Motorola Mobility Holdings. Codes of Conduct in the Telecommunication Industry

Brief description of the company Motorola Mobility Holdings is a company in the telecommunication industry. Its operations mainly involve the sale of mobile devices, data delivery as well as end to end video. The company is based in the United States of America. The company was part of the Motorola Company where it was operating as a mobile devices division, prior to its separation in the year 2011.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sample on Motorola Mobility Holdings. Codes of Conduct in the Telecommunication Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More After it separated from Motorola, it started executing its own independent operations. Since its separation, the company has been trying to plan its policies, as well as ethics that will be guiding its operations and facilitate achievement of its goals and objectives. Code program benchmark It is important to have an effective ethics program as emphasized by the Federal S entencing Guidelines for Organizations for any company to succeed. Federal Sentencing Guidelines for Organizations is a set of rules and regulations that are used in the United States of America to ensure that individuals and organizations that are found guilty of serious misdemeanors are sentenced uniformly in the Federal Courts (Wulf, 2012). It is important to note that these guidelines are only applicable in cases of serious misdemeanors. When setting this program, it is always important to put in mind that the current business environment is changing rapidly in terms of technology, culture, while the political and economical changes are facilitating the changes. Therefore, the codes should be such that they will be effective for the business organization for a long time (Lawrence Weber, 2011). In addition, it is important to consider the challenges that the organization might encounter in its bid to adopt to the ethics program. This is important since it will help managers to p roactively deal with such problems and facilitate smooth running of business. Business in America has been affected by criminal misconduct over a long period of time. These actions have been in the manner with which organizations conduct their business. There have been legal sanctions to business organizations, as well as cultural changes and compliance practices as a result of such misconducts (Wulf, 2012). The ethical program issues have grown more complex as globalization continues establishing itself. Questions on what is and what is not ethical have become more difficult and complex.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The telecommunications industry is one that has grown very fast in this technological era, thereby affecting ethics concerned with freedom of expression, privacy, cultural diversity, intellectual property, as well as information access. Some of the ethic s in these industries include: Samsung, a company that deals in electronics and mobile devices, is guided by ethics that are summarized into 5 principles. These principles are compliance to law and ethics, maintenance of clean culture, respect to its stakeholders, environmental, safety and health responsibility, as well as CSR. It is not easy for the company to fully comply with laws, considering the rapidly changing political and economical environment (Ferrell, Fraedrich Ferrell, 2011). For instance, the company has found itself in lawsuits with Apple regarding smartphones as a result of competition. Maintaining a clean culture is also a challenge. Apple Inc. is the other company in the telecommunication industry with ethics that are meant to ensure that all stakeholders comply with the way the company wishes to conduct worldwide business and achieve its goals. Apple’s ethics include corporate governance, reporting guidelines and conflict of interest. These are guided by f our principles that include compliance, honesty, integrity, and respect. Compliance and honesty are sometimes difficult to adhere to due to the increasingly competitive environment. Employees are tempted to act in non-compliance manners in order to gain competitive advantage. For instance, Apple Inc. has been accused of its product quality and privacy issues. Finally, Nokia is a company that has been successful in this industry. Its ethic program focuses on respect for customers, use of technology, marketing, as well as competition. It is not easy for the company to maintain its competitive and marketing ethics since it is operating in a highly dynamic industry (Wulf, 2012). Codes of conduct for Motorola Mobility Holdings Respect The company should respect all its stakeholders, who include customers, employees, shareholders and directors among others. This will help in building good reputation and gaining competitive advantage.Advertising We will write a custom term paper sampl e on Motorola Mobility Holdings. Codes of Conduct in the Telecommunication Industry specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Conflict of interest The interest of each party will be clearly stated to avoid conflicts. Conflict of interest is likely to bring division among the company’s stakeholders. Guidelines on conflict of interest should, therefore, be clear. Technology The company will adopt a culture that embraces technology and encourages dynamic development. The current business environment is changing rapidly, and organizations should not be static. Compliance The company will always comply with the law and national policies. Motorola Mobility Holdings will be flexible to adapt to any changes that may be implemented. The above ethic guidelines have a direct effect on any company that is in the telecommunication industry. For instance, technology is a factor that cannot be avoided in telecommunication. Motorola Mobility Holdings d eals in mobile devices and data delivery. The latter requires high technology to succeed, while the former is changing rapidly. However, the company should ensure that it maintains the trust of its stakeholder through respect while venturing in technology. The company should respect the privacy of customers and ensure quality production (Lawrence Weber, 2011). The company should also comply with national laws to avoid lawsuits and other conflicts with the government. Telecommunication and technology industries are likely to be affected by compliance issues. Likely challenges The company is likely to endure difficulties in adhering to the compliance principle due to the changing business environment. Managers and employees might be tempted to break some rules in order to gain competitive advantage.Advertising Looking for term paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More For instance, employees might be caught up in copyright issues when trying to counter their competitors. Privacy issues will also be a challenge. Generally, the telecommunication industry has had privacy issues due to the nature of its business. Finally, the costs of production are increasing. Consequently, the profitability of the company is bound to down if swift action is not taken to intervene. The company might be forced to produce low quality goods to maintain its profitability. This is a challenge that might affect the development of Motorola Mobility Holdings in the future if costs continue to increase. Ways of addressing the challenges Motorola Mobility Holdings will have to proactively deal with the above challenges to succeed. Managers need to be aware of any technological, economical and political changes early enough to have time to act. It would be highly helpful if managers predict the changes in order to take timely action. Communication among the members of the orga nization will be effective in ensuring that stakeholders’ conflicts of interest are eliminated. Finally, the company can find alternative substitute inputs that are cheaper in order to deal with the increasing costs of production. This will ensure quality production at a relatively lower price. Another way to deal with this problem is to differentiate its goods so that it can sell at higher prices and maintain its profitability. References Ferrell, O. C., Fraedrich, J., Ferrell, L. (2011). Business ethics: Ethical decision making and cases. Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning. Lawrence, T. A., Weber, J. (2011). Business and society stakeholders, ethics, public policy. New York, NY: Wiley and Sons. Wulf, K. (2012). Ethics and compliance programs in multinational organizations. Wiesbaden: Springer Gabler. This term paper on Motorola Mobility Holdings. Codes of Conduct in the Telecommunication Industry was written and submitted by user Ali York 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.

Word Essay Pages Sample - The Best Way to Learn to Write a Good Essay

Word Essay Pages Sample - The Best Way to Learn to Write a Good EssayA word essay can be a very difficult subject to master and many students seem to be confused when trying to get the most out of their writing. I'm here to tell you that you don't have to worry anymore because there are now professional writing samples available for you.Most teachers and professors make it a point to teach you how to write a good paper, essay, or report, but you'll soon find out that you're only being shown one side of the coin when it comes to writing. There are many things that you need to remember when it comes to using a word essay sample. Here's how you can make the most out of your writing assignment.*Use it to get feedback. You're going to use this word essay pages sample in order to get more information and help you learn how to write the best possible essay. You're going to write essays, you want to make sure you're using the right tools and the best way to do that is to use a sample. Let th e teacher or professor know what you learned from your project and what you learned from the sample.*Use it to see what works. If you don't take the time to use a word essay sample to figure out what works and what doesn't, you could be wasting your time and effort. If you're new to writing and you need some practice writing an essay, then you're going to want to get some word essays sample projects and see what works and what doesn't.*Focus on one topic. Many students seem to have their eyes glued to the screen and they end up spending their time going over what they've already learned, rather than concentrating on what they need to focus on.*Focus on writing good grammar. By having a professional writing sample to work with, you will be able to focus on the correct grammar and punctuation that will help you write a clear, professional essay. Keep in mind that this isn't something that can be learned in one night, it takes time to build a good foundation.*Test yourself. While you'r e taking the time to look for a professional writing sample, why not give yourself a few essays to go over and see if you can get a better grade? This will help you make sure that you can use this approach to improving your grades.Using a word essay pages sample will help you get started on the right foot when it comes to writing. This is just one of the methods that you can use to improve your writing, you can always search for more samples.

Complete Guide to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship

Complete Guide to the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Bright Futures scholarship programs are great resources for Florida students who plan on staying in-state for college. Aswith any scholarship program, though, there's a lot of information to processabout the awards. Just sifting through all the eligibility requirements and award limitations can be overwhelming, never mindfiguring out how to actually submit an application. In this guide, I've compiled all the information you need about the Bright Futures scholarships. I'll talk about the different award programs, their eligibility requirements, the application process, and strategies to help you win your own. What Is the Bright Futures Scholarship Program? The Bright Futures program offers merit-based scholarships to Florida residents who stay in Florida for college or vocational school (unfortunately, you won't be eligible for an award if you attend college out of state). If you qualify for a scholarship, you’ll receive funds to attend any public or private college in Florida. Financial need is not considered in awarding Bright Futures scholarships. There are three different scholarship programs, all with different eligibility requirements and award amounts. All of these scholarshipsare renewable - as long as you continue to meet eligibility requirements, you can get these awards year after year until you’ve finished your program of study: Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) - This is the most competitive scholarship and most generous scholarship. It's geared towards â€Å"A students." FAS winners canreceive funding for the entire duration of their course of study. Florida Merit Scholars (FMS) - This scholarship is less competitive than the FAS, but it still has relatively high minimum test score and GPA requirements. It's geared towards "B students." FMS winners canreceive funding for the entire duration of their course of study. Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) - This scholarship helps students pursuepost-high school vocational and certificate degrees. It's the least competitive award and provides the least amount of funding. GSV winners can receive scholarship funding for up to 72 credit hours of a technical degree program or career certificate program OR up to 60 credit hours of an applied technology degree program. Award Amounts Like I mentioned above, scholarship funds are awarded per credit hour. Scholarship recipients receive a fixed amount based on scholarship type, school type, and credit type: SCHOLARSHIP TYPE PROGRAM TYPE CREDIT HOUR AWARD - SEMESTER CREDIT HOUR AWARD - QUARTER CLOCK HOUR AWARD FAS 4 year $103 $69 2 year $63 $42 $2.10 FL Public Colleges - BA programs $71 Technical programs $52 $35 $1.73 FMS 4 year $77 $51 2 year $63 $42 $2.10 FL Public Colleges - BA programs $53 Technical programs $39 $26 $1.30 GSV (20-2012 high school grads and later) Career certificate program $39 $26 $1.30 Applied technology degree program $39 $26 $1.30 Technical degree education program $48 $32 $1.60 Want to calculatehow much scholarship money you could potentially receive? Just multiply the award amount (per credit hour) for the scholarship you're gunning for by the number of credit hours you'd need to complete a particular program. For example, a standard bachelor's degree requires 120 credit hours to complete. If I won the FAS scholarship, I could potentially receive $12,360 over the course of 4 years (120 credit hours x $103). Award Limits As flexible as the awards are, there are some ways in which you can't use Bright Futures funding. In addition to eligibility limits (which we'll get to shortly), there are some restrictions on how and where you can use Bright Futures scholarship money. You can only use the fundsat Florida schools - for more information, you can check this full list of eligible or participating institutions. You also can't use Bright Futures money to fund remedial coursework or (except in special circumstances) summer term work. How Do You Know If You're Eligible? Now that you know all about the sort of funding you can get with a Bright Futures award, I imagine you're interested in figuring out if you're eligible. First, you should determine if you meet the general Bright Futures requirements (these apply to all three scholarships): You must be a Florida resident and US citizen or eligible noncitizen (this is determined by your college). You mustcomplete the Florida Financial Aid Application by 8/31 of the year of your high school graduation. You must earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalent from a Florida public high school or a registered Florida Department of Education private school. You can’t have been convicted of (or pleaded no contest to) a felony charge. You must be accepted by and enroll in a degree or certificate program at an eligible Florida public or independent postsecondary institution (postsecondary institution = college, university, vocational school). There are additional academic criteria for the FAS, FMS, and GSV scholarships.The FAS and FMS scholarships have pretty demanding criteria for GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and service hours, whereas the GSV program isn’t quite as demanding: FAS Requirements 3.50 minimum GPA (weighted) 29 minimum ACT scoreor 1290 minimum SAT score 100 minimum community service hours FMS Requirements 3.00 minimum GPA (weighted) 26 minimum ACT scoreor 70 minimum SAT score 75 minimum community service hours GSV Requirements 3.00 minimum GPA (weighted) in non-elective high school courses ACT score minimums = 17 in English subsection, 19 in Reading subsection, and 19 in Math subsection SAT score minimums = 440 in Critical Reading, 440 in Math 30 minimum community service hours There’s quite a bit of fine print when it comes to eligibility requirements. If you want to learn more (and you should), check out our complete guideto Bright Futures requirements. What Information Do You Need to Apply? Thankfully, there isn't too much of this involved in submitting a Bright Futures application. You'll be able to streamline the whole application process if you have all the necessary paperwork and materials in orderbefore you begin. Here's everything you'll need to prepare if you want to apply for a Bright Futures scholarship: Florida Financial Aid Application You'll need to submit the Florida Financial Aid Application, or FFAA, no later than August 31 of the year of your high school graduation.If you don’t submit the FFAA, you won’t be able to get any Bright Futures funding.The applicationtypicallyopens December 1. Official Transcripts Fortunately, Florida public high schools automatically submit official transcripts to the Florida Department of Education for Bright Futures evaluation. Ifyour high school doesn’t automatically send transcripts, you can ask them to submit yours via email toOFSA.transcripts@fldoe.org. SAT or ACT Scores You can take the SAT or ACT for the purpose of submitting your scores to the Bright Futures scholarship program through June 30 of your graduation year - this is obviously much later than you would take the tests for college applications. This long window gives you some extra time to meet score requirements if needed. You can submit your ACT/SAT scores for Bright Futures consideration when you register for the exams. Request, at registration, that your scores be sent to one of Florida’s 12 state universities, public community colleges, or public high schools. The scores will automatically be forwarded to the Florida Department of Education repository. The application process should run as smoothly (and as automatically) as a well-oiled machine. How Do You Submit an Application? Much of this process is automated - you won’t have to do much extra work outside of submitting the FFAA and keeping an eye on your application to make sure everything is processed correctly. Here are all the steps you should take to make sure you submit a complete and successful Bright Futures application: Step 1: Submit the Florida Financial Aid Application Remember, this must be submitted by 8/31 the year of your high school graduation. YourFlorida Bright Futures account login information will be sent to you after you submit the FFAA. Step 2: Take the ACT or SAT and Submit Your Test Scores You’ll have to take either the ACT or SAT for college applications anyway, so this shouldn't require extra work on your part. Send your scores to a Florida public school (like I mentioned earlier in this post) to ensure that the Florida Department of Education receives them. Step 3: Check on the Submission of Your Official Transcripts If you attend a Florida public high school, your transcript willbeautomatically submitted for Bright Futures consideration. It’s a good idea to check with your guidance counselor to confirm submission, especially if you don't attend a public school. Step 4: Keep the Information in Your Bright Futures Application Account Updated Again, you'll get account login information for your Bright Futures application account once you submit your FFAA. Once you have access to this account, you can use it to manage and monitor different parts of your application. To make sure that your scholarship application is on track, you should: Monitor your number of reported service hours. Update your postsecondary institution. Once you’ve enrolledat a FL college or vocational school, you shouldmake a note of this in your account. Update any demographic information. View your eligibility determination - check your account once everything’s been submitted to see if you’re eligible for the scholarship. When Do You Find Out Whether You've Been Selected? There are two different evaluation timelines: Early Evaluation and Final Evaluation. For the Early Evaluation timeline, you can get an eligibility determination posted to your online account as early as March. Your transcriptsand test scores mustbe submitted by January 31. For the Final Evaluation timeline, you can get an eligibility determination posted to your online account as early as July. Your transcripts and test scores canbe submitted following your last high school term. You actually don't get much of a say in how this cashis used (which may be a good thing if money tends to burn a hole in your pocket). How Can You Use Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Money? Now that you're up to speed on the application process, you'll probably want to know what actually happens with the Bright Futures funding once you get it. You won’t receive the money directly. The financial aid office at your school will calculate your award and then disburse funds (i.e. apply the funds to your account) after the end of the add/drop period each term. Like I've mentioned before, you have to use the funds at an eligible Florida school. Interested in studying abroad? Your school decides ifany Bright Futures funding can be applied to study abroad programs. Strategies: How to Increase Your Chances of Winning a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Winning a Bright Futures scholarship could mean that the bulk of your tuition expenses (and maybe even some room and board costs) would be covered for up to four years. If you're going to submit a Bright Futures application, you'll want to make it count. There are four main eligibility requirements that you have control over (aside from state residency): coursework, GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and service hours. Here are some strategies to make sure you meet all of those requirements. Coursework If you attend any school in Florida, you're likely on track to meet all the coursework requirements. If you're in any way concerned,schedule a meeting with a guidance counselor ASAP to see if your schedule needs to be adjusted. For more information on coursework requirements, see our Bright Futures eligibility guide. GPA If you're concerned that your GPA isn't high enough to win the FAS scholarship - the most competitive of the awards - set a more reasonable goalby aiming for the FMS or GSV GPA requirement. Also, keep in mind that all the GPA requirements listed are weighted. If your GPA is currently unweighted, your weighted GPA may be higher if you've taken any advanced or honors classes. See your guidance counselor for more help in calculating your weighted GPA. ACT or SAT Scores You'll be doing yourself a favor in a couple of ways if you work on bringing up your ACT or SAT scores. Higher scores will open up more scholarship opportunities in addition to better-ranking school options. To give yourself time to bring up your scores, start preparing for and taking the tests earlier rather than later. The end of your sophomore year through the beginning of your junior year is a good time to start working on prep. Optimize your scores by choosing one exam to work on, rather than splitting your energies between the ACTand SAT.If you're unsure which test to take, check out our guide to figure out which test is best for you. If you're an upperclassman and don't have much time to prepare for thetests, check out our fast prep guides for the ACTand SAT. Service Hours The best way to meet theservice hours minimum is through consistency. Try to set a schedule (e.g. go at the same time every week) so that it feels like more of a serious commitment. The more consistent you are and the earlier you start chipping away at your community service hours, the fewer hours you have to volunteer per week. If you start as a freshman, you'd need to volunteer for 1 hour every 2-3 weeks to meet your minimum. If you start as a senior; however, you'd need to volunteer 1.5-2 hours every week. It'll be easier to stick with your volunteer commitment over the long run if you work with an established, legitimate agency thatwill consistently track your hours (although it's a good idea to keepyour own records as backup). If you need community service ideas, read up on the nine best places to volunteer. What's Next? Now that you know exactly what to focus on in order to get a Bright Futures scholarship, you can start working on making sure you meet all the eligibility requirements. Concerned about meeting those minimum testscores? Check out our prep guides for the ACT and SAT. Want to bring up your GPA? Read about four ways to bring up your high school grades fast. Interested in more community service ideas? Check out our guide to 129 great community service projects. You may alsobe interested in other community service-based scholarships. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Critical analysis of two mental health web site Essay

Critical analysis of two mental health web site - Essay Example In order to begin this process it is a good idea to start with an explanation of each one and then to compare and contrast them. Beyond blue is a website about depression and it explains how people can cope with and relieve depression. On the first page it is clear to see that this is the topic because the news items are about depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder and postnatal depression. Each of these is an aspect of depression and can be brought on by this disorder. From the first page an individual can link to a variety of interesting information throughout the website. On the right hand side of the website there are a variety of self-help programs and/or references that an individual can use if they have some type of depression. It is clear from this website that they are attempting to give all depression mood orders equal time. They have equal information about prevention, early intervention (symptoms) and it is very accessible to lay people who have no background in mental health education. There are several downloable fact sheets from the homepage. As an example, if you are someone who suspects you might have problems with depression, you can download a checklist for each of the depression disorders they have listed. The general depression checklist asks two questions and based on the answers to those they encourage you to move further into the checklist. The checklist allows you to take it and then they give you a score at the end and describe what you "might" need. The language on the site is very easy to understand and it is as though they are talking to a friend. Each section is broken down into a few paragraphs to give a general idea about depression and then there are links to click on more informa tion if you want to get more specific. An individual couple become overwhelmed by the amount of information that is at this site so it would be a good idea to send a client to one specific area if you were going to use it. Beyond blue is

THE BUSINESS PLAN Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

THE BUSINESS PLAN - Essay Example We look at those management team who must have at least 10 or more years of experience on the field. The Island View Restaurant’s emphasis will be placed also on efficient management practices in almost all its functional areas of financing, directing, staffing and better decision making. Canvey Island is generally regarded to be in great need of friendly environment with excellent food and drinks. The restaurant will offer wide range of food ingredients and recipes from different countries food specialists. The Restaurant’s menu would be prepared considering wide range of food and drinks from different countries most marketed food and drinks. The restaurant would be a place where international food and drinks are provided to those who come from different areas of the world. So, our customers would be able to taste different international foods like Chinese food, Indian ingredients, Arabian meals etc. Moreover the staffs would be selected from both village and cities and will be given training programs so as to enable them prepare most quality foods and serve a friendly atmosphere within the restaurant. The target audience will be general public and rich people who generally need organic food and drinks. The targeted market includes Canvey Island population of more than 34,000 and more from other cities, islands, and even countries who visit Canvey Island. These keys of our mission will enable the restaurant achieve our mission goals. The business management primarily understand that any business can be successful only when it realizes why it is in the field concerned and what kinds of services it is supposed to provide to its customers. The priority is customer satisfaction. This customer satisfaction can be achieved by providing right service along with right information at right time and right place. We value this fundamental marketing principle. The mission is to provide great tasting food and drinks as well as to offer efficient

Hezbollah Essay Example for Free

Hezbollah Essay Hezbollah, Arabic for â€Å"Party of God†, is also known as Islamic Jihad for the Liberation of Palestine, the Organization of the Oppressed on Earth and as the Revolutionary Justice Organization (Global Security, p. 1). Hezbollah (also Hizbullah and Hizballah) is a Lebanese social, political and paramilitary organization founded in 1982. Hezbollah’s historical and political background was the Israeli Defense Force’s presence in Lebanon (1982-2000), the Lebanese Civil War (1979-1990) and the plight of Arab Palestinians, many of whom had fled to Lebanon, where their presence â€Å"changed the historical balance between Muslims and Christians† (Bennett, 2005, p. 214). In the war, Lebanon’s various religious communities vied for power and Hezbollah was established as by Shi’a to strengthen their traditionally weak political position, with help from Iran and Syria. Committed to making Lebanon an Islamic state, to the liberation of Israeli occupied territory (which it claims means dismantling the Israeli state) Hezbollah was named a terrorist organization by the USA in 1994. One scholar describes the organization, which has seats in Parliament and in the Cabinet, runs a large social welfare program, as â€Å"a moderate, mainstream political party† (Harik, 2007, p. xiv). Harik says that Hezbollah â€Å"is considered a legitimate resistance force all over the Arab and Muslim worlds† (p. 7).   Azani discusses Hezbollah as a â€Å"social protest movement† (2009, p. 1). This raises the question whether the US is correct to label Hezbollah a â€Å"terror organization† and why it does so?   Harik says that no one has ever proved that Hezbollah has ever attacked a civilian (p. xiv) or that it was responsible for attacks on US personnel (p. 193). In responding to these questions, what follows examines the history of the organizations, its aims, programs and activities and why the US regards it as a terrorist organization. The Shi’a in Lebanon Modern Lebanon was created after World War I, when the Great Powers defeated the Ottoman Empire and divided the Middle East among themselves as League of Nations mandates. These newly created states were to be given independence when they were considered ready for self-determination. The Lebanon became a French mandate. Lebanon was religiously diverse, with Christians in a small majority, followed by Sunni Muslims, followed by the Shi’a. Under four centuries of Ottoman rule, the Shi’a were suspected being Iran’s fifth column. Consequently, the community was â€Å"impoverished and underdeveloped† (Norton, 2009, p. 12). Under the French, an attempt was made to share power between the main communities. The Marionite were given the Presidency, the Sunni the office of Prime Minister, which left the Shi’a with the Speakership, a â€Å"position with far weaker constitutional powers† (Norton, p. 12). This was based on the 1932 census, which, says Norton, was â€Å"the last official census ever conducted in Lebanon† (p. 12). This arrangement continued after independence in 1943. The Shi’a community in Beirut was very small; most lived in the south and in the Beqaa valley. Azani says that the â€Å"political awakening† of the Shi’a began in the 1960s and 1970s, led by Imam Musa al-Sadr, â€Å"a Shiite cleric with the characteristics of a religious and political leader.† Born in Iran to a Lebanse family he studied at the great centers of Shi’a learning (p. 48). From 1959, al-Sadr was Mufti of Tyre and â€Å"in less than two decades he succeeded, with strenuous activity, charisma and high rhetorical ability, in organizing the Shi’a community, characterized for hundreds of years by passivity and isolationalism, and in mobilizing it into collective activity for the realization of social and political goals† (pp. 48-49). The influx of Palestinian refugees into South Lebanon upset the traditional power of the Shi’a elite in the region. The increasing politicization of Shi’a leaders in Iran impacted their role in Lebanon. From the 1970s, the number and influence of clerics increased, with al-Sadr and the future founder of Hezbollah, Sheikh Muhammad Hussein Fadlallah, leading a movement that wanted to bring about an Islamic revolution in Lebanon, following the Iranian revolution of 1979. The Lebanese Civil War and the founding of Hezbollah On the one hand, the Shi’a in Lebanon were finding their political voice, encouraged by co-religionists in Iran. On the other hand, the security situation in Lebanon was deteriorating. The tradition of good relations between communities was breaking down with Christians being depicted as pro-Israeli, while Muslims were aligned with the Palestinian cause. April 13, 1973 a Christian paramilitary group ambushed a Palestinian bus in retaliation for the killing of a Christian earlier that day (Bennett, 2005, pp. 213-5). Fighting began between different communities, Sunni, Christian, Druze and Shi’a. In 1976, unable to stop the fighting the President asked the Syrians and other Arab leaders to â€Å"end the war.† Bennett remarks that as a result of the civil war, the word â€Å"Shia† entered the Western vocabulary (p. 215). The revolution in Iran would reinforce the word’s presence in the media. It was in the context of the civil war that Hezbollah was founded. The Palestinian Liberation Army was raiding Israel from across the border. Al-Sdar mysteriously disappeared in August 1978 (Norton, 2009, p. 29). This led to Israel invading Lebanon in June 1982, and to Hezbollah’s formation. From the start, committed to liberating Palestine, Hezbollah also raided across the border. However, its immediate aim was to end Israel’s presence in Lebanon. Between spring 1983 and the summer of 1985, Hezbollah â€Å"launched an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings which included an attack on the US Embassy and US Marine branches in Beirut in October 1983 and the US Embassy annex in Beirut in September, 1984† followed by the taking of Western hostages, according to Global Security (p. 1). Hezbullah’s Aims and Structure The organization’s Consultative Council has 12 senior scholars at its head and a Directing Council under its Secretary-General.. The organization’s charter sets out three objectives: 1. to expel the Americans, the French and their allies definitely from Lebanon, putting an end to any colonial entity. 2. to submit the Phalanges [Christian militia] to a just power and bring them all to justice for the crimes they have committed against Muslims and Christians. 3. to permit all the sons of [Lebanese] people to determine their future and to choose in all liberty the form of government they desire. [Hezbollah] call[s] upon them all to pick the option of an Islamic government, which alone is capable of guaranteeing justice and liberty for all. Only an Islamic regime can stop any further attempts at imperialist infiltration (Richardson, 2006, pp. 83-4). Hezbollah and Israel From 1978, a UN force was deployed in Lebanon to oversee the withdrawal of Israeli forces under Security Council Resolution 425. However, it was not until 2000 that Israeli troops were completely withdrawn. Until then, Hezbollah carried out attacks on Israelis targets. After the withdrawal, Israeli continued to launch missile strikes and raids into Lebanon and Hezbullah â€Å"in retaliation, launched rocket attacks in Northern Israel on an almost regular basis† (Bajpai, 2006, p. 594). According to Global Security, Hezbollah â€Å"operates against Israel in four main way†: 1. brimging terrorists and collaborators through the border crossings usinf foreign documents. 2. setting up a terrorist organization inside Israel and Judea, Samaria and the Gaza strip. 3. cross-border operations – smuggling weapons and terrorists 4. financial support for Palestinian organixzations and groups. Others do not use the word â€Å"terrorist† but represent Hezbullah’s activities as legitimate resistance to Israel, which has defied UN Resolutions to withdraw from all occupied territory. Bajpai writes, â€Å"even after its formal withdrawal from Southern Lebanon in 2000, Israel engaged in frequent military incursions† (p. 594). In 2004, the UN called for the disbanding and disarming of all Lebanese militia (Resolution 1559). However, in the elections of 2005, Hizbollah won 14 seats (out of 128), and was awarded 2 cabinet posts. By 2008, Hizbollah had eleven out of thirty cabinet seats (Council on Foreign Relations, p. 1). In the 2009 election, it lost a seat but still received 10 seats in the 30 members Cabinet. Hartik says that Christians have supported Hezbollah, which makes it harder for â€Å"its enemies to float the fundamentalist stereotype of a raging gang of religious fanatics whose main aim was to put enemies of the faith to the sword† (p. 79). Other Christians are outspoken in criticizing Hezbollah as the stooge of Syria and Iran and as setting itself up as a state within the state (Azani, p. 231). As well as carrying out military or terrorist action, depending on the commentator’s perspective, it spends millions on welfare and education work, funded by Iran. In 2006, Hezbollah’s operatives crossed the Israeli border and captured two IDF soldiers. This came a month after Palestinian operatives had captured an Israeli soldier (Global Security, p. 1). In response, a 34-day war followed during which Israel launched air strikes, killing â€Å"56 citizens including 37 children† (Bajpai, 594). As a result of this war and Hezbollah’s resistance, its popularity within the Muslim world increased. The war ended with a UN brokered cease-fire and another Resolution calling for the disarming of all militia. Hezbullah did succeed in preventing a full-scale invasion. The Global Security report on Hezbollah states that in addition to funding from Iran and help from Syria, the organizatuon engaged in fund-raising around the world (p. 2). The report makes no mention of its extensive social program but the Council on Foreign Relations however describes it as a â€Å"major provider of social services† (Council on Foreign Relations, p 1.) Acts Attributed to Hezbullah In addition to the acts mentioned above, according to CFR, Hezbollah lists the 1985 hijacking of TWA flight 847 and the attacks in Argentine on the Israeli Embassy (1992) and on a Jewish community center (1994). Azani refers to links with other organizations across the globe. He lists an attempt to destroy US ships in Singapore in 1995 and arrests of members in 1997 for planning an attack in a US Embassy. The 9/11 Report said that Al-Qaeda operatives train at Hezbollah camps (p. 203). He refers to other arrests made in 1999 and in 2001 when plans to attack targets in South and North America were foiled.   He says that the global network is spread across forty countries and every continent, including Europe where activists have also been arrested. In Germany, two charities funding the organization were shut down (p. 205).   However, Hartik points out that while Western attention focuses on its â€Å"guerilla activities† in the Lebanon it is social welfare activities that attract support, making it in her view a â€Å"mainstream† organization. It has achieved more in this field, she says, than any other party (p. 81). On the other hand, it has refused to disarm. After 2001 and the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in NY, the US has repeatedly asked Lebanon to shut Hezbollah down and to close bank accounts. Lebanon has refused to do this, claiming that Hezbollah is not a terrorist organization, which Syria also denies. Syria is one of four countries considered â€Å"state sponsors of terror† by the US State Department. In April 2010, reports began circulating that Syria had given SCUD missiles to Hezbollah. Syria denies this.

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter Essay -- Stand by Me Ste

The Success of Stephen King as a Screenwriter Movies are becoming more and more popular with new special effects and stories that are intriguing and gripping. Movies now have lasting effects on viewers, since the stories are becoming more involved and more in depth. Screenwriters are constantly trying to create better screenplays to have made into motion pictures, yet there are thousands, if not millions, of screenwriters out there trying to earn a wage. The Writer’s Guild of America reports that in one year an average of 40,000 screenplays will be submitted and out of those only 120 will be made into motion pictures. (Field 5) Stephen King, who has no affiliation to being a screenwriter, has written numerous novels that almost everyone knows without them having ever read one word. Stephen King has a way of writing that appeals to both readers and film lovers. King who is an author of books has beaten out millions of screenwriters in the movie business. What is funny is that King himself does not expect a movie adaptation when he writes his stories. Stephen King’s writing style is the main reason why King’s novels are almost always found on the big screen. King purposely uses images in his novels that tell stories themselves. These images help enhance the story as the reader reads King’s work. These images are ones made by the reader and are limited to just the images we see on screen. Of course some of the better King movies do have wonderful imagery that can be associated with the same image the reader would have made in his mind. One popular movie that was based on King’s work is Stand by Me, which has terrific examples of this imagery. Stand by Me is based on King’s novella â€Å"The Body† which can be found in Different Seasons. â€Å"The Body† is a coming of age story about a boy named Gordie Lachance. Gordie is faced with the death of his brother, but is confused about his feelings. He knows he should be mourning for him, but he does not seem to have any remorseful feelings towards his brother. The story is about Gordie and 3 of his close friends on a journey through the woods to find a dead body. Throughout their journey they face all types of obstacles and go through a series of ups and downs. In the end they find the body and face a climatic altercation with the neighborhood gang. The four boys end up scaring the gang away and go home wi... ...y of King’s stories it is good to stop and actually take in the image that King is describing to us. The image that he gives us isn’t just for graphic purposes but actually to enlighten the story. A lot of symbolism can be found in the images King chooses, as explained above. King has a director’s mindset and uses images that a good director would use. It’s up to the reader to take these images and learn and analyze them to fill gaps in the story. A story can become much more complete when looking at a picture rather than reading in between the lines. Works Cited Bare Bones: Conversations on Terror with Stephen King, ed. Tim Underwood and Chuck Miller (New York, NY: Carroll & Graff Publishers, 1992) 282. Bergmooser, Mark. â€Å"The Outsider’s guide to selling to Hollywood.† Writer’s Digest Vol. 78 (1998): 34. Field, Syd. Selling a Screenplay: The Screenwriter’s Guide to Hollywood. New York, NY: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1989. King, Stephen. â€Å"The Body.† Different Seasons. New York: Penguin Books USA, 1982. 293-436. Mayer, Geoff. â€Å"Stand By Me,† Metro (9/1/1992): 56-59. Wukovits, John F. Stephen King. San Diego, CA: Lucent Books, Inc., 1999.