Profile of Serial Killer Alton Coleman

Accompanied by his girlfriend Debra Brown, Alton Coleman went on a six-state raping and killing spree in 1984. Early Years Alton Coleman was born on November 6, 1955, in Waukegan, Illinois, about 35 miles from Chicago. His elderly grandmother and his prostitute mother raised him. Having some mild intellectual handicaps, Coleman was often teased by schoolmates because he sometimes wet his pants. This problem earned him the nickname of Pissy among his young peers. Insatiable Sex Drive Coleman dropped out of middle school and became known to local police for committing petty crimes involving property damage and setting fires. But with every passing year, his crimes grew from petty into more serious charges of sex crimes and rape. He was also known for having an insatiable and dark sex drive which he sought to satisfy with both men, women, and children. By the age of 19, he was charged six times for rape, including that of his niece who later dropped the charges. Remarkably, he would convince jurors that the police had arrested the wrong man or intimidate his accusers into dropping the charges. Mayhem Begins In 1983, Coleman was charged with rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl who was the daughter of a friend. It was at this point Coleman, along with his girlfriend Debra Brown, fled Illinois and began their brutal rape and murder spree across six Midwestern states. Why Coleman decided to flee being charged this time is unknown since he strongly believed he had voodoo spirits that protected him from the law. But what really protected him was his ability to blend into African American communities, befriend strangers, then turn on them with vicious brutality. Vernita Wheat Juanita Wheat was living in Kenosha, Wisconsin, with her two children, Vernita, age nine, and her seven-year-old son. In early May 1984, Coleman, introducing himself as a nearby neighbor, befriended Wheat and visited her and her children often over a period of a few weeks. On May 29, Wheat gave permission for Vernita to go with Coleman to his apartment to pick up stereo equipment. Coleman and Vernita never returned. On June 19, she was found murdered, her body left in an abandoned building in Waukegan, Illinois. Police also found a fingerprint at the scene that they matched to Coleman. Tamika and Annie Seven-year-old Tamika Turkes and her nine-year-old niece Annie were walking home from a candy store when Brown and Coleman led them into nearby woods. Both children were then bound and gagged with strips of cloth torn from Tamikas shirt. Annoyed by Tamikas crying, Brown held his hand over her nose and mouth while Coleman stomped on her chest, then strangled her to death with elastic from a bedsheet. Annie was then forced to have sex with both adults. Afterward, they beat and choked her. Miraculously Annie survived, but her grandmother, unable to deal with what happened to the children, later killed herself. Donna Williams On the same day that Tamika and Annie were attacked, Donna Williams, age 25, of Gary, Indiana, came up missing. She only knew Coleman for a short time before she and her car disappeared. On July 11, 1984, Williams was found strangled to death in Detroit. Her car was found parked close to the scene, four blocks from where Colemans grandmother lived. Virginia and Rachelle Temple On July 5, 1984, Coleman and Brown, now in Toledo, Ohio, gained the trust of Virginia Temple. Temple had several children, the oldest being her daughter, nine-year-old Rachelle. Both Virginia and Rachelle were found strangled to death. Tonnie Storey On July 11, 1984, Tonnie Storey, age 15, from Cincinnati, Ohio, was reported missing after she failed to return home from school. Her body was found eight days later in an abandoned building. She had been strangled to death. One of Tonnies classmates testified that she saw Coleman talking to Tonnie the day she disappeared. A fingerprint at the crime scene was also linked to Coleman, and a bracelet was found under Tonnies body, which was later identified as one missing from the Temple home. Harry and Marlene Walters On July 13, 1984, Coleman and Brown bicycled to Norwood, Ohio, but left almost as soon as they arrived. They made a stop before leaving to Harry and Marlene Walters home under the pretense of being interested in a travel trailer the couple was selling. Once inside the Walters home, Coleman struck the Walters with a candlestick and bound then strangled them. Mrs. Walters was struck up to 25 times and mutilated with a pair of vice grips on her face and scalp. Mr. Walters  survived the attack but suffered brain damage. Coleman and Brown stole the couples car which was found two days later in Lexington, Kentucky. Oline Carmichael, Jr. In Williamsburg, Kentucky, Coleman and Brown kidnapped college professor Oline Carmichael, Jr., forced him into the trunk of his car, and then drove it to Dayton, Ohio. Authorities found the car and Carmichael still alive in the trunk. The End of the Killing Spree By the time authorities caught up with the deadly pair on July 20, 1984, they had committed at least eight murders, seven rapes, three kidnappings, and 14 armed robberies. After careful consideration by authorities from six states, it was decided that Ohio would be the best place to prosecute the pair because it approved of the  death penalty. Both were found guilty of the murder of Tonnie Storey and Marlene Walters and they both received the death penalty. An Ohio governor later commuted Browns death sentence to life imprisonment. Coleman Fights for His Life Colemans appeal efforts were unsuccessful and on April 25, 2002, while reciting The Lords Prayer, Coleman was executed by lethal injection. Source Alton Coleman Finally Faces Justice - Enquirer.com

The Deaf Community of Puget Sound - 850 Words

Deafness is a condition spread around the whole world. In America alone over 30 million Americans have significant, chronic hearing loss and almost 2 million people that are completely deaf. And even though there are many people that are deaf, many hearing people know little to nothing about how deaf people live. Delving into the silent world reveals a great deal about the deaf community, deaf culture, and the largest controversy in the Deaf community. One of the most crucial facts that hearing people must know about the Deaf community is that you don’t have to be deaf to be a part of the deaf community. â€Å"The Deaf Community is comprised of individuals, both deaf and hearing, who to varying degrees embrace particular community goals that come from Deaf cultural influences†. (On Being Deaf — A Cultural View) Hearing people may receive little to no interaction with the Deaf community in their life. This can lead them to asking questions that may seem ridiculous to some people such as â€Å"can deaf people drive?† In fact deaf people have been allowed to legally drive in every state since the 1930’s. (Moore 220) And many acts and societies have been created to give deaf people the same opportunities and rights as all of the hearing people. One organization in the Puget Sound is the Puget Sound Association of the Deaf (PSAD). The mission of PSAD is to improve the quality of life for Deaf people by organizing social events for members and prospective members. (Serious) TheseShow MoreRelatedMonsanto: Better Living Through Genetic Engineering96204 Words   |  385 Pagesin health foods and healthy alternatives for conventional foods. It also presents opportunities for low-fat ice creams.’ Or, in analysing the demographics of the Cochlearâ„ ¢ ï ¬ rm, you may conclude that there is a global market of 1.8 million profoundly deaf people and that this provides a huge undeveloped market for the implantable hearing devices industry. STEP 3 THE INDUSTRY ENVIRONMENT E X T E R N A L A N A LY S I S S T E P 1 W H AT INDUSTRY IS IT? You must decide on this early. ThisRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagestransformed as well, as billions of dollars of advertising was being shifted from television, radio, newspapers, and magazines to the Internet. But the time was nearing for Google to go public, and with this full disclosure would shock the investment community and make Google stock the darling of investors and employees alike. 5 Example cited in Seth Godin, â€Å"Your Product, Your Customer,† Forbes, May 7, 2007, p. 52. Going Public †¢ 17 GOING PUBLIC Finally in early 2004, Larry and Sergey reluctantly

Strategic HR Management Case Study free essay sample

VII. Recommendations VIII. Conclusion IX. References I. Abstract The primary objective of this paper is to examine the Human Resources Planning and Strategic Change for Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retailer. In this context, the authors analyze the employee selection, training and development of the company as well as studying the performance compensation management, strategy evolution and financial status of the firm. A SWOT Analysis is also included in the authors’ work in order to support their financial research of Wal-Mart. This paper concludes with recommendations and conclusions and the article finds that the business has a huge growth potential and entry to Middle-East markets such as Israel can be taken into consideration. According to the authors, Wal-Mart has the adequate financial strength to take risks on the international markers arena. Additionally, although the company is very well known with its acquisitions strategy, joint ventures and strategic partnerships are also recommended as alternative strategies for the firm by the authors. Finally, despite some unethical issues and concerns about social responsibility, Wal-Mart still seems to be a good buy for the investors who are interested in the company’s stocks. II. Wal-Mart Employee Selection, Training, and Development Wal-Mart has many key factors involved that make it such a successful company. However, one element they have is one that every company has and this includes employee selection, training, and development. These three factors together create the staff that makes the customers returning time and time again. Without the selection, you wouldn’t have the training, thus, you wouldn’t have the development so all these things are needed to make a competitive staff. Employee selection is an important factor to Wal-Mart when they are hiring their staff. Diversity is the key thing they think of in hiring someone and choosing someone to join the multi-million dollar company. â€Å"Our commitment to diversity remains strong and as part of our continuing efforts to become a leader in diversity we will, continue to ensure that our hiring represents the diversity of our communities, and grow the percentage of women and minorities in our management ranks. (Wal-Mart. com). This is an interesting fact because one of the main complaints with Wal-Mart today is how they mistreat and underpay their staff. Wal-Mart also prides itself not only in diversity, but also in young employment. It seems as though they like young eager staff. â€Å"We engage in job fairs, college recruiting, and intern ships to increase the diversity of our candidate pool for open positions throughout the company. We have increased the companys diversity considerably through our external recruiting efforts. † (Wal-Mart. om). That is a great opportunity for young job hunters to get their feet wet and experience in the business field. The next step in the employment process is the employee training and development. Training is a costly and a very time consuming process in a business. Companies like Wal-Mart pay their employees to be trained, and they pay the person who is training, this is like paying double the staff needed. When the hiring process starts and it comes time to picking out candidates, Wal-Mart makes sure they have the right ones. They do not want to waste time and money Wal-Mart has just recently come up with a whole new training and development system that is supposed to be effective and much more efficient then their old one. â€Å"Wal-Mart grew its training and development program the way it grew the corporation: from store level up. † (Speizer, P. 2) Wal-Mart is such a large organization that their training and development needs to be top notch and have great influence on their staff. An author of Wal-Mart and a worker said, â€Å"Their training and development is making a significant commitment and it will be a radar screen for all other organizations. † The company is using a combination of outside vendors and systems it has created on its own in the overhaul of training and development. (Speizer, P. 2) Their new method of training was brought to them by Nike. The process goes something like this, â€Å"Each segment is three to seven minutes long and gives the associates the basic knowledge they need about various products. As new products are introduced each season, the training is updated and Nike customized the program for each retailer. Associates are then quizzed at the end of the training and asked for feedback, which gets sent back to managers and they are able to adjust things if needed. † (Marquez, P. 2) This process is an outstanding format; internet is the new way of communicating and training. This type of training is called e-training and is definitely shown to be efficient. Other companies such as Cingular and Nike have taken part in this form of training as well. Often times when new associates learn new information they have to go back and ask a lot of questions and this takes away from getting things done. Wal-Mart decided to eliminate a step and have this broken into the three segments in hopes of learning while working. Wal-Mart finds that if you learn one thing at a time and you learn in correctly, you won’t forget and you can learn at a faster rate in the end. Wal-Mart has a reputation of not treating their employee’s right and not being as up to date with technology as they could be. Wal-Mart is showing improvement with their technology by using this e-training. It seems they are beginning to touch base with their consumers as well as their employees. A lot of businesses have gone global; schools have started having classes online, and much more. By Wal-Mart having one of the newest forms of training will definitely increase their knowledge and attract a lot of other businesses and also stresses how they are staying in tact with the latest trends, which is imperative in the businesses world. This is a step in the right direction for Wal-Mart and may make them even bigger than they already are. III. Wal-Mart Human Resources Planning Thanks to an onslaught of class-action gender and wage-discrimination lawsuits, negative press and criticism from unions, Wal-Mart in 2004 embarked on a major workforce management reorganization. Wal-Mart, instead of just having 100 executives in its Bentonville headquarters to watch over everything, developed a plan to hire more than 300 human resources managers to work in the field. We had no more than 100 field human resources managers who all worked from Bentonville. We were more centralized in terms of HR support and we did not have enough HR support in the field. We have created five divisional HR leaders, 27 regional HR directors and 342 field HR managers,† says Sue Oliver, senior vice president of the Wal-Mart Stores Division. (Workforce. com) Wal-Mart also created a five-person team of human resources professionals with legal ba ckgrounds who are available 24 hours a day seven days a week to handle supervisor’s concerns regarding employment matters. Workforce. com). For example, store managers can call the team if they need information on how to best accommodate a physically disabled worker. Although the company’s plan to expand its HR operations looks like a step in the right direction, critics of Wal-Mart hope it’s just the first of more measures to come, claiming that Wal-Mart has needed to provide more HR support and training for its store managers for some time. â€Å"By not providing any guidance or HR standards, store managers were left to their own devices,† says Jocelyn Larkin, an attorney representing 1. million women in a gender discrimination suit against Wal-Mart. (Workforce. com). However, Wal-Mart has stated the changes have not come about because of their critics, but a plan to have HR strategies integrated with the business strategies. â€Å"As we think about th e three- to five-year time horizon, we know we have to be having the right talent to secure our future. Our business strategies won’t be successful if we don’t have the right talent, and the only way to do that is to make sure that HR is more integrated. †, says Oliver. One of the biggest criticisms of Wal-Mart is that they do not pay their employees a fair wage. Most of Wal-Mart’s critics say if the company paid better compensation and benefits, they would have an easier job of attracting and retaining talent. â€Å"We are doing a good job of addressing both compensation and benefits. We want to be an employer of choice, and to do that you need to be market-competitive with wages, whether the workers are hourly or in management,† says Sue Oliver, senior vice president of the Wal-Mart Stores Division. For our hourly associates we have an annual review process where we take an outside vendor, like Hewitt Associates or the Hay Group or other compensation firms. They help us analyze by market and by store whether or not our start rates are market-competitive. † (Workforce. com). After much criticism that Wal-Mart is known for its low wages, Wal-Mart announced in August 2006 they were raising starting pay at 1200 of its stores by an average of 6%. The increase was instituted after conducting a wage survey that suggested increases in wages were needed to remain competitive as an employer. These start rate changes, combined with our competitive benefits like affordable health care, 401K and profit sharing, and annual incentives for our hourly associates, make us an even more attractive employer, which is why people stand in line to apply for Wal-Mart jobs,† said Susan Chambers, executive vice-president of the Peoples Division for Wal-Mart Stores. One of Wal-Marts major recruitment goals is to ensure a diverse workforce by attracting qualified candidates from differing. Wal-Marts has developed a People Action Plan, which sets forth policies for associates, managers, and supervisors to base all employment decisions on the principles of equal employment opportunity. The plan requires the recruitment, hiring, training and promotions of all positions in the company, along with all personnel decisions such as compensation, benefits, training, demotion and termination, will be done without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, or disability. (Workforce. com). Understanding that recruiting new talent is vital to meeting the demands of continuous growth, Wal-Mart conducts job fairs, college recruiting, and internships to increase the candidate pool for open positions throughout the company. To help with recruiting for management positions, Wal-Mart directs two internship programs designed for MBA students. One is a 12-week internship for first-year MBA students that assign the intern a specific project related to the needs of the company. The other is a six-month internship that is intended for second-year MBA students. The program consists of one-month rotations through various divisions that will prepare student for management positions within Wal-Mart stores. Wal-Mart believes that promoting from within is more effective because internal candidates have higher success rates in their new positions due to familiarity with the corporate culture. Because of this, Wal-Mart has taken up a promote from within philosophy, citing seventy-six percent of Wal-Mart store management team started at Wal-Mart in hourly positions. (Esight. org). IV. Wal-Mart Performance Compensation Management Performance management and compensation management have been the center of controversy for Wal-Mart associates and critics alike. The issue seems to stem from the large and diverse pool of associates themselves. There are so many stores located throughout the country and so many employees (an estimated 1. 3 million in-store). The vast range of requirements for pay and benefits is inevitable. Wal-Mart itself realizes the need for a comprehensive list of options for its employees. Under the Career / Benefits section of its website, the company boasts having a â€Å"wide range of choices in our benefits package†. Wal-Martstores. com). To more easily navigate through these choices, they have divided the benefits into four categories: My Money, My Career, My Home, and My Health. My Money, My Career, and My Home focus on pay, compensation, incentives, living expenses, education and advancement opportunities within the organization as managed through performance and compensation. His torically, there has been some dispute regarding the level of pay in which Wal-Mart starts off its new hires. The range starting pay is $7 to $12 an hour for store associates, averaging around $10 an hour. The company does acknowledge the base pay may not be high, but it declares its incentive programs can offset with financial compensation and recognition of high performance. (Wal-Martstores. com). There are incentive programs that recognize and pay for team players based on the performance of the company. They offer discount cards and free membership to Sam’s Club. The company even provides financial education to its employees to help manage their money, debt, credit, and budgets. Another positive compensation is vacation pay, which can accumulate for associates based on how long they have been employed with Wal-Mart. This is also an example of the company promoting itself as a career opportunity, not just a temporary job. The My Career category describes advancement opportunities within Wal-Mart and describes how they promote development through training programs, internships, and even shareholders’ meetings and company functions. (Wal-Martstores. com). The latter two are ways for associates to learn more about the company and industry, something that goes beyond a single store location, product, and pricing. Self development is also important to the company as they promote their employees continuing with their educations. My Home describes benefits as including scholarship programs, education reimbursement, and even a program which partners Wal-Mart Stores, Inc with colleges and universities offering on-line courses. (Wal-Martstores. com). The company also offers programs to assist with dealing with personal or work related issues for employees and their family members, child care discounts, and a program for long-term service in which tenured associates who leave the company can still be eligible to continue receiving some benefits. All in all, the company seems to realize the diverse needs of its associates, new hires, and possible applicants. It outlines and promotes (though, with little detail) how it recognizes performance and provides financial compensation to those who are eligible either by need or via an award program. Recently, one set of associates rallied against increasingly strict penalties for individuals who did not follow the scheduled shifts. Employees at a Wal-Mart Super Center in Florida protested outside of the store claiming the establishment was â€Å"cutting back on full-time hours, capping wages and forcing them to work increasingly irregular schedules†. (Wall Street Journal). The policy itself penalizes employees per number of unexcused absences and further requires individuals to call a 1-800 hotline if the absence is due to illness. Critics believe this is another attempt by the company to deter individuals with chronic health conditions from applying or further push currently employed associates out of the company. This situation exemplifies a public impression of Wal-Mart’s performance management tactics. The final category listed under benefits is My Health. This describes the common array of health benefits such as medical, dental, life, ADD (Accidental Death and Dismemberment), and disability insurance. It also offers a few not-so-common benefits such as business travel accident insurance, Starbridge, which is a medical plan available to employees who are waiting on their eligibility for coverage or who are temporary employees, and Aflac Cancer Insurance. (Wal-Martstores. com) Despite what seems to be a somewhat normal if not diverse collection of healthcare benefits, this category tends to be at the center of the Wal-Mart compensation controversy. The company is currently under scrutiny for its new â€Å"Value Plan† healthcare package which promotes lower premiums, but much higher deductibles. Wall Street Journal). Again, critics of the company feel this program is a way to cut health-care related expenses as well as repress sickly individuals from applying. Wal-Mart’s retort to this criticism is that it is an option to benefit those associates with few medical needs by enabling them to save money through lower premiums. V. Wal-Mart – Strategy Strategic Change s First of all, we have to mention in the beginning that Wal-Mart implements several strategies to succeed in today’s competitive business world. In other words, Wal-Mart has a wide range of strategies which were analyzed by us in detail. One of them is that, Wal-Mart has established a strong retail brand and a reputation for value of money as a component of its strategies. Moreover, it has convenience and a wide range of products all in one store. (Marketingteacher. com). Then, Wal-Mart implements the strategy of aggressive growth. The company has grown a lot in the recent years and has even experienced global expansion. For instance, if you can remember the Wal-Mart’s purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA, you will see that our argument is proved. After that, Wal-Mart involves its use of information technology to support the international logistics system. This way, the firm can observe how individual products are performing country-wide, store-by-store at a glance. By the way, IT is also advantageous for Wal-Mart’s efficient procurement. Additionally, Wal-Mart implements a focused strategy for human resource management and development. The employees are really a key factor for Wal-Mart’s business and the company invests time and money in training the workers, as well as retaining a development team. Following that, Wal-Mart has a strategy of selling products across many sectors such as clothing, food and stationary. This strategy of Wal-Mart is also sometimes criticized by stating that it decreases the flexibility of the company. Moreover, Wal-Mart has a strategy of keeping the manufacturing costs low in order to decrease the cost of producing many consumer products. In relation with this strategy, Wal-Mart implements the outsourcing to low cost regions of the world. Furthermore, Wal-Mart implements the strategy of cutting wages, cutting health benefits and cutting pension benefits in order to remain competitive. For example, it was stated in an article (2005) that Wal-Mart’s health insurance plans were only covering 48% of their employees. (Joesschool. blogs. com). Definitely, this implementation is another Wal-Mart strategy which is widely criticized. Another Wal-Mart strategy was moving to small towns and setting stores in these low populated places. This strategy was implemented by establishing stores so that the distribution centers or warehouses could take care of the customers. This strategy was really very effective in reducing marketing and advertising costs. It’s also a good idea to mention the distribution strategy of Wal-Mart. The distribution systems of Wal-Mart did seriously provide one of the greatest competitive advantages to the company. Flexibility of controlling the distribution is also an important strategy here. Also, the large-scale of Wal-Mart’s distribution centers and the technology implementations should also be mentioned here. Next, Wal-Mart also has a strategy of targeting the low and middle-income consumers. To realize this strategy, the prices of goods are always tried to be kept at minimum and lower than the competitors. In other words, the Wal-Mart model works aggressively to have the lowest cost product available to the customer. (Qando. net). In addition, it’s a known fact that Wal-Mart also uses non-American workers in order to minimize the costs. Definitely, this is considered to be very unethical and wrong both worldwide and in the U. S. since Wal-Mart is taking advantage of foreign workers in sweatshop conditions. (Wal-Martwatch. com). Although this implementation is prohibited, Wal-Mart was detected to employ these employee in some investigations. Plus, another strategy of Wal-Mart is that it doesn’t seek to create markets by introducing new products. Plastic. com). Instead of that, Wal-Mart is known to be a market follower. According to some authorities, this is an intelligent strategy of Wal-Mart since it minimizes the risk of failure. One other strategy of Wal-Mart is to never depend on a single supplier. From Wal-Mart’s point of view, depending on a single supplier wo uld be a very dangerous strategy since it would limit the freedom and flexibility of the business. For sure, this action would also be dangerous because if that supplier becomes unsuccessful, it would absolutely affect Wal-Mart. Besides, it’s said that Wal-Mart successfully navigated changes in store formats, product tastes and the make-up of the workforce, and it assembled management talent over time in its shift to mass market retailing. (Georgia State University, Robinson College of Business, The State of Business Magazine). Thus, we can also emphasize these actions as a part of Wal-Mart’s overall strategy. To continue with our list of Wal-Mart strategies, we should also stress that the company has an effective use of logistics management as well as having an effective inventory control. Also it has the bargaining power over suppliers. Then, Wal-Mart focuses on operations and execution by providing an over-average quality at a very lower price. Here, the company gives importance to efficiency, streamlining operations and supply-chain management. After that, Wal-Mart also implements the strategy of analyzing customers in great detail. The match the inventory of the store with the preferences of the clients by analyzing all sales and they look at sales volume, inventory turnover, packaging, price points and many other variables by product or group of products in order to create a profile of the buying habits of the customers at the store/site level. Marketingprofs. com). By the way, Wal-Mart is careful about keeping the employee turnover ratio at very low levels. According to the company, a high employee turnover ratio would seriously harm efficiency so they try to keep it in minimum as much as they can. For example, Wal-Mart’s driver turnover is only 5% a year, compared with an industry average of 125%. (The Economist Newspaper – Economist. com). Going on with Wal-Mart’s strategies, the firm has a strategy based on having all items in stock and providing a very good customer service. For example, their regime of customer service requires them to speak to any customer who comes within a defined distance. (Guardian News – Guardian. co. uk). Finally, in regards to Wal-Mart’s international strategy, the company usually prefers acquisitions when going overseas. For example, the acquisitions in England and Mexico are very good examples for this statement. At last, the firm’s appreciated website is also used as an effective tool to gain advantage in the international arena. Speaking for the strategic changes of Wal-Mart, we can say that some strategic changes for the company are observed both in the domestic U. S. market and in the international markets. Concerning Wal-Mart’s strategic changes in the international arena, we can say that the company is trying to make a more significant entry into the Chinese marketplace through the acquisition of a Taiwanese-owned supermarket chain called Trust-Mart. (Fastcompany. com). For this acquisition, Wal-Mart will compete against the French giant Carrefour SA. Definitely, there are some clear reasons for Wal-Mart’s mentioned strategic change. China’s economy is growing more than 10 percent a year, retail sales surged 12. 9 percent in 2005 over the year before, to 6. trillion yuan ($847 billion) and by 2002, it’s predicted that the market could expand to about $2. 4 trillion. (Signonsandiego. com). As you know, Wal-Mart has been successful in Canada, Mexico and England until this date. However, they did fail in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia and Germany since they could not analyze the culture of these countries a s well as the particular market characteristics. According to some authorities, Wal-Mart’s this strategic change of strictly going into the Chinese market will bring success while it’s just the reverse for some other authorities. Following that, another strategic change by Wal-Mart is that the company executives announced this year they would greatly increase the number of organic products on their shelves. (Westernfarmers. com). The firm’s recent introduction of private labeled organic milk can be provided as an example here. Then, as another strategic change of Wal-Mart, we can say that the company has announced environmentally friendly policies. Criticized intensively for violating the Clean Water Act and causing air pollution, perhaps we should think that this should not be a surprise strategic change for Wal-Mart. For example, selling clothing made from organic cotton, cutting energy use at new stores, offering cheaper health insurances to its employees and promising fuel efficiency were only some of the actions taken by the company. (Alternet. org). Especially, we must consider the healthcare terms for employees as a significant strategic change. These changes include reduction in the waiting period for firm health insurance from two years of employment to one year, helping part-time employees with the ability to cover their children and offering employees a discount on healthy foods sold at company stores. Insiderview. com). As a result, you can clearly realize that the strategic changes for Wal-Mart are also numerous which can never be underestimated by the company’s competitors. VI. Wal-Mart: A Strategic and Financial Summary Wal-Mart was founded with the opening of its first store in Rogers, Arkansas, in 1962. Wal-Mart quickly began to expand and had twenty-four stores reaching $12 . 6 million in sales in 1967. In the 1970s, Wal-Mart opened its first distribution center and home office in Bentonville, Arkansas. This distribution center would be one of many that would help make Wal-Mart the retailing giant that it is today. By 1975, Wal-Mart had 175 stores in operation. In 1983, Sam’s Club opened it doors. The chain consists of more than 570 clubs in the US and 100 International locations. In 1998, Wal-Mart realized that the retailing environment was becoming ever competitive, and they would need to respond quickly. They began opening Wal-Mart Super Centers as well as Wal-Mart Neighborhood Markets, both of these, which creates a one stop shopping experience for customers, which they love. During the 1990s, Wal-Mart became the number one retailer in the world through its aggressive store opening and pricing strategies. Early in 1995, Wal-Mart started its international division and began opening stores internationally. Wal-Mart dos not have a formal mission statement, but their philosophy is, â€Å"to provide everyday low prices with exceptional customer service† (Wal-Mart, 2006). Currently the company is doing extremely well in comparison to the retail industry as a whole. Today Wal-Mart has 1,100 discount stores, 1,900 Super Centers 95 Neighborhood Markets, and 550 Sam’s Club locations. Wal-Mart is continuing its strategy of opening many new stores, which allows it to remain extremely competitive. In October 2006 alone, Wal-Mart has one Super Center scheduled to open as well as three Sam’s Clubs. The following will give the reader a brief financial analysis of Wal-Mart for fiscal year 2006 (February 30, 2005 through January 1, 2006). SWOT Analysis A SWOT analysis is a very powerful tool that can help a company uncover strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats that may not be obvious until the analysis is completed. The following is the SWOT Analysis for Wal-Mart. Strengths 1. Wal-Mart is a powerful retail brand. It has a very good reputation for the low prices it offers, convenience and the wide variety of products in offers in its stores. 2. The company has grown at a fast pace over the past few years in the United States while expanding globally as well. 3. The company can see how individual products are performing at any given moment store-by-store using efficient Information Technology. This allows for the Just in Time delivery system to work so well for Wal-Mart. Weaknesses 1. Wal-Mart is the World’s largest grocery retailer, which could cause it to become weak in some areas due to the huge span of control. 2. Since Wal-Mart sells a huge variety of products across many sectors, it may not have the flexibility that some of its more focused competitors have. 3. The company is global, but it only has a presence in a few countries. Opportunities 1. Wal-Mart could merge or form strategic alliances with other global retailers. This would allow them to penetrate other countries. 2. New locations and store types offer Wal-Mart the opportunity for further market penetration. They could develop mall sites or mom and pop like operations 3. They could still further expand their Super Centers Threats 1. Because Wal-Mart is a retail leader, the are constantly the target of competition, locally and globally 2. Being a global leader means that you are exposed to political problems in the countries, you operate in. 3. Intense price competition is a constant threat for the company. (MarketingTeacher, 2006) Financial Analysis Wal-Mart ratios from a five-year average in comparison to the Industry mean: |Ratios |Wal-Mart |Industry Mean | |Beta |. 61 |. 77 | |Quick Ratio |. 26 |. 31 | |Current Ratio |. 85 |1. 18 | |ROA 5yr. Avg. |8. 94 |6. 4 | |ROE 5yr. Avg. |21. 27 |16. 39 | |Revenue/Employee |184,158 |216,978 | |Net Income/Employee |6,647 |9,751 | |Inventory Turnover |8. 03 |6. 27 | |P/E Ratio |17. 37 |18. 2 | |(Reuters, 2006) | | | Wal-Mart’s beta is lower than the industry average. This means that there is less risk in investing in this company than the industry. The beta is a measure of a stock’s price volatility in relation to the rest of the market. In other words, how does the stock’s price move relative to the overall market? The closer the beta value is greater to one, the greater the risk. The Return on Equity (ROE) has a high return on equity. This means it is capable of generating cash internally. The higher a company’s return on equity compared to its industry, the better, which is the case with Wal-Mart. The Return on Assets (ROA) tells an investor how much profit a company generated for each $1 in assets. In Wal-Mart’s case, they are generating $8. 94 in profit for every $1 invested in assets. While the industry is only generating $6. 84 in assets for every $1 invested in assets. Their Price to Earnings Ratio gives an investor an idea of how much the market is willing to pay for a stock depending on its earnings. The higher the P/E the more the market is willing to pay for the company’s earnings. The lower the P/E the less the market is willing to pay for the company’s earnings. In Wal-Mart’s case, for every $17. 37 the investor pays for the company, they can expect to earn $1. 00 in return. The quick ratio was designed to measure a company’s immediate assets against its current liabilities. This measure gives financial institutions an idea of how much cash can be created against the current liabilities. Wal-Mart’s Quick Ratio is lower than the industry. For every $1 in liabilities, Wal-Mart is able to produce $. 26 in cash. The Current Ratio, is another test of a company’s financial strength. This method calculates how many dollars in assets are likely to be converted to cash in a given year in order to pay debts that may come due during the same year. Wal-Mart’s liquidity issue is below 1, which under normal circumstances would be a concern. Because Wal-Mart is in the retail business most of its inventory could easily be sold and converted to cash. The Revenue per employees is lower than industry average and the net employee income is lower when compared to the industry average. The inventory turnover is above industry average, which means Wal-Mart is turning there inventory over 8. 3 times while the industry is turning theirs over only at 6. 27 times in the same time period. VII. Recommendations Wal-Mart has a big future in terms of growth potential. They could extend their global presence by entering the Middle East. In its earlier expansion into international markets, Wal-Mart followed the strategy of acquiring a chain in the particular country or setting up a joint venture. This strategy is working very well for them, and they should continue to pursue it. Wal-Mart’s concept of purchasing an existing chain has proved very successful. In 2006, Wal-Mart’s international operations had retail sales of $62,719 an 11. 3% increase over the previous year (Wal-Mart Stores 2006). Wal-Mart has the resources and finances in place to increase their international presence. They could penetrate Israel by acquiring Blue Square, which has a corporate culture similar to Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart needs to continue penetrating markets by creating joint ventures or acquiring retail companies that have already established themselves. Once they do this, they can implement their advanced IT systems do continue to deliver their products just in time to local tastes of the customers. VIII. Conclusion Wal-Mart is a huge presence globally. With their current international September 2006 month end reporting growth of 32% increase from the previous year, there is still plenty of markets for them to penetrate, thus, increasing shareholder value. This is an excellent company to invest in. At this point, I would invest in the company aggressively due to their current expansion and earning per share over the next year. Many analysts predict that Wal-Mart will have earnings of $3. 26 per share (Yahoo 2006). In Fiscal Year 2006, Wal-Mart reported sales of $312,427 million dollars. After reviewing the financial statements of the company, as an investor, I would not hesitate to immediate purchase their stock. IX. REFERENCES Ceniceros, R. (2004). â€Å"Bias suit against Wal-Mart gets class action status†. Business Insurance, Vol. 38, Issue 26. Featherstone, L. (2005). â€Å"Is Wal-Mart Really Going Green? † The Website of AlterNet. http://www. alternet. org/envirohealth/28882/ Harris, D. S. (2002). â€Å"Agility in Action. † Georgia State University, Robinson College of Business. The State of Business Magazine. Vol. XV. No. 2 http://www. robinson. gsu. edu/magazine/summer2002/agility. html Hudson, K. (2006). Wal-Mart to Trim Options for Health Coverage. † Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition, New York, NY. InsiderView. (2004). â€Å"Wal-Mart changes its healthcare terms for employees. † The Website of InsiderView. http://www. insiderview. com/view/walmart_employee_healthcare. html Johnson, L. D. (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart’s C hina Expansion Strategy†. The Website of FastCompany. http://blog. fastcompany. com/archives/2006/10/17/walmarts_china_expansion_strategy. html? partner=rss Laws,. F. (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart Sustainability Strategy Drawing More Crossfire†. The Website of Western Farm Press. http://westernfarmpress. com/news/100506-walmart-strategy/ MarketingProfs LLC. (2004). â€Å"Wal-Mart Marketing Strategy Through Time. † The Website of MarketingProfs LLC. http://www. marketingprofs. com/ea/qst_question. asp? qstid=1497 Marketing Teacher Ltd. (2006). â€Å"SWOT Analysis Wal-Mart. † The Website of Marketing Teacher Ltd. http://www. marketingteacher. com/SWOT/walmart_swot. htm Marquez, Jessica. (2006). â€Å"Critics Remain Wary of Wal-Marts Plans†. The Website of Workforce Management http://www. workforce. com/section/09/feature/24/47/70/index. html Marquez, J. (2006). â€Å"Faced with high turnover, retailers boot up e-learning programs for quick training. † http://web. ebscohost. com Marquez, J. (2006). â€Å"More HR in Store at Wal-Mart: A QA With Sue Oliver†. The Website of Workforce Management http://www. workforce. com/section/09/feature/24/47/65/index. html Marquez, J. (2005). â€Å"Wal-Mart Throws Lifeline to Managers†. The Website of Workforce Management http://www. workforce. com/section/00/article/24/00/94. html Olson, T. (2005). â€Å"What’s good for Wal-Mart is good for Wall Street. † Olson Online. http://joesschool. blogs. com/olsononline/2005/07/index. html Plastic. (2005). â€Å"The Worries of Wal-Mart†. The website of Plastic, plastic. com. http://www. plastic. com/comments. html;sid=04/12/03/09225229;cid=75 Reuters. (2006). The Website of Reuters Reuters. com. http://reuters. com Sams Club. (2006). The Website of Sams Club SamsClub. com http://samsclub. com Seth, A. (2003). â€Å"Safeway? It’s a week’s takings for Wal-Mart. † The Website of Guardian News and Media Limited. http://www. guardian. co. uk/print/0,3858,4586461-102271,00. html SignOnSanDiego, A. (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart to buy retail chain with 100 hypermarkets in China for $1 billion.. † The Website of SignOnSanDiego. http://www. signonsandiego. com/news/world/20061017-0526-wal-mart-china. html Speizer, I. (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart training goes into wholesale overhaul. http://web. ebscohost. com The Economist Newspaper Limited. (2001). â€Å"Wal around the world†. The Website of Economist Newspaper Limited. http://www. economist. com/business/displayStory. cfm? Story_ID=895888 The QandO Blog. (2006). â€Å"The new claim: Wal-Mart monopsony bad for economy. † The Qand O Blog: Free Mark ets, Free People. http://www. qando. net/details. aspx? entry=4481 Wal-Mart. (2006). The Website of Wal-Mart Wal-Mart. com http://walmart. com Wal-Mart Facts. (2004). â€Å"Wal-Mart Details Progress Toward Becoming a Leader in Employment Practices†. The website of Wal-Martfacts. com http://www. Wal-Martfacts. om/articles/3744. aspx Wal-Mart Stores. (2006). â€Å"Benefits, My Career. † The Website of Wal-Mart Stores. http://walmartstores. com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate. do? catg=609 Wal-Mart Stores. (2006). â€Å"Benefits, My Health† The Website of Wal-Mart Stores. http://walmartstores. com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate. do? catg=606 Wal-Mart Stores. (2006). â€Å"Benefits, My Home. † The Website of Wal-Mart Stores. http://walmartstores. com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate. do? catg=608 Wal-Mart Stores. (2006). â€Å"Benefits, My Money. † The Website of Wal-Mart Stores. http://walmartstores. com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate. do? catg=607 Wal-Mart Stores. (2006). â€Å"eSight Directory of Disability-friendly Companies†. The Website of eSight Careers Network. http://www. esight. org/OverviewByType. cfm? room=nid=0. 0ovid=1310type=profileovrm=n6 Wal-Mart Watch. (2005). â€Å"Person of the Week: Stephan Goetz and Hema Swaminathan. † The Website of Wal-Mart Watch. http://walmartwatch. com/blog/archives/ person_of_the_week_stephan_goetz_and_hema_swaminathan/ Wall Street Journal. (2006). â€Å"Wal-Mart Employees Protest Outside Store. † Wall Street Journal, Eastern Edition, New York, NY. Yahoo Finance. (2006). The Website of Yahoo Finance. http://finance. yahoo. com

Persecution of Jews free essay sample

The question of whether or not the persecution of Jewish race has had a steady intensification, relates closely to whether you adopt an intentionalist or structuralist viewpoint on this historical event. An intentionalist will claim that the process of persecuting Jews in Germany is a planned sequence and was outlined by the Nazi Party; they claim that the roots of Hitler’s politics was about eliminating the Jewish race from Germany and the evidence can be found in Mein Kampf. On the other hand, structuralist historians will claim that the persecution of the Jews was never planned and it was improvised all the way through to the Holocaust; furthermore, they will state that the Nazi’s did not come to power based on policies towards the Jews as the electorate was never as enthusiastic as Hitler was about this. Although it increased it was more gradual than steady, It did increase but there were times where it stopped, but it was at a very low key when not much attention was taken towards the situation. We will write a custom essay sample on Persecution of Jews or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, in 1938 when the Nazi’s had invaded Austria and Sudetenland, there was more of an increase in persecution of Jews. In the year 1933, the Boycott of Jewish businesses and professional offices, the exclusion of Jews from civil service as well as the Quota for non-Aryan students occurred serving the purpose of isolating the Jews from the Aryan race. Reasons for such policy also have to do with the Nazi’s hatred or perhaps jealousy of many of the Jews being able to take up leading positions in the upper class society. Also, the act of isolation meant citizens would have less chances of coming into contact with the Jews thus increasing the chances of them buying into the propaganda. Furthermore, a policy was laid out preventing non-Aryans to inherit farms. Intentionalists claims can therefore be seen as an attempt of initial processes to isolate the Jews. They will also claim that events such as only allowing farms to be passed on to Aryans was for later purposes of war and the extermination of Jews thus the farms were to be safer in Aryans hands to guarantee farmers will not rebel. However, structuralists can counter such an arguments by claiming that it was plain improvisation. This is because no one would have expected the separation of Jews to result in a mass extermination. The Nazi approach to anti-Semitism was gradualist. Indeed, for some Germans the discriminatory legislation was no more than the Jews deserved. For the more liberal minded, who found such action offensive, there was the practical problem of how to show opposition and to offer resistance. Many radical Nazi’s i. e. The SA, were keen to take immediate measures against Jewish people and their businesses, but the Party’s leadership including Hitler was worried that it could get out of hand. The SA were capable of taking it to far and attract too much attention and cause too much trouble. When the boycott was organised on 1st April 1933, the SA picketed at Jewish owned shops, cafes and businesses etc, they would be standing outside and urging people not to come in. However, the boycott was not universally accepted by the German people and it caused a lot of bad publicity abroad. The Nazi leaders developed their anti-Semitism in a more subtle way. Once the Nazi regime had established the legal basis for its dictatorship, it was legally possible to initiate an anti-jewish policy, most significantly by the creation of the Nuremberg Laws in September 1935. The Nuremberg Laws classified all non-Jewish White Europeans as Aryans. These laws deprived Jews and other non-Aryans of German citizenship and prohibited racially mixed sexual relations and marriages between Germans and Jews. On the 26 November 1935, the laws were extended to Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard offspring This clearly stood in contrast to the extensive civil rights that the Jews had enjoyed in Weimar Germany. The discrimination against the Jews got worse as an ongoing range of laws were introduced. Propaganda also had an influence on the German society which makes them turn against Jews and agree with Nazis that they should be terrorised . Goebbels himself was a particularly committed anti-Semite and he used his skills as the Minister of Propaganda and Popular Enlightenment to introdrinate the German people. Goebbels used a full range of propaganda methods which was used to advance the anti-Semitic message, such as posters and signs, newspapers and the cinema. A particular aspect of anti-Semitic indoctrination was the emphasis placed on influencing the German youth. the message was obviously put across by the Hitler youth, but all schools also conformed to new revised textbooks and teaching materials, e. g tasks and exam questions. Terror and violence was a lot more violent and more radical than anything else. The SA, as the radical left wing of the Nazis, took advantage of their power at local level to use violence against Jews, e. g damage of property, intimidation and physical attacks. This was the start of the increase for Jews being persecuted in Germany, trying to make the rest of the German society see the Jews for how Hitler really see them. However, after the Night of the long Knives in sporadic for two probable reasons. First, in 1936 there was a distinct decline in the anti-Semitic campaign because of the Berlin Olympics, which in fact Jews were not welcomed. By 1936 the Nazi government had been in power for four years, so that a number of the 430 anti-Jewish laws finally decreed by the Hitlerian government were already in force. Alone in 1933, the first year of Nazi rule, it was decreed that all Jews were dismissed from all government jobs, that no Jew could practice medicine, dentistry or the law. In addition, laws were made prohibiting Jews from serving as jurors; prohibiting Jews from employment as tax consultants; and, most important, depriving Jews of German citizenship no matter how many generations may have been born in Germany. During the Olympics, which began on August 1, 1936, all anti-Jewish signs and propaganda was removed from German buildings. Since 1933, every store and every public building such as libraries had displayed signs that read, â€Å"Juden unerwunscht†, meaning Jews not welcome. Except for the two weeks of the Olympics, Nazi newspapers were plastered all over the walls in German cities. Schacht had continued to express worries about the implications of anti-Semitic action for the economy (although he resigned in 1937) However, the events of 1938 were on a different scale, this was the turning point. First, the union with Austria in March 1939 resulted, in the following month, in thousands of attacks on the 200,00 Jews of Vienna. Secondly, on 9-10 November 1938 there was a sudden violent pogrom against the Jews, which became known as ‘Night of the Crystal Glass’ (Kristallnacht). Kristallnacht started in Berlin and spread throughout Germany and dramatic effects; the destruction of numerous Jewish homes and 100 deaths, attacks on 10,000 Jewish shops and businesses, the burning down of 200 synagogues and the deportation of 20,000 to concentration camps. Goebbels had hoped that the anti-Semitic actions might also win Hitler’s favour. It should be noted that much of the anti-Semitic legislation came in the months after the pogrom. Reasons why it all became so violent and radical was because, the Nazis were trying so hard to get the Germany society to agree with them and see the Jews for how they really are, they had to try and get their point across, and also by being so violent with the Jews it made them realise that they were not welcome and were not wanted part of their society and wanted them to be gotten rid of. In the face of increasing legal repression and physical violence, many Jews fled Germany. Until October 1941, German policy officially encouraged Jewish emigration. Gradually, however, the Nazis sought to deprive Jews fleeing Germany of their property by levying an increasingly heavy emigration tax and by restricting the amount of money that could be transferred abroad from German banks. A number of Jews had decided to leave Germany voluntarily, as they knew what was coming for them and had to try and leave as quick as they could and to live a better life and not be discriminated but wherever they moved, they ended up going through tough times. However, many Jews with influence, high reputation or sufficient wealth could find the means to leave. The most popular destination were Palestine, Britain and the USA. However, form 1938 a new dimension to anti-Semitism developed-forced emigration, Jewish Emigration was established in Vienna, overseen by Adolf Eichmann. Within six months Eichmann had forced the emigration of 45,000 and the scheme was seen as such a success that, in january 1939, Goring was promoted to create the Reich Central Office for Jewish Emigration run by Heydrich and Eichmann. Nazi persecution led to about half of the Jewish population leaving before war. Technically, the Jews had voluntarily emigrate but they were forced to leave behind all their belongings. Given the circumstances, the remainder decided to take their chances and stay in Germany rather than lose their homes and all their possessions. Despite the range of anti-Semitic measures of 1933-9 , it is difficult to claim that the Nazis had pursued a planned overall policy to deal with ‘the Jewish question’. However, on one point it is very clear the year 1938 marked an undoubted ‘radicalisation’ of Nazi anti-Semitism. At the time it was inconceivable to imagine that the Holocaust was possible. The suggestion that millions would be systematically exterminated would have defied belief. It is an event in modern European history that even now seems almost beyond rational comprehension, although it had a terrifying logic to it. yet, the unbelievable did happen and it required not only the actions o a ‘criminal’ minority but also the passivity of the ‘innocent’ majority. In Germany the moral dimension has helped to make this historical debate a particularly impassioned one. By genocide, the murder of hostages, reprisal raids, forced labor, euthanasia, starvation, exposure, medical experiments, and terror bombing, and in the concentration and death camps, the Nazis murdered from 15,003,000 to 31,595,000 people, most likely 20,946,000 men, women, handicapped, aged, sick, prisoners of war, forced laborers, camp inmates, critics, homosexuals, Jews, Slavs, Serbs, Germans, Czechs, Italians, Poles, French, Ukrainians, and many others. Among them 1,000,000 were children under eighteen years of age. And none of these monstrous figures even include civilian and military combat or war-deaths. Germany’s victory over Poland in autumn 1939 meant that the Nazis inherited responsibility for an estimated three millions Jews. Why did the Nazis end up killing six million Jews? This question is difficult to answer. Some historians believe that the Nazis had planned the extermination of the Jews since their takeover of power in 1933. Other historians believe that the extermination of the Jews was a result of a specific historical context, and thus not originally planned for. However, it turns out that the Nazis never did have a plan, they just took action and Hitler never had a plan thought threw, Hitler had to be very calm and careful around the situation. After occupying Poland in 1939, he policy of forced emigration became untenable for the Nazi regime. It was simply unrealistic to make more than 3 million Polish Jews emigrate. This led to ambitious Nazi plans for a solution to the ‘Jewish Question’. However, plans to ‘resettle’ so many people placed such a great strain on food supplies and the transportation system that, in the short term, the Nazi leadership in Poland were compelled to create a number of Jewish ghettos, e. g. Warsaw, Krakow and Lublin. The invasion of Russia in summer 1941 marked a decisive development. From that time, it was seen as a racial war launched by the SS Einsatzgruppen that moved in behind the advancing armies. These four ‘Action Units’ were responsible for rounding up local Jews and murdering them by mass shootings. The mass murders began in connection with the war of extermination against the Soviet Union, which began on 22 June 1941. The bloody process clearly raised the practical implications for the Nazi ;leadership of finding a ‘Final Solution’ to the Jewish question, but was too expensive. Nevertheless, there remains uncertainty and debate over when exactly it was decided to launch the genocide of the Jews. Options were probably being considered during autumn 1941, but it was only agreed as a result of the Wannsee Conference on 20 January 1942. In course of 1942, a number of camps were developed into mass extermination centres in Poland, most notably Auschwitz, Sobibor and Treblinka, which were run by the Death’s Head Units of the Waffen SS. Most of the Polish Jews were cleared from their ghettos and then ‘transported’ by train in appalling conditions to their death in gas chambers. It is believed that, of the original three million Polish Jews, only 4000 survived the war. In 1943-4 Jews from all over Europe were deported to face a similar fate so that by 1945 it is estimated that six million European Jews had been murdered. In addition to the Jews, the Gypsies were also subject to racial persecution and became victims of Nazi genocide. The Gypsies had been viewed as ‘outsiders’ throughout European history for several clear reasons. They were non-Christian and they had their own Romany customs and dialect, they were non-white because they had originated from India in the late medieval period and their ‘traveller’ lifestyle with no regular employment was resented. By 1933 it is believed that the number of Gypsies in Germany was about 25,000-30-000, and they, too, were beginning to suffer from the gradualist policy of Nazi discrimination. Gypsies were defined exactly like the Jews as ‘infallibly of alien blood’ according to the Nuremburg Laws of 1935. Himmler issued the 1938, a directive titled ‘The Struggle against the Gypsy Plague’, which ordered the registration of Gypsies in racial terms. Straight after the outbreak of the war, Gypsies were deported from Germany to Poland and their movements were severely controlled in working camps. Notoriously, in January 1940, the first case of mass murder through gassing was committed by the Nazis against Gypsy children at Buchenwald. The Gypsies during the war were the focus of ever increasing repression and violence but there was no real, systematic Nazi policy of extermination until the end of 1942. To conclude, the issue of the Holocaust remains one of the most fundamental controversies in history. For some historians Hitler remains the key, as he was committed to extermination of the Jews at an early stage in his political career. It is argued that this was followed by the consistent gradualist policy, which led logically from the persecution of 1933 to the gates of Auschwitz. It is the simplest form these historians suggest that the Holocaust happened because hItler willed it, which is true he wanted to get rid of all Jews and non human people. On the other hand, other historians have rejected the idea of a long-term plan for mass extermination . Instead, they have suggested that the ‘Final Solution’ came to be implemented as a result of the chaotic nature of the government during the war. As a result, various institutions and individuals improvised a policy to deal with the military and human situation in eastern Europe by the end of 1941.

5 Alternate Writing Techniques in English You Havent Heard of

5 Alternate Writing Techniques in English You Havent Heard of 5 Alternate Writing Techniques in English You Havent Heard of Your professor reads through a dozen of papers each time he/she assigns an essay. If you want to get a high grade, you have to ensure that your paper stands out from the rest. How can you do that? If you have mastered the basic writing techniques, here are five more advanced ones that you can use to set yourself apart from the rest. 1. Be Original As often as possible, try to take a unique approach on the topic, offer an original perspective, or use your words in a fresh and interesting way. As your professor sifts through a dozen of papers, he/she does not want to see the same topic many times. Take a creative approach to the assignment that will help you stand out, and you will get a higher grade as a result. Depending on the assignment, you should also write in your own unique voice. For some assignments, you may need to be extremely formal and academic. However, if you have a more creative assignment, use an informative conversational tone. Write the way you would speak to someone you respect and feel comfortable with. Allow your writing to reflect your own personality and your style as well. Writing in such a manner allows you to interact with the audience. 2. Tell a Story If you have a practical, real-life anecdote that is related to the topic you are writing about, it is usually appropriate to tell briefly a story that illustrates your point. Not only this makes your point easier to understand, but it can also be entertaining for the reader. Many writers do not use this technique, so it is one of the ways to set your writing apart. However, make sure that your story is directly related to your paper and is not off topic or unnecessary. Also, get to the point quickly without spending an excessive amount of time on the story. A few sentences are usually enough to entertain the reader and to express your point. 3. Show, Do Not Tell This technique especially applies to creative writing, but it can be used in other types of writings as well. When you are writing, simple telling the reader some information, it is not really effective. It is better to show the reader through details, examples, and evidence. Paint a picture of the information you are trying to explain. In creative writing, this can include using the five senses to make your writing vital. Describe how something looks like, smells, feels, tastes, and sounds to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind. In informational or persuasive writing, such a technique can mean including examples and evidence to support the claims. Instead of saying that Abraham Lincoln is the greatest United States president, show that he is the greatest United States president by providing evidence and giving examples. Instead of saying that you were nervous, talk about your sweaty palms and racing heart. This is one of the best writing techniques in English, and it will surely impress anyone who reads your paper. 4. Use a Call to Action A call to action is better to use in persuasive writing. Such a technique invites your reader to take some sort of action, and it is an excellent item because it engages your audience and involves it in reading your paper. A call to action can be anything that is relevant to your topic. For example, if you just have spent an entire paper convincing readers that every individual is responsible for the health of the planet, you could conclude your essay by encouraging your readers to recycle or conserve water. If you write a persuasive paper about a law that everyone should think about, you can include a call to action advising your readers to call legislators or sign a petition. The call to action should invite the reader to act and make them involved in reading your paper. 5. Use of Figurative Language You have probably heard of figurative language before- this is the language that is used creatively and is not meant to be taken literally. Figurative language includes simile, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and symbolism. You should definitely use figurative language in creative writing, but it can also be an effective technique in informational or persuasive writing. A well-placed metaphor can impress your reader and make your point more beautiful and understandable. Next time you are assigned to write a paper, try using these techniques. Your professor will be surely impressed!

Food Inc vs.Super Size Me Essay Example

Food Inc vs.Super Size Me Essay Example Food Inc vs.Super Size Me Essay Food Inc vs.Super Size Me Essay The movie tarts with a quote the way we eat has changed more over the past fifty years than in the previous ten thousand. Food production has changed dramatically. The production of food is now controlled by many corporations -these corporations tell the food producers what should be done so that business is profitable. Regardless of consequences, many things are often forgotten about. For example the treatment of the animals. Yes they are going to eventually be killed for our consumption, but there are guidelines as to how they should be treated. The companies spend millions f dollars on lobbyists to change the law to benefit themselves. This movie shows the drastic difference between farms produced food and food produced In a factory. Food produced on a farm is organic, and food produced in a factory contains many different chemicals and ingredients that are and can be harmful to our bodies. I personally found this movie to be extremely frugal, disgusting, ineffective, and boring. The reason I found this movie to be boring is because even though it was the truth about food industries and spending habits. I love food way too much to want to now the actual facts about food. : I dont want to have to worry about whether It Is good for me or not. Even though unnatural ways are used to feed the animals to fatten them up and to grow faster and bigger. It is cheaper and easier to pump them with hormones and chemicals than it is to have it done naturally. The companies that work for the fast food companies require more products at cheaper price. The meat industry also uses chemicals that would harm people if the company doesnt mix it right. Also they are susceptible to far more dangerous bacteria because of the way hey process the meat and other foods. I find It unnerving that food companies are allowed to continue making food they way they do. I had thought that there were laws and guidelines that food companies had to follow in order to make our food safe to eat. Why is it that it seems different? I guess what the truth is happens to be far from what we think is the truth. I also didnt think there was a huge process in the way our food Is and was made. When I see a steak on my plate I dont think that the animal that this chunk of meat came from had been pumped up with hormones and Heimlich. I find that to be disgusting. I dont think I can look at food the same way as I did before I saw this film. Food Inc. The movie was really graphic and didnt spare any unwanted information. The movie explicitly showed the process of how is food is made. I never knew that meat hung for days before it was cut to package and then later sell. I wonder if the meat that is in grocery stores is really fresh or almost spoiled. How do we know for sure, it thinks the movie Food Inc. Really makes that question disappear? Lastly the movie was Ineffective. The movie was Ineffective, Decease It snows ten Insane process AT now Is mace Ana I Delve Tanat would defer people from wanting to eat in general or certain foods. Now that Vive seen this movie I can definitely say I will never look at food the same way as before I saw the film. I found some of the scenes in this film to be really graphic. Never in my life have I ever seen something so disgustingly graphic. The movie super size me is about a guy who goes on a thirty day experiment. He finds out that he does gain weight and develops some concerning health problems. Within seven days of his experiment he finds that his weight has changed drastically. He eventually weighed 210 pounds. He found that with this experiment his health risks were almost doubled within those thirty days. The movie also explains the risk factors from eating fast food. They describe it as if it is absolutely horrible to eat fast food. During this experiment he interviews many people about different daily diets. He went to schools and found that the food provided was the same as eating in a fast food restaurant. He finds that kids are presented with horrible food choices as well as adults. He even gave a good description of how chicken nuggets are made. In this movie two girls were seeing McDonalds for the health problems that occurred after the consumption of the food they ate at McDonalds. The main character of this movie found he to be tired, depressed, and moody from the diet of McDonalds for breakfast, lunch and dinner. My personal opinion of this movie is that it was effective. It was effective because instead of being boring like food Inc. ; super size me played upbeat music and explained things in a less boring way. Not only that super size me was interesting to watch. It was interesting to watch because it was an actual human being going through the experiment. Not many people would be willing to put their bodies in such harm, but this guy decided to go for it despite what his doctors advised him. His doctors told him he would have some dramatic increases in his health risks and he still chose to do the experiment. Some of the scenes were pretty graphic. For example the doctor visits. I mean come on did we really have to see the rectal exam. I know I deal with patients on a regular basis, but in the movie is another thing. When it comes to McDonalds I would never think that there was that much danger when eating there food. Vive come to realize that the food there isnt as healthy as I thought it was. I thought fast food was k to eat, but Vive learned from this movie and food Inc. That fast food isnt good for the body at all. In the movie they point out why fast food is so wrong to eat, and I have to say I agree. I learned that Im only supposed to take in at the most 2000 calories a day. If I eat fast food Just one day I would take in more than double the calories Im supposed to take in. Not to mention I would gain tons of weight.

Case study discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Case study discussion - Essay Example Thus, the school district must give Brian another opportunity of being in school, through the specialized and individualized education programs (Geary, 2008). The individualized and special education program for Brian must also involve counseling elements. It is clear that Brian had a difficult childhood; therefore, the counselor must aim at providing psychosocial support to the student. This support will enable Brian improve has attitudes towards education and related social life. To minimize frustration, the individualized and specialized program should aim at improving the academic competencies of Brian. The special education teacher should provide appropriate learning environment and resources, so that Brian gets adequate motivation to improve academic grades. The violent and threatening actions of Brian are a direct result of emotional instability, frustration and a difficult childhood. Thus he does not qualify for suspension (Geary, 2008). The School district and the school administrators must work towards adopting a special and individualized program, for the benefit of disturbed or disabled students like