Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1974 - 602 Words

Following the Watergate scandal, the Federal Elections Campaign Act of 1974 was amended to create the regulatory agency, known as the Federal Elections Commission, in 1975. The duties of the FEC consist largely of enforcing regulation, limitation, and prohibition on financial contributions to federal campaigns, candidates, political parties, and political action committees. The Act has thoroughly set limits on the amount of money a person or committee may donate to the previously mentioned situations. For example, an individual can donate no more than $2,600 to any federal campaign per election, and a combined limit of $10,000 to local and state parties every calendar year. The case at hand involves Shaun McCutcheon challenging the aggregate limits as a violation of the First Amendment right of expression. An Alabaman Conservative businessman, McCutcheon expressed that he wished to donate more than the contributions he was able to make in the last election cycle. He wanted to contrib ute an amount that would stay within base limits but surpass aggregate limits set by the FEC. In distric court, the plaintiffs claimed aggregate limits as unconstitutional and impeding on a First Amendment right. The district court system ruled against the plaintiff, asserting that the government could regulate aggregate limits because it would be preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption. When brought before the Supreme Court, the court’s ruling removed the overall cap that wasShow MoreRelatedHistory Of The Campaign Finance1464 Words   |  6 PagesHistory of The Campaign-Finance in the U.S Campaign finance in the United States is the financing of electoral campaigns at the federal, state, and local levels. At the federal level, campaign finance law is enacted by Congress and enforced by the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent federal agency. Although more campaign spending is privately financed, public financing is available for qualifying candidates for President of the United States during both the primaries and the generalRead MoreWhat Is Campaign Finance Reform?1342 Words   |  6 PagesOverview What is Campaign Finance Reform? Campaign finance regulation refers to attempts to regulate the ways in which political campaigns are funded. This includes all spending done to promote or support the promotion of candidates, ballot measures, political parties and more. Regulations can be applied to natural persons, corporations, political action committees, political parties and other organizations. They can come in the form of incentives, such as providing public financing to candidatesRead MoreSoft Money Essay609 Words   |  3 Pagesthe campaign finance reform movement is the belief that everyone should have an equal say in the government, and that wealthy individuals or special interest groups should not be able to manipulate the system through excessive contributions to unduly influence elections. The more expensive it becomes to finance a campaign, the more important the money becomes, and subsequently the less involved the candidate becomes in listening to the voices of the average Americans. The Federal Ele ction CommissionRead MoreCampaign Finance Debate770 Words   |  4 Pages  General Information The debate about campaign finance reform is not a new problem but has a long history of change. The first major debate over campaign finance arose from Andrew Jackson’s spoils system. During Andrew Jackson’s 1828 term, he would give out positions in his office to those who supported him during the election. The practice would inadvertently lead to the assassination of President James Garfield and create the first law that placed a restraint on relationships between donorsRead MoreThe Political Corruption Of The United States1089 Words   |  5 Pagesillustrates how corporate money can be disastrous when involved in election cycles. Unfortunately, this is not the case. The Supreme Court decided in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission that companies and Super PAC’s could donate unlimited amount of money to support candidates. The Citizens United ruling has caused increased political corruption in the United States by giving candidates the money they need to win an election while changing policies that would be beneficial to the companyRead MoreCampaign Finance Reform Essay1544 Words   |  7 PagesCampaign Finance Reform The Democratic and Republican presidential nominees for 1999 raised an astounding 126 million to finance their campaigns in the primaries (Godfrey). The U.S. national political parties raised a record 107.2 million dollars in soft money contributions in 1999 (Campaign Finance Reform). During the 1995-96 elections, public citizens estimated that an astounding 150 million dollars was spent on phony issue ads designed to support or oppose congressional and presidentialRead MoreThe Politics Of The United States1434 Words   |  6 PagesIn the United States, elections can be the deciding factor in ones political career. In recent times, congressional elections have not only become increasingly important, but also more expensive. The expense is often considered a result of modern times, however it results in many people being unable to run for a political position. This begs the question of who might be running for a political position if the price wasn t so high, would it be a more com mon person who relates more to the people.Read MoreThe Politics of Campaign Finance Essay2530 Words   |  11 PagesFrom the very first elections held in the United States, there has always been a strong link between money and politics. During the first elections in the late 1700’s you had to be a white male landowner over the age of 21 in order to vote, meaning that you had to have money in order to have your vote counted. It seems today that we cannot go a day with out seeing campaign finance in the media, whether or not it is through advertisements for politicians in the media or asked to donate money to helpRead MoreThe Impact Of Modern Campaign Finance Laws On America1701 Words   |  7 PagesCampaign Finance Introduction: In 2011, two sociologists named Erik Olin Wright and Joel Rogers identified five core American values: freedom, prosperity, efficiency, fairness, and democracy (Wright and Rogers). America’s numerous ideals inevitably cause these values to come into conflict each other. Such conflict characterizes the debate over the implications of modern campaign finance laws in America. The Supreme Court’s ruling in Citizen’s United v. FEC in 2010 undid former restrictions placedRead MoreReforms For Stricter Campaign Financing Rules1657 Words   |  7 Pagesreal estate have contributed over $2 billion to federal campaigns since 1990. Wall Street contributions increased from $60 million in 1990 to $311 million in 2005 (Wall online). Electoral competition is achieved when qualified candidates have access to sufficient spending to become known to the voters (Does online). Therefore the candidate must resort to any means necessary to have sufficient funds to run a successful cam paign. Stricter campaign financing guidelines are needed to limit the amount

The Field Of Agricultural Biotechnology - 1071 Words

Agricultural Biotechnology Due to the greater understanding of DNA, the field of Agricultural Biotechnology has developed rapidly over the last 30 years. Agricultural Biotechnology is a set of tools to modify products, improve plants and animals, and make microorganism for agricultural uses. It’s being used to produce products cheaper and easy to maintain. More and more farmers and producers used genetic engineered crops because of the price and resistances to insects and diseases. The main aim is to meet human and environmental needs. Biotechnology is a set of tools that uses living organisms to produce or modify a product, improve plants or animals, or develop microorganisms for specific uses. The latest set of tool- some say greatest-is genetic engineering. It allows the transfer of useful characteristics into a plant, animal, or microorganism by inserting genes from another organism. Genetic engineering which uses molecular markers to select plants or animals that give a d esirable gene, allows segments of DNA that code genes for a specific trait to be recombined into a new. Desirable traits producers choose is short growing seasons, increased resistance to diseases and pests, larger seeds and fruits, nutrition, and better adaption to environmental conditions. An example is the International Institute of Tropical Agricultural has used molecular markers to obtain cowpea resistance to bruchid (a beetle). That’s one type of genetic modification. Traditional plantShow MoreRelatedDevelopment And Growth Of The Global Agricultural Biotechnology Industry1171 Words   |  5 Pagesproportion of ongoing research development in this field of as is done in the areas of Africa and Asia Pacific This is projected to offer more business opportunities and growth prospects for the industry participants in the global agricultural biotechnology market. 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However, patenting the products is a hindrance to research by other companies in the same field involving theRead MoreGenetic Engineering And The Canadian Regulation968 Words   |  4 PagesBiotechnology is the application of scientific techniques and exploitation of biological processes used to improve and modify animals, plants and microorganisms to enhance their value through genetic manipulation. Over time, advances in the field of molecular biology has allowed scientists to take a particular gene from any organism, including, bacteria, viruses, plants or animals, and introduce those genes into another organism. An organism transformed using genetic engineering techniques is knownRead MoreSocial an d Ethical Technology Concerns-Biotechnology723 Words   |  3 PagesSocial and Ethical Technology Concerns-Biotechnology Biotechnology is technology based on living organisms. 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In my agricultural biotechnology class, when my lecturer exposed me with genetic engineering, proteins, and plant tissue culture, I am likely was mesmerize d by them and at the same time, I began to realize my enthusiasm towards biotechnology application. Since then, I started to read few books about biotechnology application in many fields. Among of them was â€Å"The Forever Fix: Gene TherapyRead MoreBiotechology: Use of Commerical and Agricultural Land1430 Words   |  6 PagesBiotechnology is blazing a new trail for the use of commercial and agricultural land. Genetically modified crops are being harvested and placed into our food chain. Currently, there are many benefits of genetically modified food, but the current risks of this newfound technology are undefined. The on-going debate of biotechnology shows conflict between, Agri-biotech investors and their affiliated scientists who consider agricultural biotechnology as a solution to food shortage, and independent scientistsRead MoreThe Milieu Of High School Education Essay1551 Words   |  7 PagesRegardless of what type of school a student and parent chooses, the theme is the same in the educational inclusion: rigor, relevance, dual advancement classes, soft skills and college readiness and job readiness skills. Chicago High School for Agricultural Science (CHSAS) is one of the most unique opportunities offered to the students of the public educational school system of the Chicago or in the United States for that matter. CHSAS is located in Cook County, Illinois, in the Oak Lawn School DistrictRead MoreResearch And Development Of Biotechnology965 Words   |  4 Pages According to Susan E. Reid, biotechnology is â€Å"a set of generic technologies that involve manipulation or change of genetic patrimony of living organisms for industrial application† (Reid and Ramani). The origin of biotechnology can be traced back to the 1970’s in the United States. When it comes to advancement of biotechnology in developing countries, India is one of the leaders in research since India is highly receptive to new technologies. Neighboring countries in the region, like Bangladesh

Computers role in education free essay sample

Computer technology has had a deep impact on the education sector. Computer in education field is the ability of a data base machine to reproduce answer when a instruction is been typed in and the ability to answer the question correctly and effectively.. The advantages of computers in education include an efficient storage and rendition of information, quick information processing and very importantly the saving of paper. Computer teaching plays a key role in the modern systems of education. Students find it easier to refer to the Internet than searching for information in fat reference books. The process of learning has gone beyond learning from prescribed textbooks. Today, aspirers can satiate their thirst for knowledge by means of the Internet. It is easier to store information on computers than maintaining hand-written notes. Computers facilitate an efficient storage and effective presentation of information. s other articles in this issue make abundantly clear, both the processing and the uses of information are undergoing an unprecedented technological revolution. Not only are machines now able to deal with many kinds of information at high  speed and in large quantities but also it is possible to manipulate these quantities of information so as to benefit from them in entirely novel mays. This is perhaps nowhere truer than in the field of education. One can predict that in a few more years millions of schoolchildren will have access to what Philip of hlacedon’s son Alexander enjoyed as a royal prerogative: the personal services of a tutor as well-informed and responsive as Aristotle. The basis for this seemingly extravagant prediction is not apparent in many examinations of the computer’s role in education today. In themselves, howel’er, such examinations provide impressive evidence of the importance of computers on the educational scene, As an example, a recent report of the National Academy of Sciences states that by mid- 1965 more than 800 computers were in service on the campuses of various American universities and that these institutions spent $175 nillion for computers that year. The report goes on to forecast that by 1968 the universities’ annual budget for computer operations will reach $300 million and that their by Patrick Suppes total investment in computing facilities  will pass $500 million. A similar example is represented by the fact that most colleges of engineering and even many high schools now use computers to train students in computer programming. Perhaps just as important as the imposition of formal course requirements at the college level is the increasingly widespread attitude among college students that a knomledge of computers is a â€Å"must† if their engineering or scientific training is to be up to date. Undergraduates of my generation who majored in engineering, for instance, considered a slide rule the symbol of their developing technical  prowess. Today being able to program a computer in a standard language such as FORTRA4N or ALGOL is much more likely to be the appropriate symbol. At the graduate level students in the social sciences and in business administration are already making use of computers in a variety of ways, ranging from the large-scale analysis of data to the simulation of an industry. The time is rapidly approaching when a high percentage of all university graduates will have had some systematic training in the use of computers; a significant percentage of them Will have had quite sophisticated training. An indication of the growth of student interest in computers is the increase in student units of computer-science instruction we have had at Stanford University over the past four years. Although total enrollment at Stanford increased only slightly during that period; the number of student units rose from 2,572 in 1962-1963 to 5,642 in 1965-1966. The fact that time-sharing programs are rapidly becoming operational in many university computation centers justifies the forecast of another increase in the impact of computers on the universities [ see â€Å"Time-sharing on Computers,† by R. M . Fano and F. J. Corbato, page 1281. Under time-sharing regimes a much larger number of students can be given direct â€Å"on line’’ experience, which in itself is psychologically attractive and, from the practical viewpoint, facilitates deeper study of the use of computers. There is still another far from trivial way in which the computer serves the interests of education: The large school system that does not depend on computers for many administrative and service functions is today the exception rather than the rule. The truly revolutionary function of computers in education, however, lies  in the novel area of computer-assisted instruction. This role of the computer is scarcely implemented as yet but, assuming the continuation of the present pace of technological development, it cannot fail to have profound effects in the near future. In this article I shall describe some experiments in computer-assisted instruction that are currently being conducted at levels ranging from the comparatively simple to the quite complex COMPUTER-$SSISTED ISSTRUCTION in elementary arithmetic is illustrated in the pho- and then examine unsuspected tographs on the opposite page. A first.  grade pupil, receiving â€Å"readiness† work preparatory to instruction in addition, is shown tw-o possible answers to a question implicit in the sym. problems that these experiments have bols occupying the top line of a cathode-ray-tube display. As he watches (top photograph), revealed. First, however, the reader dehis earphones carry a verbal message asking him to select from the symbolic statements of an Of ‘%’ ‘Omputerunion shown in the second and third lines of the display the one that is identical with the assisted instruction is desirequation shown in the top line, The pupil signals his cho(ibcoet tom photograph)b y pointing able at all.

Good to Great Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Other Do Not” free essay sample

All 11 of the featured companies had this type of leadership, character multi-year research projects and works with executives from the private, public, and social sectors. Jim has served as a teacher to senior executives and CEOs at corporations that include: Starbucks Coffee, Merck, Patagonia, American General, W. L. Gore, and hundreds more. He has also worked with the non-corporate sector such as the Leadership Network of Churches, Johns Hopkins Medical School, the Boys amp; Girls Clubs of America and The Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Non-Profit Management. Jim invests a significant portion of his energy in large-scale research projects often five or more years in duration to develop fundamental insights and then translate those findings into books, articles and lectures. He uses his management laboratory to work directly with executives and to develop practical tools for applying the concepts that flow from his research. In addition, Jim is an avid rock climber and has made free ascents of the West Face of El Capitan and the East Face of Washington Column in Yosemite Valley. Thesis Collins and his team identified 11 companies that followed a pattern of fifteen-year cumulative stock returns at or below the general stock market, punctuated by a transition point, then cumulative returns at least three times the market over the next fifteen years. Public companies were selected because of the availability of comparable data. Fifteen-year segments were selected to weed out the one-hit wonders and luck breaks. While these selection criteria exclude new economy companies, Collins contends that there is nothing new about the new economy, citing earlier technology innovations of electricity, the telephone, and the transistor. Having identified the companies that made the leap from Good To Great, Collins and his team set out to examine the transition point. What characteristics did the Good To Great companies have that their industry counterparts did not? What didnt the Good To Great companies have? Collins maps out three stages, each with two key concepts. These six concepts are the heart of Good To Great and he devotes a chapter to explaining each of them. †¢ Level 5 Leadership †¢ First Who Then What †¢ Confront the Brutal Facts †¢ The Hedgehog Concept †¢ A Culture of Discipline †¢ Technology Accelerators Collins characterizes the Level 5 leader, as a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. The Level 5 leader is not the corporate savior or turnaround expert. Most of the CEOs of the Good To Great companies as they made the transition were company insiders. They were more concerned about what they could build, create and contribute than what they could get fame, fortune, adulation, power, whatever. No Ken Lay of Enron or Al Dunlap of Scott Paper, the larger-than-life CEO, led a Good To Great company. This kind of executive is concerned more with their own reputation for personal greatness than they are with setting the company up for success in the next generation. In this book, Jim Collins also challenges the notion that people are your most important asset and postulates instead that the right people are. I dont know that I yet completely agree with his philosophy that its more important to get the right people on the bus and then see where it goes than it is to figure out where to go and get the right people on the bus who can get you there. However, he makes his point clearly and you can decide if you agree with him. This nearly 300-page book is packed with leading edge thinking, clear examples, and data to support the conclusions. It is a challenge to all business leaders to exhibit the discipline required to move their companies from Good To Great. Chapter 1: Good is the Enemy of Great Collins and his assembled crew started their research using the companies that rank in the top 500 in total annual sales. Then, by analysing the returns they narrowed down the list to companies that experienced mediocrity for a period of time, but then changed course for the better and outperformed not just other companies in the same industry, but the overall market by several times. Other factors were also considered, until they finally had the list narrowed down to eleven â€Å"superstar† corporations: Abbott, Circuit City, Fannie Mae, Gillette, Kimberly- Clark, Kroger, Nucor, Phillip Morris, Pitney Bowes, Walgreens, and Wells Fargo. He then explored what goes into a company’s transformation from mediocre to excellent. Based on hard evidence and volumes of data, the book author (Jim Collins) and his team uncovered timeless principles on how the good-to-great companies like produced sustained great results and achieved enduring greatness, evolving into companies that were indeed ‘Built to Last’. Good to Great is centres on a comparative analysis of eleven companies. Collins selects once-dull organizations, such as Kimberley Clark and Gillette that subsequently outperformed. The usual fault of such manuals is their obvious prescriptions. Of course successful firms kept close to their customers and motivated employees. But unsuccessful firms didn’t fail because they rejected these objectives. They failed because they couldn’t achieve them. Collins penetrates these banalities because he questions the congratulatory self-description of winning businesses. For example, most of his eleven companies didn’t have visionary CEOs determined to turn the business round Few were aiming at the cover page of Fortune, most were consensus builders from inside the organization. Collins research says the CEOs at the time companies become great arent egotistical business leaders. Rather, they tend to be reserved people who channel their ego into building their companies. Collins is a little vague on exactly how you get other employees and key players to channel their egos into building the company. The hope is that, if you select the right people, theyll do whats best for the company rather than for themselves. Finding something you can be passionate about is the other key. And, all employees must be passionate about the endeavour. Because most employees wont get jazzed about making the CEO and shareholders wealthy, a company should have a purpose beyond just making money. Collins says a company should have core values. Collins says it doesnt matter what these core values are, just that they exist. He says Philip Morris is happy to provide the strongest brand recognition of sinful products. Maybe, theyre rebelling against political correctness, or health, or whatever. If it works for them, its cool. Fannie Mae, on the other hand, prides itself on providing mortgages to new, less-affluent homeowners and helping people buy homes. That sounds good, and is probably true, but it reads a little bit like a publicity statement. Chapter 2: Level 5 Leadership In this chapter Collins describes what he refers to as â€Å"level 5† leadership as explained in the table below. Every good-to-great company had â€Å"Level 5† leadership during pivotal transition years, where Level 1 is a Highly Capable Individual, Level 2 is a Contributing Team Member, Level 3 is the Competent Manager, Level 4 is an Effective Leader, and Level 5 is the Executive who builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Level 5 leaders display a compelling modesty, are self-effacing and understated. In contrast, two thirds of the comparison companies had leaders with gargantuan personal egos that contributed to the demise or continued mediocrity of the company. Level 5 leaders are fanatically driven, infected with an incurable need to produce sustained results. They are resolved to do whatever it takes to make the company great, no matter how big or hard the decisions. One of the most damaging trends in recent history is the tendency (especially of boards of directors) to select dazzling, celebrity leaders and to de-select potential Level 5 leaders. Potential Level 5 leaders exist all around us; we just have to know what to look for. The research team was not looking for Level 5 leadership, but the data was overwhelming and convincing. The Level 5 discovery is an empirical, not ideological, finding. The 5th Level Leader – 5th Level Leaders have a combination of strong will and personal humility. The 5th Level Leader demonstrates an unwavering resolve and sets the standard for building great companies. In balance, he/she demonstrates a compelling modesty, relies on inspired standards and channels ambition into the company, and not into the self. The 5th Level Leader â€Å"looks in the mirror, not out the window† when focusing on responsibility and does just the opposite when apportioning credit for success of the company. When a leader’s energy is â€Å"in balance† they are driven neither by ego nor fear. They are moving at a speed that allows them to feel themselves, as well as those around them. They realize more than anyone else, that â€Å"the less you control, the more you can do†. Leadership greatness is about being a conduit of energy, not a single generator of it. Collins asked a critical question: Can 5th Level Leadership be taught? Well, yes and no. To the extent someone is gifted with these innate capabilities, they certainly have a head start. For any leader it is a matter of degree. It is about growing into the role of a 5th Level Leadership leader. It is interesting to note that most 5th Level Leaders did not live extravagant lifestyles. They had sound family and community relationships. They had healthy and long-term marriages. Most of them are highly spiritual people who have attributed much of their success to good-luck and God rather than personal greatness. These men and women were servant leaders, not self-serving ones. The five levels are as follows : Level 5 Executive Builds enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will. Level 4 Effective Leader Catalyzes commitment to and vigorous pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, stimulating higher performance standards. Level 3 Competent Manager Organizes people and resources towards the effective and efficient pursuit of predetermined objectives. Level 2 Contributing Team Member Contributes individual capabilities to the achievement of group objectives and worked effectively with others in a group setting. Level 1 Highly Capable Individual Makes productive contributions through talent, knowledge skills, and good work habits. Humility + Will = Level 5 Professional Will and Personal Humility create superb results, a clear catalyst in the transition from good to great. Demonstrates a compelling modesty, shunning public adulation; never boastful. Demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long-term results, no matter how difficult. Acts with quiet, calm determination; relies principally on inspired standards, not inspiring charisma, to motivate. Sets the standard of building an enduring great company; will settle for nothing less. Channels ambition into the company, not the self; sets up successors for even greater success in the next generation. Looks into the mirror, not out the window, to apportion responsibility for poor results, never blaming other people, external factors, or bad luck. Looks out the window, not in the mirror, to apportion credit for the success of the company to other people, external factors, and good luck. All 11 of the featured companies had this type of leadership, characterized by a CEO who displayed determination and a strong will to be the best, yet who also showed humility. These level 5 leaders eliminated wasteful luxuries, like executive dining rooms, corporate jets, lavish vacation spots, etc. , for the good of the company. Also, when asked about the success of the company, they were quick to give complete credit to the other workers in the company, rather than themselves. Yet these CEOs rose above their peers. Collins dubs them Level 5 managers. By this definition, each was humble to a fault and hid from the limelight. At the same time, though, all of them went to extraordinary lengths to make their companies great. For Darwin E. Smith of Kimberly-Clark, that required jettisoning the core business when he sold its paper mills. For George Cain at Abbott, it meant firing his own relatives. These leaders ambition was first and foremost for the company, writes Collins. They were concerned with its success, rather than their own riches and personal renown. Chapter 3: First Who then What It deals with confronting the facts of expertise and market know- how, and then assembling together a first- class team of dedicated workers and management to achieve goals. In these â€Å"good to great† companies, they all shared several things in common. First and foremost, they were not afraid to admit that they lacked the necessary skills to succeed in certain markets. Instead of pretending to know everything, these companies brainstormed until they had a short list of what they knew they could do better than anyone else. They didn’t bother acquiring other companies, where they had no expertise, or trying to learn new skills, or anything like that. Instead, they focused in on what they were best at, then hired individuals who were skilled in the same area and who would be most likely to work relentlessly toward a goal. Collins point is not just about assembling the right team thats nothing new. The main point is to first get the right people on the bus (and the wrong people off the bus) before you figure out where to drive it. The second key point is the degree of sheer rigor needed in people decisions in order to take a company from good to great. . Regarding people decisions he has the following to say: 1. When in doubt, dont hire keep looking. (Corollary: A company should limit its growth based on its ability to attract enough of the right people. ) 2. When you know you need to make a people change, act. (Corollary: First be sure you dont simply have someone in the wrong seat. ) 3. Put your best people on your biggest opportunities, not your biggest problems. (Corollary: If you sell off your problems, dont sell off your best people. ) Good-to-great leaders understand three simple truths: If you begin with the â€Å"who,† rather than the â€Å"what,† you can more easily adapt to a changing world. If you have the right people on the bus, the problem of how to motivate and manage people largely goes away. If you have the wrong people, it doesn’t matter whether you discover the right direction—you still won’t have a great company. Great vision without great people is irrelevant. Chapter 4: Confront the Brutal Facts This chapter deals with the Stockdale Paradox. Another defiance of conventionality is encapsulated in the so-called Stockdale paradox. Admiral Stockdale survived a long period of imprisonment in Vietnam. He had determination to survive, but claimed that it was ‘the optimists’ who failed to see it through. The Stockdale paradox contrasts those who focus with determination on a realistic objective with the fantasists whose slogan is that if you can dream it, you can do it. Retrain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties and at the same time confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. It says: 1. Lead with questions, not answers 2. Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion. 3. Conduct autopsies, without blame. 4. Build red flag mechanisms that turn information into information that cannot be ignored. Next, even before they had settled on a business plan, these CEOs surrounded themselves with smart, hard-working people who were not afraid to face their shortcomings and hurdlesthe brutal facts, as Collins puts itbut who had faith they would ultimately win. After settling on a course, the companies on the list never lost sight of what they did best, and they maintained tough standards for their people. New hires either fit right inor were quickly ejected. Then, through perseverance and the careful use of technology, the enterprises lifted off. The process resembles relentlessly pushing a giant heavy flywheel in one direction, turn upon turn, building momentum until a point of breakthrough, and beyond, Collins concludes. Good-to-Great companies maintain unwavering faith that they can and will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties, and at the same time have the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of their current reality – whatever that might be. All good- to-great companies began the process of finding a path to greatness by confronting the brutal facts of their current reality. When a company starts with an honest and diligent effort to determine the truth of its situation, the right decisions often become self-evident. Good decisions are impossible without an honest confrontation of the brutal facts. Why Kroger Beat Aamp;P The Great Atlantic and Pacific Tea Company (also known as Aamp;P) had the perfect business model for the first half of the twentieth century, when two world wars and an economic depression imposed frugality upon Americans: cheap, plentiful groceries sold in utilitarian stores. However, in the more affluent second half of the century, Americans began demanding bigger stores, more choices, fresh baked goods, fresh flowers, banking services and so forth. They wanted superstores that offered almost everything under one roof. To f ace the brutal facts about the mismatch between its past model and the changing world, Aamp;P opened a new store called Golden Key, where it could experiment with new methods and models and learn what customers wanted. It sold no Aamp;P-branded products, experimented with new departments, and began to evolve toward the more modern superstore. Aamp;P began to discover the answer to the questions of why it was losing market share and what it could do about it. But Aamp;P executives didn’t like the answers they got, so they closed the store, rather than diverge from their ages-old business ideas. Meanwhile, the Kroger grocery chain also conducted experiments and, by 1970, discovered the inescapable truth that the old-model grocery store was going to become extinct. Rather than ignore the brutal truth, as Aamp;P did, the company acted on it, eliminating, changing, or replacing every single store that did not fit the new realities. It went block-by-block, city-by-city, state-by- state, until it had rebuilt its entire system. By 1999, it was the number one grocery chain in America. Let the Truth Be Heard One of the primary tasks in taking a company from good to great is to create a culture wherein people have a tremendous opportunity to be heard and, ultimately, for the truth to be likewise heard. To accomplish this, you must engage in four basic practices: Lead with questions, not answers. Leading from good to great does not mean coming up with the answers and motivating everyone to follow your messianic vision. It means having the humility to grasp the fact that you do not yet understand enough to have the answers, and then to ask questions that will lead to the best possible insights. Engage in dialogue and debate, not coercion. All good-to-great companies have a penchant for intense debates, discussions and healthy conflict. Dialogue is not used as a sham process to let people â€Å"have their say† so they can buy into a predetermined decision; rather, it is used to engage people in the search for the best answers. Conduct autopsies, without blame. Good-to-great leaders must take an honest look at decisions his or her company makes, rather than simply assigning blame for the outcomes of those decisions. These â€Å"autopsies† go a long way toward establishing understanding and learning, creating a climate where the truth is heard. Build red flag mechanisms that turn information into information that cannot be ignored. Good-to-great companies have no better access to information than any other company; they simply give their people and customers ample opportunities to provide unfiltered information and insight that can act as an early warning for potentially deeper problems. Chapter 5 : The Hedgehog Concept It talks about the triumph of understanding over bravado requires a deep understanding of three intersecting circles translated into a simple, crystalline concept the hedgehog concept, and it’s the basis for much of the book. This concept involves reflecting on three important questions that all businesses should ask: 1. What are you deeply passionate about? 2. What drives your economic engine? and 3. What you can be best in the world at ? At what you can be best in the world. This standard goes far beyond core competence — just because you possess a core competence doesn’t necessarily mean you are the best in the world at that competence. Conversely, what you can be best in the world at might not even be something in which you are currently engaged. The Hedgehog Concept is not a goal or strategy to be the best at something; it is an understanding of what you can be the best at and, almost equally important, what you cannot be the best at. What drives your economic engine? To get insight into the drivers of your economic engine, search for the one denominator (profit per x, for example, or cash flow per x) that has the single greatest impact. If you could pick one and only one ratio to systematically increase over time to make a greater impact, what would that ratio be? This denominator can be subtle, sometimes even unobvious. The key is to use the denominator to gain understanding and insight into your economic model. What you are deeply passionate about. Good-to-great companies did not pick a course of action, then encourage their people to become passionate about their direction. Rather, those companies decided to do only those things that they could get passionate about. They recognized that passion cannot be manufactured, nor can it be the end result of a motivation effort. You can only discover what ignites your passion and the passions of those around you. These three questions are placed within overlapping circles. The area where the three overlap is the area where a corporation should aim to reach, to ensure the most output and the greatest efficiency. . A hedgehog concept is not a goal to be the best, a strategy to be the best, an intention to be the best, a plan to be the best. It is an understanding of what you can be the best at. If you could pick one and only one ratio profix per x (or in the social sector, cash flow per x) to systematically increase over time, what x would have the greatest and most sustainable impact on your economic engine? The core of the book emphasizes what Collins refers to as a hedgehog strategy that is necessary to achieve greatness. Collins says great companies are like hedgehogs in that they stick to what they know and can do well. Collins says when a fox attacks a hedgehog the hedgehog curls into a prickly ball and the attacking fox must leave it alone. Then, the fox runs around and tries another point of attack and never learns. The hedgehogs only need to do one thing that works well and consistently. In short, after much research and writing, Collins finds the key to business success is functioning within the intersection of three circles. The first circle represents an endeavor at which your company has the potential to be the best in the world. The second circle represents what your company can feel passionate about. The third circle represents a measure of profitability that can drive your economic success. You must choose to do something thats profitable and know how to focus upon that profitability. To find the circles, Collins makes the excellent point that you must begin with the right people. Collins emphasizes that the people must come before you decide exactly how your company will achieve success. We learn that in great companies there is often heated debate about whats best for the company. The culture of great companies is open in the sense that the truth will be heard. Thats very different from debating for the sake of protecting private turf and self-aggrandizement. Chapter 6 : Cultural Discipline This chapter deals with the importance of discipline. It talks about building a culture full of self-disciplined people who take disciplined action, fanatically consistent with the three circles, the hedgehog concept. Freedom and responsibility within a framework build a consistent system with clear constraints, but give people freedom and responsibility within the framework of that system. It advises to hire self-disciplined people who dont need to be managed, and to manage the system, not the people. Discipline means fanatical adherence to the Hedgehog Concept and the willingness to shun opportunities that fall outside the three circles. The findings here might surprise some people. First of all, the management teams of the best companies are not strict disciplinarians. Discipline is stressed, but it comes from hiring employees who are already disciplined and ready to motivate themselves to achieve. Bureaucratic culture arises to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline, which arise from having the wrong people on the bug in the first place. Having a disciplined culture is the opposite of having a controlled one. There is no need for hierarchy, bureaucracy, or excessive control. Sustained great results depend upon building a culture full of self-disciplined people who take disciplined action fanatically consistent with the three circles of the Hedgehog Concept. This is in contrast to the typical ways in which many companies (particularly start-ups) conduct themselves when responding to growth and success. As these companies grow, they tend to sacrifice the creativity, energy and vision that made them successful in favor of hierarchical, bureaucratic structures and strictures — thus killing the entrepreneurial spirit as they create order. Exciting companies thus transform themselves into ordinary companies, and mediocrity begins to grow in earnest. Indeed, bureaucratic cultures arise to compensate for incompetence and lack of discipline, which arise from having the wrong people on the bus in the first place. Most companies build their bureaucratic rules to man-age a small percentage of the wrong people, which in turn drives away the right people. This self-perpetuating problem can be avoided by creating a culture of discipline. Action Steps To create a culture of discipline, you must: Build a culture around the idea of freedom and responsibility, within a framework. Good-to-great companies built a consistent system with clear constraints, but they also gave people freedom and responsibility within the framework of that system. They hired self-disciplined people who didn’t need to be managed, and then managed the system, not the people. They also had the discipline of thought, to confront the brutal facts of reality and still maintain faith that they were on the track to greatness. Finally, they took disciplined actions that kept them on that track. Fill your culture with self-disciplined people who are willing to go to extreme lengths to fulfill their responsibilities. People in good-to-great companies tend to be almost fanatical in the pursuit of greatness; they possess the discipline to do whatever it takes to become the best within carefully selected arenas, and then seek continual improvement from there. While everyone would like to be the best, most organizations lack the discipline to figure out with ego less clarity what they can be the best at, and the will to do whatever it takes to turn that potential into reality. Don’t confuse a culture of discipline with a tyrannical disciplinarian. Many companies that could not sustain their success had leaders who personally disciplined the organization through sheer force. Good-to-great companies had Level 5 leaders who built an enduring culture of discipline, powered by self-disciplined people who acted in the company’s best interests without strict dictums from leadership. These disciplined companies could and did thrive even after their leaders had departed the organization; those companies that practiced discipline only by tyrannical rule could not sustain themselves once their leaders departed. Adhere with great consistency to the Hedgehog Concept, exercising an almost religious focus on the intersection of the three circles. The good-to-great companies at their best followed a simple mantra — â€Å"Anything that does not fit with our Hedgehog Concept, we will not do. † They did not launch unrelated businesses or joint ventures in an effort to diversify. They did not panic if the competitive landscape shifted. If a course of action did not fit into their disciplined approach, they did not perform that action. It takes discipline to say â€Å"No† to such opportunities. Collins claims magic occurs when you blend a culture of discipline with an ethic of entrepreneurship. Collin’s discussion about discipline is no different than my discussion about responsibility or Marshall Thurber’s discussion about integrity. Collins points out the interesting paradox that political scientists have known all along. In order to have freedom, there must be rules. To the extent that people are willing to voluntarily abide by those rules, there will an increase in the levels of available freedom. This discipline, responsibility or integrity cannot come through control. There must be disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and then take disciplined action. The most important discipline is staying loyal to the hedgehog concept. Chapter 7 : Technology Accelerators In this chapter Collins tells that technology is not the critical factor that many people think. Technology, when properly applied, is an accelerator of momentum, but it is not the creator of momentum. In other words, having a technological advantage can help a company more quickly achieve its goals, but it is useless by itself. Technology alone cannot make a company great. It has to be linked to and applied within the Hedgehog Concept. For those company studied, the whole issue of technology was not paramount to their success or decline. Rather, it merely acted as an accelerator of the flywheel concept. Their mantra for dealing with technology – â€Å"crawl, walk, run†. Based on the experience of these companies, a cautioned approach towards technology works best, even during times of rapid and radical change. Chapter 8 : The Flywheel and the Doom Loop In this chapter Collins takes the notion of the flywheel concept one step further. He emphasizes that when companies went from good to great there was â€Å"no miracle moment†. No technological breakthrough. No special announcement. Rather, the accumulated effect of dedicated work finally blossoming on an exploding basis. These findings are in alignment with what Napoleon Hill wrote in Think and Grow Rich decades ago. He said, â€Å"The most successful people have a burning desire for a particular purpose†. Success didn’t come overnight, even though it may have appeared that way to outsiders. Dedication and commitment to purpose builds people and companies of great wealth. Similarly, this flywheel can work in reverse, which Collins refers to as the â€Å"doom loop†. The Flywheel and The Doom Loop Good-to-great transformations often look like dramatic, revolutionary events to those observing from the out-side, but they feel like organic, cumulative processes to people on the inside. The confusion of end outcomes (dramatic results) with process (organic and cumulative) skews our perception of what really works over the long haul. Those companies had no name for their transformations; there was no launch event, no tag line, no programmatic feel whatsoever. There was, in other words, no miracle moment in the transformation of each company from good to great. Each went through a quiet, deliberate process of figuring out what needed to be done to create the best future results, then they simply took those steps, one by one over time, until they hit their breakthrough moments. The Flywheel Effect Their successes can be seen in the following illustration: Imagine an enormous, heavy flywheel — a massive disc mounted horizontally on an axle, measuring 30 feet in diameter, two feet in thickness and 5,000 pounds in weight. In order to get the flywheel moving, you must push it. Its progress is slow; your consistent efforts may only move it a few inches at first. Over time, how-ever, it becomes easier to move the flywheel, and it rotates with increasing ease, carried along by its momentum. The breakthrough comes when the wheels own heavy weight does the bulk of the work for you, with an almost unstoppable force. Each of the good-to-great companies experienced the flywheel effect in their transformations. The first efforts in each transformation were almost imperceptible. Yet, over time, with consistent, disciplined actions propelling it forward, each company was able to build on its momentum and make the transformation — a build-up that led to a breakthrough. The momentum they built was then able to sustain their success over time. These companies understood a simple truth: Tremendous power exists in the fact of continued improvement and the delivery of results. Point to tangible accomplishments — however incremental at first — and show how those steps fit into the context of an overall concept that will work. When this is done in such a way that people see and feel the buildup of momentum, they will line up with enthusiasm. This is the real flywheel effect. When a leader lets the flywheel do the talking, he or she does not need to fervently communicate the organizations goals — people can just extrapolate from the momentum of the flywheel for themselves. As people decide among themselves to turn the fact of potential into the fact of results, the goal almost sets itself. People want to be part of a winning team, producing visible, tangible results. The Doom Loop Other companies exhibited very different patterns. Instead of a quiet, deliberate process of figuring out what needed to be done, then doing it, these companies frequently launched new programs — often loudly, with the aim of â€Å"motivating the troops† — only to see those programs fail to produce sustained results. They pushed the flywheel in one direction, stopped, changed course and pushed it in a new direction, a process they repeat-ed continually. After years of lurching back and forth, these companies failed to build sustained momentum and fell into what could be termed the doom loop. Are You on the Flywheel or in the Doom Loop? How can you tell if your organization is on the fly-wheel, or in the doom loop? Consider the following: You’re on the flywheel if you— * Follow a pattern of buildup, leading to break-through. * Confront the brutal facts to see what steps must be taken to build momentum. * Attain consistency with a clear Hedgehog Concept, staying within the three circles. * Follow the pattern of disciplined people, thought and action. * Harness appropriate technologies to your Hedgehog Concept, to accelerate momentum. Spend little energy trying to motivate or align people; the momentum of the flywheel is infectious. * Maintain consistency over time. You’re in the doom loop if you— * Skip buildup and jump right into breakthrough. * Implement big programs, radical change efforts, dramatic revolutions and chronic restructuring. * Embrace fads and engage in management hoopla, rather than confront the brutal facts. * Demonstrate chron ic inconsistency, lurching back and forth and straying outside the three circles. * Jump right into action, without disciplined thought, or first getting the right people on the bus. Spend a lot of energy trying to align and motivate people, rallying them around new visions. * Sell the future to compensate for lack of results in the present. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop are metaphors for demonstrating how great companies start out slowly and methodically yet eventually reach the sustained momentum needed for breakthrough results. In this chapter Collins shows how each of the companies on the good to great list went through a period of buildup before it achieved breakthrough success. Companies that moved too quickly, and tried to skip the buildup phase, often saw their success shrivel and fade away. Those that underwent a steady changeover phase, followed by careful implementation, went on to achieve great things. Sustainable transformations follow a predictable pattern of buildup and breakthrough. Like pushing on a giant, heavy flywheel, it takes a lot of effort to get the thing moving at all, but with persistent pushing in a consistent direction over a long period of time, the flywheel builds momentum, eventually hitting a point of breakthrough. Chapter 9 : From Good to Great to Built to Last In this concluding chapter, Collins attempts to integrate the findings in his two books. What he tells us is that Built To Last is the sequel to Good To Great. It is about great companies that have sustained themselves. The principal of Good To Great, helps build great companies and the principals of Built To Last help sustain them. He reminds us that in order to build sustaining companies we must â€Å"discover our core values and purpose beyond just making money† and combine this with the dynamic of the preserve growth/stimulate progress. In this chapter, Collins raises the most interesting question of all. That is â€Å"why be a great company†? His response: 1) It’s no harder given these ideas than being just a good company. It is just a shift in energy, not an additional expenditure of it. 2) Doing so helps us in our search for meaningful work and 3) To have a meaningful life He also stresses the importance of continuous improvement and how critical it is that a great company has the right people in place. When it comes time for the CEO to step aside, it’s very important that someone with similar vision be properly prepared to take his place. In those companies that fail to achieve greatness, the new CEO is usually someone from the outside who doesn’t really have a good feel for the business that he is about to run. This upsets the system, and more often than not, it leads to a sharp decline in corporate value. There are several appendices at the end of the book, and they help to illustrate the process that was used to determine which companies would make the cut, along with a list of other companies that almost made the cut.

SWOT analysis of Giordano

SWOT analysis illustrates the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that a company experience in an industry. Through this analysis, it is possible to establish the competitiveness of a company in the industry. Giordano is one of the most influential companies in the clothing industry in the Asian market.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on SWOT analysis of Giordano specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The company begun its business in Hong Kong, and has expanded gradually to cover most regions of Asia. Initially, the company ventured into the men’s casual wears business, which made it one of the most reputable firms in the industry. This is attributed to the fact that its rivals were not competitive in terms of service provision and marketing. Over time, it diversified its products and services to meet the needs of its clients. Giordano has gained its strengths in the course of operation. The managemen t culture and style of leadership contribute significantly to its strengths. In this case, the company has instilled flexibility amongst its employees since new ideas are highly appreciated. The culture has made the company venture into new markets, and incorporates new production techniques based on customers’ taste and preference. Meanwhile, the services offered by the company are targeted at satisfying the needs of the customers. Effective service delivery has been one of the ways has been to enhance customers’ relationships. Some of the ways adopted include hospitality of the employees, marketing behaviors and practices of the company. As a result, the company has been able to win the loyalty of customers since they are treated appropriately. The nature of services delivered by the company has contributed to its strengths. In this regard, the company offers varied kinds of products in its retail stores. Since the retail stores are distributed across most markets in the regions, it implies that customers can easily access the products at their own convenience. In addition, the company enjoyed the benefits of being the first company to explore the clothing business, which enabled it to establish its stores at convenient locations in the region. Consequently, the company can invest in any form of customer service campaign easily. Through this process, the company has gained a reputation in the region, which makes it earn substantial profits. The adoption of the up-to-date technology has been critical to Giordano success in the industry. One of the main roles played by the technological facilities is inventory control. For this reason, the company has efficiently monitored the demand of its products and the production process.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More As a result, the management deals appropriately with the needs of the customers a t the retail store level. Furthermore, technological facilities have been critical towards the management of service delivery, and improvement of customer relation with management. Giordano’s practices of product differentiation and market reposition contribute to its strengths. In this case, the company invests significant resources in ensuring that its products and services are differentiated from those of its rivals. For this reason, the company provides consumers with unique and quality products. In addition, the company creates value in its products, which changes its market position in the minds of consumers. Consequently, the company is rated as one of the leading companies in terms of clothing production for both men and women. Regardless of the above strengths portrayed by the company in the industry, it experiences multiple weaknesses. The rapid expansion undertaken by the company contributes to one of its weaknesses. In this case, the company is faced with difficul ties in monitoring the operations undertaken in its retail stores in the international stores. Another factor that contributes to its weakness is the decentralized form of management. Through this initiative, the company is not able to scrutinize effectively the operations of the stores. This is attributed to variation in regional cultures and practices. Consequently, it affects the overall performance of the company in terms of sales and customer-oriented services. Another weakness experienced by the company is the selection of its workforce. Through a tight scrutiny process of the candidates, the company identifies the ideal employees. After this process, the company trains and develops them before they are taken to the field. However, the fact that knowledge and skills acquired during the training and development process may not be effectively employed in the service delivery stage, affects service provision. This notion is attributed to variation in personalities of individuals selected for employment. Consequently, it affects the general performance of the company in the industry. The decision to restrict the number of brands offered within the stores contributes to its weaknesses. In this regard, the company has experienced stiff competition from its rivals. Consequently, this practice will minimize the variety of consumers’ needs addressed by the company. This is because the consumers will view the company as an option rather than the ultimate products’ supplier.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on SWOT analysis of Giordano specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Following the strengths and weaknesses experience of the company, there are immense opportunities that it can exploit. In this case, the company is endowed with a substantial capital base, which enables it to invest in diversified investments. Over time, the company has been specializing in production of casual clothes f or both men and women. As a result, the company has potential to segment the needs of the consumers based on demographic factors. This implies that consumers’ needs based on one’s age vary, which offers the company humble opportunity to exploit. Another opportunity attributable to the company is its ideal location of retail stores. In this regard, the company has to offer varied kinds of products and services based on customers’ tastes and preference. Through this process, it can exploit the market segmentation of consumers based on their social status. This will create variation in the margins from the sales made by the company. Notably, the exploitation of technological advancement in service delivery improves the rating of the company in the industry. Consequently, the company can restructure its corporate strategy to suit the dynamism of the market. When all these opportunities are fully harnessed, the rating of the company in the industry will be impressive . Despite Giordano’s impressive performance in the industry over the previous periods, it will face substantial threats in the future. Initially, it is critical for the company to reposition itself against the emerging new rivals. This element is vital for the company since it influences its performance and customers’ loyalty. Another critical element is the sustenance of its previous performance and level of service delivery. Since this element is an output of various efforts, the issue must be consistently monitored to move in relation with customers’ needs. Consequently, it can improve its competitive advantage against its rivals. Lastly, the expansion and diversification of the company contributes to one of the threats. In this case, the company must consider multiple factors, which could hinder its performance in the international market. This involves issues such as marketing mix, corporate strategies and the nature of products and services offered. Throug h an efficient analysis of the critical factors exposed to the company based on SWOT analysis, it is possible to identify measures that can be adopted to improve the competitive nature of Giordano.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This essay on SWOT analysis of Giordano was written and submitted by user H0peSummers to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

How Magnets Work

How Magnets Work A magnet is any material capable of producing a magnetic field. Since any moving electric charge generates a magnetic field, electrons are tiny magnets. However, the electrons in most materials are randomly oriented, so there is little or no net magnetic field. To put it simply, the electrons in a magnet tend to be oriented the same way. This happens naturally in many ions, atoms, and materials when they are cooled, but isnt as common at room temperature. Some elements (e.g., iron, cobalt, and nickel) are ferromagnetic (can be induced to become magnetized in a magnetic field) at room temperature. For these elements, the electrical potential is lowest when the magnetic moments of the valence electrons are aligned. Many other elements are diamagnetic. The unpaired atoms in diamagnetic materials generate a field that weakly repels a magnet. Some materials dont react with magnets at all.The atomic magnetic dipole is the source of magnetism. On the atomic level, magnetic dipoles mainly ar e the result of two types of movement of the electrons. There is the orbital motion of the electron around the nucleus, which produces an orbital dipole magnetic moment. The other component of the electron magnetic moment is due to the spin dipole magnetic moment. However, the movement of electrons around the nucleus isnt really an orbit, nor is the spin dipole magnetic moment associated with actual spinning of the electrons. Unpaired electrons tend to contribute to a materials ability to become magnetic since the electron magnetic moment cant be totally canceled out when there are odd electrons.The protons and neutrons in the nucleus also have orbital and spin angular momentum, and magnetic moments. The nuclear magnetic moment is much weaker than the electronic magnetic moment because although the angular momentum of the different particles may be comparable, the magnetic moment is inversely proportional to mass (mass of an electron is much less than that of a proton or neutron). The weaker nuclear magnetic moment is responsible for nuc lear magnetic resonance (NMR), which is used for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Make a Liquid Magnet | Bend Water with Static

The Philosophies Influencing Latin America Assignment

The Philosophies Influencing Latin America - Assignment Example The Jesuits generation perpetuated the intellectual traditionalism up to the mid 18th century, and then they tried to modernize the thought of Aristotle. Political chaos hindered the widening of the academic philosophy at the start of the 19th century, but later, positivism was well established in the majority of the Latin American countries (Gaus & Courtland, 2011). New intellectual movements erupted as a reaction against anti positivism in the early the 20th century. Between the 16th and 17th centuries, the philosophies in Latin America had a tendency to strengthen medieval ideas (Oliver, 1998). The Portuguese and Spanish were, therefore, influenced to take up medieval land ownership systems including the relationships between the servants and their masters. The natives were treated as slaves. However, with the Latin Americans’ growing awareness of new philosophies and ideas in Europe and North America, they began adopting them but at a very slow pace (Gaus & Courtland, 2011). For instance, the idea of democracy was relatively established in America by the end of the 1700s, but it took much longer for Latin America to adopt democracy. Marxist philosophy has influenced the continued punitive justice systems, issues of power and human rights. Most of the cultures are still based on the thoughts that Marxist theories describe reality accurately. Caudillos ascended to power mostly by illegal and violent means, although some were highly educated in theology (Oliver, 1998). There were groups of caudillos that were social liberals, while others favored free markets. However, most hindered the separation of state from government. During their rule, Latin American natives were forced into labor and peasants worked the land for long hours. They also took away the right of the middle-class citizens to vote or own land.