IRA

IRA The Irish Republican Army, more commmonly known as the IRA, is a secret military, nationalist organisation. Planned and organized by Michael Collins after the Easter Rebellion in 1916, the IRA officialy formed in 1919 as an unregistered military force. Their most significant effort was to change the combined area of Ireland and Northern Ireland into a single country. The IRA was made up of Irish Volunteers and later on, after beoming the policital wing of Sing Fein had leaders such as Arthur Griffith and Eamon de Valera to associate with.In the year that the IRA started, they began a guerrilla war, harassing police and military with sudden ambushes and violent force. This then leading the British Government to inforce the Government of Ireland Act in 1920. This dividing Ireland into 2 separate states, each with limited powers of self-government. The 2 parts Ireland, officially called the Republic of Ireland, which is made up of 26 counties and home to mainly Catholics and Northern Ir eland, which is made up of 6 counties and home to mainly Protestants.Éamon de ValeraThe IRA was still determined to make an Independent nation. The Catholics of Ireland disagreed with the act, this leading the IRA to continue the war until 1921. A treaty was then signed, making Ireland a dominion "" a self-governing country, this dominion was called the Irish Free State.The treaty resulted in a major split in the IRA. One group, led by Michael Collins, accepted The Irish Free State and became part of the army for the Free State. The other group, led by Eamon de Valera and called the Irregulars, totally rejected the treaty because it showed very little signs of complete independence away from British rule and didn't bring a complete union with Northern Ireland. Early in 1922, civil...

All About the Genre of Character Writing

All About the Genre of Character Writing A brief descriptive sketch of a class or type of person (such as a city slicker, a country bumpkin, or a grumpy old man) rather than of an individual personality. Character-writing became a popular literary form in England following the publication in 1592 of a Latin translation of Theophrastus, an ancient Greek writer of similar sketches. Characters eventually became more individualized and were integrated with the essay and the novel. Also Known As: character sketch Examples of Character Writing The Character of the Man in Black, by Oliver GoldsmithA Definition of a Gentleman, by John Henry NewmanGood Souls, by Dorothy ParkerThe Landlord, by Henry David ThoreauMr. Barlow, by Charles DickensThe Plumber, by Anthony TrollopeThe Satirist, by Robert Louis StevensonStatus Details in Tom Wolfes DescriptionsThree Characters by John EarleThe True Friend, by Joseph Hall Etymology From the Latin (mark, distinctive quality) from the Greek (scratch, engrave) Observations and Examples: The 17th of a Character: The AnchormanHe graduated from drama school and looked for parts in television. Because he had prognathous jaws like a cowboys and every cilium of his light-brown hair seemed to be nailed into his skull for keeps, he was steered into the news department. At first, like all beginning newscasters, he had to leave the building...He would stand in front of the building and hold a microphone covered in black styrofoam and recite AP or UPI copy about [an] event. He could do this without skipping a beat, and he maintained his head of hair nearly intact, and soon he did not have to leave the building anymore. He was promoted to the anchor desk of the stations six oclock news broadcast, where he reads the AP and UPI copy from the Teleprompter. Only two things stand in the way of his goal of reaching the network news desk. One is the Anchorwoman, a fireproof blonde who is so aggressive, such a nutcracker, that she terrifies him. His on-air Happy Hour Chitchat with her sounds as if it is being extracted by water torture. The other is the ever-so-imperceptibly widening part in his hair.(Tom Wolfe, Success Stories: The Anchorman. In Our Time, Farrar, 1980) The Theophrastian CharacterTheophrastus (c. 371 of a Character: The Penurious ManThe Penurious man is one who, while the month is current, will come to ones house and ask for a half-obol [a silver coin]. When he is at the table with others he will count how many cups each of them has drunk; and will pour a smaller libation to Artemis than any of the company. Whenever a person has made a good bargain for him and charges him with it, he will say that it is too dear. When a servant has broken a jug or a plate he will take the value out of his rations; or, if his wife has dropped a three-farthing piece, he is capable of moving the furniture and the sofas and the wardrobes, and of rummaging in the curtains. If he has anything to sell he will dispose of it at such a price that the buyer shall have no profit. He is not likely to let one eat a fig from his garden, or walk through his land, or pick up one of the olives or dates that lie on the ground, and he will inspect his boundaries day by day to see if they remain the same. He is apt, also, to enforce the right of distraining, and to exact compound interest. When he feasts the men of his parish, the cutlets set before them will be small: when he markets, he will come in having bought nothing. And he will forbid his wife to lend salt, or a lamp-wick, or cummin, or verjuice, or meal for sacrifice, or garlands, or cakes; saying that these trifles come to much in the year. Then, in general, it may be noticed that the moneyboxes of the penurious are mouldy, and the keys rusty; that they themselves wear their cloaks scarcely reaching to the thigh; that they anoint themselves from very small oil-flasks; that they have their hair cut close; that they take off their shoes in the middle of the day; and that they are urgent with the fuller to let their cloak have plenty of earth, in order that it may not soon be soiled.(The Characters of Theophrastus, edited and translated by R.C. Jebb. Macmillan, 1870)

GROW Model of Coaching Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

GROW Model of Coaching - Research Paper Example Coaching in the business world refers to providing necessary support to the subordinates in order to uplift their capabilities, attitudes, skills and behaviors in a manner that will produce high and/or desired outcomes. Coaching is performed in many categories such as life, health, sports, relationships, conflicts, business or performance etc. Various approaches have been proposed in each of these categories. In this topic, business or performance coaching will be studied based on the GROW model, and an analysis will be done to understand how GROW model can help the managers and their subordinates, as well as its impact on the organization. Conclusions will be drawn based on findings from the study conducted. What is GROW? The GROW model school of coaching was first developed by Sir John Whitmore, an athlete by profession (Wilson, 2011). GROW is a short form of goal, reality, opportunity and the will to do. The GROW model provides very specific approach to coaching, unlike other mode ls, which will help the coaches in any field as it provides a step-by-step approach to the process of coaching. The GROW model provides a wide range of options in every step for the coach to study, analyze and arrive at a solution. Goal: The goals stage usually precedes all as it involves discussion of the person’s objectives and aims in the short and long-term. The topic for discussion or the coaching session needs to be clarified before beginning any coaching-related activity. The coachee’s long-term aims need to be broken into short-term objectives that are realistic and achievable. This process will help in gaining the individual’s attention and commitment to the coaching process. Umicker asserts that coaching is the first activity that an employee experiences once he joins the organization, which is conducted in the form of orientation and training (McConnell, 2010). The expectations that are set during this period will help aligning the employees to the or ganizational goals, which is critical to the employees’ performance. Reality: The next step to coaching is to identify the real situation, or the reality. This would involve analyzing the current position or situation, and the obstacles that are hindering the coachee’s progress. The best way to undertake this process is to encourage self-assessment from the candidate and to avoid any sort of assumptions from either side. A very effective method for the supervisors or leaders to check reality is to be connected to their employees. An effective method that would assist this process is ‘management by wandering around,’ as explained by Peters and Austin (McConnell, 2010). Secondly, the coach needs to assess the significance and seriousness of the issue and the goal to the coachee; the coachee’s feelings associated with his/her current situation and the goal to be achieved; any other issues that the coachee might have. Opportunity: Once the reality is id entified, the range of options available at hand need to be explored along with the coachee. This process will be most effective when the coachee is encouraged to provide suggestions and ideas along with the coach offering suggestions after a careful examination. A range of options will help in better choices to be made. However, it is also important to note that the choice of option must not be completely vested with the coachee, considering his/her knowledge and

Accounting Scandals Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Accounting Scandals - Case Study Example Refco became a public company on August 11, 2005 when a large number of shares were floated to the public to raise 583 million dollars. In October, the Company's financial crisis was made public through an announcement that the CEO, Philip R Bennett had concealed as much as 545 million dollars in bed debts from the Company's investors and auditors by keeping them off the account books, in order to artificially inflate earnings and boost up the Company's stock price.(White and O'Hara 2005:D01). This anomaly in the accounts was discovered during a process of internal review which was carried out over the preceding weekend. Refco's stock prices plunged immediately once the announcement was made, resulting in losses of more than $1 billion in shareholder value, with its bonds also plummeting to insolvency levels.(White and O'Hara 2005:D01).The Company reportedly engaged in a series of circular transactions, whereby an unnamed business entity owned by Mr. Bennett was buying off Refco's bad debts at every quarter, so that they did not show up on Refco's books. The unidentified company owned by Mr. Bennett assumed those deb ts of third parties which were likely to be difficult or impossible to collect (Teather, 2005). The Chairman arranged for a Refco subsidiary, Refco Capital Markets to lend money to a hedge fund company named Liberty Corner Capital, which in turn lent the money to Refco Group Holdings, which paid off the debt to Refco Inc.(White and O'Hara 2005:D01). In this way, at the end of every quarter when accounting statements became due, debt was temporarily moved off Refco's books and onto Liberty's account. Such accounting scandals generate fears of a liquidity squeeze and market contagion, highlighting the need for tighter regulation and higher levels of disclosure and transparency in hedge funds (The Herald 2005). Accountants and banks are being sued as a part of the shareholder class action suits against Refco, because the circular pattern of transactions which occurred regularly at the end of every fiscal quarter and then unwound after the quarters ended were themselves a warning alarm bell which should have sounded in the minds of auditors and accountants (White and O'Hara 2005:D01). Goldman Sachs, CSFB and other leading investment banks are being sued for negligence in underwriting and advising on Refco's float issue and on its bond issues, which led to the perpetration of accounting fraud.(Walsh, 2005). Refco Capital Markets is at the centre of the regulatory investigations, because this was the corporate entity through which Bennett was able to receive loan funds, which were hidden from Company auditors and officers. A commodity funds Company is suing Refco for diverting its assets to an insolvent entity like Refco Capital markets, while senior executives at an Australian bank, Bawag, are also being scrutinized for their role in the scandal, because the bank approved a loan of 420 million dollars which was just prior to the accounting manipulation that was taking place.(Fortune, 2006:5) The Polly Peck Scandal: Polly Peck was initially a small clothing company on the London stock exchange which did not demonstrate any remarkable profits, but its fortunes began to change when it came under the management of Asil Nadir, a Turkish businessman, in 1980. Over the next ten years, the Company experienced an unprecedented level of growth. In 1980, it also moved into the fruit packing business through a public share funded acquisition of Uni-Pac, which was a company already owned by Nadir.(Wearing, 2005: 41). The move away from clothing into fruit packing represented a risk for the

City Road Essay Example for Free

City Road Essay Another would be that pedestrians seem to be favoured more so than motorists. For instance the islands in the middle of the road, they are there to make crossing City Road safer and more convenient to those who travel by foot. The island isn’t just the concrete mound in the middle of the road, it also includes the paint on the ground around it which cars are not allowed to drive over. Again, the bollards that were erected along the pavements are there to favour pedestrians. The reason why they were put there is to stop vehicles parking on the curbs, which was a problem before the bollards were put in place as the cars and lorries would park right over the pavements making it difficult for people to walk past and leaving less space for people with prams or wheelchairs to go round. Some things favour different groups because they appeal to different groups. Take for example the Taste Buds Cafe; one thing that struck me straight away was that the majority of the customers in there were predominantly female and mostly the older generation. They like to go in there because it appeals to them, it appeals to them because; The price is reasonable- a lot of the customers will be drawing a pension so keeping costs down is important to them, They feel safe- because there are regulars who go there and they get familiar with one another and that gives the customers a sense of safety because they know what to expect and Mr Suarez the cafe owner aids in the feeling of safety through being consistent in the way in which he runs his business. Also the menu is all home cooked and this is important to his customers. Because of all these factors, Mr Suarez’s cafe is geared more towards the older generation than the younger ones so in a sense it is favouring, although that isn’t altogether a bad thing. Lastly I would mention the security cameras. They are positioned all over City Road and they are there for a number of reasons, one reason is that a crime is less likely to be committed in an area which has CCTV (which deters people from offending) and also it makes people in the area feel safer knowing that these things are in place to not only aid in the catching of the people who commit the crimes but also that it is part of crime prevention too. CCTV is important on City Road because it does make the residence feel that little bit safer, a lot of them feel that the road is a bit â€Å"rough† and not the sort of place you would like to walk down at night, even though the local policeman denies that there is a problem with crime in the area. People just perceive it to be a crime hotspot, despite having little to no experience of any serious crimes having taken place on the road. Most of the material things on City Road favour one group over another but some inadvertently and some deliberately, the issue with the busses for example is inadvertent. They are not purposely designed to be inconvenient to a certain

Confidence in Organized Labor :: essays research papers

INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statement of problem People have opinions and thoughts about many issues relating to the work force. They wonder what is the best occupation to get in, how much money they can make in certain fields, who the best employers might be. Some of the big concerns people have when thinking about employment is benefits. What can a company provide to the potential employee in terms of insurance, vacations, advancement, and all the extras associated with the perks of certain companies? At the time do these people wonder about the organizations that may have a say in those benefits they so covet. The labor unions Through my research I have found very little information that deals with confidence in organized labor. Most of the data that I have obtained is more closely related to unions in general than to the people who have confidence in them; and I will attempt to ascertain whether people have confidence in organized labor, not whether they approve or disapprove of labor unions. With the little information that I was able to obtain in this quest, I suggest that this research would be beneficial to sociology by presenting more information on the topic of confidence in organized labor and giving sociologists a platform from which to proceed with further research in this area.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Objectives One objective of this paper is to determine whether there is confidence in organized labor. Another objective is to ascertain whether there is an association between certain independent variables relating to the level of confidence in organized labor. LITERATURE REVIEW   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The topic of confidence in organized labor is an expansive subject which can be studied from the perspectives of many different variables. What I want to know is what others have written about confidence in organized labor, how the different variables of my research react to unions, whether there are any reasons they feel this way, what the unions are doing to gain confidence, and whom they are likely to target for membership. I have read that education may affect the way people feel toward unions (Sares, 1991). Meikasins and Smith’s (1993) article about how professionals are not as unionized as their industrious counterparts tend to show an association about income and confidence. (Most professionals earn more than industry workers.) One of the areas of my research is race (Wilson, 1989): does this variable have any association with confidence in organized labor? Another focus of in my research is whether sex can attribute to one’s view on labor unions (Sares).

Learning Team Essay

Learning Team A discussed the learning objectives assigned for week three of class. Specifically, the team members discussed strategies to help develop effective groups and teams. The team members also discussed strategies to resolve conflict within organizations. The discussion included topics with which the team members felt comfortable or struggled with and how the weekly topics applied to team members’ business field. This paper summarizes Learning Team A’s discussions. Strategies to Develop Effective Groups and Teams The team members discussed the difference between the definitions of work group and work team. The work group share information and make decisions that assists each member perform tasks in his area of responsibility (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The group members do not engage in â€Å"collective work that requires joint effort (Robbins & Judge, 2011, Chapter 10) like a work team does. A work group does not create the synergy of a work team. The individual is accountable in a work group but both the individual and team members mutually are accountable. Work group members provide random and varied skills, whereas work team members bring complementary skills to the joint effort. Robbins and Judge (2011) categorized the major characteristics of effective teams into three general categories: context, composition, and process. In the context category, managers play a vital role in providing leadership, structure, a climate of trust, adequate resources, and a performance evaluation and reward systems to assist teams in becoming effective and highly productive. In the composition category, the manager must evaluate and select team members with the appropriate abilities, personalities, and diversity. Managers must determine the appropriate team size and either unilaterally or mutually allocate roles. Managers also must be aware of team member preferences and permit flexibility within the team. In the process category, managers must provide a common purpose and specific goals so team members understand and work toward a common purpose and can create a positive synergy. Additionally, managers must facilitate team efficacy, monitor conflict level, provide conflict resolution strategies, and monitor for social loafing by holding team members accountable individually and jointly. The team members were  comfortable with the concepts and terminology with regard to strategies to help develop effective teams. Team members are aware that many companies are relying on teams to accomplish tasks and goals because teams are flexible and more responsive to a dynamic business environment. Despite being comfortable with the concepts and strategies, the team members struggled with the implementation of some of the strategies. For instance, managers, tasked with building a team for a short-suspensed project, may face difficulties with building an effective, cohesive, committed, and productive team in a short time. Strategies to Resolve Conflict Within Organizations Robbins and Judge (2011) stated â€Å"The conflict process has five stages: potential opposition or incompatibility, cognition and personalization, intentions, behavior, and outcomes† (p. 457). Potential opposition or incompatibility is the first stage of the conflict process, and it has three categories: communication, structure, and personal variables. Stage two is cognition and personalization. Conflict issues are defined in this stage. Moreover, emotions have a major impact on influencing perception. Third, stage three is intentions. â€Å"Intentions intervene between people’s perceptions and emotions and their overt behavior† (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 459). There are five conflict-handling intentions: competing, collaborating, avoiding, accommodating, and compromising. Stage four is behavior, which is a vigorous process of communication. Furthermore, there are several techniques to conflict-resolution; for example, problem solving, avoidance, and compromise . There are also conflict-stimulation techniques; for example, communication, bringing in outsiders, and restructuring the organization. Last, stage five is outcomes. The outcomes can be functional; for example, â€Å"when it improves the quality of decisions, stimulates creativity and innovation, encourages interest and curiosity among group members, provides the medium through which problems can be aired and tensions released, and fosters an environment of self-evaluation and change† (Robbins & Judge, 2011, p. 463). However, the outcomes can be dysfunctional; for example, uncontrolled opposition can breed discontent, destroy cohesion and eventually could lead to the team destruction. Team members were comfortable with conflict resolution approaches; however, the team learned about conflict-stimulation techniques. The concept was new to  team members because conflict generally has had a negative connotation. The team members as managers will benefit from using both the confli ct-resolution and conflict-stimulation techniques in their workplaces. Conclusion In sum, the team members discussed strategies to help develop effective groups and teams. The team members also discussed strategies to resolve conflict within organizations. The discussion included topics with which the team members felt comfortable or struggled with and how the weekly topics applied to team members’ business field. This paper summarized Learning Team A’s discussions. References Robbins, S. P., & Judge, T. A. (2011). Organizational Behavior (14th ed.). Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall.