Summary Of The Power And The Glory English Literature Essay

Summary Of The Power And The Glory English Literature Essay à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦I am a bad priest and a bad man' (Greene 126). In Graham Greenes The Power and the Glory, the main character, an unnamed priest, admits that he is a bad priest. The reader first encounters the priest when the priest is waiting for a boat to Vera Cruz because he is on the run from the police. The novel takes place during a time when the state is trying to eliminate Catholicism. At first, the priest seems like a devoted Catholic who is just trying to spread his faith and help others. However, the priest does not set the greatest example for fellow Catholics; in fact, Greene sometimes even refers to him as a whiskey priest. He spends a lot of time in a state of self-pity. He examines his decisions and actions and realizes that he is in a state of mortal sin; however, he does nothing to change his situation. Not only does he have an alcohol addiction, but he also commits adultery. By the end of the novel the priest grows in his own relationship with God; however, he does n ot set a good example for other Catholics. A priest should strive to give guidance and assistance to others, especially during a time when authorities are trying to eradicate religion. Although the priest seems to grow strongly in his faith by the end of the novel, he exemplifies a bad priest. Throughout the novel, the priest admits to himself and others that he has committed grave sins; however, he does not attempt to correct his mistakes. Early on, Graham Greene reveals that the priest commits adultery about six years prior to the novels setting. This grave sin results in Brigitta, the priests illegitimate daughter. When referring to his act of adultery he admits that fear and despair and half a bottle of brandy and the sense of loneliness had driven him to an act which horrified him (Greene 66). Although he knows he has done wrong, the priest cannot stop thinking about his illegitimate daughter all through the novel. When his execution is imminent, he finds that he cannot repent for this sin. In addition, his love for his daughter leaves him incapable of praying for anyone else, but in the moment of prayer he switched back to his childà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and he knew it was for her only that he prayed (Greene 208). His sin distracts him from his priestly duties, and he is una ble to ask forgiveness. The priest also has a very noticeable drinking problem; in fact, other characters sometimes refer to him as the whiskey priest. He frequently carries a bottle of brandy while he is on the run from the authorities. When he must miss a boat to Vera Cruz to help a boy and his mother, he says, Give me the brandy,' and then he [takes] a long pull at it (Greene 17). The priest drinks a substantial amount of brandy before tending to a dying woman. It seems that he needs alcohol to help him continue his priestly duties; a priest should not need alcohol to help him follow his duties. He continues to drink excessively, even on the day before the authorities execute him; without thinking what he [is] doing, he [takes] another drink of brandy (Greene 207). The priest realizes that he has a drinking problem; however, he does not attempt to fix it, and he continues drinking until the morning of his execution. A whiskey priest that cannot repent for committing adultery is n ot a good priest. When the priest performs a good deed, he usually does so with reluctance; he acts as though someone is forcing him to carry out a good deed. When a boy asks the priest to help his dying mother, he does not want to go, but [he] [gets] up as though unwillingly he [has] been summoned to an occasion he [cannot] pass by (Greene 16). Reluctantly, as if he has no choice, the priest agrees to accompany the boy back to his house. As he leaves he says, It always seems to happen. Like this; this implies that he always seems to get pulled back to his priestly duties unwillingly (Greene 16). The word always indicates that the priest has responded to a similar situation in the same manner. It is good that the priest ultimately decides to help the boy; however, it does not seem very priest-like to be so reluctant when a situation like this occurs. The whiskey priest sometimes finds himself thinking that he has made the wrong decision in becoming a fugitive. At times, he thinks that it may have been more beneficial to follow Padre Joses example and surrender to the states demands. Near the end of the book, when the lieutenant captures him, the priest begins to think about the pain that is in store for him, and wonders if it is too late for him to renounce his priesthood like Padre Jose. He mulls over the fact that the authorities have not given him a chance to renounce his faith; perhaps if he suggested it himself, he would escape yet (Greene 209). The priest regrets refusing the states conditions regarding his faith. It is good that the priest evades arrest and attempts to help people; however, he does so reluctantly, which gives the impression that he takes no joy in helping others if it is inconvenient for him. Regardless of the spiritual realizations that the unnamed priest has, his actions and decisions indicate that he is a bad priest. He sets a bad example for anyone that looks to him for guidance; he even admits this multiple times throughout the novel. He is far from being an exemplary priest, which is someone that that observes his vows and follows the commandments. It is impossible, of course, to be perfect; however, the priest makes a weak attempt at being a good priest. He has a constant sense of self-pity and uselessness. He even refers to himself as a bad priest and a bad man. After recognizing his sins of drinking and adultery, he should be able to submit completely to God and repent. His illegitimate child prevents him from asking forgiveness for committing adultery, and he does not even attempt to stop drinking. Although he tries to perform his priestly functions whenever possible, his constant sin sets a bad example for people who might look to martyrs for inspiration. The w oman who the priest has an affair with says, Suppose you die. Youll be a martyr, wont you? What kind of a martyr do you think youll make? Its enough to make people mock (Greene 79). The unnamed man sets a bad example for others and is a bad priest.

Modern Day versus Civil War Racism in America :: Race

Today racism still exists, but not to the extent that it did during Civil War times. There is still the same amount if not more racism today even though it is very subtle in how it is displayed and also, due to laws that protect US citizens from it. Racism can be displayed through the media, marriage, and even at public schools. Usually television commercials are used to bring the good out of different products and the people that consume or sell the product, but sometimes the commercial will bring out the good in the product, but bring out the bad in the person. One example of this kind of advertisement would be a McDonald’s commercial that aired not too long ago. The setting was in a McDonald’s restaurant with two young, blank males. Each talking about how great a chicken dish was off the 1.00 Menu, but at the same time some foul language was being bleeped out. This helps contribute to some people’s beliefs that all black men do not care about the use of their language in public. Although, the use of foul language from rap music may trigger this, but how racist can this get? The media will also show racism in everyday situations. During a 20/20 episode that aired lately there were different situations that helped bring out the racism in everyday, white Americans. The first situations were about a group of young, white, teenage boys that stated to vandalize a car in this parking lot. During this several bystanders took a look and kept on walking by and only some people called the police. The second scenario was another group of teenage boys, but this time they were black. The setting was in the same parking lot, but there was not vandalism going on these young boys were just sleeping in the car. Again several white bystanders walked by and almost all of them called the police on the sleeping boys. These young men were just taking a nap in their car, not causing any problems. The third and last scenario was the same black boys, but this time they were vandalizing a car and every single one of the bystanders called the police like the world was goi ng to end if they did not. This shows the racism when it comes to the difference between white and black men in certain situations.

Animal Rights and Ethical Theories Essay

Human Rights and Philosophical Theories We live in a society where many people fight for rights of their specific groups. Women’s rights, African American’s rights, and rights for handicapped people are just a few examples. Now these are all groups, where people verbally fight for their groups, but what about animal rights? Animals cannot speak or communicate for themselves, they are unable to defend themselves and fight for their rights in our world. Many philosophical theories are used to decide whether or not something is ethically right or ethically wrong, but the theories are pertaining to humans and are species prejudice. We will review animal rights, concerns, and how animal rights are looked upon when applying different ethical theories. We will also conclude that the deontology theory would be most in benefit of animals in the case of animal right whereas the utilitarian theory would be in the greatest benefit of humans when looking at animal rights. There are many big differences between animals and humans. Even within the different species of animals you have many differences. It is nearly impossible to compare an insect to a wolf for example. So when studying animal rights activists’ articles and media, it is hard to agree and say animals are equal to humans. Even when comparing animals to humans who are mentally ill and cannot communicate, there is still a huge difference. Humans are able to communicate with one another where animals have their way of communicating as well but it is tough to compare their way to ours. If an animal is mistreated, it is impossible for that animal to speak up for itself and seek protection. Sometimes animals find protection but this is because humans will stick up for them and act as their voice. Utilitarianism states; â€Å"This arrangement, more than any other, will be the  most beneficial to the greatest number of people.† (Mosser, 2013) Note the word people at the end. So how does this affect other species? So when applying this to animals, automatically we look at how humans are affected by the way animals are treated. We use animals for our resources and have for a very long time. Not only are they part of our 3-course meal but due to testing on animals, cures are found for diseases and often even things like make-up are tested on animals first to make sure no harm will come upon humans. This is not fair to animals and often while being used for food and testing they are mistreated and abused in the process. Sad as this is, would you choose an animal’s right over a cure for cancer being found? It is really tough to think of issues like this. Many animal rights activists will argue that animals have right too, and although they do, when looking at most humans, animals just simply come second. A person’s life at the end of the day has more meaning then an animal’s life. In recent years more produce at grocery stores has become caged free, many companies and farms advertise a more humane kind of farming. When you think about it though, whether the animals are treated right or not, they are still getting butchered to end up on our dinner plates. Now there is a great deal of vegetarians and even vegans but they still do not make up a large part of overall society and probably never will. Animals have feelings and do deserve a fair treatment but according to the utilitarianism theory, whatever is being judged has to be ethically right for the greatest number of people. As people we eat animals, we test on animals to find medical cures, we use animals to make clothing, and we use animals for a variety of other reasons and a variety of other types of testing as well. â€Å"The fundamental wrong is the system that allows us to view animals as our resources, here for us — to be eaten, or surgically manipulated, or exploited for sport or money. Once we accept this view of animals – as our resources – the rest is as predictable as it is regrettable.† (Regan, 1986) Although his point as an animal rights, as an animal activist is clear and valid but would you offer a human life for an animal life? The answer is no. As an animal lover myself I do not want to see animals being mistreated. I  try to buy produce that advertises cage free animals and enjoy pets. Too say that animals are equal to us in any way is far-fetched. â€Å"We begin by asking how the moral status of animals has been understood by thinkers who deny that animals have rights. Then we test the mettle of their ideas by seeing how well they stand up under the heat of fair criticism. If we start our thinking in this way, we soon find that some people believe that we have no duties directly to animals, that we owe nothing to them, that we can do nothing that wrongs them. † (Regan, 1986) When reading this you have to question if his thoughts pertain to all animals or not. If he only cares about mammals but steps on a spider, another animal rights activist may come along and say he is being unfair because he is only an advocate for certain species of animals. â€Å"The great appeal of utilitarianism rests with its uncompromising egalitarianism: everyone’s interests count and count as much as the like interests of everyone else. The kind of odious discrimination that some forms of contractarianism can justify – discrimination based on race or sex, for example – seems disallowed in principle by utilitarianism, as is speciesism, systematic discrimination based on species membership.† (Regan, 1986) You have to draw the line somewhere as far as I’m concerned. â€Å"There are many other obvious ways in which men and women resemble each other closely, while humans and other animals differ greatly. So, it might be said, men and women are similar beings and should have equal rights, while humans and nonhumans are different and should not have equal rights.† (Singer, 1989) Nobody can argue with this statement but one might say monkeys are very close to humans in their appearance and in many of their capabil ities. Yet humans are humans and we are the top of the foods chain. Facts also state that most people are not vegetarians, most people wear animal skins, and most people are for and not against animal testing for medical reasons. I believe that animals should have rights but that those rights should not be in any way equal to humans rights. Their rights should pertain to minimizing suffering. â€Å"If a being suffers, there can be no moral justification for refusing to take that suffering into consideration. No matter what the nature of the being, the principle of equality requires that its suffering be counted equally with the like suffering—in so far as rough comparisons can be made—of any other being.† (Singer, 1989) According to the utilitarianism theory, this would benefit the greatest number of people  because people could continue to use animals as their resources, and by minimizing suffering the animals would also be in a better place ethically then they are now. Now let’s look at the deontology theory. â€Å"Deontology focuses on the duties and obligations one has in carrying out actions rather than on the consequences of those actions.† (Mosser, 2013) So when looking at this, animals would have the greatest benefits. If we apply this theory we would not be cruel, we would not test on animals. When applying this theory we would not care that human lives will be saved if animals were tested on. Basically testing on animals would be looked upon as cruel and inhumane so therefor when not caring about the outcome, it just would not happen. Basically animals are mistreated but at the end of the day, even if they were not abused and treated wrongly, what we do to them for our reasons is ethically wrong no matter how you look at it. The deontologist would not do wrong in the beginning and therefor we would not mistreat and abuse animals and the outcomes of us not doing so would be neither here nor there. Virtue ethics is a little bit tougher to apply in this case. Virtue ethics looks at the character of the individual committing the act and looks at if this person is genuinely a good person or not. What the act is would be considered to be good because a good person would not commit a bad act because it is out of their character to do so. When trying to apply this theory here it is a little tough. Someone could be a great person but still eat meat or still use products that are tested on animals. So although that person is not himself or she committing the bad act against the animals themselves they are still benefitting from the act committed. It is very tough to apply this and analyze this because it can go so many different ways. Basically when looking at animal rights it is a very tough topic to apply ethics to. Animals do not have the ability to speak or defend themselves and whether people and especially animal right activists want to admit it or not, we come higher above them in the food chain. Our knowledge and capabilities as humans makes us very dominant over any other species. That  is just a fact that cannot be denied. It is however not fair that we use animals as our resources but if you had to choose between ending an animal’s life or a family member’s life, what choice would you make? I think even the most extreme of animal rights activists would have a tough time with that choice if they were faced with it. So when applying the theories, the deontology theory acts in the greatest benefit of the animal while the utilitarianism theory is in the greatest benefits of humans when it comes to the topic of animal’s rights. Animals would not be hurt but humans would not be saved if the deontology theory were applied. When applying the utilitarianism theory, the fact that animals get hurt or mistreated makes no difference either way as long as the greatest number of people benefit from it in the end. References Mosser, K. (2013). Understanding Philosophy. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education. Singer, P. (1989). All animals are equal. In T. Regan & P. Singer (Eds.), Animal rights and human obligations (pp. 148-162). New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Retrieved from http://spot.colorado.edu/~heathwoo/phil1200,Spr07/singer.pdf Regan, T. (1985). The case for animal rights. In P. Singer (Ed.), In defense of animals (pp. 13-26). New York, NY: Basil Blackwell. Retrieved from http://www.animal-rights-library.com/texts-m/regan03.htm  ­Ã‚ ­Ã‚ ­

My Personal Learning Style

Benjamin Franklin once said, ‘’Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn. ’’ Great quote to simplify how some people learn best, by doing rather than seeing or hearing. It is important to realize that most students do not know the learning style that stands out in their personalities; under that circumstance, it could be hard for them to improve their grades.That is why I consider important knowing and understanding the characteristic of a kinesthetic learner to thereby adjust my study habits and do better in college. Whereas for some people it is easy to remember materials they have seen or heard, for me it is easy to remember things that I have experienced. Likewise, I can say that ‘’learning through doing’’ is the first characteristic that helped me to recognize myself as a kinesthetic learner.Additionally, there are three others characteristics that put me in that category. First of all, I learn bes t by actively exploring objects. I do not usually read instructions or manuals, ‘’Forget the manual, I will work it out’’ is a phrase I use often when I buy a new electronic device or any product that needs to be assembled. Secondly, as a kinesthetic learner I find hard to study by reading or listening. It takes me more time to remember and understand the material given in class.As a result, I quickly get tired and bored about studying and later I may become distracted by my need for activity. The final characteristic that makes a this kind of learner is that I need to be active constantly. I may feel uncomfortable if I have to sit for long periods of time, specially in classrooms where I lack of opportunities for exploration. The only exception of a class where I never become bored during high school was chemistry, due to the experiments that the professor assigned in class.It is important for me as a student to know the study habits that fit better my le arning style, it not only will help me to preform better in college, but it also will make me understand and study the material given in class easily and quickly. The first adjustment I would like to make to my study habits is joining to study groups. Better understanding of the course material and the development of teamwork skills are some of the benefits I can obtain by joining to people who are willing to learn with me.Another change I would make to my study habits to fit my learning style, would be studying in short blocks. It is true that my need of exploring distracts me while I study for tests or quizzes, but taking breaks of 15 minutes as a reward after studying from 45 to 60 minutes, will help me to get rid of any possible distraction or negative feelings such as, boredom or tiredness. By carefully making the right adjustments to my study habits that, at the same time, would fit my personal learning style, I know that I would improve and do better as a student not only in tests and quizzes, but also in college.

Pio Baroja essays

Pio Baroja essays Pio Baroja was born on the twenty-eighth of December in the year of 1872 in the Basque Country (Rouco). At the age of fifteen, his family moved to Madrid because his father, Don SerafÃÆ'Â ­n, was transferred there when he had obtained a seat in the Geographic and Statistical Institute (Caro Raggio). In Madrid is where Baroja grew up to learn about medicine. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Madrid in 1893, he practiced medicine for a short time in a village in northern Spain. Discusted by the country life he returned to Madrid to manage the family bakery along side his brother, Ricardo (Book Rags). After working with his brother, he ran unsuccessfully on two occasions for a seat at the Cortes, the Spanish Parliament, as a Republican. As the Spanish American War rolled around in 1898, Baroja began to protest against "Spain's social abuses and the corrosive influence of the Catholic Church" (Book Rags). He was known throughout history as an anarchist who believed that all forms of government are oppressive and undesirable and should be abolished. He began to write about the injustices within his country. He got his start from writing newspaper articles and moved onward to produce novels. After writing so many articles and letters, Pip Baroja moved away from the business scene and became more dedicated to writing (Caro Raggio). Soon he realized that his real passion was to write novels. He became one of the most influential and popular Spanish novelists of the twentieth century. The writing of Pio Baroja mainly was considered "forceful though loosely constructed, characterized by a spare yet lyrical style and an undercurrent of social discontent" (Columbia Encyclopedia). His many books revolved around harsh criticism of his country, Spain, and a pessimistic view of the human existence. His first novel was La Casa de Aizgorri (The House of Aizgorr ...

Joseph Stalin foreign policies

Joseph Stalin foreign policies Introduction Joseph Stalin was born in the year 1879 in Georgia and was an influential politician in Soviet State from the year 1922 until he died in 1953 (Imdb.com).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Joseph Stalin foreign policies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More During this time, Stalin served â€Å"as the first general secretary of the communist party of the Soviet union’s central committee† (Imdb.com) and he managed to consolidate more authority and power in his governance until he become dominant over all other political groups within this party. As a result of his outstanding policies, Stalin geared the soviet State towards achieving major transformation and the country become a â€Å"great industrial power† causing swift economical changes to occur (Imdb.com). Stalin’s policies Foreign policies are combined strategies which a State or a country designs and pursues in order to safeguar d its concerns and interests within the international arena (Foreignpolicy.com). As such, Joseph Stalin had developed specific policies in order to ensure that Soviet Union was successful in many areas primarily in national security. Throughout his reign, Stalin took necessary measures to develop strategies which enabled him maintain power while on the other hand safeguarding the interest of his country (Foreignpolicy.com). Joseph Stalin was obsessed with power and for this reason he wanted to be in a position where he can command and control everything; he therefore developed different strategies such as policies to maintain political power, policies to enable Soviet State acquire economically stability so that the country could become superior over its enemies and policies to safeguard the interest of the nation (Foreignpolicy.com). Discussion Foremost, when Joseph Stalin came into power, he formulated policies which would enable him stay in power for a long time by eliminating al l the people who worked in the previous administration while replacing this group of employees with his own people and friends (Histclo.com). Thereafter, Stalin also initiated a revolutionary wave which would see the Soviet Union acquire higher level of economical stability driven by the industrialization process (Histclo.com). During this industrialization process, there were major developments in the Soviet state and the government was fully able to control all sectors of the country including the most important sectors such as the treasury department because of Stalin hold on power. This firm control was necessary for Stalin’s administration because it enabled the government to direct funds in developing capable and strong military defense that Stalin needed to advance his military policy that was meant to be both defensive and aggressive (Imdb.com). Additionally, as a result of the high level of industrialization, the Soviet Union became self sufficient and very developed in terms of military power as the country was generating sophisticated and high standard military weapons to further its foreign military policy.Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Stalin also strengthened the country’s army in other ways through quality training of the country’s Red army which was intended to function as preemptive and preparative strategies in case of conflict outbreak between itself and its German neighbors or other countries such as Japan (Imdb.com). Just before the outbreak of Second World War, Stalin had established a policy to increase the number of military officers and by the year 1939 he had made sure that the population of army in the country had increased tremendously; in fact about 1.9 million of the population was army officers (Britannica.com). This ensured that the state was fully prepared to preempt any military attack especially form the Germans (Britannica.com). In this regard it is good to understand that just before the year 1930, Stalin had not developed a good foreign policy for his country, but since he was an ambitious person, Stalin did everything within his power to prepare his country for any eventuality of war which ultimately occurred. As a commanding leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin also developed several foreign strategies aimed at protecting the interests of the Soviet State apart from the military end (Britannica.com). Towards this end, Stalin established several strategies that ensured his country become recognized as an aggressive power. He then advanced a policy to protect the land of the Soviet State which was the basis of the countries saying that stated â€Å"we do not want a single foot of foreign territory, but we will not surrender a single inch of our territory either† (Histclo.com) in which he was quoted saying during one of his many speeches to his people (Histclo.com). This particular policy was adopted by Stalin just few months before the outbreak of World War II (Britannica.com). After this policy, Stalin desire to protect his country made him develop a much better foreign policy that was reconciliatory in nature which enabled Soviet Union to pursue open dialogues with most of the neighboring countries in order to build good relationship with these countries so that they could become allies in case of an outbreak in war (Foreignpolicy.com). Therefore during this time, Stalin developed policies that were both defensive and reconciliatory by strengthening the military while at the same time pursuing a policy that intended to befriend its neighboring countries. Indeed, Stalin developed about four major foreign policies which served as effective instrument of promoting strong military and good relationship with its neighbors. The first was to build up a good business relationship with all neighbor countries so that Soviet Union could win their trus t by engaging with them in trade. The second strategy was to avoid any form of conflict or argument between Soviet Union and the neighboring countries so as to maintain strong bonds of friendship (Foreignpolicy.com).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Joseph Stalin foreign policies specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The third policy was to create a strong Red army and navy in order to facilitate reinforcement of the military force and also enable the defense mechanism to be ready to handle attackers from every side at any given time. Lastly Stalin developed another policy of creating good relationship with all foreigners living in his country whilst also ensuring good international bonds were maintained with its allies (Foreignpolicy.com). It is clear that, Joseph Stalin was a strategist and through his scheming he also ensured that treaties of all the above agreements that furthered the country’s policies were si gned by the neighboring countries as a mark of commitment to these goals. Stalin also created foreign policies that addressed other countries policies that were being made by its enemies such as Poland and German; because he responded to this by pursuing policies that intended to make allies from its friendly countries. Pros and cons of Joseph Stalin During the period when Joseph Stalin was in authority, the Soviet Union experienced major transformations such as industrialization, economical development and good military defense which are among the most positive achievements of Commander Joseph Stalin as discussed below during his reign (Foreignpolicy.com). Since Stalin was an ambitious person, he did everything within his power to ensure that the Soviet Union would become a superior state. Therefore, during his reign, Stalin developed a strong team in his government that helped in facilitating urbanization of the Soviet Union to become more industrialized than ever before (Histclo. com). This is because Stalin was very determined to make the Soviet Union acquire higher level of industrialization despite the internal pressure which was opposing his initiatives. Stalin sold much of the agricultural products all over the land so that he could be able to acquire funds that would facilitate his government in supporting this project. This is no doubt one of the many achievements that Joseph Stalin achieved because of the great desire to have his country become much superior as well; this is one of his greatest achievements (Histclo.com). In addition, Joseph Stalin enabled the country to acquire economical stability due to the major developments that he facilitated in the industrial sector. Because of the higher level of industrialization acquired by the Soviet State, the country was able to be of economical influence over other neighboring countries in the region (Foreignpolicy.com). Furthermore, Stalin also was able to develop a strong and capable military defense which he invested heavily in order to safeguard the interest of the Soviet State. During this period, Stalin invested heavily in strengthening the Red army in every front such as by increasing training for the navy and airborne officers. Besides this, Stalin also advocated for increase in the number of army soldiers in order to ensure that the country was ready to face its enemies during war outbreak which had by then became imminent (Histclo.com).Advertising Looking for essay on biography? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Despite of all these achievements, Joseph Stalin as a leader of the Soviet Union also negatively affected the country because of his foreign policies as well as his internal policies and his great ambitions to acquire more power. While trying to develop an industrialized State, Stalin had to sell a lot of agricultural products such as wheat from the farmers which eventually caused a great famine and consequently caused a mass death of Soviets citizens due to lack of enough food in the country (Foreignpolicy.com). Furthermore, while imposing his policies, Stalin violated the right and freedom to religion by abolishing all religious activities across the nation (Foreignpolicy.com). Britannica.com. â€Å"Joseph Stalin (prime minister of Union of Soviet.† Web.. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Joseph-Stalin Foreignpolicy.com. â€Å"Stalin statue in Virginia a huge bust†. 2010. Web. Histclo.com â€Å"Biography : Joseph Stalin, 2009†. Web. https://www.histclo.com /bio/s/bio-stalin.html Imdb.com. â€Å"Biography for Joseph Stalin†. 1998. Web. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0821672/bio Stel.ru. â€Å"Joseph Stalin Biography, 2004†. Web.

Critical evaluation organization's Resources and Capabilities of Coursework

Critical evaluation organization's Resources and Capabilities of Starbucks in Thailand. (internal environment) - Coursework Example The company’s high return from its new investments, made in the booming market of Thailand, helps to capture the confidence and loyalty of its value chain partners and shareholders (Hitt, Ireland, and Hoskisson, 2010). Intangible Resources The company has gained a strong brand image in the global market, since the last forty years of its establishment, which has helped it to win active support of its business stakeholders in Thailand for its business projects. The quality product and valuable diversification have transformed the individuals of Thailand into loyal customers of the company. The efficient marketing strategy used by the company, for delivering new coffee deviations in the market, has helped it to gain popularity in the market of Thailand (Zhang and McCornac, 2013). Human Resources In Thailand, Starbucks Corporation uses wholly owned subsidiary model to expand its business. Roby (2011) found that human resource strategy of the company differs significantly with the change of entry mode or mode of business operation. As part of wholly owned subsidiary model in Thailand, 3 member core Store Development team works for the company to analyze the market potential of a particular store location and supervise the entire retail chain expansion strategy of the company (Getchee, 2013). Training and development of staff in different Starbucks stores in Thailand is being done in human resource departments of the team. Capability and skill level of staff in various retail stores of Starbucks is being enhanced through periodic training programs. Consideration of research works of Roby (2011) reveals the fact that Starbucks Corporation focuses on capturing local talents and individuals while expanding business in Asian countries like Malaysia, Thailand or China because culture of these countries diverges significantly from western countries. To mitigate the cultural gap, in Thailand, the coffee retailing giant recruits more of Thai people who can understand local culture and customs and fulfil customer requirements in efficient manner. Therefore it can be said that Starbucks Corporation uses well defined human resource strategy develop talented and responsive human capital who can help the company to achieve business success in Thailand. Starbucks Capabilities Strategies in terms of Value Chain The value chain is the chain that denotes the various activities and services conducted by a firm in order to serve a valuable service or product in the market. Figure 1: Value Chain Diagram (Source: Porter, 2008) Inbound Logistic The company’s branch in Thailand offers a close-association among its investors, suppliers and customers in the market. Cocoa seeds have few cultivation fields worldwide. Thus, the company considers its suppliers to be very important as they supply the required raw materials to them at right time and place (Sridharan, Caines and Patterson, 2008). Operations The company claims that its primary operation in the m arket is to serve the world’s best coffee to the individuals. The Quality Strategy of