Do the Writings of Clausewitz have contemporary relevance? Essay

Carl Von Clausewitz has long been considered one of the most important writers in the field of military strategy and tactics. Born in 1780 he first saw action in 1793 when he was a Lance Corporal in the Prussian Army.1 He was to serve throughout the Napoleonic wars working for both the Prussians and the Russians. However: â€Å"throughout his military career he never held a command and was probably unsuited for such. He was essentially a student of war†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 2 However, despite this lack of command, Clausewitz had certainly gained enough experience during the Napoleonic wars to have a fairly comprehensive idea about what war was: â€Å"Before he was forty, he had taken part in some of the greatest battles in the history of warfare and had seen the armies of Napoleon storm their way across Europe to Moscow†¦ Alls this had been the result of military operations, but it was clear to Clausewitz as a young man that the explanation for the success or failure of these operations was not to be sought on the battlefield alone†.3 As a result of this, during his career he came up with many ideas of views on the nature and conduct of war, writing literally thousands of pages of manuscripts on a wide range of areas ranging from politics to tactics.4 After the wars end, he set about trying to write a comprehensive eight part ‘guide’ on his ideas. This collection of essays and manuscripts became known as â€Å"Vom Kriege† (On War). Clausewitz died in 1831 having only completed six of the eight parts.5 Indeed it is important to realise that despite the importance of his work, it is still unfinished and does not cover a number of areas: â€Å"On War contains a comprehensive analysis of the strategy operations and tactics of Napoleonic War, and of their 18th Century background. Left out of the account are most technological, administrative and organisational factors†¦ On War deals almost entirely with the ultimate issues as Clausewitz saw them: Political and strategic planning and the conduct of hostilities†6 Since his death, Clausewitz’s work has come to be regarded as probably one of the most important works on military thinking ever written. Bernard Brodie once wrote that: â€Å"His is not simply the greatest, but the only great book about war†7 Although Clausewitz is still seen as one of the greatest thinkers on war, the question remains – is he still relevant today? Given the immense changes in not only the way we conduct war, but also our attitudes towards war, does his thinking still have any relevance in an era of information warfare and peacekeeping missions? Also given the dramatic changes in the conduct of warfare are his works still important: â€Å"As one US army general has (said) â€Å"the digitisation of the battlefield means the end of Clausewitz†8 Given the large size of Clausewitz’s work it is impossible look at the whole of On War for its continuing relevance. Instead for this essay I have chosen to examine a number of ideas in detail including the idea of war as part of policy, the notion of decisive battle and also his idea of a ‘centre of gravity’. Due to lack of space I have decided not focus on other areas such as the trinity between the politicians, the people and the armed forces, as well as looking at other areas. At it’s simplest Clausewitz’s first book attempts to understand what war actually is and what it does. At it’s simplest he defined it as: â€Å"War is an act of force to compel an enemy to do our will†9 This seems to be true, even today it is hard to imagine a nation state going to war without a rational reason to do so – be it to regain territory or to right a wrong. More recently the growth of Peace enforcement operations such as the war in Kosovo is a classic example of forcing a nation state to bow to the will of others. As such it seems that Clausewitz’s most simple definition still rings true today Clausewitz’s next statement is far more controversial though: â€Å"Kind hearted people might of course think there was some ingenious way to disarm or defeat an enemy without too much bloodshed, and might imagine this is the true goal of the art of war. Pleasant as it sounds, it is a fallacy that must be exposed: War is such a dangerous business that the mistakes which come from kindness are the very worst†10 The above paragraph seems to be aimed at those who have studied the writings of Sun Tzu – the Chinese strategist to which Clausewitz is frequently compared. Sun Tzu felt that war was not about bloodshed – instead he felt that: â€Å"all warfare is based on deception†¦Ã¢â‚¬ 11 Michael Handle wrote that â€Å"Sun Tzu devotes considerable attention to the actions that precede war†¦ for him diplomacy is the best means of achieving his ideal of victory without fighting or bloodshed†.12 It seems that Sun Tzu’s theory of warfare is based more on the notion of avoidance of war rather than the fighting of war itself, whereas Clausewitz feels that war occurs once all other policy choices have been exhausted: â€Å"War is merely the continuation of policy by other means†13 This seems to suggest that in Clausewitz’s mind, War should be seen as merely as a logical progression in policy once other policies such as diplomacy have failed – essentially war is pursued in order to further a States national interest. However some question whether this is still the case: â€Å"Future war will be fought not to pursue national interests, but to kill enemy leaders, to convert opponents to one’s religion, to obtain booty, or sometimes for simple entertainment. Thus the core of Clausewitz’s .philosophy of war – that states wage war using armies in pursuit of political objectives will disappear. Others have maintained that nuclear weaponry, trans-national constabulary warfare, counter-terrorism, counter-narcotrafficking†¦ have rendered obsolete Clausewitz’s definition of war as an act of policy†.14 I believe though that his views are still relevant, in that once a war has begun it should be fought aggressively until its logical conclusion, however unlike in Clausewitz’s time, today the conditions required for victory may be very different and as such it may be harder to achieve a logical conclusion.15 Clausewitz seems more focussed on the idea that the only means of resolving a war is bloodshed (the so called idea of decisive battle) â€Å"The destruction of the enemies forces in war must always be the dominant consideration†16 While this may have been the ideal way of winning wars in the 19th Century it is arguable that in today’s world this view is obsolete for a variety of reasons. Firstly in the 19th Century the only real way of waging war was through lining up two opposing armies and fighting it out until one side one. This procedure was repeated until one country won the war. In today’s world the methods available to fight wars have changed – in place of armies, generals can use precision strikes with guided missiles fired from thousands of miles away to eliminate enemy units with minimal casualties. Special forces units can be used to eliminate key figures and deprive armies of leadership at critical times17. However the main reason why Clausewitz’s views of the objectives in warfare could be seen as obsolete is due to the changing nature of warfare itself. When On War was written, war was a two dimensional affair – fought primarily on land and sea.18 In 2001 though war can be fought on land, sea, air, space and also in cyberspace. In addition there are a wide variety of unconventional types of wars to be fought. As James Adams notes: â€Å"Today we are at war on several fronts. The fights against terrorism, organized crime, economic espionage and weapons proliferation are permanent conflicts that are likely to confront us through the next century†¦ In this new world the soldier will be the young geek in uniform who can insert a virus into Tehran’s electricity supply to plunge the city into darkness†19 There have been suggestions that since 1990 the world (or at least the West) has undergone a so called Revolution in Military Affairs – i.e. a total change in the way that war is fought. Given this, is the idea of decisive battle still relevant? Some institutions clearly feel that it is not – especially as the types of wars that will be fought are so different: â€Å"ironically the dominance that the US will gain from the RMA†¦ will be such that the nature of future conflict will force competitors to deliver asymmetric strategies, including weapons of mass destruction, to counter the US superiority.20 In these new types of conflicts, the search for Clausewitzian decisive victory will be far more elusive and far less relevant than in conventional conflicts†.21 Despite the above quote, I believe that the idea is still relevant – but that the methods that can be used to bring about a decisive victory have changed. As has been seen an enemy can be defeated without using conventional ground troops at all – instead a wide range of different assets could be used. Indeed one view of future warfare suggests that victory (but not necessarily destruction) over an enemy force could be achieved without the use of weapons: â€Å"First a computer virus is inserted into the aggressors telephone switching stations, bringing about a total failure of the phone system. Next computer logic bombs set to activate at certain times, destroy the electronic routers that control rail lines and military convoys†¦ meanwhile enemy field officers obey the orders they receive over the radios unaware that the commands are phoney†¦ US planes, specially outfitted for psychological operations, then jam the enemy’s TV broadcasts with propaganda messages that turn the populace against the ruler. When the despot boots up his PC, he finds that millions of dollars he has hoarded in his Swiss bank account have been zeroed out. Zapped. All without firing a shot†22 This example is quite interesting as it simultaneously supports the relevance of Clausewitz, while at the same time proving how his writings have become dated in places It supports the notion of decisive victory in that it shows how a country can conclusively defeat an enemy – thus supporting his idea of decisive victory. But at the same time it shows clearly that not all of Clausewitz is still relevant. For example Clausewitz seemed cynical about the idea of achieving victory without much (or any) violence: â€Å"How are we to counter the highly sophisticated theory that supposes it is possible for a particularly ingenious method of inflicting minor direct damage on the enemy’s forces to lead to major indirect destruction; or that claims to produce by means of limited but skilfully applied blows, such paralysis of the enemy’s forces and control of his willpower as to constitute a significant shortcut to victory†23 This argument clearly shows that not all of Clausewitz has aged well – obviously during the Napoleonic era the idea of information warfare did not exist – so it would have been next to impossible to win a war using non violent means – however as has been shown in this age it is at least technically possible to achieve such a victory. It suggests that some parts of Clausewitz’s work should perhaps be seen as less relevant to certain situations than others. One area which appears to still be relevant is Clausewitz’s comments on the application of force. In the West today public opinion seems to favour engagements with minimal casualties – the public seem to want intervention when scenes of suffering are on TV (the so called CNN effect), but at the same time seem unwilling to tolerate the idea of people dying to stop the suffering24. This is a situation where Clausewitz noted that: â€Å"If one side uses force without compunction, undeterred by the bloodshed it involves while the other side refrain, the first will gain the upper hand†.25 This idea seems to have been taken onboard by a number of third world leaders who have engaged in some form of conflict with Western Countries (primarily the USA). A good example of this is the conflicts in Somalia – when the USA sent in troops to help restore order to the country they were hampered by restrictive rules of engagement and limited amounts of equipment – for example tanks as these were felt inappropriate. 26On the other hand, the opposition led by self styled Warlord General Aideed had no such restrictions – and it showed – he was repeatedly able to gain the upper hand and when US/UN troops attempted to capture him he was able to ambush and kill literally dozens of them.27 The images of American bodies being abused were enough to force an immediate and humiliating withdrawal from Somalia – a classic Clausewitzian example of one side using force when the other was unwilling and gaining the advantage – in this case over the strongest power in the world. This lesson illustrates an area where Clausewitz’s views on war are still highly relevant – indeed it appears that other countries learnt from this experience – in Haiti for example when the US sent a landing ship into the country to enforce a UN brokered peace agreement in 1994 they were met by a bunch of thugs who: â€Å"shook their fists, waved placards and shouted threats at the US ship. They were hooligans who would have dispersed at the first sign of well armed troops. But among their slogans was one in particular â€Å"we are going to turn this place into another Somalia†. News of the ‘Welcome Party’ and its curses were flashed to Washington where it provoked a panic†¦. The Clinton administration immediately ordered the (USS) Harlan County to withdraw from Haitian waters and to sail back to the USA†28 Again this is another good example of how even the threat to employ violence against a country which is not prepared to do so can have a major influence out of all proportion to the size of the protestors. It also demonstrates the continuing influence of Clausewitzian ideas. The example used above of the American experience in Somalia and Haiti is also relevant to Clausewitz’s ideas on ‘The centre of gravity’ – an idea which Clausewitz defined as follows: â€Å"What the theorist has to say here is this: one must keep the dominant characteristics of both belligerents in mind. Out of those characteristics a certain centre of gravity develops, the hub of all power and movement on which everything depends. That is the point at which all our energies should be directed†29 Furthermore Clausewitz identified three key components of this idea: â€Å"The Opponents army, his capital and, if he had a stronger protector the army of his ally. Since all of these were vulnerable to attack, said Clausewitz, ‘the defeat and destruction of his fighting force remains the best way to begin, and will in any case be a very significant feature of the campaign'†30 A good example of this would be the case of the Royal Navy during the Falklands War – Argentina identified the carriers as the centre of gravity for the UK operation and spent a good deal of time trying to sink them. As the commander of the Task Force noted: â€Å"If they hit Hermes or Invincible the Royal Navy will somehow be publicly disgraced†¦Worse yet, the British military will become the laughing stock of the world, limping home in defeat. John Bull humbled at last. At sea.†31 Although Clausewitz did not write on maritime warfare this is a clear example of how important the destruction of a naval fighting component can be to the success of a war. Other good examples of a country identifying and targeting the centre of gravity include Iraq’s use of Scud missiles against Israel during the Gulf war – had Israel responded militarily then it is likely that the coalition against Iraq would have collapsed as it seems doubtful that Arab powers such as Egypt and Syria would willingly fight on the same side as Israel. This supports Clausewitz’s ideas of attacking the armies (or at least cities) of allies to win the war. 32 For the coalition however attacking and destroying the Iraqi army (primarily the Republican Guard) was of vital importance – not only as knocking it out would win the war – but also destroying the Republican Guard would remove Saddam Hussein’s power base and hopefully make it impossible for him to remain as leader of Iraq. The Gulf War is a good example then of Clausewitz’s ideas continuing to be highly relevant to the planning of a military campaign. However some commentators (QUOTE!!) feel that the Gulf War was probably the last large conventional war to be fought by the West and that the nature of war in the future has changed. I believe then that the centre of gravity idea is still highly relevant – however I feel that it has become more refined since Clausewitz’s time. Although Clausewitz feels that there are only three key areas to which it applies, I feel that today the centre of gravity can be practically anything. For example in Somalia and Haiti – the use of force and the threat to use force proved the Americans centre – when faced with even the possibility of casualties, the Americans withdrew. This suggests that today the centre of gravity can be anything from a capital city to a single infantryman – who if killed could cause a change in policy. Another change is that Clausewitz assumed that the centre of gravity would be identical for both sides – whereas today that is not the case – a good example is that of the asymmetric warfare that is being waged between the USA and the terrorist Osama Bin Laden – he recognised the Pentagon and World Trade Centre as key examples of American power and prestige and saw them as their centre of gravity in any terrorist action. The Americans on the other hand see Bin Laden as the key centre of gravity – The most powerful country on earth is fighting a war, with a single man as their key target. This is a dramatic change from the days of mass warfare which Clausewitz was used to, and demonstrates not only the rapidly changing nature of warfare, but also illustrates the way that Clausewitz’s ideas can continue to be adapted to look at warfare in the present day. During this essay I have looked at a number of Clausewitz’s ideas in an attempt to see whether they have continuing relevance in a world where warfare is very different from the time when On War was written. By and large I feel that Clausewitz’s ideas are still relevant – or at least able to be adapted into the present day. Where he is not so relevant is more due to the development of weapons and styles of warfare that he could not have possibly been aware of, rather than through any fault of his own. I feel that the following quote sums up nicely the relevance of Clausewitz to this day: â€Å"Of course not all of Clausewitz’s military thought has remained relevant. His vision of war did not include its economic, air, sea and space dimensions for example. But his concept of war†¦will remain valid as long as states, drug lords, warrior clans and terrorist groups have mind to wage it†33 1 Information taken from On War, p5, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press. 2 The Conduct of War 1789-1961, Chapter 4, p59. Major General J.F.C.Fuller, 1972 Methuen 3 Clausewitz, Michael Howard, p11, 1983, Oxford University Press. 4 Information taken from On War, p5, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 5 Indeed there is evidence to suggest that by 1827 he considered only the first chapter of book one to be complete – the remainder needing revision. Source The Conduct of War 1789-1961, Chapter 4, p59. Major General J.F.C.Fuller, 1972 Methuen 6 Makers of Modern Strategy, p208, Oxford University Press, 2000 edition. 7 Clausewitz, Michael Howard, p01, 1983, Oxford University Press. 8 Quote taken from www.gov.au/lwsc/publications/CA%eEssays/RMA 9 On War, p75, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 10 On War, p75, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 11 Sun Tzu’s art of War, The modern Chinese interpretation, p95 General Tao Hanzhang, 1987, David and Charles 12 Masters of War, Sun Tzu, Clausewitz and Jomini, p32, Michael I.Handel 1992, Frank Cass 13 On War, p87, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 14 Quote taken from www.Clausewitz.com, however text is from an article originally published in Joint Forces Quarterly, Winter 1995-1996 which is reproduced on the website. 15 For example – what are the current victory objectives in the campaign in Afghanistan and how will we know when victory has been achieved? 16 On War, p230, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 17 For example the possible attempts at the time of writing by US/UK special forces to capture or eliminate Osama Bin Laden. 18 Even then Clausewitz did not attempt to write on maritime operations – concentrating solely on land warfare. 19 The Next World War,p14, James Adams, 1998 Hutchinson. 20 A good example of this prediction was seen with the terrorist attack on the 11th of September. 21 Quote taken from www.gov.au/lwsc/publications/CA%eEssays/RMA 22 Flashpoint World War Three, p153-154, Andrew Murray, 1997, Pluto Press 23 On War, p228, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 24 Given the current situation in the USA it will be interesting to see whether the so called ‘body bag’ syndrome has ended or whether once US troops are killed, public opinion will change to demand a more peaceful solution. 25 On War, p75-76, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 26 Information taken from Deliver us From Evil, (Chapter 4), William Shawcross,2000, Bloomsbury. 27 Total American losses in Somalia were 30 dead, 175 wounded, the UN lost 72 killed and 87 wounded (Source World Conflicts, Patrick Brogan, 1998, Bloomsbury) 28 Deliver us from evil, p103, William Shawcross, 2000 Bloomsbury. 29 On War, p596, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press 30 Clausewitz, Michael Howard, p39, 1983, Oxford University Press. (Professor Howard incorporates a quote from On War, p596, Carl Von Clausewitz, (edited by Michael Howard & Peter Paret), 1984, Princeton University Press) 31 One Hundred Days, p100, Admiral Sandy Woodward, 1992, Harper Collins 32 However – given the overwhelming amount of Western military power in the region and the political willpower to fight the war, it seems likely that Iraq would still have lost the war – whether Israel was a centre of gravity in the sense that it could remove the coalition from the war seems dubious. 33 Quote taken from www.Clausewitz.com, however text is from an article originally published in Joint Forces Quarterly, Winter 1995-1996 which is reproduced on the website.

Articles annotations Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Articles annotations - Article Example After expounding on the broadening of TESOL’s story, in conclusion, the author disclosed that the future embraces an international family that respects mutual questioning, active negotiation, and radical integration (Canagarajah, 2006, p. 29). Annotation 2 Chang, L. (2010). Group Processes and EFL Learners’ Motivation: A Study of Group Dynamics in EFL Classrooms. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 44, No. 1, 129-155. The author clearly indicated that the aim of the study was to examine the impact of group processes, including norms and cohesiveness of the groups, as influencing EFL learners’ motivation. A review of related literature was initially presented to expound on issues concerning group processes, group cohesiveness, group norms, L2 motivation (self-efficacy and learner autonomy. The actual research indicated that participants were 152 students of a Taiwan university where questionnaires and subsequent interviews had been administered. The results indicate that class grouping significantly affects second language learning motivation. The authors emphasized that future research needs to consider undetected factors that influence the relationship between group processes and language learning. Annotation 3 Chen, J., Warden, C., & Chang, H. (2005). Motivators That Do Not Motivate: The Case of Chinese EFL Learners and the Influence of Culture on Motivation. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 4, 609-633. The authors determined the effect of culture on motivation by conducting a study participated by 567 language learners in Taiwan. A survey was implemented focusing on topics such as motivation orientation, expectancy, and self-evaluated skill (Chen, Warden, & Chang, 2005, p. 609). By initially exploring various reviews of literature on motivation within the EFL setting, their study was developed to tailor to the Chinese EFL learners where the results found that integration was not a significant factor in the motivational learning effort (Chen, Warden, & Ch ang, 2005, p. 631). Limitations of the research were noted in terms of using two comparative cultural orientations: the West as contrasted with Chinese culture and thereby provides opportunities for future research within a more wider and diverse global cultural perspective. Annotation 4 Gatbonton, E., Trofimovich, P., & Magid, M. (2005). Learners' Ethnic Group Affiliation and L2 Pronunciation Accuracy: A Sociolinguistic Investigation. TESOL Quarterly, Vol. 39, No. 3; 489-511. The authors aimed to determine the relationship between ethnic group affiliation and second- language (L2) pronunciation accuracy defined here as native-like, nonaccented L2 speech or L2 speech that contains no first language (Li) influences (Gatbonton, Trofimovich, & Magid, 2005, p. 489). Two study questions were identified, to wit: (a) Is there a relationship between learners' L2 accent and ethnic group affiliation as perceived by fellow learners? (b) If such a relationship exists, what are its behavioural c onsequences? The participants of the study included 24 Francophone learners of English from Montrea where research methods used stimulus tapes and questionnaires. The results of the study revealed that L2 learners treated their peers' L2 accent as an

Define Groupthink Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Define Groupthink - Essay Example In groupthink consensus overrides common sense and inhibits the urge to present critique, unpopular opinion or alternatives to whatever is viewed as the commonly agreed ground (Wikipedia, 2013). In groupthink the urge to remain loyal to the team and maintain cohesion makes the team members to desist from raising alternative solutions or controversial issues. As a result, independent thinking, uniqueness in thought and individual creativity are lost at the expense of cohesion and loyalty to the group. The eventual outcome is poor problem solving and decision-making. The failed team dynamics of the â€Å"in-group† presents illusions that the appropriate decisions have been attained. Therefore the ‘in-group’ greatly overrates their decision-making abilities, and excessively downplays the decision-making ability of the ‘out-group’ or opponents. As such, team members tend to think or feel that they are more inclined to making the right decisions and offer better ideas and solutions than people from without the group. This happening often hinders the reception of contribution of ideas from non-group members or other groups (Wikipedia, 2013). This source uses the Swissair collapse and the Bay of Pigs Invasion as examples of events in which groupthink was at play when they took place. In the corporate sector suboptimal and ineffective decision-making may negatively impact on the good performance of any company and cause significant losses. Swissair had been a successful airline to the extent that at times it was referred to as the ‘Flying Bank (Hermann & Rammal, 2010).’ However, during this period of success the airline had two symptoms of groupthink (Wikipedia, 2013). These symptoms included the belief in group morality and invulnerability. Additionally, before the collapse fiasco the airline’s board was significantly reduced and people with expertise were eliminated. The board reduction action contributed to groupthink by leaving behind only

Canadian Economic History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Canadian Economic History - Essay Example This paper seeks to analyze these major events in the lights of broad and diverse academic resources. From the period of 1960 till 1973, Equalization payments were made to Manitoba and Saskatchewan which offered protection to Ontario market. In the eighties, petrochemical industry was established and developed in Alberta and Manitoba concentrates on production of buses and light aircrafts(Norrie, Owram, andEmery, 125). Still several provinces relied on exports and on the revenues which were generated by the major industries. In the eighties, majority of Canadians moved to cities and several of them were associated with white collar jobs. In the sixties, the electricity sector in Quebec province was nationalized in order to remove disparities and fluctuation in rates. During the same period, Canada signed Automotive Pact with United States, which concentrated on changing the North American car manufacturing landscape and sought to establish more friendly relations between the two countries (Norrie, Owram, and Emery, 163). This assisted in improving the Canadian economy. In the seventies, the foundations for James Bay project were laid in Quebec. This hydro electric project is considered to be the largest development in the Canadian economic history. The OPEC oil crisis in the seventies led to increase in prices of oil. In 1973, the Canadian government established Petro-Canada to stimulate and encourage the exploration of oil and gas and to develop tar sands of Alberta. At the same time, it concentrated on getting hold of reliable imports and to understand the strategic importance of the industry. During the seventies, the Canadian government put efforts to control the domestic oil prices (Norrie, Owram, and Emery, 172). In the year 1975, Anti-Inflation Act was incorporated which concentrates on escalation of wage and price inflation. Consequently, the Consumer Price Index inflation was 10.7 percent in the year 1974. in 1975, it was 10.9 percent. 1980s and 1990s In the eighties, Canada experience economic recession. There was a great impact on the mineral and manufacturing industry. In 1982, mining activities and operations in Yukon were shut down. More than seven hundred thousand miners were unemployed because of recession. In the mid eighties, the Canadian economy recovered itself and its economic growth was highest among al OECD countries. However, there were vast differences in economies of different Canadian provinces. Central provinces were economically and financially strong, whereas western provinces experiences economic recession because of decrease in prices of oil and other natural resources. The Atlantic Provinces also experienced turnover (Norrie, Owram, and Emery, 175). In the 1990, the Canadian economy started to contract and was heavily affected by the recession. Although recovery began in 1991, Canada experienced high rates of unemployment and budget deficit. However, it should be noted that in the nineties the Canadian econ omic growth rate was about three percent. In the year 1992, the unemployment rate was about twelve percent, which gradually declined to eight percent in 1999.Because of economic recession of early eighties and nineties, high unemployment rates, budget deficits and disaffection were witnessed. Because of the declining economy, Progressive Conservative Party was rejected severely

European System of Balance of Power Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

European System of Balance of Power - Article Example France was very much afraid of Germany after WWI. During the treaty of Versailles, they made their point. After the WWI the French economy weakened day by day. Their demands include the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France, financial and military aid by League of Nations in case of the German attack and should have French control over left bank of the Rhine Republic and Saar. Finally, it has been said that the French asked too much and pushed the Germans to a corner. The US, on the other hand, helped the European community by giving financial aid. They helped the Germans to come out of the financial crisis. The US realized the importance of the United Nations and convinced its allies and enemies to join the group. After centuries of bloodshed on the continent, with reconstruction after WWII financed by the American Marshall plan and protection provided by the American military during the Cold War, old adversaries in Europe achieved reconciliation and integration. Americans see a Germany that was wounded in WWI, destroyed in WWII, and then rehabilitated and protected (in the case of West Germany) in the post-war period thanks to American military might and American money. During the second half of 1944, the Nazi empire gradually imploded as its enemies invaded from east, west, and south. Supplies and manufacturing dwindled on a daily basis. The once mighty had some of the best military aircraft in the world but lacked fuel to fly them and parts to maintain them. Evidence suggests that Chancellor Adolf Hitler himself became addicted to a variety of drugs and that he may also have suffered from syphilis, Parkinson's disease, or both.  

Corporate social responsibility Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 16500 words

Corporate social responsibility - Dissertation Example Organisations have recognised the importance of generating various strategies by which they could profit from their operations. One of the business initiatives recognised as increasing the financial performance of a company is the use of corporate social responsibility. Briefly, corporate social responsibility (CSR) is defined as those methods by which an organisation minimizes its negative impacts on the environment and society. To ensure the maximization of benefits arising from CSR, it is important to give consideration to employees. Nevertheless, little research has been conducted with respect to the role of the employees in ensuring CSR. In this present study, the role of the employees has been validated. True enough, corporations have acknowledged their importance and it is in this regard that they have coming up with various initiatives to promote employee engagement. However, these strategies have not been employed in the branches of the companies outside their home country, in view of their desire to reduce operational costs. This study makes use of a qualitative design to explore the topic at hand. Chapter One: Introduction Background of the study The importance of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR) was first addressed during the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development in 2002 (Kotler and Lee, 2005). In highlighting its importance, many have argued that to ensure their efficiency companies nowadays must also be able to give consideration to social and environmental areas. Aside from this, they are likewise mandated to deliver the results of their achievements in honest and transparent ways (Werther and Chandler, 2010). Apparently, the participants of the said summit have recognised the fact that it is through the attainment of these purposes that the efficiency of the companies is guaranteed. The development of a framework was one of the most significant contributions of this particular summit (Kotler and Lee, 2005). In the said framework, two approaches were reflected: the advocacy as regards the adoption of regulatory frameworks that makes the concept of CSR mandatory based on the behaviour of the entrepreneur (OECD, 2001). This particular approach is popular amongst developing countries and the major non-governmental organisations that were present at the said summit. As was to be expected, there were others who rather objected thereto. The business organisations that also participated in the event, and thus contributed to the development of the said framework, mentioned that compliance with the principles of CSR must be voluntary and not mandatory (Banerjee, 2007; Werther and Chandler, 2010). They also recommended the need to develop broad agreements such as the initiative of the United Nations

Assessment Base Reading Instruciton Case Study Essay Example for Free

Assessment Base Reading Instruciton Case Study Essay Table of Contents Introduction Description of the Student Background Information PART 1: Administration of Assessments DIBELS: A Universal Assessment Battery Description and Purpose of the Assessment Setting for the Assessment Description of the Assessment Administration Process Results of the Assessment Analysis of the Assessment Results Running Records Description and Purpose of the Assessment The running record allows you to record the child’s reading behavior as he or she reads from the book. The purpose of a running record is a tool used to determine word recognition reading fluency reading strategies, self- corrections, and comprehension. It is an individually conducted formative assessment which is ongoing and curriculum based. It provides a graphic  representation of a students oral reading, identifying patterns of effective and ineffective strategy use. This method was developed by Marie Clay, the originator of Reading Recovery. Running records helps document reading progress over time. Help teachers decide what students need to learn and matches students to appropriate books. We want to capture all the behaviors to help interpret what the child was probably doing. Everything the child says and does tells us something: when the reading is correct, what his hands and eyes were doing, the comments he made and when he repeated a line of text. Setting for the Assessment Library setting, after school. This was the only time available. Description of the Assessment Administration Process Select a book that is the child’s reading level. Explain to the child that he or she will read out loud as you observe and record his or her reading behavior. Sit next to the child so that you can see the text and the child’s finger and eye movements as he or she reads the text. Use running record form. As the child reads, mark each word on the running record form by using the symbols on the chart that follows. Place a check mark above each word that is read correctly. If the child reads incorrectly, record above the word what the child reads. If the child is reading too fast for you to record the running record, ask him or her to pause until you catch up. Intervene as little as possible while the child is reading. If the child is stuck and unable to continue, wait 5 to10 seconds and tell him or her the word. If the child seems confused, indicate the point of confusion and say, â€Å"Try again.† Results of the Assessment Student read 156 words at 98% accuracy. She had 3 errors and 2 self corrects. She missed boredom, I told her the word. She changed plan for idea, setting, characters, and beginning. She had trouble with middle and end. She did know the main idea but could not list supporting details. I would move this student to a higher level text. This text was easy for the student. Analysis of the Assessment Results Student read 156 words at 98% accuracy. She had 3 errors and 2 self corrects. She missed boredom, I told her the word. She changed plan for idea, setting, characters, and beginning. She had trouble with middle and end. She did know the main idea but could not list supporting details. This student needs practice in retelling story in sequence. She had issues with middle and end. I think she was going for a fluency score and read too fast. She had problems orally retelling middle and end. This level is an appropriate level for this student. I will use the results to plan for this student. Teaching purposes for running records. To find a book level appropriate for a child. Check a child after a series of lessons. Evaluate whether a lift in text level is appropriate. Observe particular difficulties in particular children in order to modify instructional emphasis. Evaluate in order to place a child in an appropriate instructional group, class or school. Add to a record which is monitoring an individual’s progress over time. Reading Inventory Description and Purpose of the Assessment Setting for the Assessment Description of the Assessment Administration Process Results of the Assessment Analysis of the Assessment Results Additional Diagnostic Assessment: Learner Choice Description and Purpose of the Assessment Setting for the Assessment Description of the Assessment Administration Process Results of the Assessment Analysis of the Assessment Results Overall Analysis of Assessment Results PART 2: Recommendations for Interventions and Instruction Identifying Student Needs Recommendations for Interventions and Instruction Recommendations for Further Assessment References Appendices Appendix A: DIBELS Scoring Documents Appendix B: Running Records Scoring Documents Appendix C: Reading Inventory Documents Appendix D: Additional Assessment Documents