Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Foreign Corrupt Practices Act - Essay Example While the Act was initially seen as being bad for US business abroad, the long-term effects have been for the benefit of US companies both domestically and internationally. The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) of 1977 was implemented to further restrain the practices of American business in the areas of using undue influence in international business. According to the Congressional Research Service the FCPA was, "...enacted principally to prevent corporate bribery of foreign officials" (Seitzinger). Before the Act was passed, there were cases of corporations using secret funds to influence and bribe foreign officials. The government contended that these illegal payments, "...affected adversely American foreign policy, damaged abroad the image of American democracy, and impaired public confidence in the financial integrity of American corporations" (Seitzinger). The FCPA also reasserted the ideals of fair trade and anti-trust policies by curtailing the unfair practices that might place a corporation in an unfairly advantageous position over a competitor through a corrupt practice. While these business practices had been outlawed by the array of prev ious legislative acts, the FCPA codified and focused the illegal activity under one act. The FCPA of 1977, and the amendments of 1988 and 1998, specifically prohibits the bribery of any foreign official and making false or misleading entries into a company's financial records. Prior to the FCPA, companies would use slush funds to make payments to foreign officials to gain a business advantage. Often these payments would be incorrectly described in their accounting practices (Johnson). In addition the FCPA also expanded the definition of 'foreign official' to include not only highly placed government officials but also private persons who may have a function similar to a government employee. This could include contractors working on government contracts or doing business with a foreign government. The FCPA further outlawed the practice of influencing regulatory policies and the obtaining of permits or licenses through fraud and bribery. The FCPA also further defined and prohibited the practice of "willful blindness" where a company pays money and does not make an inquiry that any reasonable person would make as to the use of said money (Johnson). The FCPA does not differentiate between a bribe that succeeds and an offer that fails or is declined. The Act defines corruption as the intent to unfairly influence. There are two sections that define the enforcement of the FCPA. There is the criminal provision that is enforced by the US Department of Justice and the civil portion that is enforced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ("Foreign Corrupt Practices"). The SEC also has responsibility to monitor and enforce the accounting standards set forth in the Act. The criminal fines for violation can be quite extensive. The corporation can be fined up to $2 million, while individual violators can face fines of up to $100,000 and be sentenced to 5 years in prison (Shaheen and Geren, 3). Shaheen and Geren further note that the corporation is banned from reimbursing the fines and penalties levied against an individual violation. The fines that can be levied by the SEC for

Intuition and Decision-Making Essay Example for Free

Intuition and Decision-Making Essay This paper basically talks about intuition and leadership and takes into account the intuitive decision making that the leaders take into account while making decisions where adequate knowledge is not available or where there are time constraints. There are a lot of arguments regarding this intuitive decision making by leaders where some people argue that it should not be like that as they may turn out to be wrong and others hold to the fact that at times intuitions lead to the right decision as leaders have this ability to analyze all the available information and make the decision on it along with using their past experience and expertise. The paper will first start by defining what actually intuition is and what makes leaders to promote or prevent decision making using intuitions. Then the paper will take a leaders point of view regarding decision making and how they bring in account all the available information to come up with a decision. In the end, the report will compare decisions made on intuitions with the decisions made upon logical reasoning in order to give a better knowledge to the readers regarding the two concepts and terminologies. Defining Intuition Starting with the report, we all know what decision making is, however, it will be helpful for us to know what exactly intuitions are on which leaders tend to make their decisions on. Intuitions are basically the ability of a person to actually judge or perceive an appropriate outcome without using reasoning and adequate information for that. The word is actually derived from a Latin word that means to â€Å"look inside† and that is exactly what we are talking about in this report. While using intuitions, leaders are able to look into the matters, problems or situations without even making an effort to gather or probe into the matter or its complexities (Aqor, 1986). With intuition, leaders actually tend to break into the thickness of the surface reality through their gutt-feeling, a feeling from inside that may be based on their past experience, a fear based interpretation or the actual leadership quality in their personality. What promotes or prevent leaders from using intuitions Moving on, as we have realized that intuitions are feelings, emotions or responses that are based on your own abilities, thus, it is not always true that they are right, they can also be wrong. A leader may be good in doing so in a lot number of instances but still, he is not sure whether his next intuitive decision will actually lead to the same positive results. Every important matter has its own requirements to mitigate risks and probing into complexities, thus for that purpose leaders do need appropriate information in order to come up with their decisions. However, many leaders fear this because of the fact that there personal bias in shape of their previous good or bad experience to a similar problem can actually influence their decision to a great extent. This personal bias or personal judgment that we are talking about is basically based on personal abilities or past experiences and has very less to do with analyzing the current information that is available (Williams, 2001). Thus, leaders do fear with their intuitive decision making that it can actually make them make a wrong decision. On the other hand, there are instances, where leaders have to take charge of the matter and make decisions on just a small amount of information or at times no information. These are situations where there time and resource constraints and decisions have to be taken. There, the best thing a leader can do to save time and resources in gathering all the relevant information and risk factors is to use intuitive decision making approach. A leader is a qualified team member who is chosen because of his ability to look at things with a broader and a next level thought process, thus team members also tend to conform with their this ability and promote them to take such decision. An example of such decisions can be taken as sales predictions after a natural calamity or a sudden fall in the stock market. Although, the demand would fall due to these circumstances, but it might be the other way round for a leader who is looking at the matter with a different approach using his intuitive decision making ability. Role of decision-making to a leader’s position Moreover, a leader is the person who is actually held responsible for all the actions of his team. His team basically conforms to his decisions and relies on his orders and directions because they also accept him as more capable in decision making and his abilities to solve problems and handle situations. Thus, with all this responsibility, a leader has to make sure that his decisions are correct and the best interest of the project and the team he is looking after. Any false decision can cost him and his team a failure of project. When we talk in management terms, we see that one thing that is always argued is the fact that decisions made upon inadequate information are mostly wrong. However, when we look into the practical world of leaders, can we say that leaders always have the right amount of information at the right time and at the right place? Obviously not is the answer to this question because of the fact that if all information would have been made available to the team, then there was no need of a leader to make decisions. In that case just a checker or manager would have done the job of a leader (Aqor, 1986). But, when we look at the decision making role of a leader, he has to make a large number of decisions everyday for which he might not have all the information and which won’t allow him much time to think upon them otherwise he will have to compromise all other important things that he and his team has to complete. A leader, as we have already discussed is chosen because of his special abilities, and this intuitive decision making skills is a part of them. Although on the surface we might say that while intuitively making decisions, a leader does not takes into account all the information, but he is actually thinking with a different angle and approach using his abilities that other team members cannot(Bealer,1998). Difference between decisions made with logical reasoning and decisions made with intuition In the last part of this report we will now discuss the difference between logical decision making and intuitive decision making. Logical decision making involves a high level of reasoning and data that is analyzed in order to come up with a decision. this approach is mostly advocated by most of the critics because of the fact that through this type of decision making, a leader tends to take into account and mitigate a large number of threats and risks which he might not through intuitive decision making. However, this type of a decision making approach may require more time and resources to come up with the decision (Williams, 2001). Also these decisions are mostly based on the theoretical knowledge and proven facts. For example, as we have seen in a number of stock markets that when people with logical reasoning were un-holding their stocks with losses, there were some others as well who were actually earning by using their intuitive knowledge. On the other hand, as we have discussed above that while making intuitive decisions, a leader might not take much time to make those decisions as they are usually made in circumstances where there are time constraints. Moreover, a leader uses his abilities to reconcile his past experiences and trends to come up with the decision rather than core number, figures and theoretical knowledge only.  Another major difference between the two is that both the types of decisions can actually go in the opposite directions as well as we have already discussed above in the stock market example(Giannini Rhodes,1978). Conclusion Thus, the report will conclude the discussion with an argument that no one can actually say whether intuitive decision making is good or bad. It all depends on the situation. Yes, it is true that when there is adequate time and resources, the leader should also take into account the other approaches as well but in constraints of time, a leader may take these decisions depending on his abilities. Also we cannot also say which one of the two types of decision making is good or bad for the project because it again depends on the situation that the organization is in. however, as we know that intuitive decision making involves personal bias of leaders as well and may also reflect their personality traits such as risk taker or risk averse, it is recommended that whenever possible, a leader should take into account the logical reasoning approach and compare it with his intuitive perspective before taking any decision as it might make him realize a number of risks that he may have ignored in the first thought.

Strategic Change Approaches To Change Management Commerce Essay

Strategic Change Approaches To Change Management Commerce Essay It is imperative that organisations maintain a greater reach, are present in various different places and constantly abreast of regional and cultural differences and ensure to integrate these into their strategies for the different market and communities they occupy. Due to the ever growing importance of change within organisations, it has become imperative that managerial staff posses the skill to successfully manage these changes when they occur (Senior, 2002; By, 2005). Merrel (2012) described change as a continuous reality for organisations that intend to survive and prosper in these volatile and unpredictable times. He went further to define change as simply doing things in a way different from what you are used to or doing completely different things. It is in the best interest that all stakeholders within an organisation work together to ensure that changes are managed effectively. Effective change management is generally described as execution of change programmes or initiatives that achieve the goals for which they were intended on time and within budget and also succeed in delivering sustainable benefits to the organisation (ibid). However, major changes within organisations require ample inputs in terms of time, energy and resources. Over time it has been found that majority of change programmes have failed to meet the desired goals of the organisation. Published sources estimate that the success levels of change in organisations may fall as low as 10% (Oakland and Tanner, 2007). Most changes that occur within organisations tend to be intermittent in nature. They usually start off at a particular point and are then followed by a number of steps that result in a final outcome. Every growing organisation experiences a continuous process of evolution. At certain intervals of this growth cycle, organisations have to evaluate, determine or reinstate their standards and processes. This evolution could at sometimes be a slight change or at other times a major overhaul. Where there is a change made in one aspect of the organisation, this usually triggers a chain of events that requires further changes t o be made to other areas within the organisation in order to achieve a new balance (Pandey, 2012). Following the constant evolution and the consequent changes that occur within organisations, effort has to be put in to reinstate and create a new balance to continue working towards the goals and objectives of the business. This new balance is created primarily by the workforce and is not an easy feat. Therefore, it is essential that an effective and reliable change management strategy is employed (Gans, 2011). As defined by Gans (2011) Change Management is a process whereby organisations support members of their workforce that have been affected by one way or another as a result of an organizational change. She went further to stress the importance of accounting for any member of staff affected by the change in the development of a change management strategy. Despite the importance of change management in the business world today and as highlighted previously, Balogun and Hope Hailey (2004) have reported that of all change programmes that have been initiated, there has been a 70% rate of failure. Burnes (2004) suggested that this poor success rate of change management programmes shows a basic absence of an adequate framework of how to carry out and manage changes in organisations. He went further to state that what is currently available to academics and practitioners is a wide range of contradictory and confusing theories and approaches. 2.0 EXISTING APPROACHES TO CHANGE MANAGEMENT There are a number of existing approaches to organizational change and there is continued debate as to which qualifies as the best. This difference in opinion amongst academics and practitioners is the reason that many managers within organisations may have reservations on the importance and validity of existing literature on change management. It is also a reason for confusion as to which approach to employ when considering change (Bamford and Forrester, 2003).These reservations are further fuelled by the existing critical management literature that highlights numerous incidents of change programmes that have gone wrong. Based on the literature, amongst a few others, there are two main approaches to change; emergent and planned (ibid). In this article, we would be looking into the two main approaches to change, highlighting their weakness and strengths, by critically analysing the already existing literature on the topic. 2.1 PLANNED CHANGE This approach to organisational change is described as a process that moves from one set state to another through a succession of pre arranged steps. This approach to change can be analysed using various frameworks, such as the Lewins (1951) action research model and Lewins (1958) three step model which describes the three stages of change as freezing- holding on to the familiar, unfreezing brainstorming, addressing issues and exploring other approaches and refreezing identifying, applying and consolidating values, culture and newly acquired skills to those pre existing and currently desired. This approach to change acknowledges that prior to new characteristics successfully adopted the previous set need to be eliminated, only then can the new set be fully established (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). 2.1a STRENGTHS OF PLANNED CHANGE Burnes (1996 as cited in Eldrod II and Tippet, 2002) identifies planned approach to organisational change as an attempt in explaining the process that initiates change. The planned approach is also thought to highlight the importance to organisations of fully comprehending the different stages that are involved in the process of going from and unsatisfactory state to an unknown desired new state (Eldrod II and Tippett, 2002). Planned change is also credited for considering changes that may not be in direct line with the organisations general transformational vision but are seen to be worth making. It is in tune with the organisational breakdown structure and by virtue of its nature being perceived to be a logical program by stakeholders, providing organisations with a variety of choices of initiatives. Because it is made up of a clear and solid directive, it tends to be easier to circulate to all areas of the organisation. Although this solid directive may in some cases work as a disadvantage as it may make it easier to attack and/or avoid (Weick, 2000; Beer and Nohria, 2000). 2.1b WEAKNESSES OF PLANNED CHANGE Planned change has received a lot of criticism from as early on as the 1980s despite its popularity, (Kanter et al., 1992; Burnes, 1996; By, 2005). It has been faulted for focusing on only small scale incremental change and ignores cases where there may be a need for quick and transformational changes (Burnes, 1996, 2004). Another shortcoming of this approach is the fact that it bases its design on the assumption that organisations operate under conditions that are static and they can move in a pre planned pattern from one stable state to another (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). This approach is also known to ignore situations where a more dictated approach is needed e.g. in a situation where there is a need for rapid change and no room for widespread consultation or involvement (Burnes, 1996, 2004; Kanter et al., 1992; By, 2005). Critics have also argued that this approach is based on the assumption that all the stakeholders involved in the change have a combined interest in carrying it out and that a uniform consensus can be reached with ease (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). This presumption does not take into consideration issues of politics and conflicts that are common place within organisations, but goes further to assume that these can be identified with ease (Burnes, 1996, 2004). Weick (2000; Beer and Nohria, 2000), also highlighted a number of disadvantages of applying the planned change approach. He states that with implementation of the planned change approach, there is a high chance of reversal of the effected change, following the changes; integration of the various parts of the organisation may not take place in a uniform manner, unpredictable results due to limited foresight, a high chance of individuals failing to act out their parts in the change process despite verbally agreeing to do so, adoption of practices that may have been suited elsewhere but may not necessarily yield positive results within the organisation due to a difference in context, failure of top management to have a full understanding of capabilities at the front line and contingencies and finally a delay in execution which would result in the change initiatives being obsolete even before they are implemented. 2.2 EMERGENT CHANGE This approach to change is relatively new and does not have the formal history of planned change. It is believed that this approach covers a wider area of understanding of the issues faced by organisations related to managing change within intricate environments. In this approach, change is perceived to be less reliant on detailed forecasts and plans and is more focused on arriving at an actual understanding of the intricacies of the underlying problems and deriving possible solutions (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). There is also the suggestion that the occurrence of change here is unpredictable that senior managers are unable to effectively select, propose and carry out suitable actions in response (Kanter et al., 1992). The emergent approach to organizational change adopts a bottom up process of initiating and implementation as opposed to a top down. Considering the complex and rapid nature of change, it is deemed impossible for senior management to identify and implement every action necessary to successfully carry out changes. This implies that the role played by senior management must undergo some changes in itself from controller to more of a facilitator of change, as the responsibility for change is seen to be more devolved (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). 2.2a STRENGTHS OF EMERGENT CHANGE It has been established that the business environment is one of uncertainty and the proponents of emergent change have argued that this uncertainty of both the internal and external environments makes the planned approach to change less appropriate. Assuming that organizations operated is an environment that is stable and predictable; there would be little or no need for change. This makes the emergent approach to change much more pertinent than the planned approach (Bamford and Forrester, 2003). Burnes (1996) is of the opinion that emergent change encourages management to pay close attention and gain understanding of strategy, culture, systems, structure and style, looking into how they can work as blockages or facilitators of an effective change process. He goes further to argue that a successful change process is more concerned with gaining an understanding of the complex issues within the organisation and developing a range of options for tackling these issues. It can then be deduced that the emergent change is focused more on the preparation for change and actual implementation as opposed to providing planned steps and objectives for each change programme or initiative (By, 2005). Weick (2000; Beer and Nohria, 2000), insists that change must be more emergent than planned. He is of the opinion that organisations are in a constant state of evolution and there are always change initiatives ongoing on various levels within the organisation. Main stakeholders are always in search of ideas to increase the performance of the organisation and this means that there is a constant flux. It is important that this flux is identified and maximised. Efforts should be made in identifying these little changes occurring in different areas of the organization and they should then be spread to other areas of the organisation. There are no rules that govern the way change is initiated; it simply involves creating a connection between the actions carried out by the individual areas within the business to create a working synergy (Pettigrew and Whipp, 1993). 2.2b WEAKNESSES OF EMERGENT CHANGE Weick (2000; Beer and Nohria, 2000), in his critical analysis also highlighted a number of weaknesses of the emergent approach to change. He noted that emergent changes are too slow to come together, tend to be too negligible to have a noticeable effect on results, are more suited for taking advantages of opportunities than responding to threats, crippled by already existing culture and technology, deficient when competitors are focused on transformation; more generic rather than focused; lack foresight; operates on the assumption that change is driven by intent, which in reality is not always that case and this implies that situations where change is evolutionary or is driven by life cycle would be over looked (Van de Ven and Pool 1995; Weick, 2000; Beer and Nohria, 2000) . One of the main challenges of the emergent change is the fact that is quite new compared to the planned approach and this has led to reservations concerning its consistency and the variety of techniques available (Bamford and Forrester, 2003; Wilson, 1992). Another criticism of the emergent approach is that it is generally made up of models and approaches that lack correlation and only tend to do so in their unified lack of faith for the planned approach to change than to and agreed alternative (Bamford and Forrester, 2003; Dawson, 1994). According to Burnes (1996), to validate the general theory and implementation of the emergent approach to change implies that one has to be of the opinion that all organisation function within a volatile and unpredictable environment to which they constantly have to adapt. This would then bring rise to the assumption that the emergent model is suitable for all organizations, all situations and at all times (ibid). In reality this is clearly not the case. Dunphy and Stace (1993) disagreed on that view arguing that agents of change require a model that is adaptable to different situations and clearly shows how one can adjust their change strategies to achieve the best fit for a particular situation taking into consideration the changing environment (Dunphy and Stace, 1993). 3.0 CONCLUSION Following a review of the existing literature on planned and emeregent approaches to change, it can be concluded that both approaches have fair shares of limitations and advantage. Generally, there seems to be more of a preference for the emergent change approach and this could be because this approach was more recently introduced in comparison to the planned approach and it its design, consideration was taken to address some of the shortcomings that were experience with the planned approach. However, in order to achieve a successful organisational change, it is important that an approach be developed that not only takes into consideration the constantly evolving environment, but also identifies that there are a number of approaches to change. This approach should be flexible to suit the different needs of various organisations as opposed to one that is tailored to be applicable to all organisations. Dunphy and Stace, (1993) clearly state that no two organisations are identical and most probably have varying situations and this would mean that their structure and strategies would also be different and this emphasis the need for a flexible approach to change.

Immanuel Kant’s Metaphysics Essay -- Philosophy Philosophical Papers

Immanuel Kant’s Metaphysics THEME In regard to Metaphysics, Kant’s results were seemingly the opposite to what he strove to achieve, cf. the claim, in his Introduction, that â€Å"In this enquiry . . . I venture to assert that there is not a single metaphysical problem which has not been solved, or for the solution of which the key has not been supplied.† In the summing up of his Prolegomena, he records with evident pride in achievement: â€Å"Anyone who has read through and grasped the principles of the CPR . . . will look forward with delight to metaphysics, which is now indeed in his power.† Yet the image of an â€Å"Alleszermalmer† persists, who dismantled the foundations of a philosophical edifice which had barely withstood the ravagement of Hume’s onslaught on its â€Å"occult fancies†! These discrepancies should make us wonder how one of the three greatest thinkers of all time could be so far deluded as to miss the outcome and import of his efforts! I propose to consider this problematic issue from a slightly different than ‘usual’ perspective. I To put the question of the suitability of metaphysics as a science is equivalent to asking, â€Å"what is metaphysical knowledge?†, hence â€Å"can metaphysical conclusions be verified?† In the CPR, this issue is encapsulated in the question, â€Å"How are synthetic a priori judgements possible?† But before I address it, let me offer something as a curtain raiser: The metaphysical possibility as well as the epistemology of newtonian absolute space remained a mystery until Kant solved it . . . [Guyer 10]. My intention here is to throw into focus the possibility of metaphysics having stood still in the interim; that no successor (as Kant indubitably expected) has taken up the cudgels and ... ...g, but in my view a horizon beckoning for metaphysics by which to orient itself. Bibliography Kant, Immanuel: Kritik der reinen Vernunft & Prolegomena. Cited according to standard method. Secondary texts Adorno, Theodor W.: Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason. Polity Press, Oxford 2001. Ameriks, Karl: Kant and the Fate of Autonomy. Cambridge UP 2000. Dryer, P. D.: Kant’s Solution for Verification in Metaphysics. Allen & Unwin, London 1966. Gardner, Sebastian: Kant and the Critique of Pure Reason. Routledge, London 1999. Guyer, Paul (ed.): The Cambridge Companion to Kant. Cambridge UP 1992. Heidegger, Martin: Kant und das Problem der Metaphysik. Vittorio Klostermann, Frankfurt 1973. Janaway, Christopher: Self and World in Schopenhauer’s Philosophy. Clarendon, Oxford 1989. Pinkard, Terry: German Philosophy 1760-1860. Cambridge UP 2002.

Comparing Do not go gentle into that good night and When I consider how

Comparing Dylan Thomas's poem Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night and John Milton's poem When I consider How My Light Is Spent Dylan Thomas's poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" and John Milton's poem "When I consider how my light is spent" were written during times of trouble in their respective poet's life. Thomas was faced with losing his father to death; Milton was dealing with becoming completely blind at the age of forty-three. As each poet struggles to deal with the crisis occurring in his life, he makes a statement about the relationship between mankind and God, the reasons that God gives and then takes away certain gifts, and the proper way to live life. Thomas and Milton ended up with contrasting answers to these fundamental questions about life. The poets' use of personal events in their lives as a topic and their use of the personal pronouns "I" and "my" resolve possible questions of voice in both poems. Because Thomas refers directly to "my father" (line 6) and Milton opens his poem with the line "When I consider how my light is spent" (1), the reader can, with some basic knowledge of the history of each poem, reasonably assume that the poet and the speaker are interchangeable. Both Thomas and Milton chose to share their private thoughts on intensely personal matters with the world through their poems. By drawing from their own experiences, the poets give these works a tone that resonates with the reader because he/she can connect the words of the poem with his/her own life. Thomas and Milton present contrasting views of the relationship between mankind and God or the inevitable events of life. Thomas sees humans as having some degree of control; his father may not be able to live forever, bu... ...erent men at very different points in history, but both poets were struggling with difficult situations and trying to decide how they should react. Although their final conclusions are completely opposite , the raw emotion behind each poem resonates with the reader whether the poem is 45 or 345 years old. The human struggle to understand life, regret, and why God gives and withholds certain gifts will continue as long as humanity exists; each person who considers these questions will come to his/her own personal conclusions just as Thomas and Milton did. Works Cited: Milton, John. "When I Consider How My Light Is Spent." The Longman Anthology of British Literature: Compact Edition. Ed. David Damrosch. New York: Longman, 2000. Thomas, Dylan. â€Å"Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night.† Literature and Ourselves. Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, 1997.

Inspiration is the Key to Achievement Essay -- essays research papers

The road to success of every achiever is filled with ample inspiration, something more powerful than words can describe, something that unbelievably plays such an important role in how someone approaches their lifetime goal, in how someone thinks, how someone acts, and how times fly, and how the world spinning around someone is – whether it is dynamic, hectic, chaotic, moderate, or deliberate. Without this incredible thing that may seem to be imaginary and invisible to some people, life would be just a game without the finishing line, but with this so-called magical thing in your palms, you could be driven to achieve your goals more briskly, effectively, and energetically – just like how you would arrive to your destination faster if you have the map with you. All successful people around the world, young or old, short or tall, white or black, Asian or Western, they all have or have had inspirations in life, whether it’s someone they have been looking up to or so mething they find to inspire and motivate themselves, such as some sorts of stories, quotes, books, or even movies. Inspiration is one of the essential keys to unlock the door to the room of accomplishment. One of the biggest over achievers in Thailand whose name is known all over the world now due to his innovative, fearless, decisive attitude and his swift actions in the politics world as the last Prime Minister of Thailand, this guy has always been the one who takes the first step in everything he puts his hands on, he likes to differentiate and is not afraid of changing and innovating. He was formally known as one of the richest, wealthiest and most successful businessmen in Thailand whose businesses cover a wide range of products and services. His latest challen... ...d to continually inspire myself consistently and vigorously with inspirations through reading, watching, discussing, listening, observing, and trying to comprehend messages conveyed and perspective shown to me. Sometimes inspiration just comes without realizing their occurrence, and it just goes without saying goodbye. Sometimes it comes in a visionary form, sometimes it just comes in a solid form. Inspiration lies around everywhere for you to pick - alongside streets, on boards, in the air, and in every breath you take. Just set yourself a goal, search for an inspiration, and believe that you can achieve it. Personally, I greatly believe that without inspiration, I would be goofing around like many people my age are. And most importantly, I believe that with great inspirations continuously motivated and spurred on, I will achieve my goals and be successful one day.

Prose coursework: Sherlock Holmes Essay

Study both stories and find and copy out evidence, to do with the following: 1. Sherlock Holmes Character and personality. 2. His appearance. 3. Dr Watson’s character and personality. 4. His Appearance. 5. Evidence of a relationship between the two characters. 6. Look for any evidence that the story is set in the 1800’s. 7. Find examples of uses of language, which is old fashioned. What clues are there in the language that theses stories were written over hundred years ago? Sherlock Holmes is very good at his job, he is a detective, he is better than others because he has the ability of deducing things very well, and he knows this, so he does tend to gloat now and again. He is able to look at a person and tell you what he had for breakfast, where he lives where he is going and where he works and how he gets there. Holmes enjoys drugs, such as heroin cocaine and marijuana. Dr Watson once described him as not the best human being but a very good observing machine. Sherlock Holmes is described as tall and thin, he is not look muscular but is quite strong, we know this because in the book â€Å"The Speckled Band† Dr Grimsbly Roylott (who is supposed to be quite a large man) bends a fire poker at an attempt to show Dr Watson and Sherlock Holmes how powerful and dangerous he his, Holmes just bends it back just as easily. At this point we get to see another great attribute of Sherlock Holmes, his ability to remain Calm at the worst of times, Dr Grimsbly Roylott had insulted Homes quite badly, but Holmes told him to leave and when Dr Grimsbly Roylott knew that he wasn’t afraid he left. Dr Watson tells us that â€Å"homes was a master of disguises† he could not only change his look, but his manner and the way he talked, all though he appearance in general is very professional, tow distinguished features that Sherlock Holmes has his hat which is a â€Å"deer stalker† with matching overcoat and his pipe, sometimes he is also seen with his very high powered lenses. Dr Watson is an intelligent man, but is often but he doesn’t seem like it when he repeatedly says † oh you make is sound so obvious†, † but of course † and † how absurdly simple†. He is often overwhelmed by Holmes skills and because of the time they have spent together he is picking a few things up skill up himself. Dr Watson narrates all the stories so we do not know so much about he personality and can only pick up a few things we tend to know what the doctor is thinking at the time. When a story begins Dr Watson recalls things, and how Sherlock used to work and think that’s why we know Holmes’s personality better that than the doctor’s Not much is said on the doctor’s appearance either, but we do get some clues, the doctor has a beard and is shorter than Holmes, he is also bigger and has got bigger since he was married he has put on † Seven Pounds† as deduced by Holmes in † Scandal In Bohemia† There is a good relationship between the two characters the respect each other and they are quite close, Dr Watson tells us in † scandal in bohemia† that they had drifted apart a bit after he got married but when the spoke the were still great friends. As I said before the both have a great mutual respect for each other and I have found some evidence for this, in one part in â€Å"Scandal In Bohemia† Holmes refers to Dr Watson as his † Boswell â€Å". This is like saying that Dr Watson being there he feels more relaxed and comfortable knowing his friend is buy his side, I think he is also referring to â€Å"James Boswell† who wrote a biography about his hero Samuel Johnson, James Boswell wrote the biography in a hero-worshipping detailedly intimate manner. Perhaps that is how Holmes sees Watson. It is often when Holmes clients wasn’t to speak to him of a most private and confidential matter, and usually the doctor gets up to leave the room and Holmes tells him to sit down and tells the client that he is a good fiend of his and anything that they wish to discuss the can do so in front of him. There are also times where Holmes needs Dr Watson’s help to do certain tasks, like the one in â€Å"Scandal in Bohemia† where the Doctor had to throw a smoke bomb into Irene Adler’s house and shout fire. There relationship isn’t just professional Holmes calls Dr Watson â€Å"my friend† a lot and Dr Watson is often telling Holmes off for taking drugs because he understands the damage that they do he does this because he also cares about his friend well being. The story is not set in modern times, we know this because of the language that is used and some of the things that are used in the stories, such as â€Å"fire pokers† and dog carts (or that’s what Sherlock Holmes Refers to them as), and not many people wear deerstalkers, shillings and crowns are not currency we use nowadays and there are a lot of referrals to India, this is because at that time India was under British rule and a lot of British people lived their. The language is different too, one big difference is when Holmes wakes up the doctor and says † sorry to knock up you Watson†, by which he means is † sorry to wake you up† nowadays that would mean to get some pregnant in slang, to knock and girl up is to get them pregnant. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.