Friday, January 31, 2020

Nineteen Eighty-four and People Essay Example for Free

Nineteen Eighty-four and People Essay Imagine living in a world where politics are everything and all forms of individuality and personal identities are shattered. A world where everybody is stripped of their rights to talk, act, think, or even form their own opinions, simply because they do not agree with the government’s beliefs. These aspects are just a few of the examples of things dictators would have control over in a totalitarianism form of government. Aggressive leaders such as Hitler and Joseph Stalin are examples of such dictators. They used their power for terror and murder, and their motive is simply to maximize their own personal power. George Orwell had witnessed World War II, the fall of Hitler and Stalin’s dictatorships, and the fatal outcomes that have come from these governments. To warn future generations of the harsh effects of totalitarianism governments, he wrote the book Nineteen Eighty-Four. Published in 1946, Nineteen Eighty-Four describes life in a totalitarianism form of government, following the main character, Winston Smith, as he takes risks in discovering how he believes life should truly be. Literary critic Irving Howe states, â€Å"Were it possible, in the world of 1984, to show human character in anything resembling genuine freedom it would not be the world of 1984† (62). In Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, the government uses its power to suppress individuality among the people. To begin, the author shows how the government abolishes individuality through the use of mind control. First of all, the creation of Newspeak restricts the individual from saying things that he/she wishes to say. More specifically, the task of the Party’s philologists is to regulate the vocabulary and language of Oceania to ultimately be able to control the actions and behaviors of the people. Literary critic Stephen Ingle argues, â€Å"The more vocabulary contracts, the more the Party will be able to control behavior† (124). Since the Party has complete control over how the people can talk and what they are allowed to say, they ultimately have the power to control how they act. Through Newspeak, thoughtcrime will become impossible due to the fact that there will be no terms in which to express it. Furthermore, the Party asserts its control over the mind through doublethink. To begin, doublethink is an example of a thought process in which one simultaneously holds two contradictory beliefs while accepting both of them. For example, while in the Ministry of Love, O’Brien uses doublethink to make Winston believe that he can float. Winston says, â€Å"If he thinks he floats off the floor and I simultaneously think I see him do it, then it happens† (Orwell 278). O’Brien cannot float, however through the use of doublethink Winston can say that it does happen. Moreover, the Party also uses thoughtcrime to regulate the people’s thoughts, speech, actions, and feelings towards the government. The Thought Police use psychology and surveillance such as hidden telescreens to discover cases of thoughtcrime and misbehavior. For instance, a telescreen hidden behind a picture on the wall in Winston and Julia’s secret hideout is the reason they are caught in their illegal love affair. Winston describes, â€Å"Thoughtcrime does not entail death: Thoughtcrime IS death† (Orwell 27). Winston is saying that death is definite if one thinks badly about the government or disapproves of the government’s actions. Thus, due to telescreens, people are forced to keep an expression of optimism at all times; because any other emotion will be considered treason (Ingle 127). Consequently, individuality among the people is destroyed through mind control. In addition to mind control, Orwell also illustrates how the government strips the people of their personal identities though their control over reality. To begin, the party uses its power over Oceania’s history to eliminate all records of the past in order to create a future entirely dedicated to politics. Winston states, â€Å"History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right. I know, of course, that the past is falsified, but it would never be possible for me to prove it† (Orwell 155). The Party has complete control over the history of Oceania, and they choose to delete any and all traces of the past, such as memories. Additionally, the Party uses their control over memories to minimize individuality in the people of Oceania. More specifically, the Party seeks to control the memory of the people because without memory, they cannot remember the past. They remove all documents and records of the past through their memory holes. It is one’s memories that keep the past existing and that shape their lives (Ingle 123). The Party succeeds in abolishing the past by restricting the memories of the people. Moreover, the government reduces individuality with their perceptions of logic. In Oceania, whatever the Party says is correct is correct. If one does not agree with what the Party says, he/she is considered insane; a flaw in the system. To explain, when Winston is taken to the Ministry of Love, they torture him-physically and emotionally to make him accept the logic of the Party. Powerful party member O’Brien explains to Winston that their logic is correct, regardless of what Winston knows is right. O’Brien implores, â€Å"Sometimes they are five. Sometimes they are three. Sometimes they are all of them at once. You must try harder. It is not easy to become sane† (Orwell 207). O’Brien is saying that the government has the ability to alter aspects of their lives that Winston knows are the real thing; however he has no choice but to accept them. He is considered â€Å"insane† because he knows what is right and what is wrong and is hesitant to believe that the Party’s logic is true. Noted critic Stephen Ingle implies, â€Å"Winston conjectures that in the end the Party would declare that two plus two made five and the individual would be required to believe it† (122). In the future, there will be no other types of logic other that what the Party deems to be true. Thus, the government uses its power to control all aspects of reality for the people of Oceania. Equally important to mind control and reality, Orwell also shows how the government’s control over the people’s emotions suppresses their individuality. To begin, the Party extinguishes all forms of pure love among the people. More specifically, if two people wish to get married, they must be approved. If they wish to marry out of love and affection, they will be denied. In the eyes of the Party, marriage must be handled like business-only to produce offspring that will be loyal to them. Winston implores, â€Å"But you could not have pure love or pure lust nowadays. No emotion was pure, because everything was mixed up with fear and hatred† (Orwell 105). Every aspect of the people’s lives in Oceania is robotic and systematic, there are no true emotions. Similarly to the Party’s control over love, they also control sex between the people. To explain, the Party believes that there should not be any pleasure from sex; it should only be used in order to reproduce. The people who are faithful to the party transform their sexual energy into political hysteria (Howe 65). All of their energy goes towards the Two Minutes Hate and their hatred for Big Brother in order to bring some form of unity amongst them. Furthermore, the Party also uses emotional torture to abolish individuality. To justify, when Winston is in the Ministry of Love, he endures not only physical torture but psychological torture as well. He says, â€Å"In the end the nagging voices broke him down more completely than the boats and fists of the guards† (Orwell 200). The emotional torture from the questioning Winston undergoes wears him down and makes him into a mouth that simply utters what he believes they want to hear. The questioners transform him into something that is not even human anymore- merely just a robot. Literary expert Stephen Ingle argues that â€Å"the right and capacity to form one’s own judgment on external events†¦a full emotional life, a private world into which one could retire: those were the bastions of identity which Winston Smith sought to defend† (127). Winston is the last individual with knowledge of things outside of what the Party believes to be moral, and eventually he is stripped from that title and made into one of the other brain-washed citizens of Oceania. Consequently, the Party uses emotional torture to suppress individuality among the people. Hence, the government in Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four has been proven to use their power to strip the citizens of their individuality. For instance, the Party uses their control to take over the minds of the people and restrict what they can/cannot say or do. Also, they have the power to control all records of the past, memories, and the logic they have placed in their society. If that is not enough, the Party also controls their emotions, regulates sex, and forces emotional torture among them to force their logic into their brains. Orwell is â€Å"trying to present the kind of world in which individuality has become obsolete and personality a crime† (Howe 62). Ultimately, if a society allows a dictatorship in which one person or a group of people have all the power over the citizens, the society will transform into an individualized group of robots.

Thursday, January 23, 2020

Swot analysis of Tesco plc Essay -- essays research papers

Swot analysis of Tesco plc We all know Tesco as a food retailer, and we know that they are in constant competition with other retailers such as Sainsburys and Asda, yet we do not know much about what goes on beyond the shelves and the tills, the marketing plans and the day to day tactics that have to be devised to stay the number one food retailer in the United kingdom today. I am going to analyse Broughton Parks Tesco and their possible competitors Swot Analysis Firstly, four main goals, under which these particular four are Strengths: 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Tesco is about a strong UK core business. Last year the industry saw some very marginal growth as a whole, however Tesco continued to grow beyond the market by offering better value for money and through getting cheaper. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be as strong in non-food as in food. The market for non foods (such as clothes entertainment cleaning products) is worth seventy five billion pounds in the UK today. You can see through the growth of their dot.com business which now has over four hundred and fifty thousand users and is the largest grocery online retailer in the world, and through the success of tescos personal finance with over 1,5 million customers that they are making some real in roads into non foods. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  International growth, Tesco have 30% of their stores outside the United Kingdom and plan to make it 45% by the end of next year, and will be approached through central Europe and trough Asia 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To have the most loyal and committed staff. Tesco as a company uses clear values to underpin what they do. Their core purpose is based on â€Å"Creating value for our customers to earn their life time loyalty?Tesco have invested one billion pounds Tesco believe that one of they offer the best quality on a broad range of products and believe that they offer the best value. They have invested one billion pounds since 1996 on the campaign to reduce prices to customers and that continues to build as they go in to 2004. They offer outstanding customer service, every customer is offered help at the checkout. Location and convenience is another reason to choose Tesco, they have introduced a staggering 200 in the last two years that stay open 24 hours a day and they plan another 1540 new express stores, which are Tesco mini sto... ...onsolidated balance sheet Fixed assets  £m Fixed assets Intangible Assets 154 Intangible Assets Tangible assets 11,032 Tangible assets Investments 317 Investments Total Fixed Assets 11,503 Total Fixed Assets Current assets Current assets Stock 929 Stock Debtors 454 Debtors due within one year Short term investments 225 Short-term investments Cash at bank and in hand 445 Cash at bank and in hand Total Current Assets 2,053 Total Current Assets Creditors -4,809 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Working Capital -2,756 Net current assets (liabilities) Total assets less current liabilities 8,747 Total assets less current liabilities Long Term Liabilities -2,741 Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year Provisions for liabilities and charges -440 Provisions for liabilities and charges Net assets 5,566 Net assets Represented by Capital and reserves Ordinary share capital 350 Called-up share capital Share premium 2,004 Share premium Other reserves 40 Other reserves Profit and loss account 3,136 Profit and loss account Ordinary shareholders' funds 5,530 Equity shareholders' funds Minority interests 36 Minority interests Capital Employed 5,566 Total capital employed

Wednesday, January 15, 2020

Human Capital Management

My decision to pursue the 9-month Master of Science in Management Studies (MSMS) program on offer at MIT Sloan School of Management was largely influenced by Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK)’s Faculty of Business Administration invitation as one of the participating schools for this prestigious program. CUHK’s inclusion affords me the opportunity to fulfill my lifelong desire of acquiring a top-notch global business education from a world-class university.If accepted, enrolling for the MSMS program at MIT will be a kind of a homecoming. This is because of my prior sojourn to the United States for educational and vocational purposes. I had my college education at both Bentley College, Massachusetts and Washington University in St.Louis, Missouri, and I also had a professional stint at the Human Capital Practice unit of Deloitte Consulting which took me to American cities like Houston and Los Angeles.Afterwards, I had to take a diversion to the CUHK to pursue a full -time MBA program with a concentration in China Business. This was to enable me become well-grounded in modern Chinese business practices and also to catch up on developments leading to the emergence of China as the next global economic superpower.When I learnt about the CUMBA/MIT MSc in Management Studies Dual Degree Option, it turned out to be an opportunity of a lifetime. I discovered that the program will not only permit me to continue expanding on my knowledge of Chinese business but also empower me to develop a solid background on global best practices in international management.My academic interests will be focused majorly on issues bordering on work, labor, and employment relations as well as human resource management, labor market issues, and related public policies. I will like to investigate how to retain and motivate employees using incentives other than just pecuniary compensation. In addition, I will also be interested in examining key business topics like supply chai ns and corporate complianceEnrolling for the MIT Sloan MSMS program will also enable me to take advantage of MIT Sloan’s impressive research facilities and resources. Of particular interest to me is the Institute for Work & Employment Research (IWER), where I will be conducting a considerable piece of the research towards fulfilling my thesis requirements.I will be glad to tap into the institute’s over 50 years legacy of research and teaching about the changing world of work and employment and discover how I can apply the acquired know-how in the Chinese business terrain.Also worth exploring for me in greater depth is the MIT Sloan Management Review, the preeminent quarterly academic journal. I am a huge fan of this reliable source of innovative ideas for the 21st century business leader and would love the opportunity to contribute scholarly articles, or even get my Master’s thesis featured in a future edition of the journal.MIT Sloan’s intellectually eng aging student body, forward-thinking faculty, and extensive alumni network complete the list of key reasons for selecting the management school as my preferred destination for advanced degree study.I look forward to the prospect of meeting and collaborating with great minds, especially Professor Thomas Kochan, Co-director of IWER and George Maverick Bunker Professor of Management. I would be drawing a lot of inspiration from his thoughts and scholarly works on industrial relations, work and employment.ANSWER TO QUESTION NO. 2Restructuring Human Capital Management (HCM) and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in China would probably be a thesis topic I would pursue. Why? Because, often times, in China, the primary focus for company managers are how to reduce overhead cost, make huge profits, and deliver the highest possible returns for shareholders.For managers that care less about long term, this narrow, profit- oriented approach to business may suffice, but only for a very short period of time. However, for companies that want to stand the test of time and survive the vagaries of modern day business, a more balanced management style is non-negotiable.Of course, most Chinese companies already have structures in place to cater to Human Capital Management, and Corporate Social Responsibility. The essence of this thesis however, is to suggest ways to reform these structures and make it a little more robust and engaging.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Proofreading Exercises to Identify Errors in Verb Tense

Verb tenses tell you when the action in a sentence is happening The three verb tenses are past, present, and future. Past tense verbs describe when something has happened, present tense verbs describe things that are continuous or that are happening now, and future tense verbs describe things that havent happened yet but are likely to occur in the future. Instructions In each of the following paragraphs, some of the sentences contain errors in verb tense. Write out the correct form of any verb that is used incorrectly, and then compare your findings with the answers provided further below. Hands Up! Recently in Oklahoma City, Pat Rowley, a security guard, deposit 50 cents in a City Hall vending machine and reach in to get a candy bar. When the machine catch his hand, he pull out his pistol and shoot the machine twice. The second shot sever some wires, and he got his hand out. The Christmas Spirit Mr. Theodore Dunnet, of Oxford, England, run amok in his house in December. He ripped the telephone from the wall, thrown a television set and a tape-deck into the street, smash to bits a three-piece suite, kicked a dresser down the stairs, and torn the plumbing right out of the bath. He offer this explanation for his behavior: I was shock by the over-commercialization of Christmas. Late Bloomers Some very remarkable adults are known to have experience quite unremarkable childhoods. English author G.K. Chesterton, for instance, could not read until the age of 8, and he usually finish at the bottom of his class. If we could opened your head, one of his teachers remark, we would not find any brain but only a lump of fat. Chesterton eventually become a successful novelist. Similarly, Thomas Edison was label a dunce by one of his teachers, and young James Watt was called dull and inept. Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vincis Mona Lisa is one of the most famous portraits in the history of painting. Leonardo took four years to complete the painting: he begun work in 1503 and finish in 1507. Mona (or Madonna Lisa Gherardini) was from a noble family in Naples, and Leonardo may have paint her on commission from her husband. Leonardo is said to have entertain Mona Lisa with six musicians. He install a musical fountain where the water play on small glass spheres, and he give Mona a puppy and a white Persian cat to play with. Leonardo did what he could to keep Mona smiling during the long hours she sit for him. But it is not only Monas mysterious smile that has impress anyone who has ever view the portrait: the background landscape is just as mysterious and beautiful. The portrait can be seen today in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Hard Luck A bank teller in Italy was jilted by his girlfriend and decide the only thing left to do was kill himself. He stolen a car with the idea of crashing it, but the car broken down. He steal another one, but it was too slow, and he barely dent a fender when he crashed the car into a tree. The police arrive and charge the man with auto theft. While being questioned, he stab himself in the chest with a dagger. Quick action by the police officers saved the mans life. On the way to his cell, he jumped out through a third-story window. A snowdrift broken his fall. A judge suspends the mans sentence, saying, Im sure fate still has something in store for you. Answers Here are the answers to the above verb-tense exercises. Corrected verb forms are in  bold  print. Hands Up! Recently in Oklahoma City, Pat Rowley, a security guard,  deposited  50 cents in a City Hall vending machine and reached  in to get a candy bar. When the machine caught his hand, he pulled out his pistol and  shot  the machine twice. The second shot  severed  some wires, and he got his hand out. The Christmas Spirit Mr. Theodore Dunnet, of Oxford, England, ran amok in his house in December. He ripped the telephone from the wall;  threw a television set and a tape-deck into the street; smashed  to bits a three-piece suite, kicked a dresser down the stairs, and tore the plumbing right out of the bath. He  offered  this explanation for his behavior: I was​  shocked  by the over-commercialization of Christmas. Late Bloomers Some very remarkable adults are known to have  experienced  quite unremarkable childhoods. English author G.K. Chesterton, for instance, could not read until the age of eight, and he usually  finished  at the bottom of his class. If we could  open  your head, one of his teachers  remarked, we would not find any brain but only a lump of fat. Chesterton eventually  became  a successful novelist. Similarly, Thomas Edison was  labeled  a dunce by one of his teachers, and young James Watt was called dull and inept. Mona Lisa Leonardo da Vincis  Mona Lisa  is the most famous portrait in the history of painting. Leonardo took four years to complete the painting: he  began  work in 1503 and  finished  in 1507. Mona (or Madonna Lisa Gherardini) was from a noble family in Naples, and Leonardo may have  painted  her on commission from her husband. Leonardo is said to have  entertained  Mona Lisa with six musicians. He  installed  a musical fountain where the water  played  on small glass spheres, and he  gave  Mona a puppy and a white Persian cat to play with. Leonardo did what he could to keep Mona smiling during the long hours she  sat  for him. But it is not only Monas mysterious smile that has  impressed  anyone who has ever  viewed  the portrait: the background landscape is just as mysterious and beautiful. The portrait can be seen today in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Hard Luck A bank teller in Italy was jilted by his girlfriend and  decided  the only thing left to do was kill himself. He  stole  a car with the idea of crashing it, but the car  broke  down. He  stole  another one, but it was too slow, and he barely  dented  a fender when he crashed the car into a tree. The police  arrived  and  charged  the man with auto theft. While being questioned, he  stabbed  himself in the chest with a dagger. Quick action by the police officers saved the mans life. On the way to his cell, he jumped out through a third-story window. A snowdrift  broke  his fall. A judge  suspended  the mans sentence, saying, Im sure fate still has something in store for you.