Louis XIV: his domestic and foreign policies Essay

Louis XIV strove vigorously for supremacy in foreign affairs. He was to use his foreign policy to establish a universal monarchy for himself or alternatively to use it to secure natural frontiers for France thus improving its defenses. He worked successfully to create an absolutist and centralized state. During his reign Louis was involved in four major wars, some of which Louis may be accountable as the provocateur; however, I believe that mainly his motives were purely defensive. The war of Devolution served as a pretext which nettled him part of Flanders, although the Dutch then moved against him with the Triple Alliance. Louis was determined to crush Holland and this began the third of the Dutch wars, which depleted his treasury. Louis proved an incredibly extravagant spender, dispensing huge sums of money to finance the royal court. The following ten years the king limited his policies to diplomacy. Louis continued the nobility’s exemption from taxes but forced its member into financial dependence to the crown and the provincial nobles also lost political power. Louis does have a genuine concern for his country and despite his dubious methods he does manage to secure the territories that he wishes to secure. He curtailed local authorities and created specialized ministries. Louis’s grandson retained the Spanish throne but the war of Spanish Succession left France in great debt and a weakened military. Louis used the bourgeoisie to build his centralized bureaucracy. He illustrated new administrative methods to make him more in control. Louis’s general Colbert worked to improve the French economy. Colbert worked to create a favorable balance of trade and increase France’s colonial holdings. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing and bringing the economy back from the brink of bankruptcy. He reduced the national debt through more efficient taxation. His principal taxation devices included the aides, the douanes, the gabelle, and the taille. Louis spent so much money on luxury and wars; France actually became increasingly impoverished. The aggressive and opportunistic implementation of Louis’s policies understandably persuaded those threatened by it that the king’s intention was expansionist and his intentions unlimited. There had been acts of gratuitous violence as well which underlined the arrogance and ruthlessness of French conduct. In conclusion it seems that by the end of his reign the wars had placed him in a strong and secure position in Europe yet his intention was not entirely  for glory.

Black Rain Essay Research Paper BLACK RAIN

Black Rain Essay, Research Paper BLACK RAIN by Masuji Ibuse The chief character in the novel is in some ways like myself. Mr. Shizuma is a individual that is intrigued by many things and likes to see what reaction people have from any action. Throughout the novel he feels the demand to travel to different parts of the metropolis and environing communities in order to see the effects of the unknown bomb. Mr. Shizuma was non merely interested in what happened to the people of the community but he was besides interested in happening out what the arm used was called and made out of. There were different names given to the bomb throughout the book and he sums up the names in one paragraph, The name of the bomb had already undergone a figure of alterations, from the initial? new arm? through? new-type bomb, ? ? secret arm, ? ? particular new-type bomb, ? to? particular high-capacity bomb. ? That twenty-four hours, I learned for the first clip to name it an? atomic bomb. ? ( Black Rain 282 ) The importance of the name of the bomb may look ineffective, but he seems to brood on happening out what caused this type of devastation. Something else that Mr. Shizuma wants to make is retrieve every small item about what happens to everything from what angle the house was on after the bomb to what his married woman cooked for dinner with the nutrient rationing. He even likes to compose how people cured themselves of radiation illness and what the Burnss and other hurts look and act like. These things are like myself in the fact that he does non wish to bury what things are like, wants to see first manus what the effects are, and is really interested in happening information about new things that he has neer seen earlier. He besides likes to aid people greatly such as his changeless rovings looking for coal for his community. If you were depended on would you help your community? I think so. The subject that is really meaningful to me is that war hurts two different parts of a state. The first is the armed forces, which was non truly speak approximately, and so there is the civilians. The civilians must ration nutrient so that the military can eat, and so they must besides suffer because the bomb that was dropped was non meant for any military base but to destruct and kill a metropolis. The subject is clear in intending that it hurts the civilians much more than it hurts the military and that war is really, really barbarous. The people that were rationing had really small to eat and that sum became smaller as the war continued. Peoples were forced to grow carp in little, and hunt for mussels in pools in order to acquire any type of meat. By the terminal of the war there were no mussels left in any of the many watercourses and there were besides no fish in any of the pools. The lone thing that survived were the eels who were seen swimming up the river a twenty-four hours before the resignation was given. This was a mark of metempsychosis. It merely took a twelvemonth after the Hiroshima bombardment for the resignation and during that clip the authorities did non assist any of the people that truly were hurt by the war, the civilians. It was strange that the people felt any compunction at all for losing the war when the authorities that they were supposed to believe in left them homeless and without any nutrient. Innocent, unarmed people killed and mangled by a arm that could kill the full planet. For what intent was the bomb dropped? Mr. Shizuma made many comments about how if the resistance would hold merely waited a piece longer they would non hold had to drop the bomb because the state was internally falling apart. This seems to me that the dropping of the bomb was nil but a scientific discipline experiment to the? resistance? . That is the concealed subject to this novel. The lone type of individual that could perchance read this book is a individual that is really unfastened minded to other thoughts. To most people from the United States the bomb was necessary in order to halt the war. In the eyes of the Japanese the bomb was non needed to halt the war. Which side is true? The reply is both sides. To hold an unfastened head and to be able to accept new thoughts is important when you look at people from a different type of background and manner of thought. To read this novel you must besides hold a pretty solid tummy because there are many elaborate entries about lesions and the manner that the tegument starts to run right off the life organic structure. The whole narrative is told from the eyes and ideas of the chief character Mr. Shizuma is different than any first manus history that I have of all time read and a reader must be willing to acquire into that character in order to acquire the message, feelings, and pictures that Mr. Shizuma is seeking to set away. The novel is written highly clear but one of the jobs is that it gets slow every one time in a piece if Mr. Shizuma gets something into his head so he decides to acquire it done. The pool that his friend is turning carp in is traveled to what seems to be about a 1000 times. What is good about the many travels to these same topographic points is that each clip the scene alterations somewhat with person going ill or the carp turning. What a individual needs to read this book is careful idea because of the little alterations and besides a map seems to turn inside your caput of the different topographic points that he goes to. These topographic points are described in so much item that it does non take really much imaginativeness to see what is traveling on and what he is seeing. The rubric has a batch to make with the book because the rubric is how the whole thing started, with Mr. Shizuma? s girl coming place with black musca volitanss on her tegument where the black rain had hit her. It could non be washed away and it burnt through vesture. The stoping to the novel was satisfactory because the terminal of the war was a good topographic point to stop the novel. The lone job that I can see with this type of stoping is that the reader wants to cognize what has happened to the community after a few old ages but what the author is seeking to state is really clear and implemented with people shouting because they lost the war. The weeping was non merely because the war was lost but besides for the people that died, or are dyeing, in the community. Besides the weeping was besides from fright of what was traveling to go on to them now that another state had control of them. The work forces largely feared that they were traveling to be castrated but they knew that the state would neer be the same but they would be able to eat. The eels that were viewed in the river were still in the larvae phase and they were swimming upstream. This gives the adult male in the narrative hope that things will be all right and that they hold the power to construct a new community and assist his household trade with the illness that his girl has. The overall significance of the novel is that war makes things difficult for the people that have to remain at place and back up their soldiers. The bosom of any state is with the general population and when that general population was hit with something unknown it did non merely floor the remainder of the state but it made the state wonder if they were strong plenty. Peoples will draw through for themselves and household before they think about what is traveling to go on to the manner that they live. This novel shows the power and wonder of the human spirit. It does carry through what it set out to make, demo the consequence on the losing side of war.

The theory of utilitarianism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The theory of utilitarianism - Essay Example Utilitarianism theory is referred to by some as the consequentialist ethical theory. It is expressed in the form that asserts that people should always act so as to produce the greatest ratio of good to evil for everyone. This has great appeal in the area of welfare economics and does not differ dramatically from the philosophies and beliefs of Keynes, Pareto, and Pigou; some might even include Marx in this category. The utilitarians believe that when choosing between two actions, the one that produces the greatest net happiness should be the one chosen. Where most of them disagree with one another is in the area of how this principle should be applied. There are also several stated weaknesses in this concept. It ignores actions that appear to be wrong in themselves; it espouses the concept that the end justifies the means; the principles may come into conflict with that of justice; and it is extremely difficult to formulate and establish satisfactory rules of application.Utilitarian ism manifests itself in two major forms. The stronger of the two is so-called act-utilitarianism. Under this system, the moral agent considers the consequences of only the action under consideration. The second system is called rule-utilitarianism. Here the moral agent considers a set of rules by which life should be lived. The basis of accepting or rejecting a rule is whether the consequences of everyone following the rule will result in the maximum probable good consequences. Rule-utilitarianism may be regarded as a weaker form of utilitarianism than act-utilitarianism.... Most professionals are already familiar with a system that acts very much like utilitarianism: cost/benefit analysis. In the cost/benefit system the manager attempts to balance the probable costs of taking a particular course of action with the probable benefits to be derived. Most people realize that cost/benefit analysis becomes more and more sticky as the analysis moves away from measurability in terms of dollars. Measurement of benefits has been particularly problematic. Writers on this subject have attempted to balance the costs of companies reporting on their adherence to social responsibility with the costs of not doing so. Bentham was classified in England as utilitarian with the application of hedonism on the social level; that is, happiness is the end of all human existence. He based his social reform on what he considered right and wrong, which in turn was developed from his definition of utility (Rosen 19). Utility was measured on a pain-happiness relationship, which was reduced to a common denominator: money. This reduction to the common factor of money was necessary because different people have different utility for the same item. Although his ideas were considered controversial at the time, they were later accepted by many, as can be seen in a recent study conducted by the American Council on Education of more than 200,000 students. The survey showed that more than three quarters of college freshmen now think that getting rich is what will make them happy and what life is all about. Twenty years ago, only 39 percent indicated that affluence was an essential goal; at that time, a "meaningful phi losophy of life" was what mattered -- a goal that now motivates only a minority of students (Rosen 21). Critics of utilitarianism

Organisations succeed when they develop competitive advantages Essay

Organisations succeed when they develop competitive advantages - Essay Example Competitive advantage is gained when companies can provide a better quality of products than other players in the same industry. Companies should consider strategies to deal with the markets that involve new routine and tact. Strategies like setting trend don’t are not likely to kick off well if there are other companies in the market already while imitating the already existing trends may not work especially if other organizations have turned to differentiating their own products. Depending on the specific products an organization is bringing into the market, it is important to realize other companies with the same product and differentiate them. Differentiating products by branding and advertising is a major step in peering through competition (Coker, 2000). It is also important to look into the different ways of expanding on the same product a firm is creating to be at a level ahead of the competition; for example when an aviation company extends to creating a school of avi ation to offer courses and training that is especially for their firm. It is also useful to consider taking your consumers’ needs into account and seeking their expectations, for example how they like to have their coffee, with creamer or not. This will enhance on further differentiation of products according to customers’ needs and aids with winning their loyalty. ... Organizations should also take advantage of public documents like analysts reports for public companies and into market analysis. When other rival companies experience certain challenges, they become opportunities for these companies. When those companies makes successes they yet open an opportunity to think of better unexploited chances that may extend from those of their counterparts. In strategizing, it is important to come up with a plan that works around your competitor’s weaknesses as well as their strengths. One should identify other companies’ weaknesses to make adjustments to them so they can be a step ahead and give their customers a reason to prefer their products. Knowing your counterparts strengths on the other hand, helps you realize how further than them you can get ahead when you use those strengths and upgrade them where you can. They should work around what the other firm is selling, what their resources are and how easy they obtain those resources. In situations where the resource availability is not favorable to the competitors for example raw material location favors your own company. This would be an opportunity to trade with your competitor and gain a little control over them. In other situations where companies have sole control of resources that are either rare or are delicate to handle or are too expensive to manage for example while dealing with precious stones like gold and diamond (Adcock, 2000). It is also important to consider the population of the market, how many people are being targeted for a particular product. If possible a large population of consumers only improve on the quantity of units sold and helps the companies establish a base of consumer loyalty. This base allows

Marketing - past, present and future Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Marketing - past, present and future - Essay Example The objectives, goals and targets of marketing have to be monitored and met. The competitor strategies must be evaluated, estimated and exceeded. It is only through the effective use of market and its research that an organization can identify its customer’s needs and wants and try to deliver the value its customer wants .It is very important for the organization to ensure that its customers are satisfied. Marketing uses the process of exchange to give the customers the value they desire on their products and services. Exchange transaction requires the customer to exchange value (money) for the product or services that completely satisfy their needs. Clearly, the greater the benefit provided the higher transactional value an organization can charge. It is thus the process by which companies create customer interest in their goods or services. As an activity marketing can only take place where there is a market. It refers to the activity through which exchanges are undertaken. Marketing can be perceived as a social and managerial process through which the customers get what they want. They do it through the process of creating, offering and exchanging products of value for money. Marketing can be considered as a function; It is a philosophy that has an impact on the over-all dealings of an organization with the marketplace. (David M. Reid. (1980). 19-23.) (Rick Wise, Niren Sirohi. (2005).8-13.) The need for marketing rose as a result of the increasing needs, wants and demands of the customers. Needs are a basic requirement for human survival, while wants are the specific means by which individuals’ satisfy their needs. The term, value is one of the most important notions in marketing. It is the difference between the total costs of making a purchase and the total benefits received. In short, it accounts for both, the benefits that a customer gets by making a purchase and also the costs it incurs in the process ( both the money cost and

(Annotated Bibligraphy) Finding 10 acadamic secondary sources and Essay

(Annotated Bibligraphy) Finding 10 acadamic secondary sources and writing a brief description(each 3 sentences) - Essay Example Harris, Leonard. "Cosmopolitanism and the African Renaissance: Pixley I. Seme and Alain L. Locke." International Journal of African Renaissance Studies 4.2 (2009): 181-192. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. This academic journal article discusses the relationship between key actors in the Harlem Renaissance and the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement. The author suggests that the relationship between Seme (African National Congress) and Alain Locke helped fuel Lock’s writings that initiated the â€Å"New Negro Movement† and the Harlem Renaissance. This article gives new perspectives on the black rights movements discussed by Howard Zinn. This review analyzes the poem "Harlem Shadows" by Claude McKay. It discusses the conflict between Mckay’s British-based and formal writing styles with his role in the Harlem Renaissance. The article argues, as did McKay himself, that his mastery writing only allowed greater freedom to express his views and did not detract from his position of black oppression. By also discussing the structural component of his work, this review provides great in-depth information on the poem and the poet. This is a scholarly article dealing with the structure of social movements with particular attention to the Civil Rights Movement. The author argues that social movements are, at root, culture production agents and always produce new cultural forms in the course of struggle. In this sense, the new cultural form was a foundation for equality. The author describes seven components of social movements to help better understand the social implications of the Civil Rights Movement. This article takes the historical basis of the Civil Rights movement covered in Zinn’s â€Å"Or Does it Explode† and puts it into a modern perspective. It was written for the NAACP as an analysis of how well the Civil Rights movement worked and its influence in today’s world. It describes the long process

Case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 4

Analysis - Case Study Example Under the space shuttle program, NASA launched the Challenger and hired Thiokol to supply SRB (SRB). SRB was a fuel system consisting of a combination of both solid and liquid systems. It was cheaper, and NASA found it sustainable, in the long run. A. Economic: NASA operated in a hostile economic environment because it experienced a reduction in budgetary allocation since its inception. Over the years, the government cut its budgetary allocation to the organization. For instance, the government reduced its budgetary allocation by 5.1 billion thus forcing NASA to seek alternative funding. Additionally, NASA was experiencing high costs of producing its shuttles thus the need to adopt SRB. Fortunately, NASA got the financial support of the U.S. Air Force, and it sustained its operations up to 1986. B. Political: NASA was formed by the government and enjoyed the full support of the government during its early times. It had the goodwill of the government because the U.S. government was using it to dominate the field of space exploration. Thus, it was a government project and its operations were influenced by government policies. C. Technological: NASA was operating its rockets using an all-liquid fuel system and was incurring huge costs of operation. Later on, the organization modified its shuttle design to reflect low costs. Consequently, NASA adopted the SRB fuel system. Roger Boisjoly worked for Morton Thiokol as an engineer and was objected to the launch of the Challenger because of temperature issues. Morton Thiokol was one of the two organizations that were involved in the shuttle program along with NASA. Roger was against the launch of the Challenger because he believed that there were some unresolved issues about the O-rings technology. According to Roger Boisjoly, a past research study found out that the O-rings were rigid and could not seal at low temperatures. He found out that the O-rings has Case analysis Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1 Analysis - Case Study Example The company has diversified and integrated product and service portfolio that include web search, Google Chrome, Google News, Google Scholar, Google Docs, Google Analytics, Google Apps, Google AdSense, Google Adword, You Tube, Google Maps, and Google Earth (Eldeman & Eisenmann, p 1). The factors that determine the paid listings provider’s revenues include the coverage rate, the average cost per click, the click-through-rate and revenue split (Eldeman & Eisenmann, p 4). Google has an extensive coverage rate and has improved the click-through rates through innovation of the keywords. The revenue split is the percentage of revenues paid to network affiliates and ordinary partners receive about 60 percent of revenue share (Eldeman & Eisenmann, p 3). Google now controls approximately 90 percent of the internet searches and has diversified its operations to other products such as mobile and cloud computing, music and video distribution (Eldeman & Eisenmann, p 8) The corporate strategy of Google is aimed at organizing world’s information in a manner that makes it more accessible and useful. The company is committed to informing, educating and entertaining the users through diversified products and services. The company is currently attaining growth through vertical integration with suppliers and diversification strategy that has led to addition to new different products to its mix (Daft, 2009). The business strategy of Google is aimed at ensuring consistent technological innovation and sustained acquisitions that will lead to revenue growth and satisfy emerging customer needs (Daft, 2009). The business strategy is geared at developing distinctive competencies and identifying new market niches such as the Google Checkout and Google TV (Google, 2014). Google has deployed several functional strategies such as innovation and use of superior search engine technology,