International Business news analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

International Business news analysis - Essay Example e art† mathematical models currently used by economists which presupposed that household and ideal firm optimize their behavior with perfect rationality. In the end they revert back to Ricardian and Smith’s principle as a more plausible law to govern the market and international trade. Adam Smith originally meant that the mechanism of the invisible hand is a result of the market settling the distribution of goods and the prices between what the producers want to produce and what the consumers chooses freely what to consume within a given economy and across economies. As a result, producers will have to create goods that are cheaper to produce undermining competition and gain market share. On a bigger picture, Adam Smith’s invisible hand is comparable to David Ricardo’s idea of Comparative Advantage which is the guiding principle behind globalization of free trading across economies. Ricardo posited that countries will be better off if certain goods and services will be exported by countries that can produce them most efficiently. This is the main principle of outsourcing where a poor country will naturally have a cheap labor serving as its comparative advantage and would be willing to work for wages lower than those their rich counterpart countries which may have been more expensive if done in other countries. As a result, industry will naturally move to these countries as they make more profits by discounting on the labor cost as afforded by the poor country. This is the invisible hand at work in international trade whereby the invisible hand will â€Å"guide† and regulate international trade in the most beneficial manner by directing goods to be produced by more efficient countries so that everybody can benefit from it at a lower price and higher quality. The article however proposed a scenario what if invisible hand and its mechanism of comparative will no longer work because some economists thought of some brilliant mathematical models that

How Generation Y is Fitting into Today's Workforce Research Paper

How Generation Y is Fitting into Today's Workforce - Research Paper Example Generations values and concerns for an organization will always evolve with time, and employers who understand each generations perspective and the powers that shaped it, will have an upper hand when leveraging talent. Most employers are experiencing intergenerational conflicts; Boomers think Generation X tend to be impatient, Generation X view Boomers as being inflexible, while the both generations, consider generation Y spoilt for choice. Generation Y, on the other hand, view them as conservative and out of fashion (Nicole A. Lipkin 43). Generation Y, also referred to as GenMe or Gen Y can simply be described as the generation aged around eighteen to twenty five years that are motivated and technology savvy. Their behaviors and habits constrain their way of communication, working, acting, and how they relate to people. In other terms, this generation pertains to demographic cohort born between late seventies to mid nineties. This generation is heavily reliant on modern digital tech nology and media and expects fast information and entertainment due to its cultural diversity (Nicole A. Lipkin 45). Generation Y is adapting to the current workforce in several ways. With the current, competitive markets, most jobs require highly competent personnel, and Generation Y seem to always demand leadership roles, or perhaps climb the corporate ladder within a few months of their employment. This generation believes it deserves the position it demands, with or without experience. They expect immediate gratification resulting from their childhood, and do not intend to stay in the same position longer; they demand to be at the top of the organization within a short time. Employees of generation Y prefer performing their tasks remarkably and faster compared to their co-workers (Jean M. Twenge 8). Considering that a majority of the current workforce is headed for retirement, Gen Y is entering the workforce during a demographic shift. Considering that there might be a shortage of skilled workers, after boomers retire. Gen Y have been more tolerant of others opinions enabling them adapt ideas from older generations. With globalization becoming a current world trend, most of the Gen Y prefer being self-employed, rather than work for someone else. Although few among them succeed due to high start up rates. Globalization has encouraged Gen Y employees to join Unions, where they can share their views, exchange ideas, and find solutions concerning employment issues with members of other countries, and also act of a channel for learning new ideas (Jean M. Twenge 12). The current workforce demands vast ideas to be able to compete globally, and Gen Y does not only assist in replacing boomers, they bring with them fresh and better ideas, and tend to be a motivated and enthusiastic workforce. Gen Y is also widely using the media in redefining their career opportunities, ensuring they are up-to date with the relevant, required skills, and are aware of the jobs on dem and. For this generation, a decent job is not only defined by the monetary gains. Their selection for positions is driven by their behaviors. They do not take a job aimlessly, but because they feel motivated working there, implying that Gen Y is more focused on making a difference in their company and the society. As organizations demand, Gen Y appreciates technology only; when it is significant to them. Gen Y prefer filling an employment application online, and

Bahrain History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Bahrain History - Essay Example During the country’s expansion period, it first experimented with municipality as a means of keeping up with burgeoning educational, social and economic demands symbolized by the rapid pace the country was expanding. Its implementation helped the country manage these aspects and it is with this introduction that this paper will look at the Bahrain municipal council in relation to its municipality by law, its municipality restoration dates, number of councils, objective of the councils, structure of the council, and the duties of its members. Municipality councils or anything of its kind did not exist in the Bahrain state before 1919. The real reason as to why the municipality was set up by the Bahrain State was mainly to serve and aid its citizens in different sectors of their lives. In addition, it was meant to help them strategize or organize their daily lives, mainly in the year 1337 during the months of Do-Aloqdah. This corresponded with 1919 July when the Bahrain government established the Bahrain municipality that is based in Manama and in the entire Arabian world or Arabian area. It was considered as the first of such establishments and this made it unique. As modernization begun in Bahrain, an order was issued in accordance to this progress on 20/1/1920 and the above-described municipality became the first official department of its kind set up in Manama. Moreover, it was passed into law starting the municipality process in the Bahrain history. In 1339, the municipality council was established corresponding to t hat of 1920 as the first administrative structure in the country. It had a modest budget and the council was established as the first developed administrative body in Bahrain to manage the country’s affairs (Seddon 1). The first dignitary to preside over the Bahrain municipal council was the late Isa Alkhalifa. This is until the end of 1920 when he succeeded his highness. During this period, the municipality council members increased

Online Marketing Essay Example for Free

Online Marketing Essay In today’s world, marketing research has begun to use the Internet and popular social networking sites such as, Facebook and Twitter, to gather personal information of all users. It’s becoming a lot easier for companies to connect directly with customers and collect individual information that goes into a computer database. This information can also be matched to other websites and share data collected during unrelated transactions. There are ethical and technical considerations that need to be addressed on how companies conduct its market research. Two major examples of ethical considerations of online marketing are privacy and confidentiality. Many online consumers try to avoid anything that will result in invading their privacy, but many companies tend to do that without the consumer’s knowledge. A company can easily have the ability to collect and store information relating to a consumer that can violate their right to privacy. The companies use this information to target certain advertising to that consumer, but the constant targeting can put a strain on the privacy of the consumer and start to result in a breach of confidentiality. Businesses are constantly sharing consumer’s information with partners or other affiliates to precisely target them with certain services or products they offer. Some companies sell the information to outside companies to make extra money that will lead to more strain on your privacy or even worse, identity theft. The most important example of technical consideration of online marketing is security. Security is the number one issue in a consumer’s mind when they need to use personal information to purchase or do anything online that requires that information. Hackers and viruses can lead to personal information on any database to be sold and used to wreak havoc on innocent consumers. Viruses can be used through E-mail or websites to hack into the businesses or consumer’s computer and track or steal sensitive information that can be given to a hacker at any time. Hackers can then sell that information to anyone or use it for their own benefit to ruin the reputation of that consumer. For example, hackers can use the personal information of the consumer to steal their identity and purchase things without the knowledge of the consumer and the consumer will be at fault for anything the hacker does. This continues to be an ongoing problem in the online world and something that businesses need to be very cautious about when dealing with personal information that was given from a consumer through trust in the company’s integrity online. As online marketing is becoming more popular daily around the world, companies need to realize the ethical and technical considerations that play a role on the abundance of consumer’s personal information they have. Businesses rely on precise online marketing to make the most profit with as little effort as possible, but they also need to focus on the consumer’s personal needs. Privacy, confidentiality, and security are the most important topics when it comes to personal information being stored and shared online. Without taking the time to address and resolve these issues, companies can scare away consumers from revealing certain information that helps their business grow and become successful. References Masters, T. (n.d.). Ethical Considerations of Marketing Research. Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/ethical-considerations-marketing-research-43621.html. Sullivan, B. (Dec 6). Online privacy fears are real. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078835/t/online-privacy-fears-are-real/#.UZl358qE72o

Wall Street Women Essay Example for Free

Wall Street Women Essay The book Wall Street Women is book talking about the first generation women who have been able to establish themselves as professional in Wall Street. It goes back to the 1960’s when women began their careers and were faced by blatant discrimination and challenges in their advancement, they created and formed formal and informal associations with an aim of bolstering each other’s careers. This historical ethnography by Melissa S. Fisher borrows from fieldwork, archival research and extensive interviews with successful women of the first generation in Wall Street. She goes on to describe their professional and political associations most common being the Women’s Campaign Fund and the Financial Women’s Association of New York which were groups formed to promote the election of pro-choice women. Melissa S. Fisher charts the evolution of women’s careers and how they have grown both politically and economically. She looks at the changes in their perspectives and the cultural climate in Wall Street as well as the 2008 financial collapse. In Wall Street most of the pioneering subjects never participated in the women’s movement that had been happening in the 1960’s and 1970’s. She argues that these women did produce a â€Å"market feminism† which was in line with the liberal feminist ideas on meritocracy and gender equity with the logic of the market. This is a book that has been well researched and thoroughly documented and it’s a portrait of pioneer women by providing context for understanding the emergent discourse of feminizing markets. Fisher saw an opportunity to carve out a niche within the academic literature to examine career movements and the underlying motivation for women in Wall Street. She began by interviewing a group of 20 women who were in senior level management in 1993. She went on to keep in touch with them to throughout the financial crisis and kept track of their careers and identified their frustrations and challenges as well as ultimately locating their trajectories within a cultural framework. The results of this research ended up in a book Wall Street Women. Discussion Wall Street Women looks into what it’s really like to make a career in the boardrooms of the incorrigible boys club of high finance. Fisher is a scholar at New York University in the department of Social and Cultural Analysis and traces fifty years of the personal and professional lives of the first generation women who make it as executives on Wall Street. The females in this book served in the top most units of major investment banks and brokerage firms as well as ran their own boutique management firms. She did a decade worth of research with interviews conducted in offices in London and New York. All this female professionals were picked from fundraisers and networks during events at the Upper East Side manses and they were followed up even after the financial crisis. She displays how women who made it on Wall Street deftly deployed their supposedly innate risk-averse qualities to be able to stay at the top of their game. This means that women had to deploy their female innate qualities to be able to stay afloat for a long term. Since the 1990’s female executives have cast and portrayed themselves as prudent â€Å"mothers making family purchases† this is directly opposite to the hot-blooded male investors on Wall Street. These same traits that made these women would be â€Å"saviors of the economy†. According to Fisher this is a function strategy and not part of a biological function. Some people believe that women are more conservative and risk-averse than their male counterparts. Some also believe that if women had filled more top leadership roles the financial crisis and recession would not have come out that way. They believe that things would have unfolded differently. According to Wall Street Women it shows like women have different intrinsic qualities and are capable of handling issues different. According to Fisher this is not purely biological rather its psychological asp ect. Its more on the socialization nature of women rather, women are brought up to inhabit and possess some of this characters and qualities. There could be a connection between being a woman and being risk-averse. The bottom line however is that it never about the women; it’s always about the powers that are in play. Systems of power play a big role in influencing socialization and how people run things. People need to realize that some of these ideas are culturally constructed and can be changed if people became more culturally conscious on issues being raised. Wall Street Women does not reveal the names of the women or the names of their firms. However, the book does give us the pleasure of hearing conversations that take place behind closed doors in corporate boardrooms and offices. These women in Wall Street dish and talk about the guys in their offices and companies they really dish. The women in book share their fears on what men think of them and they are unnervingly nervous. One of the female executives is worried about the lay-off post crash due to the recession and is worried that she is becoming a â€Å"a bag lady†. This is a really odd concern by a multimillionaire. In the same scenario we get a younger employee who wants to take a maternity leave being told by her female boss â€Å"As far as I’m concerned, you have screwed up your job†. There is an aspect of homo sociality in the book, where employers in most sectors tend to hire other who act and look like them. This only means one thing that even at that time fewer women got hired in Wall Street. This scenario has led to fewer women being promoted and moving up the ladder. One wonders if recognizing this as a phenomenon in the business world is going to help change things and if it’s an innate practice how can society help change it. Fisher shows us that is really hard to completely take over power over culture. Some of these practices are ingrained in peoples mind and they believe in them. These are broader economic systems and it will require a large number of women in the sector to be able to pressure them to a point of rupture. To change some ideologies and stereotypes against women there is need for more women to rise and become professionals so that they can become part of the change mechanism. By rising and proving to the world that its possible for some belief systems to be brought down women will be able to influence some of the issues that are facing them. The groups of female executives in Wall Street Women are an example of what women can become when they believe in themselves and when they raise to the occasion and work towards empowering themselves. Women need to be their own champions when it comes to matters changing how society views them. Having a few women at the top and running things does not change things. As seen in Wall Street Women things in the business world on matters involving women did not change much even when this few women worked their way to the top and ran successful businesses. Today the world hasn’t accepted the fact that women can take control of things and handle bu siness well even when a few have risen to the occasion and done so. Some of the policies in the workplace do not accommodate women. However, there some policies being implemented for the good of women but when it comes to real practice the story is not the same. One example is with flexible time, men are not the ones who are supposed to take flex time. Even with some of these policies in place culture and cultural beliefs still come into play. Sometimes and actual shift may not take place because there is a stronger cultural hold that is informal and is prevailing over formal rule. Most of the women in the book Wall Street Women started their business careers back in the early 1970’s and were beneficiaries of the post war affluence that democratized and reigned college enrollment. They were also boosted by the civil rights-era laws that banned hiring discrimination laws that mostly locked women out of the corporate and business world. Wall Street was becoming more diverse. Wall Street had become more meritocratic as well as relatively diverse with a great number of middle-class strivers without the luster of a distinguished family pedigree and joined investment banks and brokerage firms. These women did not have MBA’s and insider connections, a common path that cut through the banking industry research divisions as well as back office support when they joined Wall Street. The brokers had all the unrepentant brashness and frat boy chumminess but they still went on and depended on number crunchers. When the deal making became more complex and harder the need for more research grew and became more important. Fisher says, â€Å"Joined investment bankers and traders in the ‘front office’†. These women had to go down on the ground to do the research on investment and study markets for themselves. They never allowed whatever they lacked disrupt them or make them miss in their goal to success. For this women change came slowly, with time they learnt the ropes and got to know how to overcome challenges. Wall Street was not smooth sailing they had to stand and learn the trick behind all those deals and business transactions. Back in the 1970’s there were less than 100 professional women working on Wall Street. They had to negotiate work attire when there were no models that they could draw from and they had constant headaches for those who didn’t want to look like secretaries. Some of the female investors even donned suits and ties just like their men colleagues in the business. â€Å"I feel like I am Jane Goodall†, was marveled by one woman recalling the dynamics of a male-run board meeting. The first professional group of women in Wall Street was the Financial Women’s Association was formed in 1956. By all accounts the women group was very conservative and in 1978 they voted against advocating the Equal Rights Amendment. They worked to advance themselves on Wall Street as they felt they couldn’t be overtly political. They became more relaxed in their fight for equality in the work place as well as the business world. The Financial Women Association and an offshoot the Women’s Campaign Fund played a central and important role in another movement that funded an early generation of women politicians. By the 1990’s the group of female investors that Fisher was studying presented the first organized group of rich women who weren’t heiresses and widows. They had made their way to the top and on the way had made a lot of money to help the stay there. These women would go on to bankroll a new wave of pro-choice female candidates. They started influencing other sectors apart from the business world in Wall Street. In this part Fisher goes on to explain a little known bit of history. These women furthered the careers of women like the former Texas Governor Ann Richards as well as Senators Olympia Snowe a Republican from Maine and Barbara Boxer a Democrat from California. Back then there was an advocacy for corporate diversity and affirmative action ideas that did not seem to sit well with the women in Wall Street in Fishers book. Congress had mandated a twelve week of unpaid maternity leave in the year 1993. One wonders now that they were the bosses in these companies, how generous should they be to younger women? â€Å"We expected so little in the way of a combination of work and family,† one of the women said. â€Å" I was shocked at the entitlement of the younger women†. By the time the bottom went down out of the market most of the female investors in Fishers book were coming into retirement. The financial recession did not only raise discomforting questions and it saw women both old and young get purged into Wall Street ranks. Currently the financial sector has the biggest gender gap wage compared to other profession. The statistics stand at 55 ¢ to 62 ¢ for every $1 made by men, compared to 77 ¢ on average. On their own many of the women regretted their laser like focus when it came to individual advancement and they sought to stay clear of what had happened. One of the female investors laments â€Å"Wall Street as a casino is not the Wall Street we all entered†. Conclusion The book shows the extent to which women think they are feminist. While there is a group of women out there who are marching in the streets championing for the rights of women, there others who have entered the Wall Street and been there for some decades and are working on enacting the feminism. Most of the women who were interviewed by Melissa Fisher for her book Wall Street Women show us a group of women who take the advocacy into a higher level and moved in to change things. Women not only need to advocate for their rights and what they belief but they also need to empower themselves, believe in themselves and work towards setting the pace. Wall Street Women is a representation of what women can do when they believe in themselves. The women in this book came from different background and possessed diverse capabilities but their belief in success allowed them to enter what was believed to be a â€Å"male world† and take over by storm. Although they never got the chance to run and change things as they wished and believed, they got a chance to stand and represent women and show that it can be done. The women never had the pedigree qualities that some heiresses and widows of wealthy men in the business world but they have been able to take over and forge the way to their success as well as encourage others. If women can be able to support and empower each other as seen in the way this female executives supported the pro-life politicians there is a possibility that women will be able to bring the change they believe in. these women faced blatant discrimination and barriers to advancement, they created formal and informal associations to push and support each other’s careers. Work Cited Fisher, S. M. Wall Street Women. Duke University Press. 2012. Print. Wall Street Women. Retrieved from: http://www.amazon.com/Wall-Street-Women-Melissa-Fisher/dp/0822353458. Fisher, M. Wall Street Women. Retrieved from: http://www.dukeupress.edu/Assets/PubMaterials/978-0-8223-5345-4_601.pdf. Analysis of Wall Street Women. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-07-26/book-review-wall-street-women-by-melissa-s-dot-fisher. Melissa Fisher: Wall Street Woman. Retrieved from: http://www.nyu.edu/global/global-academic-centers/washington-dc/nyu-washingtondc-events/melissa-s-fisher-wall-street-women.html

How Stalin Became The Leader Of The Soviet History Essay

How Stalin Became The Leader Of The Soviet History Essay The purpose of this paper is to examine how Stalin became the sole leader of the Soviet Union while he was regarded to the Politburo as a minor player who had no chance of defeating Trotsky. Was Stalin politically strong from the beginning of this power struggle? Did Trotsky even want to become the Soviet Unions sole leader? To what extent were Stalins opponents weak during the power struggle? Were there any external factors that led to Stalins rise for power? Was there any luck involved in this event? These questions would be examined or answered in the investigation. This essay focuses on the time period from 1924- the start of Soviet Russias political power struggle- to 1929, Stalins formal role of totalitarian dictatorship. This paper draws on a verity of primary source diary material, newspaper articles, secondary source books and periodical articles which serve as some historiography for analyzing the critical issue of how clever and cunning was Stalin in this power struggle. This has been a subject of debate over many historians since Lenins death and the debate is examined in this paper. This paper concludes that a combination of Stalins political skills and his personality caused Trotsky to be eliminated during the power struggle while Stalin became the sole leader. Due to the complexity of events, we cannot determine whether this factor could be played out by itself however, most renowned historians share the same views with the factor of Stalins political skills being the most important cause that led to his uprising. Introduction In 1924, a massive political struggle occurred in the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the former Bolshevik Party and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, died on the 21st of January in 1924.  [1]  Lenin had held the party together since 1917 and had been the central person to determine its policies.  [2]  Without providing a clear successor, he left the party in chaos and the in-fighting and division could jeopardize or pull apart the Communist Party. Lenins death did not occur at the right time and there were issues that the Soviet Union faced regarding to the route towards socialism, leadership in the party and the problems of a growing bureaucracy.  [3]  There were many conflicts between the key party leaders personalities and this led to a struggle over power that lasted for the next five years. This has led some historians to call it a struggle over power, rather than for power since the Politburo members priority was keeping each other out of power rathe r than gaining power for themselves.  [4]  Joseph Stalin was regarded as a minor player in the beginning and Trotsky was famously named as the chief contender of this massive power struggle. Trotsky was the most prominent and power Bolshevik leader since he was the commander of the Red Army from 29 August 1919 to 15 January 1925. However in 1929, Joseph Stalin emerged as the sole leader of the power struggle. Although historians readily acknowledge Stalin as the sole leader in 1929, the question remains on how was Stalin able to become the Soviet Unions sole leader while he was regarded as a minor player who had no chance in defeating Trotsky. Two main interpretations dominated the debate over the relationship between Stalins political skills and the weaknesses of his opponents. Many historians hold the conviction that Stalins political skills were too ruthless as Stalin himself admitted, Yes, I am rough, rough on those who roughly and faithlessly try to destroy the Communist Party.  [5]  On the other hand, different historians seek to dissociate Stalins personality from Trotskys weaknesses. Those historians argued that Trotsky had no talent or tactic and had no intention to fight in the battle for power in the first place. The purpose of this essay is to evaluate the factors that led to Stalins rise to power over Trotsky. Though Stalin had a ruthless character, he was named Russias third most popular historical figure in a nationwide poll despite the famine and purges that marked his rule.  [6]  The essay examines Stalins political skills and personality, and the weakness of his opponents. Based on the result of this examination, it is possible to conclude that although Trotsky was the most powerful candidate, the nature of Stalins personality and actions were noticeably stronger than Trotsky. Stalin had much desire and motivation to get to the top. Therefore, this essay will argue that the most significant reason for Stalins uprising is his political abilities and personality. This investigation is worthy to examine because it may become a reference to future power struggles that are similar to Stalins rise of power. After examining this topic, one can acknowledge that successful candidates must h ave a strong personality along with potential abilities that reaches the high expectations of this criterion. 1. Stalins Political Skills and Personality The most dominant factor that led to Joseph Stalins success as the sole leader was his political skills and personality. This point of view is shared by many historians and they tend to dissociate Leon Trotsky from the question of having no talent. Historian J.N. Westwood argued that Stalin was immensely cunning and wrote that Stalin stood back and watched his rivals dig their own graves, likening his actions to a dog that steals a bone when two others are fighting over it.  [7]  This source is valuable because it was exactly what happened during the power struggle as Stalin swayed from the left wing to the right wing to eliminate all his opponents by the end of 1929. A former Politburo member, Nikolai Bukharin, also agreed that Stalin was ruthless and in his book, he wrote, Stalin is a Genghis Khan, an unscrupulous intriguer, who sacrifices everything else to the preservation of powerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ He changes his theories according to whom he needs to get rid of next.  [8]  Hence, we can state that Stalins political personality played a significant role in the history of the power struggle. Bukharin, a former contender in the political battle can give us important historical answers however there are limitations. Since he was Stalins opponent, he would probably have his own views and therefore one can conclude that his historical information may be biased. There also seemed to be a minority opinion. Author, Theodore VonLaue disagrees with the major views and writes, What he (Stalin) lacked were the very qualities in which the former exiles excelled.  [9]  One can refute Theodores point with major evidence from trusted historians therefore it seems that Stalins political skills were the most important reason for the downfall of Trotsky. One of the most obvious advantages Stalin had over Trotsky was his immense positions of power gained with his political skills and personality. As, historian Chris Ward writes, Stalins personality cannot be divorced from the world in which he functioned.  [10]  Stalin was appointed head of the Workers and Peasants Inspectorate, in command of the Orgburo and he was a newly elected member of the Politburo which became the main organ of power.  [11]  In March 1919, Yakov Sverdlov died of Spanish flu and Lenin was left with a few top administrators to replace Sverdlov. At that time, Stalin had gained Lenins trust (since Stalin appeared very loyal to Lenin) and Lenin clearly did not want all the powers in one hands since Trotsky was already the Red Armys commander. Therefore, he appointed Stalin over Trotsky as the partys first General Secretary whom was in charge of the general organization.  [12]  Other Bolsheviks saw these jobs as a part of the dull routine of party bureauc racy and paid little attention to him which gave Stalin an enormous advantage as the Grey Blur in the battle for power.  [13]  Having the position of a General Secretary was a crucial factor for the rise of Stalin. Stalin had control over every step of the hierarchy as he controlled the first step of ladder. He had the privilege to appoint new members who owed him their loyalty. Therefore having the title, General Secretary was effective to place supporters in key positions to win and deliver votes that outmaneuvered political opponents. Stalin could also set the agenda for the Politburo meetings so he controlled what the politburo talked about. Furthermore, he controlled the leaflets which meant that he had power over the enemies political image. Stalin was basically in control of the whole Political Machine in USSR after Lenins death. After Lenins death, Stalin rose in power because of his cunning manipulative personality and it was shown in the event of Lenins Funeral. One can clearly tell how significant and effective Stalins skills because he wanted to portray himself as the legitimate successor and destroy Trotskys positive image as Lenins chosen successor. Lenin died on the 21st of January 1924 and his funeral was held six days after his death in the Red Square.  [14]  The cult of Leninism had just begun after the Red Terror and Stalin gave it momentum at Lenins Funeral by acting as a pallbearer and giving the oration with an oath of loyalty made to Lenins legacy.  [15]  Stalin had contacted Trotsky, whom was resting in South Russia because of his illness. Having a cunning personality, Stalin convinced Trotsky to not attend Lenins Funeral because he would not been able to arrive on time and by accepting Stalins proposal, Trotskys image was heavily injured. At the end of the Funeral, Stalin had a very successful outcome because the general public had the impression that he was designated to become Lenins successor since it looked like he was taking on the Mantle of Leninism.  [16]  This event showed how Trotskys weaknesses were exploited by Stalin and used to gain better credibility. This event provides an overwhelming amount of evidence of how Stalin applied his clever but sinister tactics and it reflected on Stalins true personality. From 1922 onwards, Stalins true personality was gradually more transparent. Stalin posed as a moderate in the Communist Party spectrum between Trotsky on the Left wing and Bukharin on the Right wing in the early 1920s.  [17]  He had avoided making definite policy decisions until 1928. This allowed him to stay away from political disputes within the party and he would be able to gain the support from the Liberals and the Conservatives. Stalin used policy disagreements to outflank and isolate his opponents and successfully presented the views of his opponents as anti-communist or anti-Leninist. This highlighted how Stalin successfully manipulated Lenins Ban on Factions by using his cunning strategies into his advantages. Robert Conquest stated that, In six years Stalin outmanoeuvred a series of opponents; first in alliance with the rest of his colleagues, he opposed and demoted Trotsky. Then in alliance with the Bukharin-Rykov Right he defeated the Zinoviev-Kamenev Left blocà ¢Ã¢â €š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and finally he and his own following attacked their hitherto allies, the Rightists.  [18]  Robert Conquest, a well known British historian, retold a section of the timeline when Stalin is rising to power. In ones opinion, Stalin was ruthless and did whatever it took to be the sole leader of Soviet Russia and historian R. Conquest along with Bukharin acknowledges Stalin switching sides with whoever he wanted to eliminate and evidently his cruel personality was exposed. However, Stalins strategy convinced people he was dull and mediocre, hence he was known as the Grey Blur which left no trace.  [19]  This valuable quote demonstrated Stalins strategic skills which gave him immunity to criticism because his personality was not known clearly. Sukhanov, the diarist of the revolution noted, Stalin however, during the course of his modest activity in the Executive Committee, gave me the impression-and I was not alone in this view, of a grey blur which flickered obscurely and left no trace. There is really nothing more to be said about him.  [20]  By examining Sukhanovs diary, we can state that Stalins political tactics gave him an opportunity to blend in the background. In another example, Deutscher had the same point of view in his review, He carefully followed the course of debate to see what way the wind was blowing and invariably voted with the majority, unless he had assured his majority beforehand.  [21]  Stalins personality had turned t he political battle into a nightmare and his perceived objective was simply to be the last surviving person in the Politburo by eliminating other players first using his gifts from Lenin. Stalin used his external circumstances created by Lenin, very wisely. By analyzing how he incorporated them to his advantage, we would be able to observe his political mindset. Policies like the Ban on Factions, the nomenklatura system and Lenins enrolment were clear examples. The ban on factions, created by Lenin in 1921, called for unity and an end to splits and factionalism as Lenin stated, All members of the Russian Communist Party who are in the slightest degree suspicious or unreliable should be got rid of and this was a massive advantage that enabled Stalin to get rid of his rivals easily after Lenins death.  [22]  The nomenklatura system was established from 1923 onwards and decision making only applied to a few hands in the Communist Party whom most of the voters were loyal Stalinists. The Lenins enrolment was a recruitment campaign that started in 1923 and it increased the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 340,000 members to about 600,000 members by 1925. Althou gh Lenin Enrolment was supposedly for party purposes, General Secretary, Stalin, controlled or vetoed the party list for his own personal gain by placing his supporters in places of political power. These external circumstances were devastating weapons in the hands of Stalin whom could basically control the votes at party congresses. There had also been evidence of his ruthlessness in the 1922 Georgian Affair. Stalin was born in 1878 to a peasant Georgian cobbler family as Iosif Dzhugashvili and changed his name to Stalin as Man of Steel later on.  [23]  He grew up was a violent and lawless place and was frequently involved in brawls with other children.  [24]  Stalin lived a peasant life and he was uneducated but had a unique personality. Stalin hated Georgia and his harshness in imposing the Bolshevik rule on his native country, Georgia, shocked many people including Lenin.  [25]  Lenin wrote in his testament, Stalin is too rude.  [26]  Stalins daughter, Svetlana Alliluyeva had the same point of view and in an interview she said, He was a very simple man. Very rude. Very cruel. Svetlana also said, He broke my life. I want to explain to you. He broke my life twice.  [27]  Sources from Svetlana are very valuable and reliable since it was Stalins daughter and it provides a first persons point o f view on Stalins real personality. In Svetlanas memoir, Twenty letters to a friend she described her fathers personality and she wrote, At this point, and this was where his cruel, implacable nature showed itself, the past ceased to exist for him. Years of friendship and fighting side by side in a common cause might as well never have been.  [28]  Surprisingly, Stalins daughter had a very bad image of her father as she wrote, In his cold-blooded way he cared about only one thing. How is X conducting himself now? Does he admit his mistakes? This source informs us Stalins true personality. He himself did not admit to any wrongdoings and only blames it on his opponents. In ones opinion, he had a very cruel but strong personality and Svetlana has the same view, He is gone, but his shadow still stands over all of us. It still dictates to us and we, very often, obey.  [29]  Stalins personality was mainly caused by his background and he had learned life the hard way through an ind ependent life. Stalin was not considered an intellectual like Trotsky. However, he had the power to lead equals whom Trotsky lacked through manipulation and cunning. Stalins had no fear of behaving immorally or of getting this hands dirty and this contributed largely to his success in taking over the party by 1929.

Sex and Death in A Streetcar Named Desire, by Tennessee Williams :: A Streetcar Named Desire Essays

It’s just a little after sun set as Blanche Dubois sets foot off a train in New Orleans. She is visiting her sister, Stella, & brother-in law, Stanley. Well she is actually moving in, because she has lost their family’s homestead, Belle Reve, and as well as her job, as a high school English teacher. Her husband shoots himself after she told him that he disgusted her, because he was homosexual. Blanche is so afraid of her past that she does her best to lead the life of an elegant lady and does her best to keep up appearances. She is an alcoholic, but tries to hide it from everyone. Blanche takes a liking to Stanley’s friend, Mitch. He evenly finds about her past and wants nothing more to do with her. Then Blanche wants Stella to leave Stanley and go with her to leave with a rich â€Å"man† named, Step Huntleigh, who turns out to someone she made up. Stanley rapes Blanche during the time Stella was at the hospital having their baby. She tells Stella about th e rape, but she does not believe her. Blanche becomes deeply disturbed, so they decide to put her in an insane asylum (Williams). Blanche Dubois is a mid-age high school English teacher. She is very naà ¯ve and thinks highly of herself. She has became very promiscuous since her husbands death, which she caused by telling him that he disgusted her because he is homosexual. She puts on the airs of a woman who has never known indignity, even though she has had many lovers and strong sexual urges. She was forced to leave Laurel, Mississippi because of her affair with a young student. Soon after Blanche arrives in New Orleans at the Kowalski apartment and eventually reveals that she is completely destitute. She avoids reality, preferring to live in her own imagination. As the play progresses, Blanche’s instability grows along with her misfortune. Stanley sees through Blanche and finds out the details of her past, destroying her relationship with his friend Mitch. Stanley also destroys what’s left of Blanche by raping her and then having her committed to an insane asylum (Williams). Stella Kowalski is Blanche’s younger sister, about twenty-five years old. Stella left Laurel, Mississippi in her late teens and moved to New Orleans. She then met and married Stanley Kowalski, who is lower-class, but she loves and cares for him dearly.