Friday, March 20, 2020

bob marley and the whalers essays

bob marley and the whalers essays bob marley was found and died in the same place. he now has over 200 fan websites and his latest son ziggy marley is writing in his throneReggae singer, guitarist, and composer. Born Robert Nesta Marley, on February 6, 1945, in Nine Miles, Saint Ann, Jamaica. Raised mostly in Trenchtown, a poor section of Kingston, Jamaicas capital, Marley began singing with his friends Bunny Livingston and Peter Mackintosh (later shortened to Tosh) when he was a teenager. Marleys first single, Judge Not, was released in 1963, but made little impact commercially. In 1964, the trio became the nucleus of a band known as the Wailing Wailers. The group experimented with slowing down the quick dance rhythms of Jamaican ska music and scored hits with Simmer Down and Love and Affection. Despite its early success, the group disbanded in 1966. Shortly thereafter, Marley lived briefly in the United States, where his mother, Cedella Marley Booker, had moved in 1963. While in the U.S., Marley worked at a series of jobs, including a stint as a forklift driver, a lab assistant, and an assembly line worker at the Chrysler plant in Wilmington, Delaware. He returned to Jamaica later that same year and rejoined his new wife, Rita Anderson, as well as Livingston and Tosh, with whom he formed a new trio called simply the Wailers. By the late 1960s, the Wailers began recording with prominent reggae producer Lee Scratch Perry and had gained a great measure of prominence in Jamaica. Moving from ska to the somewhat slower, so-called rude boy music to an innovative brand of reggae, the group had a number of hits, including Soul Rebel, 400 Years, and Small Axe. In 1970, bassist Aston Barrett and his brother Carlton, a drummer, joined the band, which further deepened the Wailers thumping rhythms. From the mid-1960s, Marley and his fellow Wailers devote...

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

7 Real SampleInterview Questions and Answers

7 Real SampleInterview Questions and Answers SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips If you’ve arrived at the interview stage, then you’ve already made a goodimpression with your resume and cover letter! How can you keep the positive vibes going and impress the hiring manager face to face? The key to rocking your interview is preparation, and this guide’s here to help you along the way. Read on for the do’s and don’ts of answering seven of the most common interview questions, along with realsample responses to guide your thinking. Common Interview Questions and How to Answer Them The seven questions in this guide are some of the most common ones that interviewers ask. Even if you don’t get these questions exactly, you’ll likely get variations of several of them. Typically, hiring managers will start with some open-ended questions aimed at getting to know you, your work experience, and your professional qualifications. Then they might move onto behavioral questions, which ask you to provide specific examples of accomplishments, challenges, conflicts, or even failures. Some hiring managers also like to throw in curveballs to get a sense of your personality, creativity, and ability to think on your feet. Below you’ll find seven common interview questions, advice for answering them, and a sample response for each one. For a comprehensive list of the 100 most common interview questions, check out this guide! For now, let’s consider one of the most common openers that interviewers use to get the conversation started. Question 1: Tell Me About Yourself This opener's a common icebreaker question. It’s so open-endedthateveryone can think of something to say. Hiring managers often use this prompt or something like it to invite you into conversation and help ease the normal job interview anxiety. The open-ended nature of this kind of prompt can also be challenging, though. While you can definitely think of something to say, you also want to be strategic and not say too much. Below are some pieces of advice for answering this question, as well as some tips for what not to do! Do: There are two important guidelines to follow when preparing to answer this question: Tailor your answer to the job and organization. Structure your answer in a clear way. For the first guideline, you should highlight your skills and experiences as they relate to the job description and organization. Stick to what’s professionally relevant, and consider what qualities are essential for the new role. To help you do this, you might rephrase the prompt as, â€Å"Tell me about yourself as I consider you for this role.† Your aim is to show the interviewer that you have the desired skill set and would bring value to the position. As for the second point about structuring your response, you might start in the present, bring in the past, and then talk about the future. You could describe what you’re doing now and then go into what you did in your work history and education to get there. Then you could discuss where you’re aspiring to go and why (i.e., in this new job and organization). You might bring in a specific example here if you feel it illustrates your skills. Pinpointing an important moment in time can be helpful if you tend to speak in vague or jargon-filled ways. This approach isn’t totally necessary yet, though, as you’ll have a chance to share anecdotes in response to behavioral questions. Tailoring your response and structuring it in a clear way are important guidelines for preparing your response to the classic â€Å"Tell me about yourself† prompt. That being said, are there any mistakes to avoid here? Don’t: â€Å"Well, I swim everyday, I love musicals, and I have two cats and a French Bulldog. I’m an Aquarius, and I love long walks on the beach and candlelit dinners†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Ok, that sample response started to veer into personal ad territory. But the point is that you shouldn’t be overly personal in your response. While you can share some insight into your personality, you mainly want to remain professionally relevant. Not only should you avoid irrelevant and overly personal details, but you also shouldn’t go on and on about your whole life story. If you find yourself starting with, â€Å"First, I was born on a cold December night,† then you’ve rewound too far. Keep your answer concise, clear, and structured, and consider what main qualities, or â€Å"core competencies,† the job description calls for. For instance, the sample response below is a strong one if the hiring manager’s looking for strong interpersonal skills and a positive attitude. Sample Answer to Question 1 In this sample response, the applicant’s applying for a customer service job in a retail company. The job she seeks calls for strong interpersonal skills and an upbeat, optimistic attitude. I’ve always loved interactingwith people and feel I have strong interpersonal skills.I studied Communications at University X, and that gave me a whole new set of skills to workwith people and help them get the information and support they need. After graduating, I sought out a position on the customer experience team at Dubspot, where I’ve been working since. In this position, I communicate with dozens of customers everyday over the phone, by email, and through instant chat.I help resolve any issues with the software and lead trainings for new clients. I enjoy helping people resolve issues and aim to continue on in a customer-centric role. Since I’m passionate about the fashion industry, I’m looking to move into a customer experience in a retail, rather than software, company. I’m a huge fan of your products and am a long-time customer. I find helping people to be very gratifying, and I’m really excited to contribute my interpersonal skills and positive attitude in this role. If the applicantwanted to add a specific example to illustrate her love of working with customers, she might say something like this: Last week, to share one example, I got a complaint from a customer about a number of issues with the software. Sensing her frustration, I invited her to call me so we could troubleshoot over the phone and she could feel her concerns were heard. We spent 45 minutes addressing her concerns. At the end of the call, she was very happy and sent a long email thanking me for my help and attention. She even referred two new customers to the company. Again, honing in on an anecdote can be a useful approach if you tend toward vague language, but it’s not necessarily expected at this early stage of the interview. Now let’s take a look at two more classic questions that ask about your strengths and weaknesses. Are you ready to talk about your personal superpowers? Question 2: What Do You Think Are Your Greatest Strengths? If you only prepare one talking point for your interview, it should be the strengths you’d bring to the role. While the hiring manager might not ask you this exact question, she’ll probably use some variation of it, like, What are you good at? What skills would you bring to this role? What would you contribute here? What would your manager or coworkers say are your greatest strengths? In essence, she wants to know why you think you’re qualified for the job. Below are some tips for how to prepare your answer, along with some don’ts to avoid when talking about your key strengths. Do: As you go through this guide, you’ll notice a common theme start to appear, and it’s this: you should tailor your answers to the job and organization at hand. Talking about your strengths is no different. Consider what strengths the new hire should have to succeed in this role, based on the job description and your research into the company. Then consider how your own skills align, and choose to discuss the ones that match up. This way, you’re still being accurate and authentic while also targeting the job description. You may also benefit from bringing in a specific example, even one that uses data if relevant. If you’re talking about your skill in sales, you may talk about a particular client acquisition, your numbers from last quarter, or selling in the top 10% of your peers. Finally, choose your words carefully andavoid cliches. Rather than talking about your people skills, for instance, you could hone in on a strength like clear communication or productive collaboration. Some phrases have gotten so common that they don’t mean much, so aim for specificlanguage and ideas that will help you stand out. Don’t: While you should tailor your answers to the job description, you shouldn'tclaimcompetencies if you can’t back your statementup with specifics. The hiring manager may well ask you to elaborate on a strength or give an example. If you don’t have one, then your claims of being organized or creative or collaborative might ring false. Another mistake to avoid here is highlighting too many strengths and thereby diluting your message. Picking out two to three of the most important and relevant ones is a good approach. Similarly, you probably won’t see much pay off from delving into strengths completely unrelated to the position at hand. While lots of people might shy away from talking about their strengths, others run the risk of appearing too overconfident. Make sure you talk about your qualities in a meaningful, assured way without sounding braggy or arrogant! Below is one sample answer to this question of, "What are your greatest strengths?" Sample Answer to Question 2 Here’s a sample answer from someone applying fora managerial position in a restaurant. The new job wants someone who’s willing to take on a number of responsibilities. I’d say my greatest strength is a willingness to take on a wide range of responsibilities. While I was technically a server at Solera Restaurant, I also helped plan large events, do event set-up, process payments, and bus tables. I work hard and try to contribute where I can, especially when things get busy or people seem overwhelmed. Not only does this help ease the burden on others, but I get to learn about different aspects of the industry firsthand. I support my fellow workers and get the chance to expand my skills at the same time. This response targets the job description by highlighting the applicant’s willingness to wear a lot of professional hats. He proves that he has his strength by talking about his duties in his last restaurant position and desire to help his coworkers. I know you're steady, but I've also heard you're quite slow. Can you speak about this weakness a bit? Question 3: What Would You Say Are Your Greatest Weaknesses? If you’re not prepared to talk about your weaknesses or "growth edges," then this question could seriously trip you up in an interview. You’re focusing so much on showing that you’re the best person for thejob, so how canyou shift to talking about weaknesses in a strategic way? Some variations of this traditional question might be: What are some areas that you need to develop? What are some skills areas that you could grow? What would your manager or coworkers say are your greatest weaknesses? Read on for the do’s and don’ts of tackling this question. Do: Be honest! But also strategic. If one of the core competencies of the new job is attention to detail, for instance, I would avoid choosing that as your greatest weakness. You might subtly choose the opposite - "Sometimes I get caught up in the details and need to remind myself to step back and see the bigger picture" - or choose a weakness that wouldn’t impact your performance very much in the new job. As with the greatest strengths question, you should prepare a specific example. You should focus not just on your weakness, but on the steps you’ve taken to overcome it. You can acknowledge the weakness, talk about what you learned from it, and expound on the steps you took the overcome it. Just likewith any of your responses, make sure to prepare for follow-up questions. Here, the hiring manager might ask how this weakness could limit your effectiveness in the new position. Be ready to speak at length about what you’re doing to learn and grow. Don’t: First off, don’t evadethe question. The interviewer wants to see how you self-reflect and are honest about your weaknesses, so don’t respond with, â€Å"I don’t have any.† Similarly, don’t go with an obvious cop-out answer like, â€Å"I work too hard† or â€Å"I care too much.† A second mistake would be to choose a weakness that would seriously inhibit your ability to succeed in the position. If the position wants someone who keeps clear records and notes, then talking about your lack of organization and poor record-keeping skills probably won’t help you getthe job. Finally, avoid playing the blame game by attributing your weakness to external factors. Don’t say that you showed this weakness due to previous job circumstances, like the work environment, your boss, or your coworkers. The interviewer wants to see that you can own your weakness and show aproactive approach toimproving your skills. Sample Answer to Question 3 Here’s one sample answer to the "Tell me about your greatest weaknesses" prompt: I’ve struggled for a long time with public speaking. This weakness was a big challenge in college, where presentations were a major part of several of my classes. I realized early on that I needed to improve in this area, so I started by meeting with my advisor about resources for improving public speaking. We talked about techniques like challenging myself to participate at least once in every class and calming nerves with breathing. I also took a public speaking class recently that helped me improve a great deal. A couple months ago, I gave a presentation in front of about 60 students and parents, and it went really well. My nerves are still there, but I feel like I’ve come miles from where I was freshman year of college. Working on my public speaking is a skill that I actively continue to work on and try to improve. Assuming that public speaking isn’t a major part of the new job description, this answer is a strong one to the "Tell me about your weaknesses" prompt. Notice how the applicant focuses on the proactive steps she’s taken to improve her public speaking skills. Your answer will probably look quitedifferent, but you can similarly choose a strategic weakness and talk about what you’re doing to improve. Why do you want this job, anyway? What makes you think you're qualified? Question 4: Why Do You Want This Job? This question wants you to explain why you’re pursuing the position and why you think the organization should hire you. Presumably, you’ve done some thinking about this before applying. Now it’s time to form an answer that won’t just share what you want, but will also show the manager that you’d make a great hire. How can you answer this interview question, and what mistakes should you avoid? Do: This question's the perfect opportunity to showcase your enthusiasm for the new job and show why you'd excel in the role. Make sure to give specific reasons for wanting the job. Show that you don't just want any job; you want that specific job. If you have any particularconnections to the company - maybe you use its products or know someone who works there - then you could bring that up here. Of course, the interviewer wants to hire someone who's not just enthusiastic, but who's also qualified. In your answer, then, don't just talk about youraspirations. Talk about what you could do for the organization. Demonstrate a thorough understanding of the organization's mission, and show that it aligns with your own professional goals. Don’t: You don't want to be too practical in your answer here. "Because I need money for rent, food, and Netflix," while true, isn't an ideal response. You also don't want to be too generic or vague by saying something like, "I heard this company's an awesome place to work." Aim to be much more specific than that. Check out a sample response to this question below that's specific, shows enthusiasm, and incorporates both the speaker's goals and the organization's mission. Sample Answer to Question 4 This applicant’s applying to a programming position in a start-up in the environmental sphere. The job description wants someone who’s willing to take on a range of responsibilities, cares aboutits environmental mission, and knows CSS, Java, and Ruby. I’m drawn to start-ups because I’d love to be part of building a company from the ground up. I reallyappreciate its culture of a small, close-knit team of passionate people who are ready and willing to wear many hats. With my versatile skill set in computer programming and experience building websites, I feel my interests and skills are perfectly aligned with this position of web developer. I would use my knowledge of CSS, Java, and Ruby to build out the company website and grow our online presence. I also share this company's commitment to sustainability. I’m extremely motivated by your environmental mission and could immediately start taking steps to meet your short-term and long-term goals. This sample response sounds honest and authentic, while also bringing in some core skills of the jobs. Don't evade this next question about a time that you failed, but make sure to shift focus onto the personal and professional growth that followed. Question 5: Describe a Time That You Failed This question is abehavioral one, because it asks you to talk about a specific example that illustrates something meaningful about you as a professional. Some variations of this question might ask you to talk about a conflict at work, a challenge, or a behavior that negatively impacted your team. So how can you describe a failure while still leaving a positive impression of your skills and abilities? Do: Just like with the weaknesses prompt you read about above, you should focus on the failure as an opportunity for growth. Be honest about your past mistake, but then shift focus to talk about what you learned from it, how you changed, and what you would do differently next time. This not only shows that you’re willing to acknowledge when you mess up, but it also shows that you’re continuously seeking to improve. Again, you should probably avoid choosing a failure or conflict that arose because you lacked a core competency of the job. Just as with all your other answers, you can be strategic about what you choose to talk about here. Don’t: While talking about failures can be uncomfortable, you shouldn’t evade the question. Nor should you speak in vague language about lacking a certain skill or knowledge. This behavioral question wants you to share a specific example, so make sure you have one to fall back on. You also shouldn’t focus too much on the negative aspects of your example. As mentioned above, youshould talk about what happened and its context, but otherwise focus on the growth and learning that came from it. Below is a sample answer that does this well. Sample Answer to Question 5 In this sample answer, a teacher talks about a mistake she made with a summer course she taught. Notice how she talks just as much about what she learned as about the failure itself. The first class I taught was a four-week essay writing course for high schoolers over the summer. Due to the short-term nature of the course, I jumped right into the material without setting aside time to talk about behavioral expectations. Issues later arose, like students showing up late, talking over each other, and using cell phones in class, that could have been prevented, or at least reduced, if I’d taken the time to lay the groundwork. That course was a huge learning experience for me, and since then I always take time on the first day to discuss classroom norms. To make students feel more invested and accountable, I also elicit ideas from them on what they need from me and from each other in their ideal learning environment. That mistake in my summer class taught me a lot about the importance of proactive behavioral management. I can always loosen the reins as I go, but it’s much harder to rein them back in once they’re out. Don't be shocked if you interviewer throws a curveball question at you, like, "If you were an animal, what animal would you be?" Question 6: If You Were an Animal, Which One Would You Be and Why? Ok, so chances are you won’t get this exact question. But lots ofinterviewers like to throw in randomcurveballs that shake you out of your comfort zone and call for some imagination and quick thinking. Beyond offering a chance for some lighthearted humor and creativity, these seemingly random questions may represent one more way that interviewers try to gauge your cultural fit. Instead of asking about your spirit animal, a hiring manager might ask what you would change about the last five years of your life, what the name of your debut album would be, or what your personal motto is. You can find more examples of curveball questions here, including some that were asked by big companies like Dropbox, Hubspot, and Whole Foods. So is there any way you can prepare for the unpredictable? Check out the advice below, as well as a sample answer to this question. Do: Show your personality! Have fun withthese questions. They’re opportunities to spark a connection with your interviewer and say something memorable. You may still have the chance to tailor your answer to thejob description. Someone applying to a customer service type role, for instance, might choose a dog in answer to the animal question. Dogs are loyal, friendly, and supportive, so they could link well to the job description. If you’re totally thrown, you might buy yourself some time by saying, "That’s a great question. I’ll have to think about that for a second..." Depending on your rapport with the interviewer, you could even ask her what her answer would be to that same question! Don’t: Don’t overthink these questions too much. They’re typically meant to be more lighthearted and fun. At the same time, don’t dismiss them as entirely silly; some might be aiming to learn more about how you deal with unpredictability in the workplace, or instance. In answer to the animal question specifically, you should also avoid choosing something with largely negative connotations for the sake of trying to be unique. I’d probably avoid the snakes and vultures, unless you can think of a really ironclad reasoning for going this way! Sample Answer to Question 6 This might be a good answer for a job that calls for a lot of teamwork and collaboration. I’d be an elephant. They’re smart, loyal, and work well in groups. Plus, the elephant was my beloved college mascot. Make sure to save a few great questions for the end of your interview. They could start with any of the five W's, but don't be afraid to think outside of the speech bubble. Question 7: Do You Have Any Questions for Me? Finally, almost all hiring manager ask this final question at the end of the interview. Even if you’ve asked questions throughout, you should have two or more good ones saved for the end. Do: Ask questions! You might ask about what the day-to-day is like or if the interviewer could give more insight into the culture. You could ask the interviewer to elaborate on something you discovered through your research, as this is one more way you can show the effort you put in to learn about the company. Ask questions that show you want to know more about what you can do for the organization and are genuinely interested in learning more about the workplace and its values. Don’t: Don’t say, "No, I’m all set. All my questions have been answered.† You should absolutely ask questions at the end of your interview. Besides declining to ask questions, another mistake would be to ask easy questions that you could easily answer through research on the website. You want to show that you’re knowledgeable about the company, so don’t ask anything too obvious, like, "So what exactly do you do here?" A first interview might also be too early to ask about schedule, benefits, and salary. At this point, you’re trying to show the hiring manager all the value that you could bring to the role and company, so continue focusing on what you could do for them. Similarly, I’d also avoid asking when you can expect to get promoted! Below are some possible questions to ask your interviewer. If you can think of questions in the back of your mind based on what you’ve discussed during your interview, all the better! Sample Questions to Ask: Could you tell me about a typical day here at the company? What sort of training could I expect for the position? How do you evaluate performance here? Do the expectations change at all over time? What directions do you see the company going in in five years? Ten years? Could you tell me a little more about the team members I would be working with? How would you describe the work environment here? Would you say that people work more collaboratively or more independently? What do you love most about working here? What would you say are the most important qualities that the person in this position should have? What qualities do your best performing employees share? How does the organization help its employees succeed? What could I do to go beyond expectations in the first 30 or 60 days? If I were to start in the role tomorrow, what would be my first priority? Are there opportunities for more training or education? What are the next steps in the interview process? The hiring manager might ask you all sorts of questions, but several are likely tobe a variation of the common ones you see above, if not those questions themselves. You’ll talk about your strengths, weaknesses, goals, and background, all the while tailoring your answer to the job description and company mission. You might have noticed some similar themes pop up in terms of how to prepare your responses. Below, you’ll find foursteps that will help you answer just about any job interview question. Beyond the specific questions above, let's consider some universal steps you can take to answer any interview question. How to AnswerJob Interview Questions: 4Key Steps Doing well in a job interview isn’t just about presenting all your strengths and skills. It’s also about strategically convincing the hiring manager that you’re the candidate she’s looking for. So how can you be strategic about each of your interview responses? Read on for four steps that will help you answer any interview question. Step 1: Deconstruct the Job Description Before you interview, if not before you apply, you should take some time to understand exactly what the company is looking for. What responsibilities does the job description entail? What skills would you need to be successful in the role? What kind of person does the company hope will join its team? What does your interviewer do in the company, and what connection could you make with her? Your mission is to show that you have the skills and experiences to contribute in the role. You want to show that you’d bring value and make a strong cultural fit. As you research the organization, you might also look for any â€Å"pain points,† or problems that it needs solved. Once you’ve deconstructed the job description and have a thorough understanding of the role and organization, you can reflect this awareness in your answers to interview questions. Step 2: Come Up with Specific Examples Hiring managers often look to your past behaviors to get a sense of your future behaviors. They also want to see how your skills and experiences express themselves in concrete actions. To prevent your answers from seeming overly vague, you should be ready with examples. To help you brainstorm, you might consider the STAR framework, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. You start by describing the situation you were in and the task that you had to do. Then you talk aboutwhat you did and how you did it, and finally elaborate on what happened as a result of your actions. You could talk about an impact that your action had on your team or what you might improve for next time. To prepare for the various types of behavioral questions, you couldcollect stories that have to do with a time that you succeeded, failed, faced a challenge, handled conflict, demonstrated leadership, and impacted your team in some way. Make sure that all of your examples, even the ones that point out a conflict or mistake, are success stories. Even if you failed in some sense, you learned from it and improved for next time. If you don’t have directly relevant professional experience, you should still root out examples from other jobs, your education, or even personal life that illustrate your qualifications. Don't look now; you're being followed! Your interviewer's likelyto follow your lead and ask follow-upquestions based on your responses. Step 3: Prepare for Follow-Up Questions Beyond the initial interview question, your interview may ask you to elaborate on something you said or dig deep into a certain aspect of your answer. Most interviews are more like a conversation than a question-and-answer session. Your interviewer will likely be actively listening to what you say, reflect your words back, and follow-up with a related question. As such, your answers and examples should be substantial enough to speak at length about. As you prepare, you might imagine yourself in the shoes of the interviewer. What aspects of your answer would stick out? Which ones would be intriguing and warrant additional discussion? Don’t expect to answer every question in one go and go on to the next. Be prepared to dig into your responses and branch into new directions. Step 4: Customize your Answers Finally, the theme that’s pervaded this whole guide is that you should customize your answers to the job and organization. As you prepare, consider what qualities the organization and hiring manager are looking for. Your answers aren’t just about you and what you want. They’re also very much about the organization and what it wants. Most hiring managers have a clear ideaof the skillset and other qualities they’re looking for in a new hire. Show that you possess those core competencies in each of your answers. If you can also offer something beyond expectations, all the better! While you should be authentic and allow your personality and goals to shine through, you should also be strategic about what you say. Everything you share could ideally go on the hiring manager’s list of reasons to hire you for the job! What’s Next? You’ve just considered seven of the most common job interview questions. Now check out our full list of the top 100 questions that hiring managers ask in an interview! Beyond preparing your responses, what else can you do to get ready for interview day? Check out our top tips to help you feel prepared and confident to rock your job interview. One of the first steps to applying fora job is putting together a great cover letter. Our cover letter template helps guide you through the writing process, step by step. Plus, you can read six samples of excellent cover letter samples for jobs!

Monday, February 17, 2020

Human Resources Summaries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Human Resources Summaries - Essay Example Due to shortage, workers were brought in busses from Lafayette, Louisiana, 70 miles away, each morning and returned them at night. Managers were working overtime to train new workers. Even months after Hurricane Rita struck, large and small business was frantically trying to find workers so that they could start up again. Almost every business in the town had a ‘Help wanted sign out front. One can get the job easily and could command a premium salary. There was a huge shortage of workers in the local area. Restaurants that normally open late into the evening closed at 6.00 PM. Restaurants that remained open often had a much younger staff, and the managers and assistant managers were working overtime to train these new workers. Hurricane Rita is a typical in a disaster. It virtually destroys the normal life of the area. After Rita struck Lake Charles, in southwest Louisiana, massive destruction was everywhere. Lake Charles, known for its large and beautiful oak and fine trees, then had the job of removing those downed trees. The town grew rapidly in size because of the large number of debris and repair crews working on recovery operations. Traffic was unbelievably slow. Often police did not have the resources to ticket every fender, so unless there were injuries, insurance cards were exchanged and the police went on to the next accident. The whole situation reflects the gravity of the disaster. International Forest Products Company (IFP) is the largest employer in Ouachita County, Arkansas, and is an important part of the local economy. As a cost-cutting move, company decided to cut the workforce by 30 percent, and the responsibility of submitting the suggested plan was entrusted on Scott Wheeler, the human resource director by Janet Deason, president of the company. It was difficult task. Aside from the influence on the individual workers who were laid off, cutbacks would further depress the areas economy. But, company had no choice but

Monday, February 3, 2020

Film Critique on the Movie Takers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Film Critique on the Movie Takers - Essay Example Takers is a film released in August 27, 2010, which details crime life today (Takers, 2010). It is directed by John Luessenhop and is adopted from a story and screenplay written by Luessenhop, Gabriel Casseus, Peter Allen, John Rogers, and Avery Duff (Dudley, 1984). The film is a narrative that follows up a gang of bank robbers who carry out spectacular robberies. One of their former crew member forces them into an elaborate heist, but the inside ring members contact is far from being trustworthy. In their grilled occupation, they have one job to accomplish, which seems to be more rewarding than any other. However, this turns out to be a death trap when they are pulled into this last mission by their recently paroled cohort T. I, but unfortunately they are encountered by a hardened detective (matt Dillon) and his counterpart Jay Hernandez (Matt, 2010). The detective wont rest until he gets the thieves and brings them to justice, and through out the film, his preparation brings a mix of good and bad as the viewer remains with blurred opinion on the two sides. Tanker is a film whose plot is linear, starting at a point where there is one member who is not with them. The member is Ghost (T.I), who was arrested and jailed in a previous robbery five years ago. Ghost is released, and he plots for a mission on their behalf. He persuades his gang members to undertake this mission, which is a $20 million dollar project, but they are intercepted by detectives (Scott, 2010). The mission fails, and the gang is defeated with Ghost being the last member to be gunned by detectives Welles and Gordon. As the movie ends, we are left to wonder whether Gordon or Welles survives the injuries they sustained in the gun ensue. There are many conflicts in this movie starting with the first created when Jesse meets with the rest of the crew at a hotel where they discuss the shooting of Detective Hatcher. During this meeting, Russian gangsters storm the meeting and try to shoot everyone p resents apart from Ghost. This is a conflict between characters where it turns out that ghost had decided to double cross his friends and cut a deal with the gangsters to kill the whole crew for the exchange of $10 million dollars (Scott, 2010). The formerly cold, but well calculated conflict between Ghost and his friends includes the Russian gangster and Ghost’s colleagues. This creates a conflict, but it is resolved when Jake kills the Russian. The second conflict is created when Jake and Jesse go home, and find that jakes girlfriend Lilly had been murdered and immediately they realize that police surrounded them. This is the last conflict where Ghost is out to double cross them and escape with the stolen money, and they embark on two missions: to rescue their money from their lead gangster Ghost and to escape the police attacks (Matt, 2010). This being the last hour and the highest point in the film, the police detectives are well prepared to resolve every other conflict b y terminating the gang ring and they succeeded. The main conflict is resolved when all members of the gang are killed and the detectives get hold of the stolen money. The two detectives in the film are symbolic of the forces of justice, which inhere in a society where crime is rife. The fact that they are only two out of the whole police force in the country symbolizes the mighty power of justice and good against big evil. Secondly, there is some ironic twists in the story when Ghost, the leader of the gang turns out

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Advertising and Promotion Strategies

Advertising and Promotion Strategies Scenario You have been hired by an advertiser as a consultant to devise the promotional campaign for the product (Please select any product or business of your choice). The advertiser is not sure about the promotional budget therefore he wants you to advise and develop plan of how effectively can he advertise having your expertise. Besides above the line promotion, he also wants to know about the below the line options that can be offered to him by you. P.7: Differentiate between the characteristics and Objectives of the various below-the-lines promotional Techniques. Below-The-Line Promotion can be classified as above the line and below the line promotion. The promotion activities carried out through mass media for example radio, television, newspaper comes under above the line promotion. Below the line promotion refers to forms of non media communication below the line promotion are becoming increasingly important within the communication mix of many companies. In some ways by which companies do below the line promotions are by exhibition, sponsorship activities, public relations and sales promotions. Sales promotion Below the line sales promotions are short term and companies target the consumers and it is to achieve communication objectives more efficiently in limited budget with pressure on marketing team to achieve the communication objectives. An immediate or delayed incentive to purchase, Expressed in cash or in kind and having only a short term or temporary duration. (Hugh Davidson). Below are the lines of sales promotion: Price Reduction It is known as price discounting and it is done in two ways: Discount to normal selling price of a product More of the product at normal price Price promotions can also have negative effect on brand reputation or just a short term sales boost. Coupons Coupon is a ticket or document that can be exchanged for a financial discount or rebate when purchasing a product coupons are issued by manufacturing companies and retailers and the sources for coupons are through mail, magazines, newspapers, internet, and mobile devices. Rebates Rebates are like coupons which offer value to purchasers by lowering the customers final cost for acquiring the product. Rebates often request the purchaser to submit personal data in order to obtain the rebate including name, address and contact information is general required to obtain a rebate and sometime marketers may ask additional information such as reason for purchasing the product Samples: It is a free amount of a product delivered door to door, sent to mail, picked up in a store, attached to another products. Premiums (Gifts): Merchandise offered at a relatively low cost or free as an incentive to purchase a particular product. It can be inside a particular product, or in a package offered. Public Relations The point of public relations is to make the public think favorably about the company and its offerings. Commonly used tools of public relations include news releases, press conferences, speaking engagements, and community service programs. But advertisement is closely related to public relations. the goal of advertising is generating sales, while the goal of public relations is generating good will. The effect of good public relations is to lessen the gap between how an organization sees itself and how others outside the organization perceive it. Public relations involve two-way communication between an organization and its public. It requires listening to the constituencies on which an organization depends as well as analyzing and understanding the attitudes and behaviors of those public. Only then can an organization undertake an effective public relations campaign. Many small business owners elect to handle the public relations activities for their own companies, while others cho ose to hire a public relations specialist. Managers of somewhat larger firms, on the other hand, frequently contract with external public relations or advertising agencies to enhance their corporate image. But whatever option is chosen, the head of a company is ultimately responsible for its public relations. Sponsorship Companies and brands use sponsorships to build brand recognition by associating with an event. Companies try to find the target groups who fit within a specified budget and provide sponsorship benefits that suit the companys objectives. There are various sponsorships which are local, national and international sponsorships. Objectives of Sales Promotion techniques: Many sales promotion techniques used to attract the customers who are using the product for the first time. It is used for introduction of new products. Sales promotion can act as an effective customer information gathering tool. Marketers found that sales promotions are an effective tool for creating interest in a product because creating interest is considered as an important use of sales promotion. Some Sales promotion techniques offer the opportunity for customers to try the product for free or at low cost. Sales promotions are designed in a way to move customers to action or to provide information about product. Sales promotions are to build product awareness and to maximize the demand. Objectives of Public Relations: Public relations objective is to aware consumers about new product launching or to maximize the demand of existing product. Public relation can be used to provide customers with more information about a product. It is also used to build a good image and to maintain a positive relationship with customers. Objective of Sponsorship: The main objective of sponsorship is to increase sales. To aware the customers about a product. To reach target markets. To reach consumer where they live and play. To build relationship with customers. To build image. P8: Recommend the use of individual techniques in two commercial situations. Confed School for Professional Studies Confed is a consultancy which provides information about many U.K universities to the students of Pakistan. It has four branches in Pakistan located in Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi. It provides information to the students who want to study abroad and helps them in selecting their careers. Confed conduct seminars in which that call different student and gave them briefing about different universities in U.K and about the living in the U.K. Besides consultancy business Confed is also offering Higher National Diploma (HND) and classes for ILETS exams. Recommendations for CSPS to improve their business. Confed should distribute flyers in different colleges and universities invite them to their seminars. They should specially target the students of FSC, A-levels. They should give discounts to the student who are applying for the first time and should give them keep the student satisfied. CSPS should make writing pads, pens, and distribute amongst the students of other colleges and universities. In Peshawar every one cannot afford the education in the U.K Confed because it is too expensive. Confed should make their customer realize that if the education is expensive it doesnt matter later on it has many advantages and benefits. Confed should deliver the advantage that a student will get by studying in the U.K. Confed should conduct different campaign for example beatifying university town, this will make a good reputation of confed. They should be participating in social activities. Daewoo Pakistan Sammi Corporation was established as forest products importer in 1954 but has expanded its business to become a dynamic trading company in Korea. From the 1950s, Sammi has been challenging the world market with a great emphasis on conforming to international requirements for the timely delivery of top-grade industrial products, such as Stainless steel, Coated steel, Automotive parts, Wood products various raw material.  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Daewoo is a bus service introduced by Sammi cooperation, Daewoo is a bus service which covers almost all the cities of Pakistan. The journey of Daewoo is very relaxing, comfortable and is always on time. Now a days Sammi Daewoo is very popular for traveling in Pakistan. Here we will discuss about three major cities Peshawar, Rawalpindi and Lahore and how can Daewoo improve its services. Recommendations Reservation of Daewoo is made by phone. They should start a service by which there customers can make booking online or through their mobile phones. Sometimes the operator is busy and may not receive call so they should introduce new way of booking of seats on Daewoo that is online booking and through mobile phones. This will save time for their customers and will be much easier. They should give monthly cards to their regular customers worth Rs 2000 and the fare should be deducting from the card automatically. And should also give them discounts. They should also give donations to charitable trust. This is very good for overall reputation of the company. They should launch VIP busses for the executive class and should make the service different than normal routine. For example the menu should be different. Bussed traveling from Peshawar to Lahore should take the route of motorway from Peshawar usually the bus passes through noshera which takes a lot of time. Daewoo should offer snacks in between the journey. P.9 explain the principles and process of campaign management including (Communication goals, situation analysis, Campaign objectives, Strategies and Budget allocation) Goals of communication: The main goal of business communication is to influence, to control our audiences responses in the way we had intended, so that we can fulfill certain aims for ourselves and our organizations. Effective business communication, of course, results in our eliciting the response we desire both in the short term, such as having our audience obey an order, and in the long term, such as having our audience continue to follow the spirit of the policy. Secondary goals such as self-expression, social relationships, and career advancement also involve producing change in knowledge, attitude, or action. With all these complicated variables going on in the communication process, no wonder communication is imperfect. Situation analysis When analysis of the organization as it is at the moment and how it may develop in the future, is important. The analysis has to be executed at an internal level as well as an external level to identify all opportunities and threats of the external environment as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the organizations. There are too many factors internal and external to the firm which includes in situation analysis but some of the important contexts are given below. Historical context Industry analysis Market analysis Competitor Historical context All situations are unique, it is important to know how the firm arrives at the current situation. For compaign plan we should know about the history of the company including mistakes and success and decision that take in past. Industry analysis In industry some factors affect the character and growth in an industry i-e technology, regulations, economic conditions and social factor. In industry we have to identify that, is there any trend of that product or service? Does customer wants to avail it or not?. We should find out what is unique going on another side. We cannot ignore trends in an industry, no matter in what business we are. Market analysis There are different factors that affect decision making. The effect of external environment is unavoidable in all areas of marketing. There are different types of customer. and Each type o customer have their own attitude towards product and process of decision making so while making campaign we have to keep in eye all of our different types of customers. Competitors We cannot ignored competitors strategies while campaign plan. Its not like to follow each other strategies but have to make different, unique and more effective strategy compare to competitor. Campaign objectives Some of the important objectives of campaign are given below. New customer acquisition. Ensure a strong level of public awareness, understanding and support. Revenue. It raises the awareness of decision making, Cross-selling and bundling Churn prevention and management It also helps in feedback. Youll receive valuable tips, suggestions and leading during your referral interviews Stimulate the trends of investment etc. Strategies Strategy is mechanism by which something is to be done. There are infinite numbers of strategies. Developing marketing campaign can do around these three phases: Conduct your own market research. Focus on one or two positions which, based on your research, look like a good fit for you. Create a position thats right for you in a company where you feel comfortable and motivated. Budgeting The most important and difficult step or context is budget the funds, time and human resource for your campaign. There are different methods which usually get follow are given below. Percentage of sales approach is a simple but inexperienced way to deal with issue. Unit of sales approach that allocates funds on a per-unit base rather than percentage of sales basis. In the share-of-market approach the activities of key competitors are factored in to the budget setting process. A funds available approach is used when firms are strapped for cash and need to cover costs and preserve profitability. Tasks for P10 For this task you must: Discuss the importance of integrated and cost-effective campaign. Use appropriate techniques to develop a cost effective and integrated campaign, consider relative costs of various promotional techniques, product life cycle considerations, strategies that can be adopted by firms, positioning strategies, barriers to integration The most important factor of integrated is to control of the promotional process allows for more synergy activity among each of the communication program elements. It also helps organization to arrange a convenient for clients to coordinate all promotional efforts with one agency and agencies with IMC capabilities can create a single image for the client. The importance of cost-effective campaign is giving a guild line to marketing department that promotional message reaches youre intended and targeted audience and also message is understood by audience and the message stimulates the recipients and they take action. Any communications campaign must have clear, measurable objectives. This is true whether the campaign is designed to communicate product benefits or to support an event. In order to achieve these objectives, a campaign requires careful planning. There are eight main stages to consider, from defining the target market to setting a budget and schedule. (Steel, Jon, 2010) The most important factor of integrated is to control of the promotional process allows for more synergy activity among each of the communication program elements. It also helps organization to arrange a convenient for clients to coordinate all promotional efforts with one agency and agencies with IMC capabilities can create a single image for the client. Asses our marketing communication It is important in this first step to examine and understand the needs of our target market. Our target markets are the students who want to go abroad for their higher studies. What communication channels will use? In the beginning we place billboards near the colleges, schools, and universities and the other thing we distribute our pump flits to different students and keep the help desk of Confed in different colleges and universities. Objectives Our objectives in a promotional campaign are slightly different from our marketing campaign. Our Promotional objectives are stated in terms of long-term behaviors people are having been exposed to your promotional communication. These objectives must be clearly stated, measurable, and appropriate to the phase of market development. Promotion Mix   In this step we will need to allocate resources among sales promotion, advertising, publicity, and of course personal selling. Dont skimp on either of these areas. We must create awareness among our buyers in order for our promotional campaign to succeed. Promotional Message In this step we will need to sit down with our team and focus on the content, appeal, structure, format, and source of the message. We should keep in mind our promotional campaigns appeal and execution and also objectives. Product life cycle Confed overcome the consultant name as ICAS. ICAS was the good consultants but it never capture the market instead of this Confed in the start was not that much good then it highly advertise their service and to promote their business more they launch an HND which is the good opportunity for the students wants to go abroad and want to study the business. Now a days its in a stage of growth. confed Strategy: Confed standard is good, means they installs the multimedia for lectures, a/cs to create the better environment for the students, But there is something slightly missing in it that now they have to advertise more and more in these days because in these days admissions are open at U.K and also in Pakistan and the other thing is to create their management effective which attracts the parents. P.11: present promotion recommendations in the form of a promotion plan Situational analysis Daewoo Pakistan service was established in 1997 with a new kind of service for traveling and tourism. They have routes to all over Pakistan by providing the relaxing and refreshing service to their customers. Company Analysis Recently they are the largest land travel provider in Pakistan. Daewoo has bus terminal with complete range restaurants, cargo service, and travel service. The main goal of the company is to leave on time and get to destination on time. As Daewoo is an international company but this company has indirect competitors which are private busses and the new Motorway Express which tries to compete with Daewoo. Customer Analysis Today customers are becoming sensitive in terms of traveling and food, many people wish to travel safe, comfortable, on time with reasonable price, airlines are providing this kind of service but the price is high, Daewoo is providing the same service which the people of Pakistan wished. Competitor Analysis Daewoo Pakistan is the leader in bus service they dont have a direct competitor but if we consider the indirect competition, there are lots of busses which are trying to get the customers providing a comfortable travel but they dont have on time delivery and safe travel. About a year ago the new travel service has been introduced by the name of motorway express, but this company is in introduction stage which provides the routes from Peshawar to Islamabad and Rawalpindi. P12: Discuss briefly are the criteria for measuring promotional techniques effectiveness. How would you measure the campaign effectiveness in this scenario? There are many ways through which we can measure the promotional techniques effectiveness. Different companies use different ways to measure their promotional activities. The companies follow up to measure their promotional techniques are following areas. Measuring effectiveness of advertising Measuring effectiveness of sales promotion Measuring effectiveness of personal selling Measuring the effectiveness of advertising To check the number of enquiries from advertising. If the advertising is strong so automatically the sales of the company will be very good. When the sales are there means that the advertising goals have been accomplished. To check the customer awareness before and after the advertising campaign. Number of request for further sales means that the advertising campaign was very strong and more awareness is there in-between the consumers. Levels of repeated sales also show the effectiveness of advertising. To assess the effectiveness of advertising campaign, you can monitor sales, new customer requests for information, phone inquiries, and response from the retailers. Measuring the effectiveness of sales promotion The company must take the feedback of their customers regularly. A sales promotion is constructed to inform customers about the new product. This is possible by advertising in newspaper, and other Medias explaining the product and inviting customers to visit their websites for coupon offers. An activity like this can be measured by tracking the number of people visiting the website. Besides coupons another promotion techniques is price discounting such as 50% discount offer, buy one get one free, reducing cost is a sure way to motivate customers to buy the product. M5: Show in which situations do u think your recommended techniques may not work The recommendation I have given they may not work in the following conditions. We have suggested that we should distribute flyers in different seminars but because of security reasons usually seminar get cancelled, due to which we can face problems. It may affect the image of company while giving discounts. To offer the service of booking Daewoo seats through sms or internet can be costly. If there are not enough funds so the organization will not be able to advertise their product in a proper manner. Lack of human resources resource can be the possible reason of not meeting the required goals. Lack of communication between the staff can also affect the overall business of the Confed. The managers of the organization should keep check on the staff. If the manager is not competent the organization can suffer. If there is political instability the organization might not be successful to achieve its required goals. The organization might not have enough funds to allocate them into other activities M6: Develop the budget for the promotion plan To develop a budget for the promotion plan is a very technical part. We need to allocate out finances in such a way that we can get full benefit out of it by utilizing minimum finances. A budget planed at the beginning of the year and is followed throughout the year. As we are introducing a new product which is a mineral water at the beginning it will need lots of advertising so that people come to know about the product. We are going to make our promotional plan as follows: We will advertise our product in news papers which will cost us about 30,000rs. We will advertise our product on television by giving a contract to an ad agency to make an attractive ad so that the consumers get attracted to it by watching that ad on the television. This can take about 50,000 to 80,000. We will distribute free samples to different retailer which can cost about 4,000rs per retailer. We will make poster, brushers and distribute them in every possible area where people can see then easily. This will also take about 20, 000rs of our finances. We will hire a bill board in a main area, near traffic signal, so that on red light people can see our advertisement. This will cost us about 50,000 to 80,000 per month. M.7: Develop the communication goals through DAGMAR approach. DAGMAR is called (Defining Advertising Goals for Measured Advertising Result) It is an approach to advertising planning and a method for selecting goals and to use those goals to measure performance. It is intend to create awareness, impart information, to develop attitude. There are four stages of DAGMAR approach which is discussed below Awareness: This model is used to aware the customers of the existing brand of a company. Comprehension: To make consumers understand the usage of the product. Conviction (Persuasion): to persuade the consumers to buy the product. Action: To get the consumers to purchase the product. Characteristics of advertising objectives in DAGMAR approach: There are four characteristics of DAGMAR approach which are discussed below Well Defined Objectives: The objectives should be cleared, it should be measurable and specific, and these objectives should be communicated to Copywriters and marketer specialists who develop the advertising message and it will help them to select the specific message for advertisement. Measurable objectives will help for effectiveness of advertisement. Benchmark and Degree of change sough: Benchmark is to target the audience in communication model. It means to know how many target audience are at the stages of communication model. It is must to know the number of target audience who are at awareness stage and at persuasion stage. Well defined target audience: The advertising message should well define to the target audience. It is must to know the person involved in each stage of communication. Like some audience are at understanding stage and some are target audience and maybe some are at persuasion stage. Specified time period: The time period of advertising should be specified for achievement of objectives. Most of companies specify the time period from months to year period it depends on situation and degree of change sought. If a companys objective is to increase brand awareness than it can be done in short time through mass media. But if objective of the company is increase the understanding and persuasion of branch loyalty than it takes time. D5: Show how your promotion plan activities will be planned, managed and organized. We can plan and manage our promotional activities as follow: We will divide the task amongst our employees so that each and every task is done in a proper manner. Like this there wont be a burden on one person. For advertising on television we have to look up in best advertising agency, do that they can make our ad more attractive. We will gave our products on much more discounted rates then our competitors We will provide our product to different Hotels, restaurants so that more people consume our product. Also take feedback from our customer that how we may improve our product.

Friday, January 17, 2020

Black Humor, Gallows Humor and Identity Crisis

Evensong's Mother Night, and then analyze the identity crises of certain characters of the story. As I have written, there are many similarities between black humor and gallows humor, and in order to make a distinction between them, first I would like to point out those features that are shared and typical of both of them. To create such humor, the writer always confronts rationality with the chaos of the universe and the notion of death.Both black humor and gallows humor function as a counterbalance which mitigates the seriousness of death, or a situation which eventually ends with death. In both cases the constraint of laughter Is rooted In the sense of Inertia, and In the acknowledgement of the Insensitivity of the universe to human reasoning. They are both based on a sense of defeat, because of which they cannot be triumphant satires, still they are comical for they reveal nonsense. Now that I have examined the common features of these two types of humor, I will proceed with the most salient difference between the two.In the case of black humor, the object of laughter applies to the laughing subject as well, while it is quite different with gallows humor, as the deader cannot identify with a condemned character who is waiting for his own death. Obviously, the reader hasn't experienced anything like that before, so the notion of impending death is unknown to them, that's why they cannot put themselves In the place of that character, they feel like an outside observer Instead. In Kurt Evensong's Mother Night there are many examples for both elements. The frame of the story takes place In an Israeli prison with the mall character, Howard W.Campbell Jar. Writing his memoirs In It. At the very beginning of the story, the reader Is Informed by the narrator, – who is Campbell himself – that Campbell is waiting for his trial for war crimes sixteen years after the end of the Second World War. His crimes which are as â€Å"ancient† as some stones in the prison wall, later turn out to be justified as Campbell was only serving the US as a spy, providing information for them during the war. Depicting him defenseless and miserable in his prison cell could provide a good foundation for gallows humor however, his death at the very end of the story has thing to do with it.It Is more like a serious and fatal result of his identity crisis, which I will touch upon later. But there are other parts of the story which actually contain black humor, for example the death of Sauerkraut who was a racist old man, â€Å"former Vice-Fundraiser of the German-American Bund,† The representation of his death Is quite factual and emotionless at the same time, and even his close friends and comrades react rather indifferently. After he drops dead they call for a more humorous. Epstein was Jewish, and I thought Jones or Kelley might say meeting to him about the way he was punching and poking Sauerkraut. But the two antique fascists were childi shly respectful and dependent. † The culmination of the comical events happens when the Black Fuehrer of Harlem arrives, who is the racist black chauffeur of Skyscraper's company. â€Å"Everything all right up here? † he said to Jones. Muff was up here so long. † â€Å"Not quite,' said Jones. â€Å"August Sauerkraut died. † The Black Fuehrer of Harlem took the news in stride. â€Å"All dying, all dying,† he said. â€Å"Who's goanna pick up the torch when everybody's dead?As I have said, Campbell story is a story about identity crisis Just like the whole novel, and the previously analyzed elements are there to soften the depressing effects of it. The term â€Å"identity crisis† was invented by Erik Erikson, a German psychologist who dealt with the development of the ego and that of the personality. According to him, identity crisis is the failure to achieve ego identity during adolescence however, we also use the term when we speak about the psychosocial state or condition of disorientation and role infusion caused by conflicting internal and external experiences, pressures, and expectations.In Mother Night the external effects are obviously caused by the Second World War, and for me, the representation of Campbell guards and their conversations are the most expressive parts of the story, and the best examples of identity crisis. When the narrator characterizes them, and when they tell how they took part and what their roles were in the war, it turns out that they should also be behind bars with Campbell. These people turned their backs on their fellow Monterrey, their fellow sufferers and what is more repellent, they betrayed their own being.There is a man, who tells us nostalgically about how he volunteered to be a member of the so called Condemnations. There is another one, who – despite the fact that he is Jewish – even became an AS member, and when Campbell shows him the transcript of one of his broad casts, he criticizes it for not being passionate and fervent enough. In the case of the second guard, he did what he did to avoid death, but the first guard cannot Justify his decision. When Campbell asks him why he joined the Condemnations, he simply cannot give an answer and tells the main character that there were other volunteers as well.The other guard, who Joined the AS says that he made his decision to avoid death, but at some points it seems that he even enjoyed his Job. â€Å"What an Aryan I made! † – says he. The Second World War and the survival instinct of these people compelled them to put on masks and do things which normally they would never do. And they did it for so long, that eventually they loud identify with their role, and this identification confused them and distorted their original identity.This is exactly what happens to the main character, Campbell as well. His ordeals start in Germany, where he is commissioned by an American soldier to spy fo r the U. S. As a Nazi playwright and from that point on, he is regarded as a Nazi by the whole world. Even though he is only acting, nobody knows who he really is and as a result, he becomes unsure about his own identity by the end of the story. There is a scene which takes place after the war ended, in which Campbell inverses with the agent, called Warrantee, who commissioned him. How else could I have survived? † as you did. † â€Å"You think I was a Nazi? † I said. â€Å"Certainly you were,† he said. â€Å"How else could a responsible historian classify you? † All in all, the moral of the story which is an admonition as well is worded by Bonnet at the beginning of the novel. It goes like this: â€Å"We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. † For me, it means that we should always be true to ourselves and stick to those values which we consider the best.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

The Proliferation Of International Human Rights - 3542 Words

The proliferation of international human rights treaties and jurisprudence gives rise to new questions about the efficacy of international human rights law (IHRL) in the promotion of domestic human rights practices. Scholars have long been skeptical of the effectiveness of human rights treaties given the absence of clear mechanisms of enforcement (Goldsmith and Posner 2005; Downs, Rocke, and Barsoom 1996). States may commit to human rights treaties for a variety of strategic or normative reasons (Simmons 2009; Hafner-Burton and Tsutsui 2005; Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink 1999), but the extent to which such commitments actually lead to changes in states’ practices remains underexplored. Recent scholarship confirms that human rights treaties can†¦show more content†¦Yet this body of research remains incomplete. Previous scholarship focuses on the relationship between treaty ratification and rights outcomes, but this emphasis on the relationship between ratification and compl iance obfuscates a more dynamic, complex, and nuanced understanding of the interaction of law and politics. Indeed, we know that even inadvertent commitments to human rights treaties can have powerful and sometimes unintended effects (Risse, Ropp, and Sikkink 1999). Questions remain with regard to the factors affecting the degree to which legal action shapes the behavior of governments: who engages in mobilization, when do these actors generate social and legal mobilization, and how do the scope and strategies of these movements affect domestic human rights practices? The question at the heart of this dissertation is: Why does an international human rights framework impact the domestic political efficacy of rights-based mobilization in some cases and not in others? The number of international human rights conventions and tribunals has increased dramatically since World War II. This human rights regime now reflects a complex web of rules, norms, and institutions that attempt to structure the behavior of states vis-aÌ€-vis citizens. I seek to explain the conditions under which international human rights law affects the promotion of rights claims in democratizing states and the mechanisms by which