Straight from the CEO :: GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Straight from the CEO A Review of the Literature (Dauphinais and Price, 1998) The minds of CEO's are, in aggregate, a tremendous center of power in society. Upon these minds - how they tick, how they prioritize, how they view the vectors of change depends on the transmission of know-how, technology, capital, and jobs. In addition, as globalization increases, the socioeconomic impact of their thoughts becomes all the greater (p. 15). This book provides a broad cross sample of the global CEO population. Insightful interviews have been collected, which contain lessons from both the brawny companies that have been forced to reinvent themselves, as well as from some of the brainy upstarts that needed to be rather unconventional to gain access to the global playing field. CEO's of top world corporations tell how they handle globalization, customer service, motivation, leadership and other management issues. Gone is the day of the stern looking, tight lipped, antisocial dark suit who sits positioned in the large corner office secured by twelve foot walnut doors with gold handles. Today's workers demand involvement and interaction from upper management, no longer do the baby boomers see fit to have P and L figures discussed between upper management only. In order to be a successful CEO in today's society you must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the dynamics of value enhancement, to be aware of opportunities and to exploit them. The future and success of the company depends on how you view the company and how your employees view you. A CEO's understanding can have no limits, adapting to change is just a small step in dealing with the organizations future. When we discuss change we have to keep in mind that, the largest of corporations feel the pressures of change on a global level, competing with our global trading partners such as Japan, China, and Europe. In order to be global a corporation must be able to compete on a worldwide basis and to do this manager's must be able to think globally. Percy Barnevik of ABB Asea Brown Boveri Ltd comments: "Global managers are not born-they must be developed" (p. 40). Developing managers in global thinkers has to start with understanding of the differences between U.S. and the international culture. For example, several months ago a potential client came to town and of course we wanted to leave an impressionable opinion by having lunch at the new Japanese restaurant that everyone in town raved about.

Native Son Theme Analysis Essay

In his novel, Native Son, Richard Wright reveals his major theme of the Black population in America in the 1930’s. In the opening scene of the novel, Wright introduces his condemning message towards the ugliness of American racism and the social oppression of Blacks in his time. The opening scene of Native Son functions by foreshadowing future events that occur throughout the novel involving major symbols that are introduced in the scene to represent other elements in the novel. The scene also establishes an atmosphere of hopelessness and despair as it presents the Thomas apartment setting and its contrasting image of the Dalton mansion. The function of the scene is established by three major elements which is the alarm clock, the rat-catching, and the apartment setting. The first element that is introduced is the ambiguous alarm clock. The alarm clock that awakens Bigger Thomas and his family at the opening of the novel is a major symbol that Wright uses to attack American racism. The loud ring the alarm clock gives off serves as a wake-up call Wright wants his audience to hear. Wright uses the alarm to represent his assertive message to the American public of the destructive effects of racism and oppression American society has accepted. His call for change is like a prophetic warning such as Elisha gives, in Biblical context, demanding the need for social change before it is too late for the nation of ancient Israel. Similar to Elisha’s warning, Wright predicts revolutionary violence and social upheaval if racism and oppression is not stopped in American society. Another function of the alarm clock is its foreshadowing of Bigger’s symbolic awakening in the course of the novel. The clock in the opening scene represents Bigger as a powder keg, both of which are waiting to go off at any moment. Bigger’s climactic point of his explosive act of killing Mary serves the same function as the alarm given off from the clock whereas both wake and opens the eyes of those who hear it or see it. The alarm clock symbolizes Bigger’s new realization that he should not feel guilty for the killing of Mary because of the living conditions White society forced him to live into, which made him into what he is. Another important element in the opening scene that Wright uses to attack racism and oppression is the rat-catching. In the commencement of the novel, Bigger discovers a huge black rat and his mother and sister jump in hysteria. Bigger then corners the rat, and as the rat attacks back, he strikes it with a skillet; then smashes it superfluously until it became a bloody pulp and showed it to Vera. The rat-catching scene is significant because it foreshadows Bigger being tracked down and caught in the course of the novel. In the scene, Wright portrays the black rat as Bigger Thomas. Wright makes them resemble like each other because of their color and their unwanted presence. Like rats, the Black population are viewed as vermin and unwanted pests by White society. With this perspective, the public oppresses and controls the Black population to prevent them from getting near towards Whites in American society. Both Vera and Mother Thomas’ hysteria towards the rat resembles White society’s hysteria toward Bigger’s murder and assumed rape of a White woman. Vera and Mother Thomas’ reaction towards the huge black rat is that of disgust and fear of what it may do. In comparison, when the public found the truth behind the killing of Mary, they panicked and feared of what a Black murderer and rapist is capable of doing. Wright uses this episode to reveal the intense hate the racist American society has towards the Black population. He also uses it to call attention to the excessive paranoia the public exhibits which is a link to the intensity and depth of American racism. Another foreshadowing in the novel would be the representation of Bigger’s capture through Bigger’s cornering of the rat. In the beginning of the novel, Bigger blocks the exit of the rat such as how the police block the exit on Bigger later on in the novel. The foreshadowing extends also at how the rat attacks viciously at Bigger’s pant leg such as how Bigger shoots back at his capturers to prevent being caught. These aggressive scenes between survival and fear points out the result and effects of American society’s strong racist views as Wright describes the capturers drive to capture what seems dangerous and fearsome to them. The last and final foreshadowing in the opening scene would be Bigger’s superfluous bashing of the rat and his act of showing the bloody rat to Vera. The scene is used to portray Bigger’s excessive beating at the time of capture and Buckley’s exhibition of Bigger’s capture and death. The excessive beating of both the rat and Bigger relate the abuser’s need for their thirst witnessing pain being inflicted upon their subject. They are also similar because their unnecessary abuse is a signal of the intense hate the abuser had towards them. Also, the exhibition of Bigger by Buckley presents the similar racist connotations as the beating does. In the novel, Buckley holds Bigger as a political advantage, stressing a racist message to Blacks to show them what happens to the unwanted Blacks when they break the law in Richard Wright’s time which consists of strict and racist laws. One last important element of the opening scene is the setting of the dilapidated Thomas apartment. One function of this apartment setting is to set the atmosphere for the novel as a whole. The run-down and squalid apartment gives a sense of hopelessness and despair. The gloomy aspect of the setting describes the victimization of the Thomas family done by the society in which they are living in. Another function of the apartment setting is that it is a microcosm for how Blacks live throughout the city of Chicago. The apartment is a small, congested room fixed with a kitchen and no walls to separate the men from the women. The inappropriateness of their apartment is exemplified when both Buddy and Bigger have to turn their heads away while Mother Thomas and Vera dress. These unacceptable living conditions are created by an oppressive society and creates an unstable Black society which produces people such as Bigger who turn out to be exactly what White society believes they are like. The apartment setting is also part of a geographical contrast with the Dalton mansion. The apartment shows the unfair distribution of wealth as the Dalton mansion exhibits aristocratic characteristics with its multiple rooms and white columned porch; while the Thomas apartment has a mere single room, which occupies an entire family, and consists of a rat infestation. The contrast helps enforce the sense of the inequality and injustice while it also presents a divided Black and White society made possible by a racist country. Altogether, the opening scene functions to attack American society and its oppressive standpoint towards Blacks in Richard Wrights time. Wright establishes the scene’s function by using these three major elements: the alarm clock, the rat-catching, and the apartment setting. Richard Wright central theme of change is produced by the opening scene to correspond with the rest of the novel as it stresses the warning of a possible revolution and social upheaval if conditions do not change in American society.

Gothic Architecture in Medieval France

Gothic Architecture in Medieval France As with most modernization, new concepts are often refined versions of previous techniques. Although structural design during the Middle Ages was already advancing at a large scale, distortions of the classical style were not too apparent until the Gothic era occurred. Taking place during a time of turmoil with the Hundred Years' War and the Black Plague, the Gothic age emerged right as European society was forced into a reflective change. With an increase in trade and a growing violation, an associated development of cities also occurred.Since it was more plausible to centralize churches and monasteries within towns, advancements of stone architecture began in order to meet the needs of the general public. First appearing in Northern France in the mid-12th century, Gothic style began mainly in these newly built or restored cathedrals. The modernization that took place within Gothic architecture directly reflected the changes that were taking pl ace within French society. The two main structural improvements of Gothic architecture were minted arches and ribbed vaulting.Building upon the design of the intersecting arches of groin vaults (primarily seen within the Romanesque period), Gothic architects created rib vaults as a result of using diagonal and transverse arches that intersected crosswise. By switching from curved to more-pointed arches, builders were able to maximize height-space and have all the arches at approximately the same level, regardless of the arches' widths. This allowed the inside of cathedrals to be very spacious and give the appearance of openness.Another structural advantage of the pointed Gothic vaults is its downward weight distribution. Because they require less reinforcement to keep them in position, large windows could be placed underneath the arches instead of supports, making it possible to let more light into the room. These areas were often filled with another prominent Gothic feature: staine d-glass windows. Although it was not originally produced during the Gothic Era, stained-glass gained its standing with its use in cathedrals.By taking advantage f the usable space under pointed arches, architects were able to replace walls with stained-glass and transfer natural light into the building, creating a colored ambiance. Abbot Auger, the Abbot at Saint-Denis (a cathedral noted for being a precursor in Gothic architecture) coined the phrase lug nova, meaning â€Å"new light† to describe the effect of the stained-glass. Aside from transmitting light into the cathedral, the windows acted as a way to present religious illustrations and depictions of Holy Scripture.Although the glass is much more unstable than the rounding stone encasement and structure, Gothic architects were able to reinforce the glass with iron and other materials to make it withstand much weathering. A structure combining glass and stone support that became typical within French Gothic architecture was the rose window, a large circular window that combined the designs of the inside and outsides of the cathedral. The aim of overstated design of cathedrals was not limited Just to the inside of the buildings.While the stonework within the churches was more minimalist, the outsides were overfed with facades of religious sculptures. Acting as a central point to these facades, rose windows were covered in detailed stone work that was best seen from outside the cathedral. It was also a notable gothic style to have the sculptures of saints in a more unassuming manner. The statues began to have individual personalities and more nonjudgmental postures, showing the separate identities of the saints. Another feature of sculptural design was gargoyles.Acting as a way to direct rain water away from the building, gargoyles have played a key part in keeping he stone cathedrals from eroding and to minimize other water damage. Although occurring during a time of struggle, the Gothic era depicts the progression of France throughout this time. The advancements and stylistic techniques that were created continued throughout much of France's history and even spilled into English regions. Considering many of the cathedrals of this time have remained in decent condition even 800 years later, it is safe to say that Gothic style has passed the test of time.