Organizational Culture and Leadership Styles of Enron

Organizational Culture and Leadership Styles of Enron To begin, one should look at the background of Enron and how it became the largest energy trading company in the world (Needle, 2004) in less than two decades. Founded in 1985 in a merger between Houston Natural Gas and InterNorth, Enron expanded from pipelines to electricity and online trading. Enron was based in Houston, Texas and it built pipelines, power stations and gas plants in the USA and around the world; Kenneth Lay was the Chairman and CEO. According to the documentary film Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, the arrival of Jeffrey Skilling as CEO was a turning point in Enrons business activities. Skilling was a visionary initiator and he saw the future of Enron as a middleman in nationwide and global energy trading. The tide of energy deregulation in the 1990s made it possible for Enrons senior executives to convince investors, financial regulators, and the United States Government that its sale of financial instruments also known as derivatives was economically sound. ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE Organisational culture was one of the important aspects which played a crucial role in the downfall of Enron. Using Scheins layered conceptualisation of culture (Rollinson, 2008) one can begin by analysing the core of the culture also known as basic assumptions. In this layer, main desire of an organization is to create wealth for its shareholders, employees, and investors. As revealed in the documentary film, the management and trading floors were obsessed with value of the Enron stock from which wealth would be generated; people inside Enron literally did whatever they could to ensure that the stock kept rising to attract further investments. The next layer in Scheins model is values and beliefs. Here basis of reward and effort are in instantly recognised as an important aspect of Enron. As mentioned before, Enron paid large bonuses to employees and partners who performed their job exceptionally well. To receive these rewards some divisions of Enron falsified information regarding their financial performance. In this layer we also find trust and honesty which Enron did receive from its customers and employees until its downfall. In fact the shock and disbelief of its employees and customers evidently supports the notion that Enron was a respected business in the investor community and in the government. The final layer, artefacts and creations, are those most visible to the general public. As the 7th largest company in the USA there was relatively a lot of publicity regarding Enron as the leader in innovation having received the Fortune honour of Americas Most Innovative Company six years in a row. It became a norm on the trading floors to work overtime in hope of receiving bonuses. In the documentary, a local priest revealed how some employees came to see him for counselling as they felt that Enron was taking over their lives. Symbols of hierarchy were also explicit; Kenneth Lay, Skilling and most senior managers occupied large offices in the top floors while traders operated on the lower floors. Myths and stories is a very interesting aspect since senior management circulated stories regarding devilish trips inducing the idea of a macho culture where it is admirable to take risks. This furthered the notion that it was acceptable for people at all levels in the Enron hierarchy to t ake risks to expand the company. Last but not least, taboos were considered the few but strongly outspoken criticisms it received by few investors and journalists; these were ignored completely. This blunt ignorance played a major role in its downfall because it could still be in business today if it had responded to early criticism. LEADER There are a lot of definitions for the term Leader. One of the definition which suits the leader in this case study being A person who holds a dominant or superior position within its field, and is able to exercise a high degree of control or influence over others. Jeff skilling, the CEO of Enron has been depicted as the leader in this case. He was aggressive, intelligent and possessed exemplary leadership qualities which was incremental in creating a culture of aggression and incentivised competition in the organisation. He wanted to alter the way in which Energy was being traded. He succeeded in initiating a market for natural gas wherein it started being traded as stocks. He converted energy into a financial instrument and this led to Enron becoming the largest energy trader in North America. In the movie, Bethany has said that Jeff Skilling was an inspirational leader who inspired his work force and empowered them. He was a genius who controlled the working environment with his intelligence, asking employees to believe that they are the best group of employees and understand that they are associated with the best organization in the world. LEADERSHIP TRAITS Traits are distinguishing qualities or characteristics of a person, while character is the sum total of these traits. The more of these you display as a leader, the more your followers will believe and trust in you. The five leadership traits/leadership qualities are honest, forward-looking, competent, inspiring and intelligent. Jeff skilling was very much forward-looking in nature as he always wanted to make maximum out of the business and wanted Enron to be one of the largest organization in the world. He was inspirational to many people including the share holders, employees, media and even stock brokers/analyst. These people blindly followed him because of his charismatic leadership style. He was one the intelligent minds in Enron. Under his leadership the organisation transformed from a small energy market player to the biggest energy trading company in North America with a rapidly expanding global operations network. The company was being driven by the aggressive and individualistic attitude which was strongly ingrained in the system by Jeff Skilling and the policies of the management team for attaining short term profit. These were successful in achieving the results in hindsight but were seriously damaging the ethical balance in the system. His charisma had many dark side tendencies which overlooked the ethical side of the business leading the company to go down in a few years time frame. LEADERSHIP STYLE An influential definition of leadership states as follows: The process whereby one individual influences other group members towards the attainment of defined group, or organizational goals. (Barron Greenberg, 1990). The case of Enron singles out two individuals in particular with leadership qualities namely Kenneth Lay and Jeffrey Skilling. Group members may be considered to be the employees of Enron but in the documentary mentioned above, many say that the traders performing the day-to-day business activities are those most influenced by the CEO. From the quote one can also see that the traders desire to be known as the ones making the most money for the company and the desire for Lay and Skilling to be rich and influential are two goals which go well hand in hand. However it may be this mutual desire which blinded both partners and drove them to greed and illegality. It is now one turns to the role of leadership in the downfall of Enron. Although both Lay and Skilling essentially are managers appointed by those with the most shares in Enron, it is evident that during their tenure they possessed leadership qualities which affected their subordinates. Using first the descriptive approach to leadership (Rollinson 2008), one can observe that many people inside and outside the Enron admire Lay for his rise from a modest preacher family to a Washington-insider and CEO of a billion dollar company. In America, individualism is regarded as the predominant workplace culture and as CEO of Enron Lays influence was therefore significant. In essence Lay embodies the capitalist dream in the US in particular. Having received the leadership mantel Lay bluntly lied to his subordinates and investors regarding the financial state of Enron as it faced financial difficulties. This prolonged the period of debts and may be the reason to the speed of the eventual collapse. Jeffrey Skilling as well as being the appointed CEO possessed leadership qualities of a different kind. The functional approach to leadership (Rollinson 2008) shows that Skilling arguably acquired his leadership status as accredited with the visionary movement of Enron into the online trading medium. Ironically, it is likely that this new complex trading paved way for the accounting fraud to come and caused the downfall. An aspect perhaps less investigated but which also affects leadership is the idea of reciprocal causality (Rollinson 2008). The followers, in this case the employees; in return for their dedication to the leaders also demand something in return. It is acknowledged that many traders received large bonuses for creating wealth for the company. At best this gave employees incentive to work hard with dedication and work overtime and at worst it engaged some, in particular traders, in illegality as shown in the documentary with the California blackouts. 5.1 Transactional and transformational leadership In transactional leadership, the leader holds the power and has the control over his employees or followers. He provides incentives for followers to do what he wants. Hence, if an employee does what is desired, a reward will follow and he or she does not, a punishment or with holding of the reward will occur. In transformational leadership, positive changes can be observed in the followers. Transformational leaders are very energetic, enthusiastic and passionate by nature. They are generally concerned about the processes and are always involved in it to make it even better. These kinds of leader interact with their employees, take their suggestions into consideration and help them to succeed in their work. The best leadership is both transformational and transactional. Transformational leadership augments the effectiveness of transactional leadership; it does not replace transactional leadership, (Walsman, Bass, Yammarino, 1990). Transaction is an effective and necessary tool for leaders at all levels. Transformational leaders generally resort to the transactional style when they do not find a suitable solution for any of the problem faced. When the transformational leader sees him/her in a win-lose negotiation he tries to convert it into a win-win problem solving situation. If this is not possible, then he or she can display the transactional skills necessary as an effective negotiator, (Walsman, Bass, Yammarino, 1990). Transactional and transformational leadership are different from each other but still they are not mutually exclusive processes and different leaders may use both of these based on different situations. This may be termed as situational leadership where the leader re sponds differently under different circumstances showing the behaviour of both transactional and transformational leadership. Jeff Skilling demonstrated both these styles in his leadership. He was transactional in the sense that involved an exchange taking place between leader and follower. He wanted employees to believe on his words and made sure that each and every employee work according to his instructions and timelines, making sure that maximum output is achieved in the minimum time. For this, he kept on motivating employees by rewarding them for the work done. He was also simultaneously transformational where in the followers were motivated to transcend their own self interests for the good of the group, organization, or society. According to Jeff Skilling, certain elements like hiring the most talented people and providing them a challenging environment for them to perform to their best, flattening the traditional corporate hierarchy to encourage personal accountability, efficiency, and motivation, being first in new markets and adopting the best systems and technology are critical for maintaining an environment where innovation can thrive. 5.2 CHARISMATIC LEADERSHIP AND CULT In charismatic leadership, the leader has the ability to communicate and behave in such a basic and emotional way that the followers are inspired and motivated in a great way. Being charismatic may be difficult, but not impossible; because many people have the capability to communicate on a very powerful emotional level and they even include some personality traits. Charismatic leadership is not an essential to be an effective leader and more ever relying on charisma to lead can also be problematic. Jeff Skilling was one of the charismatic leaders, who lacked other leadership characteristics and skills (e.g. integrity), who led his followers into situations that turned out horribly. At Enron, Skilling aimed at developing a charisma aura around him. He did every possible thing to promote himself and his views which was consistent with the business. The employees at Enron, media and even the market analyst believed his words blindly without cross verifying or questioning any his argument or declaration made by him. Skilling and Lay were successful in controlling the minds of people. They were internally known as Darth Vader. Charisma is a powerful attribute in many cult leaders which is used in a negative way for self-serving and being destructive to others. Charisma is useful during the cult formation. Only an influential and strong-willed leader can convince others to follow him and belief his words. People misinterpret the quality of this cult leader and the leader foster them belief in his special qualities. At Enron, the leaders had the tendency of living in unusual wealth; this is a disparity that is used in reinforcing the intuition that the individuals possess extraordinary charisma, insight and abilities. The CEO led an ultra opulent life. A good example is Kenneth Lay, an executive leader of Enron; he had to pay a sum of $7 million for an apartment, which together with his wife transformed into a Venetian fortress with deep velvets, dark woods and a period sanctuary (Watkins Swartz, 2003). POWER AND INFLUENCE Leaders generally use two kinds of powers- Position power which is due to the position they hold in an organisation and Personal power. We can safely say that Skilling had both at his disposal. In terms of position, he would offer rewards to people who did a good job, hence demonstrating Reward power and also people would comply to his orders as they thought he was at a level of authority t make that request and they had to obey. This showed the use of legitimate power. Also due to the knowledge he had and what was demonstrated in the movie followers even looked up to him, this showed the use of expert power. He also used referent power which was the personal power he could use to influence people. People wanted to gain his approval as they admired him and were awed by his charismatic personality and were willing to do anything to stay in his good books or be commended by him. Skilling influenced people by rational persuasion and inspirational appeals by being logical in his arguments but also at the same time appealing to their values and getting their commitment as this was needed to prevent the whistle blowing of all the activities that were happening within Enron. All employees were part of the Enron game, which could only be done by showing them a better future for the organisation. FOLLOWERS Followers were in awe of Skilling. They drew a blind eye to everything wrong happening within Enron. The charismatic personality was having its effect on the people, and even though under normal situations they probably would have acted different, under Skillings leadership, they were committed and loyal. They wanted his approval, and they believed in the vision he showed them. They were unaware of the fact that they were being played. Skillings job was to get higher profits for all the stakeholders and that was exactly what he was trying to achieve. As mentioned in the movie, Enron captured the hearts and minds of stock analysts. Employees were very much surrounded by the healthy environment of the company and the stock price of Enron was an obsession among them. They believed that Jeff Skilling was the person responsible for this and thus followed his instructions to enjoy the benefits of the companys performance. They worked extra hours to fulfil the demand raised by Jeff Skilling as they were been promised bonuses and rewards for the completion of task on time. LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT Enhancement of leadership quality and skills of a leader within an organization is termed as leadership development. These skill enhancements results from experience and time spent within the organization. Jeff Skilling was one of the finest minds and that was the reason why Kenneth Lay recruited him and introduced him to Enron. He spent time understanding the essentials of Enron and followed the directions of Lay to get a grip on the organizational process. Soon he understood that the aura of Enron was based on the belief of the stakeholders who followed Enron strategy blindly. He, as a leader, made sure that the followers follow his words and work according to his strategy. For this he followed the transactional approach to make sure that every employee is giving his best effort to get the work done on time, so that he is eligible for rewards. At the same time he also added some transformational methods to make the employees feel that they are equally involved in organizations development. As per the movie, he even changed up his get up to look more vibrant. He also followed situational leadership methods to tackle different situation and keep everyone on the same track that whatever he is doing is for the betterment of the organization and its stakeholders. His leadership aura spread and everyone started feeling that whatever Skilling does is a stepping stone towards the success of Enron and everyone is going to be benefitted from his strategic move. He even became the CEO of company within a few years time frame. He developed, from an employee, to a successful leader who was considered as icon in US industries. This self-confidence of his increased over the period the time and he kept exploiting the resources to fulfil his dreams and soon the dark side of his charismatic leadership was exposed. CONCLUSION The reasons for the downfall of Enron were analysed from the leadership and ethical perspectives. The movie Enron The Smartest Guys in the room was a great source of information which helped in conducting an analysis about the cultural and leadership patterns in the organization. It was observed that Enron had an obligation to all its stakeholder but those were not met at the end. Enron executives made unethical and illegal decisions based on their personal benefit but those went totally wrong. The leaders job was to provide the vision for the group but it was done in an unethical manner. The view provided to the employees, media, stock analysts and external world was doctored unethically and improper practises were projected as the best business practises by the ubiquitous skills of Jeff Skilling and Kenneth Lay. The dark side of charismatic leadership was observed in the movie, where Jeff Skilling had a dream and ability to get the company to support that dream but he used his charismatic aura to influence people in wrong direction. He provided a self-manipulated framework by which the employees in the organization can achieve their dreams in the form of rewards and bonuses. But the companys culture did not allow the employees to challenge and question the ideas of Jeff Skilling. Rather they were given the target and timeliness and asked to achieve it by planning accordingly, in order to be eligible for rewards and bonuses. Enron did not allow dissent, people who suggeste d alternatives were castigated for not being team players. The leaders produced an environment of fear, stagnation and antipathy in the organization and this led to the downfall of the Enron.

Foot Binding

For what reasons and results did mothers bind their daughter’s feet in China? History 20I Historical Investigation Word Count: 2,000 Julie Diep April 1, 2012 A. Introduction In contrast to a physically disabled child’s question of â€Å"Why me? † left unanswered, the traditional Chinese had a cruel yet straight forward answer of â€Å"Because your childhood is over and it is time to grow into a woman. † Which led to the merciless act of willingly breaking and forcefully binding a girl’s foot at a ripe young age to the length of three inches, no longer than the length of a deck of cards.Woman who were seen inferior to men, were treated as objects exchanged in marriage for business or to tie two families together. They were expected to follow society’s rules, foot binding being one of these rules to increase the value of a female. During the 19th century, â€Å"†¦40–50% of Chinese women had bound feet; for upper class women, the fi gure was almost 100%†¦ † (William Rossi). The Chinese culture encouraged this foot binding process as it was highly desired from ancient China to the 20th century until the establishment of the new Chinese Republic officially banning the process, ceasing it’s use.Mothers considered and inflicted the painful process of foot binding upon their daughters for reasons of marriage, status, and beauty with positive results or death from infection and a life-long physical disability. B. Summary Of The Evidence * The practices of foot binding were described as â€Å"San tsun gin lian,† â€Å"Golden Lotus† or â€Å"Lily†. By the 19th century, 40–50% of Chinese women had bound feet and for upper class women, the figure was almost 100%. * According to historical account, root of foot binding lie in China in the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 A. D. ), during the rule of Emperor Li Yu in China.The ruler's favorite concubine Yao-Niang performed a dance on the tips of her toes atop a golden lotus pedestal. * Another origin is of an Empress who had club-like feet, which became a desirable fashion. * Criteria for a well-bounded foot is three inches in length, a three inch deep clef between the heel and sole and that the appearance of the bounded foot is seen as a dainty extension of the leg. * The elder village women or mother was responsible for initiating and monitoring the binding process. * Foot binding was begun between the ages of two to five before the arch of the foot had a chance to develop fully. Toenails were cut back to prevent in-growth and infection. * Each foot would be soaked in a warm mixture of herbs and animal blood; this was intended aid the process by softening the tissue and bones of the foot to allow manipulation. * All the toes on the foot except for the big toe are broken and folded under the sole. * The broken toes were held tightly against the sole of the foot while the foot was then drawn down straight with the l eg and the arch forcibly broken. * The foot was then bound in place with a 10'x2†³ silk or cotton bandage. The bandages were repeatedly wound, starting at the inside of the foot at the instep, then carried over the toes, under the foot, and round the heel, the freshly broken toes being pressed tightly into the sole of the foot. At each pass around the foot, the binding cloth was tightened, pulling the ball of the foot and the heel ever close together, causing the broken foot to fold at the arch, and pressing the toes underneath. * Each time the feet were unbound, they were washed, the toes carefully checked for injury, and the nails carefully and meticulously trimmed. Immediately after this pedicure, the girl's broken toes were folded back under and the feet were rebound. * Process took approximately two years. * Toenails would often in-grow, becoming infected and causing injuries to the toes. * The tightness of the binding meant that the circulation in the feet was faulty, and the circulation to the toes was almost cut off. * As the girl grew older, the bones would begin to heal, although even after the foot bones had healed they were prone to re-breaking. * Septicemia and gangrene resulted from the bacteria. A 1997 study by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco found that women ages 80 and older with bound feet were more likely to have fallen in the previous year and to need assistance in rising from a sitting position. They also had lower bone density in the hip and spine than women with normal feet, increasing their risk of debilitating fractures. * Foot binding was first practiced among the elite and only in the wealthiest parts of China, which suggests that binding the feet of well-born girls represented their freedom from manual labor and wealth. In politics, a woman was kept from interfering if she was immobile, and a â€Å"kept† woman reflected a powerful man. * Mothers would endure binding their daughters’ fe et as an investment in the future. The more attractive she could make her daughter, the better marriage prospects she had. * A bound foot signified that a woman had achieved womanhood, and served as a mark of her gendered identity. * Small bounded feet were seen as elegant, dainty, beautiful, erotic and a prerequisite for finding a husband. * Foot binding was eventually banned in the 20th century with the rise of the new Republic of China through educational campaigns. C. AnalysisFrom the birth of a baby girl, the status of the family determined whether her feet would be bounded or left untouched. If the family was wealthy and was of elite status, the girl’s feet would be bounded. It represented the freedom the girl had from manual labor, as she would not be able to walk or work in her bounded state, which also maintained family honor and reputation. Bounded feet set the boundary between higher and lower class. The people of lower class needed everyone in the family to work o n the farm and could not afford the luxury to tend to aesthetics or fashion, as bounded feet were seen as dainty, elegant and attractive.The â€Å"Golden Lily† or bounded feet were a desirable fashion among women and signified the transformation of a girl into a woman. The process marked the end of her childhood and the beginning of womanhood, which was important to one’s identity. By not being able to bind their daughter’s feet, it was detrimental to her prospects of marrying into the higher class and raising her social status or having a more prestigious marriage. Zhou Guizhen, survivor of foot binding, 86 years old, states, â€Å"At that time everybody had bound feet. If you didn't, you'd only be able to marry a tribesman from an ethnic minority. The higher class glorified this painful process as aesthetically pleasing and as an investment in the girl’s future marriage. In China pre 19th century, marriage was a crucial part of a woman’s entire life. Woman had the purpose of being a wife and reproducing children. Without marriage, there would be no husband to rely on, children to tend her grave and no prosperity to her family. If a woman did not marry it equated to a life with no meaning. In marriage, wealth, status and physical appearance were crucial. Marriage was a bond between two households or businesses.Thus the mother would increase the value of her daughter by binding her feet to display the wealth, status of the family and the attractiveness of the daughter’s physical appearance. Bounded feet increased marriage prospects and the likeliness for her to marry into another wealthy family, which would benefit her own family in return. They were seen as erotic and as a form of chastity, being the symbol of submission to the husband. An immobile wife would not be able to leave the house and is wholly dependent upon the husband, thus objectifying the woman and reflecting a more dominant man.Bounded feet were only s een as attractive when concealed in the lotus shoes. Some men preferred to never see the bounded feet, so that they were concealed in their shoes as a beautiful mystery. â€Å"If you remove the shoes and bindings, the aesthetic feeling will be destroyed forever. † (Feng Xun). It was understood that the erotic fantasy of bounded feet did not equate to the unpleasant physical reality, which was therefore to he kept hidden. To an extent, foot binding was not considered a form of body mutilation but as a component of female attire or adornment.If done correctly the girl would survive the process, only to live with the physical disability and further risks of medical problems. During the process, despite the meticulous care of trimming the toenails, they would often in-grow causing infections in the toes and feet. The tightness of the bindings would decrease blood circulation to the feet ceasing injuries to heal and gradually worsen to infection or rotting flesh. The girl would be susceptible to infections such as septicemia and gangrene due to the increase of bacteria. The practice of foot binding was not only physically crippling, but it also produced physiological implications.The abdomen would swell, the lumbar vertebra would curve forward and the back would be inflicted with increased muscle stress. This forced the woman to put all her weight on her lower body and pelvis. One’s whole body was deformed as a result from foot binding. Simple acts such as squatting and bending were difficult. Large corns and calluses would appear on the bounded feet and had to be cut off. Instead of walking in a straight line, the woman would have to walk side to side in a swaying motion. As the years passed, the bounded foot would continue growing, but instead of growing longer the foot would grow crooked.This would cause further injuries and deformities to the foot. The toes would curl deeper inwards causing potential infections, which inevitably followed with dise ases. According to a 1997 study by researchers in the University of California found that woman ages 80 and over with bound feet had lower bone density in the hip and spine than a woman with normal feet, suggesting that the bones were prone to re-breaking and fractures. Opposition to the foot binding first began in China during the Qing period (1644 – 1911) with Manchu rule.When foreign missionaries began to gain footholds in China after the Opium war and the fall of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, the new Nationalist government of the Republic of China banned foot binding. The Lotus feet were no longer a symbol of beauty but a symbol of oppression and were seen as a barbaric practice of the old China. Through modern education campaigns, it was explained that the rest of the world did not bind women’s feet and that China was seen as savage, making the nation subject to international ridicule. The advantages of natural unbound feet over bound feet were encouraged.Natural feet societies were formed whose members pledged not to bind their daughter’s feet or allow their sons to marry women with bound feet. These tactics succeeded in eradicating the use of a practice, which has survived for thousands of years. D. Conclusion According to an old saying in China, â€Å"There are a thousand buckets of tears for one who binds her feet. † These woman’s tiny feet sealed their tragic fate all for marriage prospects, status and beauty, ingredients for a good life of a woman in pre-20th China. Only to live with a self inflicted physical disability prone to infections, diseases and medical injuries.With the rise of the 20th century and the fall of the Qing Dynasty, the era of foot binding had been abandoned leaving only fragments of the past that present day society view as a horrific mutilation of the human body. E. Bibliography Dehoff, Elizabeth. â€Å"Foot Binding†, Ask, http://shoes. about. com/od/footwear/qt/foot_binding. htm Farlander . â€Å"Chinese Foot Binding†, h2g2, http://h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A11558722 Holman, Jeanine. â€Å"Foot Binding†, 2010, http://www. josephrupp. com/history. html Mao, J. â€Å"Foot Binding: Beauty And Torture†, The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 008 Volume 1 Number 2 Myfanawy, Evans. †The Painful Tradition of Foot Binding in China†, Pattya Daily News, September 16, 2010, http://www. pattayadailynews. com/en/2010/09/16/the-painful-tradition- of-foot-binding-in-china/ Wikipedia contributors, â€Å"Foot binding†, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Foot_binding&oldid=483989361 1 (accessed March 28, 2012). ——————————————– [ 1 ]. J. Mao, â€Å"Foot Binding: Beauty And Torture†, The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 2008 Volume 1 Number 2 [ 2 ].Farlander, â€Å"Chinese Foot Binding†, h2g2, http://h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A11558722 [ 3 ]. Ibid. [ 4 ]. Myfanawy, Evans. †The Painful Tradition of Foot Binding in China†, Pattya Daily News, September 16, 2010, http://www. pattayadailynews. com/en/2010/09/16/the-painful-tradition-of-foot-binding-in-china/ [ 5 ]. Blood poisoning from bacteria. [ 6 ]. Decomposition of body tissues from bacterial infection. [ 7 ]. Elizabeth Dehoff, â€Å"Foot Binding†, Ask, http://shoes. about. com/od/footwear/qt/foot_binding. htm [ 8 ]. Farlander, â€Å"Chinese Foot Binding†, h2g2, http://h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A11558722 [ 9 ].Wikipedia contributors, â€Å"Foot binding†, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, http://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Foot_binding&oldid=4839893611 (accessed March 28, 2012). [ 10 ]. Farlander, â€Å"Chinese Foot Binding†, h2g2, http://h2g2. com/dna/h2g2/A11558722 [ 11 ]. Wikipedia contributors, â€Å"Foot binding†, Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, h ttp://en. wikipedia. org/w/index. php? title=Foot_binding&oldid=4839893611 (accessed March 28, 2012). [ 12 ]. Blood poisoning from bacteria. [ 13 ]. Decomposition of body tissues from bacterial infection. [ 14 ]. Jeanine Holman, â€Å"Foot Binding†, 2010, http://www. josephrupp. com/history. html

The starry night

The Starry night Now the darkness took over the sky and a chill ran down my body. The wispy breeze was cold too. The somber path curving up to the ghastly trivial hill, on which I walked alone. But the other side of the hill was proud with light. The path ran amidst prickly scrubs trampled by the locals. On the path were laid water drenched leaves from the shower in the afternoon. The sky was illuminated with tiny emotive objects.Under he colossal tree laid a pit of dry leaves with some streaks of gray smoke making their way through the long butted sack of heat. The starry night started with a chilled breeze blowing and fireflies rode the air current making their way through to safer grounds. I made myself comfortable on soft damp grass and lay down. A man stood on the front, barring the view. He crushed a stalk in his mouth, a Mexican poncho crowned his head, and he bore a cowboy outfit on a lean build.He had his own way, e stood tall with a silhouette marking his practical personal ity. He asked â€Å"what are you doing out here, kid? † I was bewildered and I said Just had food, ‘am chilling, you? † He kept quiet, wind blew, the leaves rattled and the light smoke hustled to get attention. The sky had a startling clout which made me contemplate the environment. In front of the long butted fire stood a rock which stood crisp and rough by the blowing air.It was midnight, an' I still lay on the velvety grass sensing a deep, amp scent of rain, a little bit of moist mud. The cynical curls of clouds ruled the skies, and the stars seemed to have been standing overpowered by the vicious clouds of rain, but as time went past the mighty clouds had been triumphed by the robust Lulus. It seemed very positive while the person by my side lay with his hat covering his cryptic and diplomatic personality. The sky was clear and the moss started to deluge on my face like god left his shower running.I felt exuberant, I unveiled my yes and witnessed the Jovial an d stunning sky and it mesmerism's me, as I gradually stood up and could not see the man. The rabbits hurried as silently as they could to get out of sight. For a moment the entire place felt dull until I the bright sunlight struck my eyes and forced me to look at it. The tedious darkness was defeated by the bright streaks of sun, the light climbed up the hill and it was five in the morning. The ‘cowboy man patted me on the back, his face blushing with an optimistic glow, like it said â€Å"let's move on†.

Porosity and Fluid Saturations essays

Porosity and Fluid Saturations essays Porosity is the best known physical characteristic of an oil reservoir.It determines the volume of oil or gas present,and all recovery computations must be based on knowledge of its value. Porosity of a material is defined as that fraction of the bulk volume of this material that is not occupied by the solid framework of the material.In oil reservoirs,the porosity represents the percentage of the total space that is available for occupancy by eighter liquids or gases.It determines the storage capacity of the sand and is generally expressed on a percentage basis or as a fraction or a decimal. One may distinguish two types of porosity,namely,absolute and effective: Absolute porosity is the percentage of total void space with respect to the bulk volume regardless of the interconnection of the pore voids. Effective porosity is the percentage of interconnected void space with respect to the bulk volume. Grain volume methods:In these methods the consolidated sample is solvent extracted and dried;the bulk volume is determined eighter by the displacement of a liquid which does not penetrate the sample or by saturating the sample and volumetrically displacing a suitable liquid with the saturated sample.The grain volume,or volume of the solid framework of the sample,maybe measured by the volumetric displacement of a gas or a liquid,while the pore volume may be measured by determining the amount of liguid neccesary to saturate the sample. It is obvious that the percentage of porosity may be calculated from such data by use of eighter of the two following relationships: Per cent porosity=100x(bulk volume - grain volume/bulk volume) Per cent porosity=100x(pore volume/bulk volume) Bulk volume determination:The bulk volume of the extracted and dried samples may be determined by volumetric displacement of mercury. ...

Blue Cross Blue Shield Essays

Blue Cross Blue Shield Essays Blue Cross Blue Shield Essay Blue Cross Blue Shield Essay The Changing Face of Blue Cross Blue Shield Betty Bogart Kaplan University Author Note Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Betty Bogart, Student, Kaplan University, 1801 East Kimberly Road, Davenport IA 52807. The Changing Face of Blue Cross Blue Shield Since their founding as individual companies in the early 20th century, Blue Cross Blue Shield has grown to become one of the largest insurance companies in the United States. Blue Cross coverage for hospital care and Blue Shield coverage for physician visits grew to national coverage separately before merging to form the Association we know today. In 1929 Justin Ford Kimball developed a program to cover teachers for hospital treatment. It guaranteed them 21 days of hospital care for $6 dollars per year. This program was later extended to encompass other employee groups first in Dallas then nationally. The program became Blue Cross. The first Blue Cross Baby was born in a hospital in Dunham, North Carolina. This was the first birth in America to be covered by a health insurance certificate that included maternity benefits. In 1939 the American Hospital Association adopted the Blue Cross symbol for plans meeting certain requirements. The ties with the AHA were severed in 1970. In the early 20th century employers in mining and lumber camps of the Pacific Northwest developed a plan to cover employees by paying monthly fees to bureaus composed of groups of physicians. Officially the first Blue Shield Plan was implemented in California in 1939. The plan grew and was adopted by the Associated Medical Care Plan, a group of nine separate plans. Later the plan was renamed the National Association of Blue Shield Plans. Both programs grew to national coverage as the need for medical insurance continued to grow with industry. The two companies merged to form Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association in 1982. At the time the company was defined as coverage under social welfare plans and was thus tax exempt. In 1986 the tax reform act labeled the company a 501(m) organization which would be subject to federal taxation with special tax benefits under IRC 833. Following this change, BCBSA changed its policies to allow its licensees to be for-profit corporations. In 1984 the nation’s first heart transplant covered by Blue Shield Association was performed in Stanford University Hospital. This would pave the way for BCBSA to create the Blue Cross and Blue Shield National Transplant Network which would become the Blue Quality Centers for Transplant. Today it includes 60 transplant centers nationwide and covers transplants for heart, lung, kidney, pancreas, bone marrow, and stem cell. In the mid 1990’s the Balanced Budget Act added the Medicare+Choice program. This allowed beneficiaries multiple health plans to choose from. By 2000, BCBSA processed the majority of Medicare claims. These claims alone totaled over 163 billion. In 2003 over 88 million Americans were covered by BCBSA liscensees. Today 38 companies comprise the BCBSA system which provides coverage for nearly 100 million people including all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Nationwide over 95% of hospitals and over 90% of professional providers contract directly with BCBSA companies. Coverage through BCBSA now includes the largest privately underwritten health insurance contract in the world. The FEP (Federal Employment Program) covers more than 5 million federal government employees, dependants, and retirees. The world of health care is an always changing one and BCBSA is no different. From starting as two separate small programs to growing into a leader in health care and technology, this association is an excellent example of how far the industry has grown and how far we’ve advanced in this country and as humans in general. From transplant research and technology to Medicare, BCBSA continues to stay at the head of the field in all aspects. From their humble origins of trial programs, Blue Cross and Blue Shield have always been on the cutting edge of new health care and technology. As one of the largest insurance Associations in the United states, BCBSA has continued to improve the quality of health care in the United States. Advancements such as Blue Cross Blue Shield National Transplant Network and Technologies Evaluation Center have proven the companies’ drive to continually improve health care in the United States. The biggest concern I have for the future of health care would be affordability. Some families still live paycheck to paycheck barely scraping by and the spiraling cost of health care and health insurance remains out of reach for them. Veterans and elderly benefits are cut to maintain cost while leaving some unfortunates behind. Un-insured people in America was a staggering 50 million in 2010 leading most to believe that something must be done to keep health insurance and health care affordable to everyone. No one should have to suffer without a physician’s care simply due to lack of insurance. References Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association ( bcbs. com/about-the-association) Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (http://bcbsil. com/) Blue Cross and Blue Shield Federal Employee Program (http://fepblue. org/) CNN Money (http://money. cnn. com/) Scott P. Serota, CEO Blue Cross and Blue Shield ( bcbs. com/about-the-association/officers/scott-serota. html)

Privacy and Internet Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Privacy and Internet Policy - Essay Example This paper addresses how identity theft can be dealt with both on the internet and prohibiting of unauthorized access from outsiders. Protection from identity theft (especially from Internet activities and unauthorized access) Identity deft on the internet occurs in situations where individuals who are not authorized get access to a person’s online account, gets access and carry out activities that are lawful or unlawful. Majority of people who join the internet faces the challenge of identity theft so one has to take all the necessary measure of ensuring that their information is protected (Krishnamurthy and Wills 2009). However, a lot of people do not know how protect their personal information and they end suffering the consequences of not protecting their personal information. Protection of identity theft over the internet In instances where the composer of the email is not known to you, do not bother to have a look at such an email that seem doubtful to you. It is advisab le to only check authentic emails which come from banks, financial firms or your creditors. You should never base on fake emails to update your security information. Doing so, would compromise your security. Currently, there are so many people who are out to con other or sent virus and therefore the best way of avoiding them is to delete the messages they send. Effective firewall is required in order to protect your personal computer from attackers. This ensures that the threats on your personal computers from spywares, hackers and Trojans are minimized. It is further stated by Krishnamurthy and Wills (2009) that the use a Verification Engine assists you in identifying safe websites that you browse at any given time. The information that concern your personal recognition and account numbers should never be stored on a hard disk that can be accessed on the internet. This is because a hard disk that is connected to the internet has a great risk of being reached by interested thieves. It is strongly recommended not to save private information on hard disk even in circumstances of having very strong firewall software being installed. Also there should be credit check run on yourself or your family for at least once in every year to insure that the all records are always in their right format (Moore, 2005). Personal information or PIN numbers should never be given out when an email is received from internet service Providers (ISP) or credit companies requesting for the release of such confidential information. In many instances, identity thieves who pretend to be credit card companies or ISPs normally send emails requesting for personal information that has been updated. As Gina (2011) points out, void posting of information that is private about yourself or that which relates to your family members on the personal web site that can easily be used by a thief. They use this information to come up with fraudulent identity. This implies that one has to be conscious wh en posting personal information. Security Socket Layer (SSL) it is a technology that enables users to set up sessions with internet sites that are secure. This implies that they are exposed to minimal violation of external attackers.

An Twentieth Century Overview of Fashions Transient Trends Essay

An Twentieth Century Overview of Fashions Transient Trends - Essay Example The essay "An Twentieth Century Overview of Fashions Transient Trends" talks about trends in fashion in the 20th century. Basically until the turn of the century, there was a definite preference for plumpness of women in Western civilization. You can see it in the art, where you're pretty hard-pressed to find an image of a thin woman," says Laura Fraser. (42) That began to change between 1900 and 1920, "when it was possible for the first time for people†¦to have enough to eat that the status symbol flipped. Once seen as a sign of health and prosperity to be fat - now there was an elitism to being thin. According to Alexis Gregory (38-49), in the early 1900’s women’s dress was sturdy, heavy, and rigid, a reflection of the Edwardian period of dress, and the silhouette was that of an hour glass, now that being plump was unfashionable. Female bodies were stuffed into a miniscule waist, and then padded in other areas such as the bosom and buttocks. The effect was that o f a waspish figure. This hourglass shape became more of an "S" curve when longer lined "health" corsets became fashionable. They supported the spine and abdomen, but it made the fashionable woman look as if she was always leaning forward. As always, historical upheaval creates change in all sectors of society, including fashion. World War I being an important event in the â€Å"teens,† fashion suddenly became much more practical to accommodate other needs. The Great War (1914 to 1918) changed people's lives in many ways. Men went to war and women were left at home to do the jobs formerly performed by men. Women's shoes and clothing needed to be more practical so they could move freely and perform job duties. Women's clothing imitated a man's clothing as they were taking on a more masculine role. (Barker, 133) Events like the women's suffrage movement caused fashion to take on a new dimension. The corseted waist abandoned, the hobble skirt that imitated "harem" skirts of the Middle East became fashionable. Paul Poiret, a popular designer of the time, is credited with this fashion movement leaning toward Eastern influence. However, taking very tiny steps also became immensely popular, presumably to exaggerate the fact that a woman's stride is shorter than a man's. Some skirts were so narrow that it was nearly impossible to move. For concern over splitting the skirt, women sometimes wore a length of cord to keep their legs from moving too much. After the War in 1918 the Suffragettes won the right to vote in the United Kingdom, and the same happened in America in 1920. Fashion continued to be more casual throughout the 1920's. After the war, the values of the older generation that had created the war were questioned and discredited. The culture became enamored with youth, American culture in particular. Fashion looked toward the younger crowd for inspiration. The "College Man" and "The Flapper" were the new icons of fashion, young and strong and smart. What was the effect on women They began dieting to achieve the teenage shape of a young girl-flatter, thinner, and with long waistlines to hide adult curves. Brasseries were created to flatten breasts with the appearance of immaturity. "In the 1920s, stylish women put their breasts under cover, with constricting devices like the one from the Boyish Form Brassiere Company of New York, guaranteed to 'give you that boy-like flat appearance.'" (Henig, 1) How did the Great Depression affect women's fashion The fashionable dress of the day reflects a determination to grow up, to do penance for