Strategic Management Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Strategic Management - Coursework Example The rising consumer needs in the developing as well as the developed markets is generating a uniform business opportunity. Companies of local as well as international origin are actively focusing on entering newer markets as well as expanding their presence in existing markets so as to capitalize the newly emerging business opportunities. The business firms of the 21st century are actively focusing on radical as well as disruptive innovation so as to effectively fulfill the needs of the masses. It is important to highlight that the because of the presence of multiple firms offering homogenous products and services, the competition in the market is extremely high. The availability of similar kinds of product and service offerings are resulting in the increase in power for the buyers. It has to be said that to deal with the intense market competition as well as to retain their competitive edge, the organizations needs to design as well as execute successful strategies. This particular assignment focuses on the aspects of strategy development, cutting edge technology as well as the sustainable competitive advantage which are necessary for present day organizations. Traditionally, organizations around the world follow a well designed hierarchy, the top of which is often tasked with the responsibility of strategy planning as well as implementation. For the implementation as well as execution of strategies, companies in various corners of the world often follow the usual one way top down implementation approach. Over the course of execution of business, there have often been doubts about whether it is possible to design effective strategies without following the traditional top down route. In order to find a satisfying answer to this particular focus, it is important to highlight that there is a high level of persistence that is associated with the hierarchical concept of an organization. Organizations which

Topic by yourself-ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Topic by yourself-ethics - Essay Example Cultural Relativism is, according to James Rachels, â€Å"a theory about the nature of morality†, that â€Å"challenges our ordinary belief in the objectivity and universality of moral truth† (Rachels). Essentially, what is right and what is wrong is determined by tradition and culture, and each culturally-dictated standard of living should be viewed, understood, and judged within the context of that particular culture alone (Nussbaum 121). This way of viewing culturally-specific circumstances is a good deterrent for racism, religious extremism, sexism, and other forms of prejudice. We Westerners are and have been guilty of colonialism and ethnocentric thinking. With this in mind, majority of scholars and even undergraduates â€Å"are hesitant to make any negative judgment of a culture other than their own† (Nussbaum 121). ... ccurs in many countries in Africa where there is a ritualistic cutting of a part or the entire external female genitalia of girl as a rite of passage to adulthood. I agree with Nussbaum that the best argument for retaining this practice is FGM’s essentiality in ensuring â€Å"cultural continuity†. These operations make the community intact for it is a ritual that has been passed from generation to generation, and for a young lady, having undergone this ritual is a sign of being a part of the community. Cultural relativism would dictate that we should not be opposed to this ritual, because the society that practices it sees that it is the right thing to do for the greater good of not just the individual, or her husband, or their families, but for the benefit of the whole society as well. However, if you view this argument with rational thinking, practicing FGM does more harm to the society because the lives of their next generation women are at stake every time the proce dure is performed, and for a continent that relies on female labor for most of its agricultural endeavors, it is not to the society’s benefit if their women cannot do their jobs more efficiently because of chronic infection, pain and difficulty in walking, urination, and menstruation, due to FGM. What is more, the future of the society is at stake because FGM makes the rates of complications in child birth higher and the risk of the mother and infant dying during and after child birth greater. Though many modern philosophers and social scientists recognize that different cultures have different moral codes, many as well as I believe that there is such a thing as a â€Å"natural right†1, that which everything and anything that violates that â€Å"right† can be considered universally wrong (Harman 367).

The Indolence of the Filipino Essay Example for Free

The Indolence of the Filipino Essay The word indolence has been greatly misused in the sense of little love for work and lack of energy†¦In the Philippines one’s and another’s faults, the shortcomings of one, the misdeeds of another, are attributed to indolence. And just as in the Middle Ages he who sought the explanation of phenomena outside of infernal influences was persecuted, so in the Philippines worse happens to him who seeks the origin of the trouble outside of accepted beliefs. Indolence in the Philippines is a chronic malady, but not a hereditary one. The Filipinos have not always been what they are, witnesses whereto are all the historians of the first years after the discovery of the Islands. All the histories of [the country’s] first years†¦abound in long accounts about the industry and agriculture of the natives; mines, gold-washings, looms, farms, barter, naval construction, raising of poultry and stock, weaving of silk and cotton, distilleries, etc. , are things encountered at every step, and considering the time and the conditions in the islands, prove that there was life, there was activity, there was movement. The Filipinos in spite of the climate, in spite of their few needs (they were less then than now), were not the indolent creatures of our time†¦their ethics and their mode of life were not what is not complacently attributed to them. How is it strange, then, that discouragement may have been infused into the spirit of the inhabitants of the Philippines, when in the midst of so many calamities they did not know whether they would see sprout the seed they were planting, whether their field was going to be their grave or their crop would go to feed their executioner? He who does not act freely is not responsible for his actions; and the Filipino people, not being master of its liberty, is not responsible for either its misfortunes or its woes. We say this, it is true, but, as well as seen later on, we also have a large part in the continuation of such a disorder. Of no little importance were the hindrance and obstacles that from the beginning were thrown in the farmer’s way by the rules, who were influenced by childish fear and saw everywhere signs of conspiracies and uprisings. The natives were not allowed to go to their labors, that is, their farms, without permission of the governor, or of his agents and officers, and even of the priests as Morga says†¦ A modern French traveler who was in the Philippines for a long time says, â€Å"†¦the governor, the foremost official of the district†¦monopolizes all the business and instead of developing on his part the love of work, instead of stimulating the too natural indolence of the natives, he with abuse of his powers thinks only of destroying all competition that may trouble him or attempts to participate in his profits. It matters little to him that the country is impoverished, without cultivation, without commerce, without industry, just so the governor is quickly enriched. † All the Filipinos†¦know how many documents, what comings, how many stamped papers, how much patience is needed to secure from the government a permit for an enterprise. One must count upon the good will of this one, on the influence of that one, on a good bribe to another in order that the application be not pigeon-holed†¦And above all, great patience, great knowledge of how to get along, plenty of money, a great deal of politics, many salutations, great influence, plenty of presents and complete resignation! The trade with China†¦was not only prejudicial to Spain but also the life of her colonies; in fact, when the officials and private persons in Manila found an easy method of getting rich they neglected everything. They paid no attention either to cultivating the soil or to fostering industry†¦The pernicious example of the dominators in surrounding themselves with servants and despising manual or corporal labor as a thing unbecoming the nobility and chivalrous pride of the heroes of so many centuries; those lordly airs, which the natives have translated into tila ka castila, and the desire of the dominated to be the equal of the dominators, if not essentially, at east in their manners; all this had naturally to produce aversion to activity and fear or hatred of work. â€Å"Why work? † asked the natives. The curate says that the rich man will not go to heaven. The rich man on earth is liable to all kinds of trouble, to be appointed a cabeza de barangay†¦to be forced banker of the military chief of the town, who to reward him for favors received seizes his laborers and his stock in order to force him to beg money and thus easily pays up. Why be rich? †¦The native, whom they pretend to regard as an imbecile, is not so much so that he does not understand that it is ridiculous to work himself to death to become worse off. A proverb of his says the pig is cooked in its own lard, and as among his bad qualities he has the good one of applying to himself all the criticisms and censures he refers to live miserable and indolent rather than play the part of the wretched beast of burden. Along with gambling, which breeds dislike for steady and difficult toil by its promise of sudden wealth and its appeal to the emotions, with the lotteries, with the prodigality and hospitality of the Filipinos, went also, to swell the train of misfortunes, the religious functions the great number of fiestas, the long masses for the women to spend their mornings and the novenaries to spend their afternoons, and the nights for the processions and rosaries. Remember, that lack of capital and absence of means paralyze all movement, and you will see how the native was perforce (unavoidably) to be indolent for if any money might remain to him from the trials, imposts and exactions, he would have to give it to the curate for bulls, scapularies, candles, novenaries, etc. And if this does not suffice to form an indolent character†¦ recall then that the doctrine of his religion teach him to irrigate his fields in the dry season, not by means of canals but with masses and prayers; to preserve his stock during an epidemic with holy water, exorcisms and benedictions that cost five dollars an animal, to drive away the locusts by a procession with the image of St. Augustine, etc†¦We have noticed that the countries which believe most in miracles are the laziest, just as spoiled children are the most ill-mannered. Whether they believe in miracles to palliate their laziness or they are lazy because they believe in miracles, we cannot say; but the fact is the Filipinos were much less lazy before the word miracle was introduced into their language. With the lack of confidence in the future, that uncertainty of reaping the reward of labor, as in a city stricken with plague, everybody yields to fate, shuts himself in his house or goes about amusing himself in an attempt to spend the few days that remain to him in the least disagreeable way possible. The apathy of the government itself toward everything in commerce and agriculture contributes not a little to foster indolence. There is no encouragement at all for the manufacturer or for the farmer, the government furnishes no aid either when a poor crop comers, when the locusts sweep over the fields, or when cyclone destroys in its passage the wealth of the soil†¦Why should it do so when these same products are burdened with taxes and imposts and have no free entry into the ports of the mother country, nor is their consumption there encouraged? And the principal and most terrible [reason] of all: the education of the native. From his birth until he sinks into his grave, the training of the native is brutalizing, depressive and anti-human†¦There is no doubt that the government, some priests like the Jesuits and some Dominicans like Padre Benavides, have done a great deal by founding colleges, schools of primary instruction, and the like. But this is not enough; their efforts are neutralized. They amount to five or ten years†¦during which the youth comes in contact with books selected by those very priests who boldly proclaim that it is evil for the natives to know Castilian, that the native should not be separated from his carabao, that he should not value any further aspirations, and so on †¦Thus while they attempt to make of the native a kind of animal, yet in exchange they demand of him divine actions†¦Deprive a man, then, of his dignity, and you not only deprive him of his moral strength but you also make useless for those who wish to make use of him. Every creature has its stimulus, its mainspring; man’s is his self-esteem. Take it away from him and he is a corpse, and he who seeks activity in a corpse will encounter only worms. Thus is explained how the natives of the present time are no longer the same as those of the time of the discovery, neither morally nor physically. The ancient writers, like Chirino, Morga, and Colin, take pleasure in describing them a well-featured, with good aptitudes for anything they take up, keen and susceptible and of resolute will, very clean and neat in their persons and clothing, and of good mien and bearing (Morga)†¦ In exchange, the writers of the present time, without being more gallant than Herman Cortez and Salcedo, nor more prudent than Legazpi, nor more manly than Morga, nor more prudent than Colin and Gaspar de San Agustin, our contemporary writers we say find that the native is a creature something more than a monkey but much less than a man, an anthropoid, dull-witted, stupid, timid, dirty, cringing, ill-clothed, indolent, lazy brainless, immoral, etc. tc. To what is this retrogression due? Is it the delectable civilization, the religion of salvation of the friars, called of Jesus Christ by euphemism, that has produced this miracle that has atrophied his brain, paralyzed his heart and made of the man this sort of vicious animal that the writers depict? Alas! The whole misfortune of the present Filipinos consists in that they have become only half-way brutes. The Filipino is convinced that to get happiness it is necessary for him to lay aside his dignity as a rational creature, to attend mass, to believe what is told him, to pay what is demanded of him, to pay and forever to pay; to work, suffer, and be silent, without aspiring anything, without aspiring to know or even to understand Spanish, without separating himself from his carabao, as the priests shamelessly say, without protesting against any injustice, against any arbitrary action, against an assault, against an insult; that is, not to have heart, brain, or spirit; a creature with arms and a purse of gold. . there’s the ideal native! unfortunately, or because the brutalization is not yet complete and because the nature of man is inherent in his being in spite of his condition, the native protests; he still has aspirations, he thinks and strives to rise, and there’s the trouble! Peoples and governments are correlated and complementary: a stupid government would be an a nomaly among righteous people, just as a corrupt people cannot exist under just rulers and wise laws. Like people, like government, we will say in paraphrase of a popular adage. The very limited training in the home, the tyrannical and sterile education of the rare centers of learning that blind subordination of the youth to one of greater age, influence the mind so that a man may not aspire to excel those who preceded him but must merely be content to go along with a march behind them. Stagnation forcibly results from this, and as he who devotes himself merely to copying divests himself of other qualities suited to his own nature, he naturally becomes sterile; hence decadence. Indolence is a corollary derived from the lack of stimulus and of vitality. That modesty infused into the convictions of everyone, or, to speak more clearly, that insinuated inferiority, a sort of daily and constant depreciation of the mind so that it may not be raised to the regions of life, deadens the energies, paralyzes all tendencies toward advancement, and of the least struggle a man gives up without fighting. If by one of those rare incidents, some wild spirit, that is some active one, excels, instead of his example stimulating, it only causes others to persist in their inaction. There’s one who will work for us; let’s sleep on! † say his relatives and friends. True it is that the spirit of rivalry is sometimes awakened, only that then it awakens with bad humor in the guise of envy, and instead of being a lever for helping, it is an obstacle that produces discouragement. Nurtured by the example of anchorites (monks) of a contemplative and lazy life, the natives spend theirs in giving their gold to the Church in the hope of miracles and other wonderful things. Their will is hypnotized: from childhood they learned to act mechanically, without knowledge of the object, thanks to the exercise imposed upon them from the most tender years of praying for whole hours in an unknown tongue, of venerating things that they do not understand, of accepting beliefs that are not explained to them, to having absurdities imposed upon them, while the protests of reason are repressed. Is it any wonder that with this vicious dressage of intelligence and will the native, should now be a mass of dismal contradictions? That continual struggle between reason and duty, between his organism and his new ideals, that civil war which disturbs the peace of his conscience all his life, has the result of paralyzing all his energies, and aided by the severity of the climate, makes that eternal vacillation, of the doubts in his brain, the origin of his indolent disposition. â€Å"You can’t know more than this or that old man! † â€Å"Don’t aspire to be greater than the curate! † â€Å"You belong to an inferior race! â€Å"You haven’t any energy! † This is what they tell the child and they repeat it so often, it has perforce to become engraved in the mind and thence mould and pervade all his action. The child or youth who tries to be anything else is blamed with vanity and presumption; the curate ridicules him with cruel sarcasm, his relatives look upon him with fear, strangers regard him with great compassion. No forward movement — Get back in the ranks and ke ep in line! With his spirit thus molded the native falls into the most pernicious (wicked; malicious; harmful) of all routines: routine not planned but imposed and forced†¦What he lacks is in the first place liberty to allow expansion to his adventuresome spirit, and good examples, beautiful prospects for the future. It is necessary that his spirit, store up energy, seek high purposes, in order to struggle against obstacles in the midst of unfavorable natural conditions. In order that he may progress it is necessary that a revolutionary spirit, so to speak, should boil in his veins, since progress necessarily requires the present; the victory of new ideas over the ancient and accepted one†¦all the flattering promises of the fairest hopes will not suffice, so long as his spirit is not free, his intelligence is not respected. Convinced by the insinuation of his inferiority, his spirit harassed by his education, if that brutalization of which we spoke above can be called education, in that exchange of usages and sentiments among different nations, the Filipino, to whom remain only his susceptibility and his oetical imagination, allows himself to be guided by his fancy and his self-love†¦ They have dazzled him with tinsel, with strings of colored glass beads, with noisy rattles, shining mirrors and other trinkets, and he has given in return his gold, his conscience, and even his liberty. He changed his religion for the external practices of another cult; the convictions and usages derived from his climate and needs, for other convictions that developed under another sky and another inspiration. His spirit, well-disposed toward everything that looks good to him, was then transformed, at the pleasure of the nation that forced upon him its God and its law, and as the trader with whom he dealt did not bring a cargo of useful implements of iron, hoes to till the fields, but stamped papers, crucifixes, bulls and prayer-books, as he did not have for ideal and prototype the tanned and vigorous laborer, but the aristocratic Lord carried in a luxurious litter, the result was that the imitative people became bookish, devout, prayerful; it acquired ideas of luxury and ostentation, without thereby improving the means of its substance to a corresponding degree.

Past, Present, and Future Trends Essay Example for Free

Past, Present, and Future Trends Essay Policing as defined by Merriam Webster is to control, regulate, or keep in order by the use of police. Since the early years of its existence, policing has taken on several changes some historically. Policing has made momentous changes since its implementation. Policing has changed form a one sheriff community to a multi-agency department of law enforcement officials sworn to protect and serve. The changes made in policing have varied from race and gender. The development of policing within each level of government has proven to be an every growing entity with major obstacles. The changes in criminal activity, the age of those breaking the law, and the changing laws has made policing and ever changing agency. Past trends like gangs always have been an issue, but pose serious challenges for law enforcement today. â€Å"More and more juveniles are transferred to adult court systems, greater demands will be placed on correctional institutions and their staff (Muraskin Roberts, 2009, pg. 3, Para 5)†. With the threat of urban terrorism, these aggressive gangs control the social lives of many neighborhoods, becoming more of a threat than foreign terrorists (Muraskin Roberts, 2009) Past trends like the large use of illegal drugs that are still causing high incarceration rates is proving that incarceration is not working. These offenders, which were incarcerated for these crimes once released relapse into the same criminal behavior, leaving many victims behind. There have been several changes in policing from the mid 1800s. With the continued changes and growth within many communities, the law enforcement community needed to change and grow with the communities. There were many changes that needed to take place to serve the community and society. Many changes have occurred from the 1960s on into the 1990s. One major change in policing has been the representation of African American officers in many police departments (Walker, Katz, Ch.2). The process to the present policing was a slow and effective process, which has changed over the years to create a more effective policing system. To this day, in many communities there are problems within policing. The present problems still include corruption and many political influences from within the community. Policing today has become more effective with little discrimination. The future produces many different avenues for change in police organizations. Technology has grown, times have changed and people are different today when it comes down to policing in the United States. Almost everything will be digital, accurate and there will no longer be a need for as many officers. The use of our satellites in space will be more common and crime will be detected easier and response times will be faster. The communication with fellow officers will be better. With the future so bright, technology evolving by the day, policing organization can only progress. This will also have a positive impact on the community and maybe it will place trust in our judicial system again. . The changes policing has endured over the course of years has evolved policing into a multifunctional agency of dedicated men and women who have promised to protect and serve. For policing to be effective, agencies of the criminal justice system must continue to work hand-in-hand to provide the best protection for its citizens. Policing will be ever changing because of the differences of criminal activity presented and by the type of criminals involved. Reference: Chapter 2 The History of the American Police by, Samuel Walker, Charles M. Katz https://ecampus.phoenix.edu/content/eBookLibrary2/content/TOC.aspx?assetdataid=a8b78864-484e-4b62-b701-f4fe1ceab16eassetmetaid=861d2838-2f16-4997-b003-4b80c855c78b

Project Report on Consumer Preference towards Cadbury

Project Report on Consumer Preference towards Cadbury Cadbury India is a fully owned subsidy of Kraft Foods Inc.Cadbury began its operations in Indiain the year 1948 by importing chocolates. And after 60 years of existence, it today has five company-owned manufacturing facilities at Thane, Induri (Pune) and Malanpur (Gwalior), Bangalore and Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) and 4 sales offices (New Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkota and Chennai). The corporate office is in Mumbai. Cadburys core purpose is to make today delicious that captures the spirit of what they are trying to achieve as a business. The company makes delicious foods that people can feel good about. Whether one is considering itsown weight or preparing to celebrate, grabbing a quick bite or sitting down to family night, the company poursits hearts into creating foods that are wholesome and delicious. Currently, Cadbury India operates in four categories viz. Chocolate Confectionery, Milk Food Drinks, Candy and Gum category. In the Chocolate Confectionery business, Cadbury has maintained its undisputed leadership over the years. Some of the key brands it offers in India are Cadbury Dairy Milk, 5 Star, Perk, Éclairs and Celebrations. Today, Cadbury enjoys a value market share of over 70% the highest Cadbury brand share in the world.The companys billion-dollar brand Cadbury Dairy Milk is considered the gold standard for chocolates in India. The pure taste of CDM defines the chocolate taste for the Indian consumer. Cadbury has annual revenue of approximately $50 billion; the combined company is the worlds second largest food company, making delicious products for billions of consumers in more than 160 countries. It employs approximately 140,000 people and has operations in more than 70 countries. Corporate Social Responsibility Since 1965 Cadbury has also pioneered the development of cocoa cultivation in India. For over two decades, we have worked with the Kerala Agriculture University to undertake cocoa research and released clones, hybrids that improve the cocoa yield. Our Cocoa team visits farmers and advise them on the cultivation aspects from planting to harvesting. We also conduct farmers meetings seminars to educate them on Cocoa cultivation aspects. Our efforts have increased cocoa productivity and touched the lives of thousands of farmers. Hardly surprising then that the Cocoa tree is called the Cadbury tree. Today, as a combined company with an unmatched portfolio in confectionery, snacking and quick meals, Cadbury and Kraft are poised in their leap towards quantum growth. They are the worlds No.1 Confectionery Company that we will continue to make today delicious. The Research Research objective: To measure consumer preference towards Cadbury chocolate bars. Need for the study: To find out the consumer preferences towards Cadbury chocolate Research methodology: Research tool: Questionnaire. Sampling technique: Random sampling Sampling size: 150 Sample frame: Respondents who have experienced eating cadbury chocolate bars. Sample locations: Equal numbers of respondents (75 each) were surveyed from both the cities of Mapusa and Panjim. Data collection method: Primary data: Primary data was collected directly from the respondents through distribution of structured questionnaire. Secondary data: Secondary data was collected from sources like internet, advertisement and TV commercials. Limitations of the research: As the research is restricted only to the two cities of Mapusa and Panjim, the results may not hold true for other cities, villages and entire Goa as a whole. The survey was conducted in a limited time of six weeks. Graphical representation Tools for analysis: Tools such as pie charts and percentages are used for the analyzing the data and getting to the conclusion. Do you eat chocolate? From the above analysis of the given sample of 150 respondents it is concluded that out of150 people 100% that is all 150 people likes to eat chocolate. Which brand of chocolate bars do you prefer to eat? From the above chat it is clearly seen that out of 150 respondents 82 (55%) like Cadbury, 56(37%) like nestle 11(7)like Mars and 1(1%) like others. Which sub-brand of above mentioned chocolate bar do you prefer to eat? Tick mark the option that are applicable to you. What form of chocolates do you prefer? What pack size do you normally prefer? How frequently do you buy your preferred chocolate bars? Rate the importance you give to the following factors while purchasing a chocolate: Price Quantity. Flavour Shape Brand Packaging How much satisfied are you with your preferred brand with respect to the following factors: Price Quantity Flavour Shape Brand Packaging Do you feel that your preferred chocolate is worth the price? Which promotional offers attract you the most? Which of these factors affect your purchase? Do you unlike any of the chocolate bars? If your preferred brand is not available for repeat purchase in the market what are you likely to do? If a similar product of another brand appears in the market, will you prefer to stop buying this brand and buy the new one? Will you recommend your preferred Cadbury chocolate bar to others? Gender Age group Occupation FINDINGS Majority of the people surveyed prefer Cadbury chocolate than Nestle chocolate. In Cadbury people prefer dairy milk the most. Taste wise too they like Cadbury dairy milk better. Most of the consumer of Cadbury dairy milk are loyal to the chocolate as the dairy milk chocolate is not available they dont switch to some other brand or chocolate they either postpone their purchase or they go to some other shop for repeat purchase. Shape of the chocolate bar is important for the people surveyed. The brand of the chocolate to matter a lot for the people Price and packaging too is very important for the people where chocolate are concerned. Quantity and flavour is very important for the people. Favourable price makes people buy chocolates even more. Where promotional factors are taken into consideration, price offers attract more customers than other offers. Advertisement affects the sales of chocolate bars more than any other thing. RECOMMENDATIONS Cadbury should focus on more advertisements, so that they can increase their sales even more and publicise their products They should try to give importance to price related offers to attract more customers because according to the survey it is indicated that people mostly prefer price related offers rather than other kind of offers. They can even come up with unique shapes of the bar to create a buzz in the market and gain more customers. Advertisements too can be displayed in a new and altogether different manner to make the customers buy the products in more quantities. To target each segment and attract more customers, products can be shaped, priced and advertised differently. Where Nestle comes in the picture, they should ad CONCLUSION After conducting the survey on consumer preference towards Cadbury chocolate bars, it can be concluded that consumers have more preference towards the Cadbury chocolate bars. Also it was a great experience learning the customer preference towards the chocolate as I came to know what they feel about the chocolate and also learn about the cholotate. Learning Through conduct of this research, following learnings were generated: Customers sensitivity towards each of the factors that are involved while purchasing the product was learnt in detail. Practical exposure to various psychologies of chocolate bar consumers. This led me to understand various perspectives of people and the psychology behind it. Understandings of various factors that lead to satisfaction or dissatisfaction in chocolate industry were learnt.

Free College Admissions Essays: What I Want From College :: College Admissions Essays

What I Want From College    It has always been my greatest ambition to become a college graduate. In order to achieve that goal I have strived to cultivate the various talents with which I have been blessed.    The first step is to fully appreciate the professors and their dedication to passing on not just knowledge from a text, but the intimate knowledge of helping young men such as myself become accountable and successful contributors to society. I don't think enough students take the opportunity to tap into the personal knowledge that many professors offer their students. They have traveled the road we are attempting to navigate. It is only prudent to take advantage of that fact. Many students shy away from personal time with their professors. Yet, this is the best way to show the professor that you are engaged in the classroom. It sets you apart from other students and offers additional information that many professors cannot cover inside of the classroom.    Secondly, I hope to gain a greater sense of solidarity, recreation and release with the African American community. Having attended a predominantly white high school where less than 5% of the student body was African American, I feel it would be a wonderful experience to take advantage of the support that is offered by fellow students. We live in a diverse society and it is necessary to learn to function among others. There is nothing like the experience of communing among ourselves in order to gain a collective confidence in our ability to achieve our goals. I also hope to actively contribute to that community as well. I also hope to gain a greater sense of economic and social responsibility. By being an active part of my college community via employment and civic activities in the community, I have the opportunity to be a more independent adult. At the same time I am gaining experience that will only enhance my abilities to be employed and to be a positive and productive member of any community I join in the future. It is important to also contribute to those in the community that have not been offered the same opportunities I have. As a future teacher, it is my feeling that I have a personal responsibility in passing on the desire to learn to others. The seriousness of that task warrants my endless pursuit of a better understanding of that commitment.

Christopher Columbus :: Christopher Columbus Essays

Christopher Columbus, born in 1451, was the oldest son of Domenico Colombo. A controversial figure blamed for the eradication of the natives in the island he â€Å"discovered†, Columbus nonetheless should be credited with opening Europe’s eyes and ears to the Caribbean. Throughout his lifetime Columbus made 4 pilgrimages to the New World.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the first trip on Aug. 3, 1492, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain, with three small ships, the Santa Marà ­a, commanded by Columbus himself, the Pinta under Martà ­n Pinzà ³n, and the Nià ±a under Vicente Yà ¡Ãƒ ±ez Pinzà ³n. After halting at the Canary Islands, he sailed due west from Sept. 6 until Oct. 7, when he changed his course to the southwest. On Oct. 10 a small mutiny was quelled, and on Oct. 12 he landed on a small island (Watling Island; or San Salvadort) in the Bahamas group. He took possession for Spain and, with impressed natives aboard, discovered other islands in the neighborhood. On Oct. 27 he sighted Cuba and on Dec. 5 reached Hispaniola. On Christmas Eve the Santa Marà ­a was wrecked on the north coast of Hispaniola, and Columbus, leaving men there to found a colony, hurried back to Spain on the Nià ±a. His reception was all he could wish; according to his contract with the Spanish sovereigns he was made â€Å"admiral of the ocean se a† and governor-general of all new lands he had discovered or should discover.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On the second trip fitted out with a large fleet of 17 ships, with 1,500 colonists aboard, Columbus sailed from Cà ¡diz in Oct., 1493. His landfall this time was made in the Lesser Antilles, and his new discoveries included the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. The admiral arrived at Hispaniola to find the first colony destroyed by Native Americans. He founded a new colony nearby, and then sailed off in the summer of 1494 to explore the southern coast of Cuba. After discovering Jamaica he returned to Hispaniola and found the colonists, interested only in finding gold, completely disorderly; his attempts to enforce strict discipline led some to seize vessels and return to Spain to complain of his administration. Leaving his brother Bartholomew in charge at Hispaniola, Columbus also returned to Spain in 1496.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On his third expedition, in 1498, Columbus was forced to transport convicts as colonists, because of the bad reports on conditions in Hispaniola and because the novelty of the New World was wearing off.