The Envious Role in “Roman Fever” Essay Example

The Envious Role in â€Å"Roman Fever† Paper The fine line between the fear of the unknown and what is known can sometimes become blurred. In the short story â€Å"Roman Fever†, Edith Wharton does just that by telling the story of two ladies who were ‘childhood friends’. Both are recently widowed, and encounter each other in Rome by coincidence while traveling abroad with their daughters Jenny and Barbara. One of the ladies, Alida Slade, has long suspected that her intimate friend, Grace Ansley was involved with her fiance many years ago and has been harboring some sort of dark secret about that liaison. As the story unfolds, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley wonder about the familiar situation they have found themselves and their daughters in while in Rome. The similarity between the two holidays has brought many of Mrs. Slade’s lingering doubts back to the surface. Mrs. Slade’s actions throughout the story are motivated by the fear of what she does not know and the fear of what she suspects to be true. In addition, Mrs. Slade’s inherent dislike of Grace, her feelings of insecurity, jealously, and their current circumstances will force her into revealing a long kept secret of her own that she hopes will reveal the truth she has sought all these years. Mrs. We will write a custom essay sample on The Envious Role in â€Å"Roman Fever† specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Envious Role in â€Å"Roman Fever† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Envious Role in â€Å"Roman Fever† specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Slade’s peculiar behavior throughout the story is directly motivated by all of these factors. Jealousy and envy have always played a major role in the intertwined lives of Alida Slade and Grace Ansley. The feelings of jealousy and envy date back to when Alida and Grace first met while on a holiday in Rome as younger women. As they begin to reminisce about the onset of their friendship many years ago, they realize that although they have been friends for many years, they are relative strangers. Sitting outside in silence, the two women, â€Å"who have been intimate since childhood, reflect how little they knew each other† (Wharton 1368). Slowly, the reader begins to understand that there had been a subtle, hidden competition for Alida’s fiance, Delphin. Alida worried that Grace was attempting to steal her fiance from her. This fear fuels the jealousy and envy Alida feels towards Grace and the resurfacing of those feelings motivates Alida’s odd behavior of revisiting the past in the story. Although Alida Slade projects an image of well-bred confidence, she is actually very insecure and relentlessly compares her life to that of Grace’s. Seeing as they end up living across the street from one another, the reader soon realizes that although their lives are ironically similar, Alida considers hers to be lacking by comparison. The only big diffence is that of how Alida feels. Grace does not show the same feelings as Alida. From the onset of the story, Alida’s thoughts are in the forefront, while Grace’s thoughts assume a lesser role. The readers automatically make more of a connection with Alida more so than Grace. This leads the readers to feel what Alida is feeling and thinking instead of Grace, allowing more of an eventful feel to the story. Through Wharton’s use of the third person omniscient point of view, the reader senses the underlying competition between the two women. Alida sees Grace and her husband Horace made a â€Å"good-looking, irreproachable, exemplary†, (Wharton 1368) couple, stereotyping them as â€Å"museum specimens of old New York†, (Wharton 1368), which in itself is exactly like her, yet she does not see it. After further analyzing the story, the reader realizes that Alida’s envy of Grace, compounded with her own doubts of fears about the past intensifies her hatred for Grace and her desire for revenge. Alida Slade had long speculated that Grace and her fiance, Delphin, were once romantically involved, and even after all these years married to Delphin, she still feels inferior to Grace because of her doubts. Additionally, since the death of her well known husband, Alida’s life seems dull and she craves the attention that was part of that lifestyle. By creating drama with Grace, she hopes to at long last discover the truth and feed her need for attention at the same time. During the conversation on the terrace, Alida begins to make subtle comments, as if she is trying to make Grace irritated and admit to the affair. These elusive comments eventually substantiate the dramatic conclusion between the two friends, although the reader may miss many of the comments because of their subtlety. Alida mentions a story about Grace’s Great-aunt Harriet that Grace’s mother had once told them. As Grace is commenting on the tale, Alida stops her mid sentence and purposely adds, â€Å"but she really sent her because they were in love with the same man†, (Wharton 1372), as if to nudge Grace’s confession along. As the conversation progress, so does the underlying tension. Alida’s comments to Grace become short and terse, almost to the point where she is bluntly stating her true feelings; something Alida has never done with Grace. Alida wants Grace to admit to the affair with Delphin and when she does not, Alida clearly says, â€Å" You had been out late sight-seeing, hadn’t you? †(Wharton 1373) Grace still does not admit to the affair and Alida finally plays her trump card, telling Grace that is was she who wrote the letter that proposed the secret meeting, not Delphin. An outside source, James Phelan, point of view claims â€Å"Alida seeks to injure Grace and establish her own power over her by telling Grace about the forgery† (343). In other words, Alida knows telling Grace will put the feelings of being jealous and envious out of the way, even if it was momentary, making Alida feel better about herself. Alida craves the powerfulness between the two. In another telling comment, Alida reveals another purpose of her writing the letter. She hoped that Grace would go out into the damp night to supposedly meet Delphin and catch a cold or â€Å"Roman fever† as one would say and be out of the picture for a few weeks, but then goes on to say, â€Å"Of course I never thought you’d die†, (Wharton 1374), subconsciously imitating Great-aunt Harriet story about sisters (or friends) in love with the same man. Alida was motivated by jealousy and fear to attempt to rid herself of Grace. Mrs. Slade’s socio-economic class also indirectly motivates her jealousy of Mrs. Ansley. Wharton often wrote about things that she was familiar with and her lifestyle is reflected in the story â€Å"Roman Fever†. Edith Wharton was â€Å"born to wealth and privileged in the leisured society of the nineteenth-century Old New York† (Benstock vii), as was Alida Slade and Grace Ansley. People from such an entitled background have certain expectations. When these expectations are not fulfilled, people can rebel against their moral upbringing and seek retribution. This is the case with Alida Slade and her desire to feel superior to Grace Ansley. Although Alida does not find out until the end of their time together in Rome, Grace does not feel the same way Alida does seeing as Grace ultimately got whar she wanted. Unfulfilled expectations also feed Alida’s insecurities about the relationship between Grace and Delphin. Alida expects to marry well and continue to lead the lifestyle that she is accustomed to and Grace may have cause a disruption in those plans. Wharton also skillfully convolutes the seemingly separate stories of the two main characters and that of their daughters by comparing illusive similarities and linking Alida’s motivation to both. History seems to be repeating itself when the reader takes a step back from the story and compares the women’s lives and the similar circumstances their daughter’s now are experiencing. Alida envies Grace’s daughter Barbara and in her mind, her own daughter Jenny pales in comparison. She drops hints of her true feeling to Grace when she thinks aloud â€Å"how two such exemplary characters such as you and Horace had managed to produce† a daughter like Babs (Wharton 1371). This not only is a subtle foreshadowing, leading to the ending of the story, but exemplifies exactly how Alida feels. As seen throughout the text, â€Å"This type of resentment toward the envied person, ‘agent-focused resentment’, when the envious person feels that another has acquired superiority unfairly† (Comins 10) provides Alida with added motivation. Alida even catches herself thinking â€Å"Jenny [is] such a perfect daughter that she needed no excessive mothering. ‘Now with Babs Ansley I don’t know that I should be so quiet†, (Wharton 1369). Then when Grace defends her own daughter, Alida very bluntly says, â€Å"I appreciate [Babs]. And perhaps envy you† (Wharton 1371) and â€Å"I have always wanted a brilliant daughter †¦ and never quiet understood why I got an angel instead† (Wharton 1371). Alida is fearful that her daughter will experience the same type of self-doubt she experienced when competing with Grace. Wharton’s title, â€Å"Roman Fever† is symbolic to the story because Roman fever, which used to refer to Malaria, represents the burning desires that are left unstated between the characters. Grace Ansley figuratively developed Roman fever when she burned with love for Delphin. Alida Slade figuratively contracted it when Grace’s love for Delphin filled her with hatred and the desire to seek revenge by writing the letter. Roman fever secretly continues to simmer below the surface for the next twenty-five years. It flares up again when the two friends encounter each other in Rome and the similarities between their daughters and their current situation threatens to make history repeat itself. The â€Å"fever† motivated both women to exorcise the demons from their past, each with the hopes of hurting the other, just as they had been hurt themselves. The reader has to wonder, if Alida had never written the letter in the first place, would any of this had happened? Delphin may have desired Grace, but since he was already engaged to Alida, so he may have never acted upon those desires. That is until Alida wrote to Grace, posing as Delphin and Grace replied. Now, although she has had Delphin all these years, she still feels the need to punish Grace and attempt to recover the feelings of superiority she lost when Delphin died. She subconsciously attempts to achieve this by revealing her secret and fails. This illistrates the age-old saying, â€Å"be careful what you wish for, you just might get it†. Works Cited: Benstock, Shari. No Gifts from Chance a Biography of Edith Wharton. Austin: University of Texas, 2004. Print. Bowlby, Rachel. â€Å"‘I Had Barbara’: Women’s Ties and Wharton’s ‘Roman Fever’† Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 17. 3 (2006): 37-51. Print. Comins, Barbara. Outrageous Trap: Envy and Jealousy in Whartons Roman Fever and Fitzgeralds Bernice Bobs Her Hair' Edith Wharton Review 17. 1 (2001): 9-12. Print. Phelan, James. â€Å"Narrative as Rhetoric and Edith Wharton’s Roman Fever: Progression, Configuration, and the Ethics of Surprise. † A Companion to Rhetoric and Rhetorical Criticism. Ed. Walter Jost, and Wendy Olmsted. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub. , 2004. 340-353. Print. Wharton, Edith. â€Å"Roman Fever. † The Story and Its Writer: An Introduction to Short Fiction. Ed. Ann Charters. 8th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. 1366-1375. Print.

Kwame Nkrumah essays

Kwame Nkrumah essays During the life of Kwame Nkrumah what did he do to change the African Kwame Nkrumah was born in Nkroful in the southwestern part of the British colony. Nkrumah was a great student in the local missionary schools. While he was a teenager, he became an untrained elementary teacher in a nearby town of Half Assini. In 1926 Nkrumah went to Achimota College in Accra, he earned his teaching degree and went on to teach at several Catholic elementary schools. IN 1935 he moved to the United States to attend Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. When he graduated with a B. A. degrees in economics and sociology. In 1942 he received a M.A. degrees in education and philosophy. In 1942 and 1943 Kwame was persuaded by the writings of German political philosopher Karl Marx, German economist Fredrich Engels, and Russian leader Vladimir Lenin. Kwame promoted a Pan-Africanism, it is a movement for cooperation between all people of African origin and for the political union of an In 1945 he went to London, to study economics and law. There he helped organized the fifth Pan-African Congress in England. At the congress, Kwame met many important African and African American leaders, including future president of Kenya Jomo Kenyatta, and American actor and civil rights That same year, Kwame became vice president of the West African Students Union. Kwame then returned to the Gold Coast in 1947 when the UGCC (United Gold Coast Convention), asked him to serve as its secretary general. In this position he gave speeches all over the colony to rally support for the UGCC Kwame organized a series of colony strikes in favor of independence and that almost brought the colonys economy to shut down, Kwame was then ...

International Financial Markets Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

International Financial Markets - Essay Example effected where the surplus funds are invested in the markets through buying of assets, and the deficit is counteracted when investors sell their assets. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) has played a major role in financing investors. The financing from an exchange in the recent decade has been viewed to be more effective compared to other financial institutions. The process applied in extending credit is much easier to undertake. A number of factors have been seen to enhance this process. These include the growing competition, fluctuating interest rates, deregulation and advanced technology that have resulted in the efficiency of operations of the LSE. LSE is among the largest trading market internationally serving 3000 companies in 70 different countries. Integrity, market knowledge and a lot of expertise have been a platform for LSE. It is a leader in providing of services that facilitate raising of capital amongst its participants. It is also among the leading stock exchanges in equity trading. LSE offers both real and virtual stock exchanges. Virtual stock exchange allows its investors to trade online while the real exchange is done offline. Advertently, this allows all manner of investors to trade in this stock exchange. The technological advances allow participants in this market to have the opportunity to trade locally and internationally. The LSE group has in the past decade offered high performance trading platforms, market softwares e.g. sets, crests, for assessment of assets as well as post trading services for its participants (Alexander, 2008, 281; Alexander, 2010, 137). Main markets works together with the LSE and the financial authorities in regulation of trades with big corporations. These are companies who are not only looking for ways of raising capital but also in having a reputation in their liquidity shares profile and international position. It has a combined market capitalisation of  £3.7 trillion. This market serves over 1400 companies. It

Low carbon building portfolio (Briefing Reports) Assignment

Low carbon building portfolio (Briefing Reports) - Assignment Example The BEEAM calculator method defines the type of building and differences in range of water consuming activities of various components within a building. The other methods that are used are standard Wat 01 method, and alternative Wat 01 technique (Srinivasan, Ling, & Mori 2011). Using the Wat 01 calculator, domestic water rate of consumption of components is calculated and baseline performance compared, indicate efficiency of baths, dishwashers, urinals, and showers, specify rain water systems, and finally, specify water consumption rate in liters. When the building tenanted areas are provided with water, then sanitary components must be specifies. Alternatively, the level of performance can be determined by use of fittings that are compliant with the baseline level of the BREEAM (Williams 2010). Wat 02 method is used where water is supplied from private sources or boreholes. Areas of the building that consume 10% of water are fitted with meters that provide instantaneous readings, have connections to BMS, and monitor the rate of water consumption. Each of the meters gives a reading based on the consumption level and each pulse water meters is connected to the BMS when the building is managed by the owner. There is no need for sub-meters especially where there are no monitoring benefits and there is no need to install a meter where simple calculations are required to determine the usage of water for a function (Michaelowa 2012). Provide a leak prevention and detection system to detect water leaks on the water supply system. It is activated when water passes through the water system and identifies the changes in flow. The following flow control devices may be used, thus, time controller, programmed time controller, volume controller, and central control unit. Constant water supply is required and in case of emergencies, the water supply should be constant and should not be shut down and it may be necessary for the operation of other systems within the

Tektronix Inc Global Erp Implementation Management Essay

Tektronix Inc Global Erp Implementation Management Essay For Welti (1999), an ERP implemented in a complex international environment normally incorporates four major sequential stages (Planning, Realization, Preparation and Productive phases) that must go in parallel with a proper Change management, Risk Management, Project Control, Project Team Training and User Training. As the global implementation was done by waves with different characteristics, it can be seen that different project management strategies were adopted. In this part only the most characteristic features of the overall project are highlighted and these issues are limited to the information given by the case study (Planning and Realization stages). In the Planning stage, many issues can be mentioned. First, the selection of the ERP package was quite straightforward and relied mainly on Neun and Vance ´s judgment, experience and criterion; they decided to choose Oracle as a single vendor in order to avoid dealing with the complexity of multiple providers which, although it may cause future problems due to the dependency created to a single vendor, it was a practical decision for the implementation process. In this decision, they devoted neither too much time in costing nor resources in evaluating the alternative packages. Secondly, the steering committee clearly defined the model, guidelines and principles under which all the systems were adhered to. Also, it was defined the financial architecture that could meet the new business model: Order Management was different for each division (for customer purposes), but the rest of accounting elements were based on single definitions in order to provide worldwide control. Thirdly, th e Project Team structure offered advantages such as the cross-functional working style, which created a regional and divisional control. Then, the problems and tasks could be addressed from these two perspectives, but the disadvantage of this approach might be the conflicts of power during the implementation, as authority was given to divisional and/or regional leaders which could have created confusion to users and sub-teams. Fourth, it seems that within each wave they did not allocate carefully all the resources, people or time needed for being successful, which led to the time constraints as they devoted effort looking for skilled staff and consultants. Overall, the project was benefited from the partial feedbacks and success in each stage and in the long run the plan was framed within the general guidelines and schedule. Also, the planning stage can be said to be closer to reality as they used a mixture of emergent and statics tactics to face future events. The Implementation phase was done more or less within the plan, and it was divided mainly in regional and divisional deployments. The first stage, the implementation of the Financial and OMAR modules in the CPID was properly led by the person who best knew the IT infrastructure in USA: Gary Allen. As this division was in need of an urgent BPR and a new business model in order to improve their competitiveness, the early success of this implementation could get the buying of the next regions and divisions. However, this stage was no exempt of project management difficulties: Tektronix lacked of technical and functional skills with Oracle, and they struggled in finding the right consultants, with the resultant wasting of time. It can be mentioned that within this first part, USA was a good pilot for OMAR, as they could get an opportune feedback about business and technical issues; regarding the implementation of financial module in USA and Europe, they did not face major challenges, giv en that this module did not require BPR and also because the company highly relied on Oracle specialist Consultants (Aris Consulting). But the implementation of OMAR at MBD (second stage) met technical challenges despite of the help from Oracle consultants. The third stage, implementation at VND, was characterized by a constraint of human resources. These two last stages (two and three) went through problems from the business perspective, probably as a result of IT head divisions leading the implementations, with less involvement from the executive level. Later, once deployed the software in USA, Tektronix went to the European branches where the approach followed was more or less similar to that followed in USA: they chose the most used European distribution centre (Holland), and this pilot reduced the uncertainty and gained the buying from the rest of regional countries. Then, they decided the final roll out to some other European countries and the big-bang deployment that installe d all three divisional systems together. This strategy could lead to good results considering that European countries are culturally very different and it is really challenging to implement a vanilla version program. When introducing the ERP system into Asia, a similar plan was followed, which was wise given the language issues that could have represented a technical and cultural limitation if not addressed properly. America and Australia seemed to be easier waves in comparison with the rest of the project. Although the monitoring and feedback had a positive impact on the effectiveness of control (Mudimigh, 2001; Bancroft, et al., 1998) and the deadlines were timely met, it is clear that the weakest point of the implementation stage and partially of the planning stage was the poor Change Management, Project Team training and Risk Management (they are not mentioned in the case). For example, the complete absence of a proper Change Management project led to the resistance found when implementing OMAR at MBD. Also, the absence of attention from the managerial and business level in the allocation of the initial resources (staff, training, and consultants) led the waste of time when selecting consultants, when doing testing, incorporating technical changes, language customizations and new business processes. One of the good points of the project was the training given to Power users and Sub-Teams across the global enterprise. Overall, the conservative approach (waves of roll out and big-bang ) followed by Tektronix really helped in mitigating many of the characteristic risks for a global ERP implementation. 2.- IDENTIFYING TEKTRONIX ´S PROJECT RISKS In terms of risk, it can be said that Tektronix had tolerance for risk (Hirsch and Ezingeard, 2008) as managers were willing to accept variations during the project in order to obtain high returns (time and efficiency).This attitude towards risk might have an explanation: by using the Willcocks and Griffiths (1994) framework, we can see that due to some key managers ´ previous experience with ERP technology, considering the project as a large one and regarding project structure as medium or low, then the risk can be classified as Low or Medium. Then, it can be said that leaders of the implementation drove the project without a highly structured plan because their knowledge about ERP implementations gave them enough confidence to improvise tactics in order to obtain successful results. Keil et. al (1998) proposed a risk categorization framework that can be used here to classify the risks that Tektronix faced. Furthermore, this model gives the opportunity of clearly locate those events that could have happened and that could be prevented if addressing the events on time. Complementing this framework, specific risk factors (Sumner M., 2000) for enterprise-wide ERP projects are included within the four quadrants. Quadrant 1: Customer Mandate In this quadrant there are risks associated with the commitment obtained or lack of buying from senior management, users and other stakeholders. The first concern noticed in the case studied was that the project clearly had the financial support from the Board of Directors; and also the CFO and CIO were willing to introduce changes and improvements for the company, all which reduced the risks related with funding or assistance needed during the implementation. Secondly, the commitment from the company HQ and divisions was quickly gained because the high rate company growth and Tektronix ´s inability to cope with the market pressures had created a sense of dissatisfaction among managers and top employees who found in this project the opportunity to improve. Thirdly, there was a highly motivated champion of the project (Carl Neun) who was supported in his idea by the CIO and CPID ´s president. Furthermore, some other leaders were designated across the different regions and business units in order to expand the champion ´s directives. Fourth, the management structure of the project was built upon a number of key roles with business and technical expertise; this structure consisted of a central project leader (CFO with unlimited authority from the CEO) and strong business divisional or regional leaders supporting the champion ´s authority. The clear roles allocated at different levels reduced the efforts done along the top-down structure, but the lack of involvement of the CEO and other senior managers in Change management can be considered a risky attitude which ended up in occasional resistance from some users. Lastly, it seems that end-users ´ expectations were not considered at all: firstly, because the CFO relied mainly on his experience and intuition and did not spend time in doing a proper project analysis; second, the vanilla approach proposed by Neun implied adapting users ´ operations and routines to software and not vice versa. An instance of this weakness arose when doing BPR at MBD, where there was users ´ resistance and time was wasted explaining to users the reasons behind the new processes. Quadrant 2: Scope and Requirements In general, there were no major misunderstandings in requirements or disruptive changes in requirements: the scope was clearly defined as global, the elements implemented were limited to the Financial and OMAR systems, and the company followed the best practices embedded in the system and recommended by the vendor. Furthermore, as a vanilla implementation approach was deployed as a global solution, only in cases of extreme need modifications took place, which clearly reduced the risks involved when doing local or national customizations (Sheu, et al., 2004). Quadrant 3: Execution In this Quadrant, it can be assessed risk factors and many of the traditional pitfalls associated with poor project management. The pitfalls can fall into the business or technical field. As examples of first mistakes done by Tektronix, it can be mentioned an inadequate change management, project management and risk control: They never did any feasibility analysis and risk analysis before embarking in this huge project, and this neglect prevented them from seeing the reality in some subsidiaries. As a consequence, customization of the ERP for business processes-that were unique for some competitive local branches- had to be made; also, Multilanguage settings were programmed at last minute. The lack of skills in project management resulted in assigning this responsibility to inexperienced consultants, with the corresponding wasted money and delays when choosing a new consultancy firm. Tektronix also faced resistance that was not expected; for instance, when doing the implementation at the VND division, they found difficulties that only could be overcome by increasing the working pressure and the level of resources (order entry people, item maintenance people). With reg ard to the transfer of knowledge, the company relied mainly on a combination of large and small consulting firms (particularly with Aris Consulting) as well as independent consultants, but it is not clear whether a correct program for transfer of skills was in place. The Change Control team actually worked as a communication or monitoring team and no Change management team or program was ever mentioned. Regarding the technical realization, there are some points to highlight. First, the risk of Oracle versions being obsolete before the roll out completes was diminished with the concept of waves; and each time a new version was released the company used updated versions of the software. However, in CPID, Tektronix wrongly decided to install a beta version of the software which resulted in much time of debugging, instead of waiting for the final version that was later released or for a more tested version. Secondly, the lack of technical expertise made the firm to rely mainly on external consultants as Tektronix ´s employees did not have proper training in the technical area. Furthermore, this lack of expertise resulted in much time and resources wasted, such as the excessive training and testing done in the MBD division when implementing OMAR. Thirdly, there was also the risk of integration with the manufacturing legacy system that was kept in place; and even when an interface was i nstalled between the two systems, there might be a possibility of future failure. Finally, in spite of the fact that the implementation included building a data ware housing functionality, it seems there were no plans or considerations of the high risks involved in data migration. If the new software did not work properly with the existing infrastructure or database, the only outcome would be adding the software to the collection of obsolete legacy systems. Quadrant 4: Environment Tektronix never considered the risks associated with changes in scope/objectives due to changes in the senior management hierarchy or political problems within the firm itself. Hopefully, the project did not miss their key team or management members and it could finally reach the end with a constant objective. It helped the fact that the global objectives were met in less than 3 years, a period of time relatively short that avoided the risks associated with managers moving and changing plans or directives. With regard to internal problems, it was not considered that potential conflicts between the business units or departments could erode the performance of the plan. However, the leadership and corporate culture seems to have helped subsidiaries to strictly follow the HQ guidelines, which in turn streamlined the implementation process. 3.-CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTORS AND GLOBAL CHALLENGES For Tektronix, some of the following critical factors and challenges (Plant and Willcocks, 2007; Sheu, et al., 2004; Hoffman, T., 2007; Bingi, et al., 1999) permitted to reach a fairly successful implementation: Communicating and persuading project goals to constituents from different cultures (Hoffman, T., 2007) The vision and project goals were adequately communicated and reached thanks to two factors: The strong leadership of Carl Neun, who was given the whole support from the CEO, and the steering committee whose main activity was to develop and ensure that enterprise-wide implementation guidelines and principles were followed. Also, the presidents of each division were key contributors because they made tough decisions in order to meet the deadlines imposed and reduce the cultural problems. Change, Customization and Business Process Reengineering (Plant and Willcocks, 2007) The implementation approach followed by Tektronix was probably the best risk management initiative itself because the global deployment was done in a logical order to reduce disruptive changes and to increase the learning and feedback. Also, the vanilla model suggested as the standard for the entire organisation helped in diminish the level of customization, although some minor changes were necessarily made. The implementation of the financial model did not require BPR, but the OMAR module was modified and customized in order to support both the corporate functionalities and the best practices embedded within the system. Then, BPR was done to the extent of preserving the competitive and core capabilities of the regional business units. Internal Technical Personnel/Resource/Labor Skills (Sheu, et al., 2004) Although Tektronix did not have trained personnel in project management or in technical knowledge, they opted for buying consultant ´s know-how, which could give them the capabilities to go forward with the implementation. At some points they were able to find enough human resources to back critical stages. Overall, the company did not have economical limitations for easily obtain the adequate staff and for keeping the plan within the deadlines. Selection of ERP Vendors (Bingi, et al., 1999) Global ERP rollout requires that the software is designed to work in different countries and that the ERP vendor has the same package version available in the countries or regions where the system is being implemented (Bingi, et al., 1999).In the Tektronix case, Neun and Vance both had already experience with ERP solutions offered by Oracle, and this let them move quickly and take a justified fast selection of the ERP vendor. 4.-LESSONS LEARNED AND RECOMMENDATIONS 1.-The first learning from this global ERP implementation is the deployment strategy used: a snowball approach (Ogundipe, O., 2010) in which the project is broken into manageable chunks, beginning with appropriate locations in order to cope with business or technological challenges, running parallel implementations and then doing the big-bang stage at the end, when there is enough confidence (more learning and feedback). At the same time it can be said that an emergent strategy (Nandhakumar, et al., 2005) was used for every wave introduced. Perhaps the same methodology can be used in the future for IT infrastructure projects or any other disruptive project. 2.-It is clear that the ERP brought many benefits, but Tektronix can still leverage IT as a strategic advantage. They could incorporate Procurement, HR, SCM modules and CRM packages in order to make a customer-centric organization. 3.-In the final part, there is no evidence of estimation of ROI or real financial analysis that can show the tangible financial benefits of the investment. Of course, it is mentioned improvements in terms of time or efficiency, but it would have been essential to have an initial budget beforehand, especially considering that the company was toward the financial recovery. 4.-Tektronix faced many difficulties because of the lack of Oracle in-house specialists, so they had to rely on external consultants (Aris Consulting); however, it seems that the transfer of knowledge was not properly organized. In a next project, there must be a plan that can ensure that employees and users can gain the best learning experience from the Consultants. It is vital that in-house staff can get the skills, otherwise even when the ERP implementation is successful, the performance and use can be poor if there is not trained staff. For a future implementation, if there is lack of trained staff, Tektronix can also consider the option of IT outsourcing, which is a solutions that have worked perfectly for some other big companies. 5.-In order to obtain the best benefits from the IT incorporated capabilities and make them sustainable in the medium and long term, the company should have followed the Strategic Alignment Model presented in Cooper, et al. (2001) which was adapted from Henderson and Venkatram (1993). By following this model, Tektronix can benefit from holistic technical and organizational changes that are properly aligned to the firm ´s business strategies.

Chern’s Chapter 1

Chern’s Chapter 1 Process (Short-term) Goals * Attract enough applicants to fulfill staffing requirements of 15 new stores a year plus new vacancies in existing stores. * Attract enough internal candidates to promote managers within. * Obey laws and company policy. * Staff efficiently. * Staff effectively. Outcome (Long-term) Goals * Hire sales associates with quality customer service skills. * Hire candidates with potential to be promoted to management. * Retain stable turnover rates. Use strong cash flow and conservative debt policies to expand markets and create stronger shareholder value. * Increase diversity. * Continue consistent annual increase. * Rank higher on Fortune magazine’s â€Å"top 100 best companies to work for. † * Enhance information-technology. Chern’s has maintained a strong business strategy and culture throughout the growth of the company. In continuing this growth, it is recommended that Chern’s manage practical and necessary goals over the course of staffing.In the immediate future, the company should focus on attracting enough applicants to fill the opening sales associates positions. With the goal of opening 15 stores a year, the company will need to hire approximately 1,875 sales associates per year, not including ones needed to fill opening in existing stores. A significant amount of internal candidates, approximately 255, will be needed to promote within and fill the management positions in the up and coming stores.Chern’s prides itself to be high quality which makes following laws and company policy necessary for continuing its strong culture. Superior customer service has helped to differentiate it from the competition which makes staffing efficiently, the highest quality of customer service, necessary to uphold the main business strategy. Finally, effective staffing will be necessary to fill all the vacancies and continue Chern’s growth rate.

Nicomachean Ethics Virutes of Honor

Moral virtue would be a difficult concept to grasp if one were to search and seize such a thing. A consistent idea of virtue isn't easily defined, for its ambiguity lets us to believe our own perception is the correct one. By doing so, everyone is right, in their own sense, yet they are also wrong. This never-ending debate would never cease, therefore our efforts would render useless. A common ground is required for some kind of agreement between us. In The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle provides us with a more universal meaning for virtue, more specifically regarding honor.Aristotle states, in Book IV, that the honorable man â€Å"does not run into trifling dangers, nor is he fond of danger, because he honors few things; but he will face great dangers, and when he is in danger he is unsparing of his life, knowing that there are conditions on which life is not worth having† (1124b5). I completely agree with Aristotle with his definition of the virtue of honor, also considered à ¢â‚¬Å"pride† with other translators. The quote implies that a man of honor chooses to face danger appropriately, assuring it is the proper time and situation for doing so; determining that factor isn’t easy, but neither is honor.The unduly humble man does not consider his honor above another man’s, so he doesn’t seek moral and virtue from anyone. The vain main positions himself to the highest of honor, yet his contributions fall short, and sees no flaws in his reflections. The proud man attempts to live with great honor, and he will continue to seek honor from other beings. The mean of pride isn’t an easy moderation to reach, but, nonetheless, it has a more solid and defined state than other virtues that are on Aristotle’s Table of Virtues.When living a life of humility, we avoid any judgment from our peers and critics, whatsoever. A person’s reaction is what can lead to building one’s honor, or, contrarily, deconstruct it. In o rder to feel proud, we need the recognition and praise; but by avoiding such, we are too coward to accept our merits that display how worthy we are of ourselves, and of our family and friends. The lack of self-confidence is what can lead to certain disorders that can render you unfit for an environment.This doesn’t seem like the healthiest state. Vanity can lead to a life of over-confidence and give us a feeling of false achievement. For we are to always assume that our worth is more valuable, and that there is no urgent need for change. Walking around with our chin up, without much contribution, is merely an illusion in our awareness. I see no difference in consuming more food than what we contribute with our labor. Yet this world is filled with counterfeits that reap the benefits of the humble.Is this life sustainable in a society that judges you for who you are, or at least who you seem to be? The proud life is what we should strive for, albeit it is the most difficult to reach. As arduous as it may seem, we can take full pride in knowing that we are rightfully rewarded for our acts of selflessness and righteousness. It is not so much as expecting recognition, but rather assurance that our good deeds have not gone unnoticed. This can make us feel accepted and valuable in our own society, thus creating a stronger link in the chain.As long as your actions are fit for you merits, there’s no shame in wearing the badge of honor. In my conclusion, honor is perceived differently between many of us. We over- and under-value our worth, in order to sustain a feeling of pride or contentment. Some might feel that gratification is just fuel for the ego. Others may believe that modesty is for the weak and useless. Is it better to expect less or more from ourselves in our society? This is where Aristotle’s guidelines for the moderation of pride can answer this conundrum, or at least attempt to.