The Da Vinci Code Essay Example for Free

The Da Vinci Code Essay Also searching for the Grail is a secret cabal within Opus Dei, an actual prelature of the Holy See, who wishes to keep the true Grail a secret; the revelation of this secret would certainly destroy Christianity. The Da Vinci Code film, like the book, was considered controversial. It was met with especially harsh criticism by the Roman Catholic Church for the accusation that it is behind a two-thousand-year-old coverup concerning what the Holy Grail really is and the concept that Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene were married and that the union produced a daughter. Many members urged the laity to boycott the film. Two secret organizations, the Priory of Sion and the Council of Shadows, whose existence is a polarizing issue, figure prominently in the story. In the book, Dan Brown insists that the Priory of Sion and all descriptions of artwork, architecture, documents and secret rituals in this novel are accurate. The Da Vinci Code was met with largely negative critical response upon its release on May 19, 2006. However, this did little to hamper its box office performance; it earned US$230 million in its opening weekend and was the second highest-grossing film of 2006 behind Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Mans Chest. Cast * Tom Hanks as Professor Robert Langdon * Audrey Tautou as Sophie Neveu * Ian McKellen as Sir Leigh Teabing * Paul Bettany as Silas * Jean Reno as BezuFache * Alfred Molina as Bishop Aringarosa * Charlotte Graham as Mary Magdalene * Jurgen Prochnow as Andre Vernet * Etienne Chicot as Lt. Jerome Collet * Jean-Yves Berteloot as Remy Jean (RemyLegaludec in the novel) * Jean-Pierre Marielle as Jacques Sauniere * Hugh Mitchell as Young Silas * Seth Gabel as Michael the Cleric * Marie-Francoise Audollent as Sister Sandrine Plot In Paris, Jacques Sauniere is pursued through the Louvres Grand Gallery by albino monk Silas (Paul Bettany), demanding the Priorys clef de voute or keystone. Sauniere confesses the keystone is kept in the sacristy of Church of Saint-Sulpice beneath the Rose before Silas shoots him. At the American University of Paris, Robert Langdon, a symbologist who is a guest lecturer on symbols and the sacred feminine, is summoned to the Louvre to view the crime scene. He discovers the dying Sauniere has created an intricate display using black light ink and his own ody and blood. Captain BezuFache (Jean Reno) asks him for his interpretation of the puzzling scene. Silas calls a mysterious man known as The Teacher, revealing that he has killed all four protectors of the keystone and that all confirmed the same location. He dons a metal cilice on his thigh and proceeds to flagellate himself with a whip for the sins of murder. Facilitated by Bishop Manuel Aringarosa, Silas then travels to Saint-Sul pice and is admitted by an elderly nun; left alone, he excavates beneath the floor of the church to find a stone saying only JOB 38:11. He confronts the nun, who quotes the passage: Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further. Realizing that he has been deceived, Silas is enraged and kills the nun. Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist with the French police, enters the Louvre as well and slips Langdon a message which leads him to the bathroom. There, Sophie meets him and tells him that he is being tracked, a GPS tracking dot has been (unknown by him) slipped into his jacket and that he is a primary suspect in the murder case because of a line of text found by the corpse (P. S. find Robert Langdon). Sophie however, believes that Sauniere, who is revealed to be her grandfather, wanted to pass a hidden message on to her (Princesse Sophie, P. S. , was the nickname he used for her), and that he had wanted to bring Langdon into the equation so that he could help her crack the code. Buying some time by throwing the tracking device into the back of a truck, the pair begin exploring the Louvre, finding more anagram messages that Sauniere had left behind. Many of these relate to Leonardo da Vincis art, and the pair find a key with a Fleur-de-lis behind Madonna of the Rocks. Langdon deduces from this that Sauniere was a member of the Priory of Sion, a secret society associated with the Knights Templar. Pursued by the French police and cut off from the United States Embassy, the pair escape to the Bois de Boulogne where Langdon closely inspects the key. He notices an inscription on the side – an address. The address directs them to the Depository Bank of Zurich where the key is used for a safety deposit box. In the bank, they find Saunieres deposit box and open it using the 10 digit Fibonacci numbers in order (1123581321). Inside the box, they find a rosewood container, which contains a cryptex: a cylindrical container with five alphabetical dials which must be arranged in the correct sequence to spell out a 5-letter code word, in order to open and access the papyrus message inside. Using force to open the cryptex would break a vial of vinegar inside, which would dissolve the papyrus and destroy the message. Unfortunately, the police are called by a security guard and they are forced to leave. The bank manager, Andre Vernet, assists them in escaping by taking them as passengers in an armoured van to escape the routine checks of the police. In the back of the truck Langdon and Neveu have a lengthy discussion about the cryptex and Neveu says that her grandfather often played games with her involving cryptexes. Langdon says that the cryptex might hold valuable information or another clue about what they are trying to discover. Eventually, they come to a sudden stop and Vernet forces them at gunpoint to give him the cryptex. Langdon tricks Vernet and disarms him and he and Sophie escape with the cryptex in their hands. Langdon suggests that they visit his friend, Leigh Teabing (Ian McKellen), for assistance to opening the cryptex. Leigh Teabing turns out to be an enthusiastic seeker of the Holy Grail, which he believes is not actually a cup but instead Mary Magdalene. Mary was pregnant at the time of Christs crucifixion, and Teabing tells Sophie that the Priory of Sion was formed to protect the descendants of Jesus. Jacques Sauniere was believed to be a part of this society and Teabing suspects that he was training Sophie to join it also. Silas, meanwhile, breaks into Teabings mansion and attempts to steal the cryptex. Teabing uses his cane to knock Silas out and they escape again, taking the butler, Remy Jean, and Silas with them. The group escapes in Teabings plane, following the next clue to London. Fache learns of their destination, and alerts the London Metropolitan Police to apprehend them at the airport. But Teabing manages to slip the party past the police with a trick of misdirection. Teabing leads Langdon and Neveu to the Temple Church in London, which is shown to be a red herring. Silas is freed by Remy Jean, who is revealed to be a follower of The Teacher as well. The two take Teabing hostage, and Silas, believing Remy to be The Teacher, holes up in an Opus Dei safehouse. Remy is killed by the mysterious man after deceiving Silas. Silas accidentally shoots Aringaros and is shot by the police. Aringarosa is taken to the hospital and apprehended by Fache. Langdon is betrayed by Teabing, who is revealed to be the true Teacher. He escapes with the Cryptex, and attempts to find the next clue at Isaac Newtons tomb in Westminster Abbey, as Newton was another member of the Priory. Langdon and Neveau catch up with him, and chase him into the nearby hapter house. Teabing explained that he wanted to find Mary Magdalenes remains to prove he was correct about the Holy Grail and threatens to shoot Sophie if Langdon does not open the cryptex. Langdon throws the cryptex into the air, and Teabing fumbles and destroys it. Distraught at not receiving the code, Teabing is arrested, but Langdon had cracked the code (Apple, a reference to Newton) and removed the cl ue from the cryptex before destroying it. Using the clue, they travel to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland where Magdalenes remains had previously been hidden. The remains had since been moved, but they meet other members of the secret organization that protected her. Sophie is actually Magdalenes descendant and therefore is the current living descendant of Jesus Christ. They vow to keep her safe before going their separate ways. In Paris, Langdon accidentally cuts himself while shaving and the line of blood on the sink reminds him of the Rose Line. He follows the Rose Line and finds the location of the Holy Grail, buried under the pyramid in the Louvre. Langdon then kneels above Mary Magdalenes tomb as the Knights Templar did before him. first-rate thriller . The exposition is actually the best and most valuable part of the film A great film to look at and Salvatore Totinos cinematography is pitch-perfect. This is a servicable enough adaptation, but like many others, the book is of course far better. Robert Langdon is a symbology professor who gets called into a criminal investigation that gets him wrongfully implicated. On the way to figu ring things out for himself, he begins a quest to discover the truth about the Holy Grail, the details having some very shocking revelations. I really liked the book. Its a standard thriller sure, but its so well written and thought provoking. In the end, you need to just put personal beliefs aside (same here) and just accept it as riveting and entertaing fiction. Even though it is just fiction, the details of the truth behind the Holy Grail are so well argued that Dan Browns ideas actually do seem like a realistic and plausible scenario. With this adaptation, it seems a little stiff, and more overly serious than the book, but its mostly faithful, for the most. Some details had to be changed for time concerns, others for content, but the end result here could be far worse. I enjoyed this a fair amount when I first saw it, but in revisiting it, some of that has worn off, and the films not as good as I initially thought, but its hardly a failure. Its just not as gripping and suspenseful as the book. The film is really well cast though, and their performances are better than average, especially those by Bettany and McKellan. The location shooting is good, the direction is fair, and having Howard as director ensures that the film has some decent clout and production values. All in all, its okay. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 (commonly referred to as Breaking Dawn – Part 1) is a 2011 romanticfantasy film directed by Bill Condon and based on the novel Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The first part of a two-part film forms the fourth installment in the The Twilight Saga series. All three main cast members, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner, reprise their roles. Plot Further information: Breaking Dawn The film starts out as Bella Swan plans her wedding with the Cullen family. Before the wedding, Edward Cullen tells Bella that he has murdered people in the past. Undaunted by this, Bella and Edward go ahead with the wedding. During the reception following her wedding to Edward, Bella is visited by her friend Jacob Black. When Bella admits that she and Edward plan to consummate their marriage during their honeymoon, Jacob becomes angry but is held back by his pack. He then runs off into the woods, and Edward takes an upset Bella back to the reception. The couple spends their honeymoon on the Cullens private Brazilian island. Although hesitant, Edward has sex with Bella for the first time. After, Edward realizes that he bruised Bellas arm, back and shoulders during sex and he vows to never be intimate with her again, much to her disappointment; he later gives in to her seductions. Two weeks into their honeymoon, Bella discovers that she is pregnant with a baby growing at an extraordinarily accelerated rate. After consulting with Carlisle, they rush back to Forks. Bella refuses to consider having an abortion, and enlists Rosalies help to protect her wishes. Opposed to Sam Uleys plans to kill Bella and her child, which is thought to be a demon, Jacob angrily leaves his pack and arrives at the Cullens to protect Bella; Seth and Leah Clearwater join him, forming a new wolf pack. As the pregnancy progresses, Bellas health severely deteriorates. As a last resort, she begins drinking blood, which satisfies the fetus vampiric thirst and allows her to regain some strength. Soon afterward, Bella goes into a painful labor and gives birth to her child, Renesmee, anconflation of the names of Bellas mother, Renee and Edwards adoptive mother, Esme. To save her life, Edward injects Bellas heart with his venom to transform her into a vampire, but nothing seems to happen and Bella is thought to be dead. Greatly distraught, Jacob attempts to kill the baby, but stops when he realizes he has imprinted on the child. When the werewolves learn of Bellas death, they attack the Cullens house in an attempt to kill the baby. They are forced to stop after learning Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee (imprinting is the involuntary response when a werewolf finds his soul mate; thus under their wolf law, Renesmee cannot be harmed).

The Life And Work Of Carl Rogers Philosophy Essay

The Life And Work Of Carl Rogers Philosophy Essay Carl Rogers was born on January 8 1902 in Chicago, Illinois and was the fourth of six children. His father was a successful civil engineer and as such was often away from home, leaving his mother to raise them and so he grew up closer to his mother than to his father. His family was very close, however, and highly religious but friendship outside the family was discouraged; reason being that others behaved in ways that were inappropriate and contrary to the familys beliefs. These included smoking, drinking, going to the movies etc. and so the family decided that it was better to live separate from such folk and to avoid communicating with them, but the best that they could do was to be tolerant of them. Rogers was a loner in school and as such took refuge in books. He read everything possible including dictionaries and encyclopaedias. When Rogers was 12 his father moved his family to a farm such that they could live in a more wholesome and religious atmosphere. There his father insisted that they run a farm and it was here that Rogers developed a deep interest in agriculture. After high school he enrolled in the University of Wisconsin in 1919 to study agriculture, however because he was still very active in church activities he was chosen in 1922 to attend the World Student Christian Federation Conference in Peking, China. This trip was a life changing experience for Rogers that lasted six months and which, for the first time, allowed him to experience people of different religions. This new experience made such an impact on Rogers that he wrote to is parents declaring his independence from their conservative religion, and almost immediately developed an ulcer that caused him to be hospitalized for several weeks. Rogers changed his major upon returning to university and graduated in 1924 with a degree in History. Shortly after graduation he married his childhood sweetheart, Helen Elliott, and they eventually had two children together. Soon after marriage Rogers move to New York and enrolled in the liberal Union Theological Seminary while also taking courses in psychology and education at neighbouring Columbia University. However, doubts about the religious approach to helping people caused him to transfer to Columbia University full-time and where he then earned his masters degree in clinical psychology in 1928 and his doctorate in 1931. His dissertations concerned the measurement of personality adjustment in children and thus lead him to work for the Child Study Department of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to children in Rochester, New York. As a result of his experiences here he developed his own brand of psychotherapy. While working at the Society he wrote his first book entitle d The Clinical Treatment of the Problem Child. Thereafter he was offered a position at Ohio State University at the rank of full professor, and it was then at the age of 38 that he decided to begin a new career in the academic world. In 1944 Rogers took leave from Ohio State to become director of counselling services for the United Services Organization in New York. After one year he moved to the University of Chicago as professor of psychology and director of counselling and it was during this time that he wrote what others thought to be his most important work, Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications, and Theory (1951). In 1957, Rogers returned to the University of Wisconsin where he held the dual position of professor of psychology and professor of psychiatry. In 1963, he joined the Western Behavioural Sciences Institute (WBSI) in La Jolla, California where he eventually formed the Center for the Studies of the Person. Rogers continued to work on the Vienna Peace Project and peace workshops in Moscow until his death on February 4, 1987 from cardiac arrest following surgery for a broken hip. Carl Rogerss revolutionary and most important work brought out in his book Client-Centered Therapy: Its Current Practice, Implications, and Theory (1951) marked a change in his approach to psychology. At first his approach was called nondirective, because he believed that in a positive therapeutic atmosphere clients would solve their problems automatically, but his practice became client-centered when he realized that the therapist had to make an active attempt to understand and accept a clients subjective reality before any real progress could be made. Rogers set out to use a method called the Q-technique in order to measure the effectiveness of therapy where he had clients describe themselves as they were at the moment (real self) and then as they would like to become, (ideal self). The two selves were measured in such a way as to allow the correlation between them to be determined. Normally when the therapy begins, the correlation between the two selves is very low, but if therapy is effective it becomes larger, that is the real self becomes more similar to the ideal self. This technique helps the therapist to determine the effectiveness of his or her procedures at any point during, or after, therapy. Rogers rejected the deterministic approach of psychoanalytic theory and behaviourism brought about by Freud and other psychologists. Instead Rogers believed that behaviour is a response to the individuals perception/ interpretation of external stimuli. As no-one else can know how we perceive, were the best experts on understanding our own behaviour. Rogers also sees human nature in a very positive and optimistic light, quoting: There is no beast in man; there is only man in man. A description of self, which is an organised, consistent set of perceptions and beliefs about oneself, helped to set the pace on Rogerss humanistic approach, describing that the awareness of who a person is and what they can do influences both their perception of the world and their behaviour. By evaluating every experience in terms of self, most human behaviour can be understood as an attempt to maintain consistency between ones self-image and ones actions. This self image may not always be achieved and self-image may differ quite radically from our actual behaviour and from how others see us. For example a person may be highly successful and respected by others, and yet regard him/herself as a failure. This is what Rogers called an incongruent person that is a person whose internal guidance system or organismic valuing process is replaced by positive regards of persons we look up to who would only love us based on whether or not we do what they want us to do, also known as conditio ns of worth, as a guide for living. When incongruent experiences, feelings, actions, etc come into conflict with self image they can be threatening and as such access to awareness may be denied through actual denial, distortion or blocking. These defence mechanisms prevent the self from growing and changing and widen the gap between self-image and reality. The more the self-image changes and becomes unrealistic; the incongruent person becomes more confused, vulnerable, dissatisfied and eventually seriously maladjusted. As a contrast the congruent person is flexible and changes realistically as new experiences occur, thus when our self-image matches what we really think and feel and do, we are in the best position to self-actualise. Like Maslow, Rogers assumed every human being has an innate drive toward self-actualisation, and if people use this tendency in living their lives, there is a strong likelihood that they will live fulfilling lives and ultimately reach their full potential. This is what was earlier described as the organismic valuing process. Persons who uses this process is motivated by his or her own true feelings and is living what the existentialists call an authentic live, that is, a live motivated by a persons true inner feelings rather than beliefs, traditions, values or conventions imposed by others. Rogers once remarked that all of my professional life I have been going in directions which others thought were foolish, but I have never regretted moving in directions which felt right, even though I have often felt lonely or foolish at the time. Experience is for me, the highest authority. Neither the Bible nor the prophets, neither Freud nor research, neither the revelations of God nor man can take precedence over my own experience. Rogers claim that most people do not live according to their innermost feelings. He claims that the problem begins at birth where there is need for positive regard where such regards involves receiving such things as love, warmth, sympathy, and acceptance from the relevant people in a childs life. This positive regard given freely to a child would not pose a problem however the problem arises only when there are conditions of worth which happens when relevant persons in that childs life only give positive regard if they act or think in accordance with those relevant people in their lives. Rogers conclude that as long as people live their lives according to someone elses values instead of their own true feeling, experience will be edited and certain experiences that would have been in accord with the organismic valuing process will be denied. Rogers offer one way to avoid imposing conditions of worth on people, and that is to give them unconditional positive regard where they are loved and respected for what they truly are; and as such allowing that person to become a fully functioning person. Since Rogers viewed incongruency as the cause of mental disorders, he therefore believed that the goal of psychotherapy is to help people overcome conditions of worth and again live in accordance with their organismic valuing processes. He states The path of development toward psychological maturity, the path of therapy, is the undoing of this estrangement in mans functioning, the dissolving of conditions of worth, the achievement of a self which is congruent with experience, and the restoration of a unified organismic valuing process as the regulator of behaviour. Thus here lies the need for Rogerss person-centered therapy. Rogers believe that therapy needs the right climate, which rests not on technique but on the relationship between therapist and client. He proposed three core conditions that he claimed are both necessary and sufficient for this relationship. These include: Warmth where the therapist must have respect for the client and display complete acceptance of the person in his or her own right at that moment in time, which should be accompanied by a non-judgemental attitude towards the client. Genuineness where the therapist must show that they are a real person, with thoughts and feelings, which should be expressed where appropriate. This enhanced by self-disclosure. Empathy where the therapist must enter the clients inner world which can be achieved through genuine, attentive listening and restating what the client says, in order to clarify its emotional significance. Also the therapist must be sensitive to the clients problem and sense the pleasure or hurt of the client as if it were his own. The therapists main task is therefore to create a therapeutic atmosphere in which clients can become fully integrated again. This can be achieved only if clients reduce their conditions of worth, and increase their unconditional positive self-regard. The therapists job is to create a situation in which clients can change themselves, and this is aided by an emotionally warm, accepting, understanding and non-evaluative relationship in which the person is free from threat and has the freedom to be the self that he/she really is. Rogerss person-centered psychology has been applied to such diverse areas as religion, medicine, law enforcement, ethnic and cultural relations, politics, international conflict, organizational development education, personal power and marriage. The humanistic approach popularised by Carl Rogerss person-centered theory which believes that human beings who are free to plan their own actions, and ultimately their own destiny are struggling to grow and to make difficult decisions that will profoundly affect their lives; and as a result of these decisions, each of us becomes unique and responsible for our own behaviour. Rogerss person-centered therapy is based on the assumption of freewill and the therapist helps clients to excercise free will in such a way as to maximize the rewards of their lives. To conclude, I must say that I find Carl Rogerss humanistic approach of person-centered therapy as very insightful and interesting. His theory of self and concentrating thereupon making ones self perception more important than that of others perception is one that I would support even though I am of the opinion that other persons perception of another do matter but not to the highest degree. I am also excited and supportive of the process of reconciliation between ones real self which who one is at the moment and ones ideal self which is what one would like to become. This brings about the self-actualisation aspect of person-centered therapy and I strongly agree with it in that I think that everyone should aspire to be the best that they can be while living and as such they may be able to live a more fulfilling (authentic) life. I also agree with a persons need for positive regard in that in order for us to strive to do our best we need some sort of support system, not necessarily ou r parents, but others also to encourage us and affirm us that we can be better at anything and everything that we do, which indeed should start from birth. Although I agree that it is important for persons to be motivated and to esteem self to a high degree, I also think that we are interdependent beings who need each others guidance on matters which we are not yet familiar and thus we cannot rule out others opinions and perceptions of us which might add significantly to our growth. Also, we live in a world where there are extremists, who are persons who old fast to personal views and liberalists who are persons who feel like anything goes and those who have a balance between the two. We are brought up by these groups of people and it is inevitable that we should suffer as inefficient beings who lack unconditional positive regard, however when we are old enough to decipher the best possible group to be associated with the better it is for us to be able to live an authentic life. I think that Rogerss view where he stated that Experience is for me, the highest authority is based entirely on his experience with his family and their conservative religious lifestyle compared to that which he experienced after declaring independence from their beliefs; and although a I respect his views I totally disagree that experience is the highest authority. This is so because I believe with all of my mental capacity that God above anyone or anything else can do for us, through us, in us and about us what we can never conceive. The bible says that He is able and willing if we just ask and believe. So I all in all I would prefer and would encourage other to try and live a more holistic life rather than a more authentic life and if we have problems achieving this then seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things shall be added unto you. I think that person-centered therapy, despite its discrepancies, is a fairly reasonable approach and I would recommend it second to God.

Isolation as the Root of Hamlets Torment Essay -- Essays on Shakespear

Isolation as the Root of Hamlet's Torment Does Hamlet stand alone? Does this magnate of English literature hold any bond of fellowship with those around him, or does he forge through his quandaries of indecision, inaction and retribution in solitude? Though the young Dane interacts with Shakespeare's entire slate of characters, most of his discourse lies beneath a cloud of sarcasm, double meaning and contempt. As each member of Claudius' royal court offers their thickly veiled and highly motivated speech Hamlet retreats further and further into the muddled depths of his conflict-stricken mind. Death by a father, betrayal by a mother, scorn by a lover and abhorrence by an uncle leave the hero with no place to turn, perhaps creating a sense of isolation painful enough to push him towards the brink of madness.   Ã‚  Ã‚   With the supporting cast of detractors circled around him, Claudius clearly constitutes the core of Hamlet's opposition. The king's animosity towards Hamlet spreads to the rest of his entourage in the same way that his refusal to mourn his brother's passing left only the prince in black attire and dark-eyed grief. Claudius and the others each make weakly shrouded attempts to gain Hamlet's support, but the deafening falsity of their gestures leaves little doubt about their true sentiments. The first appearance of King and nephew together begins with the disingenuous greeting, "But now, my cousin Hamlet, and my son-" (1.2, 64) to which Hamlet sardonically retorts, "A little more than kin, and less than kind!" (1.2, 65).   Ã‚  Ã‚   This initial encounter between the two men reveals a sea of mutual hostilities and as a broker of the king's will, Polonius parallels such an antagonism. The advisor's first meeting with Haml... ...is inaction. The tragic hero walks a very lonely role, and this seclusion probably deserves a mention in literature's eternal search for the roots of his torment. With words more sage than he realizes, Polonius condenses Hamlet's entire struggle into a single poignant idea: "The origin and commencement of his grief / Sprung from neglected love" (3.1, 180-181). Polonius and Laertes derail Ophelia's tenderness, and Claudius' persuasion steals the heart of Gertrude. A unanimous lack of mourning scoffs at Hamlet's deep esteem for his fallen father and even the companionship of his childhood friends succumbs to Claudius' menacing demands. The end result is a huge gulf between ally and adversary, a gulf that ultimately plummeted Hamlet to the depths of psychological torment. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman,1997.

Hitler :: History, Nazi, Race Relations

Racism has been present in our world for more than 3,000 years. Take African-Americans, before the Million Man March, Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, black people were given less respect than dogs. For the first century of our country ¹s existence, blacks were slaves with no rights. Even after the Civil War freed them, there was no equal opportunity and much oppression of them by whites, particularly in the South. They were constant targets of violence and were put to death by racist hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ¹s civil rights movement was the first step towards a truly de-segregated America. If it had not been for people like Dr. King, Maya Angelou and other strong-willed and just people, the country would probably still have two types of rest rooms-- one for whites and one for blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism has been running rampant in our country through out history. In the United States during World War II, citizens of Japanese origin were taken form their homes on the West Coast and moved to inland camps by our government because, after the Japanese attack on pearl Harbor, our   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -2-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   government made a generalization abut the Japanese. It decided that the Japanese Americans were a threat and so they decided to put them in camps. These camps were internment camps, not harsh like concentration camps, but devastating for people who considered themselves -- and were -- every bit as loyal citizens as the people who were incarcerating them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In society today people look for an easy way out of problems. Hitler :: History, Nazi, Race Relations Racism has been present in our world for more than 3,000 years. Take African-Americans, before the Million Man March, Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, black people were given less respect than dogs. For the first century of our country ¹s existence, blacks were slaves with no rights. Even after the Civil War freed them, there was no equal opportunity and much oppression of them by whites, particularly in the South. They were constant targets of violence and were put to death by racist hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and Nazis. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. ¹s civil rights movement was the first step towards a truly de-segregated America. If it had not been for people like Dr. King, Maya Angelou and other strong-willed and just people, the country would probably still have two types of rest rooms-- one for whites and one for blacks.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Racism has been running rampant in our country through out history. In the United States during World War II, citizens of Japanese origin were taken form their homes on the West Coast and moved to inland camps by our government because, after the Japanese attack on pearl Harbor, our   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -2-   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   government made a generalization abut the Japanese. It decided that the Japanese Americans were a threat and so they decided to put them in camps. These camps were internment camps, not harsh like concentration camps, but devastating for people who considered themselves -- and were -- every bit as loyal citizens as the people who were incarcerating them.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In society today people look for an easy way out of problems.

The Red Convertible Essay examples -- Analysis, Louise Erdrich

Symbolism is a quintessential element in all writing, whether it is prose or a poem. â€Å"The Red Convertible,† a short story written by Louise Erdrich, tells the story of the destructive nature of war, via the strain caused on the families from improper deconditioning. The main characters in the story, Lyman and Henry Lamartine, are brothers that develop a seemingly inseparable bond through a car; a red convertible. Lyman, the younger of the two was very hard-working and could always â€Å"make money† (Erdrich 394). He manages to ascend up the employment ladder at Joliet Cafà © from â€Å"washing dishes† (Erdrich 394) to eventually owning the establishment. Henry was soon drafted into the war and became a Marine. Upon returning from the Vietnam War â€Å"Henry was very different† (Erdrich 396) and â€Å"the change was no good† (Erdrich 396). Additionally, with the name in the title, it is only befitting that the convertible play a very impo rtant factor in the short story. The red convertible, Henry’s refusal to remove his war garments, and the picture of the two brothers are symbols that make the story complete by providing a view of their lives and personality. Although there are many symbols throughout the story, the most established is the red convertible. Louise Erdrich uses the red convertible as a symbolic representation of not only Lyman and Henry’s relationship but all war separated families. The convertible served as a common enjoyment of both brothers and is representative of their independence. When Henry returned from the war scarred, â€Å"quiet, and never comfortable sitting still anywhere† (Erdrich 396). Lyman was upset that his brother was acting differently, so, in order to spark emotion and â€Å"interest† (Erdrich 396) Lyman damaged th... ...d Lyman’s relationship. A noteworthy example is when Lyman â€Å"plows† (Erdrich 400) the automobile into the river. Eventually, the car engine dies; just like Henry and the relationship of the two brothers. Clothes, an occupational indicator in this instance, show Henry’s inability to remove himself from war. His garments act as a binding force and a memory that will oppress him until death. Comparatively, the picture serves as a reminder of the past that continues to haunt Lyman, so much in fact, that he â€Å"put the picture in a brown bag and folded the bag over and over tightly† (Erdrich 398). The author uses the most disparaging facet of living, death, to portray that life is not everlasting and that although we will not live forever, our memories will. Symbols deepen the story by opening a gateway into the emotional and physical states of the brothers. The Red Convertible Essay examples -- Analysis, Louise Erdrich Symbolism is a quintessential element in all writing, whether it is prose or a poem. â€Å"The Red Convertible,† a short story written by Louise Erdrich, tells the story of the destructive nature of war, via the strain caused on the families from improper deconditioning. The main characters in the story, Lyman and Henry Lamartine, are brothers that develop a seemingly inseparable bond through a car; a red convertible. Lyman, the younger of the two was very hard-working and could always â€Å"make money† (Erdrich 394). He manages to ascend up the employment ladder at Joliet Cafà © from â€Å"washing dishes† (Erdrich 394) to eventually owning the establishment. Henry was soon drafted into the war and became a Marine. Upon returning from the Vietnam War â€Å"Henry was very different† (Erdrich 396) and â€Å"the change was no good† (Erdrich 396). Additionally, with the name in the title, it is only befitting that the convertible play a very impo rtant factor in the short story. The red convertible, Henry’s refusal to remove his war garments, and the picture of the two brothers are symbols that make the story complete by providing a view of their lives and personality. Although there are many symbols throughout the story, the most established is the red convertible. Louise Erdrich uses the red convertible as a symbolic representation of not only Lyman and Henry’s relationship but all war separated families. The convertible served as a common enjoyment of both brothers and is representative of their independence. When Henry returned from the war scarred, â€Å"quiet, and never comfortable sitting still anywhere† (Erdrich 396). Lyman was upset that his brother was acting differently, so, in order to spark emotion and â€Å"interest† (Erdrich 396) Lyman damaged th... ...d Lyman’s relationship. A noteworthy example is when Lyman â€Å"plows† (Erdrich 400) the automobile into the river. Eventually, the car engine dies; just like Henry and the relationship of the two brothers. Clothes, an occupational indicator in this instance, show Henry’s inability to remove himself from war. His garments act as a binding force and a memory that will oppress him until death. Comparatively, the picture serves as a reminder of the past that continues to haunt Lyman, so much in fact, that he â€Å"put the picture in a brown bag and folded the bag over and over tightly† (Erdrich 398). The author uses the most disparaging facet of living, death, to portray that life is not everlasting and that although we will not live forever, our memories will. Symbols deepen the story by opening a gateway into the emotional and physical states of the brothers.

Images to Text

Also, the e-governance model is not so strong and hence to ensure compliance and to avoid unnecessary litigation with the various government legislations across countries, companies main overcautious in their approach leading to â€Å"death by paper Most Back-end systems are fairly automated and where the transactions are electronically processed the STEP rates are Increasing day to day. While there Is a focus on STEP and targets set to minimize paper usage there Is still considerable amount of manual work in terms of form filling, Applications for Mutual Funds, Telecoms, Credit Cards etc†¦Manual Processing of Application Forms from multiple Customers is a laborious/time- consuming and highs process. Even though the OCCUR technology has been in vogue he accuracy rates of conversion of manual handwritten Information to text are extremely low and hence Industry acceptance has been low as it adds to the risk and complexity of the transactions. These are confidential information an d cannot be shredded publicly or stored without proper controls / documentation.The Companies these days have a dual blow hit on the bottom lines – archival of soft copies and archival of the papers as most auditors world wide continue to remain paper based and it adds as a â€Å"comfort† to the Top Management. There is a significant Operational Risk for any manual function right from reanimating the paper to the execution of the operation. Several errors occur while reproducing the information from paper to system. Generally the errors seem as Common Sense in hindsight but with the huge volumes and extremely stringent cut- offs human lapses are bound to happen.More the number of fields, operation required – greater the probability of errors to occur. It has been seen that multiple levels of control (Maker, Checker, Authorizer etc†¦ ) are still not sufficient to capture such errors. Simple Illustration This is a simple redemption form which is generally man ually submitted to: Tat's front office 0 Back office of the TA 0 Settlements team 0 Payments team Found Accounting team – The Application is generally printed tallest times by different teams. Duplication of data fields across various teams – There are tallest 2 checklists printed for each form – Minimum of 12 to 15 data fields are to be input in the system manually by looking at the form About (Image To Data) â€Å"IT'D† Tool IT'D Tool is an Application/Utility for processing of Images (. PDF, Jpg, Jeep) / scanned images and converting them to data. The data converted is stored in database which can be integrated to the Transaction Processing system.Algorithms to scan the Application Form Image to ASCII Format Representation which is further processed in Java for normal/plain text conversion and subsequently stored into the Database (Oracle/ MYSELF) IT'D provisions global configuration settings to externalities the dependencies involved in processing and storing the Application Form Data Proposed Model Define Analyze Analyses Content Required Fields a. Standardization Forms Identification of b. Fields Definition Fields computerized text with I'. Fields with Manual Text iii.Barrowed / OCCUR fields Identifying which information / fields are elevate for processing Extract Automate Content Extraction Process Automation a. Extract the requisite fields in text / editable data format using â€Å"IT'D Tool† developed by NICE b. Determining how much the text is computerized / manual c. Identifying fields which have to remain as images only for cross-verification e. G. Signature b. Since accuracy cannot be 100% guaranteed the process SHOULD continue to follow the Maker / Checker process a. Convert data extracted to XML for c.v. for upload purposes b.Interface to be created for Integration with Transaction Processing System c. Workflow to be designed based on the success percentage of data conversion d. Logical Access Controls validate d Overview of Architecture Application Form Scanning Imaginative Engine Send Processed Form Data to DB Store Scanned Enterprise Architecture Integration (EAI) Automatic Integration Capability with any other legacy systems External Systems / Databases oracle/MYSELF Benefits Productivity: We expect the product to deliver results with over 80% accuracy.This would mean a significant cycle time reduction and the company should be able to reduce manpower by tallest 40% in the first year of implementation Risk Management: Without dilution of controls the manual intervention is reduced by over 80%. The team will be provided with a dashboard of exceptions which will highlight potential areas of errors. â€Å"Management by Exception† Scalability: Increased volumes do not correspond to increase in man-power cost.On-boarding of any new volumes / client would be a cake walk Client Delight: With lower manual intervention TAT would improve significantly thereby significantly improving the T imeliness and delighting the client with â€Å"Early to Market† reports Go Green: The entire process including Checklists can be based in the system hereby doing away with print-outs and their associated costs / maintenance issues.We would be contributing our bit to protect the environment Placement Services Statutory Compliance COMA, MOM Executive Education, CA Flexi-staffing Payroll Processing Soft Skills, Personality Development Trainings Start up Hiring Organizational Structuring Manufacturing Top Line Improvement Project Report / Funding Risk Based Internal Audit Credentials Verification Finance, Risk Management and Audits Programs for Educational Institute Statistical ProcessControl Advisory Software Marketing Software Support Accounting Services Funding & Business Plans Compliance Monitoring Software Development Indirect Taxation & International Non-Resident Taxation Application Development Software Maintenance Networking Support Identifying the Type of Registration Re gistration across various Acts Management and Legal Consultancy Functional Testing Non-functional Testing Core Services Performance Engineering Corporate Synopsis Our Organizational behavior and Management Strategy to achieve our Vision Focused Actions

Discuss the Major Issues Associated With Expatriate Failure and Assess Some Strategies HR Can Formulate and Implement In Order To Increase the Rate of Successful Assignments

Introduction The importance of the management of expatriate’s has grown as the number of multinational companies has increased significantly over the last few decades, therefore increasing the need to be aware of potential problems which could cause high failure rates in expatriate assignments (Anderson,2005). Porter and Tansky (1999) write that an unsuccessful expatriate assignment is very costly for both an organisation and the expatriate themselves. But despite this very few companies have adequate processes for both selecting and training these expatriates. As Harzing (1995: 457) notes, virtually every writer measures expatriate failure as â€Å"the percentage of expatriates returning home before their assignment contract expires†. Brewster (1988) also defines failure as assignments where expatriates were brought home earlier than planned. Brewster and Scullion (1997) say that the fact that corporations have heavy cost pressures has led to the policies for employee movement acro ss countries being looked at. They also observe that it is becoming more noticeable that both the social and economic cost of failure in business abroad is more damaging than business done in home countries, especially in terms of market share and damage of customer trust (Zeira and Banai,1984). It is therefore pertinent for academic research to both look at the major issues associated with expatriate failure and why expatriates often ‘fail’ in their assignments. From reading the literature these can be identified mainly as a lack of thorough selection procedures from employers to identify which managers would be successful on assignments in foreign countries. This can range from not identifying what attributes certain candidates have that would make them more likely to succeed, to not identifying the family situations of potential expatriates which would also be conducive to successful assignments abroad. Once these factors have been identified it is then logical to assess what procedures could be put in place for the company to stop failure of expatriate assignments and how they can identify successful candidates for the roles. This is the format this essay will follow. Reasons for expatriate failure This study will first look at the issues associated with expatriate failure and what reasons and factors there are which lead to this end result. Enderwick and Hodgson (1993) observe that expatriate failure is caused by rash recruitment policies combined with preparation and training which is not thorough enough for the manager. This draws attention to the limited role of HR in the management of expatriates, and Halcrow (1999) also writes that HR are confined to administrative support as opposed to playing any meaningful role in any strategic aspects. It is this lack of attention to detail and impulsive selection practice for expatriates which causes many of the problems. It fails to identify different characteristics and traits which are likely to be conducive to success in expatriate projects. Klaus (1995) notes that in the majority of companies expatriate selection happens quickly and irrationally. Something which is inherent in many international businesses is the fact that their selection procedures for expatriate managers are rather informal and they do not possess thorough enough assessments (Brewster.1991). Mendenhall and Oddou (1985: 39) argue that companies often think that domestic performance success would equal overseas performance success, regarding the manager’s technical skills as being the most important factor to consider when looking at candidates to select for managing projects abroad. This shows a disregard for identifying the differences which can affect performances in different countries and cultures. The underlying assumption that companies who use this formula is that â€Å"Managing [a] company is a scientific art. The executive accomplishing the task in New York can surely perform as adequately in Hong Kong† (Baker & Ivancevich,1971: 40). Therefore a lot of multinational companies tend to send the manager and their family to the foreign countries without any cultural training. And when training is administered it is often far too broad or is not followed up with any reflection on how effective it was (Tung, 1981). Brewster and Scullion (1997) discuss these difficulties that International companies who do actually undertake training and development programmes for expatriates come across. The first of these is that the manager not only has to adjust to a new job but also to an entirely different culture which they are not familiar with (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985). As well as this, there is the family to consider. Training programmes for families also needs to be addressed as this is considered a major factor behind expatriate failure, and this is often not addressed correctly or at all. There is however, evidence that managers themselves value cultural training an awful lot and see the benefits from this (Brewster and Pickard, 1994). Cross-cultural training has long been proven to enable effective cross cultural assignments, yet still a lot of firms do not utilise this (Black, 1988). Different training and developmental models for these managers working abroad have been worked on over the last decade. These tend to take into account the job and the individual as well as the culture before deciding the amount and type of personal development that is required (Tung, 1981). Mendenhall and Oddou (1986) have developed a ’cross- cultural training approach’, consisting of three varying levels. Information-giving approaches are those which consist of factual briefings and cultural awareness development. Affective approaches would usually consist of cultural development combined with different scenarios and role plays. Finally, immersion approaches. These are different styles of assessment centres and in the field experience and scenarios. According to this model the style of management training given should take into account on a number of factors dependent on the project and the manager. These could include the length of stay and the amount of integration required to fit in with the host culture.(Mendenhall and Oddou, 1986) Mendenhall et al. acknowledge there are many personal obstacles which could lead to many expatriates not completing their assignments and being branded a failure. These include factors such as â€Å"culture shock, differences in work-related norms, isolation, homesickness, differences in health care, housing, schooling, cuisine, and the cost of living, to name but a few† (1987: 331). These are all personal characteristics and attributes which would affect expatriate manager’s morale and ability to do an effective job. Porter and Tansky (1999) write that a high learning orientation is critical for an expatriate manager, this is because they will have continual experiences which are not similar to those they usually experience, and will need to be able to be resilient in the face of different challenges. Anderson (2005: 567) notes that although in the private sector the selection of expatriates is usually down to their technical competence, with â€Å"minimal attention being paid to the interpersonal skills and domestic situations of these potential expatriates†, that non-government organisations do actually utilise methods such as psychological testing and a variety of methods to ensure that the expatriates family is taken into consideration as well . These methods therefore usually lead to more effective expatriate assignments and less failures, in the next section of this report we will delve deeper into ways in which the likelihood of expatriate success can be increased. What can be done to improve expatriate failure rates? Currently the selection processes for expatriate candidates are not effective enough in predicting which managers will be successful in these assignments. It is necessary to focus on how these can be improved to address the rate of failures among expatriates. Halcrow (1999) has reported that less than two thirds of a survey of HR professionals identified personality as an important consideration when picking expatriate candidates, and 11 percent said it has little or no importance at all to the process. Family issues were also given the lowest of priorities, and 25 percent did not regard them as important. Here then, are the issues that need to be addressed, as can be seen from the previous section whereby these were identified as major factors in the success of expatriate projects. Effective selection, training and placement of expatriate managers is critical to international success argue Nicholson et al. (1990), and therefore the procedures put in place for this need to be effecti ve. Mendenhall et al.(1987: 333) state they have attempted to find the criteria which can predict productivity and acclimatisation in overseas assignments, and that a set of personality factors have been identified by numerous authors. They profess that these are â€Å"self-orientation, others-orientation and perceptual orientation† . Self-orientation includes factors such as how to reduce stress and how managers deal with being alone whilst abroad. ‘Others’ orientation includes factors such as how good the manager is at forming relationships and their ability to communicate with others. ‘Perceptual’ orientation includes different factors such as how flexible a person is and how open minded they can be. However, they indicate that US firm’s still appear to use only technical competence as their criteria for expatriate selection, and this is what needs to change as that is not a great predictor of expatriate manager success. The model proposed by Ay can (1997) also says that factors should be identified which are expected to account for a substantial amount of variance in expatriate adjustment. This is the fit between the expatriate and their environment which leads to less stress and better work productivity. This encompassed psychological, socio cultural and work adjustment. It is also required that organisational support and preparation is necessary. Porter and Tansky write about the possibility of a learning orientation which could be important for both assessment and training for expatriates. They suggest that employee’s with weaker learning orientation could result in low levels of judgement in challenging foreign circumstances and vice versa. They state that this learning orientation approach could â€Å"benefit employees and their families and can increase the organisation’s chance for international success† (1999: 48). Porter and Tansky (1999: 50) observe that to eliminate the risk of expatriate failure that more emphasis should be placed on: â€Å"better identification of employee’s who are likely to function effectively in different cultures, development activities to enhance functioning in the expatriate role, and systematic analysis of problems during the expatriate assignment.† Mendenhall et al (1997) observe the impact upon spouses and families is also not taken into account when sel ecting managers for expatriation. As can be seen in the previous half of this report, how their family copes with the relocation can impact greatly upon the morale of expatriate managers. Some academics also suggest that the families of expatriates should be assessed on similar criteria to the managers themselves. Stone (1986) observes that failing to identify this problem is the greatest failure in the selection process for expatriates. Therefore one would have to agree that, as the family is seen as a major factor in whether a expatriate manager succeeds or not then they should definitely be taken into account during the selection process. Guptara (1986) has written that there are a number of psychological tests that can be used in the recruitment processes for expatriates to test such psychological traits which could be conducive to successful expatriates, however this does not appear to be commonplace in corporate recruitment processes. Ioannou (1995) discusses the results of a National Foreign Trade Council of New York survey. Here it was shown that a variety companies did not use any form of psychological testing for possible expatriate managers. Tung (1982) finds that it is extremely rare that a company carries out a thorough assessment of a manager who is being considered to work in another part of the company abroad. Porter and Tansky (1999) advocate the application of a learning orientation to help this. They suggest questionnaire responses to show details on a managers beliefs about different traits and if they possess them. As well as task simulations to show if a person has different learning orientation beh aviours. For example who which people will look for new strategies rather than rescind from these strategies when things do not go as planned immediately (1999:52).Here can be seen the discrepancy between academic musings on the topic and that of the practitioners. Writers emphasise soft skills while actual research into company practice indicates an obvious reliance on technical competence for the selection. If this were to change then expatriate projects may achieve a greater success rate. Two major propositions can also be derived from Mendenhall and Oddou (1985) findings. The first would be that expatriate cultural adaptation is a multi dimensional process rather than a one dimensional one. This means that selection procedures of international companies for expatriates should be changed from their present one dimensional focus on technical competence as the most important criteria towards a more multi dimensional one. This should focus therefore focus on personal attributes which may be conducive to success working as an expatriate manager. Mendenhall and Oddou (1985) also recommend that training which deals with these factors needs putting in place, and which needs to be multi dimensional as opposed to one dimensional. Gudykunst, Hammer, and Wiseman (1977) combined a number of differing development approaches and compared the cultural adaptation abilities of managers who received the integrated training with managers who were the recipients of just one dimensional training. Integrated training produced much greater levels of culture adaptation. Along with other academics they again mention that both the selection and training processes must include the family of the expatriate. As well as this the culture adaptation training should be given to the expatriate’s family. As observed in the first half of this essay, it was shown that it was vital that not only the expatriate manager themselves, but also their family was happy as both had an effect on morale and performance. Corporate HR teams should have a clear direction to also hire a work fore who are internationally comfortable and experience too. Thus these would prove to be effective expatriate managers as they are relatively used to the process and overcoming the challenges they would face (Mendenhall and Oddou.1985). Conclusion In conclusion as many academics have identified there are serious problems with the way many corporations select and manage expatriate managers and their assignments. Many problems stem from the initial selection stage which is seen to be very lax and informal from many different businesses. These initial mistakes in the selection process mainly centre around focusing purely on technical competencies within managers for expatriate selection, and this has been proven to not be the most successful of indicators for success in international assignments of this manner. This is because it fails to take into account other factors which make a person more likely to be successful. This can include personality traits such as adaptability and how resilient they are. It also neglects the domestic and family situation of different managers, and indeed many HR teams have said that they do not even take this into consideration or treat it as important at all. Academics have also suggested solutions to these problems in the way of recruitment processes and training processes which would be incredibly useful for business’s to implement with their selection and training for expatriates. These vary from personality tests to assess the traits that people have and if these would be conducive to being successful as an expatriate manager abroad, to a variety of assessment centre styles testing out people in different scenarios and if they were the type of person likely to succeed. As well as this it would be recommended that companies look at the family of potential expatriate managers to see if these were also likely to be happy once moving abroad as this has a visible and proven impact on the morale of expatriate managers. Training also needs to be more effective and focus on broader issues as opposed to just technical competency and understanding company systems fully, but to train expatriate managers culturally as well. 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