. Over time, various representatives of foreign governments, most notably the eminent British interpreter and diplomat Ernest Satow, went beyond active interest to active involveme nt in the internal affairs of the Japanese transformation from Tokugawa Shogunate rule to restoration of the power of the Emperor, known as the Meiji revolution. Some of this involvement was self-serving and destructive; some of it was noble, altruistic, and reflected a genuine appreciation and compassion for the Japanese and their unique, noble, and astonishingly complex culture. As with most chapters in history, it is often difficult to discern in retrospect where altruism and self-interest intersected and diverged; the history of Japan’swrenching introduction into the modern age is particularly messy, but only more fascinating for being as such. In order to explore this era, some chronological narrative is of course required, but a strictly linear structure is not necessarily the most effective way to approach the issues. Therefore, this dissertation will alternate between historical narrative and cultural explication, sometimes moving backwards and forwards in time, and indulging in anecdotal tangents as well as delvings into the personal histories of some of the players in question, all in hopes of painting a full and complex picture of the interlocking forces – Japanese, American, and British, which turned this tiny country upside down in the short space of 15 years and set the stage for its rise to global power. (A full investigation of the Japanese relations with Russia, China, and the Dutch could easily comprise a dissertation of its own, but we will limit most of our focus here to the often tragic, but often edifying interaction of the Japanese with the two aforementioned Western powers.) Lastly, it is importan t to note that no exploration of Japan’s relations with the West during the Tokugama Shogunate /Meiji Revolution era, or any era for that matter, is complete without dwelling occasionally in details of Japanese culture, which are alternately arcane and compelling. Such moments will be interwoven with the historical narratives and observations as required. In 1854, the United States and Japan signed the Treaty of Kanagawa, which opened up Japan economically and culturally to the West for the first time. Up until this point in time, ancient Japanese law forbade trade with any foreign nations other than China and the Dutch, the latter of which were allowed to visit Japan twice a year to do business solely at the port of Nagasaki; even then, the foreigners’ presence was confined to the small island of Deshima. The signing of the treaty was a momentous occasion for both the United States and Japan, but it was not necessarily an egalitarian or mutually beneficial agreement, nor did both parties come to the signing ceremony of their own free will.Commodore Matthew Perry, representing the United States, essentially forced the Japanese into signing the treaty by virtue of the threat of his heavily armed four-warship fleet which arrived in Edo Bay (Tokyo’sharbor; Tokyo was known as Edo during Tokugawa Shogunate dynasty) – a port forbidden to foreigners in July 1853 and refused to depart until the Japanese consented to enter into a trade and peace agreement between the two nations. Perry was acting under orders from the highest authority in the United States, his Commander in Chief, President Millard Fillmore. Perry arrived bearing a letter fromPresident Fillmore to Emperor KÃ…Â mei (who reigned from 1831-1867 and was the 121st imperial ruler of Japan). The letter was an eager one, and contained several passages full of obsequious language: I entertain the kindest feelings toward your majestys person and government, and that I have no other object in sending [CommodorePerry] to Japan but to propose to your imperial majesty that the UnitedStates and Japan should live in friendship and have cornmercial intercourse with each other†¦ The Constitution and laws of the UnitedStates forbid all interference with the religious or political concerns of other nations. I have particularly charged Commodore Perry to abstain from every act which could possibly disturb the tranquility of your imperial majestys dominions†¦ We have directed Commodore Perry to beg your imperial majestys acceptance of a few presents. They are of no great value in themselves, but some of them may serve as specimens of the articles manufactured in the United States, and they are intended as tokens of our sincere and respectful friendship.(Fillmore, 1852) However, the letter also contained notable amounts of braggadocioregarding the economic and technological might at the disposal of theUnited States: The [territories of the United States of America reach from ocean to ocean, and our Territory of Oregon and State of California lie directly opposite to the dominions of your imperial majesty. Our steamships can go from California to Japan in eighteen days†¦ Our great State of California produces about sixty millions of dollars in gold every year, besides silver, quicksilver, precious stones, and many other valuable article†¦ America, which is sometimes called the New World, was first discovered and settled by the Europeans. For a long time, there were but a few people, and they were poor. They have now become quite numerous; their commerce is very extensive. (Fillmore, 1852) The subtext was clear. Though polite and solicitous to almost comic fault, Fillmore made it clear that it was in Japan’s best interests to cooperate with the United States in opening itself up to foreign trade, or Japan might meet the same fate as Mexico, which the United States had obliterated and territorially eviscerated in a warning just four years prior to Perry’s visit to Japan. To punctuate the subtext of his letter, Fillmore did not send Perry across thePacific Ocean in a yacht armed only with flowers; Perry sailed into Yedo Bay with an unmistakable symbol of United States might, his state-of-the-art mini-fleet. Why the particular interest in Japan, a relatively small nation? Itwas strategically located, a gateway to the Far East, and influence over/in, and/or control of Japan would greatly expand American’smilitary and economic power. Japan was also a nation of important natural resources that could be used to feed the hungry monster of theWest’s burgeoning Industrial Revolution. As samurai scholar MarcelThach notes, â€Å"after the colonization of China, the Western Powers America in particular turned their eye towards Japan and saw a country rich with coal deposits, one which they could colonize and exploit as they had China and other East Asian nations such as India.†(Thach, 2002) The Japanese were initially unmoved by President Fillmore’s letter, leaving Commodore Perry to stew in the harbor with the expectation that he would simply tire and go home. This was not to be the case, however, as Perry quickly saw fit to turn up the proverbial heat on the Japanese by sending a letter of his own to the Emperor. In it, Perry reiterated some of the niceties expressed by President Fillmore, but then delivered some language of a level of candor to which the Japanese were not accustomed: [I] hope that the Japanese government will see the necessity of averting unfriendly collision between the two nations, by responding favourably to the propositions of amity, which are now made in all sincerity†¦ Many of the large ships-of-war destined to visit Japan have not yet arrived in these seas, though they are hourly expected; and the undersigned, as an evidence of his friendly intentions, has brought but four of the smaller ones, designing, should it become necessary, to return to Edo in the ensuing spring with a much larger force. (Perry, 7 July 1853) The Japanese remained unmoved, provoking Commodore Perry’s temper. Diplomatic subtleties were abandoned, and on July 14, 1853, he delivered an imperious admonishment accusing the Japanese of a sin against God, in effect, and threatened to fire upon the harbor:You have †¦ acted against divine principles and your sin cannot be greater than it is†¦ If you are still to disagree we would then take up arms and inquire into the sin against the divine principles†¦When one considers such an occasion†¦ one will realize the victory will naturally ours. (Perry, 14 July 1853) At this juncture, the virulent and ingrained xenophobia of the Japanese culture was forced to yield to common sense. The Japanese had no navy to speak of, and though Perry’s four ships were unlikely to comprise enough force to cause the Japanese to comply, the threat of an imminent arrival of a bona fide armada induced the Japanese to capitulate and sign the treaty of Kanagawa. (In the wake of the capitulation, the Japanese dispatched an order to their Dutch trading partners to commission the building of a warship, which was named theKanrin-maru and was 49 meters in length, with 12 canons and three masts. It was delivered somewhat belatedly in 1857, but was put to good use as a military training vessel.) It is important to pause here to explicate the amorphous term â€Å"the Japanese.† At the time of Perry’s arrival in Tokyo, Japan was indeed technically ruled by an Emperor, but he was largely a spiritual and traditional figurehead who wielded minimal political power. The locus of decision-making was controlled by a chief shà ´gun (which in Japanese means â€Å"great general†), a direct descendent of Tokugawa leyasu, who in1603 defeated rival warlords to bring a semblance of organizational coherence to a Japanese society dominated by the fractious conflicts between feudal warlords. (In fact, the Tokugawa Shogunate, as the organization came to be known, ruled in relative peace for the next 250 years in what was called the Edo Period, after the ancient name for the city of Tokyo.) From 1603 on, the chief shà ´gun henceforth always carried the Tokugawa clan title, and maintained power by executing rivals and replacing them with family members and trusted allies, w ho were forbidden to marry outside the Tokugawa clan and allowed to rule their individual local dominions with a relatively free and arbitrary hand as long as they loyally served the chief shà ´gun. Furthermore, all other shà ´guns and feudal lords were forced to attend a grand gathering in Tokyo / Edo every other year under the watchful eye of the Tokugawas hà ´gun, where loyalties were reinforced and tested, and suspected traitors ferreted out. Additionally, other lords were required to keep heirs or wives in Tokyo while they were administering to their duties in their respective feudal domains, which was another powerful tool of the Tokugawa clan to maintain its control. A strict hierarchical caste system had also established by the Tokugawa Shogunate; atop this pyramid was the infamous warrior class of the samurai, the subjects of much awe and reverence among Western cultures. Below the samurai were farmers, artisans, and traders. Meanwhile, the Emperor himself resided in Kyoto, accompanied by a few servants and bureaucrats to tend to his ceremonial needs, but he exercised virtually no governing power at all. It was under this repressive cloak that the xenophobic culture ofJapan was cultivated and its restrictive trade policies enacted into law. The third in the Tokugawa shà ´gun lineage, Tokugawa Iemitsu, established the rules forbidding almost all foreign trade and interaction. Only inbound trading ships were permitted, and of the visitors, the Dutch and the Chinese were the only ones allowed. This was not merely an exercise in preserving Japanese culture purity, however. Tokugawa Iemitsu was keenly concerned with maintaining his clans power over the opposing feudal warlords, and he knew that cultural, religious, military, and economic influences from other countries could destabilize the already precarious balance of power.The economic and cultural modernization and maturation within the large cities was, by the 19th century, starting to create conflict within the caste system, which began to teeter under the weight of its own stubborn antiquity. This was the complex environment into which Commodore Perry sailed his four ships in July 1853: a paranoid, secretive, and warlike culture steeped in Byzantine traditions but also militarily and technologically steeped in the past, and thus unable to defend its sovereignty. The forced signing of the treaty was the beginning of a long road of resentment towards the United States and the West that culminated in Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the immediate meantime, however, the Treaty of Kanagawa was finally signed on March 31, 1854 after Commodore Perry’s return toJapan. It stipulated that the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate would be opened to American ships seeking supplies, that American sailors who had been shipwrecked would be rescued and well-treated, and agreed that an American consulate would be established in Shimoda for the purposes of negotiating a further and more comprehensive trade agreement. This treaty was the beginning of a succession of agreements forced upon the Japanese that brought about a great influx of foreign investment, trade, and business into Japan, but the economic effects of this phenomenon were not all salutary. One such deleterious effect was massive inflation of the Japanese currency. The caste system under the Tokugawa Shogunate mandated a rigid system of taxation on the peasantry; the taxes were fixed and not fairly tied to inflation or other economic vagaries, and thus the taxe s gathered by the rulingshà ´guns fell steeply in the wake of the Treaty of Kanagawa, causing ironic clashes between the well-to-do working class and their rulers.Arguably better warriors than macro-economists, the shà ´gun were unable to curtail this inflation, and the resultant economic instability and hardships inflicted on the Japanese people caused a popular unrest that could not be quelled for very long, and fact led to civil war. By1867, the Shogunate had been overthrown in what became known as the Meiji Rebellion, which restored the Emperor to true power beyond the ceremonial, and brought about a thorough reform of the organization of Japanese government and society. One of the intermediary steps on the way to the weakening of the Shogunate and the restoration of the Emperor’s rule was another treaty between the United States, The Treaty of Amity and Commerce Between theUnited States and Japan, better known historically as the Treaty of Townsend Harris, named after the persistent American diplomat who persuaded the Japanese to sign it. As alluded to previously, the Treaty of Kanagawa had stipulated the creation of an American Consulate in Japan, which would open up negotiations on the specifics of trade negotiation. President Franklin Pierce, who had replaced President Fillmore in March 1853, dispatched Townsend Harris from New York in November 1855 to establish the Consulate and coax the Japanese into actual trade, not simply the intent to trade. Harris arrived in Shimoda in August 1856, having cannily brought along a Dutch-speaking secretary and interpreter named Henry Heuksen to facilitate the difficult and delicate nuances of discourse with the Japanese.However, the Japanese, in a typical stalling maneuver, asked Harris to leave and return in a year. He refused; the Japanese asked him to proceed to Nagasaki, which he declined to do; then, in a final – and rather creative – attempt to rid themselves of Harris, they asked him to write a letter back to the President James Buchanan (who had succeeded Pierce in the November 1856 election) requesting a cancellation of his diplomatic mission. The indefatigable Harris refused this request as well, and eventually the Japanese allowed him to set up an office at the port of Shimoda. Nonetheless, they continued to stonewall Harris by referring any request or question, whether trivial or consequential, to the Emperor’s palace in Edo.Harris demanded an audience with the shà ´gun in the capital, but over a year passed before Harris received permission to travel to Edo. Harris did not sit idly by, however; he used the intervening time to cultivate favor and good will with the powers-that-were in Shimoda, the local members of the Tokugawa bafuku. (Bafuku is a Japanese word loosely translated to mean â€Å"tent government† and is an arm, during this historical period, of the Tokugawa Shogunate) Harris was well aware that the British had paid a visit to the Japanese in 1854 that did not go well and left a bitter taste in the proverbial mouths of both parties. The British, mired in a conflict with the Russians that led to the Crimean War (1854-1856) had dispatched Sir James Stirling fromChina in 1855 to request that the Japanese deny Russian ships access to their ports and attempt to secure some sort of initial trade understanding with the Japanese. Stirling did conclude a treaty, but it was hopelessly vague and of limited utility, in part because of an incompetent translator (a hitch keenly noted by Harris) and was sent on his way. The British l urched from the Crimean War to the Second OpiumWar with China in 1856, distracting them from immediate focus on Japan,but Harris correctly surmised it would only be a matter of time before the British turned their attention to Japan again, and used it, albeit with some fictional license, as leverage in his negotiations against the Japanese. Despite managing to offend the chief shogun, the aged TokugawaIesada, and his Court by wearing shoes during his visit to the Palace in Edo in December 1857, Harris’ otherwise impeccable statesmanship impressed the Shogunate sufficiently that they gave their blessing for the treaty negotiations, and they gave permission for Bakufu GrandCouncillor Hotta Masayoshi, with whom Harris had been negotiating, to continue working with Harris to complete the treaty. Harris immediately set to work convincing Masayoshi with a combination of exaltations of American good intentions and fears of an inevitable British arrival on Japanese soil which would demand treaty terms far less generous than that ‘suggested’ by the American. Specifically, Harris preyed on the fears of the Japanese that the only thing standing between Japan and the imperial pressure of the British was their soon-to-be-concluded war against China. The Japanese had long heldChina in a place of cultural reverence in the Far East and had been profoundly shocked at the relative ease with which the French and British were defeating the Chinese in the Second Opium War. Aware of this, naturally, Harris used it to his advantage. In his December 12, 1857 audience with Masayoshi, Harris had this to say: On my way to Japan I met the English governor of Hong-Kong, JohnBowring, who told me that he was about to be appointed an ambassador to go to Japan, and I have received four letters from him since my arrival in Japan. Our conversation was of course private, but in his letters he discusses Japanese Government matters. He says he intends to bring with him a larger fleet than the Japanese have ever seen, and anchor at Yedo, {Edo] where the discussions will be carried on. He says also that Yedo is the only place to hold consultation with the Japanese; that his object is, first, to get permission for a minister or agent of England to reside in Yedo, and, secondly, to get permission to carry on free trade at several places in Japan. If these two things are not granted war will be declared at once. The sending of this ambassador he says is delayed by the war in China. He said he would be in Yedo in the third month, but he has been detained by the war. (Harris, 1857) In another dramatic touch, Harris also asserted that the British intended to addict the entirety of the Japanese population to opium: It appears that the English think the Japanese are fond of opium, and they want to bring it here also. If a man use opium once he cannot stop it, and it becomes a life-long habit to use opium; hence the English want to introduce it into Japan. The President of theUnited States thinks that for the Japanese opium is more dangerous than war. (Harris, 1857) What Harris neglected to mention was that in truth, the British were loathe to try to force an opening into Japan at this particular juncture in time. They had squandered vast military and political capital in pursuit of their war with China, and there was domestic unrest to contend with as well: Despite popular perceptions of British imperialism at this period, official British policy was in fact against the use of force in opening up Japan and British Ministers were mindful of humanitarian considerations that might lead to criticism in Parliament. They instructed British representatives to avoid provocative acts and the threat or use of force. (Cortazzi, 1999) Nonetheless, Harris then went on to claim that the United States had studiously avoided joining Britain in the war against China, despite the fact that newly elected President Buchanan was a veteran diplomat and former Secretary of State who, in his former diplomatic position,and now, as President-elect, was actively working towards mending old grievances with Britain. Harris suggested that if the Japanese come to mutually satisfactory terms with the United States, particularly with respect to the issue of opium trade – Harris suggested that the Japanese could burn any opium which American traders might bring to ports in the future – then in effect, the United States would form a defacto protective buffer between Japan and the European powers, and at the very least, treaty terms with Britain or France could be no worse for the Japanese than the benevolent terms of a treaty with the UnitedStates. In fact, the treaty proposed (in Article II) that in any dispute between Ja pan and European powers, the United States president would serve as mediator. Hotta Masayoshi was no fool, and despite the fact that the Shogunate had responded to Commodore Perry’s presence by commissioning military vessels from its Dutch trading partners, Masayoshi knew the Japanese had little choice at this particular juncture in time but to accede toHarris’ terms. Negotiations on Treaty of Townsend Harris were concluded in February 1858 and the treaty was signed on July 29, 1858.(Ironically, Commodore Perry died in New York City the same day.)Harris, never one to miss an opportunity for some patriotic public relations, ensured that the treaty was stipulated to take effect on July 4, 1859, on American Independence Day. Little did the Japanese know that they had taken another ominous step towards the erosion of their own cultural-economic independence. The treaty provided for the opening of four additional ports to American trading ships: Kanagawa and Nagasaki, on July 4, 1859;Niigata, on the January 1, 1860; and Hyogo, on the January 1, 1863; the port of Shimoda would be closed to American beginning in January 1860.Starting on July 4, 1862, Americans would also be allowed to take up residence in Edo. It provided for tariffs to be applied to American goods imported into Japan and exported to the United States, and forbade the trade of opium between the Unites States and Japan. The tariffs – unsurprisingly favored imported American products with a five percent tax on most goods and raw materials. The treaty stipulated that this tariff was fixed until the treaty came up for revision and renegotiation in 1872, sowing the seeds for the economic instability, alluded to above, that led to the downfall of the Shogunate. In particularly surprising concession, the treaty stipulated that Americans in Japan would be allowed free exerc ise of their religious beliefs, which extended to permission to construct places of worship. This was a significant break with Japanese tradition, which had long been steeped with animosity towardsChristianity. In fact, Christianity was essentially forbidden, andHarris had taken a considerable personal risk by making a show of his Christian beliefs when he visited the Shogunate in Edo in 1858.Despite a clause in the treaty that seemed to forbid Christian proselytizing (â€Å"The Americans and Japanese shall not do anything that may be calculated to excite religious animosity† (Article VII), the influx of Christianity into the Japanese homeland was deeply offensive to many traditionalist and contributed to the erosion of support for the Shogunate. Another interesting stipulation of the treaty is that diplomatic envoys from Japan would be sent to the United States for the purposes of cultural exchange and for a ‘formal’ treaty-signing ceremony. Three Japanese were selected for the journey: Shimmi Masaoki, the senior ambassador, who was only 35 years of age; Oguri Tadamasu, who carried the title of ‘official inspector’ for the diplomatic mission; andMurgaki Norimasa, who kept a detailed diary of the delegation’s visit.Each were samurai warriors, consistent with the ruling class from which they came, and knew next to nothing of American culture or the peculiarities of Western culture, much less the American government;for example, the Japanese found it bizarre that the Americans had gone through three elected leaders in a peaceful transition of power between the time Commodore Perry had paid his infamous visit and the Japanese delegation left to visit the United States. In an attempt to show stren gth and regal power, the three Japanese did not travel alone –their party numbered 77, including six cooks, 51 guards and servants, three doctors, and three interpreters. It was quite a showcase: On February 13, 1860, the ambassadors and their staff sailed from Yokohama with 50 tons of Japanese baggage (including the treaty in its special box), 100,000 readily negotiable Mexican dollars, and a large supply of Japanese food. Appropriately, perhaps, the vessel that carried them from Japan to San Francisco was the navy frigate Powhatan, one of the steam-powered paddle-wheelers Perry had employed inopening Japan. (Finn, 2002) The America into which the Japanese were received in May 1860, was teetering on the precipice of a civil war which would forever alter its destiny, mirroring the dark seeds of revolution which were germinating back home in Japan. To say that the Japanese experienced culture shock was an understatement; it was a precursor to the shocks that would reverberate through Japanese culture in their homeland due to the floodgates of external Western cultural influence that were being opened by the Harris Townsend Treaty that the Japanese envoys signed with President Buchanan on May 18. Upon their return home in November 1860, the Japanese delegation was greeted coolly, as the elements in the Shogunate that had approved the treaty had begun to fall from favor. Murgaki Norimasa and ShimmiMasaoki received promotions but were soon forced into retirement.Oguri Tadamasu went on to become a powerful military leader for theShogunate, but he refused to accept their downfall and the eventual re-ascension of the Emperor; he and his son were executed in 1868. The interior map of Japanese political and cultural power was a tumultuous mess by the time the delegation returned to Japan. The Tokugawa Shogunate had splintered into two warring factions due to the controversy regarding the signings of the two treaties with the UnitedStates and fears of imminent meddling by the British into Japanese affairs. Tokugawa Iesada had become an old and infirm man and was barely able to carry out his duties during the negotiations over the Townsend Harris Treaty. Compounding the fractious debate over whether or not to agree to the treaty was a struggle brewing over who would succeed Iesada, as Iesada had no natural heir. The two leading contenders were Tokugawa Yoshinobu (aka Keiki), and a 12-year old boy, the Daimyo of Kii. In an attempt to solidify the ebbing power of the Tokugawa clan and to end the debate over the the treaty signings, the latter of which he had brokered, Hotta Masayoshi broke with precedent and traveled to Kyoto to visit Emperor Komei to seek his approval for the Harris Treaty and for the ascension of the Daimyo of Kii to head the Shogunate. Unfortunately for Hotta, his gamble backfired. TheEmperor communicated his unhappiness with the treaties and refused to offer his support for Tokugawa Yoshinobu / Keiki. Hotta was humiliated and was replaced in April 1858 by Ii Naosuke, who was appointedTokugawa Regent, making him the effective military leader of Japan and head of the shogun council. Ii immediately approved the Townsend Harris Treaty, effectively snubbing the Emperor, which caused a widespread rebellion amongst Imperial Japanese loyalists who literally revered the Emperor as a god and who viewed action against his wishes to be a mortal sin.Undaunted, Ii then proceeded to arbitrarily appointed the boy Daimyo of Kii as the Shogunate heir, spawning a massive rebellion. Those who opposed his sanctioning of the Treaty and/or his appointment of theShogunate heir were executed en masse, in a bloodbath dubbed the AnseiPurge. Being of tender age, naturally, the Daimyo of Kii – who assumed the name Tokugawa Iemochi was unable to assert his sovereign will or assume his duties, leaving Ii firmly entrenched in power, or so he thought. His rule did not last long; he was beheaded by anti-foreigner, pro-Emperor elements in March 1860. After Ii was assassinated, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, who had been Tokugawa Iemochi’searlier rival for the position of Shogun, assumed eff ective control of the Shogunate by assuming a position of power similar to the one held by Ii and Hotta before him. After Tokugawa Iemochi’s death in 1866, Tokugawa Yoshinobu assumed the official ceremonial title and power of Shogun. He was to be the fifteenth and last Shogun in Japanese history. Certainly, the arrival of the Americans and the treaties they forced upon the Shogunate were a leading cause of their downfall, but the Shogunate was already weakening under its own antiquated weight by the time Commodore Perry arrived in Japan in 1853. Though very stable and consistent, the philosophy and structure of the Shogunate government was change-averse to a fault; it was 200 years old, and had simply outlived its usefulness: The simple concept of the division of classes into rulers, warriors and commoners had little relation to Japan of the 19th century with its teeming cities, rich merchants, restless samurai, and discontent peasantry†¦ Despite the division of the land into a large number of feudal fiefs, the people had developed a strong sense of national consciousness. The growth of nationalism and the development of a modern commercial economy had made Japan ready for the more efficient political forms of the modern nation. (Norman, 1940) To some degree, the nationalism of the Japanese was reflective of the psychology of isolation, i.e., the Japanese,

Transformations Of Modern Society Sociology Essay

Transformations Of Modern Society Sociology Essay Modernity is a period of time within the world that started for many around the seventeenth century. It was accentuated by the shift from a move from a feudal system to a system we know as capitalism and the nation state which gained influence throughout the known world. There was a shift in focus from agricultural work and employment to Industrial and town based focus. Many commentators have looked at modernity and what was meant by modernity. This report focuses on modernity from the perspective of Gliddens, his opinion of what its key institutional factors were and those of globalisation. For Giddens modernity as a simple explanation is, ways of life for groups of people which emerged in Europe from about the seventeenth century onwards. This consequently, moved on and became a way of life around the world. Thus modernity is located within a specific time period and a starting geographical position, the features of modernity can be explored later. (Giddens, 1990, p. 1) Modernity changed the way people around the world were connected to each other, this in turn had a profound effect on the personal level. On the one hand modernity gave people the more chances to live a more rewarding life, yet the dangers that came with that were greater in Giddens opinion. He states, modernity was a double edged sword of security versus danger and trust versus risk, this is seen in the fact that more people died in the wars of the twentieth century than in the previous two centuries even if you allow for the increase in population over this period (Giddens, 1990, p. 7). The move from agrarian based production to the industralised production that catered not only for local but international markets produced more varitey of products. However, at the same time human labour power became commercialised. Capitalism became the way of life not only in modernitys economic system but all its other institutions. Giddens, 1990, p.11 explains this as, the social order of modern ity is capatilistic both in its economic structures and other institutions. This created a cycle of investment profit investment meaning profits declined and meant a need for a continual expansion of the system. However for marx though the modern eras rapidly changing characteristics were not derived from a capitalist order but an industrial order, one characterised through the harnessing production to human needs throughthe industrial exploitation of nature (Morrison, 2006, p. 78) Having looked at modernity it is briefly time to explore what Giddens calls the key features of modernity these are , the separation of time and space, disembedding mechanisms and the reflexive appropriation of knowledge (Giddens, 1990, p. 53). These three features were interconnected and could be found in all. So for giddens modernity had multiple layers especially on the institutional level, the introduction of a world clock and time zones along with a move from gregorian to julien calendar gave us uniformity the world over. Here we will look at the next focus of Giddens in terms of modernity, mainly this will explore his perspective on the institutional dimensions of modernity. The four institutional dimensions Giddens 1990 identifies are, Capatilism; industrialism; military power and surveilance(p.59). The first instituional dimension Giddens 1990 deals with is capatalism, capitalism is the making of useful items based around those who have the means of production and those who have no such capital and sell their labour, this creates the axis of a class system. This system requires good to be made for competitive market with price being a guide for buyers, sellers,investors and producers of goods alike. The second institutional dimension Giddens identifies is industrialism, Giddens 1990 sees Industrialism not necessarily as the move to big factories using machines and electricity and or steam power but something more. For Giddens it affects every day life not only the work place but, how we interact with each other and how we travel. It also impacts on the home and leisure life of all individuals. Capitalism and industrialism may be two distinct dimensions but they are inter-related for Giddens, they are in fact so closely linked distinguishing the two from each other is difficult. The third institution dimension explored by Giddens is that of surveilance, this he explains is the role the nation state a phenomenon seen in all modern societies in one form or another exercises control and social regulation. Giddens 1990 sees the administrative system of nation states having coordinated control over areas of territory it has gained, no pre-modern state were able to achieve this level of administrative control. Giddens 1990 (p.58) is directly interested, in the supervision of the activities of a population, this can be directly as Foucault discusses through prison or education systems, or more directly in the way information is controlled. The last institutional dimesion that Giddens identifies is that of military power. For Giddens 1990 the nation state and modern societies are unique in the fact that it was able not only able to create the means for war in weaponary and machines but also had the support of the millitary, in most pre-modern societies the central political figure had to make alliances with princes warlords clan chiefs to gain their support. He also points out how, industralism permeating both the organisation of the military and the weaponary at their disposal. The industralisation of war radically changes the character of warfare, ushering in an era of total war and a nuclear age (Giddens, 1990, p. 58). This point is highlighted in (Hopkins, Evans, Norton-Taylor, 2012) Senior military officers and ministry officials have taken up more than 3,500 positions in arms companies over the last 16 years. So for giddens all four Intstitutional dimensions of modernity were interconnected with each other and c an not be seperated from one another. Lastly we will explore what Giddens means by the term Globalisation, Giddens 1990 (p.64) defines globalisation as, the intensification of worldwide social relations which link distant localities in such a way that local happening are shaped by events occurring many miles away. As a definition of globalisation this is one of the better ones available. However, the definition of globalisation by Trevellion 1997 in (Lyons, 2006, p. p.122) that globalisation has both subjective and objective meanings, to embrace both the objective social, economic and technological changes associated with the dismantling of national and regional barriers to trade and communications and the subjective shifts in conciousness associated with the growth of global concerns and global sensibilities. What trevillion is arguing is that globalisation through social, economic and technology changes have made it easier to trade and talk to anyone in the world, but at the same time issues like global warming and chi ld poverty have become a worldwide not just localised concerns any longer. For Giddens there are four dimensions that create globalisation similar to his ideas on modernity. Giddens 1990 (71) shows us that, the nation state, world capitalist economy, world military order, international division of labour. He claims that the chief form of production is economic enterprise and this has definite class related issues. Each state develops a local and world economic policy which involves regulating the economic activity. But the administrative organisation of these states means that they are able to separate the economic from the political. The second dimension for Giddens is world military power. For Giddens trans national companies may have more economic power than certain nations and are able to use this economic power to influence political issues to their favour, however they do not control the means of violence or territory that states do. Most states have either total or majority control for the means of violence within their state. Trans national companies can accumulate all sorts of economic power but, they are not military organisations (Giddens, 1990, p. 71). The other area that occupies Giddens 1990 (p.72) in terms of globalisation is the international division of labour. He claims that, nation states are the main drivers in global politics whilst trans national companies(businesses) are the major players in the world economy. This is especially true when looking at how they trade with other companies, states and individuals. Manafacturing banking and other financial institutions depend on production for profit. Which is why the influence they carry brings the worldwide extension of commodity and financial markets. However, even from its beginnings the world capitalist economy was not just about the trade of goods and services. It involved and involves still the commodification of labour power, this seperates the workers from control of their means of production. This of course has consequences and means class divisions widen and global inequalities become more pronounced. So in summary we are now all more connected especially through the use of global media and the world wide web. We are aware of things happening in other countries yet at the same time we may feel the effects of those things. The recession and possible collapse of Greeces, spains and portugals to name a few economies will have an effect in the united Kingdom and other places around the world who trade with these countries. We have explored Giddens perspective on modernity and the institutional dimensions that are present, before looking at Giddens Views on globalisation and the institutional dimensions of globalisation. Modernity in Giddens eyes is denoted by the move from agrarian community to industrialisation based in the city, with the move to a world time system and time zones and a world calendar. The key instutionial dimensions identified by Giddens were, capitalism, industralism, military power and surveilance each were interconnected. Finally we looked at Giddens views on globalisation and the institutional dimension found within it not suprisingly the institutional dimensions to globalisation are nearly identical to those of modernity. What he pinpointed within globalisation is that inequalities that were already present have not only persisted but expanded and can be found globally.

MBA Admissions Essay - My Three Most Substantial Accomplishments :: MBA College Admissions Essays

MBA Admissions Essays - My Three Most Substantial Accomplishments    Although trained as an engineer, my most substantial accomplishments have been in non-engineering sectors since the management and finance divisions of my company necessitated my involvement and a change in my career goals.    From the early 1990's, after the introduction of the free economy in Poland, almost all of our companies in our family owned business began losing money, and I needed to help save it. There I was, the poor little textile engineer, answering questions asked by people from Citicorp, the agents from Soros Funds, and many other local banks. Despite my lack of business expertise at the time, our issue was overbooked, and by the following three weeks we collected the money from the first privately issued bond in Poland. I worked with a team of highly dedicated and experienced professionals with degrees from the finest institutions of the world. Through teamwork, I helped to save my company; I consider this the biggest achievement in my professional life.    My second biggest achievement was again saving the company. Our biggest textile plant, consisting of about seventy percent of our group's asset, was bought through tender from the government of Poland under its denationalizing scheme. The payment was to be made through half-yearly installments, but our company began defaulting in late 1997. By that time Peregrine collapsed, and we were on our own. I proposed the board raise money by offering some of the company's vast vacant land for joint venture. Although the proposal was believed impractical and unattainable, I nevertheless contacted a number of multinationals. Only Cemex Cement of Mexico responded, but our deal eventually fell through and the government began preparing for takeover.    As a last minute resort to save the company, I prepared an attractive offer and contacted Scancem of Finland and Holderbank of Switzerland. Holderbank responded and opted for outright purchase of the land. However, they attached a condition that we complete all the formalities needed to set up their plant in Poland before they make any agreement with us. We agreed and started working on the endless list of permits, permissions and licenses that one faces by investing in Poland. I guided the whole process and coordinated the activities of engineers, lawyers, bureaucrats, financial advisors, etc. I also was forced to deal with the highest body of religious law, the Islamic Foundation, since there was a mosque in the designated plot and the mosque had to be relocated -- a very rare and sensitive issue in Poland. MBA Admissions Essay - My Three Most Substantial Accomplishments :: MBA College Admissions Essays MBA Admissions Essays - My Three Most Substantial Accomplishments    Although trained as an engineer, my most substantial accomplishments have been in non-engineering sectors since the management and finance divisions of my company necessitated my involvement and a change in my career goals.    From the early 1990's, after the introduction of the free economy in Poland, almost all of our companies in our family owned business began losing money, and I needed to help save it. There I was, the poor little textile engineer, answering questions asked by people from Citicorp, the agents from Soros Funds, and many other local banks. Despite my lack of business expertise at the time, our issue was overbooked, and by the following three weeks we collected the money from the first privately issued bond in Poland. I worked with a team of highly dedicated and experienced professionals with degrees from the finest institutions of the world. Through teamwork, I helped to save my company; I consider this the biggest achievement in my professional life.    My second biggest achievement was again saving the company. Our biggest textile plant, consisting of about seventy percent of our group's asset, was bought through tender from the government of Poland under its denationalizing scheme. The payment was to be made through half-yearly installments, but our company began defaulting in late 1997. By that time Peregrine collapsed, and we were on our own. I proposed the board raise money by offering some of the company's vast vacant land for joint venture. Although the proposal was believed impractical and unattainable, I nevertheless contacted a number of multinationals. Only Cemex Cement of Mexico responded, but our deal eventually fell through and the government began preparing for takeover.    As a last minute resort to save the company, I prepared an attractive offer and contacted Scancem of Finland and Holderbank of Switzerland. Holderbank responded and opted for outright purchase of the land. However, they attached a condition that we complete all the formalities needed to set up their plant in Poland before they make any agreement with us. We agreed and started working on the endless list of permits, permissions and licenses that one faces by investing in Poland. I guided the whole process and coordinated the activities of engineers, lawyers, bureaucrats, financial advisors, etc. I also was forced to deal with the highest body of religious law, the Islamic Foundation, since there was a mosque in the designated plot and the mosque had to be relocated -- a very rare and sensitive issue in Poland.

Economic Structure Of The Mafia :: essays research papers

The Mafia is viewed by many people as a bunch of gangsters like those that they might see on movies such as Goodfellas, The Godfather, or Donnie Brascoe. In all actuality the Mafia represents much more than that, it is an entity within itself. The original Sicilian Mafia was just a group of families controlling certain territories in which they each laid claim to. These families were headed by a dominant male and were usually in competition with other families. The members of these families would engage into various "illegal and legal businesses with each other and outsiders" (Fiorienti and Peltzman 38). In the introduction to The Economics of Organized Crime, Fiorentini and Peltzman claim that between the years of 1860and maybe ranging all the way to 1957, the "Mafia was not a membership organization but a natural outgrowth of culture, politics and law enforcement" (Peltzman 38). Many have tried to eliminate the Mafia from its’ "control" of the underworld and its’ stranglehold on politicians and government. Under the fascist movement in the late 20’s and 30’s of Cesare Mori, Mori tried to eliminate the Mafia in any way in which he could. This attempt at elimination was quite unsuccessful since the Mafia’s base was so far ranging. ""Arlachhi (1986 44-5) concluded in 1983 "there does not exist a centralized criminal organized called the Mafia… The cosca mafiosa is a simple organism but a solid one, without formalism or bureaucracy. Within it are neither statutory ordinances, initiation rites nor courts of judgment"" (Fiorienti and Peltzman 38). This is in contrast as to what others recognize as organized crime. In direct retrospect to his earlier writings, Arlacchi claims that, through interviews with Mafia members, there is a more formal organization within the Mafia and that the Mafia does have initiations. The United States Mafia definitely was different than the Sicilian Mafia when trying to generalize them. The American Mafia consisted of only around 24 families whereas the Sicilian Mafia consisted of hundreds of families. These families were much larger than their Sicilian counterparts and that the families were most definitely organized and formal. " A detailed case-study of one of these families and its legal and illegal activities as of 1970 (Anderson, 1979) found that the Mafia family itself was not a firm; rather, its members entered into various businesses on their own account" (Fiorentini and Peltzman 39).