The Upward Battle free essay sample

I’m a dictator. Ask any of the paper’s staff members about my tactics, and they’ll probably compare me to Mussolini himself. O.K., I’m too critical. I refused to ask for help. I thought I was the Superwoman of high school journalism. And to say the least, I wasn’t. The newspaper adviser of 13 years left after my sophomore year. With his experience in journalism, he was able to advise the editors through tough budget problems, tell them how to handle power struggles, edit copy and bring new ideas to the table. He participated in regional workshops and was an active scholastic media leader in the state. He was a lively member of the staff. We were lucky. I was the first editor in the paper’s history who would not have him to hold my hand, and I thought I could handle it. I would get more students involved in the paper. We will write a custom essay sample on The Upward Battle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page People would fight for coverage, and readers would make checking the Intermission website a daily activity. I swore I would be the editor who would change the reputation of the paper. Well, sometimes your expectations don’t line up with reality. I failed my paper in more ways than one during my junior year: For one, we never felt united. The designers and photographers were in a completely different building than the writers and copy editors. Classes went on where none of the writers saw my face. I went in with the mentality that I was the â€Å"Almighty Editor-in-Chief† who the staff would automatically respect, fear, and obey. Instead, they treated me as a parent: agreeing to complete the task, but the moment I left the room, they went back to their naps. I had to hold my staff’s hand like they were in kindergarten. Secondly, I never communicated with my adviser. With multiple e-mails sent before the school year even started, I came off too strong. I expected him to know everything about journalism. I expected him to have past experience in the field and to be as eager I was to get started. I quickly realized how optimistic I had been. I never took the time to show him the ropes. He was left behind, and to this day, he still thinks it was his fault. The apology note he wrote in my yearbook does not lie. And lastly, I was awards-driven. My previous adviser always mentioned one editor who set the record for the most papers published in a year, who won the paper numerous awards at our state competitions, and who was an alternate for North Carolina High School Journalist of the Year. I wanted to be her, but I focused on the wrong things. My eyes were only on the prize, and I forgot about the steps to getting there. Impatience, selfishness, and overconfidence are the characteristics of the dictator that once ruled over the Intermission newspaper. A new era of democracy has begun. Now, I’m a democratic leader.

The eNotes Blog Seven Poetic Presidents

Seven Poetic Presidents Its voting time! In the spirit of the culmination of the presidential election tomorrow, below is a list that highlights historic presidents more poetic attributes. Ever wondered whose poetry Thomas Jefferson cozied up with? Or which past president favored the eccentric Welsh poet Dylan Thomas? Read on to find out George Washington and Phillis Wheatley He was the first president of the United State, she was the first African-American woman to publish a collection of poetry. In 1776, she sent Washington a poem that praised the generals leadership. In reply he told her that, were she ever in town, he would be happy to see a person so favoured by the Muses. Now here, now there, the roving  Fancy  flies, Till some lovd object strikes her wandring eyes, Whose silken fetters all the senses bind, And soft captivity involves the mind. Thomas Jefferson and Thomas Moore Irish poet Thomas Moore was unimpressed with President Jefferson when he met him in the early 1800s, influenced by his friend, the British Minister to the States. Moore unkindly described Jeffersons home as in a state of uncleanly desolation. But years later, when Jefferson read Moore’s poetry, he exclaimed, Why, this is the little man who satirized me so! Why, he is a poet after all! Moore became one of Jefferson’s favorite poets. I feel like one Who treads alone Some banquet-hall deserted, Whose lights are fled, Whose garlands dead, And all but he departed! John Quincy Adams and Christoph Martin Wieland Turns out sixth president John Quincy Adams fancied himself a bit of a poet. In 1816 he declared, Could I have chosen my own genius and condition, I would have made myself a great poet, though he reconciled that his own poetry was spell bound in the circle of mediocrity. He fared better in translation, attempting to translate one of his favorite poetsWielandfrom German. Adams did abandon the attempt to translate the epic poem Oberon when he came across what he felt was a better translation. As a result it went unpublished until 1940. Abraham Lincoln and Robert Burns Lincoln so admired the poetry of Scotsman Robert Burns, he actually declined making a toast to the poet at a banquet in Burns honor, saying, I cannot frame a toast to Burns. I can say nothing worthy of his generous heart and transcending genius. Thinking of what he has said, I can not say anything which seems worth saying. Lincoln committed many of Burns poems, like the one below, to memory. Ae night the storm the steeples rocked, Poor Labour sweet in sleep was locked, While burns, wi snawy wreeths upchoked, Wild-eddying swirl, Or thro the mining outlet bocked, Down headlong hurl. Harry S. Truman and Alfred, Lord Tennyson Of all of Tennysons poems, one struck a particular cord with President Truman, so much so that he carried a copy of Locksley Hall in his wallet from the time he graduated high school in 1901 onwards. The paper I copied it on kept wearing out, and I kept recopying it. I don’t know how many times, twenty or thirty, I expect, Truman reportedly told the journalist Merle Miller, adding that he had a lot more faith in poets than reporters. An excerpt of that same poem that meant so much to Truman: Love took up the glass of Time, and turnd it in his glowing hands; Every moment, lightly shaken, ran itself in golden sands. Love took up the harp of Life, and smote on all the chords with might; Smote the chord of Self, that, trembling, passd in music out of sight. John F. Kennedy and Robert Frost The words spoken at JFKs inauguration (Ask not what your country can do for you) werent the only infamous lines read out that day. On January 20th, 1961, Robert Frost became the first poet to read at a presidential inauguration. The poet planned on reading out a poem hed written especially for the occasion, Dedication, but as the bright afternoon sun bounced off of the freshly fallen snow surrounding the event, he found he couldnt read his own handwriting at the podium. The 86 year-old then recited The Gift Outright from memory instead. Such as we were we gave ourselves outright (The deed of gift was many deeds of war) To the land vaguely realizing westward, But still unstoried, artless, unenhanced, Such as she was, such as she would become. Jimmy Carter and Dylan Thomas Not only is Carter a fan of Dylan Thomas work, this former president is a great advocate for the Welsh poet. He was the impetus behind the plaque dedicated to Thomas in Westminster Abbeys Poets Corner, as well as  Dylan Thomas Centre, a museum dedicated to the poet, in Swansea, Wales. And you, my father, there on the sad height, Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray, Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light. For five more presidents poetic tendencies, including President Obamas, head over to this  Poetry Foundation  article.

Kung Fu Hustle Analysis Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Kung Fu Hustle Analysis - Movie Review Example The development of film through pooling resources from different industries and applying the different genres that were previously not being utilized has aided them cross the coterminous boundary of global film. Chinese films are more defined in geographic, ethnic and auteurist terms and only bound to address the issues of identity, nationhood, gender and immigration. Chow’s film, Kung Fu Hustle answers the Joroen De Kloet’s call to ‘move away from the textual to the contextual’ and still address the same issues that previous directors were trying to address. Scholars need appreciate that the evolving Chinese film industry is incorporating aspects that are more western and involving western studios to make their art. The two industry have ceased being apart and have merged to make a comprehensive picture that addresses the â€Å"derivative- a slavish, lesser, imitator† tag. The main aspect of merging the two different cultures is to appeal the popular audience and intertwine globalization, localization, regionalization and nationalization in films. Chow’s film Kung Fu Hustle is an important sign in the evolving Asian market to adapt and interact with the western industry. Chow, through production, funding and the acting incorporates western aspects that are ‘acceptable’ to the Chinese people. He avoids themes that will limit his film to the Asian market, which has a liberal thought in terms of culture and religious freedom. Through his previous films, he knows that he cannot appeal to the audience through voice humor and hence develops bodily and character humor that will auger with any audience globally. An auteur skill of film making that makes him a director to reckon with in the Chinese film industry, while incorporating those aspects that attract popular audience and make money. Popular culture among actors is definitive in formation of identity,

LAW FOR BUSINESS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

LAW FOR BUSINESS - Essay Example An example is if you negligently cause someone to break his or her leg and can't work for two weeks, the economic loss he/she suffers as a result of being unable to work as usual is consequential economic loss. Similarly, if someone negligently breaks your car, and he or she needs the car to go to work and it takes him or her two weeks to get a replacement car, the economic loss he or she suffers is consequently economic loss. According to www.gillhams.com, (2010) The importance of determining the differences that exist between pure economic loss and other forms of loss that are consequential to injury to the person, physical loss or to the property is that the pure economic loss is usually not recoverable in law as damages or otherwise. Pure economic loss can commonly be categorized as loss of some other form of pecuniary gain, wasted expenditure, profitability or loss of profit. When pure economic loss is negligently caused to a party to a contractual right or contract are made les s valuable by the acts or omissions of a defendant, both instances that is where the terms of the contract have not been breached or violated, cannot give rise to a good cause of action and action to be taken. There is a class arising from a certain class of torts and often referred to as economic torts that allows the recovery of economic interests by the parties involved. However, these economic torts do not allow recovery of pure economic loss, as liability stems from the root of harm to some interest that can be protected in the hands of the claimant, such as harm to a business, procuring a breach of contractual rights, or some other actionable wrong. According to V. Charlotte (2006), it is notable that for the loss to be consequential economic loss, the injury or the property damage has to be to you, not someone else. Lets say A negligently crashes his car into the car of B. B is then rendered unable to work for two weeks. This means that he gets to loses his income for two wee ks. Because B was a good employee, his employer, C, also loses income. B's economic loss is consequential. C's is pure economic loss, because the personal injury was to B, not to him. This example therefore shows the difference. The floodgates argument is the most common one. It would mean that single events could lead to any numbers of claims. It is argued that because the amounts of pure economic loss claims and the class of people claiming for pure economic loss are so uncertain and so indeterminate, it would make it very difficult and very expensive for people to insure against these claims (www.gillhams.com, 2010),. S. Anthony, (2009) Economic loss is not always is not always irrecoverable in the tort of negligence, but it requires a claimant to prove the exceptional circumstances necessary in order to establish that a defendant owed him a duty of not to cause such damage. This long standing, reluctance to recognize a duty of care to prevent an economic loss has been largely ba sed on what is referred to as Floodgates argument. The concern is that it would widen the potential scale of liability in tort to an indeterminable extent. In Murphy v Brentwood, there were two main reasons for the decision in the case. Firstly, it was considered established law that in tort the manufacturer of chattel owned no duty in respect of defects that did not cause personal injury or damage to other property. The second main

Hotel Consultation Essay Example for Free

Hotel Consultation Essay It appears to me that the Dreschler Hotel needs to look into their rates. After comparing the other hotels and the Dreschler Hotel their rates seem too high compared to the other hotels and what they have to offer. I think if they would lower their rates this would generate more business and more business means more revenue. This would be reflected on the ADR if they did lower the rates. Yes, if your rates are higher you will take in more money at that moment but you might sell a lot more rooms if rates are kept down while being competitive. I think the Dreschler Hotel could make some improvements and then this would increase the revenue. I think it is very out dated and in order for the owners and shareholders to ever see their investments back in their pocket is to make this a mixed-use which would have hotel room suites, condo’s, pool, gym, retail shops, office building, and several restaurants. This will be projected at a Twenty Eight Million Dollar Project. It will have many retail shops for the guest convenience and it already is situated in the heart of the town with over 90 shops available now. It will then add a pool, hot tub, spa, sauna, gym, office buildings for lease or sale and many restaurants. We would like to have a tremendous view and possible farmers market in the complex or within walking distance as another food alternative. This is a fairly fast way to get cash flow moving fairly fast and also can sell if interested or they could hire a management company to run the development for them. The options are endless but they will need to do some marketing to get this development out there and get interested parties involved. One thing I feel this hotel is in need of its working capital. They are having trouble with paying the normal operational expenses. The owners have even been putting money in to use for the hotel and cannot continue to do this. They have no working capital to work with to do any renovations or add a few t hings needed to get more guests staying at the hotel. They have a couple of options to get this done. The first one is to apply for a SBA 7(a) Loan. They will loan money  to a business in need of working capital which the Dreschler Hotel needs. They can use this loan for operation expenses, renovations, inventory, or to add items needed. They also may look into the option of investors which will love to get involved in something this big. This would probably be a great choice for this hotel and its circumstances. I feel the owners and shareholders have already put in all the working capital or cash that they can at this time. They have to do something to start making some money and to do that I feel this hotel needs a lot. The only option would be to sell some shares of the hotel for some cash to use for working capital. Then they would have more owners or shareholders would have a say in how things are ran. Sometimes, this is a good thing and other times it can be a bad thing so it is a tough situation but sometimes they have good suggestions or ideas as well. They will have to show a good business plan and show they have the ideal location along with the town’s approval or possibly get guarantees on businesses coming to the mixed use such as retail stores, office spaces, and restaurants. You want a variety of restaurants so you have to have many restrictions on who you sell or lease to because you want variety. This will be an upscale hotel with the same in the retail and restaurant end also. We would be adding suites in the hotel rooms along with a pool and gym. While looking at financial schemes you must weigh the good and the bad or the risks involved to do this. After looking at converting the Dreschler Hotel into a mixed-use I found there are a couple of benefits that would be gained if we converted it such as you have a hotel for guests to stay in and then you have restaurants and food options for the guests that they can even walk to when staying at the Dreschler Hotel. They try to put retail, food and accommodations all tog ether and keep them on the same scale. At the same time there are disadvantages such as you have to have a large piece of land to do this and you have to look at the market around this area to be able to have the economics available to get the revenue there to pay for this. I researched the pros and cons of converting the property into a timeshare. I found the biggest advantage is the return of the money from the project to the owners or shareholders. Another huge benefit would be the construction time is cut way down so you would be up and making money much quicker. A big disadvantage is you are not the original developer and many issues can arise. One main thing is the  location. If you have the right location it will usually make a lot of money. The last one I looked at was the conversion of the hotel to a condominium. I found an advantage would be the increasing revenue by adding things such as a bar, spa, hot tubs, gyms and restaurants. This usually is an upper end hotel and they attract a lot of customers or guests and then the money and revenue will start coming in faster. Another benefit is the owner can sell the units much quicker and then can also hire a management company to run it for him and still bring in money or get his money returned quickly. Many condos have a disadvantage because they come with many restrictions. I think a mixed-use would be an awesome opportunity along with a lot of the things this hotel needed. With the location and the stores in the area it would be a great location so after consideration we will be calling the new mixed-use The Dreschler Village and Suites. References: DeFranco, A. L., Lattin, T. W. (2007). Hospitality financial management. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Axia College’s Writing Style Handbook http://www.sba.gov/about-sba/what_we_do/resource_guides (retrieved 03/06/2014). http://www.aha-engineers.com/MEP-projects-hospitality.html (Retrieved 03/07/2014)

Sir Gawain Preparing Himself and His Neck :: Arthurian Legands English Literature Essays

Sir Gawain Preparing Himself and His Neck Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, written by an anonymous fourteenth-century poet, describes the Arthurian legend about the Green Knight’s game with Sir Gawain. Now almost a year passes since the Green Knight has started a friendly challenge of a blow for a blow. And it is time for Sir Gawain to prepare and to meet the Green Knight to receive his strike. Sir Gawain sees how the people around him care for him and wish he didn’t have to go. He probably feels that the first part of the game wasn’t completely fair, because the beheaded Green Knight survived what a mortal man cannot. Nevertheless, Sir Gawain acts like a true honorable knight and decides to face his destiny: 'Why should I tarry?' And smiled with tranquil eye; 'In destinies sad or merry, True men can but try.' (Norton 561 - 565) Click here to listen to this monologue Realizing that he is just human and is predestined for a test he isn’t fully aware of, the only thing he can do is to do his best and not worry about the outcome. Sir Gawain decides to fully prepare himself for this ordeal and goes alone to pray humbly to G-d. He feels very humbled now, more than before when he was willing to take the Green Knight’s challenge after Arthur had already accepted it. Now he realizes that what seemed like a sure thing doesn’t always turn out that way and that he has to take responsibility for his actions. Sir Gawain prepares for the journey and takes his favorite horse, Gringolet, with him. Gringolet is his special horse, and for this special occasion, he is honored with many golden fringes everywhere, perhaps for Gawain to feel more angelic as he leaves his life behind: By then Gringolet was grit with saddle That was gaily agleam with fine gilt fringe, New-furbished for the need with nail-heads bright; The bridle and the bars bedecked all with gold. (Norton, 597 - 600) His horse is his only companion on his long way to the Green Chapel.

Ledership

What is leadership? According to Shockley- Zalabak (2009) Leadership is a process of guiding individuals, groups, and entire organization in establishing goals and sustaining action to support goals. What exactly is meant by leadership? There are literally hundreds of definitions about who a leader is and what is considered as leadership. Each definition may vary from one individual to another and may change from one situation to the other. For example we might call an individual a leader because of the persons’ election to the presidency of an institution.Other times we say he/she is not a leader because he/she does not exhibit leadership behaviors expected of the of a leader. In other words, we expected leadership from the legitimate position of the presidency, but when that president does not exhibit leadership behaviors, we say that the president is not a leader. According to Yukl, (2002). The definition of leadership is arbitrary and very subjective. Some definitions are more useful than others, but there is no â€Å"correct† definition. Leadership theories: Theories are most useful for influencing practice when they suggest new ways in which events and situations can be perceived.Fresh insight may be provided by focusing attention on possible interrelationship that the practice has failed to notice, which can be further explored and tested through empirical research. If the result is a better understanding of practice, the theory –practice gap is significantly reduced for those concerned. (Hughes and Bush, 1991, p. 234). The trait theory This theory first surfaced in the writings of early Greeks and Romans and is prevalent today among those who believe that leadership cannot be developed.This theory assumed that leaders has innate traits that made them effective, great leaders were considered to be born with the ability for leadership, so it is either you have leadership qualities or you don’t . According to Shockley – z alabak (2009) theory of leadership, that leaders possessed innate traits that made them effective; is commonly referred to as the â€Å"great man† theory Leadership traits theory is the idea that people are born with certain character trait or qualities and since traits are associated with proficient leadership, it assumes that if you could identify eople with the correct traits, you will be able to identify leaders and people with leadership potential. It is considered that we are born naturally with traits as part of our personality; this theory in summary believes that leaders are born not made Criticism Researches were done to define traits or personality characteristic that best predict the effective leader. List of about eighty traits or characteristic were gotten but trait approach failed to define clearly a stable set of characteristic associated with effective leadership.Even the concept of what is effective remains open to question. This theory does not prove a comp rehensive explanation to how leaders interact with followers and meet the needs of specific circumstances. While truly others can be born leaders, it is incorrect to generalize by saying that leadership traits are in born and unchangeable. It’s true many of our dispositions and tendencies are influenced by our personalities and the way we are born. However, most people recognized that it is possible for someone to change their character trait for the worse.Someone known for being honest can learn to be deceitful, the whole idea of saying someone was â€Å"corrupted† is based on the fact that people can learn bad traits. If people can learn character traits and become different from the way they were born naturally traits can be learnt as well. A person who is prone to being dishonest can learn to be honest. A person who avoids risks can learn to take risk. It may not be easy, but it can be done. STYLE APPROACHES Leadership style approach focuses its attention on the le aders’ behavior. Leadership style is the combination of traits, skills, and behaviors leaders use as they interact with followers: (Lussier, 2004) Though leadership style is based on leadership skills and leadership traits, leadership behaviors is the important component. This is said to be the third approach to leadership studies, a consistent pattern of behavior is what characterizes a leader. â€Å"In shifting the study of leadership to leaders’ style or behaviors, the style approach expanded the study of leadership to various contexts† (North house, 2004).According to Shockley- Zalabak (2009) style approach or theories attempt to identify and arrange the general approaches leaders use to achieve goals. These approaches are thought to be based or a leader’s assumption about what motivates people to accomplish goals. This theory attempts to identify a range of general approaches leaders use to influence goal achievement. These approaches are theorized t o be based on the leader’s assumption about what motivates people to accomplish goals.Particular approaches also reflect complex relationships among the personal characteristics of the leader. Top among the style theories is the autocratic-to-democratic continuum first proposed by Ralph while and Ronald Lippitt (1960). Autocratic style of leader is a leader who makes decisions with little influence from others Shockley- Zalabak (2009). The leader that exhibits this behavior makes the decisions, gives orders to employees, and is constantly supervising his subordinate. This leader tells others what to do and usually enforces sanctions against those who chose not to comply. He views his followers as essential for goal achievement but usually feels little responsibility for employee needs and relationship Shockley- zalabak (2009). Criticism Research suggests that autocratically led groups produce more in quantity than democratically led groups, but that the quality output is bett er when more democracy is practiced. Generally with autocratic styles the led are not happy so they just do as they are told not because they have the interest of the institution at heart or because they enjoy working.Democratic- Shockley-Zalabak (2009) states that this style of leaders is the one that involves followers in decision making. The leader that exhibits this behavior promotes shared decision, team work, and does not supervise his subordinates closely. He assumes followers are able to participate in decision making, they try to create a climate in which problem solving can take place while preserving interpersonal relationships. It is clear that these leadership styles are opposite’s end of a continuum.As such, it’s easy to think that a leader’s leadership style s follows between those ends. Criticism When a leader is democratic at times his other colleagues in leadership positions can look at him as a weakling and also the subordinates might take adv antage and wants to be disrespectful. Laissez-faire style- Here the leader behaves as non-leader. Individuals and groups are expected to make their own decisions because of a hand-off approach from the leader. The laissez-faire leader is an example of non-leader. This leader expects groups and individuals to make their own decision.He gives information only when ask by group members. Criticism The success of the group depends greatly on the abilities of the group and groups members willingness to work with little or no leadership. If the groups members consist of people that need a push to do things they won’t be able to achieve much. Impoverished management- According to Shockley- Zalabak (2009) this style is characterized by low concern for interpersonal relationships and task accomplishment. This leader makes few attempts to influence people towards task or goals.He dislikes leadership responsibilities and lets others take the responsibility that rightfully belongs to the leader. This leader is usually uncomfortable with leadership and intellectually resists the need for it. Criticism These leaders may be primarily responsible for the failure of the group. Middle- of- the- road management- This is a style of leader who balances task and peoples’ concerns; commonly referred to as compromised leadership or management. The leader negotiates and compromises to achieve workable agreements and directions for action Country club management-This is a style of leaders who emphasizes interpersonal relationship at the expense of goal achievement the leader here wants to be liked and have group followers who feel supported by the leader. He provides an interpersonal relationship bond that is low on task emphasis and high in interpersonal support Criticism He may want a task accomplished but will not take steps to emphasize this element to others, if members are not highly task oriented; he ends up doing their work. Rather than insisting that the employees exhibit high standards of performance. These leaders may not develop the abilities of the people under them.Team leadership: This is the theoretical ideal: team leaders exhibit high concern for both task and interpersonal relationships by emphasizing goal accomplishment while supporting people, it fosters a sense of â€Å"we† with high performance standards. This leadership share decision making and strives for problem solving designed to solve rather than postpone problem, it respects different point of view and value diversity as long as it contributes to the group effort. Criticism Team members who support one another but do not have enough ability or information to work on problems will not be able to produce a high-quality decision.