Expository on Critical Thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Expository on Critical Thinking - Essay Example She said, "Almost 60 percent of the online population under age 17 uses instant messaging, according to Nielson/Net Ratings. In addition to cellphone text messaging, Weblogs, and e-mail, it has become a popular means of flirting, setting up dates, asking for help with homework and keeping in contact with distant friends. Lee also said, "Some teachers see the creeping abbreviations as part of a continuing assault on technology on formal written English. We see and use these types of writing on a daily basis and it doesn’t confuse many people due to the fact that the way our brains process the information we see and read. In â€Å"How to Mark a Book† by Mortimer J. Adler it ties in with critical thinking while reading by showing that a book is never really read until it is written in and notes are taken to make sure that you really understand what you have read. Adler says, â€Å"You know you have to read â€Å"between the lines† to get the most out of anything.† That is just like critical thinking in reading and writing all day long. The more thinking critical that is done the better work will improve over time. Thinking critical can also do wonders in helping you stay alert in writing and reading because the brain is constantly at work processing information that was just read. Adler backs this up by saying, â€Å"First, it keeps you awake. (And I don’t mean merely conscious; I mean awake.) In the second place; reading, if it is active, is thinking, and thinking tends to express itself in words, spoken or written.† The things that Adler and Lee are both talking about are forms of critical thinking in reading and writing. â€Å"The Markers Eye† by Donald Murray is also a form of critical thinking in reading and riding by showing that writers are always looking more into their work the more they write. Murray says, â€Å"When beginning writers complete their first draft, they usually read it through to correct

Cognitive science Essay Example for Free

Cognitive science Essay Stylistics is the study and interpretation of texts from a linguistic perspective. As a discipline it links literary criticism and linguistics, but has no autonomous domain of its own. [1][2] The preferred object of stylistic studies is literature, but not exclusively high literature but also other forms of written texts such as text from the domains of advertising, pop culture, politics or religion. [3] Stylistics also attempts to establish principles capable of explaining the particular choices made by individuals and social groups in their use of language, such as socialisation, the production and reception of meaning, critical discourse analysis and literary criticism. Other features of stylistics include the use of dialogue, including regional accents and people’s dialects, descriptive language, the use of grammar, such as the active voice or passive voice, the distribution of sentence lengths, the use of particular language registers, etc. In addition, stylistics is a distinctive term that may be used to determine the connections between the form and effects within a particular variety of language. Therefore, stylistics looks at what is ‘going on’ within the language; what the linguistic associations are that the style of language reveals. * | Early twentieth century The analysis of literary style goes back to Classical rhetoric, but modern stylistics has its roots in Russian Formalism,[4] and the related Prague School, in the early twentieth century. In 1909, Charles Ballys Traite de stylistique francaise had proposed stylistics as a distinct academic discipline to complement Saussurean linguistics. For Bally, Saussures linguistics by itself couldnt fully describe the language of personal expression. [5] Ballys programme fitted well with the aims of the Prague School. [6] Building on the ideas of the Russian Formalists, the Prague School developed the concept of foregrounding, whereby poetic language stands out from the background of non-literary language by means of deviation (from the norms of everyday language) or parallelism. [7] According to the Prague School, the background language isnt fixed, and the relationship between poetic and everyday language is always shifting. [8] Late twentieth century Roman Jakobson had been an active member of the Russian Formalists and the Prague School, before emigrating to America in the 1940s. He brought together Russian Formalism and American New Criticism in his Closing Statement at a conference on stylistics at Indiana University in 1958. [9] Published as Linguistics and Poetics in 1960, Jakobsons lecture is often credited with being the first coherent formulation of stylistics, and his argument was that the study of poetic language should be a sub-branch of linguistics. [10] The poetic function was one of six general functions of language he described in the lecture. Michael Halliday is an important figure in the development of British stylistics. [11] His 1971 study Linguistic Function and Literary Style: An Inquiry into the Language of William Goldings The Inheritors is a key essay. [12] One of Hallidays contributions has been the use of the term register to explain the connections between language and its context. [13] For Halliday register is distinct from dialect. Dialect refers to the habitual language of a particular user in a specific geographical or social context. Register describes the choices made by the user,[14] choices which depend on three variables: field (what the participants are actually engaged in doing, for instance, discussing a specific subject or topic),[15] tenor (who is taking part in the exchange) and mode (the use to which the language is being put). Fowler comments that different fields produce different language, most obviously at the level of vocabulary (Fowler. 1996, 192) The linguist David Crystal points out that Halliday’s ‘tenor’ stands as a roughly equivalent term for ‘style’, which is a more specific alternative used by linguists to avoid ambiguity. (Crystal. 1985, 292) Halliday’s third category, mode, is what he refers to as the symbolic organisation of the situation. Downes recognises two distinct aspects within the category of mode and suggests that not only does it describe the relation to the medium: written, spoken, and so on, but also describes the genre of the text. (Downes. 1998, 316) Halliday refers to genre as pre-coded language, language that has not simply been used before, but that predetermines the selection of textual meanings. The linguist William Downes makes the point that the principal characteristic of register, no matter how peculiar or diverse, is that it is obvious and immediately recognisable. (Downes. 1998, 309) Literary stylistics In The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Language, Crystal observes that, in practice, most stylistic analysis has attempted to deal with the complex and ‘valued’ language within literature, i. e.  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœliterary stylistics’. He goes on to say that in such examination the scope is sometimes narrowed to concentrate on the more striking features of literary language, for instance, its ‘deviant’ and abnormal features, rather than the broader structures that are found in whole texts or discourses. For example, the compact language of poetry is more likely to reveal the secrets of its construction to the stylistician than is the language of plays and novels. (Crystal. 1987, 71). Poetry As well as conventional styles of language there are the unconventional – the most obvious of which is poetry. In Practical Stylistics, HG Widdowson examines the traditional form of the epitaph, as found on headstones in a cemetery. For example: His memory is dear today As in the hour he passed away. (Ernest C. Draper ‘Ern’. Died 4. 1. 38) (Widdowson. 1992, 6) Widdowson makes the point that such sentiments are usually not very interesting and suggests that they may even be dismissed as ‘crude verbal carvings’ and crude verbal disturbance (Widdowson, 3). Nevertheless, Widdowson recognises that they are a very real attempt to convey feelings of human loss and preserve affectionate recollections of a beloved friend or family member. However, what may be seen as poetic in this language is not so much in the formulaic phraseology but in where it appears. The verse may be given undue reverence precisely because of the sombre situation in which it is placed. Widdowson suggests that, unlike words set in stone in a graveyard, poetry is unorthodox language that vibrates with inter-textual implications. (Widdowson. 1992, 4) Two problems with a stylistic analysis of poetry are noted by PM Wetherill in Literary Text: An Examination of Critical Methods. The first is that there may be an over-preoccupation with one particular feature that may well minimise the significance of others that are equally important. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) The second is that any attempt to see a text as simply a collection of stylistic elements will tend to ignore other ways whereby meaning is produced. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) Implicature In ‘Poetic Effects’ from Literary Pragmatics, the linguist Adrian Pilkington analyses the idea of ‘implicature’, as instigated in the previous work of Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. Implicature may be divided into two categories: ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ implicature, yet between the two extremes there are a variety of other alternatives. The strongest implicature is what is emphatically implied by the speaker or writer, while weaker implicatures are the wider possibilities of meaning that the hearer or reader may conclude. Pilkington’s ‘poetic effects’, as he terms the concept, are those that achieve most relevance through a wide array of weak implicatures and not those meanings that are simply ‘read in’ by the hearer or reader. Yet the distinguishing instant at which weak implicatures and the hearer or reader’s conjecture of meaning diverge remains highly subjective. As Pilkington says: ‘there is no clear cut-off point between assumptions which the speaker certainly endorses and assumptions derived purely on the hearer’s responsibility. ’ (Pilkington. 1991, 53) In addition, the stylistic qualities of poetry can be seen as an accompaniment to Pilkington’s poetic effects in understanding a poems meaning. Stylistics is a valuable if long-winded approach to criticism, and compels attention to the poems details. Two of the three simple exercises performed here show that the poem is deficient in structure, and needs to be radically recast. The third sheds light on its content. Introduction Stylistics applies linguistics to literature in the hope of arriving at analyses which are more broadly based, rigorous and objective. {1} The pioneers were the Prague and Russian schools, but their approaches have been appropriated and extended in recent years by radical theory. Stylistics can be evaluative (i. e.judge the literary worth on stylistic criteria), but more commonly attempts to simply analyze and describe the workings of texts which have already been selected as noteworthy on other grounds. Analyses can appear objective, detailed and technical, even requiring computer assistance, but some caution is needed. Linguistics is currently a battlefield of contending theories, with no settlement in sight. Many critics have no formal training in linguistics, or even proper reading, and are apt to build on theories (commonly those of Saussure or Jacobson) that are inappropriate and/or no longer accepted. Some of the commonest terms, e. g. deep structure, foregrounding, have little or no experimental support. {2} Linguistics has rather different objectives, moreover: to study languages in their entirety and generality, not their use in art forms. Stylistic excellence — intelligence, originality, density and variety of verbal devices — play their part in literature, but aesthetics has long recognized that other aspects are equally important: fidelity to experience, emotional shaping, significant content. Stylistics may well be popular because it regards literature as simply part of language and therefore (neglecting the aesthetic dimension) without a privileged status, which allows the literary canon to be replaced by one more politically or sociologically acceptable. {3} Why then employ stylistics at all? Because form is important in poetry, and stylistics has the largest armoury of analytical weapons. Moreover, stylistics need not be reductive and simplistic. There is no need to embrace Jacobsons theory that poetry is characterized by the projection of the paradigmatic axis onto the syntagmatic one. {4} Nor accept Bradfords theory of a double spiral: {5} literature has too richly varied a history to be fitted into such a straitjacket. Stylistics suggests why certain devices are effective, but does not offer recipes, any more than theories of musical harmony explains away the gifts of individual composers. Some stylistic analysis is to be found in most types of literary criticism, and differences between the traditional, New Criticism and Stylistics approaches are often matters of emphasis. Style is a term of approbation in everyday use (that woman has style, etc.), and may be so for traditional and New Criticism. But where the first would judge a poem by reference to typical work of the period (Jacobean, Romantic, Modernist, etc. ), or according to genre, the New Criticism would probably simply note the conventions, explain what was unclear to a modern audience, and then pass on to a detailed analysis in terms of verbal density, complexity, ambiguity, etc. To the Stylistic critic, however, style means simply how something is expressed, which can be studied in all language, aesthetic and non-aesthetic. {6} Stylistics is a  very technical subject, which hardly makes for engrossing, or indeed uncontentious, {7} reading. The treatment here is very simple: just the bare bones, with some references cited. Under various categories the poem is analyzed in a dry manner, the more salient indications noted, and some recommendations made in Conclusions. Published Examples of Stylistic Literary Criticism G. N. Leechs A Linguistic Guide to English Poetry (1969) Laura Browns Alexander Pope (1985) Roy Lewiss On Reading French Verse: A Study in Poetic Form (1982) George Wrights Shakespeares Metrical Art. (1988) Richard Bradfords A Linguistic History of English Poetry (1993) Poem The Architects But, as youd expect, they are very Impatient, the buildings, having much in them Of the heavy surf of the North Sea, flurrying The grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them With a hoarse roar against the aggregate They are composed of — the cliffs higher of course, More burdensome, underwritten as It were with past days overcast And glinting, obdurate, part of the Silicate of tough lives, distant and intricate As the whirring bureaucrats let in And settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, Awaiting the post and the department meeting — Except that these do not know it, at least do not Seem to, being busy, generally. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost Vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier Of concrete like rib-bones packed above them, And they light-headed with the blue airiness Spinning around, and muzzy, a neuralgia Calling at random like frail relations, a phone Ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, That they become attentive, or we do — these Divisions persisting, indeed what we talk about, We, constructing these webs of buildings which, Caulked like great whales about us, are always. Aware that some trick of the light or weather Will dress them as friends, pleading and flailing — And fill with placid but unbearable melodies Us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass.  © C. John Holcombe 1997 Metre Though apparently iambic, with five stresses to the line, the metre shows many reversals and substitutions. Put at its simplest, with: / representing a strong stress \ representing a weak stress x representing no stress, and trying to fit lines into a pentameters, we have -| /| x| x| x| /| -| \| x| /| x| | But| as| youd| ex| pect| | they| are| ve| ry| x| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| \| x| x| Im| pat| ient| the| build| ings,| hav| ing| much| in| them| x| x| \| x| /| x| x| \| /| /| x x| Of| the| heav| y| surf| of| the| North| Sea,| flurr| ying| x| /| -| /| x| x| /| x| /| x| \| The| grit,| | lift| ing| the| pebbl| es,| fling| ing| them| \| x| /| -| /| x| \| x| /| x| \| With| a| hoarse| | roar| a| gainst| the| agg| re| gate| x| \| x| /| \| x| /| /| x| x| /| They| are| com| posed| of,| the| cliffs| high| er| of| course| \| /| x| \| -| /| x| / | x| \| | More| burd| en| some,| | un| der| writ| ten| as| | x| /| x| /| -| /| -| /| x| /| | It| were| with| past| | days| | o| ver| cast| | x| /| x| \| /| x| \| -| /| x| x| And | glit| ter| ing,| ob| du| rate,| | part| of| the| -| /| x x x| /| -| /| -| /| x x| /| x x| | Sil| icate of| tough| | lives| | dist| ant and| in| tricate| -| \| x| /| x| /| x| \| -| /| x| | As| the| whir| ring| bu| reau| crats| | let| in| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| And | set| tled with| cof| fee| in| the| con| crete| pal| lets| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| A| wait| ing the| post| and| the| de| part| ment| meet| ing| x| \| x| /| \ x | /| x| x| \| /| x| Ex| cept| that| these| do not| know| it, | at| least| do| not| -| /| x| /| x| /| x| /| x| \| x| | Seem| to| be| ing| bus| y| gen| ER| all| y| \| x| /| x x| /| x| \| x| /| x| /| x| So| per| haps| it is| on| ly| on| those| cloud| less| al| most| -| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| \| /| x| | Vac| uumed| af| ter| noons| with| ti| ER u| pon| ti| ER| x| /| x| \| /| /| -| /| x| /| x| | Of| con| Crete| like| rib| bones| | packed| a| bove| them| | x| /| \| /| x| \| x| /| /| x| \| | And | they| light| head| ed,| with| the| blue| air| i| ness| | -| /| x x| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| | | Spin| ning a| round| and| muz| zy,| a| neu| ral| gia| | -| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x x| /| | | Cal| ling at| ran| dom like| frail| re| lat| ions a| phone| | -| /| x x x| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | Ring| ing in a| dist| ant| of| fice they| can| not| get| to| x| /| x| /| x| /| x x| /| /-| \| | That| they| be| come| at| ten| tive, or| we| do| these| | x| /| x x| /| x x| /| \| x| /| x| /| Di| vis| ions per| sist| ing, in| deed| what| we| talk| a| bout| -| /| x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| \| | | We,| con| struct| ing these| webs| of| build| ings| which| | -| /| x| /| \| /| x| /| x x| /| x| | Caulk| Ed | like| great| whales| a| bout| us are| al| ways| x| /| x x| /| x x| /| x| /| x| | | A| ware| that some| trick| of the| light| or| weath| ER| | | \| /| x x| /| -| /| x x| /| x| | | Will| dress| them as| friends| | plead| ing and| flail| ing| | | x| /| x| /| x| \| x| /| x x| /| x x| And| fill| with| plac| id| but | UN| bear| able | mel| odies| -| /| x| \| -| /| x x x| /| \| /| | | Us | in| deep| | hint| erlands of| in| curved| glass| | Poets learn to trust their senses, but even to the experienced writer these (tedious) exercises can pinpoint what the ear suspects is faulty, suggest where improvements lie, and show how the metre is making for variety, broad consistency, shaping of the argument and emotive appeal. Though other scansions are certainly possible in the lines above, the most striking feature will remain their irregularity. Many lines can only roughly be called pentameters; Lines 16 and 17 are strictly hexameters; and lines 27 and 28 are tetrameters. In fact, the lines do not read like blank verse. The rhythm is not iambic in many areas, but trochaic, and indeed insistently dactylic in lines 9 and 10, 21 and 22 and 28. Line 27 is predominantly anapaestic, and line 3 could (just) be scanned: x x| / x| /| x x \| /| | /| x x | Of the| heavy| surf| of the North| Sea| | flurr| ying| Reflective or meditative verse is generally written in the iambic pentameter, and for good reason — the benefit of past examples, readers expectations, and because the iambic is the closest to everyday speech: flexible, unemphatic, expressing a wide range of social registers. Blank verse for the stage may be very irregular but this, predominantly, is a quiet poem, with the falling rhythms inducing a mood of reflection if not melancholy. What is being attempted? Suppose we set out the argument (refer to rhetorical and other analyses), tabbing and reverse tabbing as the reflections as they seem more or less private: {8} 1. But, as youd expect, 2. they are very impatient, the buildings, 3. having much in them of the heavy surf of the North Sea, 4. flurrying the grit, 5. lifting the pebbles, 6. flinging them with a hoarse roar against the aggregate they are composed of — the 7. cliffs higher of course, more 8. burdensome, 9. underwritten as it were with past days 10. overcast and glinting, 11. obdurate, 12. part of the silicate of tough lives, 13. distant and intricate as 14. the whirring bureaucrats 15. let in and settled with coffee in the concrete pallets, awaiting the post and the department meeting — 16. except that these do not know it, 17. at least do not seem to, being busy, 18. generally. 19. So perhaps it is only on those cloudless, almost vacuumed afternoons with tier upon tier of concrete like rib — bones packed above them, and 20. they light-headed 21. with the blue airiness spinning around, and 22. muzzy, a 23. neuralgia calling at random like 24. frail relations, a 25. phone ringing in a distant office they cannot get to, that 26. They become attentive, 27. or we do — 28. these divisions persisting, 29. indeed what we talk about, 30. we, constructing these webs of buildings which 31. caulked like great whales about us, are 32. always aware that some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends, 33. pleading and flailing — and 34. fill with placid but unbearable melodies 35. us in deep hinterlands of incurved glass. The structure should now be clear. Where Eliot created new forms by stringing together unremarkable pentameters, {8} this poem attempts the reverse: to recast an irregular ode-like structure as pentameters. And not over-successfully: many of the rhythms seemed unduly confined. But once returned to the form of an eighteenth century Pindaric ode, however unfashionable today, the lines regain a structure and integrity. Each starts with a marked stress and then tails away, a feature emphasized by the sound patterns. {9} Sound Patterning To these sound patterns we now turn, adapting the International Phonetic Alphabet to HTML restrictions: 1. But | as | youd | expect | u | a | U | e e | b t | z | y d | ksp kt | 2. They | are | very | impatient | the | buildings | A | a(r) | e E | i A e | e | i i | th | | v r | mp sh nt | th | b ld ngz | 3. Having | much | in | them | of | the | heavy | surf | of | the | North | Sea | a i | u | i | e | o | e | e | e(r) | o | e | aw | E | h v ng | m ch | n | th m | v | th | h v | s f | v | th | n th | s | 4. flurrying | the | grit | u E i | e | i | fl r ng | th | gr t | 5. lifting | the | pebbles | i i | e | e | l ft ng | th | p b lz | 6. flinging | them | with | a | hoarse | roar | against | the | aggregate | they | are | composed | of | i i | e | i | e | aw | aw | e A | e | a E A | A | a(r) | o O | o | fl ng ng | th m | w th | | h s | r | g nst | th | gr g t | th | | k MP zd | v | 7. the | cliffs | higher | of | course | more | e | i | I e | o | aw | aw | th | kl fs | h | v | s | m | 8. burdensome | u(r) e e | b d ns m | 9. underwritten | as | it | were | with | past | days | u e i e | a | i | (e)r | i | a(r) | A | nd r t n | z | t | w | w | p st | d z | 10. overcast | and | glinting | O e(r) a(r) | a | i i | v k St | nd | gl NT ng | 11. obdurate | o U A | bd r t | 12. part | of | the | silicate | of | tough | lives | (a)r | o | e | i i A | o | u | I | p t | f | th | s l k t | v | t f | l vz | 13. distant | and | intricate | i a | a | i i e | d St NT | nd | NT r k t | 14. as | the | whirring | bureaucrats | a | e | e(r) i | U O a | z | th | w r ng | b r kr ts | 15. let | in | and | settled | with | coffee | in | the | concrete | pallets | e | i | a | e ie | i | o E | i | e | o E | a e | l t | n | nd | s tl d | w th | k f | n | th | k Kr t | p l Ts | awaiting | the | post | and | the | department | meeting | e A i | e | O | a | e | E e | E i | w t ng | th | p St | nd | th | d p tm NT | m t ng | 16. except | that | these | do | not | know | it | e e | a | E | U | o | O | i | ks pt | th | th z | d | n t | n | t | 17. at | least | do | not | seem | to | being | busy | a | E | U | o | E | U | E i | i E | t | l St | d | n t | s m | t | b ng | b z /td | 18.generally | e e a E | j nr l | 19. so | perhaps | it | is | only | on | those | cloudless | almost | vacuumed | afternoons | O | e(r) a | i | i | O | o | O | ou e | aw O | a U | a(r) e oo | s | p h ps | t | z | nl | n | th z | kl dl s | lm St | v k md | ft n nz | with | tier | upon | tier | of | concrete | like | rib | bones | packed | above | them | and | i | E e(r) | e o | E e(r) | o | o E | I | i | O | a | e u | e | a | w th | t | p n | t | v | k nkr t | l k | r b | b nz | p Kt | b v | th m | nd | 20. they | light | headed | A | I | e e | th | l t | h d d | 21. with | the | blue | airiness | spinning | around | and | i | e | U | (A)r i e | i i | e ou | a | w th | th | bl | r n s | sp n ng | r nd | nd | 22. muzzy | a | u E | e | m z | | 23. neuralgia | calling | at | random | like | U a E a | aw i | a | a o | I | n r lj | k l ng | t | r nd m | l k | 24. frail | relations | a | A | e A e | e | fr l | r l zh nz | | 25. phone | ringing | in | a | distant | office | they | cannot | get | to | that | O | i i | i | e | i a | o i | A | a o | e | oo | a | | f n | r ng ng | n | | d St NT | f s | th | k n t | g t | t | th | | 26. they | become | attentive | A | E u | a e i | th | b k m | t NT v | 27. or | we | do | aw | E | oo | | w | d | 28. these | divisions | persisting | E | i i e | e(r) i i | th z | d v zh nz | p s St ng | 29. indeed | what | we | talk | about | i E | o | E | aw | e ou | in d | wh t | w | t k | b t | 30. we | constructing | these | webs | of | buildings | which | E | o u i | E | e | o | i i | i | w | k nz str Kt ng | th z | w bs | v | b ld ngz | wh Ch | 31. caulked | like | great | whales | about | us | are | aw | I | A | A | e ou | u | a(r) | k kd | l k | gr t | w lz | b t | s | | 32. always | aware | that | some | trick | of | the | light | or | weather | will | dress | them | as | friends | aw A | e (A)r | a | u | i | o | e | I | aw | e e(r) | i | e | e | a | e | lw z | w | th t | s m | tr k | v | th | l t | | w th | w l | dr s | th m | z | Fr ndz | 33. pleading | and | flailing | E i | a | A i | pl d ng | nd | fl l ng | 34. will | fill | with | placid | but | unbearable | melodies | i | i | i | a i | u | u A(r) a e | e O E | f l | w th | PL s d | b t | n b r b l | m l d z | | 35. us | in | deep | hinterlands | of | incurved | glass | u | i | E | i e a | o | i e(r) | a(r) | s | n | d p | h NT l ndz | v | nk v d | GL s | Sound in poetry is an immensely complicated and contentious subject. Of the seventeen different employments listed by Masson {10} we consider seven: 1. Structural emphasis All sections are structurally emphasized to some extent, but note the use (in decreasing hardness) of * plosive consonants in sections 1, 5, 6, 7, 10-13, 19, 28-50; 31 and 35. * fricative and aspirate consonants in sections 2, 3, 6, 7, 12, 19, 25, 28, 32, 35. * liquid and nasal consonants in sections 3, 4, 12, 15, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 31-35. Also: * predominance of front vowels — in all sections but 6, 7, 11, 16, 17, 19 and 31. * predominance of vowels in intermediate positions — only sections 16 and 17 having several high vowels and section 3 low vowels. 2. Tagging of sections Note sections 1, 7, 13 and 15. 3. Indirect support of argument by related echoes * Widely used, most obviously in sections 3-7, 12-13, and 15. 4. Illustrative mime: mouth movements apes expression * Sections 2, 6, 11-13, 19, 31 and 35. 5. Illustrative painting * Sections 3-6, 10-13, 15, 19 and 33. Most sections are closely patterned in consonants. Those which arent (and therefore need attention if consistency is to be maintained) are perhaps 8, 9, 14, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26 and 27. Originally the poem was cast in the form of irregular pentameters. But if this is set aside in favour of the 35 sections listed above, how are these sections to be linked in a self-evident and pleasing form? A little is accomplished by alliteration: * f in sections 3 to 7. * s and t in sections 12 to 15 * w in sections 29 to 32 And also by the predominance of front and intermediate level vowels, but these do not amount to much. Certainly we do not find that the overall shaping of the poem emphasizes the argument or content. Sociolinguistics Language is not a neutral medium but comes with the contexts, ideologies and social intentions of its speakers written in. Words are living entities, things which are constantly being employed and only half taken over: carrying opinions, assertions, beliefs, information, emotions and intentions of others, which we partially accept and modify. In this sense speech is dialogic, has an internal polemic, and Bakhtins insights into the multi-layered nature of language (heteroglossia) can be extended to poetry. {11} Much of Postmodernist writing tries to be very unliterary, incorporating the raw material of everyday speech and writing into its creations. This poem seems rather different, a somewhat remote tone and elevated diction applying throughout. Let us see whats achieved by grouping under the various inflections of the speaking voice. * urgently confidential But, as youd expect, cliffs higher, of course, that they become attentive or we do * obsessively repetitious flurrying the grit, lifting the pebbles, flinging them burdensome, underwritten overcast and glinting, obdurate * over-clever silicate of tough lives  distant and intricate constructing these webs of buildings distracted and/or light-headed except that these do not know it at least do not seem to with the blue airiness spinning around calling at random like frail relations * melancholic and/or reflective some trick of the light or weather will dress them as friends pleading and flailing and fill with placid but unbearable melodies. The exercise hardly provides revelation. Heteroglossia is an interweaving of voices, moreover, not shifts of tone or reference. And yet there is something very odd about the opening line. Why should we expect the buildings to be very impatient? This is more than the orators trick of attracting attention, since the animate nature of buildings and their constituents is referred to throughout the poem. To be more exact, the attitude of the inhabitants — observers, bureaucrats, architects — to the buildings is developed by the poem, and is paralleled by the tone. But why the confidential and repetitious attitude at the beginning. Why should we be buttonholed in this manner? Why the But, which seems to point to an earlier conversation, and the urgency with which that earlier conversation is being refuted or covered up? Because the blame for something is being shifted to the buildings. What error has been committed we do not know, but in mitigation we are shown the effect of the buildings on other inhabitants. Or perhaps we are. In fact the whirring bureaucrats seem to grow out of the fabric of buildings, and we do not really know if the we, constructing these webs of buildings is meant literally or metaphorically. The poems title suggests literally, but perhaps these constructions are only of the mind: sections 17, 20-29, 32 and 34 refer to attitudes rather than actions, and there is an ethereal or otherworldly atmosphere to the later section of the poem. So we return to heteroglossia, which is not simply borrowed voices, but involves an internal polemic, {12} that private dialogue we conduct between our private thoughts and their acceptable public expression. The dialogue is surely here between the brute physicality of a nature made overpoweringly real and the fail brevity of human lives. That physicality is threatening and unnerving. If the we of the later section of the poem is indeed architects then that physicality is harnessed to practical ends. If the constructing is purely mental then the treatment is through attitudes, mindsets, philosophies. But in neither case does it emasculate the energy of the physical world. Architects may leave monuments behind them, but they are also imprisoned in those monuments (us in deep hinterlands) and hearing all the time the homesick voice of their constituents. Conclusions: Suggested Improvements The greatest difficulty lies in the poems structure. An pentameter form has been used to give a superficial unity, but this wrenches the rhythm, obscures the sound patterns and does nothing for the argument. If recast in sections defined by rhythm and sound pattern the form is too irregular to have artistic autonomy. A return could be made to the eighteenth century Pindaric ode in strict metre and rhyme, but would require extensive and skilful rewriting, and probably appear artificial. A prose poem might be the answer, but the rhythms would need to be more fluid and subtly syncopated. Otherwise, blank verse should be attempted, and the metre adjusted accordingly. The internal polemic is a valuable dimension of the poem, but more could be done to make the voices distinct. http://www. textetc. com/criticism/stylistics. html1. On StylisticsIs cognitive stylistics the future of stylistics? To answer this question in the essay that follows, I will briefly discuss Elena Semino and Jonathan Culpeper’s Cognitive Stylistics (2003), Paul Simpson’s Stylistics (2004), and a recent essay by Michael Burke (2005). However, because questions are like trains – one may hide another – any discussion of the future of stylistics raises intractable questions about stylistics itself. French students of stylistics, for example, will come across definitions of the discipline like the following. According to Brigitte Buffard-Moret, â€Å"si les definitions de [la stylistique] – que certains refusent de considerer comme une scien

Toyotas Organizational Structure

Toyotas Organizational Structure 1. Analyse and comment on how Toyota transformed its organizational structure to become the pinnacle of Japanese innovation, manufacturing quality and industrial strength referred to in the article. The company was established on August 28, 1937. Japanese automaker Toyota (NYSE:TM) is the worlds largest automaker with over 7.567 million vehicles in FY2009  [1]  . Totoytas sells automobiles and its parts in various parts of the world, and has recently forayed into the Chinese , Russian and Indian market. When Toyota set up its headquartes in Hollywood, it was aware that there was a desparate urgency to do something different. Home favourties , the Land Cruiser and the Toyobet had been somewhat of a disaster in the United States. Toyota did exactly that and came up with two if its most revered cars of earlier days the Cambri and the Avalon and then the inimitable Toyota Corona. In the 70s and the 80s Toyota came up with the GT2000 and the cute Corolla. With Crown and Cressida, Toyota established itself as a serious luxury car maker. In April 2002, Toyota adopted the 2010 Global Vision, a vision for meeting mobility needs in a way that respects the environment and all people. Four key themes based on trends seen as developing from 2020 to around 2030 are: Toward a recycle-oriented society Toward the age of IT and ubiquitous networks Toward a mature society (the decline of nationalism and war) Toward motorization on a global scale (societies with little private transport gaining more) These are linked to the pursuit of a new global image for Toyota with four key components: kind to the earth, comfort of life, excitement for the world, and respect for all people  [2]  . In short, Toyota has shown sales growth for over 40 years, at the same time that U.S automakers sales reached a plateau or decreased. Toyotas profit exceeds that of other automakers. Toyotas market capitalization has for years exceeded that of GM, Ford, and Chrysler; and in recent years exceeded that of all three combined.In sales rank, Toyota has become the world leader.  [3]  So what is it about Toyotas organisational structure, production capabilities, and magagement that makes it click. Employee culture The typical Japenense organisation structure can be summarised in two words long term long term longevity and loyalty. The difference between the American organisational set up and the Japanese organisational set up has not blurred to this date and one can easily identify some stark differences. The Japanese organisational set up focuses on long term productivity with innovation, where workers move across different departments and teams in the same organisation to broaden their horizon and pick up a deep insight into the way things work. There are no flashy bonuses or hikes and one gradually works his way through the top learning and labouring in the process. Teams comprise of small numbers and despite the somewhat rigid hierarchical structure there are frequent group planning exercises, aimed at better communication and constant improvement. In Japan, there is a concept known as amae. In the workplace, the boss owes a certain amount of protection to the employee, and the boss assu mes a direct responsibility for the welfare of his employees.  [4]   The employee culture in Toyota is surprisingly far more open and exciting than in some leading western organsations such as GM or Ford. Smaller teams mean that communication is easier and quicker, and decisions can be taken quickly. Employees are encouraged to come up with idea, even if they are aimed at improving the smallest of processes and even if its not in line with what the group head thinks. Toyota across the world is split into hundreds of small innovation teams. Toyota trains its production-line employees on statistical control and process improvement techniques and makes it their responsibility to develop operational innovations . Toyota invests significant funds in training employees on these tools and provides them with the resources to utilize them. The importance of front-line employees generating ideas based on local first-hand experience is reflected in what the Toyota Production System calls the gemba attitude (literally, the actual place) . In the Toyota culture, i nnovations that truly meet customer needs can best be developed in the actual site where value-added work is being done. It is therefore no surprise that more than 700,000 improvement suggestions were submitted by Toyotas employees out of which 99% were implemented and there is an average of over 10 improvement suggestions per employee per year. The Toyota Production Sytem Toyotas Global Competitive Advantage Toyotas success are largely both on a domestic level and internationally is often attributed to its core corporate ethos , developed, improved enhanced over time and reflected in what has come to be known as the Toyota Production system. The system depends in part on a human resources management policy that stimulates employee creativity and loyalty but also on a highly efficient network of suppliers and components manufacturers.  [5]   Some of the key factors involved are : The Five Ss refer to the five dimensions of of workplace optimization: Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Sustain). The 5S Program defines the steps that are used to make all work spaces efficient and productive, help people share work stations, reduce time looking for needed tools and improve the work environment. Sort: Sort out unneeded items Straighten: Have a place for everything Shine: Keep the area clean Standardize: Create rules and standard operating procedures Sustain: Maintain the system and continue to improve it  [6]   The TPS is based in 7 principles  [7]  : Reduced Setup Times  [8]  : All setup practices are wasteful because they add no value and they tie up labor and equipment. By organizing procedures, using carts, and training workers to do their own setups, Toyota managed to slash setup times from months to hours and sometimes even minutes.  [9]   Small-Lot Production  [10]  : Producing things in large batches results in huge setup costs, high capital cost of high-speed dedicated machinery, larger inventories, extended lead times, and larger defect costs. Because Toyota has found the way to make setups short and inexpensive, it became possible for them to economically produce a variety of things in small quantities. Quality at the Source  [11]  : To eliminate product defects, they must be discovered and corrected as soon as possible. Since workers are at the best position to discover a defect and to immediately fix it, they are assigned this responsibility. If a defect cannot be readily fixed, any worker can halt the entire line by pulling a cord (called Jidoka). Equipment Maintenance  [12]  : Toyota operators are assigned primary responsibility for basic maintenance since they are in the best position to defect signs of malfunctions. Maintenance specialists diagnose and fix only complex problems, improve the performance of equipment, and train workers in maintenance. Pull Production:  [13]   To reduce inventory holding costs and lead times, Toyota developed the pull production method wherein the quantity of work performed at each stage of the process is dictated solely by demand for materials from the immediate next stage. The Kamban scheme coordinates the flow of small containers of materials between stages. This is where the term Just-in-Time (JIT) originated. Supplier Involvement  [14]  : Toyota treats its suppliers as partners, as integral elements of Toyota Production System (TPS). Suppliers are trained in ways to reduce setup times, inventories, defects, machine breakdowns etc., and take responsibility to deliver their best possible parts. Focus on process management  [15]   The Toyota Motor Company has branches all over the world. Each division of the company is organized in almost the same way. They each have a director, sub-director, chief, and then the stuff. The stuff includes all the people that work together as a team for a particular purpose. These teams work towards research and development, production, or finance for the company. In Japan, people work for a particular company for their entire life and work their way up the organizational structure. The Toyota Group has three main parts: Toyota, Daihatsu, and Hino. The Toyota Group went on the New York Stock Exchange in 1999. Not only do they work together to produce automobiles, the company has expanded into other markets including auto-financing, ITS, telematics, housing, internet (Gazoo), and bio-technology. Toyota has a very good organizational structure. However, they need to focus on the culture of the organization. Each group in each country has a different way of conducting business in order to adapt to the culture in that country. Toyota has an advantage in Japan because it is one of the largest automobile companies in the country and in the world. Japan needs this organization for their economy to continue to be strong. Toyota is also beginning to realize their future potential. The company is looking into new markets (countries) where they can find more people who are willing to work within the strategy they are implementing. Toyota is also leading in helping the environmental opportunities within Japan and other countries. They see the need of a future plan not only for the company but also for the world. Their other future endeavors include expansion of the company, new technological advances, and an educational endeavor with the University of Chicago. Many of these opportunities are being organized by the U.S. Group, but each country has their own ideas. Innovation Delegation of Decisions to Innovation Teams Despite best intentions, if all important decisions in the innovation process are made dependent on (top) management ´s agreement a time delay will result.Therefore decisions need to be delegated to the innovation team in order to avoid these delays and enable Fast Innovation. The consent of (top) management is in this case only required at the milestones or gates of the innovation process. The members of the innovation team should be available to the team with 100% of their time in order to get the innovations to market as quickly as possible. Integration of RD into the Business Units Toyota has ensured that there is integration of the majority of RD into the business units which makes innovation management more effective. It fosters the collaboration with the other departments of the business unit and the orientation towards the customer (customer pull) in lieu of an exclusive focus on the technology (technology push). Furthermore it improves the preconditions for Fast Innovation. E.g., Last year, Toyota launched its Value Innovation strategy. Rather than work with suppliers just to cut costs of individual parts, it is delving further back in the design process to find savings spanning entire vehicle  [16]   Toyota was the first to recognize the chances of new low-cost designs as an enabler to new materials, methods of production and design principles. Such cost innovations will become a major RD focus driving the industry beyond 2015.  [17]   Long-term planning. Instead of responding to trends, fads, and quarterly numbers, Toyota looks far down the road and tries to develop products that will resonate for a long time. The best example is the Prius hybrid-which debuted eight years ago, when a gallon of gas in the United States cost a mere $1.50, and the average car buyer cared more about cup holders than gas mileage. The iconic hybrid, of course, turned out to be a breakthrough vehicle, and Toyota sold its 1 millionth Prius this month. With gas prices and fuel economy now a top concern, the Prius has helped Toyota take a commanding lead in hybrid technology  [18]  . E.g. Toyota tends to the localization of the production using plants situated in different countries as the suppliers of the companys production to the local market.  [19]   Central Innovation Teams Toyota has, as an alternative organizational structure of innovation management central innovation teams are established at the divisional level, and they will report to the head of the division, and not to to the head of an individual category, product group or brand. Such central teams are mainly utilized in cases when the motivation and resources of individual divisions, categories, product groups or brands are insufficient in order to get the respective innovation to market with maximum effort and at maximum speed despite the daily pressure and distraction from the established operation. Central Innovation Funds The innovation projects which later will be led by central innovation teams in most cases need a special budget to get funded because the divisions shy away from making funds available given the typically high risk of such projects. Without a central innovation fund these innovations would not be launched fast, if they would get to market at all. Fast Innovation would be impossible. External Interface for Open Innovation Open Innovation is a central policy of innovation management in order to get innovations to marketplace more swiftly. Toyota has in the past, directed outdoor solutions and ideas into the company. E.g. Toyota adopted the practice of using the same part across a range of models saving vast sums of money but exposing itself to the risk that even a small defect could cause global mayhem for the company.  [20]   2. Analyse and critically evaluate the extent to which Toyota achieves a fit between its strategy, the developments taking place in its external environment and its internal resources and capabilities. Toyotas internal resources and capabilities: Simply put, strategic fit may be defined as alignment between internal capability and external opportunity  [21]  . Totyota internal resources and capabilities In the 1940s and the 19 Toyota was much smaller in size and production than its American Counterparts. This meant two things. Firstly, Toyota could not enjoy economies of scale so as to manufacture as many types of equipment as inexpensively as possible and secondly, it has to find a way to establish itself in the American market. Thirdly Toyota had little or no marketing knowledge outside its domestic market. Toyota had yet to breed loyal and committed workers, who would strive to achieve innovation and cost reduction. Post world war Toyotas production was essentially limited to trucks with military applications and it was essential that Toyota enters the consumer market as soon as possible. Resources : Toyota was never particularly short of cash, and there was ample government support given to Toyota in the initial years, albeit with some terms and conditions. However domestic demand in Japan was not high and production on large scale was neither feasible not necessary. Challenges Inability to predict recession Toyota has made significant profits in the past three decades and has with ease outdone its competitors such as GM motors, Honda and Ford. However, Toyota had steeply hiked its production beginning from 2000 in order to adequately and fully capitalize on its growing brand reputation and increasing demand in North America and Western Europe. Since recession hit 2007-2008 Toyota has therefore been struggling with a problem of over-production and fixed costs. The silver lining has however been the implementation on legislation on hybrid technology, which has offered tax benegoits to consumers who opt for hybrid cars ( a core strength of Toyota) and the growing demand for environmental friendly green cars another unchallenged domain of Toyota. The good news was that some of the Toyota brands, like Prius, continued to perform well despite recession and earned it strong revenues during such tough times  [22]  . Poor performance of financial services: Toyotas diversified operations include financial services, telecommunications, prefabricated housing and leisure boats, with the automotive business accounting for more than 90 % of the companys total sales. These non core areas have particularly suffered in recession with Toyota recording a decline of net profits in the year 2008 and 2009. Fluctuating Exchange Rates Toyota being based in Japan has its profits accounted in the Japanese yen, but its sales are denominated in several different currencies. Frequent and volatile fluctuations in the exchange rate between these currencies and the yen, which has been typical in this recession mean they Toyotas on-the-record profits can significantly affected. Hence dollar-yen exchange rate been 1% lower last year (say 118.5 instead of 120), Toyotas profits would have fallen by 5 billion yen ($42 million)  [23]  . Toyota often hedges its exchange rate risk by arranging currency swaps and purchasing futures, but these operations are costly and threaten to cut into the bottom line.  [24]  In the long run, these effects are even more exacerbated: as the dollar depreciates against the yen, American sales are worth less to Toyota, and Toyotas are more expensive to consumers, so they buy fewer  [25]  . Thus profit per revenue and absolute revenue both fall from depreciating exchange rates. While Toy ota can hedge out the risk to its profit margins, it cannot easily manage the risk from falling demand. Exchange rates have become a sensitive subject among US legislators, who allege that Japan has kept the yen undervalued to stimulate sales  [26]   Loss of brand reputation and profitability in light of recall of cars.http://cdn.wikinvest.com/i/px.gif Toyotas has had to recall some of its show stealer cars such as the Camry, Corolla, Prius and some Lexus vehicles which have enormously damaged Toyotas image and brand, which was once considered not only to be reasonable but also to be safe.Toyotas mishandling of the problem, its passing the buck attitude, lack of effective communication to investors and consumers alike and most importantly its technical shortcoming of having failed to detect the real cause of the unintended acceleration have severely compromised its image. In November 2009, the company recalled 3.8 million vehicles on the same line  [27]  . Toyota has been embroiled in massively negative mass media coverage, NHTSA scrutiny, and US congressional hearings, law suits in several jurisdictions and an estimated loss of US$ 3 million worldwide.  [28]  . Obviously, its competitors have fully capitalised on this opportunity with Hyundai and Ford promptly offering $1000 rebates to owners of Toyota, Lexus and Scion bra nds in change for new Ford and Hyundai vehicles  [29]  . In the short-term, the recent recall crisis is estimated to cost Toyota over $3 billion USD worldwide.[37] As of February 2010, over 30 lawsuits have been filed against Toyota, adding onto further litigation costs. A total of 9 million vehicles have been recalled by Toyota worldwide, and each US Toyota dealer is estimated to lose approximately $2 million a month in revenue totaling $2.47 billion USD around the country.[38] Rising prices of essential commodities Global prices of various commodities trends are vital to Toyotas profitability because they determine to a large extend the ultimate selling price of the car. Rising Gasolene prices me are bound toi effect the long term ownership cost of cars as well as its resale value. The prices for steel and aluminium have been on a rise since the recession and both being a fixed cost are causes of concern for Toyota. Through mid-2008 oil prices increased dramatically. Consequently, the cost of gasoline doubled inflating the day-to-day cost of car ownership. Since consumers buy cars only infrequently, rising oil prices have only a limited impact on year-to-year car sales, but over time they cut into the industrys sales, and force companies to design more fuel-efficient fleets. Although oil prices have since moderated they will likely remain definitive in the future as the global economy recovers.  [30]   Toyotas response to changing circumstances Adoption of lean production and shift to an economies of scale production. Toyota is (or was at the time) the low cost producer in the industry. Toyota achieved its cost leadership strategy by adopting lean production, careful choice and control of suppliers, efficient distribution, and low servicing costs from a quality product.  [31]  . A few important elements of TPS were that Toyota was able to produce equipments, tools and accessories in small quantities and at a low cost of production. Also, the focus of Toyota remained more on process production rather than automobile architecture. While looks of a car were indeed the determining factor in the 70s and the 80s Toyota was the first to realize the need to produce fuel efficient cars. 2. Diversifying target consumer groups : While Toyota largely concentrated on small, fuel efficient cars it decided to enter the luxury car segment and the hybrid car segment. As of today Toyotas business is divided into three sections namely Tundra, Lexus and Prius. Tundra is Toyotas key product in the truck segment and was launched specifically to challenge the market dominance of Ford and GM in Northern America. Lexus is Toyotas luxury brand, and is one of its fastest selling achievements. Toyotas recent attempts to sell the Lexus brand in China and Japan have also been successful. Prius is Toyotas first hybrid production and has been enormously successful in a decade marked with rising fuel prices and preference for compact designs. Toyota had a definitive advantage when it came to hybrid cars, it being the first to pioneer the technology. This technology was strategically leased to Ford (which might have developed the technology on its own in a matter of a few more months) and m anaged to sustain competition from General Motors. Toyota has however fallen short of producing adequate number of cars in 2009 as a result of which demand dropped by nearly 30%. Since 2000, with moderate success, Toyota has entered Formula One, Nascar, Nascar truck, and Super GT competitions worldwide, thereby challenging European and American producers in an arena they once dominated  [32]   3. Targeting Emerging markets: Toyota capitalised on the demand in up-coming markets before others and has developed numerous manufacturing facilities, distribution networks, and brand reputation. The current recession has brought about a general decline in the demand for cars. The most affected regions include America and Western Europe, where cars are rarely bought but always leased or taken on monthly installments. Toyota has massively expanded its business since the beginning of this decade , a move which has proved to be unprofitable and there is now a strong focus in Toyotra to shift its focus from the American continent to the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) countries. These countries not onlyn have a strong consumer demand, which has sustained the global crisis, but also advantages of low cost of production, cheap labour and liberalizing of foreign investment laws. Already, because of a decreasing market for its products in Japan, Toyota has also announced that it has plans to boost its sales in China in 2006, one of GMs major foreign markets. In fact, GM sales in China hit new records last year, with the company selling 665,390 vehicles there, a figure that was up 35.2% from the previous year. Toyota plans to overtake GMs by increasing its own sales in the country by 60%. It also says it will surpass its rival in global production this year with 9.2 million vehicles (GM produced a total of 9.12 million vehicles worldwide in 2005).  [33]  In October 2009, Toyota announced that it would begin producing car engines in India to take advantage of the countrys low-cost manufacturing costs. TM will produce these engines through Toyota Kirloskar, a division under Toyota which is 89% owned by TM and 11% owned by Indias Kirloskar group.  [34]  And plans to launch its first car in 2010. Strategic merger and acquisitions: In 1966, Toyota acquired Hino, which helped it build commercial trucks. Hino currently makes a wide variety of heavy trucks and buses, and was involved in designing and/or producing the Tacoma, T100, 4Runner (HiLux Surf), Sequoia, and Tundra  [35]  . In 1967, Toyota took control of Daihatsu but Toyota did not actually buy the whole company until 1999. Daihatsu supplies vehicles and major components to other automakers, and appears to be popular in South America. Denso was spun off of Toyota after World War II; it was once Toyotas electrical component division. It currently is a roughly $26 billion business with over 100,000 employees and over 170 subsidiaries, selling parts to many major automakers including American companies.  [36]  New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was an automobile manufacturing plant in Fremont, California, opened in 1984 and closed in 2010. NUMMI was established at the site of a former GM site that had been closed two years earlier. GM and To yota reopened the factory as a joint venture in 1984 to manufacture vehicles to be sold under both brands.  [37]  All these mergers and acquisitions have helped Toyota either to learn the marketing know how and local knoeledge of a foreign market or have increased its product-process manufacturing capabilities. Focusing on environment friendly cars: Toyota has spent tremendously on RD in relation to environment friendly cars in light of the increasing environmental awareness of consumers and insistence of governments to cut down on emissions. 3. Critically evaluate the recent actions of Toyotas president, Akio Toyoda and the argument put forward in the article that Toyotas problems highlight failings in the Japanese model of corporate governance. What actions would you recommend the board of Toyota pursue in order to recover the companys reputation, with particular regard to how you would respond to the needs of its stakeholders? The term corporare governance refers to institutional practices designed to get optimal performace out of managers.  [38]  In the U.S. and U.K. corporate governance is concerned with ensuring the firm is run in the interests of shareholders and its objective is to create wealth for them. Underlying this view of corporate governance is Adam Smiths notion of the invisible hand of the market that he laid out in his seminal book The Wealth of Nations. If firms maximize the wealth of their shareholders and individuals pursue their own interests then the allocation of resources is efficient in the sense that nobody can be made better off without making somebody else worse off. In this view of the world the role of the firm in society is precisely to create wealth for shareholders. This fundamental idea is embodied in the legal framework in the U.S. and U.K. In these countries managers have a fiduciary (i.e. very strong) duty to act in the interests of shareholders. Japan is perhaps the most extreme example. Instead of focusing on the narrow view that firms should concentrate on creating wealth for their owners, corporate governance has

American Legion :: Essays Papers

American Legion The American Legion: A Right To Membership Introduction The United States Congress chartered the American Legion in 1919. Its purpose was to benefit veterans and their families, promote Americanism and serve the greater good of communities nationwide. First welcomed to membership were veterans returning home from the battlefields of Europe. But over the years, Congress amended the Legion’s charter so as to include those who had served in World War II, Korea and more recent conflicts. Ineligible for American Legion membership, however, remain the many men and women who had answered our nation’s call while American military forces were not actively engaging an enemy of the United States. Serving with valor and distinction, these members of the armed forces have guarded America’s shores and protected the nation’s strategic assets at U.S. military bases across the world. They have been on the front lines of American efforts to mediate conflicts between warring factions in Europe, Asia and Africa. And they, too, have been prime targets for armed aggressors, terrorist attacks and saboteurs. The question is: have these veterans not earned the right to membership in the American Legion as well? This essay seeks to explore whether the American Legion’s charter should be amended so as to better reflect our nation’s appreciation for those who serve in times of war and peace. Indeed, it is an issue made all the more cogent today: With increasing numbers of young Americans rejecting the armed forces as a career option, recruitment goals are not being met and the military is being forced to lower its entrance requirements. If this trend is not soon reversed, the U.S. military could be perceived as incapable of implementing our nation’s strategic policies abroad -- a perception that can only encourage the most aggressive ambitions of other nations. A Resource for Veterans In seeking to determine whether the American Legion should open its doors to non-wartime veterans, we must begin with a look at the organization itself: its mission, its outreach programs and, above all, the benefits today’s Legion is able to provide for a worldwide membership now approaching three million men and women. Meeting in Paris some five months after the armistice of November 1918, delegates from combat and service units of the American Expeditionary Force resolved to found an organization that would protect the interests of veterans through the years that followed.

CE Student Recounts the Different Faces of His Life Essay

Life as a student, a working student to be exact, is but a small part of my world since there are more things that give color into my life. My relationships with my family, friends, and well girlfriend to be are the other spices of my life. I enjoy doing my hobbies, too. Cheers for I will be a civil engineering graduate on fall of 2009 in the University of Austin. After graduation, I will try to get an internship in the city to add credentials in my resume. I plan to go to graduate school next. Like I said, I am a working student. I work as a handyman in Four Leaf Tower. Also during weekends, I work as a security in one of city towers. When I finish college, I will be the best civil engineer in the whole wide world. My family is valuable to me. Though I don’t see them often, last time was 3 years ago, I love them so much. They will come to visit me. We plan to go to LA to visit my grandmother. You might want to know, I have an older brother and sister. My brother is a professional civil engineer while my sister is a fourth grade teacher. Hanging out with friends is one thing I definitely enjoy. Recently, my friends and I went to Corpus Christi. We stayed there for 5 days. There we had a lot of fun time together engaging in different activities like swimming, fishing, and eating barbecues! I’m a bit timid when it comes to girls. So I rarely go out to date someone.   It’s nerve-wracking for me to approach women. But very recently, I had a date and I think we will be meeting again. We really had a nice conversation. I love to cook, go out fishing, and read books. I had a Turkish dish called Donar the last time I cooked for a friend. Galveston is a great place to fish. This is where my friends and I hang out to fish. During free time, cool books are my amigos.

Psychopathic behavior Essay

Mike Tyson, or Iron Mike, the world’s youngest heavy weight boxing champion, has been involved in several problems with the law. A brief look at his life will show that it is possible that he is suffering from antisocial personality disorder or psychopathy. Mike was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 30, 1966. He came from a broken family as his left them when he was two years old. At his younger years, before 12 years old, he became a member a street gang and was involved in numerous bouts with the law. At the age 12 he was arrested for armed robbery and was sent a correctional center for juveniles in New York. At the age of 16 his mother died, and having no parent, he lived with his boxing trainer D’ Amato, became his legal guardian. There were rumors that he sexually abused a 12 year old girl. At age 20, in 1986, he came the world’s youngest WBC heavyweight champion. At age 21, he became the WBA heavy weight champion, and earned $20 million. Later he was married to actress Robin Givens, but they subsequently divorced. In 1992, he was convicted of rape and he spent 3 years in prison. In an official match, he bit off a chink of Evander Holyfield’s ear, which caused him to be banished from boxing for quite some time. In 1999, he was again sent to prison for assault. In a 2002 press conference, he attacked Lennox Lewis and bit his leg. In 2005, he was in debt for $34 million, despite earning hundreds of millions throughout his career. In 2006, he was again apprehended for driving while under the influence of alcohol. Based on these, it can be believed that Mike Tyson is possibly suffering from antisocial personality disorder. The key symptoms of antisocial personality disorder are; repeated lawbreaking, which can be seen from his repeated arrests; deceitfulness or lying; impulsivity, irritableness and aggressiveness, which can be seen from his assault and attack charges; reckless disregard for own safety and that of others, which can be seen when he was driving without a license; irresponsibility as seen unreliable employment history or not meeting financial obligations, which can be seen is being in debt for millions of dollars; lack of remorse; conduct disorder, which can be seen as he was already a member of a gang conduct disorder before 15 yrs of age. Lacks of affection, severe parental rejection, and lack of discipline from parents, are considered to be the primary causes of psychopathic behavior. In Mike’s case, he came from a broken family. He had no father since he was 2 years old. He had no mother since he was 16 years old. One might assume that mike never that the affection from his parents. When his father left their family, Mike might have taken it as being rejected. Their family set-up provided no or little room for discipline. Experts have found that it is futile to try to alter the nature of psychopaths (Davidson et al, 2004). A reason for this is that psychopaths just play along with therapists, indicating the manipulative character of psychopaths. It is also believed that it is unlikely that psychopaths would want to be in therapy. Recent studies however show that there can benefits from psychosocial treatment for younger patients with the said disorder (Davidson et al, 2004). Because of these, I believe treatment for Mike would be futile. Considering that he is already 42 years old, and that research have shown that treatment for psychopaths are often unsuccessful, and that psychosocial treatment would only benefit younger patients, it would be safe to assume that he will derive minimal, or no benefit at all from treatment. However since, he is already 42 years old, it can also be said that it would not be needed since psychopaths often settle down in middle age and after. In this stage in his life, antisocial behavior is believed to be less evident (Davidson et al, 2004). Reference Davidson, G. C. , Neale, J. M. , & Kring, A. M. ( 2004) Abnormal Psychology. USA. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.