War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals Essay Example for Free

War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals Essay David Halberstam who is considered to be one of Pulitzers Prizewinning journalist write the sequel of â€Å"The Best and the Brightest† entitled â€Å"War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals. † In this great book he tries to evoke the internal conflicts, power struggles and unchecked ego within the White House, the military and the state department. He also shows here how the decisions of men who served in Vietnam War and even those who did not have shaped Americas role in global events. He provides the influential and fascinating power of Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Kissinger, Baker, Cheney, Albright and others to reveal a stunning view of modern politics in America and policy. Beginning with the Persian Gulf War, the author tries to discuss political shifts by emphasizing foreign to domestic issues which ushered Clintons administration. Despite the fact that Clinton, along with much of the country preferred to focus on the home front, America nonetheless found itself in conflict in Haiti, Somalia and the Balkans this events reflected American discomforts with the use of military forces abroad and at the same time acknowledging that majority of the world is dependent on the United States for guidance and support. Halberstam also noted the irony of the Gulf war since it was the time where lesser-known players who contributed to the picture were not overlooked. And the wrong branch of the service and the wrong military leaders were celebrated at its conclusion. He points out that President Bush got little electoral bounce from that first high tech, low casualty victory and that this was a lesson that Clinton never forgot. Then the author shifts to the conflict in Bosnia which\ch is a different kind. That war he says tested the United States commitment to moral goals in it foreign policy rather than simply to considerations of national security. Bosnia created a new political constituency in America on e that is â€Å"driven by a memory that connected these events to the atrocities of the Mazis and therefore demanded that other nations ask themselves what their larger purpose was. † War In A Time of Peace 2 Halberstam also noted. Reviewing the last pages of the book, the author gave his point of view in taking a glimpse of the future and the September 11, 2001 World trade center tragedy. The author tries to speculate and give a notion of wrong idea at the wrong time he notes that intelligence analysts believe â€Å"the threats to an open society like America comes form terrorist, rather than the military power of rogue states† which themselves present an exceptional target. Events and personalities clashed in this extraordinary book. The author masters the presentation of well-rounded portraits and in telling the anecdotes of the personalities that created United states policies over the past decades. It was really a historical book full of niche from the author that he himself had carved it is a luxurious product of about four to five years of research wherein any journalists or other people from all walks of life can be indulged and enjoy reading it. It gives a clear portrait of the emerging united States in its full and vivid human detail. War in a Time of Peace is really an interesting case for Americans. If they want to learn from the past decade, they should. If they want to think about the future they must. This is a guiding book for them to read so as to avoid conflicting ideas about politics and policy, leaders ad laws. And how it feels good to live in a strong and influential country like America. Reference David Halberstam, David, (2002). War In A Time of Peace Bush, Clinton, and the Generals.

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom -- Wedding Toasts R

Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom Good evening. I would like to begin by welcoming each and every one of you to this joyous and stressful occasion. You know, while I was watching my son and future daughter-in-law suffer through the painful process of planning their wedding, I asked myself, â€Å"What would it be like if men were responsible for organizing weddings?† I’m guessing that my son might rename the "Rehearsal Dinner" to the "Rehearsal Dinner Kegger". The invitations would not read â€Å"Gracious dinning from 7 to 10† but rather, â€Å"Raucous Drinking from 7 until the cops show up.† Bridesmaids would wear matching blue jean cut-offs and halter tops – with more skin showing than not. Tuxes would have team logos on the back and the Nike shoes would have matching ... Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom -- Wedding Toasts R Humorous Wedding Speech by the Father of the Groom Good evening. I would like to begin by welcoming each and every one of you to this joyous and stressful occasion. You know, while I was watching my son and future daughter-in-law suffer through the painful process of planning their wedding, I asked myself, â€Å"What would it be like if men were responsible for organizing weddings?† I’m guessing that my son might rename the "Rehearsal Dinner" to the "Rehearsal Dinner Kegger". The invitations would not read â€Å"Gracious dinning from 7 to 10† but rather, â€Å"Raucous Drinking from 7 until the cops show up.† Bridesmaids would wear matching blue jean cut-offs and halter tops – with more skin showing than not. Tuxes would have team logos on the back and the Nike shoes would have matching ...

Canyon Ranch Essay

1. What is the value of customer information to Canyon Ranch? Ans. To Canyon Ranch, customer information is must in order to implement their business model successfully. The value that it gives to the business is that it understands customer’s unique wants and give alternatives that will allow each guest to rach their individual goals. This is essential for Canyon Ranch to reach its mission to â€Å"inspire people to make healthy living, turning hopes and live into the highest enjoyment of life†. By gathering and sharing guests’ information, Canyon Ranch can assimilate it to â€Å"know and understand their customers, provides loyalty, and cross-sell its offerings† all of which are highly critical to the success of Canyon Ranch. The VP of Marketing was quoted saying â€Å"everyone experiences a different Canyon Ranch; we’ll meet you where you are†. If the company doesn’t know ‘where that is’, they will never be able to live up to this motto. Their customers are looking for a Luxury-like experience, not a ‘Marriott’ experience. They want unique, custom opportunities and to miss the details related to each customer could cost Canyon Ranch their reasonable edge. Canyon Ranch has been regarded as the â€Å"gold standard in the industry. To uphold this standard, they must know their client better than they see themselves. This is only likely to gather and adapt quality customer information. 2. As CIO, how would you make the case for customer relationship management (CRM) and business intelligence (BI) systems at Canyon Ranch? Canyon Ranch is the gold standard in destination spas and enjoys impressive rates that are much higher than other destination spas, but there are marks of increasing competition. Day spas are aligning themselves with medical expert and offered facilities in nutrition, homeopathy, physical therapy and general medical practice. Also some hospitals were starting to provide spa treatments and wellness centers with nutritionists. Canyon Ranch is now faced with demands as to how to raise the business while keeping the fundamental characteristics of Canyon Ranch. From an IT position, Canyon Ranch has basic systems for the business to function although they are not very effective. The CLS based system is used to record transactional data  while client preferences, support incident, rapid response etc. used Guestware. is not integrated well with CLS. The program coordinator, who persisted as the contact person for the quest through their stay, did not always have all of the data ahead of ti me. There is no POS software in the restaurant or the salon, hold up the Ranch of a chance to compile and track sales data. Canyon Ranch’s each business unit is committed on improving the level of customer service and personalization. As a CIO I would make central IT infrastructure so that all the figures is shared at every Canyon Ranch branch so that where every a customer goes he is not treated as new if he has visited it before. Create a Point of Sale software that leads to traceable value of purchase. If any customer wants to just buy a product then he can buy it rather than taking whole services. Increase direct marketing and communication to self decision making software that recognizes the pattern of customer visit and reminds him about his upcoming event to celebrate or take service at Canyon Ranch. 3. What impact would you anticipate these systems to have on the Canyon Ranch strategy and capabilities? Ans. The evolution of IT application such as CRM and BI systems will change the business interaction with customers. Canyon Ranch can enhance their historic reliance on word-of-mouth promotion to expand its customer base through social networking. Though Canyon Ranch has property management system that captures some customer data but implementing CRM and BI will make robust system to periodically survey customers, capture sales data and track services. Such integration can increase repeat customer visit, enhance customer personalization and attract new customers. The implantation of BI will allow company to attract profitability of its three segments : Health and Healing, Hotels and Spas. With this intelligence Canyon Ranch will employ cost saving measures, track inventory and monitor resources. Such system will improve capability and enhance productivity. 4. What advice do you have for Canyon Ranch executives? Ans. In the IT area Canyon Ranch still has space to improve. The first thing is to reduce the cost. Canyon Ranch has 2.5:1 staff-to-guest ratio, it also was the advantage in competition. But this will cost too much, Canyon Ranch can use the information technology to decrease the amount of staffs. Some services can be done by the computer like registration or remind services,  sometimes, the guest want their privacy space, at this time the Canyon Ranch should offer guests options to enjoy their private time. In another aspect, the information system can help the staffs to manage the profile of the customers. When the customer checking in the resort, the system will tell the preferences of each customer to the service provider automatically. These data of preferences can also help the Canyon Ranch provides much more projects that fit for customers. For the new customers, it should have a survey system to get the basic preferences. There should have some self-service machines to provide reserve service to the customers, to help them reserve the private spa service by their own. It will decrease the cost of Canyon Ranch and increase the efficiency. It also can attract more customers back to Canyon Ranch again. Another problem in Canyon Ranch is the separating system. The CLS system is the core system that runs the whole company, but the Guestware and POS software cannot connect to the core system. So the plan above cannot be implementing until this applicability problem solved. The good news is the Canyon Ranch owned the source code of CLS system, and it could be customized easily. Canyon Ranch should work with the develop company of CLS to customize the system. So a centralized system should be make that interlinks every branch and segments within it.

The Power Of Myth By Joseph Campbell - 1500 Words

Culture is something that influences everyone’s individual behaviorisms, both consciously and unconsciously. Everybody has a personal culture, often learned from other groups, which then have their own distinct characteristics. Joseph Campbell was a celebrated American scholar who studied mythology, having popularized the idea of the hero’s journey. The Power of Myth is a book based on the six-episode documentary Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth, in which Campbell and interviewer Bill Moyers examine the human world. Both discuss Campbell’s thoughts about mythology, and ultimately culture. Campbell’s The Power of Myth introduces important ideas that don’t completely agree with my own values, but still shares notable similarities with†¦show more content†¦Moreover, Campbell dedicated his life to studying myth and religion, something that I probably wouldn’t choose to do with my time. Another instance where Campbell shared his diss imilar observations of myths is his assertion that â€Å"[i]f you were not alert to the parallel themes, you perhaps would think they were quite different stories, but they’re not.† (Campbell 14). Campbell has studied so many myths that he was able to find the universal lessons that humans have learned. Another interpretation is that Campbell has made the generalization that all myths are essentially the same. I believe that while there may be overarching themes found throughout myths, there are still key differences that make each culture’s mythology unique. Trying to group everything into a precise category or combining all myths into a single monomyth makes any other possibilities obsolete. For example, both my favorite TV show and book series retell well-known fairy tales. Finding new meanings in a story that is otherwise clichà © can be eye-opening. I think myths and fairy tales alike reflect the variances between cultures and times, which fluctuate, but C ampbell concluded that all myths tell the same story. This is yet another disparity between Campbell’s views on myth and my own. Campbell’s personal values didn’t seem to emphasize independence and diversity as much as mine. For instance, Campbell said that marriage is â€Å"theShow MoreRelatedJoseph Campbell: The Power of Myth1469 Words   |  6 PagesRitchey Literature and Composition 21 February 2013 Harkness Questions: The Power of Myth Chapters 1-3 1. Myth reveals spiritual truth about the world. Why read myths? You need myths to find your truth. You have elaborate myths to compare to everyday experiences and to other myths. â€Å"Myths give a meaning to life (Campbell, 5). Mythology is a collection of stories based on one’s knowledge and stories of experience. Myths are clues to life meaning. They are clues to â€Å"spiritual potentialities† or yourRead MorePower Of Myth : Joseph Campbell Calls The Movie Theater1255 Words   |  6 PagesIn Power of Myth, Joseph Campbell calls the movie theater â€Å"a special temple where the hero has moved into the sphere of being mythologized† (Campbell). Watching the movie Baraka, the audience can connect to Campbell’s description of the didactic nature of movies. According to its co-director Fricke, Baraka was intended to be a journey of rediscovery that plunges into nature, into history, into the human spirit and finally into the realm of the infinite (Fricke). It is a visualization of theRead MoreMy Hero: Dr. Martin L uther King Jr. Essay542 Words   |  3 Pagesgreat courage or strength of character. (Encarta, 2009) Joseph Campbell has come up with eight of his own characteristics of a hero. Joseph Campbell is known as a scholar of mythology. There are several people in our times that are considered a hero. Whether, these heroes are fictional or nonfiction, they all portray some kind of heroic abilities. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is one the most heroic figures of our time. According to Joseph Campbells characteristics Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.Read MoreTransformation in Flying with the Eagle, Racing the Great Bear928 Words   |  4 PagesThe Great Bear, a popular myth embedded within is called Racing The Great Bear. In this story there was a man named Swift Runner who was looked down upon in his village but he felt he was better then how he was viewed. Through several different processes he went through many life-endangering elements to physically and emotionally mature. Myths are traditions of stories that are interpreted many ways. Some myths are used to make sense of the world or anemology. Some myths tell a story of sociologicalRead MorePostmodern Perspectives On Religion Often Favor A Non Theistic Approach Regarding Traditional Abrahamic Religions1626 Words   |  7 Pagesgain from recognizing the eternal Thou. In the fifth set of quotes, Joseph Campbell in â€Å"The Power of Myth† makes a straightforward assertion: myths, taken metaphorically, are true and provide insight into â€Å"human and cosmic mysteries.† John Caputo in On Religion then expands on Campbell’s ideology, remarking that there is no reason why â€Å"many different religious narratives cannot all be true.† Campbell insists that certain myths may be false to one individual, while true for another-- the significanceRead MoreA Comparative Study of Mythology Essay2508 Words   |  11 Pagesvents of the world and attempt to provide answers for unanswerable questions. Though every mythology appears different, if one looks close enough, commonalities appear. Joseph Campbell spent his life studying mythologies and religions along with compiling the commonalities amongst them. This study on the works of Joseph Campbell focuses on the following areas: I. Reasons for the commonalities amongst mythologies II. Carl Yung’s Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious, and their relation to mythology Read MoreThe Epic Of The Ramayana1270 Words   |  6 PagesChauntise McIntosh Prof. Warren Hum T/Th 1130/1245 INTRO/THESIS The Ramayana is an excellent example of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, who expresses that it â€Å"marks the physical, mental, and spiritual changes that young women and men undergo as they grow and develop to fill a variety of roles in society† (Whomsley 186) based on cultural dogmas. During this journey of maturation, an in individual must act in accordance with dharma to attain enlightenment. Dharma is the glue, which upholds the universeRead MoreThe way of the peaceful warrior Essay1657 Words   |  7 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Joseph Campbell, a well know mythologist states in â€Å"the Power of Myth† that â€Å"a hero is someone who has given his or her life to something greater than oneself† (Campbell 151). Campbell also indicates that there are two types of hero deeds. One type is a physical deed, â€Å"in which the hero performs a courageous act in battle or saves a life† (Campbell 151). The second is a spiritual deed, â€Å"in which the hero learns to experience the supernatural range of human spiritual life and then comesRead MoreEssay on Lais of Marie de France1046 Words   |  5 PagesKnights of Old and Harry Potter October 7, 2012 Love and Marie de France According to American mythologist, Joseph Campbell, â€Å"The greatest love was during the Medieval Ages, when noble hearts produced a romantic love that transcended lust† (Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers [2001]). The Lais of Marie de France are primarily concerned with this idea of love--specifically, courtly love--between a man and a woman. Courtly love, a union modeled after the feudal relationshipRead MoreEssay about Exposition of Mythology846 Words   |  4 Pageshave been studying this deep and complex issue and have come to the conclusion that without myths history would not be the same. In this paper I will discuss what myths are and how scholars have broken them down. Scholars such as Joseph Campbell go into great detail to explain mythology and how it effects the human life. First you must determine what a myth is? Websters New Riverside Dictionary defines a myth as, A traditional story originating in a preliterate society, dealing with supernatural