Robert E. Lee Essays (1877 words) - Fitzhugh Family Of Virginia

Robert E. Lee Throughout history, there have been people whose names and faces have become synonymous with the time periods in which they lived. For example, Julius Caesar is synonymous with the late Roman Republic and George Washington is synonymous with the American Revolution. Just like these two men, the name Robert E. Lee has become synonymous with the American Civil War. Not only did Lee rise to become the most important and recognizable person in the Southern Confederacy, but his honor and virtuous acts during and after the war made him a hero to modern-day Americans. Even though he fought for what many consider the morally erroneous side of the war, the virtues of his character have made him a figure in American history that should be honored and remembered. Robert Edward Lee was born at Stratford Westmoreland County, Virginia, on January 19, 1807. Lee was the fourth of five children (the third son) of Ann Hill Carter Lee and Henry (?Light-Horse Harry?) Lee. Two children of Henry Lee's first marriage also lived with the family (Thomas 916). Henry Lee had been a hero during the Revolutionary War and served as the governor of Virginia and a member of Congress. By the time Robert was born, his father's fortune and estates were in shambles. Henry Lee was never very good at managing his estates and in 1809, was forced into prison due to the severity of his debts. Three years later, freed from jail, he was involved in a political brawl in Baltimore where he was beaten and disfigured for life. In an attempt to flee from debtors and reconsolidate his money, Henry Lee fled to Barbados. He died in 1818, never having seen his family again. Robert E. Lee's older half-brother Henry Lee Jr., further dishonored the family in 1820 when it was discovered that he had seduced and impregnated his wife's nine-teen year old sister. Despite the mistakes his father and brother made, Lee managed to grow learning the ways of a true Southern gentleman. The departure of his father and two older half-brothers made Lee the man of the house at an early age. His mother, Ann Carter, raised Lee in modest circumstances and helped him to learn standard of conduct. Lee grew up in modest conditions, and though he received the normal education for someone of his class, he had to earn his own living and didn't live the easy-going plantation life that most members of his family did. Since his mother did not have sufficient cash to send Lee to go to college, he chose instead to enter West Point military and academy. He entered in 1825 at the age of 18. At West Point Lee excelled tremendously. He finished second in his class and didn't receive one demerit during his four years there (A feat that has yet to be repeated since then). Lee entered Engineer Corps after graduation where he was employed to build and maintain military insta llations and assist the Federal Government in the enormous work of providing internal improvements in order to settle border disputes on the frontier lands. Lee married Mary Custis in July of 1831. Mary Custis was the daughter of Mary Fitzhugh Custis and George Washington Custis, who was the adopted son of George Washington. Lee became the heir to Washington although the marriage did not bring Lee any financial benefits until Mary's father died in 1857. Until then, he had to support his wife and 7 children almost solely on his army officer's salary. During this time his contemporaries almost always regarded Lee in a positive manner. He was very handsome and made friends easily with both sexes. People often used the adjective ?noble' to describe him. He never smoked, only drank an occasional glass of wine and always kept his temper. He was a good son to his mother, who he personally nursed through her final illness, a good husband to his, often selfish, wife and a good father to his children. ?He was quiet and dignified in manner, of cheerful disposition, always a gentleman (Earle 28).? Lee served on the staff of his West Point friend Winfield Scott during the Vera Cruz campaign to Mexico City during the war

Free Essays on Americas Horrific Teen Drivers

America’s Horrific Teen Drivers In America, driving is the main source of transportation. Being an American teenage driver myself, I clearly remember dreaming about that golden day I’d be allowed to get my driver’s license. American teenagers place driving, being the first major milestone in the transition into adulthood, on a pedestal. The idea of being able to come and go as you please without calling mom for a ride is every teen’s ideal world. Dates, parties, and many other weekend activities become options thanks to a driver’s license. However, stepping behind the wheel furnishes a lot of responsibility teenagers are just not equipped to handle. Issues regarding driving ability and safety can sometimes be too much for the selfish teenage frame of mind, more concerned with having a good time and impressing their friends, to handle. The awful reputation of teen drivers is due not only to the confused period of adolescence, but also insufficient testing procedures and self impose d distractions while driving. Combining these factors makes American teens the most dangerous presence on the road. Becoming the stereotypical bad teen driver is a simple process. The first step is passing the written test, which when you look back, was much easier than persuading your parents to let you take it. Pennsylvania’s testing procedure is a prime example of America’s insufficient practices. The written permit test, which when passed, grants the driving student a permit to practice with another licensed driver. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) provides a manual of laws and other guidelines to study from. The permit test consists of only eighteen questions and fifteen correct is passing. What are these people thinking, that one short, simple test is enough to assess a teen on rules and regulations of driving? Teens are experts when it comes to cramming for a test without the information actually sinking in; this ... Free Essays on Americas Horrific Teen Drivers Free Essays on Americas Horrific Teen Drivers America’s Horrific Teen Drivers In America, driving is the main source of transportation. Being an American teenage driver myself, I clearly remember dreaming about that golden day I’d be allowed to get my driver’s license. American teenagers place driving, being the first major milestone in the transition into adulthood, on a pedestal. The idea of being able to come and go as you please without calling mom for a ride is every teen’s ideal world. Dates, parties, and many other weekend activities become options thanks to a driver’s license. However, stepping behind the wheel furnishes a lot of responsibility teenagers are just not equipped to handle. Issues regarding driving ability and safety can sometimes be too much for the selfish teenage frame of mind, more concerned with having a good time and impressing their friends, to handle. The awful reputation of teen drivers is due not only to the confused period of adolescence, but also insufficient testing procedures and self impos ed distractions while driving. Combining these factors makes American teens the most dangerous presence on the road. Becoming the stereotypical bad teen driver is a simple process. The first step is passing the written test, which when you look back, was much easier than persuading your parents to let you take it. Pennsylvania’s testing procedure is a prime example of America’s insufficient practices. The written permit test, which when passed, grants the driving student a permit to practice with another licensed driver. The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) provides a manual of laws and other guidelines to study from. The permit test consists of only eighteen questions and fifteen correct is passing. What are these people thinking, that one short, simple test is enough to assess a teen on rules and regulations of driving? Teens are experts when it comes to cramming for a test without the information actually sinking in; this ...

English Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English Literature - Essay Example Antigone tells Ismene that she wants her brother given a proper burial despite Creon’s decree. For Antigone family honor and the responsibilities that go along with it are much more important than the order of the ruler, Creon. Ismene, upon hearing her sister’s plans, tells Antigone that she would not go against the edict of Creon. For Ismene family considerations are not so important, rather it is the edict of the ruler that she would rather obey. As she puts it, both of them are women and are required not only to be subservient to the ruler, but also to men; they should not try to hold their own against these two authorities. Ismene states that it is their duty as women not only to obey Creon’s edict regarding their brother, but also any other decree that might be even more oppressive. Hearing this distresses Antigone a great deal. She feels it is her responsibility, as a sister to Polyneices, to afford him a burial at least. Antigone feels that Ismene is not t rue to her familial calling, and she feels disgust at the latter’s opinion on the matter. Antigone does not believe that her status as a woman, or as a subject of Creon, should stop her from fulfilling the duty that she owes her brother. She is so repulsed upon hearing her sister’s views on this matter that she tells her that after hearing her views on the matter, she would not want Ismene to come and help her bury their brother, Polyneices, even if Ismene wanted to do it. This plainly shows how deeply ingrained the idea of familial obligation is in Antigone, and how appalled she is that her own sister would rather obey the law than fulfill the duty she owes her

Risk management in British Airways Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Risk management in British Airways - Essay Example The overall process has been designed in a manner that it remains an iterative process wherein the changes and implementation of the existing and new risk management practices are scrutinized on continuous basis.( Goh, 2011). British Airways (BA) has a separate Corporate Risk Management Group in place which not only oversees the organization wide risk management practices of the firm but is also involved in managing internal control systems of the company. The Corporate Risk Group is overseen by a management board and senior key executives to ensure that the involvement of the key senior managers remains so that required improvements could be achieved and the process is managed strategically. The existing risk management practices of BA involve not only the identification of the key risks and their drivers but also their mitigation and management. The overall process is monitored at the Board Audit Committee level and involves senior management to provide an independent review and in sight into the risk management practices of the firm. Current Risk Management Process The current risk management process and its infrastructure within the organization are based on a combination of independence and authority. BA has put in place a separate risk management group which has the overall responsibility of managing the corporate risk affairs of the firm. The group is headed by the Head of Corporate Risk and Internal Controls and oversees different aspects of the risk management process. Further, there is a supervisory management board which comprises of the key senior managers of the firm to provide strategic insight and ownership to the strategic management process within the organization. (Rothwell, 2011). Company maintains a corporate risk register which is actually used for the purpose of identifying the risks and recording them for the purpose of review and assessment. The overall assessment process is based on quarterly reviews wherein the management board as well as the senior managers along with the Corporate Risk Managers evaluate the existing and new risks and determine the future course of action. It is also important to note that this is the highest level within the organization which actually assess and outlines the risk management processes within the organization. The work is further distributed to the individual departments and risk leaders within each department responsible for the management of risk at the departmental and individual level. It is also important to note that the risk at the individual level is measured through an internally developed matrix called Heat Map. Heat Map takes into account each individual risk based on its likely impact and the overall likely scale.1 This therefore allows BA to map its overall risk identification process according to the overall importance and impact of the risk on the organization. Once the different critical risks are identified, mitigating factors for managing the risk are identified and are each risk is individually managed. A report is finally produced which attempt to address different risk issues and responsibilities and accountabilities are than fixed at the individual level to ensure that the overall process is delegated to the lowest level of the organization. It is also critical to understand that this report usually do not contain the mapped results and critical actions required to be undertaken. This is purposefully done by BA in order to

Red Lobster Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Red Lobster - Case Study Example Initially, the proposition was to make an easy to utilize programming bundle that did not require exceedingly a lot of computing force. MapInfo gave the first instruments to Microsoft that permitted them to incorporate mapping usefulness in their items, particularly the mapping extra marked as Microsoft Map for Microsoft Excel as a major aspect of MS Office 95. A Geographic Information System known as GIS view shed is the aftereffect of a capacity that decides, given a territory model, which territories on a guide or rather a map can be seen from a given point or rather focuses, line or range. In the communication industry, this capacity can be utilized to model radio wave scopes and to site handset towers for cell phones. However, there are lapses included with this capacity and, without the essential information; it cant represent building statures that may influence perceivability in urban zones. It is a crucial aspect for one to precisely show observable pathway which is well known as the line of sight, LOS of the radio wave scopes with a specific end goal to secure the feasibility of supplanting existing field routines with a geographical information system view shed analysis (Monedero, et al. 2008, p. 337). An inception point equipped for supporting a line of sight of a radio wave transmitter is to be chosen, for instance, from inside the Virginia Tech grounds study region which is the best zone for source point. A view shed analysis is then performed with ESRIs ArcView geographical information system, utilizing this site as the perception point and a 30 meter determination Digital Elevation Model, DEM from the United States Geological Survey is likewise compelling for that. To check the exactness of the view shed, it is fitting to transmit at 27.5 GHz, a line of sight of recurrence that ought to have properties regularly in the wireless telecommunication industry. Also, the use of Super Pad 3.1a as a geographical information system

An analysis of Strategic management

An analysis of Strategic management Initially strategic management was of most use to large corporations operating in multiple industries. Increasing risk of error, costly mistakes and even economic ruin are causing todays professional managers in all organizations to take strategic management seriously in order to keep their company competitive in an increasing volatile environment. (Frery 2006) Different authors have described strategic management as followed: The strategic management is used to present to strategic formulation, implementation and evaluation with strategic planning referring only the strategy formulation (Pearce Robinson 2000) the intention of the strategic management is to develop and produce new and different opportunities for future. As Mr. Potter refers that Strategy is the direction of an organization over the long term which achieves advantage in a changing environment through its configuration of resources and competences with the fulfilling stakeholder expectations. This in turn led to organizational development activities as reorganizing, new definitions of roles, jobs and etc. (Potter 1996) And also it can be carried in the strategic management is that set of managerial decision and action that determines the long run performance of a corporation. It includes environment scanning (both external and internal).strategic formulation (strategic or long range planning), strategic implementation and evaluation and control. As this definition implies, strategic management focuses on integrating management, marketing, finance, and production / operations, research and development and computer information system to achieve organizational success. (Hoskisson, Hitt Wan 1999) The study of strategic management therefore emphasizes the monitoring and evaluating of external opportunities and threats in light of a corporations strengths and weaknesses. Strategic management as a field of study incorporates the integrative concerns of business policy with a heavier environmental and strategic emphasis. Therefore strategic management has tended to replace business policy as the preferred name of the field. (Hoskisson, Hitt Wan 1999) The strategic management is a core area for an organization in order to explore the problems which result in success or failure. Strategic management has been defined as that set of decisions and actions which lead to the development of an effective strategy or strategies to help achieve corporate objectives. (Luffman, Lea, Sanderson and Kenny 1996) Basic stages of strategic management: The strategic management process consists of four basic stages. Environmental scanning, strategic formulation, strategic implementation, and evaluation and control. Environmental scanning:- Before an organization can begin strategy formulation, it must scan the environment to identify possible opportunities and threats and as well the strength and weaknesses. Environmental scanning is the monitoring, evaluating and disseminating of information from the internal and the external environments to key people within the organization. A organization use this method to avoid strategic surprise and to ensure its long term health. Research has found a positive relationship between environmental scanning and profit (Thomas, Clark Gioia 1993) Strategic formulation:- This is the expansion of the long range plans for the effective management of environmental opportunities and threats as well as the organization strength and weakness. It consist of defining the corporate mission, identify achievable objective, rising strategies the setting policies. Strategy formulation issue include deciding what new business to enter, what businesses to abandon, how to allocate resources, whether to expand operations or identify, whether to enter international markets, whether to merge or form a joint venture and how to avoid a hostile. Because every organizations have limited resources itself. So strategists ought to decide which alternative strategy will be benefit for the firm most. Top managers have the best perception of understanding effect of strategy formulation and they are the persons who have the authority to commit the resources necessary for implementation. (Hitt Michael 2006.) Strategic implementation:- Strategic implementation is the most difficult stage in strategic management. This process requires a firm to establish annual objectives, devise policies, motivate employees and allocate resources for the implementation of the formulated strategies. This is the process that converts the strategies and policies in to the action through the development of programs. Strategy implementation includes developing a strategy-supportive culture, creating an effective organizational structure, redirecting marketing efforts, plan the budgets, developing and utilizing information system and linking employee payment to organization performance. (Hitt Michael 2006.) Evaluation and control:- Strategic evaluation is the final stage in the strategic management. The purpose of this process is to evaluate the actual performance of an organization to do the comparison with the desire result. Because the strategic management processes were inappropriately used, operational managers must know about it. So that they can correct the employee activity. Evaluating and controlling is the major element of the strategic management to identify the weaknesses in previous executed strategic planes and thus stimulated the entire process to begin again. And all strategies are the subject to future modification because external and internal factors are continuously changing. Followings are the three fundamental strategy evaluation activities Reviewing external and internal factors that are the bases for current strategies. Measuring performance. Talking corrective action. (Hitt Michael 2006.) The phases of the strategic management: A firm generally evolves through the following four basic phases of strategic management Basic financial planning (phase. 1):- The project is based on the analysis very little proposed with the most information from the organization. The sales typically offer the small amount of environmental protection, information. Such simple operational planning is only pretending, strategic management, and it is quite time consuming. The time horizon is usually one year. (Gluck, Kaufman Welleck 1982) Forecast based planning (phase.2):- In addition to internal information, managers gather available data from environment to extrapolate the current trend of five years and future. This phase also time consuming. The process gets very political as managers compete for larger share and funds. The time horizon is usually three to five years. (Gluck, Kaufman Welleck 1982) Externally oriented planning (phase.3):- Top level management controls the planning process by the introduction of strategic planning. The company tries to increase its responsiveness to changing markets and competition through strategic thinking. Top management typically develops five-year plan with the help of consultants but input from lower levels. (Gluck, Kaufman Welleck 1982) Strategic management (phase.4):- The employees at many levels from various departments and works groups develop and integrate a serious of strategic plans aimed at achieving the companys primary objectives. The complicated annual five years plan is replaced with the help of all levels of the organization throughout the year. (Gluck, Kaufman Welleck 1982) Levels of strategic management: Strategy exists at a number of levels in an organization. They are, Corporate level strategy:- This is concerned about the overall scope of an organization and how value will be added to the different units of an organization. Corporate strategy tropically fit with the three main categories of stability, expansion and reduction of expenditure. (Ansoff 2002) According to Michael potter, a firm must formulate a business strategy that incorporates cost leadership, differentiation or focus in order to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage and long term success in its chosen areas or industries. (Potter 1993). Alternatively, according to Kim and Mauborgne, an organization can achieve high growth and profits by creating a blue ocean strategy that breaks the previous value cost trade off by simultaneously pursuing both differentiation and low cost. (Kim Mauborgne 2007) Eg:- Nicholas piramal follower a corporative growth strategy in order to have more share formulation drugs In corporate strategy, Johnson, Scholes and Whittington present models in which strategic option are evaluated against three key success criteria, Suitability (would it work?) Feasibility (can it be made to work) Acceptability (will they work it) (Johnson, Scholes Whittington 2008) Business level strategy:- The second level is business level strategy which is about how various businesses included in the business strategy and compete in their particular markets. Because of this reason business strategy is called as competitive strategy. This typically concerns issues such as pricing strategy, innovation or differentiation instance by better quality. So where ever corporate level strategy involves decision about the overall organization as a whole, strategic decision related to particular strategic business unit within the overall organization. (Johnson, Scholes Whittington 2008) According to Potters statement The business strategy must be maintained continually, in line with changes in the business and its environment. It should be formally reviewed at least annually as part of the business planning round; it provides the context for progress reporting on strategic themes. (Potter 1993). The business strategy must always show progress against plans to date, to enable planners to determine the current business environment and the impact that specific change programs and projects will have on the organization as a whole. There must be accurate, timely information about: Major investments to date, the corporate risk register, For each major investment, the risks associated with it. (Potter 1996) Operational strategy:- The third level of strategy is at the operating end of an organization. This is an approach taken by the functional areas to achieve the corporate objectives and strategies by maximizing the resources productivity.

The Good Earth :: Essays Papers

The Good Earth I was in a complete daze after reading Pearl S. Buck’s remarkable novel, The Good Earth. It was somewhat hard not to stop what I was doing afterwards and try to put myself in the characters’ shoes and visualize everything that happened in the book. I was so taken by the plot that I remember not wanting to put down the book till I knew what happened next in one of the conflicts in the story. Considering my reaction to it when I first got the book and my reaction to it now, you would really think it’s ironic. First of all I wasn’t quite happy when I found out about the reading we had to do and obviously not looking forward to reading having to squeeze it in my hectic after school schedule. I remember when I was at the bookstore and saw how thick of a book it was I thought to myself, â€Å"Great...here’s another long boring book.† But after reading it I eventually proved myself wrong and found out it was well worth reading it all the way thro ugh the last page. Pearl S. Buck did an outstanding job on the book’s vivid description of the characters, emphasizing the importance of Wang Lung’s land, and its sense of dramatic reality. The way the characters are described in the book you can really picture in your mind who they are. It’s very important to be able to visualize them because it helps you get to know them better as characters and have a better understanding of the book. One vivid description is O-lan’s, Wang Lung’s wife. â€Å"Wang Lung turned to the woman and looked at her for the first time. She had a square, honest face, a short, broad nose with large black nostrils, and her mouth was wide as a gash in her face. Her eyes were small and of a dull black color, and were filled with some sadness that was not clearly expressed. It was a face that seemed habitually silent and unspeaking, as though it could not speak if it would.† (p.19) As I was reading this I got the impression that O-lan would be a faithful wife to Wang Lung and it turned out I was right. The fact that she wasn’t beautiful didn’t matter at all. She served her family well. Another meaningful desc ription is Lotus’, Wang Lung’s first mistress, which has an irony to it if you compare it to O-lan’s.