Police Brutality: An introduction

Police Brutality: An introduction Police Brutality To serve and protect, is a common phrase that is used among police officers that defines their primary duty as a cop. What once was a powerful notion, has lost its meaning through time. Instead, its reputation is now riddled with cases involving what is known as police brutality along with memorable names such as Rodney King, Amadou Diallo, Sean Bell, Timothy Thomas, and Abner Louima just to name a few. The use of excessive force by the police is nothing new, and with so many cases out there, it is clear that to serve and protect does not exactly apply to all of law enforcement as it should. Through displays of racial profiling, over assertiveness of power, and overall bad attitude, some individual law enforcement officials have lost the trust and respect of society, making some people question how police brutality can be reduced. Police brutality is defined as a civil rights violation that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using an amount of force with regard s to a civilian that is more than necessary (Police Brutality, 2008, para. 1). Although someone might argue that it is something that is over exaggerated, there has been proof through audio and videotape footages as well as eye witness accounts that such acts do exist. Take for instance, the infamous Rodney King beating, where George Holliday, a plumbing manager videotaped the scene of law enforcement officials kicking and beating King with metal batons from his bedroom apartment (Linder, 2001). Another example is the incident that occurred in Philadelphia, where a news helicopter videotaped four police officers beating three black men (Barker, 2008). Many will claim that police brutality doesnt exist because it is rarely caught on videotape or documented. But if its not a real problem, then why are there cases and studies done on police brutality? According to Carl Dix, a writer for Black Scholar, between January 1994 and August 1996, at least 100 people died at the hands of the NY PD (1997) . Also, in Chicago alone, there were over 37,000 police brutality complaints from 1984 to 1994 (Dix, 1997). In addition, according to Associated Press, a study done by the Justice Departments Bureau of Justice Statistics found that over 2,000 criminal suspects died in police custody over a three year period (2007, para. 1). After taking a look at the studies and cases reported on police brutality, one might ask, why do law enforcement officials commit acts of brutality? Are police officers overreacting when their authority is challenged such as the case involving Rodney King? Or could it be that in some of these cases they are just having a bad day and they are unable to separate their personal problems with their job? Although both of these answers might be true, a number of cases of police brutality have shown that racial profiling is also a reason why police brutality exists. Well known names such as Rodney King, Abner Louima, Timothy Thomas, Amadou Diallo, and Sean Bel l are a couple of examples where minorities were disrespected due to their race. Brutalities On August 9, 1997, Abner Louima, a Haitian immigrant was beaten and sodomized by Brooklyn cops (Roane, 2001). Abner Louima was arrested for interfering with law enforcement officials as they tried breaking up a feud between two women (Hinojosa, 1997). After Louima was put into the patrol car, the police officers began calling him racial names and beating him before taking him to the 70th precinct (Hinojosa, 1997). It was there at the station, that the horrific event took place. Louima was taken to the bathroom where police officers made him strip down and sodomized him with a plunger (Hinojosa, 1997). Amadou Diallo, an immigrant from Guinea, was a 22 year old man who made a living on the sidewalks of lower Manhattan selling random merchandise from a cart to people (Fritsch, 2000). On the night of February 4, 1999, Mr. Diallo was shot 19 times out of 41 bullets by four law enforcement officials as he stood unarmed on the stoop of his apartment building in which he shared with a frien d and his two cousins (Fritsch, 2000). Officer Carroll, one of the four police officers said that the reason they all shot at Mr. Diallo was because he was behaving suspiciously and that he fit the description of a serial rapist (Fritsch, 2000). Officer Carroll also mentioned under cross-examination that he could not see Mr. Diallo to determine his race (Fritsch, 2000). So inIn conclusion, in the dark of the night, Officer Carroll is not able to recognize Amadou Diallos race, but instead claims that he fit the description of a serial rapist. (Fritsch, 2000) Timothy Thomas was 19 years old when he was shot in an alley. On April 7, 2001, Officer Stephen Roach chased down Timothy Thomas for having 14 warrants on him (Larson, 2004). Officer Roach claimed that he shot Thomas because he thought he was reaching for a gun. (Larson, 2004). No gun was ever found on the body of Timothy Thomas (Larson, 2004). After the death of Timothy Thomas, information was found that revealed that his death was just another case of racial profiling. Prior to his death, Timothy Thomas was pulled over 11 times in no more than two months (Larson, 2004). He was cited 21 times, mostly for driving without a seat belt and for driving without a license (Larson, 2004). Although Timothy Thomas consistently broke the law, the question if racial profiling existed here was that why was Thomas being pulled over for not having a license (Larson, 2004)? How can a law enforcement official assume that someone is driving without a license? It was reasonable for Thomas to be pulled over for not wearing a seat belt because a police officer is able to notice that if they are looking closely, but it is impossible to detect if someone is driving without a license. (Larson, 2004) Sean Bell is another minority that was involved in a police brutality case where the color of his skin was a factor. On November 25, 2006, Sean Bell was killed outside of a Queens nightclub just hours before his wedding (Bells fiancà ©e, 2008). The Queens nightclub was at the time under investigation due to complaints of weapons, drugs, and prostitution (Bells fiancà ©e, 2008). The tragedy happened when Bell and his friends were leaving the nightclub. Believing that one of Sean Bells friends was going to grab a gun out of the car because an argument broke out, the detectives called for backup as Bell panicked and began to drive off (Bells fiancà ©e, 2008). 50 bullets were then shot at Bells car in what the NYPD called an act of self defense (Barker, 2008). In the end, no gun was ever found (Bells fiancà ©e, 2008). Michael Warren and Evelyn Warrens incident is no different from any other case involving racial profiling. Michael Warren and his wife Evelyn were beaten and arrested by law enforcement officials as they tried to stop the police officers from viciously assaulting a young black male (Arinde, 2007). Michael and his wife were charged with obstruction, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest (Arinde, 2007). Not all cases involving police brutality has to do with racial profiling, but it is considered as the main reason why it exists though. Sometimes police officers will over assert their power due to their authoritative figure. It can be argued though that law enforcement officials will sometimes have to use excessive force just to protect themselves and their surroundings. The line is crossed though when the use of excessive force is used when no danger is present. Take for example the case of Audra Harmon, a 38 year old mom mother who was driving her kids children home from wrestling practice (Celizic, 2009). According to Mike Celizic, a contributor of TODAYShow.com, Audra Harmon was resting her hand on her cheek as she was driving (Celizic, 2009). Deputy Sean Andrews, who is now under internal investigations, pulled Harmon over thinking she was talking on her cell phone (Celizic, 2009). After Harmon tried proving to Andrews that she was not talking on her cell phone by letti ng him check her purse, Andrews cited her for speeding instead (Celizic, 2009). Audra Harmon was then put under arrest for getting out of her car because she wanted proof that she was speeding (Celizic, 2009). Deputy Sean Andrews then crossed the line when he dragged Harmon out of her vehicle and aswhile she was trying to talk to him,him; Andrews pulled out his Tasertaser and fired tasered Ms. Harmon in front of her children (Celizic, 2009). For every action, there is a reaction. As police brutality cases begin piling up, peoples views of law enforcement officials begin to change negatively. Police brutality can and has affected society in a number of different ways. It can reveal injustice in law enforcement. For every case that arises in which the police are found guilty of acting out what is deemed as brutality through the unnecessary use of excessive force, people begin to question if the law is really on their side when it comes to their rights. With so many cases where rights have been violated, is there really justice being executed behind the badge? In Audra Harmons case, where Deputy Sean Andrews yanked her out of her car and then shocked Harmon to her knees by a Tasertaser, a number of rights were violated (Celizic, 2009). Audra Harmon would then later file a civil suit against Deputy Sean Andrews for violating her Fourth and 14th Amendment rights which included unreasonable search and unauthorized use of excessive force (Celizic, 2009). In addition, this suit would also include emotional distress, false arrest, assault and battery and malicious prosecution (Celizic, 2009, para. 26). Police brutality can reveal societys racism. Each and every time a case becomes exposed to the public and race is undeniably a contributing factor, it further reminds society that we as a country still harbor a dirty little secret that has not been, and perhaps never will be completely erased . Timothy Thomas and Amadou Diallo were both two out of many cases where race p layed a vital role in police actions. Timothy Thomas prior to his death was being pulled over consistently for not driving without a license. How were law enforcement officials aware of Thomas not driving without a license? After receiving 14 warrants, Timothy Thomas would later be chased down and killed for supposedly pulling out a weapon Victims Amadou Diallo was shot at by 41 bullets and hit 19 times because he was behaving suspiciously and that he fit the description of a serial rapist (Fritsch, 2000). On the stoop of Mr. Diallos apartment building, in the dark of the night, Officer Carroll would later testify that he was not able to recognize Mr. Diallos race; only that he fit the description of a serial rapist (Fritsch, 2000). After the shooting of Amadou Diallo, over 300 people gathered to protest around the building where Mr. Diallo was shot at. Fourteen people were arrested there, while another fifteen protesters were arrested in Albany (Fritsch, 2000). Police brutality can lead to a loss of trust and respect for law enforcement officials while making society feel less safe. People begin to fear those who are supposed to protect us, while others protest in anger. Within 24 hours after Timothy Thomas was shot by Officer Roach, the African-American community exploded on the streets (Larson, 2004). Police officers ran th rough the streets, firing tear gas and rubber bullets to try to stop the riot (Larson, 2004). The shooting touched off three nights of unrest in which dozens of people were injured and more than 800 were arrested (Ohio Officer, 2001, para. 7). After the shooting of Amadou Diallo, over 300 people gathered to protest around the building where Mr. Diallo was shot at (Fritsch, 2000). Fourteen people were arrested there, while another fifteen protesters were arrested in Albany (Fritsch, 2000). Continuing their tradition sinceSince October 22, 1996, thousands of protesters have marched every year for the National Day of Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, and the Criminalization of a Generation. From all across the United States, in cities such as Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Minneapolis, New York City, and Seattle, the coalition aim to fight against police brutality by marching in cities protesting (National day of protest, 2007). Henry David Thoreau once said, There are a thousa nd hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root (as cited in Herman, 2007, para. 1). The same principle can be applied to what Thoreau once said for how police brutality can be reduced. Many people have filed claims and lawsuits, but for some reason, this solution has not worked effectively in the past. On the other hand, some reports have not been filed due to a scare in retaliation (Police brutality facts, 2006). In New York, critics say that complaints against police brutality were down because people have given up (Lacayo Benson, 1997). And despite more than 16,000 complaints against New York cops since 1993, only 180 officers have been disciplined, most of them with just a lecture or the loss of a vacation day (Lacayo Benson, 1997, para. 2). So byBy what effective means is there to resolve police brutality? Some options are to police the police, where the local community should be able to have some oversight of the police. In addition, the local communit y as well as law enforcement officials must lose the us vs. them mentality. We should be working together to fight crime, not against each other. And if the local community isnt able to have some oversight of the police where they are able to monitor them; a higher authority must be set in place to be able to oversee the operations of law enforcement officials. A suggestion has also been made to hire more ethnic minorities (Policing the police, 1997). Whatever the remedy is, something has to give where it is written in stone that police brutality will not be tolerated. (Policing the police, 1997) Since the 1990s, several police departments that have had a reputation of having bad apples working in their department, have begun to show improvement (Lacayo Benson, 1997). Their solution to reduce the amount of police brutality cases was by providing effective police training, installing a higher authority, and developing better relations with the local community (Lacayo Benson, 1997). Not only has their solution eliminated the us vs. them mentality, but it also sent out a clear message that police brutality would not be tolerated. (Lacayo Benson, 1997) The Los Angeles Police Department has also shown effective progress in reducing police brutality by hiring more ethnic minorities (Lacayo Benson, 1997). Its percentage of white officers has decreased from 61.3% in March 91 to 50% in July 97, producing a rank and file less likely to see a minority community as a hostile planet (Lacayo Benson, 1997, para. 4). In addition, they have hired more female police officers with an increase of about 4% (Lacayo Benson, 1997). Studies have shown that female law enforcement officials are less prone to abusive behavior (Lacayo Benson, 1997). To top it all off, the city also swore in an African-American veteran of the police department as their new police chief (Lacayo Benson, 1997). Another solution to resolve the issue of police brutality was by taking a look at the civil ian Civilian review Review boardBoard. In short, a civilian review board allows civilians to have the power and the opportunity in reviewing investigations of complaints against law enforcement officials. Civilian review boards thus hold police officers accountable for police misconduct. The problem is when a civilian review board is made up of a majority of former members of law enforcement officials, prosecutors, and lawyers such as the one in New York (Lacayo Benson, 1997). The only way to resolve this issue would be to take out those who may be biased to the complaints. (Lacayo Benson, 1997) Law enforcement officials need to be held accountable for their actions just like ordinary citizens who break the law. They can only be held accountable by having public officials denouncing police brutality related incidents. It must not be covered up;. Putting putting a blanket over a problem will not make it the problem go away. Law enforcement officials have been known to cover up thei r tracks making it hard to document cases of police brutality. This is also known as the blue wall of silence. The blue wall of silence is defined as the secrecy of police officers who lie or look the other way to protect other police officers (Blue wall of silence, 2009, para. 1). The blue wall of silence enables cops to murder without being punished (Tatum, 2000). The blue wall of silence therefore not only prevents victims from getting justice, but it also destroys the image of law enforcement officials. The only way to break this blue wall of silence would be to appoint a higher authority to oversee the bad apples in the department. By covering up another law enforcements tracks, and looking the other way, police officers begin to lose the trust and respect of society. (Tatum, 2000) It has been made clear that there are many proposed solutions to stop police brutality. The answer then is to not just rely on only one remedy, but a combination of solutions to effectively reduce po lice brutality. All in all, police brutality must not be tolerated. Its reasonable to argue that in certain situations, cops will need to exercise the use of force to not only protect them, but to also protect their surroundings. However, it becomes a real problem that begs a real solution when they go beyond the badge and execute their authority in rogue manner, putting them above the law. Police brutality is a problem that still exists and will exist until an effective solution is implemented and the police are strictly held accountable for their actions. Until then, more and more people will continue to lose their trust and respect for the men in blue while many others will continue to be victimized.

Relationship Essay -- science

Relationship The relationship between men and women has always been complicated and sometimes even a really loving relationship cannot survive if people chose their personal longing as a priority. No matter how strong are the values of a man or a woman they should never forget about feelings and happiness that are nowhere else to be found but in the heart of the beloved person. Men and women fight in relationships: fight for more independence, fight to prove their rightness and keep forgetting that love is not a fight but a â€Å"mutual support alliance†. William Carlos Williams in his story â€Å"The Buffalos† gives an outstanding example of a relationship between a man and a woman. Francie in this story has a certain notion of what a relationship should be like. She seeks for being loved, unde...

Best Buy in China

Best Buy’s failure in China is another example of a slow, arrogant major international player that didn’t understand China. Their own explanation of why they failed: â€Å"China’s demand for low prices without regard for service,† is clearly a lame excuse. By Fang Yu, China Entrepreneur magazine Best Buy shut down their nine stores in China on February 22nd, and within 48 hours fell into an unprecedented credibility crisis. Customers rushed to Best Buy stores on hearing the news and were locked outside security doors.They finally broke through the doors and went into the shops, partly to seek refunds on the extended warranty policies they had purchased. Because of quarrels with staff over return policies, the Shanghai Municipal Government had to send police to maintain order. Best Buy, which has always boasted it was centered around consumers, never predicted it would withdraw from the Chinese market in such a disgraceful way. Best Buy China top executives said the business closed because their model did not adapt to the Chinese market.Best Buy China president David Sisson said, â€Å"I have never worked in such a price-sensitive market. † Best Buy shops within China were forced to close after a five year struggle Best Buy explains its failure with the excuse â€Å"Chinese consumers pursue low prices rather than services. † This excuse shows that Best Buy still does not understand why it failed. This excuse does not take into account that China’s spending power is the fastest growing in the world.Home appliance expert and director of the Pal consulting firm Luo Qingqi argues luxury brands now entering into Chinese second- and third-tier cities, and the purchasing power for luxury cars in Chinese inland is no worse than in the first-tier cities. Ding Jie, a global partner at the Roland Berger consulting firm, notes that there are foreign retailers running excellently China. Why not Best Buy? Slow and arrogant Denn is, who has worked for ten years selling audio products, worked as an employee at Best Buy until it shut its doors.After signing a compensation agreement, he began to seek a new job. He first came to a giant domestic chain giant to be interviewed, but he felt the treatment he received and business culture was too different from Best Buy, so he started looking for jobs at foreign retail enterprises. Dennis says the experience of working at Best Buy was profound and lasting. It’s difficult for him to adapt to the performance-oriented culture of domestic enterprises that stresses absolute obedience and brute execution.Instead, he has become used to Best Buy’s â€Å"people-centered† culture: trying to win returning customers and promotion opportunities based on giving good service. He also became used to the sound of the English name that the store provided him with. The employee culture of Best Buy, which is not based on sales volume, enables the store to be peacef ul, without a feeling of fierce competition between the sales staff. However, observers believe this unhurried attitude is exactly what drove Best Buy to become a loser in China’s fiercely competitive home appliance market, which is dominated by the retailers Suning Appliance and Gome.When Best Buy entered China, Suning Appliance chairman Zhang Jindong said his company would ignore Best Buy for the next five years. Gome founder Huang Guangyu also said Best Buy could not compete with Gome in China because Best Buy did not have a sense of where to put its stores. People who participated in the press conference announcing the acquisition of Five Star Appliance by Best Buy in 2006 remember that Five Star founder Wang Jianguo was excited to announce the establishment of 300 stores annually with the financial backing of Best Buy.However, this plan was quickly denied by Best Buy top executives. Wang and his team eventually left the company. In the United States, Best Buy defeated th e second-largest retailer Circuit City, which used a consignment model, similar to Gome and Suning in China. Best Buy then entered the Chinese market with the arrogance of a missionary, ignoring the gap between its own model and the Chinese market. In Best Buy stores, the aisles are clearly wider than in Suning and Gome, the shelves aren’t as crowded, and fewer brands and models are on display.Best Buy’ believes the space should be left for consumers rather than products. Suning Shanghai top executives pointed out North Americans prefer open and wide stores, and don’t require a wide range of product lines ranging from cheap and generic to expensive top quality brand names. Best Buy’s style is more suitable to North Americans emphasizing individual freedom, and China’s market is more similar to Japan’s. Insiders recalled Best Buy’s first China president Lu Weimin knew the local market very well.The Chinese-born American, who graduated from a special class of gifted teenagers of the University of Science and Technology of China, better understood the rules of China’s home appliance industry than his colleagues. Lu Weimin helped to bring about the acquisition of Five Star. This helped Best Buy become a major retailer. However, Best Buy still did not want to give up the business model it developed and was proud of, and dreamed of restructuring more home appliance retailers such as Five Star into the Best Buy fold.This resulted in a two-brand operation over the past five years, so that the Best Buy management team’s resources and focus were diluted. Five Star former top executives recalled Lu Weimin pushed Best Buy to expand. Lu chose several properties in Shanghai, but, following Best Buy’s management process, all matters related to store openings must be reported to Best Buy International. Best Buy’s competitors were opening a new store every four or five days. Faced with the slow proces s of opening new stores, Lu hoped he could use financial muscle to expand quickly.For instance, Best Buy bid for Shandong Sanlian Commercial, which in the end was acquired by Gome. Many foreign executives who are not familiar with the Chinese market have a hard time understanding the importance and feasibility of quickly opening stores. An investor said he had heard a foreign executive of a consumer goods company laugh at his Chinese colleagues, saying, â€Å"What? How dare they plan to open 200 stores a year! † In fact, these scoffers generally only ever come to Shanghai and Hong Kong and have no idea of the width of the Chinese market.Managed by Best Buy, Five Star has expanded slowly (the number of stores has only grown to more than 160 from nearly 140 in 2006). Lu left Best Buy in April 2007, after he was made a figurehead. He had worked there for more than ten years. When the news of the closure of Best Buy stores was released, a departed top executive pointed out that i f the failure was a result of a poor business model, why did the Xujiahui store in Shanghai become one of the world’s top 50 stores, with an operating revenue of RMB 500 million, becoming profitable in 2010? The Xujiahui store’s property costs were denominated in U. S. ollars, and were the highest in the Best Buy system. One of the reasons for the success of the store was that its site was chosen when Wang Jianguo served as Best Buy global vice president. The superior location of the Xujiahui store was envied by competitors. Following in Wang Jianguo’s shoes, Best Buy sent many executives to China, who were good at IT systems and background management processes, but did not have experience in selecting sites and opening stores in unfamiliar cities. â€Å"We can say they are outsiders! At the root, it was caused by the people factor. If they had different people, the results would have been different. Missing its chance After stumbling through the first three ye ars, Best Buy made some changes. In 2008, Best Buy started to speed up its expansion in China, opening in Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Beijing to lift the total number of stores to nine. This change was rooted in a shift in government policy. In September 2008, the Ministry of Commerce issued a document shifting the approval process for foreign retail stores from the national to the provincial level. Best Buy, which had a good relationship with the Shanghai government, quickly opened more stores in Shanghai to consolidate its base.But compared with another retail giant, Wal-Mart, Best Buy again did not correctly understand the policy direction of the Chinese market. Wal-Mart quickly established wholly-owned companies (with taxes going to local authorities) in more than ten provinces in China, and quickly opened more than 30 stores in China in the first half of 2009, mainly in second- and third-tier cities. The new regulations of the Ministry of Commerce were intended to help forei gn retailers make investments in China. The Shanghai market, where land is expensive, ended up putting a lot of pressure on Best Buy.At that time, Suning only allocated 10% of its planned stores to central Shanghai and focused on opening stores in the suburbs, but Best Buy was making efforts to squeeze into the core business district, which was already full of the rival stores. The result was that the number of Best Buy stores grew, but diminishing returns did not cover the operating costs. David Sisson hinted at this when he explained that he shut down all of the stores in China because â€Å"the costs needed to keep one or two stores open are actually are almost the same as the cost needed to keep nine stores open. Best Buy missed its window for rapid development, and perhaps had no time to think about how to enter more deeply into the Chinese market because it was struggling with strong competition and high land prices in first-tier cities like Shanghai. Best Buy top executives were aware of the problems with the company’s expansion. Under pressure to make profits in 2010 (the 2010 third-quarter fiscal report shows Best Buy same-store sales fell 5%), Best Buy first adjusted the company’s global management structure.Best Buy global vice president and Five Star CEO Wang Jian told China Entrepreneur, â€Å"In 2010, Best Buy adjusted the organizational structure and set up the America region, Asia region and Europe region. One major reason for the adjustment is that Best Buy wanted to give full authority to enable it to be more localized in operation and development. † At that time, Best Buy’s attitude to Five Star changed. Best Buy encouraged Five Star to â€Å"open as many as stores as possible,† but Five Star also faced the problem of lagging development.When Suning and Gome completed setting up in first- and second-tier cities and started planning to enter into third- and fourth-tier cities, Five Star was still only opera ting in limited areas and never opened stores in Shanghai. In Best Buy’s last days, the low-price commitment could be seen everywhere, and even the consumers could feel the change. Claire, a loyal Best Buy customer who works at a foreign company in Shanghai, said, â€Å"Compared with the beginning, the number of salespeople in the store grew obviously. In the past, when you looked around by yourself in the store, no one would bother you. But at the end,] if you stood in front of an item for a while, a salesperson would come up to you. † Best Buy started taking the initiative to increase sales. Learning the wrong lesson After closing all of its China stores, Best Buy top executives said the lesson learned in the Chinese market is â€Å"price, price and price! † In the opinion of Best Buy top executives, Chinese consumers’ sensitivity to the price is so overwhelming that Best Buy’s â€Å"customer-centric† values were meaningless. However, Best Buy’s customer-centric philosophy and various design details were adapted by Gome and Suning, making Best Buy’s conclusion questionable.The Five Star top executive interviewed by this magazine said the Best Buy model uses its own staff, unlike stores using a consignment model. He gave an example. A 5,000-square meter store needs 260 staff, and in consignment stores, generally 200 come from the manufacturers. But Best Buy will not open a store until recruiting all 260 staff. Because of the emphasis on service, the training period for retail staff is longer, with a six-month to one-year training period for management. A shortage of talent was an important reason for Best Buy’s slow rate of opening stores.Home appliance expert Luo Qingqi believes Best Buy’s problem is not that is acted like a traditional retailer (as opposed to selling on consignment like Gome and Suning) but the product line. Products sold at Best Buy stores were mainly foreign. Chinese br ands such as Midea, which offers many popular product lines, did not appear on Best Buy’s shelves. Even the foreign brand Whirlpool cooperated more with Suning and Gome. â€Å"We are operating within the Chinese market and will notice which stores consumers like to visit, and use them as our main distribution channels,† said a Whirlpool employee.Ding Jie, a global partner of the Roland Berger consulting firm, believes Best Buys’ high operating costs were not its main problem, but rather that Best Buy cut itself off from the supply chain by refusing to adapt the consignment model. Ding Jie said most staff members at China’s consignment-based home appliance stores are employees of the manufacturers. â€Å"In China, consumers do not have strong core brand awareness, and the difference among home appliances is not big. Manufacturers focus on distribution channels that allow them to collect market information and determine market trends.Manufacturers and dist ributors cater to the needs of consumers with the collaboration of the entire industrial chain. † The Best Buy model serves consumers by being independent. But because there is no personalization and differentiation of products, it is bound to fail. According to Ding Jie, the main advantage of foreign retailers is their management model. But if they want to succeed in China, foreign retailers should let their local staff operate more freely and give them the power to adjust the business model. Many foreign retailers that failed in China might have succeeded if they empowered local staff.

Essay about Emily DIckinson

Essay about Emily DIckinson Essay about Emily DIckinson Dickinson’s Idea on Nature of Suffering and Death Many of Emily Dickinson’s works revolve around human emotion and the great detail of the process of death. The abundance use of death or suffering symbolism takes the focus out of the present reality of the human life. However, the importance of Dickinson’s works consists of the nature of suffering and death and how both world, reality and eternal life, parallels each other for these subjects are uncontrollable by humans. Death is personified as a chauffeur or a gentleman in â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop For Death†. The speaker goes on a journey towards her final resting place willingly with death. Death â€Å"kindly† stops for her and as they slowly drive , the speaker has â€Å"put away† her â€Å"labor† and â€Å"leisure† for his â€Å"civility†. Death being described as â€Å"kind† suggests the unabashed feelings that the speaker holds towards him and her full compliance to leave behind her worldly life in realization that there is an eternal life. As a result of her willingness to let go and let nature or death take her away, she is able to rest at a peaceful place. After a long journey, Death has taken her to a â€Å"house† for her final stop instead of a remorse place like a graveyard. It also gives the impression that the speaker is comfortable with death and unafraid. This cause and effect implies that humans actions and reactions in the worldly life determines the wellness of the afterlife. It indicates that the resistance towards death is not going to do any justice for humans since it is relatively out of our control and death is a natural stage in the life cycle. Struggling against nature is an impossible battle to win because of our insignificance comparing to the great nature. In â€Å"The Bustle in a House†, the main focus is not on a personal death but on a death of a loved one. The speaker describes the situation and internal emotion when that loved one has passed away. Through the capitalization of certain words like â€Å"Bustle†, it signifies the commotion of the reaction of the speaker after the death. The melancholy tone is set by the third line with â€Å"solemnest of industries†, however, the spirit seems to be lifted up by the second stanza when the speaker decides to put the â€Å"love away† and it shall not be used again â€Å"until eternity†. The shift of tone and the optimism that arises to the speaker indicates the natural occurrence of brief suffering. The positive attitude that the speaker turns to in the second half portion of the poem shows the realization of the natural suffering that occurs in life is out of the human control and the speaker has accepted that fact by moving on. On the other side, Dickinson shows the opposite consequence in â€Å"I Heard a Fly Buzz- When I Died-†. The poem describes the outside scene an d atmosphere at the moment when someone dies. The speaker hears a fly â€Å"buzz† in the â€Å"stillness† of the room where her death lies. The buzzing of the fly is taunting and more prominent in the quietness of the room. The speaker is dying in the human world, but the fly represents the natural forces that appears during the time of death. It continues on with the description of the mourners and the room and as the speaker is ready to give up all her possessions: I willed my Keepsakes - Signed away What portion of me be Assignable - and then it was There interposed a Fly- The fly reappeared and intrudes the calm moments of the speaker. The caesura between the words signifies the interposition of the fly that cuts off the peaceful state of mind of the speaker giving up all her â€Å"keepsakes†. Not only the fly gets in between the speaker’s train of thoughts, but it also gets in between the speaker and â€Å"the light†. As the speaker moves closer towards â€Å"the light†, the dirty image of the fly taints and blocks the purity of the brightness of the light. In this case, the fly symbolizes the misery of human life that is keeping humans from the state of bright

Six Idioms with Dozen

Six Idioms with Dozen Six Idioms with Dozen Six Idioms with Dozen By Maeve Maddox The English word dozen comes from French douzaine, which in turn comes from Latin duodecim: â€Å"two plus ten.† It occurs in several English idioms. 1. cheaper by the dozen: costing less when bought in quantity. The expression appears on the Google Ngram Viewer in the 19th century, but its usage rises significantly beginning in 1942. The novel Cheaper By the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey was published in 1948, and the popular movie version based on it (starring Clifton Webb and Myrna Loy) was released in 1950. 2. a baker’s dozen: thirteen instead of twelve In the Middle Ages, bakers were discouraged from cheating their customers by strict weights and measures laws. Lacking precise modern equipment, medieval bakers couldn’t be sure that every loaf that came out of their ovens would be identical in weight. To protect themselves from being fined, they threw in a little extra with each order. Two other expressions used to mean â€Å"thirteen† are devil’s dozen and long dozen. 3. by the dozen: in large quantities, not necessarily in units of 12. For example, the following headline uses the expression to mean â€Å"in large quantities: â€Å"Applications by the Dozen, as Anxious Seniors Hedge College Bets† 4. daily dozen: a short set of daily physical exercises, performed in sets of 12. The phrase originally referred to a set of 12 callisthenic exercises devised by Yale football coach Walter C. Camp (1859-1925). The Google Ngram Viewer shows the phrase peaking in 1928 and then dropping off. 5. to talk nineteen to the dozen: to talk endlessly or at great speed. The fast talker says nineteen words for every twelve that a person speaking at normal speed would say. Although not an idiom, a commonly heard expression is â€Å"the Dozens.† 6. the Dozens: a game of spoken words between two contestants in which participants insult each other until one gives up. The insults may refer to the other player’s intelligence, appearance, and character, or to family members, particularly the other person’s mother. 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:35 Synonyms for â€Å"Look†Latin Words and Expressions: All You Need to KnowPreposition Review #1: Chance of vs. Chance for

European Union legislative process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

European Union legislative process - Essay Example The degree to which a certain association involves in the lawmaking procedure depends on the system employed in the legal process. This also depends on the legal base for the lawmaking proposal. The EU legislative procedure is an issue of concern because it lacks the basic essentials of openness and lucidity (G Bermann 2011, 45). This is because it offers inadequate time to the principle players to respond to agreements made by the EP and the EU Council. Therefore, Lisbon Treaty instituted the ordinary legislative procedure following the Article 289 of the EU employed a system of decision making process from all associate states in the establishment of the legislative process. EU Legislative Process The EU legislative process is ample because the introduction of the Lisbon Treaty offer two main decision making process for agreeing legislation. The entry of Lisbon Treaty led to the introduction of ordinary legislative procedure and distinct legislative procedures as the significant process through, which EU can make an effective decision power of the EP (T Christiansen and L Torbjorn 2007, p, 36). However, the ordinary legislative procedure became significant and it replaced the co-decision without amending its substance, but the Lisbon Treat extended this process to include varied areas of EU decision-making process. Although EU consist of 30 particular legislative procedure, which involves the council or EP who play varied roles in the legislative process, but most of them offer the qualified majority voting for the ordinary legislative procedure. ... OLP is the key legislative process through which directives and rules are implemented. This procedure is based on the 2parity principle and requires the EP and council to implement legislation jointly (G Papagian 2006, 123). The OLP is effective because it is used for agreeing legislation in many areas of union competence. This law requires the EP, council and the commission proposal to agree on the amendment before it becomes law. The First Reading by the European Parliament (EP) The EP adequately takes into considerations the legislative proposal first from the European Commission before making any decision. This is effectively made through delivering a position for various proposals made from the European Commission. The committee analyses any modifications that has been proposed to the commission and makes adjustments. The committee level discusses the proposal, which the EP considers as a plenary session. The parliament is invited to agree on the proposed amendments; thus making their stand on the commission’s proposal (D Judge and D Earnshaw 2008, 34). The simple voting majority is one way of adopting the amendments that have been proposed on the commission’s proposal. The Commission has powers of altering the legislative proposal thereby allowing it to incorporate into the EP amendments, which they feel can contribute to better improvements of the legislation. The First reading by the EU Council The EU Council also has to consider the modified legislative proposal of the EU Commission. The considerations usually take place in the majority groups whereby they make decisions and hand them to the sectoral meeting of the councils. In this case, the Council accepts the adjustment and they do not

Paraphrase Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Paraphrase - Essay Example The probe frequency for the routine measurements is 226 Hz and the tracking in the normal should be done at + 200 daPa which must be stopped once the peak is recorded. It is also suggested that a repetition of the test should be conducted in its entirety, if an unexpected result is obtained and the probe tip be cleaned after the completion of tympanometry. Though there is no consensus on standard normal values for middle ear pressure and admittance, a mean value of zero may be fixed for middle ear pressure and the range between 0.3 to 1.6 with a mean of 0.7 for middle ear admittance or compliance. Tympanometric measurements require the acoustic properties of the ear canal and the application of air pressure in tympanometry distinguish the carnal and middle ear components. The technical note also gives details about acoustic reflex measurements and, accordingly, there are facilities in impedance/admittance instruments to provide acoustic stimulus to the ear and to detect the associate d reflex. The reflex measurements are usually made at a pressure corresponding to the tympanometric peak. Tympanometers and other instruments are then applied to the evaluation of Eustachian tube function.