Jack Bennys Autobiography Essays - Jack Benny, Mary Livingstone

Jack Benny's Autobiography The late Jack Benny wrote an autobiography that was known to almost no one. So few, in fact, that his only daughter Joan was surprised to find the finished manuscript among her mother's files after her death in 1983. Joan Benny has augmented her father's words with her own memories and some interviews accomplished expressly for the book. It is very good. As one might expect from the most popular comedian of the age of radio, Jack Benny's memoirs are fast-paced, lively, and entertaining. His recollections are positive, and he says almost nothing negative about anyone. He traces back to his humble beginnings as Benjamin Kubelsky in Waukegan, Ill., and reveals many intriguing facts about his early life and entry into show business. He was a high school dropout (although, as he notes with irony, Waukegan eventually built a junior high school in his honor) and took to serious study of the violin only after flunking out of the family haberdashery business. ("Do we have to know their names?" he asked his father after an unknown customer left an account payment with him.) Over his mother's objections, he eventually found employment as a violinist with a local touring singer. After a while, he began to talk, which grew into a comedy monologue. Jan Kubelik, a concert violinist, forced Benny Kubelsky to change his name in 1912. He next became Ben Benny, and became fairly well known as a violin-and-comedy performer. After serving in the Navy in World War I, a similar entertainer named Ben Bernie forced him to change his name again, and he chose the name Jack, by which all sailors in the war were informally known to each other. Some of the stories have been told before, but get a much- deserved retelling from the horse's mouth here. Jack met his wife, Sadie Marks (she later changed her name to Mary Livingstone, the name of the character she played on the radio show) when he was 27 and she 14 at her family's Passover celebration in Vancouver. She was related to the Marx brothers, and Zeppo Marx (then Marks) had brought his colleague to the home for the occasion. Mary insisted that Jack listen to her violin playing. He found it horrible and he and Zeppo made a quick exit. Several years later, they met again and married in 1927 after a brief courtship. It was only after they were married that Mary reminded Jack of their first meeting. Jack continued his successful career in vaudeville, and when his partner took ill, he persuaded Mary to fill in. She was a hit. Eventually he found himself on Broadway and then in the movies. He vacillated for a time before deciding that going into radio would be worthwhile. While they were living in New York, they adopted Joan. She learned in writing the book that Mary Benny had planned to take her only to nurse her to health while they awaited an arranged baby. (Jack opposed this idea.) Naturally, they found they couldn't part with Joan. Much of the book consists of Joan's writing. She seems to be in a different book from her father. It would be a major help if she used a writing style that conformed more closely to that set by her father in the early chapters. Her short, simple sentences slow the pace in a sudden manner. She provides extreme levels of detail about her early life, homes, and the trappings of being a celebrity daughter. While this matter is interesting to a Benny buff, one hopes that none of the venerable comedian's material was subjugated to make room for it. It would be far more relevant if Joan Benny were a celebrity in her own right. But this is the fall of 1990 and such things are to be expected of celebrity offspring. George Bush is our president and no doubt he approves. Some of Joan Benny's passages are curious. Obviously, had her father wanted details of his premarital womanizing in his book, he would have put them there himself. Her life is very well detailed up to about 1965, but she says almost nothing of her activities for the past quarter century. Joan Benny pulls no punches in discussing her mother. The two had what would mildly be described as an adversarial relationship. Mary Livingstone Benny (who always introduced herself as Mrs. Jack Benny) is portrayed as a vain, insecure spendthrift. She allegedly was most interested in being with and accepted by the Hollywood elite. Studio

Free Exercise Clause Definition

Free Exercise Clause Definition The Free Exercise Clause is the part of the First Amendment that reads: Congress shall make no law ... prohibiting the free exercise (of religion) ... The Supreme Court has, of course, never interpreted this clause  in a completely literal way. Murder is illegal, for example, regardless of whether it is committed for religious reasons. Interpretations of the Free Exercise Clause   There are two interpretations of the Free Exercise Clause: The first freedoms interpretation  holds that Congress may restrict religious activity only if it has a compelling interest in doing so. This means that Congress may not, for example, ban the hallucinatory drug peyote that is used by some Native  American traditions because it has no compelling interest in doing so.  The nondiscrimination interpretation holds that Congress may restrict religious activity as long as the intent of a law is not to restrict religious activity. Under this interpretation, Congress can ban peyote as long as the law is not specifically written to target a specific religious practice. Interpretation largely  becomes a non-issue when religious practices stay within the confines of the law. The First Amendment clearly protects an American’s right to worship as he chooses when the practices of his religion are in no way illegal. It’s typically not illegal to confine a venomous snake in a cage at a service, for example, provided all wildlife licensing requirements are met. It might be illegal to turn that venomous snake loose among a congregation, resulting in a worshiper being struck and subsequently dying. The question becomes whether the worship leader who turned the snake loose is guilty of murder or – more likely – manslaughter. An argument can be made that the leader is protected by the First Amendment because he did not set the snake free with the intent of harming the worshiper but rather as part of a religious rite.   Challenges to the Free Exercise Clause   The First Amendment has been challenged numerous times over the years when crimes are unintentionally committed in the course of practicing religious beliefs.  Employment Division v. Smith, decided by the Supreme Court in 1990, remains one of the more noteworthy examples of a bona fide legal challenge to the first freedoms interpretation of the law. The court had previously held that the burden of proof fell to the governing entity to establish that it had a compelling interest in prosecuting even if it meant infringing upon the individual’s religious practices. Smith changed that premise when the court ruled that a governing entity does not have that burden if the law that was violated applies to the general population and does not target the faith or its practitioner per se.   This decision was tested three years later in a 1993 decision in Church of the Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah. This time, it held that because the law in question – one that involved animal sacrifice – specifically affected the rites of a certain religion, the government did indeed have to establish a compelling interest.

Historical and religious values and attachments to the Holy Lands of Essay

Historical and religious values and attachments to the Holy Lands of Jews, Christians and Arab Muslims - Essay Example The three major and most dominating religions of the world are in rivalry with each other since ages in order to capture and practice complete authority in the Holy Land. This is due to their religious beliefs and the Prophetic evidences existing in the Holy Land. Compare and analyze the historical and religious values and attachments to the â€Å"Holy Lands† of Jews, Christians and Arab Muslims. The Holy Land which was once recognized as ‘Palestine’ has a deep and distinctive association with three major religions of the world including Islam, Judaism and Christianity. Since ages the followers of these religions have maintained rivalry to occupy and practice authority over the Holy sites of Palestine. These religions have numerous similarities such as the concept of Monotheism and dissimilarities or conflicts on the basis of Prophets and their teachings which always have been a reason of dispute among them. Holy Land as the name indicates is the sacred place wher e Muslims, Christians and Jews go for performing religious duties and obligations. The place is blessed to witness the Prophetic events concerning Prophet Solomon, Prophet Jesus and lastly Prophet Muhammad. Presently Holy lands are under the authority of Jews however, historical records reflect that it was once in the influence of Muslims and Christians as well.... Christians Christians are the followers of Prophet Jesus. Since the time of Prophet Jesus till now they are claiming authority over the Holy Land as most of the life of Prophet Jesus was spent there. Christians recognize Palestine as their Prophet’s Land and therefore they have been struggling hard to get the hold of the Holy Land so that they can implement their religious teachings there. Most of the events in the life of Prophet Jesus which took place in the Holy land are mentioned in New Testament which reflects the close association of Christians with Palestine1. Christians believe that Prophet Jesus was crucified in the Holy land therefore they have built an extraordinary monument at the place where it all happened. The special monument is known as the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Since ages Christians have been traveling to the Holy land for performing several religious practices and rituals2. Christians want to establish their rule over the Holy Land in order to smooth the pathway for pilgrimages and also to take over the place which initially belonged to their Prophet. An exchange of powers is seen among the followers of the three religions when it comes to practice authority over the Holy Land. Presently it is under the control of Jews and previously it was under the influence of British who separated the area into two divisions; one was for Muslims and other was to be built as a Zionist State3. It has been a great time that Christians did not get its possession although they regard it as the most prestigious place for themselves. This has induced a much intense desire among them to get complete control over the matters of the Holy Land. This could

Short summary for two articles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Short summary for two articles - Essay Example At the same time, good news for long-term investors is that 10-year yield has consistently traded above 2% since last May and all types of bonds have shown increased yields by the last quarter of 2013. The article ‘Situation analysis: Preparing for Fed’s next move’ is pertinent in its observation that strategic initiatives of Federal Reserve during financial crisis that had called for drastic measures now need to be tempered with fresh inputs. It was primarily created to avert banking crisis by providing financial and policy related stimulus to US economy. Its recent move to gradual transition from aggressive policies especially regarding Treasury bond is important step towards neutral stance. The quantitative easing relies on productive deployment of cash into economic growth processes like capital investment through low interest rates and available liquidity. It brightens the prospect of sustainable and healthy growth of economy that would ultimately encourage greater employment

Password Cracking System Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 6250 words

Password Cracking System - Research Paper Example Protecting an individual's data by restricting access to it can be done by means of placing a password entry request mechanism every time that particular data is accessed. There are however many means whereby which these passwords can be nullified. The Systems that enable the nullifying of passwords are referred to as "Password Cracking Mechanisms". This report is intended to throw a detailed light upon which password cracking mechanisms are and how they come into effect. Background The internet is an open medium which is accessible to just about anyone who logs on to it. While it has many benefits the internet is also not free of potential harmful activities. If personal information is left insecure and un attended on the internet there is a grave possibility that someone may alter it out of inquisitiveness or for the particular reason of harming information. It is in order to refrain from the altering of information that data is kept password protected. Data Integrity Data Integrit y is a fundamental concept that governs the transmitting of data and information from one point to another. One a broader scale it refers to the accuracy and consistency with which data traveling is made possible. Passwords, An Introduction Passwords are an inevitable part of the digital life that human beings lives nowadays. They are all around man. Every cell Phone holder needs them in order to authenticate himself to their personalized mobile phone. Even the broadband service providers need authentication from each user that connects to their Service stream. It is often required from users of passwords that they keep complex passwords that are unusual and difficult to guess so that they may not be guessed/hacked by unwanted internet users. One of the recommendation is also that multiple passwords are used to access websites and online services such as email and internet banking etcetera. Passwords are also used to secure computing systems and personalized files. Passwords pose to be safeguards of the security of an individual as long as they are not cracked. The reason that passwords are known to the concerned individual himself only passwords are thought to be secure. Problem with Passwords The problem with passwords is that individuals keep them such that they are either too easy to remember or too strong, so much so that they have to be written down. The simpler the passwords are, the easier and less time consuming it is to crack them. Research has shown that a password that is devoid of any punctuation marks and capital alphabets and is based on six characters takes around 'less than six seconds' to crack. This cracking duration changes to eight point five (8.5) days if the password is composed of alpha numeric characters. This is possible since al all small alphabet six digit password has the possibility of twenty six possibilities at each alphabet position for six times in the entire password. Similarly an alphanumeric password has the possibility of having 36 possibilities at each character position (since there are 26 alphabets and 10 numeric digits.) Since the common masses are unaware of the improvement in security just by the addition of a number as part of the password characters the percentage of people taking advantage of this edge in security are very few. A research conducted by iFusion Labs, suggests that around twenty percent of the digital technology users still keep very easily, simple and guess-able passwords- such as the names

Management Principles: The Latham Report

Management Principles: The Latham Report The Latham report (July 1994) commissioned by UK Gov, written by Sir Michael Latham was an influential report defining the construction industries failures, constraints and procedures. The report identifies construction projects from start to finish, including the understanding of professional rolls, contract variations to achieve best practices including procurement and contract mediation. Clients are understood as having a key role towards the speed of a construction project. Understanding the nature of the construction industry is said to be essential to gain a better understanding of how a project will proceed. Lathams report recommended that such tasks will also have to include legal advice from certified consultants such as the client representative. Areas such as notifiable projects, professionals, communication, declaration of roles and responsibilities, project frameworks, governing bodies, liability, design procurement should all be generally understood within a clients role. Contractors where greatly influenced by Sir Michael Latham recommendations, he said that the principles of communication between contractors within the construction industry are currently having a detrimental effect on site activities and costs. He thought private sectors should get together to establish a clients forum. Latham determined that a checklist of design responsibilities should be prepared in order to prevent confusion to determine the liability of a project team. Sir Michael Latham thought that the use of co-oridinated project information should be written into contracts as a legal requirement, Latham ultimately wanted contractors to communicate better between themselves in order to assist the prevention of delays in a construction project. The Latham report talks about the responsibility of building services and design. The report highlighted that contracts agreed between professionals should be defined in a clear and precise manner; he maintained that everyone involved within a construction project should be able to understand the context of their contracts. Design and build of a contract largely depends on the project involved. The Latham report states basic design decisions on procurement should precede the preparation of an (outlined) project brief, as any project brief will largely depend on procurement matters to actually determine the structure of a projects brief. Duties, Accountability and delegation are all highlighted in The Latham Report, simplifying the delegation of duties highlighting possible penalties within a consultants/employed role for a construction project. Sir Michael Latham interpreted construction founders and agencies such as the CIC (Construction Industry Council), ECA (Electrical Contractors Association), BEC (Federation of Master Builders) FMB to help increase awareness of duties, accountability and delegation. Principles of accountability should delegate rolls duties therefore determining liability and responsibility for a professional. Simply stating tasks like responsibilities and consequences to clients and in contracts will make a construction projects duties more defined and easier to determine, therefore contributing to a smoother process. Task 2 Pioneers of scientific management are considered to be H. Gannt, Lilian Gilbert and Frederick W. Taylor. The Later Scientific school theories are largely dependent of the works of these economists. They aimed to influence industrial production with their interpretation of strategy towards the running of a more productive business, in turn lowering production costs and increasing company profits. Frederick W. Taylor quotes Taylors work influenced the general deminer of a company increasing the motivation of a work force by identifying key aspects of the managerial process like, constant innovations being discovered through the efficient use of testing (time trial .e.g.), seeking more effective equipment to decrease workmans efforts and hopefully increase the longevity of production and implementing framework organisation such as University Power Points Contingency School is a trend of management stating there is no single way to manage, different approaches to management result in different results, therefore highlighting management as an area that can greatly vary between personal. Managers are faced with the task its self to determine the management involved, for example selecting a manager for a retail shop will be very different to selecting a manager of an oil rig. Contingency thinking helps not apply 1 best way to management; it will understand the situation in front of them and aim to apply an effective managerial approach to the selection and implementation of a manager and a mangers role. Contingency was developed from many theorists concurrently in the late 1960s, Max Webber 1846 -1920 Bureaucratic Management and Frederick Winslow Taylors Scientific Management where considered to be part of the founders of economic interpretation. Frederick W. Taylor sometimes called the father of management, was a leader of the efficiency movement toward economics. He published The Principles of Management in 1911 based on his own past experiences of management interrupted towards looking into more efficient management processes, Taylors interpretation of scientific management contained 4 principles: Management Culture: China And United Kingdom Management Culture: China And United Kingdom Introduction: In this essay we are going to compare the Chinese and UK approaches to organization management culture. Taking into consideration recent phenomenon, rapid growth rate of businesses in China, expanding and growing investment portfolios have made noticeably Chinese businesses meaning, and foreign investors wanting to set a business in China. Whats interesting is the Chinese have different style, attitude and negotiation process towards employees and organisation as to the UK. The essay will state the differences between organizations in both countries and to look at the cultural dimension of both the East and the West, taking into account the different managerial styles and most importantly culture, whilst comparing both countries. The issue of globalization slides across as the process has made businesses able to connect worldwide. In order to get a closer look, case-studies will be examined looking at companies from a Chinese and UK business perspective. Despite the differences, comp lexity, similarities or disadvantage of one model to another, the Chinese way of operating is interesting especially seeing the importance and link between the countrys culture, relationships and positions in management. China has been a great country in terms of great power, which also is one of the second largest economic in the world after USA and their businesses have been booming extravagantly and expanding as well. However, China has the highest current currency reserved in the world today. Management culture in the china and in UK has been slowly integrated with one another. The Chinese management culture has undergone a period of flooded to the West and returning to the East. However we are going to examine the main dimension of culture, how they relates to businesses in China and UK. Different management researchers all over the continent have focused to the traditional Chinese management culture, whose ideal is in human orientation, and behavioural cultivation by self-disp line. This essay will consider the overall differences between the management cultures of China and the UK. In doing so the essay will consider both the general differences in cultural considerations as well as specific considerations and concepts which are present in Chinese management styles and cultures and how they relate or contrast to elements of the UK management culture.(Dongshui Su2001) Culture: In general terms it is accepted that there is a link between national cultures and management cultures (Handy 1999 p196-197). Hofstede (1980) considered a model of national cultures based upon the following four elements: Individualist vs Collectivist Low vs High power distance Low vs High Uncertainty avoidance Feminine vs Masculine traits From a national cultural perspective Hofstede identified that those countries of the Anglo-Saxon block which include the UK tend to exhibit a profile based around individualistic behaviour, low power distance, middling uncertainty avoidance and a high degree of masculinity. In comparison Eastern cultures were seen as having a greater degree of collectivist behaviour, a middling power distance a high avoidance of uncertainty and a high level of masculinity. As such in comparing the two cultures one may consider that there is a general convergence in the ability of exhibiting masculine behaviour whist there is a much more distinct difference in attitudes on the scale of individualistic vs. collectivist style behaviour. Chinese managers strongly believe in order and traditional values. Thus, Chinese bosses precisely like to share task to teams or groups to work in collective effort to enhance Just In Time (JIT ), and help the employees to work together and learn from each other as well. Although there are some disadvantages to work as team or group delays business project, in the sense that some individual would be sluggish on their own task, and when its time for promotion or bonuses equal reward would be given. In general terms whilst not as diametrically opposed Chinese culture may be seen as representing a much higher adversity to risk taking than that of the Anglo-Saxon countries. This may be seen as represented by the national differences in attitudes towards savings with Chinese citizens saving four times that of their Western counterparts (Graham and Lam 2003). In considering the effects of individualist models against those of collectivist cultures this has an impact for the consideration of overall management culture for instance the manager in an individualistic culture such as the UK will have to consider getting the best out of those they manage by aligning the best interests of the employee and the company from the individualistic perspective of the employee. For instance a popular way of rewarding employees in the UK is through a bonus culture in which the individual stands to benefit personally by meeting the needs of the organisation a theory which is largely embodied by Vrooms expectancy theory (Robbins 2007). In contrast management culture in a more collective society such as that of China may be seen as being able to appeal to the nature of employees to contribute towards the wider good of the organisation for which they have a greater sense of belonging to as a community than their UK counterparts. As such managers in such a cu lture may focus on giving praise and public recognition to employees with in the company before considering the need to use an extrinsic reward as a method of motivation. In addition the overall level of risk aversion within the national culture may be seen as translating into a model of management cultural and organisational behaviour. In many instances managers in the less risk averse countries of the Anglo-Saxon model are rewarded by shareholders for making what may be seen as risky short term profits and thus from the management culture perspective such a culture permeates every level of the organisation. On the other hand those operating in a more risk averse society such as that of China may be seen as being rewarded for acting in a way which is much more conservative with an emphasis on long term stability and profitability rather than short term share based performance. As such this adds to the general slower pace of business within Chinese cultures as personified by the general longer length of time taken in negotiations within China as opposed to between Western businesses (Ambler et al 2009). In a recent interview by Yi Min a director of Le nova Group in Carolina, he points out that collectivistic culture is less in China, since the late 1990s when the one child policy came into effect. These individuals born after 1980 ba ling hou are much more individualistic than collectivistic. Management styles and human behaviours: In many ways it may be considered somewhat difficult to generalise on the differences between management styles in the UK and China given that management styles are not necessarily related to an individual national culture but further segmented down to the corporate level. For instance even solely within the UK there may be seen as a significant array of management styles and cultures from the more formal and hierarchical in public services and more traditional business through to the informal and flatter organisational behaviour exhibited in more contemporary business such as a management consultancy businesses or a software producer. As such this section will now consider specific differences which may be used to explain potential differences in management culture which are specific at the national level rather than the organisational. Face One key consideration which may be seen as affecting the overall management style between Chinese and UK businesses is the concept of face. Within the overall Chinese culture there is the need for relationships, transactions and events to portray those involved in a positive light. As such in Chinese management styles both the leader and the follower must consider carefully what impact their actions have on the reputation of those they are interacting with. This may lead to a generally much more formal style of management in which leaders and employees take particular care to respect the boundaries and roles of those involved. Graham and Lam (2003) note that transactions between Western and Chinese companies can often fail due to a lack of respect for such formalities in which the Western company often issues a call me Mary approach thus not respecting a seemingly small but significant cultural consideration. For the Chinese business this also presents significant problems internally , for instance there may be the need for a junior member of staff to point out an operational issue for which there is a ready solution however in brining the problem the attention of a superior this may be seen as providing a conflict for the employee who may consider whether or not such an action will make his supervisor lose face. The Chinese prefer a more structural form and hierarchy followed way although much of this comes from the Confucian culture, which stresses the importance of social hierarchy, groups and positions. Empowerment: Organisations in the UK and the West believe in empowering its employees contrary to the Chinese, whom believe that when the task is not done, their boss would blame them. Chinese people do not like to be blamed. They prefer to be responsible for the work they handle themselves rather than to be empoweredto take on something new because of the fear of failure. Furthermore, if the Chinese managers apply the system of empowering subordinates , middle workers keep getting cut in organisations and somebody has to take up the task that used to be done there. The key for leaders would be to look for the right balance between empowering and doing the work themselves. As such a cultural concept can thus lead to a management style which encourages overall poorer organisational performance as performance suffers at the consideration of relationships. There is the consideration that in the UKs culture such considerations do not feature so widely and as such managers and followers are able to be much more frank about operational issues without considering a criticism of process or procedure to be a personal affront against the person responsible for it.. Chinese family businesses Another consideration in the concept of management style is that of the Chinese family business. Commentators highlight the fact that the structural form of a business will often have an impact on the cultural elements of the business (Johnson et 2008, Robins 2007) as such given the wide spread nature of the Chinese family business model this must be taken into account. Research suggests that to a large extent business in China is internalised into family groups a model which although suppressed under communism has re-emerged after the liberalisation from the smallest business to the largest conglomerate (Chen 2001). However the family business model goes beyond that of ownership as paraphrased by the consideration of the phrase family first, business second (Chen 2001 p20). This presents a key cultural difference between in cultural approaches to the running of a business between those in China and the UK. In the UK one may see that culture largely compartmentalises life bringing a clear separation between ones personal family interests and ones work or careers interests. On the other hand the Chinese family business model suggests that work and business life represent an extension of the family rather than a separate activity as in the UK model. This has major implications for management style and culture as one has to consider that under the Chinese family business model individual traits of families and their relationships will carry over into business practises as such Chinese businesses following the family business model may have a propensity to exhibit a greater level of paternalistic style of management as embodied in the family relationship than under UK models of business ownership. Process Another consideration is that there is a fundamental cultural difference between Chinese and UK cultures in regard to what is important when considering the issues of process and results. UK culture and human behaviour may be seen as to a large extent as steeped in the utilitarian philosophy in which the overall focus has become that of the result. Ultimately the utilitarian philosophy states that the only consideration is that of result and that process or how one gets to that result is completely immaterial (Graafland 2007 p149-155, Velasquez 1998 p73). This is in stark contrast to Chinese culture which built upon the cultural values of Confucianism amongst other philosophies emphasises the importance of process rather than results (Graham and Lam 2003). Although these are cultural considerations the impact upon management styles is quite formidable, as such Western approaches towards management tend to focus on results and speed of transactions were as Chinese approaches tend to f ocus the overall quality of the experience. As such UK management culture many be seen as focusing on contracts and short term transactional results whilst Chinese management cultures may be seen ad focusing largely on the building of longer term relationships over a much longer period of time. Negotiations: Negotiations may be seen as one of the most important measures of difference between Chinese and UK management styles given that the negotiation between a company from each country will highlight the exact differences in cultural terms. This section will now consider a number of specific elements which may be seen as having various degrees of difference between the styles and cultures of both nations. Negotiation in the china is seen as very frustrating and complicated because of the Chinese business culture, the Western businessmen see it as vast different. When comparing to UK businessmen who are very direct and straight forward when negotiating with foreign investors or internal businessmen. when negotiating with the West, both parties would come to agreement, so that the goals are met in a shorter time. Its much more different in China, before doing a business you need to have a middleman Zhong Yong someone in the middle that would put you through during the negotiation with the people involved. Having a middle man is idealist in China and comes at a great advantage, the Zhong Yong helps to facilitate the business activity and might act as a sign or guarantee of confidence from the eastern negotiator Time scales In general terms having considered the cultural considerations in the previous section time scales would seem to be a significant area of cultural difference between UK and Chinese companies. In general terms UK companies and negotiators may be seen as placing a high value on speed of negotiation and getting a final contract signed representing a results based approach. Chinese culture on the other hand may be seen as fuelling an approach in which time is much less valued with negotiations taking much longer over a larger number of meeting in which the process and quality of the negotiating experience is considered as more important than the actual result in the form of a contract. The barriers to entry and business start up in developing countries like China could have a fringe on its management technique and negotiation. Barriers like high level of government intervention, cost, taxes, policies, regulations. In respect to time, a good comparison is shown by a World Bank business survey on how long it takes to start a business in China and in the West. It goes on to show that starting a business in China could take up to 35days and in the UK would take up to 7 days. These barriers to entry shy way foreign investors and migrant (labour).Making it increasingly difficult to work, understand and adapt to another environment. Although things are changing in China with the influence of globalisation. Another key factor for the Western negotiator is communication, if for example the people involved are of different cultures, there is likely to be some language barrier in their method of communication. In the case when two people communicate they rarely talk about the same subject, but different meaning is laid out by each persons own due to culture Herbig,(1997). In negotiating in China, the Western businessmen need to know that conflict might occur where an individual does not know how to behave in the meeting. For example Chinese people read meaning to human behaviour a lot; They sit upright when sitting in chair with both feet on the floor and find it rude to point out your feet at another person. Trust: A concept and perception that last with the Chinese Culture, the importance of trust when doing business in China is highly regarded. Chinese negotiators look out for this in the Western negotiator for example if you did not attend the same school with the person, you just do not know them enough for them to build strong trust right away. They believe first make friend and then do business . The Westerns usually operate in a different manner and are more direct and straight forward, willing to accept your word.(Europe Asia Company Directory 1998) Guanxi One of the key elements to consider in the process of negotiation with Chinese entities is the concept of Guanxi, in general terms Guanxi represents the element of personal connections (Graham and Lam 2003 p39). The concept may be likened largely to that of the Western concept of networking however there a number of fundamental differences in that UK networks often focus on immediate transactions between those in the network and the benefits of such a network are often expected to be honoured at the time such as in reciprocal trading agreements, X offers Y and expects Z to immediately respond with a reciprocal benefit. In the Chinese negotiation process there is the consideration that such networks are based upon much longer term considerations and that a party will give or receive a benefit but may not return or receive the benefit for a long period of time to come. For the Western negotiator this may present a confusing evaluation, on the one hand a negotiation may seem a poor one from a single transaction perspective however in reality the negotiator may have banked a significant level of capital for future use. On the other hand a negotiator may have got what they consider a good deal however the ignoring of reciprocating such a deal in the favour of the other party in future could leave the company in a position of significant difficulty further down the line. Globalisation: The increased level of economic integration or globalisation may be seen as the overall justification for the research into the subject of the differences between Chinese and Western approaches to management and organisational behaviour. Globalisation in the context of Chinese and UK cultures may be seen as coming from three key driving forces, firstly the consideration that many companies since Chinas integration into the wider economy have seen China as a key source of resources be this in form of cheap labour or commodities such as oil and minerals. Secondly there is the consideration that many businesses see China as not a source of materials for export but a market for further development of sales. Finally there is the consideration that China does not simply represent a market and supplier for Western companies but also that China also has its own companies which wish to trade with the West for the same reasons. As such all of these drivers of globalisation bring together a nee d for those involved to understand and negotiate with what at times may be seen as quite opposing sets of cultures. The process of globalisation may be seen as largely a two way process in regard to the changing and acceptance of management cultures. On the one hand those businesses that have undertaken ventures in China have had to adapt to local customs and cultures with those companies such as GM who have localised their management styles and cultures doing significantly better than those such as Ford who had moved into the Chinese market using standardised models (Graham and Lam 2003, Hutchings 2001). However China in its economic integration with the wider world has also had to make concessions which have had a large impact on cultural elements. For instance as part of Chinas ascension to the WTO the Chinese government has had to significantly make recognition of such elements as contracts and intellectual property. Given the unimportance of contracts within the Chinese business culture this may be seen as a key way in which Chinese culture has began to adapt to Western cultural models as muc h as Western companies have had to adapt to Chinese cultural models. A final consideration in that of the globalisation process is the role of the overseas Chinese, a natural characteristic of the Chinese psyche may be seen as the suspicion of foreigners (Graham and Lam 2003). As such the overseas Chinese populations often provide a useful set of intermediaries between two sets of differing cultures in which the on the Chinese side of the supply chain gain the ability to trade with a trusted individual whilst the Western side of the supply chain has an asset in the form of a person who understands the intricacies of both the UK and Chinese cultures. Conclusions: There are many conclusions that can be drawn from the research which has been carried out, in the first instance one can see a direct link between the elements of national culture and management culture for both the Chinese and UK models of management and organisation culture. This has a distinct positive implication for these who may be seen as being able to bridge the gap between these cultures such as the overseas Chinese who on the one hand do not generate the initial suspicion of foreigners which is endemic to the Chinese culture but on the other hand have a deeper understanding of the national culture and thus management culture of the country for which they have settled in, the UK in this case. Other conclusions are that despite the high level of differences between UK and Chinese cultural models there are many elements which although not exactly matching have to a greater or lesser extent a general fit for example the Chinese concept of Guanxi may whist not exactly fitting wi th the Western concept of networking dose none the less have a resonance which allows Western managers to adapt the model to understand the Chinese version. Finally one must consider the distinct difference between UK and Western models of management culture in relation to Chinese models, whist the essay has often used the Western and UK concepts of culture interchangeably given that the UK may be seen as representing the West there are subtle differences when specifically considering the UK in comparison especially with the US version of the concepts considered. In many respects UK management culture may be seen as having a greater chance of success in adapting to Chinese models of management culture than that of the US for reasons which may be seen as owing to historical cultural considerations. For example whist there has been a link draw between the concept of networking and Guanxi the British concept of the old boys network may be seen as even more aligned to the concept than that of the original networking consideration. In addition the general British concept of gentlemanly conduct and a slower pace of life may also be seen as pro viding a greater resonance between Chinese and UK management cultures in comparison to the wider concept of Western comparisons.

Nat King Cole Essay -- essays research papers

Nat "King" Cole Music is a universal language, a language that many can speak; however, one that only few can master. One of those masters was Nat "King" Cole. A true legend, Nat not only could carry a song with his voice, but also through his incredible skills with the piano. Today, Nat is most remembered for that soft, soothing and so powerful voice; however he is recognized as one of the greatest jazz pianists of all-time. The man today known as Nat "King" Cole was actually born in Nathaniel Adams Coles, in Montgomery, Alabama on March 17, 1917. By the age of four, his father, Edward James Coles Sr. and his mother, Perlina Adams Coles, decided it would be best that the family move to Chicago. By the time Nat reached four years of age, his father quit his job as a grocer and moved his family to Chicago, where he became a preacher. This decision would have had a huge impact on the family as a whole, but especially in the case of Nat. Moving to Chicago was the first step in Nat’s rise to fame, the place where the foundation of a jazz superstar would be built. As a child, Nat dreamed to be a big band leader and soloist in the tradition of his idol, Earl "Fatha" Hines. By twelve years old, Nat was already playing the organ at church, amazing for such a young man only trained by his mother. Later, Nat would be enrolled in formal piano lessons, which only further add to his impressive repertoire. At fifteen years old, Nat decided to drop the "s" in his name, to become Nathaniel Adams Cole. By the age 17, Nat formed a 14-piece band, composed of students from both Wendall Philips and Dusable High schools in Chicago. The band would go around Chicago, working for as little as $2 or $3 a night. In 1936, Nat made his first recording for Decca, as part of his brother Eddie’s band, the Solid Swingers; however, his time with the band would not last. Later in 1936, Nat left Chicago for Los Angeles, where he would eventually land his big break. In Los Angeles, Nat joined a Eubie Blake’s revival of "Shuffle Along", in 1936. Here he worked with a dancer Nadine Robinson, who would later become his future wife. Nat continued his role in the musical until it disbanded in Long Beach California, in 1937. When Shuffle’s run was ended, Nat became intensely involved in the c... ...f his time. During his heyday, he was as popular as anyone, including the legendary Frank Sinatra. This is even more remarkable when one takes into account the fact that Nat refused to play in segregated halls – his popularity was such that he was one of the few African-Americans who could do so. 	On February 15, 1965 the music world lost one of its greats. By the time his life was over, he was already a legend, having influenced the likes of Oscar Peterson and Ahmad Jamal. Nat had performed with some of the best including Duke Ellington and performed for some of the best, including the Queen ¨, he was even friends with John F. Kennedy. Though he is often remembered today as a great singer, he was also one of history’s greatest jazz pianists. It is said that as a pianist, he developed the intricate right-hand style of initiated by Hines and the sparse left-hand of Count Basiel. His records have been released and re-released and even to this day they are still popular. Through the marvels of modern technology, Nat and his daughter, Natalie (who is also a well-known artist) were reunited for a rendition of the classic, "Unforgettable", which he certainly is.