The Godfather Essay Example For Students

The Godfather Essay The GodfatherDirected by Francis Ford CoppolaBased on Mario Puzos novelThe Godfather was based in the late 1940s in New York City. The story is about the Corleone family, which is headed by Vito Corleone. He had four sons. The quick to act older son is Santino, also known as Sunny. The next son is Fredo and the youngest son is Mechael which was in the military at the start of the movie and later stepped up to be the head of the family business. Finally, there is the adopted son Tom who Sunny found in the streets of New York homeless. He took him in seeing how his life was so terrible and Sunnys life was so good. Vito also had a daughter, Connie who went through the pain of the family business and she was not even involved in it. We will write a custom essay on The Godfather specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now The movie starts off at the wedding of Connie and her husband Carlo. Vito promises Carlo a good future, but will not ever let him be a part of the family business. After the wedding, Virgo Salatso, a herione dealer from Italy is looking for the Corleone family backing by money and protection from the law, as they have control over the local government. Vito wants no part of the heroine dealer and little does he know all of the other mob bosses are going along with Salatso. Vito had no idea his noncompliance with Salatso would start a war between the families of New York. This led to Virgos men to shoot Vito but not killing him. This outgraged Michael and this led to the revenge of him shooting a police captain under Virgo and the shooting of Mr. Salatso. After this, the family sent Michael to Sicily to hide out. While Michael was in Sicily, he fell in love and got married to a woman named Apolonia but their love was short lived because a hit was put out on Michael. Apolonia was kille d by the car bomb that was intended for Michael. Also, while Michael was in Sicily, the bosses put a hit on Sunny. The other bosses used Carlo, Connies husband to set him up. Carlo beat yup Connie and Sunny and was sent to her aid. On the way he had to ggo through a tollbooth where he was met by heavy machine gun fire and was killed. After everything died down, Michael was summoned back to America. With Sunny dead and Vito tired and rapidly aging, he needed to pass the responsibility of the family over to Michael. Michael called a meeting of the five families to announce the Corleone was going to drop all of their operations in New York and go to Las Vegas, but before the y moved to Las Vegas, Michael had to settle all debts. During the baptism of Carlo and Connies son Michael, who was the childs godfather, had the other five family heads killed. He would also kill Moe Green, who stood in the way of Michael owning a casino in Las Vegas and he also confronted Carl0o about setting up Sunny and going behind the familys back by making deals with the other mob bosses. A few weeks later the Corleone family moved to Las Vegas. Before they leave Michaels wife confronts him about the killing of Carlo and he denies it. He asks her to never ask him about the family business again.

Case Rendell Essays

Case Rendell Essays Case Rendell Essay Case Rendell Essay The corporate control organization was responsible for uncial accounting, internal auditing, and analysis of capital budgeting interest. Those functions are divided into each strategic business unit that corresponds to product lines that was led by divisional general manager and divisional controller as an assistant for budgets and performances reports. Several concerns emerged within the company as functions are colliding and the system are deemed to be biased. Basic task such as budgets and performance reports are viewed as influenced by the relationship between the divisional general manager and the divisional controller. After careful study to another company in Marten, Mr. Veins enthused to reinvent Roundels organizational structure. One of the tangible change is to transform the relationship of controller to be more direct, divisional controller should report straight to him instead of the general managers. Nevertheless, arguments arose to reconsider the transformation as other employee such as his assistant, argues that general managers would be reluctant to have a direct relationship because the division controller is perceived as a front office spy. . Contextual Idea Management control involves managers taking steps to help ensure that the employees do what is best for the organization. This is an important function because it is people in the organization who make things happen. Management controls are necessary to guard against the possibilities that people will do something the organization does not want them to do or fail to do something they should do. Changes in mechanisms and practices wi ll usually have immediate and direct effects on the effectiveness of Macs. If all employees could always be relied on to do what is best for the organization, here would be no need for an MASC.. But employees are sometimes unable or unwilling to act in the organizations best interest, so managers must take steps to guard against the occurrence, and particularly the persistence, of undesirable behaviors and to encourage desirable behaviors. Employees, particularly managers, are also prone to make decisions that serve their interests, but not those of their organization. They tend to overspend on things that make their lives more pleasant, such as on office accoutrements and other perks. They often engage in gamesmanship such as earnings management to make their performance reports look good even when they know the actions they are taking have no economic value to the company and, in Some cases, are actually harmful. And they sometimes tend to be excessively risk averse and reluctant to make even good investments because of fear that if the investments do not pay off, they may lose their job. 3. The Case of Rendered Company 3. 1 Organizational Philosophy of Marten The organizational philosophy of Marten in regards to the Management Control System is that the company has a more direct approach towards the relationship between divisional controller and corporate controller as the controlling bodies with report unswervingly to each other in order to establish a transparency of information on business performance issues. With the nature of this philosophy, corporate controller feel more confident in the reports given by divisional controller. However, there will be a tendency of biased information and lack of quality in the decision regarding to issues in the organization. As a result, divisional controller will lean its loyalty towards corporate controller and possibly there will be decreasing trust of the managers. Rendered should carefully resolve this inevitable issues before implementing Marten philosophy in the organization. As mentioned before, changes in mechanisms and practices will usually have immediate and direct effects on the effectiveness of Macs. Workers might feel over stepped and if high level of distrust occur within the team, it could lead to a bad working atmosphere and in turn disrupt the companys business performance. . 2 Divisional Controller Report With the aim to retain organizational stability and its efficiency, Roundels divisional controllers should report to divisional general manager. The existence Of good organizational structure that enables manager and controllers connection will support them to resolve tactical issues within the organization. The probable mistrust among workers is a dire problems that need to be avoided at all cost, therefore Rendered should improve current system instead of implementing new and untested alteration. 3. 3 Corporate ND Divisional Relationship As mentioned before the relationship between the corporate controller and the divisional controller should be such that there will be no biased information by the division controllers to the corporate controller. As result, there Will be confidence in reports given by the divisional controller. All of this can be applied if there is good communication within the organization. With this in mind, division managers should not isolate division controllers from the management team in order to establish a good work environment. By cautiously these steps, Rendered will assuredly establish this relationship steadily: more communication corporate controllers and divisional controllers engage divisional controllers and the corporate controller into a corporate discussions/connection-building assemble periodical meetings to review the effectiveness of companys MASC. 3. Responsibilities To resolve preceding issues in Rendered, corporate and divisional controllers should be straightforwardly responsible in budgets and performance reports for the companys benefits. If Rendered would like to further unravel budget issues, the company may implement supplementary control system, noted that it will not disrupt current dynamics in the organization. 4. Conclusion From the disposition of Mr. Veins to adopt Martens system in the company that stated in the case we can conclude that the organizational philosophy of Marten with respect to the controller function, emphasized the importance of directness report to the corporate controller from the responsibility of the division manager. The system can greatly contribute to improvements on monitoring corporate cost and preparing divisional budget from the company- level management perspective. Yet the consequences of the implementation should not be mistreated since there might be an interest of inconformity between division and corporate. Therefore the consideration should be whether the change is necessary or instead improvement of the current system that need to take place. Enhancement in aspects such as communication and quality of the reports should be taken into consideration for all functions that held responsible with the intention of sustaining business performance as whole.

Goals and Objectives Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Goals and Objectives - Essay Example I was very excited and enthusiastic about this job as it would land me an opportunity to meet new people and learn about their lifestyles. It would also help me to improve my interpersonal, communication skills and confidence. Everyday I used to meet number of people and my interaction with them helped me improve my English language as well. I knew that if I excelled in that job, it would serve as a stepping stone for many greater things ahead in my future. It would make my personality better and make me more presentable in front of people. This job was a good opportunity to get the basic training needed to succeed in this industry. My aim was to gain as much confidence as possible and improve my interpersonal skills from this position and then seek a higher position such as team leader or assistant manager. The nature of my job as a sales advisor, as stated earlier, involved meeting many people during the day. This has taught me many things and has changed me as an individual. I have learned to be more patient in life and how to deal with tensed and stressful situations in a calm, composed manner. For example; I am often faced with the challenge of satisfying many customers’ demands at the same time. These kinds of situations have also taught me to think quickly and respond to difficult situations. I have learned to think fast and say the appropriate thing in difficult situations. This job has given me the opportunity to improve my communication skills. When I started working at Superdrug, the company started organizing seminars for new employees. A personal trainer was appointed to me to guide me through the initial days of my job at the respective company. Around that time, the assistant manager gave me a book that I was supposed to complete and submit by the end of December that year. This book had around 100 pages in it, consisting of questions related to my job, about the company, its products and company policies etc. I carried out this

Mericn Independent Cinem - Hollywood vs. the Independent Essay

Mericn Independent Cinem - Hollywood vs. the Independent - Essay Example Prticulrly, the discussion will be mde on the blurring of Independent nd Hollywood films fter 1990th. n insight into this importnt theme is mde through the discussion of few books where this subject is well developed nd hs gined considerble scholrly ttention mong film experts, diplomtic historins, nd culturl critics. When speking of independent cinem, it is needed to sy tht these re independent compnies supplemented with independent productions, mde with smll budgets nd often independently of the studio corportion. Movies mde in this mnner typiclly emphsize high professionl qulity in terms of cting, directing, screenwriting, nd other elements ssocited with production, nd lso upon cretivity nd innovtion. These movies usully rely upon criticl prise or niche mrketing to grner n udience. Becuse of n independent film's low budgets, successful independent film cn hve high profit-to-cost rtio, while filure will incur miniml losses, llowing for studios to sponsor dozens of such productions in ddition to their high-stkes releses (Glncy, 1999) While most of the world thinks of "independent cinem" (if the world thinks of it t ll) s being synonymous with tony imports or nything with the sobriquet "Trntino- esque," industry types know the truth is more elusive. Once upon time, when John Cssvetes moonlit from his studio dy jobs by mking msterpieces like Womn Under the Influence, independent cinem signified work tht ws estheticlly nd finncilly t remove from Hollywood. Indeed, independent film t its best is still ggressively, pssiontely, cretively driven nd originl. Films such s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Drgon; Requiem for Drem; Before Night Flls; You Cn Count on Me; or Chuck & Buck hve ll becme populr nd wide-spred mong udience. None of the Independent Spirit nominees re derivtive of commercil product. None re formulic or minstrem in their ppel. Low-budget works like George Wshington, Everything Put Together, Our Song or Urbni, ll Spirit wrd nominees, hve even less resemblnce to minstrem studio filmmking. Ech of these films ws produced for less thn $500,000 (Shuoguang 1999)hey del with subjects tht include homophobi, SIDS, poverty nd issues of socil clss, rce nd mrginlity. They focus on fricn-mericn, Ltin nd gy protgonists. nlysts of the doom- nd-gloom persusion would undoubtedly mke the point tht these films ll hd or will hve limited thetricl relese, tht the bigger, more commercil independent films hve been crowding out the rchetypl low-budget, "truly" independent films. It's true tht indie works re relesed on hundreds, even thousnds of screens, thus relegting smller films to just few theters. But tht ws lwys true. Pessimists would lso sy tht the competitiveness in the thetricl mrketplce, the number of releses fighting for exhibition, forces most low-budget films to go directly to video--but ctully there re twice s mny inde pendent distribution compnies now s there were five yers go, which mkes it more likely tht greter number of films will find thetricl relese, however brief. The trnsformtion of independent cinem into mrketing strtegy known s "indie film" during the pst decde hs been widely noted, but even insiders wonder wht it ll mens. One thing is cler: The blurring of lines between the studios nd their indie nlogues ffects both cmps. t

Real Consumer Expenditure and Real Disposable Personal Income Research Paper

Real Consumer Expenditure and Real Disposable Personal Income - Research Paper Example This is evidenced by the R2 value of 0.9968 for the exponential fit as compared to the R2 value of 0.943 for a linear fit (not shown here). From a span of only 60 years, consumption expenditure increased eightfold. The trend only serves as further evidence of the consumer characterization attributed to American society. To determine volatility we graph the rate of change of the data set. For a time-series data, the process would involve subtracting the value for the former year from the value of the current year then dividing by the value of the former year. The resulting value is then multiplied by 100% to convert it into percentages. While the graph in Figure 1 shows that the values are essentially increasing, Figure 2 would indicate a very volatile set of values. The graph shows that the rate of change fluctuates almost in a sinusoidal manner yet it can be seen that the points are mostly placed higher than the x-axis indicating positive rate of change. What is observable is that the period seems to have a 10-year period which begins to rise at the base decade year, climbs up to maximum value in the middle period (5's) then decrease again. The highest positive change was registered in the 3rd quarter of 1950 with a value of 5.146% and the highest negative change in the following quarter with -2.945%. Another time-series data which was acq... Another time-series data which was acquired from the same agency's website was the Personal Income and its Disposition also starting from the 1947 (1). Only the Total Disposable Personal Income found in Row 35 was. The same methodology was used for the analysis. From the graph of Figure 3, we can see that the data set is also increasing. Employing the methods of best fit curve resulted to the exponential fitting as the choice because of the high R2 value. However, we can see that the recent values fall short of the expected behavior. Fig. 3: Graph of Real Disposable Personal Income (1947 - 2007 Quarterly) The rate of change, as can be seen from Figure 4, shows some semblance of sinusoidal behavior although the cycle can not be easily defined. This implies high volatility. As with the same method we used in the first data set, we see that there was generally positive rate of change with negative rates of change occurring in between decades. The highest positive rate of change occurred in the First Quarter of 1950 corresponding to the highest rate of change in the first data while the highest negative rate of change occurred in the Second Quarter of 1947. Fig. 4: Percentage Change of the Total Disposable Personal Income (1947 - 2007) Consumption Models 1. Model (1): Levels (long-run) with the equation: lnCt = a + blnYt which has the same form as y=mx+b Where: Ct = is the Real Consumer Expenditure or y Yt = is the Disposable Personal Income or x The basic question that this modeling exercise would like to answer is to determine whether there is a relationship between Expenditure and Income. Our idea is that as income increases so does expenditure. For time-series data set, there is a need to find the natural logarithms of

Water Is A Limited Resource Environmental Sciences Essay

Water Is A Limited Resource Environmental Sciences Essay Water is a limited resource whose quantities and quality are declining for an ever increasing world population. In the future this scarce resource needs to be managed better and efficiently. Water is the main theme of my research because it is undoubtedly the most critical and vulnerable resource to humans and entire ecosystems. In order to understand the physical and biogeochemical processes that affect this resource, I have focused current research in water, agriculture and forest resources. The primary focus of my research is to improve our understanding of the hydrologic and terrestrial processes regulating the quality and quantity of water in watersheds, so better environmental policy and management strategies that protect water, soil and other natural resources can be developed. My research addresses both managed and natural systems, considers processes at small to large river watershed scale, and uses combined effort of field monitoring, modeling and application of results to real world problems. It is my view that only by integrating across scale and between disciplines we will ever be able to understand these interactions and their potential implications at different scales. Building on my expertise, past and current research experiences, I have three broad and somewhat overlapping research themes. They are: 1. Land use change and management impacts on water quality and quantity, 2. Impact of climate on hydrologic and terrestrial processes, and 3. Bridging basic research and modeling efforts for effective management and policy decisions. Impact of land use on water quality: Many of my research projects have characterized the relationships between land use management, patterns, and sources of runoff, sediment, and nutrients in the landscape and used this information to predict stream water quality/quantity. For example, in my doctoral dissertation research I assessed the impact of land use and management practices on water quality/quantity for a drinking water supplying watershed and lake. To do this I combined stream monitoring, and distributed watershed modeling. My study site included both agricultural areas that have best management practices already implemented and forested areas with minimal human impacts. Assessment of the impacts of BMPs on water quality is challenging because implementation of whole-farm management programs has been on-going in the watershed; farms where BMPs had not been implemented were not available for monitoring in the current study. Consequently, the classic paired watershed approach in volving comparison of treated vs. control subwatersheds was not possible. Minimal divergence of water quality between watersheds dominated by forest land use and those dominated by agricultural land use provided indirect evidence of agricultural BMP effectiveness. Individual cell contributions to total yields of water, sediment and nutrients at the outlet were calculated, facilitating identification of specific cells contributing disproportionately to non-point source pollutant inputs. Effectively, those are the areas where management intervention may provide the greatest impacts on maintenance and improvement of water quality. This type of comprehensive watershed scale research not only allows us to quantify the effects of management practices on surface water quality, which are to be significant, but gives us clearer insight into controlling processes and their distribution in a watershed. I recently used a similar modeling study approach to quantify snowpack distribution in New York City (NYC) water supply watershed, as snow is an important component of the water resources of New York State and the watersheds and reservoirs of NYC water supply (Pradhanang et al, 2011, Hydrological Processes). I will continue to expand this type of research to larger systems by incorporating geospatial information and remote sensing into both the field and modeling components of my research. My research results have shown that when studying at the large scale response, it is important to consider small areas of a landscape or spatially distinct zones. One challenge that will be critical in future work will be determining how to effectively monitor and model small scale processes, particularly with respect to biogeochemical processes, while also applying small scale processes to larger systems. Impact of climate on hydrologic and terrestrial processes: My ongoing research in this area focuses largely on determining relationships among biogeochemical processes, hydrology, and the influence of climate in both the US and Nepal. Since 2009 I have been involved with researchers from New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection tasked with assessing effectiveness of land and watershed management practices to ensure abundant, clean water in the New York City Watersheds. In addition to land use impacts on water quality and quantity, another major concern in the watershed is the influence of climate change on terrestrial biogeochemistry, water quality, and water quantity. One of my roles has been to develop and test basin scale hydrologic models designed to capture the variable source area (VSA) hydrology that dominates the region, and that will provide accurate estimates of both water quality and quantity. As part of this effort I have updated, modified, and applied model that i s currently being used, the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) which were not originally designed to capture the complexity inherent in saturation excess runoff process. I used streamflow predictions from SWAT-WB (modified version) to assess effects of climate change and potential changes in hydrologic indicators (Pradhanang et al., JAWRA in revision). Currently, I am working towards simulating nutrients in agriculture dominated watershed. Rising atmospheric CO2 concentration, higher temperatures, changes in precipitation pattern, duration and frequency will have significant effects on vegetation and crop growth affecting food security. I have applied watershed and ecosystem model in order to effectively understand potential effects. I have recently worked with a graduate student at City College of New York to couple watershed models distributed snow model and also with radar and other remote-sensing techniques. My future research in this area will build and expand on identifying and quantifying hydrologic processes controlling biogeochemical fluxes in the landscape, especially those most relevant to anticipated environmental changes associated with climate change. I also plan on expanding my work in places like Nepal where the potential impact of global climate change on soil and water resources could be devastating and where resources for solving the resulting problems are least available. Of particular concern is resultant impact on agricultural productivity due to changes in hydrology, either climate driven or as a result of manipulations to hydrology (e.g., irrigation), or soil quality. Thus, a better understanding of the hydrological and biogeochemical systems in these areas and their linkages to climate are critical to improving the quality of life around the globe. 3. Bridging basic research and modeling to management and policy: Work that interfaces directly with planners, managers, land owners, and policy makers is some of the most rewarding of my (short) career. For instance, results from Ph.D. research are currently being considered in New York to identify source areas and effectively apply management plans in identified sources. My on-going research in New York is a good example in which I have worked directly with New York City Dept. of Environmental Protection scientists and managers to develop and assess water quality protection strategies for the New York City water supply. I am also involved with USAID as well as federal, regional, and local community leaders in a project entitled à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“adaptation of livestock smallholders to climate change in Nepalà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ , a project assessing the historic, current, and future of livestock resources in the Gandaki River Basin (GRB), Nepal. This project is truly interdisciplinary, bri dging the fields of hydrology, engineering, agronomy, soils, economics, social science, and climatology as well as watershed stakeholders and government officials in a dynamic and rapidly changing region of the world. Nepal holds vast potential (both beneficial and dire) to influence global issues such as human induced climate change, economics, and population pressure. I find it exciting to work on a project with potential global impact. My role involves developing models of hydrology and crop growth to determine potential effect of climate change on streamflow and crop yield in GRB that can have direct impact on livestock water management and feed and fodder availability. The model integrates our current knowledge of spatial and biogeochemical processes and a large amount of remotely sensed information (TRMM derived rainfall, ensemble forecasts, Landsat imagery, etc). In fact, remote sensing platforms are essential for large scale modeling and analysis of climate and terrestrial s ystems, especially for parts of the world with little reliable ground monitoring. The implications of this project are far reaching and will inform governments and watershed stakeholders on the consequence of factors both within and beyond their control. Moving forward, I would like to keep these types of linkages between my research and environmental managers.

Prospero and Caliban of William Shakespeares The Tempest Essay

Prospero and Caliban of William Shakespeare's The Tempest  Ã‚   Within The Tempest, characters such as Prospero and Caliban share an intimate connection. Without some kind of malevolent force motivating the action of the play, none of the major characters would come into contact with each other. A violent storm, formed by Prospero's magic, subjects the foreign characters to the might of his mysterious power. Issues of control become a central part of The Tempest. One way in which this is highlighted is through the relationship between Prospero and Caliban, his bestial servant. Their relationship does not utilize the conventional imagery of those who hold power versus those who do not. Rather, Caliban comes to symbolize a physical manifestation of a darker part of Prospero's personality. Early in the play, Caliban is described as a beast-like figure who lived on the island before any foreign intrusion. Prospero and Miranda found Caliban and his mother living on the island when they themselves became shipwrecked there. The first words introducing Caliban describe him as the son of the witch Sycorax who was banished to the island. Caliban is described as someone who is,"not honored with/A human shape....[a] Dull thing..." (I. ii. 283-6) Though Caliban is referenced here as a figure of disgust and contempt, Prospero chooses to use the word "dull" in his description of this creature. Even before he is introduced, Caliban becomes labeled with imagery of darkness, or at the least, lessened brightness. This labeling comes from Prospero, who has shown the power to control clouds and can cause storms to cover up the sky if he so chooses. Prospero has the power to decide when the sun will shine, and when there is to be darkness, and rai... .... Her imminent marriage at the end of the play causes Prospero to open his eyes to the world once again, and readies himself to rejoin society. This realization of the need for darkness as well as light allows Caliban the chance of forgiveness at the closing of the play. Caliban says,"    Ay, that I will; and I'll be wise hereafter And seek for grace. What a thrice-double ass Was I, to take this drunkard for a god And worship this dull fool! (V. I. 295-8) Shedding off his "dullness" in favor of a chance at redemption, Caliban takes a few steps closer to understanding the way Prospero views the world. It is Prospero?s acceptance of Caliban?s darkness that finally allows Caliban to have something in common with the world of light, and desire to seek grace. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. The Tempest. New York: Penguin, 1970 [1623].