Crime and Modern Technology essays

Crime and Modern Technology essays Technology offers the potential for friendship, unity, and a lasting support to law enforcement, but is this friendship truly compatible or has technology increased the need for new and tougher laws, with a revision to most of the old laws already on the books. Technology has taken an average mans job and turned into one with much needed education and even then the learning does not come fast enough for our ever changing world. This paper will examine new technologies in the help with fighting crime or in reality are the things that make our lives easier allow criminals easier access to our loved ones, the things we have worked for and even allow them to escape punishment. Crime has been around for as long as humans and will only become disappear when we are gone. Why, because crime is defined as offending and violating laws, and laws were created by man and if we are not here than they would not be needed. I dont believe anyone would deny that technology has lifted crime rates and has even created new varieties of crime, but it has also aided in solving them? Before a decision is made, this paper will assess new and different technological examples. We will look at tools that both hurt and help the law enforcement community as a whole. Lets start with some basic technology enhancements; night vision goggles see invisible infrared light and convert it to visible light (Levine such as night sights on sniper rifles, night vision lenses on still and video cameras of narcotics or organized crime surveillance teams, and night vision goggles worn by police helicopter pilots (Levine & Martin, 1992). These improvements have been very helpful, but sometimes when officers are in a hurry and possibly impatient they tend to try and skirt the letter of the law and force issues without proper paper work. This is where these ...

Proverb vs. Adage

Proverb vs. Adage Proverb vs. Adage Proverb vs. Adage By Maeve Maddox English possesses dozens of nouns that mean â€Å"short sayings that encapsulate truth or wisdom passed on from previous generations.† Proverb and adage are two of them. proverb: a short, traditional, and pithy saying; a concise sentence, typically metaphorical or alliterative in form, stating a general truth or piece of advice; an adage. adage: a proverb or short statement expressing a general truth. Efforts are made to draw a distinction between proverb and adage, but in common usage, the words are interchangeable. There may be a sense that adage is a classier word than proverb. Because a saying becomes a proverb or an adage by being repeated from generation to generation, the expression â€Å"old adage† is often criticized for being redundant, but it is very common: According to the famous old adage, all roads lead to Rome. Remember the old adage, A pictures worth a thousand words? He said President Reagans old adage about trust but verify is in need of an update I confirmed with Brenda that what she is trying to convey to her students is the old writing adage â€Å"show, don’t tell.† As that last quotation is from the Grammar Girl herself, Mignon Fogarty, I wouldn’t be too quick to criticize. Numerous lists of proverbs and adages can be found on line, but their compilers don’t always distinguish between actual proverbs and quotations from song lyrics and literature. For example, All you need is love (Beatle song, 1967) ‘Tis better to have loved and lost/Than never to have loved at all. (Tennyson, In Memoriam, 1850) The female of the species is more deadly than the male. (Kipling, â€Å"The Female of the Species,† 1911.) Many proverbs are couched as advice: Dont cross the bridge till you come to it. Dont put all your eggs in one basket. Dont rock the boat. Let sleeping dogs lie. Never let the sun go down on your anger. Never tell tales out of school. Waste not want not. Judging by some of the questions that have stumped recent Jeopardy contestants, the passing on of proverbs seems to be in decline. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Misused Words category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Similes from Literature to Inspire YouFive Spelling Rules for "Silent Final E"Ulterior and Alterior

CORPORATE RESEARCH PAPER about US airways Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

CORPORATE about US airways - Research Paper Example The company’s maximum frequency is between New York, Boston and Washington D.C., where it provides hourly services. In order to diversify their operations internationally, the US Airlines decided to merge with American Airlines in February 2013. From the research it was found that if the merger is successful then it has the potential to create the largest airline in the world in terms of global market access. The deal is expected to close by the end of third quarter this year. The key shareholding pattern of the merger is that US Airways would hold 28% stake of merged company where as the American Airlines will hold the remaining 72%. It was also decided between the shareholders’ of both the companies that the merged entity would carry the name and brand of American Airlines and the holding company will be named American Airlines Group Inc. The airline company has reported operating income over USD 425 million for the year ending 2011, with net income over USD 71 millio n. The total asset of the company was found to be USD 8.34 billion for the year ending 2011. The subsidiaries of US Airways are Piedmont Airlines, Inc., Shuttle inc., PSA Airlines, Inc., US Airways Express, Material Service Company, Inc., Airways Assurance Limited, LLC, Mesa Air Group, and Potomac Air, Inc. The following table highlights the breakdown of sales assets and income of US Airways and their involvement in international trades: B. Foreign Exchange (FX) Risk Management Policy The company is centrally managed and the management actively participates in corporate governance. The company also has many subsidiaries that are located in the domestic market as well as the international markets. The subsidiaries of US Airways are Piedmont Airlines, Inc., Shuttle inc., PSA Airlines, Inc., US Airways Express, Material Service Company, Inc., Airways Assurance Limited, LLC, Mesa Air Group, and Potomac Air, Inc. In order to maintain accountability between various divisions, the Board of Directors is represented by the chairman of the company who is the most important individual regarding execution of strategic decisions taken by the Board. The chairman of the company is assisted by vice chairman and many professionals belong to different areas of expertise such as the Finance committee, labor committee, and so on. The parent company of US Airways is the US Airways Group which is headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, United States. The company operates in Aviation sector which requires fuel consumption. The underlying of fuel is the crude oil prices that are very volatile and uncertain. This exposes the company to transactional risk. Also, the company has prominent exposure in international markets which implies that US Airways operates in different currencies. Any appreciation or depreciation of home currency with respect to foreign currency may turn out to be favorable or unfavorable, ultimately exposing the company to translational risk when the company would prepare its consolidated financial statements from collecting data from different subsidiaries (Triantis, pp.558-562). In order to manage these risks the company used currency hedge and forward contracts prior to the year 2008 and reported them in their consolidated financial reports using hedge accounting at fair value of hedged assets and liabilities. C. Use of Derivatives for Funding, Investing and Other price Risk After the third quarter of 2008, US

Economic Report for United Arab of Emirate (UAE) Essay

Economic Report for United Arab of Emirate (UAE) - Essay Example The massive oil consumption in UAE has enabled it to reduce the usual lengthy and difficult process of accumulating capital as well as saving towards developing any economy. The enormous endowment of the natural resources, particularly exploitable oil and gas in the UAE have led to quick development of resource based industries (RBI), which has led to strategy development. The strategies that have emerged are industrial strategies that are geared at elevating the utilization of natural resources. Additionally, the UAE have deployed the use of windfall income that has enabled it to achieve magnificent economic development, particularly with the period between 1973 and 1982. This period was marked with high economic development of the UAE countries and it as well marked the period of relatively high oil and gas prices. Before the discovery and exploitation of natural oil and gas in the UAE, the UAE nations depended majorly on subsistence agriculture, animal husbandry, extraction and tr ading on pearls, seafaring, and fishing (Abed and Peter 11). Therefore, before the discovery of oil in the UAE, the UAE nations depended on limited natural resources that only made them have a subsistence economy. The first development of the UAE economy started in the early 1970s, and it was referred to the UAE’s First Development Decade. ... It is worth noting that, since 1973, UAE nations have enjoyed expedite political stability. The established formal political institution of the 1971 seems suitable for the existing tribal UAE society. Additionally, this political society has boosted the UAE economy by supporting an elaborate distribution of oil revenues in social and economic infrastructure forms, averagely high salaries, highly standardized social services including education, and social services that have since then raised the living standard of the inhabitants of UAE (El 74). Moreover, the UAE community has since then enjoyed a reduced likelihood of the occurrence of social and political unrest. In fact, since the formation of the state, the UAE government has maintained a high degree or ethical record pertaining to human rights; thereby, promoting political and social stability (International Monetary Fund 24). The UAE has actively become a member of numerous regional and international associations including the United Nations, Arab league, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Islamic Conference Organization, and the Arab Gulf Cooperation. The relationship that the UAE have built with many countries in the world, especially those within the West have been naturally warm. Usually, political and social stability goes hand in hand with the liberty in trade policies (International Monetary Fund 162). This notion has paved way for both domestic and international investment in the UAE’s industrial sector by other nations of the world; thus, improving the economy of UAE. The united states of Arab are blessed with the enormous oil reserves that are located both at onshore and off shore. In addition, UAE enjoys production of gas that is associated with the crude oil production. Furthermore, UAE

The Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay Example for Free

The Efficient Market Hypothesis Essay In modern financial economics, one of the most essential constructions , which plays a significant role in financing strategy, is efficient market hypothesis (henceforth EMH). Despite the fact that its first theoretical formulation, which was founded by Paul Samuelson in 1960s, is almost five decades old, numerous academic studies have been conducted about it (Alajbeg, Bubas Sonje, 2012). According to Alajbeg et al. (2012), in the middle of 1960s market efficiency was defined by Samuelson as the existence of a complete competition in a market, albeit under an assumption that all participants have equally the same opportunity to access the available information. Furthermore, Fama (1965) cited in Alajbeg et al. (2012) attempts to show the EMH empirically. This essay will try to critically debate all the forms of efficiency and give sensible evidence why most of the forms seem to be illogical in the current economic situations. It will start by introducing how to recognise efficiency and what are the forms of the EMH, following by testing each form in today’s economic circumstances with presenting coherent arguments. Damodaran (2001) points out that market efficiency is distinguished by three different measurements. First is considering the amount and the distance of diverting price from real value in the market. The second measure is by looking at the pace and the quantity of adapting prices to new information which come to the market. Finally, it is measured by determining the possibility of usual gaining higher profits by some investors in the market while they may expose the same rate of risk that other investors reveal. Generally, economists have divided the EMH into three main forms based on the type of the information reflected in security prices. The first type of the EMH is weak form. In this form of efficiency, the only information depending on is the past prices information. However, any other available stock information seems to be invaluable in these markets. As Hillier, Ross, Westerfield, Jaffe Jordan (2010) state no information, apart from the historical prices, is relied on by the investors in the weak form efficiency. In the light of this, a capital market is considered to be w eakly efficient when it contains price information about the past share prices. Hillier et al. (2010) also confirm that predating strategy is unlikely to be able to produce returns in the market operations. Put another way, information for future is not predicted in this form of efficiency. This seems to be a possible reason why these markets are called weak efficiency. The second type of the market efficiency is semi-strong form. According to Ross, Westerfield Jordan (1993), the semi-strong efficiency is the most controversial form among all the three forms. From this perspective, Ross et al. (1993) mention the reason why this form in the markets is more controversial than the other forms is that it warns an expert, who analysis financial information in order to find mis-priced stock, to not waste time in analysing some possibly useless information, for instance, financial statement information because this information is already included in the current stock prices. Brealey, Myers Allen (2011) maintain that in these markets, prices rapidly incorporate whole publicly available information, such as last quarters earning declaration, a proposal of unifying other companies and an unfamiliar matter of stock. In the light of this finding, it can be said that the semi-stro ng market efficiency rely on both historical and public information at the same time (Brealey, Myers Allen, 2008). Strong form efficiency is the final form of efficiency. Ross et al. (1993) emphasise all types of information, either public or private, are more likely to be incorporated in the stock market prices when the market is efficiently strong. Additionally, in this kind of market, it is impossible to determine any incomparable investors who are able continually to vanquish the market (Brealey et al., 2011). Expressed differently, strong competition is highly considered among the investors of the strong market efficiency. Therefore, the crucial investors may not be able to keep their high position in the long-term. According to Brealey et al. (2011), since Maurice Kendall published his controversial paper in 1953 on the behavior of stock prices, a significant amount of financial research has been done to test the EMH. In the light of that background information, both supporting and disapproval evidence has extended to each of the three forms weak, semi-strong and strong. Firstly, in order to test the weak form of this hypothesis, Brealey et al. (2011) evaluate the profitability of some trading rules which is utilised by investors who seek to determine patterns in security prices. Hillier et al. (2010) claim although the share price movements are random, investors tend to notice patterns. However, the existence of patterns in the past price data, which is the main information in weak form efficiency, seems to be unreal, according to Hillier et al. (2010). As an example, Hillier et al. (2010) illustrate the participation between Shell transport and Royal Dutch Petroleum, which randomness is highly predicted instead of pattern in their stock price. Then Brealey et al. (2011:352) demonstrate ‘‘since both companies participated in the same underlying cash flows in 2005, it would be expected the stock prices to have moved in exact lockstep, while the real price of the tow shares sometimes diverged substantially’’. Therefore, Hillier et al. (2010) confirm that the security choices based on patterns of historical price changes would not be as acceptable as random choice. As a consequence of this evidence, it can be assumed that the weak form efficiency seems to be a meaningful form in the new economic environment. Secondly, in examining the semi-strong efficiency, the speed of reacting security prices towards announcements is measured (Brealey et al., 2011). According to this form of efficiency, previous price information would not have any influence on present actual return because this form implies that in an efficient market, historical information has merely reflected in the current prices (Hillier et al., 2010). Whereas, in many empirical cases past information impacts on stock prices. For example, Hillier et al. (2010) highlight the global credit crisis of 2008 which firstly started only from the British bank Northern Rock. Then it slowly continued and cover some other banks, such as, Bear Stearn, the US investment bank, HBOS and Lehmann Brothers. Hillier et al. (2010) also state that it had not stopped unless the short selling would have been temporarily avoided by the US and UK governments. From the light of this empirical circumstance, the semi-strong efficiency is probably no longer a sensible form in todays economy because the standard test requirement, which economists follow , may not be reflected in it. Finally, In terms of testing the strong form efficiency, Brealey et al. (2008) point out that the performance of the managers in the markets is depended on. Hillier et al. (2010) imply that it is more likely to profit from a personal information which the other investors do not have in the market, whilst in the strong efficient market it is unlikely to be profited from this information by their owners. Further to this, Brealey et al. (2011) claims that it is probably more common that a particular manager in a market, who is more clever than the others, could make superior profits. This seems to be an appropriate evidence against the EMH in the case of strong form. Similarly, Damondaran (2001) points out that some investors can earn more profit than the others whilst they have the same chance of risk. Brealey et al. (2011) take a large sample of the US companies in order to test the proportion of annual profits among them from 1926 to 2008. Brealey et al. (2011:349) prove ‘‘since 1926 the stock of the firms with the lowest market capitalizations have performed substantially better than those with the highest capitalizations’’. In the same way, Alajbeg et al. (2012) criticise the EMH because of the effectiveness of some anomalies in the market, for example, January effect, weekend effect and momentum effect. As a result of the aforementioned arguments, it can be argued that the strong market efficiency does not make sense in the current economic situations because of the possibility of out-performance in the market. In addition, the EMH has faced many criticisms. For example, Brealey et al. (2011) mention a stock market bubble in property prices in the US. In a way, the price has almost doubled by 2005. Nevertheless, the EMH considers that prices always equal to the values inside the efficient markets (Brealey et al., 2011). This can also be noticed as an evidence against the EMH. In conclusion, the participants mostly try to exploit each single discovered mis-pricing in the stock market. This competition results in market efficiency (Brealey et al., 2008). There are three forms of efficiency: weak, semi-strong and strong. The weak form efficiency seems to be significant in todays economy because it considers that prices are random and that is proved in the empirical situations. However, the strong form is generally considered to be meaningless because of the out-performance which can be executed by some investors. Similarly, the semi-strong form may be seen as an insensible form of the EMH in the current economy. This form is unlikely to provide the common test demands when it tests to find how rapidly prices respond to the new information. Furthermore, there are many debates about the EMH in empirical situations because of occurring some bubbles and crisis. Apparently, there are considerable arguments about market efficiency along the history of the capital market. Nonetheless, financial market efficiency is constantly under debate. In other words, it is still a challenging issue in the current financial economics (Alajbeg et al., 2012). References: * Alejbeg, D., Bubas, Z. And Sonje, V. (2012)The efficient market hypothesis: problems with interpretations of empirical tests. Financial Theory and Practice. Available at: http://core.kmi.open.ac.uk (Accessed at 17th August 2012). * Brealey, A., Myers, C. And Allen, F. (2011) Principles of Corporate Finance (global edition). New York. Mcraw Hill/Irwin. * Brealey, A., Myers, C. And Allen, F. (2008) Principles of Corporate Finance (nine edition). New York. Mcraw Hill/Irwin. * Damodaran, A. (2001) Corporate Finance: theory and practice. Second edition. United States. John Willey Sons, Inc. * Hillier, D., Ross, S., Westerfield, R., Jaffe, J. And Jordan, B. (2010) Corporate Finance. Mcraw-Hill. * Ross, S., Westerfield, R. And Jordan, B. (1993) Fundamentals of Corporate Finance (second edition). Boston. Irwin Inc.

Fairy Tales and Gender Roles Essay example -- Fairy Tales Gender Socia

Fairy Tales and Gender Roles Some things about fairy tales we know to be true. They begin with "once upon a time." They end with "happily ever after." And somewhere in between the prince rescues the damsel in distress. Of course, this is not actually the case. Many fairytales omit these essential words. But few fairytales in the Western tradition indeed fail to have a beautiful, passive maiden rescued by a vibrant man, usually her superior in either social rank or in moral standing. Indeed, it is precisely the passivity of the women in fairy tales that has led so many progressive parents to wonder whether their children should be exposed to them. Can any girl ever really believe that she can grow up to be president or CEO or an astronaut after five viewings of Disney's "Snow White"? Bacchilega (1997, chapter 2) chooses "Snow White" as a nearly pure form of gender archetype in the fairytale. She is mostly looking at Western traditions and focusing even more particularly on the two best known versions of this story in the West, the Disney animated movie and the Grimm Brothers' version of the tale. However, it is important to note (as Bacchilega herself does) that the Snow White tale has hundreds of oral versions collected from Asia Minor, Africa and the Americas as well as from across Europe. These tales of course vary in the details: The stepmother (or sometimes the mother herself) attacks Snow White in a variety of different ways, and the maiden is forced to take refuge with a number of different kinds of unlikely protectors robbers, assassins, giants, and fairies as well as those adorable Disney dwarves (Bacchilega, 1997, p. 29). Each version of "Snow White," no matter how different the surface details, shares several factors in common that are central to the way gender is described and used in so many Western fairytales: The heroine has a wondrous origin, she is innocent, she is persecuted at the hands of a jealous older woman, she is apparently killed (or dies) and she is then resurrected (Bacchilega, 1997, p. 31). The most striking of these elements is female jealousy, because while it is certainly not essential to the plot, it is a ubiquitous element of these stories. Fairytales, like other commonly performed cultural texts, must be seen in some sense as methods of instruction. We tell stories to our children to entertain and amuse them, to ... ...bmissive. When the princess gets tired of dealing with all the terribly obnoxious princes that her parents keep sending to her in an effort to get her married off, she turns Prince Swashbuckle into a gigantic warty toad. "And when the other princes heard what had happened to Prince Swashbuckle, none of them wanted to marry Smartypants... and so she lived happily ever after (Cole, 1986, p. 29). And in the recent film version of "Cinderella," ("Ever After"), the orphaned girl saves herself both through physical bravery and by preaching socialist principles to the aristocracy. When the prince finally realizes that he wants to marry her and that she may be in terrible danger, he rushes off to the castle of the villain only to meet the heroine just after she has vanquished the villain herself. "What you thought I needed to be rescued?" she asks, thereby completely rewriting her gendered role. Works Cited Bacchilega, C. (1997). Postmodern Fairytales: Gender and Narrative Strategies. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Cole, B. (1986). Princess Smartypants. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. Rohrich, L. (1970). Folktales and Reality. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University. Fairy Tales and Gender Roles Essay example -- Fairy Tales Gender Socia Fairy Tales and Gender Roles Some things about fairy tales we know to be true. They begin with "once upon a time." They end with "happily ever after." And somewhere in between the prince rescues the damsel in distress. Of course, this is not actually the case. Many fairytales omit these essential words. But few fairytales in the Western tradition indeed fail to have a beautiful, passive maiden rescued by a vibrant man, usually her superior in either social rank or in moral standing. Indeed, it is precisely the passivity of the women in fairy tales that has led so many progressive parents to wonder whether their children should be exposed to them. Can any girl ever really believe that she can grow up to be president or CEO or an astronaut after five viewings of Disney's "Snow White"? Bacchilega (1997, chapter 2) chooses "Snow White" as a nearly pure form of gender archetype in the fairytale. She is mostly looking at Western traditions and focusing even more particularly on the two best known versions of this story in the West, the Disney animated movie and the Grimm Brothers' version of the tale. However, it is important to note (as Bacchilega herself does) that the Snow White tale has hundreds of oral versions collected from Asia Minor, Africa and the Americas as well as from across Europe. These tales of course vary in the details: The stepmother (or sometimes the mother herself) attacks Snow White in a variety of different ways, and the maiden is forced to take refuge with a number of different kinds of unlikely protectors robbers, assassins, giants, and fairies as well as those adorable Disney dwarves (Bacchilega, 1997, p. 29). Each version of "Snow White," no matter how different the surface details, shares several factors in common that are central to the way gender is described and used in so many Western fairytales: The heroine has a wondrous origin, she is innocent, she is persecuted at the hands of a jealous older woman, she is apparently killed (or dies) and she is then resurrected (Bacchilega, 1997, p. 31). The most striking of these elements is female jealousy, because while it is certainly not essential to the plot, it is a ubiquitous element of these stories. Fairytales, like other commonly performed cultural texts, must be seen in some sense as methods of instruction. We tell stories to our children to entertain and amuse them, to ... ...bmissive. When the princess gets tired of dealing with all the terribly obnoxious princes that her parents keep sending to her in an effort to get her married off, she turns Prince Swashbuckle into a gigantic warty toad. "And when the other princes heard what had happened to Prince Swashbuckle, none of them wanted to marry Smartypants... and so she lived happily ever after (Cole, 1986, p. 29). And in the recent film version of "Cinderella," ("Ever After"), the orphaned girl saves herself both through physical bravery and by preaching socialist principles to the aristocracy. When the prince finally realizes that he wants to marry her and that she may be in terrible danger, he rushes off to the castle of the villain only to meet the heroine just after she has vanquished the villain herself. "What you thought I needed to be rescued?" she asks, thereby completely rewriting her gendered role. Works Cited Bacchilega, C. (1997). Postmodern Fairytales: Gender and Narrative Strategies. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania. Cole, B. (1986). Princess Smartypants. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. Rohrich, L. (1970). Folktales and Reality. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University.

Native Americans vs. American Settlers Essay

There are a number of dissimilarities between the Native Americans and the American Settlers. Although the Native Americans wanted to live in peace with American Settlers, their cultural differences led to warfare. This essay will compare and contrast a couple differences of these two cultures. I will discuss both groups opinion on land and resources. Then, I will explain both groups’ views on Nature. Native Americans Conserved land and viewed its resources as scared, while the Americans felt as though the land was nothing but opportunity for their colonies. While hunting, Native Americans used every piece of the animal from the hide to the bones and everything in between. They respected the land and believed it belonged to mother-nature, so it could not be owned or sold. On the other hand, American settlers viewed the land and its resources as limitless opportunity. â€Å"It is little wonder they went land-mad, because there was so much of it† (Steinbeck 69). They invaded the lands claiming territory, killing buffalo, and plowing through the grassy plains to make room for their crops. American settlers often fought to try to obtain land that they thought was free for the taking, whereas, the Native Americans tried to live in harmony with nature and its inhabitants. In the movie, We Shall Remain, Native Americans would try and negotiate with the Americans only to be threatened with the violence of warfare. Native Americans believed the creator put everything on this earth to live together and be used respectfully. They accepted nature and did not try to change it. The American settlers, however, didn’t hold the same beliefs. â€Å"The railroads brought new hordes of land-crazy people, and the new Americans moved like locust across the continent†¦ Coal and copper drew them on; they savaged the land, gold-dredged the rivers to skeletons of pebbles and debris† (Steinbeck 69). They viewed nature as nothing more than an obstacle and commodity. American settlers engaged in warfare, defending what they thought they discovered, to claim as their own. They were land hungry and the more they got, they more they wanted. American colonist never tried to understand the Native American’s culture. Instead they tried to push their European based ways onto them. This, in turn, caused a number of wars between the two. Sometimes it’s better to agree to disagree rather than to wage war on what is believed to be right/wrong. Works cited Steinbeck, John. â€Å"Explaining Relationships: Americans and the Land. † the Composition of Everyday Life. 3rd ed. Boston: Wadsworth, 2010. Pgs. 68-70. Print. We Shall Remain. Dir. Ric Burns. Perf. Benjamin Bratt, Alex Meraz, Dweir Brown. PBS Home Video, 2009. Film.

A Leadership Profile of American Project Managers Essay

Although the needs and demands of clients have always been the highest priority for any project manager, increasing global competition, ever heightening client expectations, and the magnitude of the projects impact on a firm’s bottom line has begun to place greater emphasis on the skills necessary to successfully lead today’s project teams. Historically, strong technical skills and knowledge of the industry would have been the key selection criteria. It was, in many cases, simply assumed that men and women who possessed these qualities would lead the project to a successful completion. Today’s complex project environments require even greater skills at leadership than ever before. â€Å"Cookie-cutter† formula-based management was probably never correct, but in today’s environment it will inevitably lead to disaster. Performance expectations for quality, cost effectiveness, timely delivery, and a host of other client measures are ratcheted-up a notch each year. In the highly competitive arena in which most projects operate, be they external or internal, the requirement to produce results that exceed client expectations has become the norm. As one respondent shared, â€Å"I have not worked on a project in the past five years that was not viewed by the client as being ‘fast track;† The stakes are high, and getting higher. The days when cost overruns and delayed completion were common are history. So are the projects where technical personnel were once allowed to â€Å"experiment† until they got it right. With the managerial practices of outsourcing, downsizing, total quality management and continuous improvement becoming even more prevalent in our organizational environment, it can be expected that project managers are experiencing increased performance pressures. Internal project managers are possibly just as vulnerable to not having their contracts renewed as external consultants and contractors. Recent Literature Jeffrey Pinto and Om Kharbanda shed light on this problem in two journal articles published in Business Horizons, â€Å"Lessons for an accidental profession† (1995) and â€Å"How to fail in project management† (1996). These authors emphasize the increased need for projectmanagers. Increasingly technically complex products and processes, vastly shortened time-to-market windows, and the need for cross-functional expertise make project management an important and powerful tool in the hands of organizations that understand its use† (Pinto & Kharbanda, 1995). In their follow-up article, â€Å"How to fail in project management,† the authors write a stinging criticism of the practices that combine to produce project failures (Pinto & Kharbanda, 1996). Karen Ayas (1996) takes a broader brash to the whole issue through what she describes as a â€Å"project network structure. The design of the system should â€Å"stress the synergies between organizational strategy, structure, culture and systems to allow organizations to build and expand learning capacity. † The application of â€Å"process management view† to project management was reported recently in Harvard Business Review. The study of leading companies such as AT&T, Hewlett-Packard and Raychem over an eight-year time span led the author to report that, â€Å"managers can benefit by applying a process management approach to their product development process. Companies can create an aggregate plan that allows them to assign practices to theirprojects with an estimate of needed resources †¦ managers can eliminate congestion and long hours by evening out workloads† (Alder, Mandelbaum, Nguyen, & Schwerer, 1996). (See also Jungen & Wowalczyk, 1995. ) Bob Lewis (Info World, 1996) sets forth the five keys that he believes differentiate successful projects from the others: scope control; regular, concrete, reasonable results; weekly status meetings; team buy-in to the plan; and walking around. Project management is considered a vital tool for the implementation of business process reengineering. â€Å"Project management allows organizations to break things down into simple processes and assign these activities and modules to individuals. This approach helps organizations identify existing built-in dependencies among processes †¦ A multidimensional forum for enterprisewide visibility is essential and will lead to significant productivity and cost savings. †¦ Project management is the organizational ‘glue’ that binds together dispersed, high accountable teams throughout the organization. Teams will seek and demand a framework to ensure their success under the new rules of rapidly changing intensely competitive markets. Project management provides the framework, encourages dispersed leadership and provides visibility of effort to stakeholders throughout the organization† (King 1996). Clearly, project managers are being viewed as pivotal leaders in the introduction and implementation of both operational and behavioral managerial changes. Are project managers viewing their roles and responsibilities in the same light as the authors of leading journal articles? What do practicing project managers believe are the critical characteristics necessary to be effective? On the other hand, what factors contribute to producing ineffective project managers? On the operational side, what do they see as the primary causes of projects that fail to meet budgetary and time constraints? What do they see as the most effective project management â€Å"tools,† and the extent to which these â€Å"tools† contribute to the success of a project? Finally, how powerful is â€Å"the leadership factor† in the success of a project and what are the specific characteristics and behaviors of leaders that will have a positive influence on organizational effectiveness in the next decade? The authors found no research that specifically addressed these questions nor reported results obtained directly from project managers. Research Instrument Design The research instrument was compressed of both open-ended and forced-answer questions. In addition, the respondents were asked their agreement or valuation of several statements through the application of a traditional five-point Likert scale ranging from a high of 5 to low of 1. The completed instrument was then pretested by 12 project managers and executives in a number of firms. All suggestions were incorporated into the final research instrument. The research instrument was then mailed to a selected sample of 100 senior-level project managers who, it was assumed, would possess a wealth of experience regarding the issues being studied. The authors received 76 usable responses to the research instrument from the mailing of 100. The extremely high response rate was due in part to an aggressive premailing and postmailing telephone campaign. The respondents were all relatively senior project managers with a minimum of 10 years experience in projectmanagement. All of the project managers surveyed were employed in large architectural and engineering consulting companies. Research Results and Discussion What Are the Characteristics of Effective Project Managers? The following results (presented in Table 1) were obtained from an open-ended question that asked respondents to list, in rank order, the characteristic that they believed was essential for effectiveness. Possibly the most interesting aspect of the project manager’s responses to this question was the fact that technical competence was the third highest rated characteristic. Eight of the nine characteristics were managerial in nature, reflecting a basic understanding that effectiveness is directly related to the ability of theproject manager to lead and manage more than simply possess exceptional technical skills. This finding is consistent with the academic literature, but is more powerful when drawn from open-end responses of experienced practicing project managers. What Factors Contribute to Ineffectiveness Among Project Managers? In order to examine the question of effectiveness in a different light, the project managerswere then asked, via open-ended questions, the specific nature of personal flaws of project managers that directly contribute to ineffectiveness, as well as the organizational factors that produced the same results. The intent of these questions was to identify how both personal flaws and organizational factors contributed to producing an ineffective project manager. To a large degree the personal flaws are a reverse image of the characteristics of ffective project managers from Table 1. There seems to be a good deal of internal consistency among the respondents (see Table 2). The organizational factors that contribute to becoming an ineffectiveproject manager are equally relevant, but not surprising. Lack of upper-management commitment and support is a well-documented source of project problems. Theproject management literature has addressed each of the organizational barriers to effectiveness and it is again reinforcing to discover that the responses document that practicing project managers’ perceptions fully support the literature. The past few decades have not seen the elimination of these classic sources of organizational ineffectiveness, although their negative impact on project performance has been known for some time. Resistance to change and a reactive approach to environmental turbulence are signs of a firm struggling with adjusting to new competitive conditions. Traditional reward systems are generally not well suited toproject management. Traditional reward systems tend to have very little direct linkage between the performance criteria of a project and compensation. With competition being very intense in some sectors, some projects are priced and sold at dangerously thin multipliers with little opportunity to show a significantly positive return. When the realistic expectations for the project are not considered in the compensation plan, it can be expected that dissatisfaction with the compensation or reward systems are bound to be voiced. Project managers know that under difficult competitive conditions, jobs are taken to keep the staff utilized and the expected profit margin is possibly at breakeven. It is often just as difficult to manage a project with no expected profit than one with above average profit expectations. In addition, reward systems seldom reflect the nature and varying degrees of difficulty of the task and often focus solely on the final profit numbers. Failure to develop a reward system that reflects the specific nature of the project can create potential long-term conflicts. Consider how new market entry is normally achieved: the firm â€Å"buys† a project. The firm intentionally bids a project below what established competitors minimum bid to get the work and, hopefully, enter a new market successfully. Logic would suggest that a firm would want one of its best project managers to lead such a project to ensure success. But if the projectaffords no opportunity to earn a performance bonus based on project profitability who would volunteer to â€Å"take on† a known loser? In too many cases, organizational insensitivity to the negative realties created by poor organizational practices and policies are not understood or simply ignored. The result of these negative practices and policies is the eventual erosion of a potentially high-quality professional staff. The lack of upper management support and commitment results in a complete breakdown of trust and respect. One of the sure killers of motivation is when project managers become conditioned to being abandoned by their management at the first sign of client conflict. As one project manager described the situation: â€Å"it’s like discovering that your management is sitting on the client side of the table at every meeting, and that you are left alone to defend every decision. † It doesn’t take too many such experiences beforeproject managers modify their style of management to protect themselves. Under these conditions one is not likely to find that the project team is performing to the maximum potential. What Are the Primary Reasons That Projects Experience Budgetary and Timely Completion Problems? Table 3 reports the respondents’ reasons for why projects run into budgetary and timing problems. The most frequent responses reflect both organizational and managerial problems. As an example, â€Å"failure to utilize the toolsavailable to manage a project to completion in a timely fashion and within budget† was the most frequent response. Poor leadership on the part of the projectmanager† was the second most frequently reported cause of problems. â€Å"Lack of effective interorganizational communication† and a â€Å"lack of timely decisions and corrective action† were also reported. The only external factor mentioned by the respondents was â€Å"the client’s failure to respond in a timely fashion. † Almost everyproject manager has dealt with clients who seemed unable or unwilling to make timely decisions yet retained their expectations that the project would be completed on time and within budget. It seems that managing the client is an art that only experience can teach. This need to learn the diplomacy of client management becomes increasingly important as a client-oriented strategy is recognized as essential to survival. What Are the Project Management â€Å"Tools† Most Often Used and How Effective Are They? Managing the project requires the skillful application of projectmanagement tools that are designed to assist the project team complete the project on time, within budget, and to the satisfaction of the client. Table 4 reports the responses from experienced project managers regarding the extent to which they use eight recognized project management tools and the extent to which the tools contribute to the success of a project. As you would expect, the two highest rated tools (actually tying for first) were the project schedule and theproject budget. Irrespective of project size or complexity, these project tools were rated highest in use and first and second in terms of contribution to the success of the project. Of the eight project management tools that the respondents were asked to evaluate, none were reported to be of no value. Some of the more detailed tools were used less often and consequently may have been perceived as less valuable to project success. Despite the discussion in the projectmanagement literature regarding the need to increase the degree of accuracy in the determination of the percentage of project completion, the â€Å"earned value reporting tool, was rated the least used and correspondingly reported to have made the least contribution to the success of a project. The top five projectmanagement tools most often reported as used (project schedule, project budget, project cost system, project execution plan, and client communication log) were also rated as making the greatest contribution to the success of the project. Clearb; more effective project managers exercise managerial discipline in the consistent application of what they have found to be the most valuable project management tools for achieving success. What Are the â€Å"Other† Factors That Contribute to the Success of a Project? In addition to the direct managerial actions that project managers can take through the implementation of project management tools, project managers focus on their managerial and leadership skills as controlling sources of influence that contribute to the successful completion of projects. Table 5 reports the source of influence on successful completion of a project as reported by the project managers surveyed. As expected, â€Å"the decision made by the client† was the strongest influence, with â€Å"responding to the changing client request† second. The third source of influence on the successful completion of a project is the â€Å"desire to excel,† reflecting the strong positive personal motivation of project managers to make every project they lead a success. â€Å"The decision made by the project team† and â€Å"the pressures from inside the project† were the next highest rated sources of influence reflecting the need for the project manager to focus on the leadership of the project team. Equally interesting are the lowest rated sources of influence on the success of aproject. Respondents give little or no credence to â€Å"luck† or â€Å"external politics† as barriers to success. How Critical Is the â€Å"Leadership Factor† to Project Success? Given the many factors that can directly or indirectly influence the success of a project, do projectmanagers believe that there is one overriding factor that contributes to whether a project will be a success or a failure? In fact, the answer is yes. When asked to weigh the percentage of success or failure of a project that can be contributed directly to the pressure of either positive or negative leadership the responses were powerfully revealing (see Table 6). Positive leadership contributes almost 76% to the success of a project. Consider what this response means. Variation in projectsuccess can be contributed to the leadership displayed on the project by 76%. Equally meaningful is the second statistic: negative or poor leadership contributes 67% to the failure of projects. Clearly, firms that fail to train and reinforce the need for project managers to practice positive leadership seem to run an unacceptable risk. In a recent interview with five vice presidents of major engineering consulting firms, a question was posed regarding the number of projects in the past five years that failed due to a lack of technical competence on the part of the project manager or the project team. In what was estimated by them to be more than 1,000 projects, both large and small, the executives could recount only 10 failures due to lack of technical competence. Yet, when you ask most company executives what the most critical criteria for promotion to project manager is, technical competence generally leads the list of responses. Possibly what is absent is the recognition that technical competence must be supported by persons who are capable of managing a project and providing positive leadership to the team. All the evidence of recent research supports the idea that successful projects are led by individuals who possess a blend of technical and management knowledge, but beyond both, leadership skills. Sensitivity to the client’s needs, the composition of the project team, the strategic importance of the project to the firm, and the technical requirements of the project reflect themselves in a continuous stream of communication and personal interactions that serve to reveal the true nature of theproject manager. Project managers were asked to rate 50 characteristics or behaviors that they believed, based on their experience, would have a positive influence on organizational effectiveness in the next decade. Tables 7 and 8 highlight the highest and lowest rated characteristics and behaviors and reveal some very interesting findings. The highest rated characteristics and behaviors build a profile of an individual that most of us would wish to work for. The profile reveals a leader who recognizes that it is absolutely essential to build aproject team, reinforce positive behavior, communicate, demonstrate trust and respect, develop team members and empower them to perform and set goals while remaining flexible to respond to the inevitable changes. Important by their absence from the â€Å"golden dozen† are characteristics and behaviors such as technical expertise, individualistic, effective organizational politician, or detail oriented. The profession has moved beyond the mind-set that the best-qualified individual to promote to the project manager’s position is the best technical person or some flashy politically savvy character with the â€Å"right contacts. † Table 8 reports the characteristics and behaviors that practicing and experienced project managers rated as the 12 least important characteristics for the achievement of organizational effectiveness. Some of these responses were a surprise to the researchers while others were not. Project managers rated â€Å"strategic thinker† very low. This may be explained by the fact that many project managers are totally operations-oriented and become involved only when the job is sold. In terms of preparation for promotion into the firm’s executive ranks this shortcoming could be costly. Yet, this lack of recognition of the need for the practice of strategic thinking may explain the managerial practices of some firms who employ project managers.

30 Quotes From Hemingways For Whom the Bell Tolls

30 Quotes From Hemingways For Whom the Bell Tolls Ernest Hemingways novel For Whom the Bell Tolls was originally published in 1940 and follows a young American guerrilla fighter and dynamiter named Robert Jordan during the Spanish Civil War as he plots to blow up a bridge during an attack on the city of Segovia. Along with The Old Man and the Sea, A Farewell to Arms, and The Sun Also Rises, For Whom the Bell Tolls is regarded as one of Hemingways most popular works, and is quoted in conversation and English classrooms alike across the United States, even to this day. The following quotes most exemplify the eloquence and ease with which Hemingway addressed the turmoil and strife of living the American dream during the 1920s through 40s. Providing Context and Setting Through Quotes For Whom the Bell Tolls relies heavily on Hemingways own experience reporting on the conditions in Spain during the Spanish Civil War as a journalist for the North American Newspaper Alliance, as he saw the brutality of the war and what it did to both domestic and foreign fighters for and against the fascist rule of the time. International soldiers helping overthrow the rulership had it especially hard - at least in terms of fearing for their lives, as expressed in Chapter 1 when Hemingway writes I would always rather not know. Then, no matter what can happen, it was not me that talked and again later in the chapter when he writes I dont like that sadness, he thought. That sadness is bad. Thats the sadness they bet before they quit or betray. That is the sadness that comes before the sell-out. Religion played a large role in Spain at the time (and currently, for that matter), though the protagonist of Hemingways piece grappled with the existence of God. In Chapter 3, Hemingway wrote But with our without God, I think it is a sin to kill. To take the life of another is to me very grave. I will do it whenever necessary but I am not of the race of Pablo. In the following quote from Chapter 4, Hemingway masterfully describes the details of Spanish life at the time, especially for foreigners like the protagonist. One cup of it took the place of the evening papers, of all the old evenings in cafà ©s, of all chestnut trees that would be in bloom now in this month, of the great slow horses of the outer boulevards, of book shops, of kiosques, and of galleries, of the Parc Montsouris, of the Stade Buffalo, and of the Butte Chaumont, of the Guarangy Trust Company and the Ile de la Cità ©, of Foyots old hotel, and of being able to read and relax in the evening; of all things he had enjoyed and forgotten and that came back to him when he tasted that opaque, bitter, tongue-numbing, brain-warming, stomach-warming, idea-changing liquid alchemy. On Loss and Ugliness In Chapter 9, Hemingway says that To make war all you need is intelligence. But to win you need talent and material, but this almost lighthearted observation is overshadowed by the following grief at experiencing the ugliness of wartime in Spain. In Chapter 10, the protagonist grapples with having to behold the horrors mankind is capable of committing: Look at the ugliness. Yet one has a feeling within one that blinds a man while he loves you. You, with that feeling, blind him, and blind yourself. Then, one day, for no reason, he sees you as ugly as you really are and he is not blind anymore and then you see yourself as ugly as he sees you and you lose your man and your feeling... After a while, when you are as ugly as I am, as ugly as women can be, then, as I say after a while the feeling, the idiotic feeling that you are beautiful, grows slowly in one again. It grows like a cabbage. And then, when the feeling is grown, another man sees you and thinks you are beautiful and it is all to do over. In the next chapter, Hemingway discusses dealing with loss itself: You only heard the statement of the loss. You did not see the father fall as Pilar made him see the fascists die in that story she had told by the stream. You knew the father died in some courtyard, or against some wall, or in some field or orchard, or at night, in the lights of a truck, beside some road. You had seen the lights of the car from down the hills and heard the shooting and afterwards you had come down to the road and found the bodies. You did not see the mother shot, nor the sister, nor the brother. You heard about it; you heard the shots; and you saw the bodies. A Reprieve Mid-Novel Halfway through For Whom the Bell Tolls, Hemingway allows the protagonist Jordan a moment of reprieve from the war in an unexpected way: the quiet cold of winter. In Chapter 14, Hemmingway describes it as almost as exciting as battle: It was like the excitement of the battle except it was clean... In a snowstorm it always seemed, for a time, as though there were no enemies. In a snowstorm the wind could blow a gale; but it blew a white cleanness and the air was full of a driving whiteness and all things were changed and when the wind stopped there would be the stillness. This was a big storm and he might as well enjoy it. It was ruining everything, but he might as well enjoy it. But even these moments are tainted in wartimes. Hemingway describes the idea of going back while the war is still raging on in Chapter 18 by saying Here it is the shift from deadliness to normal family life that is the strangest. This is largely because, after a while, soldiers get used to the mentality of battle: You learned the dry-mouthed, fear-purged purging ecstasy of battle and you fought that summer and that fall for all the poor in the world against all tyranny, for all the things you believed in and for the new world you had been educated into.- Chapter 18 The End of the Novel and Other Selected Quotes In Chapter 25, Hemingway writes In war cannot say what say what one feels, and in Chapter 26 he revisits the notion of self-awareness and governance: It is right, he told himself, not reassuringly, but proudly. I believe in the people and their right to govern themselves as they wish. But you mustnt believe in killing, he told himself. You must do it as a necessity but you must not believe in it. If you believe in it the whole thing is wrong. One character in Chapter 27 was described as not at all afraid of dying but he was angry at being on this hill which was only utilizable as a place to die... Dying was nothing and he had no picture of it or fear of it in his mind. and further expanded on the thought later in the chapter in his observation of life: Living was a hawk in the sky. Living was an earthen jar of water in the dust of the threshing with the grain flailed out and the chaff blowing. Living was a horse between your legs and a carbine under one leg and a hill and a valley and a stream with trees along it and the far side of the valley and the hills beyond. On soldiers, Hemingway wrote in Chapter 30 I guess really good soldiers are really good at very little else and again in Chapter 31 There is no finer and no worse people in the world. No kinder people and no crueler. But still, Hemingway applauds those who fight because, as he says in Chapter 34, It was easier to live under a regime than fight it.

I hate my job three signs you need to move on

I hate my job three signs you need to move on Everyone goes into a new job with a sense of optimism. New place, new coworkers, new responsibilities- what’s not to be optimistic about? After that initial buzz, however, you suddenly realize: I hate my job. It’s rarely in your interest to quit on the spot when you have that revelation, so how long should you stay? Let’s look at a couple of different scenarios. When seriously bad things are happeningIf you’ve discovered that there are illegal or harmful things going on at work, or your work is causing you serious physical issues, then you should seriously consider getting out now. It’s a safety issue.When you hate your boss, and your work is starting to sufferIf your work is making you miserable and you just can’t seem to get along with your boss, then it’s time to start thinking hard about your exit strategy. But if you can hold on for a few weeks or months while you start putting out feelers about a new job, then you should delay ha nding in that resignation letter.When you’re bored or mildly unhappyIf your job isn’t challenging you like it should or you have a general diagnosis of Over It-itis, then definitely start thinking about your next steps. Don’t quit just yet. Because this isn’t an emergency, you have some time to do some soul-searching about why you’re unhappy at work and what you can do to fix that. It may be that adjusting your workload or taking on different projects could make you happier and more fulfilled at work.Before you quit, talk with your boss (without issuing any ultimatums) and let him know you’re interested in taking on more opportunities, or changing up your role. If he’s receptive, then give these new responsibilities a try. If he’s not, or you’ve tried out this new regime and you’re still unhappy, then step up your efforts to find another job before you quit this one. Remember that fairly or not, it’s almost always easier to find a job while you already have one.Here’s what you need to consider before you quit, under any of these scenarios:What is my financial situation? Do I have enough savings to cover a potentially months-long job search?Do I have some good potential job leads lined up, or an interim plan (like freelancing or consulting)?Are there any skills I will need to build before I try to get a comparable job (or a step-up job)?Is there anything that I could do or ask of my boss that would make my job bearable again?It’s best to have a plan here; the last thing you want to do is quit your job in a huff, and then realize that you’ve made a mistake. Sometimes leaving is the right thing to do, and quitting can push you to move your career forward. But if you take that step before you’re ready, you could be opening yourself up to a period of stress and career upheaval unnecessarily.

The paradox of choice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The paradox of choice - Essay Example Little does it nurture talent, as the developers put more emphasis on meaningless areas at the expense of personal talent development? Call it formal or informal, the system is set in such a way that little is doable by any party to make education more talent focused. As Robinson argues, every person is born with deep natural capabilities, unique in every person. However, the formal education is keen on suppressing the growth and development of these. He observes that the best way of b ringing personal development to young people is by cultivating these capabilities in an urgent, manner for economic, cultural and economic reasons. Proposing on how this can be done, he notes that dominant approaches to the said talents are the best way of nurturing talents. Marginalization of education system has transformed students to education slaves. Many people languish in silence on the extreme torture that they undergo in a curriculum that does not allow them freedom of choice. A student has to follow the system, to the later, and work hard to achieve define targets and goals. Further, Robinson extrapolates that the current form of education has terribly failed in offering answers to the specific problems that we face. Instead, it creates alternatives which barely get to answer the kind of challenges that we are faced with in life. In most countries, observes Robinson, the system is set in relevance to national policies and cultural attitudes entirely set in the past. The disadvantages of these systems are that they promote standardization, creating a narrow view of intelligence in comparison to the diverse and personal human talents. They also promote compliance whilst cultural progress and achievement depend on imaginative cultivation of creativity. Education systems are linear and rigid in change, while human talents are organic and are largely unpredictable. Thus, Robinson seeks to differ with the current system of education, arguing that it does not promote talent de velopment. True to this, education does not give room for personal development. Students are locked in bitter disagreements with the system that has little flexibility on the importance of various subjects taught in class and their relevance in life. A closer look at the system reveals that little is done to help a student grow individually, and personally. All syllabuses are designed in line with national goals and development agendas for the country. Classes meant for recreational and personal development are given less value. What happens to the most talented students who are poor in curriculum? Few schools focus on talent. In fact, there are no government sponsored institutions to nurture talents. The few that are in existence are Non-Governmental Organizations sponsored, or others are private institutions, owned and operated by individuals who share a similar thinking with Robinson. How many schools focus on training footballers or athletes in the world? Focus shifted from purp osive learning that is intended at instilling skills and behavioral change to instilling knowledge that is aimed at running the wheels of a country’s economy. It is startling how various people who have had an opportunity to develop their talents have had great careers that have subsequently catapulted them to fame and immense wealth. Gillian Lynne is an example of such people. She was a poor student in school,

Why does communsim work in some developing countries and democracy in Essay

Why does communsim work in some developing countries and democracy in others - Essay Example It intrudes further into the lives of people than socialism does. For example, some communist countries do not allow their citizens to practice certain religions, change jobs, or move to the town of their choice (Margonis, 1993). According to Nowotny (1997), communism has been perennially perceived to have been but a -- certainly disastrous -- evolutionary accident on the road of progress. Once this error would have been corrected and once the communist system was removed, the countries concerned would, without any great difficulties, resume their rightful place on the ladder of economic and political progress. This would occur spontaneously. Errors could stunt or thwart the development. But, on the other hand, no special measures would be necessary to promote it. Markets and with them wealth; civic society and political institutions and with them democracy would install themselves without further ado. Some even claimed that this step back unto the ladder of political and economic evolution would be easier (Nowotny, 1997). Although communism is always seen as ‘the big bad wolf’, there are still studies that suggest that it is much better that developing communist countries to embrace communism f irst before venturing into capitalism. Numerous researches argue towards the success of shifting governments from communism to democracy. McFaul (2005) cited the Serbian, Georgian, and Ukrainian cases of democratic breakthrough resemble one another-and differ from other democratic transitions or revolutions-in four critical respects. First, in all three cases, the spark for regime change was a fraudulent national election, not a war, an economic crisis, a split between ruling elites, an external shock or international factor, or the death of a dictator. Second, the democratic challengers deployed extra-constitutional means solely to defend the existing, democratic constitution rather than to achieve a fundamental rewriting of the rules of the political