Discipline in Schools Essay

A majority of us have families with children various ages, and the title of this article caught my eye for the simple fact I have teenage kids in school that have previously been assigned in-school suspension for minor disciplinary acts such as being tardy or turning in incomplete assignments. Working adults and parents are the primary targets of this particular article which sparks my personal interest towards this issue. I felt the author of this article gave a somewhat neutral observation of this topic, giving both sides of the story in a calm yet quite informative tone. He listed infractions that resulted in suspensions as well as different types of suspension outcomes. It’s important to note that suspending a student for being disruptive in class and suspending a student for fighting should be handled differently however both instances should require the students to continue working on their curriculum. With references from other educators as well as reports from the US Department of Education I would have to say that the contents of this article appear to be creditable. Results from out of school suspensions prove to be doing more harm than good, leaving students at home unsupervised with a couple days off with no curriculum to work on verses the alternative of requiring students to attend on the weekends seems to be a better solution, however funding for weekend programs is a separate issue. The authors intend of this article is to inform and acknowledge new alternatives need to be explored when it comes to disciplinary actions such as suspensions. Additional resources will have to be implemented, academic and financial. Overall I thought this to be a particularly interesting and informative article.

Ethical Decision making by School Principals Essay

Principals are faced with the challenge of managing schools and there is need for them to be ethical, respectful, inspiring, creative and knowledgeable about methods of instruction and the culture of the school and curriculum. These principals are also faced with the challenge of knowing and identifying areas of support that is able to enhance the school’s mission and also manage the areas that impede the achievement of a stated mission of the school. Since the needs of students are ever changing, they should also be in a position to make both smaller and larger adjustments that could be beneficial to the school and easily manageable by the organization in the management of these decisions. (Sousa, 2003, pp. 195-198). A decision is termed as ethical when it is able to bring about positive results and does not harm other people or the third party. These decisions are able to bring forth respect, trust, fairness and caring, responsibility and demonstrate good citizenship. When a decision accomplishes the needs of people together with their purposes, it is then termed as an effective decision. Ethically sound decisions are mostly advanced by two critical aspects namely discernment and discipline. For a decision to poses the aspect of discernment, it requires judgment and knowledge. The strength of character on the other hand, makes up a good decision and this takes moral change and the will power to be able to do what needs to be done (Hoy & Tarter 2004, pp. 56-60). Ethical decision making calls for good leadership from principals. Leadership may be described as the authority or ability of an individual or individuals to lead others towards the achievement of a goal. It involves directing and influencing others towards the accomplishment of the stated common objectives and involves responsibility and accountability for the group. There are various leadership styles that are used today in many organizations and institutions. The autocratic type of leaders apply unilateralist while dominating their team-members in order to achieve a particular objective. However, this method often results to resistance from the team- members, as this style generally requires constant pressure and a lot of direction to get things done. On the other hand, this style could be more effective in urgent situations requiring urgent action (Schiminke, 1998, pp. 107-110). In the Laissez-Faire leadership, little control is exercised by managers over their groups. This allows the team-members to sort out their duties and obligations but the manager is not in any way involved with them. This style of leadership however is ineffective at certain circumstances since the team is left floundering with limited motivation and direction. Laissez- faire is effective in cases whereby a manager leads a team that is highly skilled and motivated and these people have in the past produced excellent work. The Democratic leader on other hand often uses participation and the groups’ teamwork towards attaining a collaborative decision. This style focuses on communication between the leader and the team and hence a positive climate for achieving results is created. The leaders consult their teams before making a decision while still in control of the team. These leaders allow the team to make decisions on how certain duties will be carried out and by whom (Schiminke, 1998, pp. 107-110). In addition, a good democratic leader is one who approves participation by team members and delegation of duties or tasks is done wisely. This kind of a leader values the points put forward from them and also encourages any group discussion. He also empowers the team through motivation. On leadership styles include a coercive leader, authoritative. Leader, affiliative leader, pace setting and a coaching leader. A coercive leader demands obedience, which should be instantaneous and applies initiative, achievement and self-control. In times of crisis or company turn around, this style is considered to be more effective but it mostly creates a negative climate for the performance in an organization. The authoritative leader on the other hand is considered to be one of the most effective as this leader inspires employees to follow a vision, facilitate change and creates a strong organizational climate that results in positive performance. The affiliative leadership values people, their emotions and their needs and relies on friendship and trust to promote flexibility, innovation and risk taking. A pacesetting leader can create a negative climate because of the high standards he or she sets. This style works best in attaining quick results from highly motivated individuals who value achievement and take the initiative. Lastly, the coaching leader builds a positive climate by developing skills that will foster long-term success. This type of leader also delegates responsibly, and is skillful in issuing assignments that are quite challenging. Leadership entails organizing people in a bid to achieve the stated goals of the group. It is therefore essential that leaders should posses certain basic qualities that will enable them to be effective leaders in whatever situation or task they undertake (Guy, 1990 pp. 105-107). Leaders should display a good work ethic that will enable other employees to emulate. A good work ethic includes: being on time, being organized giving praise to employees, being well prepared for meetings and having good communication within the venture that will go a long way towards achieving emotional and financial success. Therefore a leader should set an example with an ethical set of values for other managers and employees. For a leader to be effective, he/she should be willing to constantly learn at the same time integrate the knowledge they have acquired through learning into their leadership style. They must also develop skills that will promote them into being good leaders. Another quality of a good leader is that they should constantly keep up with the current trends in leadership and be aware that the leadership styles are constantly changing. In other words these leaders should be open to change. A good leader should also be able to mobilize people and acquire their trust in the process. Good leaders should also have the ability to communicate effectively with their subordinates communication is an essential aspect since it involves both listening and sending messages or telling others what needs to be done. Moral leaders are in a position to produce good moral leadership. They mostly apply restraint and power in their leadership. They are willing to accept any results without imposing control on other people. This is stewardship. It enables leaders to accept their faults which are human instead of shielding themselves under their authority and status. Ethics can be described as the codes of conduct that guide on how one should behave regarding moral duties and virtues. These moral principles guide a person in determining what is wrong or right. Morality by principals can be termed as personal ethics. This is because personal ethics reflect the expectations of people of all works in the society. Ethics has got two aspects: the ability to determine right from wrong, propriety from impropriety and good from evil. The second perspective concerns the commitment to perform an action that is proper, right and good. The principles of personal ethics include: trustworthiness and honesty, concern for the well being of others preventing harm refusing to take unfair advantage, respect for the autonomy of others and basic justice. Ethics as displayed by principals in schools or any other leaders could be classified as under written and unwritten codes of ethics: codes of ethics are the efforts which are systematic in nature and are used in defining the right conduct. They also provide guidance and help in the installation of confidence in various aspects of life from the government and all organizations. The main guidance is reflected in the decision making process especially where values seem to conflict. Written codes of ethics can be made known by an organization, professional or jurisdiction. On the other hand unwritten codes that exist and that help us in our lives are more effective than the written ones. Un written codes of ethics include rules such as honesty, security, loyalty among others. These unwritten codes of ethics mostly arise from family and cultural tradition and can also be found in workplace. These written and unwritten codes of ethics mostly arise from family and cultural tradition and can also be found in workplace. These written and unwritten codes of ethics are found in the society and they help one in establishing their personal belief system. Ethical behaviors should be a part and parcel of an individual’s daily routine (Murphy & McMurty, 2000. pp. 110-115). I believe that Principals need to make strategic decisions since society and environment are dynamic and this provides them with a means that is strategic in nature that could enable them consider the external environment by focusing on the strength of the school organization, reducing weaknesses in school and also identify all the available opportunities that could put the school at a better position to be able to gain a competitive advantage. School principals are able to make an ethically defensible decision when the decision is well thought considering all the formal possible angels meaning that everybody takes part in decision making. In addition, ethically sound decisions in corporate all the possible solutions regarding the positive and negative outcomes of the decision. The decisions made by school principles need to involve a consultative process, team or group process or delegated duties to the staff members. This will help principals to come up with an ethically sound decision that will have a positive impact to all the members of the society which includes the students. Today, school leaders are the people who are accountable ethically, legally and morally for any decisions that they make in schools. Dempster and Parry (1999) note that the schools pressure mainly arise from four sources that is pressure of involving non-educationalists in the decision making in schools; changes in the growth of knowledge and applying the new advanced technology in learning processes; increased social problems such as suicide, violence and unemployment. This means that school leaders are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas while making decisions in schools hence resulting in conflicting ethical principles. Therefore how ethics/morals impact on decision-making is profound as this could easily change the way society operates. Foster (1986) also notes that it is the actions by the officials of the school that will strongly determine personal codes of ethics and values (Shapiro, 2000, pp. 120-125). On the ethical decision making by principals in schools, Denig and Quinn (2001) proposed a philosophical model with two moral principles namely; care and justice. They argue that most of the decisions that are made by school leaders, are mainly based on formalism which is policy and law and this is aimed at bringing about the greatest good to all (utilitarianism). In other words, this approach clearly views decision making as a rational approach that involves the use of universal principles. The decision maker performs what is right that could result in good deeds to all rather than individualism hence equity becomes the desirable outcome. They also point out that it is only through making decisions by collaborative means that these leaders can be able to analyze the dilemmas and get prepared to encompass the principle of working together with the school system and this eventually results in making decisions that are ethical (Sousa, 2003, pp. 195-198). Greenfield (19991) on the other hand argues that school leaders experience distinct sets of demands concerning ethics. He notes that schools being moral institutions are designed to bring for the social norms and other principles. They should be able to make decisions that are morally acceptable. He further notes that although schools are charged with the responsibility of creating moral values and making moral decisions by dedicating themselves to promote the well-being of their students, it is surprising that the same students have virtually no right to express themselves to what goes on in their schools and it is for these reasons that the conduct of these school leaders need to be moral (Kowalski, 2001, pp. 5-98). Robert Starratt (1991) also talks of equality in social arrangement benefits by arguing that today’s social arrangement results to unequal benefits among people. He argues that school principles should not only behave ethically but also be responsible individuals. Lastly, Green field argues that the authority of the principal is moral and teachers should be convinced that the decisions make by the principal reflects all the values that they support (Nutt, 2002, pp. 50-54). Kidder (1995) defines an ethical dilemma as the responsibilities that people face in making choices between two rights cherished values that conflict are the principle cause of dilemmas. For instance a principal is bound to be faced with a dilemma if at all he/she cherishes both the teacher and student and the teacher decides to enact a policy that will result in low expectations. Some philosophers and thinkers have come up with a number of guidelines that could help to solve these dilemmas faced by school leaders. They argue that leaders should be able and willing to act along the set standards of ethics. They could also address and also should be caring and conscious reflection whenever they lead other people (Nutt, 2002, pp. 50-54). School leaders could also form ethics committees to help them solve ethical dilemmas as these committees could prove helpful in raising the awareness concerning ethical issues, advising educators and also in the formulation of codes of ethics. A quality decision that is made by a school principal will depend on a number of factors made, extent to which others are able to generate a quality solution, how the problem is structured and the degree of commitment. Moreover, decisions made in schools require a lot of staff decision and support. School principals also need to understand the culture of their schools while attempting to make any decisions as this will establish whether the decision made is appropriate for the school. Therefore, these head teachers need to analyze and comprehend any relevant and comprehend any relevant information presented to them together with data. They also need to gather and measure evidence, issue judgments and finally make the necessary decisions. Creativity is essential as these will help in solving any anticipating problems hence development of opportunities for the school. Finally, school principals should be in a position to demonstrate quality judgment. This will enable them to know how and when they need to make any decisions among others. Decisions made by school principals could be autocratic, consultative, Group or Delegated decisions. An autocratic decision is that which the school principal makes it himself / herself by use of the available information or gathered from other groups or people. This therefore requires these school leaders to make appropriate and quick decisions when expected to do them at a particular point in time consultation on the other hand means that a problem has to be shared amongst individuals in order to obtain collective views or ideas but the school principal has to make the final decision afterwards.

The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company

The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company Executive Summary The decline in profitability of Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company representing a loss of $291.3 million coupled with the plunge in the stock price of its shares of up to 80% drop, necessitated changes to improve the company’s financial status. The events arose because of the company’s weak internal financial systems.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company took steps among them, shakeup of its top management and pay cuts with the Ex-CEO getting a 61% pay cut. The company also sought financial bailout to the tune of $700 million to stabilize its financial position. The company also employed motivation to retain its employees through incentives involving share allocation at lower prices. Winslow, the author of the article holds the opinion that despite all these measures, the financial status of the compa ny is not likely to improve. He further argues that the incentive plan of awarding employees shares at lower prices may not be effective, as the value of the shares is not projected to increase and the company’s rating is at its lowest; B-minus as per Standard Poor. He blames the financial difficulties faced by the company on poor financial systems used by the company However, due to the restructuring and down sizing, more revenue will be generated and costs reduced. The financial loans will help the company to return to solvency. Already the company shares have shown signs of increase in value and the proposed junk bond offerings of $350 million will contribute to improvement of financial status of the company. The incentives to employees will serve to motivate them and lead to a raise in volume output. Cost Cutting The company must balance between cost reduction and the retention of talented employees. In the Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company, the management sought to increa se cuts in the bonuses of top executives (Winslow, 1998, p.B8). Most of these executives did not get any bonuses because of the losses incurred by the company. Outsourcing is another strategy that is useful in cost cutting.Advertising Looking for critical writing on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A new management team to replace the current team with less pay package is useful in cost cutting like in the case of Oxford Health Plans company, the ex-CEO, Wiggins was paid more than the expected pay of the new CEO, Norman D. Payson. On the other hand, employees’ retention through share allocations acted as an incentive. Employee Retention and Work Incentives Good business management requires the productivity of the staff to increase over time. This is achieved through motivation and incentives awarded to the work force to increase output and increase staff retention (Baye, 2008, p. 58). The d ecline of profitability of a company would encourage employees seeking better work elsewhere. The management of Oxford Health Plans Company avoided loss of employees by facilitating employee ownership of the company through shares. The filing notes granted by the company to employees at an effective price of $17.25 a share, aimed at motivating the employees and giving them job security. The Oxford Health Plans company, as a way of motivating the employees also used the bonus allocation. The bonus plan should provide for compensation for the extra efforts of an employee (Baye, 2008, p.62). The executive vice president, Jeffrey H. Boyd based on an objective evaluation by the compensation committee, received a bonus of $250000 to compensate for his efforts and contributions to the company. However, this bonus plans were inappropriate because the financial performance of the company was low. Financial Bailout To stabilize the financial status of a company during times of low performance , a company might seek external sources of funding in form of secured and unsecured loans. The company can also seek internal funding like allowing the employees to invest in the company through shares. In the Oxford Health Plans company, the company resorted to tackling the poor performance through the board and hiring of new management team. The company also planned to issue junk-bond offering of $350 million to enable it to overcome the financial crisis.Advertising We will write a custom critical writing sample on The Oxford Health Plans Inc. Company specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conclusion The Oxford Health Plans company resorted to pay cuts of its top executives because of dwindling profits and rewarded employees for extra efforts. Despite the poor performance of its shares in the stock market, the strategies involving staff motivation and cost cutting increased the prospects of the company making a financial turnaround. Thus , it is apparent that among other strategies, incentives and work bonuses are important to achieve high productivity of a company. Reference List Baye, M. (2008). Managerial Economics and Business Strategy. New York: McGraw Hill. Print. Winslow, R. (1998). Wiggins, Ex-CEO of Oxford Health, Took 61% Cut in Total Pay Last Year. The Wall Street Journal, B8.

Managing Technology Synthes Inc

Managing Technology Synthes Inc Introduction Synthes Inc is a Switzerland-based company that specializes in manufacture of innovative equipment, instruments and implants used for surgical treatment of bone disease and trauma (Synthes, 2010).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Technology: Synthes Inc specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company has established itself as a market leader and innovating company that specializes in the production and marketing of products for surgical fixation, correction, and regeneration of skeleton and related soft tissues (Synthes, 2010). The company has a partnership dealing with AO Foundation, where the two organizations collaborate in product development and manufacture. The bedrock upon which success of Synthes Inc rests is innovation and adoption of appropriate technology in product development. Some of the competitors of the company include DePuy Company, Stryker Company and Zimmer Holdings, which also b oost vast market niche (Synthes, 2010). Should Synthes develop â€Å"bio-resorbable internal fixation devices? Synthes Inc has undoubtedly grown into a vast company that manufactures and distributes internal fixation devices. Currently, Synthes Inc has a market share of about 50% and remains a leader in many regions of America and Northern America (Synthes, 2010). The decision to venture into manufacture of bio-resorbable internal fixation is a risky undertaking that everybody wants to be cautious and strategic in decision making. The presence of potential market is overshadowed by fear, uncertainty, and hold-back attitude. But can Synthes Inc embrace this risk? The market for bio-resorbable products in America and Europe is promising. In 2000, it is estimated that there were six million fractures in the United States, whereby, 80% constituted adults while 20% constituted children (Gourville, 2002). At the same time, the potential of the market is exhibited in the growing number of key players’ making investment opportunities in the market. For example, there are three categories of players who have established their presence in the market: heavy weights such Johnson Johnson; the specialist such as the Bionx and Macropore; and the potentials such as Smith and Nephew (Gourville, 2002). One aspect that guides these investors involves existence of potential and market prospects in the market.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More At the same time, Synthes Inc has developed some core critical aspects that can aid the company into success, if it was to adopt manufacture and market of bio-resorbable. The company has established a close working relationship with surgeons and other specialists, which makes it possible to tailor-make bio-resorbable equipment that meets the desire of surgeons more appropriate. In the past, surgeons have pointed to t he lack of function of bio-resorbable devices, since did not meet requirements and needs of practitioners. Close work relationship and interaction with practitioners is likely to enable the company to capture the needs of customers than other competitors, and as such, have the ability to excel faster than competitors. Another strength that the company possesses, which in turn makes it necessary to venture into bio-resorbable market, has to do with presence of high skilled and dedicated research and development team. RD remains the bastion upon which innovation of market-moving products rests. RD team possesses the ability to develop products that have ability to meet customer needs in the most appropriate ways. Given its past experience, Synthes Inc has put in place one of the excellent RD teams and can utilize the expertise of the team to venture in the development of bio-resorbable (Gourville, 2002). Moreover, market experience in the use of bio-resorbable devices as evidenced thr ough research appears promising, and exhibits potential for growth. Many surgeons and practitioners express the ability to use or have used bio-resorbable devices in the past and would in future have the desire to use it (Gourville, 2002). The major areas the company can pay attention to in order to make this market experience increase positively include the key features that surgeons have proposed on the bio-resorbable devices. Synthes Inc. on the other hand possess experience in the manufacture of generation-two bio-resorbable devices, and this very aspect gives the company an upper hand as compared to competitors who have had to start from scratch hence increased costs.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing Technology: Synthes Inc specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The established ties of cooperation and collaboration between Synthes Inc. and AO Foundation provides Synthes with opportunity to utilize AO Foundati on market acumen experiences in education, product development, research and development, and sales force to penetrate the market (Gourville, 2002). AO Foundation is a great asset to Synthes Inc., and this is an opportunity the company can utilize to exert an upper hand as compared to competitors. What are the tradeoffs between the 4 options? The first option Synthesis is to totally ignore the proposal to venture into the bio-resorbable market. This option may well sound cute, especially in terms of preserving resources on technologies that remain uncertain. The company may not realize loss in case the technology flops, and it would have acted wisely if the market acceptance for the technology was not appropriate. But given that the future is unpredictable, Synthes Inc finds itself in dilemma. By totally disregarding the technology, Synthes will be giving its competitors an upper edge in the competition front, as the market become dynamic and saturated. Future prospects exist in the market and it might just be a matter of time before new future grounds for competition shift to this technology. Therefore, Synthes cannot afford to ignore the opportunity to venture in this market. Second option involves Synthes Inc adopting wait and see strategy, and let its competitors taste waters first. At the same time, adopting this strategy, Synthes will be able to save on costs pertaining to education and market advertisement and it will only venture when market already exists. The strategy may be appropriate if the company has a clear picture of competitors’ future strategic marketing and advertisement roadmap. The competitors may taste waters first, and in the process, create a market niche that Synthes may find it difficult to unblock in future. In most cases, initial steps that sometimes include education and practical demonstrations usually endeavor a lot to customers and create long-lasting impression that subsequent latecomer competitors find hard to snatch a way.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The third strategy for the company constitutes developing and marketing a line of bio-resorbable products using current available polymers. Through this, the company has the opportunity to develop a line of plates and screws designed specifically for fractures before gradually venturing into concrete market of bio-resorbable products. Again, this strategy may be appropriate but its applicability and final maturation may take a long term, thereby giving competitors time and opportunity to progress. Further, resources in the long-run may be more as to when compared if the company was to venture directly into the technology. The last strategy for Synthes involves turning efforts to more research and development of generation-3 bio-resorbable products. The strategy may be the most appropriate for the company given its established RD team. At the same time, the company has for a long time succeeded in innovating products that satisfy market needs in the most appropriate way. Further, hav ing close associations with AO Foundation, Synthes research and development capabilities are likely to results into innovation of bio-resorbable products that for a long time may remain market leaders. Therefore, it is prudent for Synthes to adopt this strategy. Synthes Inc influence on the development of bio-resorbable product market Technology innovation is one area that market leaders exert their market dominance and subsequently influence the market (Gourville, 2002). Synthes Inc. has a large market presence estimated at 50% as compared to competitors. The company possesses some core values and elements that competitors lack. At the same time, Synthes has an insightful research as to how market operates and behaves given its close presence and associations with key players in the market. In other words, Synthes Inc. interact with opinion leaders in the market. The company has a combination of expertise, technology, resources and human capability, all of which endeavor the compan y to the market in the most powerful way than competitors. Therefore, the presence of Synthes in the market, its subsequent activities in the market, its behavior with regard to technology adoption and later distribution of products for consumption are all likely to influence the market and also determine growth of the market, although relative powers of other competitors cannot be ignored. How might Synthes introduce resorbable? Introduction of resorbable products in the market may be achieved through adoption of new-product development cycle concepts and strategies (Verburg, Ort and Dicke, 2006). There must be prior research to establish needs, competitors, market share, consumer behavior over the product, costs and all information pertaining to the product. The company should further adopt product penetration strategies that include price cut, heavy promotion, multiple-unit packaging and enhancement of distribution locations (Pangs, 2004). At the same time, piloting pre-launch of products should be carried out to test the acceptability of the product and subsequently introduce necessary changes and improvement (Mohr, Sengupta and Slater, 2009). Moreover, identification of target market should be the prior strategy, and this should be followed by efforts to carry out heavy product advertisement, role demonstration, education and learning strategies about the product and brand creation and promotion (Pangs, 2004). Conclusion Synthes Inc understands that excellence in the market, especially with increasing competition rests on the ability to remain innovative, technologically alert and market focused. Research and development therefore remains the key area the organization should earnestly put more emphasis into. Market needs should constantly be transformed into appropriate and technological-adaptive products that have ability to endeavor to the market. In this case, it is advisable for the company to venture into bio-resorbable products market that presents future growth. To win the market, the company has to incorporate education, promotion, and demonstration strategies, while remaining focused on improvement of product features. Reference List Gourville, J. Y., 2002. Synthes. Harvard College Publication. [Attached notes]. Mohr, J. J., Sengupta, S. Slater, S. F., 2009. Marketing of high-technology products and innovations. NJ: Pearson Education. Pangs, P. N., 2004. Essentials of manufacturing engineering management. NE: iUniverse. Synthes. 2011. Dedicated to health. Web. Web. Verburg, R. M., Ortt, J. R. Dicke, W. M., 2006. Managing technology and innovation. NY: Routledge.

Fall of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Events

Fall of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Events The Ottoman Empire was one of the world’s most enduring empires, surviving for 623 years under 39 sultans beginning with the empire’s namesake, Osman I, and formally ending with the foundation of the modern republic of Turkey on October 29, 1923. Even though the end of the Ottoman Empire can be identified with a specific date, like the Romans and Byzantines before them the Ottomans suffered a long period of stagnation and decline, and one common theme that connects most of the factors that contributed to the demise of the empire is the economy. Interference from foreign powers, ethnic and sectarian unrest among the empire’s diverse population, and political infighting among the Ottoman ruling class all played a role in bringing the empire to an end, and all were caused, in one way or another, by economic circumstances. Looking at these factors today, many parallels with events in our own time become apparent, which, depending on one’s point of view, can be either a hopeful sign for our own future or a warning about the folly of letting history repeat itself. A Bad Business Model The Ottoman Empire suffered from a historically inevitable problem that affects every empire: as it expanded, reaching its greatest extent in the mid-17th century, its political administration became increasingly decentralized. It was only natural for the Ottomans, as a hereditary monarchy, to treat leadership positions in the provinces and small political units as a form of patronage for key supporters of the throne, but they also recognized the danger of letting local power grow too much. Thus it was typical for leaders to be appointed to positions far from their homes: Muhammad Ali, for example, the founder of modern Egypt, was an Albanian military commander. In theory, the outsiders placed as local leaders should have owed their allegiance to Istanbul rather than the local elite being made subjects of the empire; in practice, however, local rulers were given so much authority – such as responsibility for tax collection, local defense, and infrastructure development – that they had little reason to be loyal to anyone but themselves: Muhammad Ali is perhaps the best example of this; appointed Viceroy of Egypt by the Sultan after coming out on top of a fierce and confusing struggle among tribal leaders and Ottoman officers in the province, Ali found himself strong enough to challenge the Ottomans directly while nominally remaining loyal to the empire. His power grew to the extent that the British, French, and Russian governments agreed to impose a declaration of Ali’s hereditary rule in Egypt on the Ottoman government in 1841. The Ottoman Empire essentially became a loose confederation of relatively strong little kingdoms; loyal to Istanbul when it suited their purposes, but otherwise practically independent. Read more about history essays: 50 Ideas for History Essay Topics US History Essay History Essay Writing Further eroding the ability of the Sultanate to effectively manage the empire was the basic economic model, the waqf, underlying its public administration. Waqf is an Islamic principle whereby property is made â€Å"inalienable† by a grant of its owner, with whatever profits arising from the property afterward being devoted to charity in accordance with Islamic tradition. In the Ottoman Empire, the waqf was used for most public works – roads, ports, hospitals, and other public facilities – rather than these things being developed directly through tax revenues; the justification for this was that the Sultanate, as the nominal leadership of the Muslim faith (or at least most of it) was a worthy recipient of the waqf as it ensured the â€Å"profit† was used for the greater good of the Ottoman people. The problems with this model is that first of all, it left the administration of public works in private hands, and second, it was wholly insufficient for the empire to keep up with its European rivals in terms of economic development. Moreover, it further eroded the opportunities for the Sultanate to collect taxes since many waqf grants were made as payments in kind. An Empire Drowning in Debt Lacking a sufficient resource base, the Sultanate was increasingly forced to turn to foreign borrowing to fund its administrative functions and military expenditures. Unrest throughout the Ottoman Empire and a seemingly-endless string of military adventures involving the other European powers sapped what financial resources the Sultanate had left; between the end of the Crimean War in 1854 and the accession of Abdulhamid II in 1876, debt service grew to account for roughly half of the empire’s yearly income. The Vienna stock market crash of 1873 and the ensuing â€Å"Long Depression† was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back – the new Sultan was forced to declare bankruptcy, which in turn helped to provoke another brief, disastrous war with Russia, the end of which in 1878 further eroded Ottoman financial strength by removing about 20% of its population and 40% of its remaining territory. In 1881, frustrated European powers established a Public Debt Commission in Istanbul to oversee the repayment of the Ottoman’s foreign debt. The taxes levied by the Commission created dire economic hardship in the empire, driving up prices on all manner of goods and services, and further reducing the Sultanate’s revenue base – for example, the entire yearly tribute or treaty payments of Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, and Montenegro were collected by the Commission instead of the Ottoman government. Modern Parallels By 1908, a growing rebellion within the Ottoman military forced Abdulhamid II from the throne, and within the next few years the outbreak of World War I put the final few nails in the Ottoman Empire’s coffin. What is most interesting about the decline of the empire in the years leading up to the revolution of 1908 and the disastrous outcome of the First World War is how many of the critical problems suffered by the Ottoman Empire seem to be repeating themselves. Countries such as Greece and Spain find themselves mired in foreign debt, and at the mercy of European powers’ direction of their sovereign economies. All around the world, in developing nations as well as highly-developed countries like the US, increasing privatization of public institutions has not only led to an erosion of public services but paradoxically, less efficient collection and spending of public revenues. And while the entire world struggles with economic threats to sovereign stability, small – but expensive – military conflicts persist in draining countries’ resources. The hopeful outlook would be that by studying the decline and collapse of the Ottoman Empire, we could learn how to avoid the same pitfalls; history suggests that humanity on the whole, however, may not be all that good at learning from its own mistakes.

Literature Review for Prioritizing IT investments Essay

Literature Review for Prioritizing IT investments - Essay Example According to the article Optimize Cooperate Investment in Information Technology by OracleInsight, IT investments take the lead in many companies; many companies have invested in IT making the total IT investments worldwide rise rapidly (5). This has prompted research on the benefits that come with IT investments. First, IT has improved the organization’s communication systems, which adds to the long term benefits in a business. IT also promotes the exchange of ideas within and outside the business, as well as ease complexity of communication system making it convenient and confidential. Similarly, Due notes that communication to the customers and other business stakeholders become easy with the use of IT (74). Secondly, majority of the managers prioritizing on the IT investment have experiences that facilitate their application of IT equipment and a lot of information concerning the applicability of the software and other IT features are available worldwide. Many companies own computer programming models with well skilled computer and IT skills (Sykes and Clayton 2). Additionally, these IT investments proved that they have the ability to improve future results. Information stored in the computers is used as a reference in the future. Thirdly, IT investments create a competitive advantage. For instance, Kearns after conducting a case study on two companies notes that IT investments help companies achieve a competitive edge, but a success in prioritizing IT investments requires the involvement of management, and also depends on the organization structure (10). Lack of information on the actual role played by IT makes it difficult to categorize the benefits as either tangible or intangible. This is caused by the fact that most organizations do not define or split their benefits in terms of outset. Additionally, IT projects cannot be categorized alone, therefore, making it difficult

Building Technologies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Building Technologies - Essay Example Social shaping of a building technology is related to the ways and customs, in which the physical structure, apparatus, and modus operandi used, cooperate with the social needs and customs of the community. The characteristic plan of the medieval cities was built with a spacious design, which was always enclosed by city walls, reflecting a grid arrangement. The most idiosyncratic feature of the medieval cities was the colossal community locales or edifices. These edifices were brought into use for the purpose of water supply, amusement, business, and administration. The average income families lived in open areas as compared to the rich who resided in high raised apartments. A medieval city could be called as a "densely congested network of narrow winding streets, lined with high house fronts, a pattern relieved only occasionally by open squares and marketplaces." (Friedrichs, in Chant, p147) enclosed by closely fortified barricades with shielded entrances and fortified towers. The building technology used up for military also affected the lay out of the medieval cities. When the military had to settle in populated areas, they used to build their own towns that were typical of the military model. The basic form of these medieval cities were in the fortified walls and castles shaped directly to help the military and weapon siege techniques. Stone city walls restricted external city development, hence the affinity for houses and buildings to be intimately packed together and to be built high. The material of walls used was concrete, which was used in combination with brick and mortar which made the walls strong to defend the city in times of invasion. Since the supply of land was restricted within the walls, concrete buildings were allowed to 5 storey. The medieval cities also used up a large quality of natural materials, like wood and stone for the construction purposes. Lime-mortar and wall reinforcement through the use of sandstone columns allowed Islamic cities to expand when mud-bricks did not allow buildings above a single storey (Chant & Goodman, 1999: p137). In addition, the religious buildings in a medieval city were the focus of the common people. The structure and design of these buildings involved the forms of Roman Basilica but adapted to hold a larger audience. At times, new technologies were also experimented which allowed for the establishment of very high cathedrals that subjugated the perceptible room of medieval cities. In medieval cities, the use of horse for transport purposes soon replaced the use of ox, for the agricultural use. This was necessary, as the crowded cities were not built to allow for the passage for wheeled vehicles. To conclude, the medieval building style imposed a level of universality of beliefs, speech, and administration outlines. The communal areas for use or entertainment and religious buildings brought reputation to the head of state. Thus we can say that the medieval cities were socially shaped. Bibliography 1. Alsford, Steven, "Florilegium Urbanum", http://www.trytel.com/tristan/towns/florilegium/flor00.html [27 April 2003; consulted on 26 June 2004] 2. "Armenian Architechture - Virtual ANI", http://www.virtualani.freeserve.co.uk/