American History 1946-1976

The United States is a nation of immigrants. The resident population of the country comprises people who came from abroad or are descendents from overseas. Black were said to be some of the earlier migrants but they were considered to be slaves prior to the Emancipation Proclamation. The transformation of the American society is not possible without the outburst of population influx. The industrial revolution made it possible for transportation and communication, resulting in a massive economic transformation for America. In the early part of American history, immigration rules had been lax.It was not until 1819 when the first immigration statistics had been collected when the topic of immigration was laid on the table for lawmakers (McClenaghan, 1988, p. 170). Given the abundance of fertile land in the country which necessitated workers, immigration was deemed on a positive note. However, the end of the Civil War saw closing of the land frontier. There was no shortage of manpower an d the sudden boom of population and spirit of nationalism had started to take its toll among immigrants. The end of Civil War was witnessed by European immigrants who had already settled in the county starting 1820.The Irish, for instance, had left Ireland due to the severe British regimen ruling in their country (May, 1989, p. 479). Likewise, the European War saw many Italians, Greeks, Polish, Germans and other non-English speaking people coming to America. In Unit I, which covers the 1865- 1876, life for American immigrants mirrored the agony of reconstruction the country was facing at that time. As the country was struggling with picking the pieces of an embattled nation, immigrants continued to flock America. Some southern and northern states had put up bureaus to draw immigrants.The Contract Labor Law of 1864 stated that the federal government would assist an immigrant in his journey by a â€Å"lien on his or her wages† (Tindall and Shi, 1999, p. 938). The law was revoke d in 1868. Majority of non-English speaking immigrants toiled as laborers, porters, peddlers, while those who spoke English were able to find higher paying jobs. By 1870, the country had around 39 million people, 3 million of whom were immigrants or those born abroad and settled in America (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, and Williams, 1991, p. 549).There were also immigrants from Asia. In the early 1850s, Chinese immigrants went to California to work in gold mines (Brinkley, 2003, p. 446). By 1865, more than 12,000 Chinese had found work in building the transcontinental railroad. The Central Pacific which was then responsible for building the western part of the road had 90% of Chinese in its labor force. One social issue they faced was discrimination. While it was true that corporations preferred hiring Chinese because of their tenacity and commitment to work, many Americans resented this.More jobs were being given to Chinese because they were also willing to work for fewer wages, som ething which did not sit well with Americans. As one editor of the New York Nation said, the Chinese were responsible for creating a â€Å"disgusting habits of thrift, industry and self-denial† (Tindall and Shi, 1999, p. 947). With the country tiding in on Reconstruction, the economy was not in a good shape and Americans blamed the Chinese and other immigrants (May, 1989, p. 481). Discrimination in California, where most Chinese immigrants had taken residence, started to brew.The Workingmen’s Party, for instance, was intense in goading the government to pass laws to victimize Chinese. The Sidewalk Ordinance which banned people carrying their merchandise on a pole to walk on the sidewalk (p. 481). At that time only Chinese carried their goods this way. The discrimination was this obvious: the anti-Chinese sentiment was growing. The Panic of 1873 fueled this tension and the Congress soon acted with an exclusion act in 1879, which ban the import of Chinese workers (Bragdo n, McCutchen, and Ritchie, 1996, p. 532).In response to the issue, the Chinese did nothing, continuing to work, toiling in vast drainage and irrigation projects (Brinkley, 2003, p 446). It was initially rejected by President Hayes citing the Burlingame Treaty of 1868, which made China a â€Å"most-favored nation† when it comes to travel and immigration (O’Neill, 2002, p. 240; Tindall and Shi, 1999, p. 947). However, as constructions of railroads were finished, demand for laborers waned and in 1882, President Arthur approved a ten-year suspension called the Chinese Exclusion Act. In 1902, the act suspended indefinitely.The outcome was limitation in the number of Chinese immigrants coming in to the country but their number had already increased due to marriage and birth within their community. The tide of American immigrants continued from 1877- 1920. In fact, it was during this period where around 14 million Europeans made America their residence (May, 1989, p. 482). It used to be that immigrants came prior to 1890 came from northern and western Europe. However, the year 1885 saw a tremendous increase of immigrants coming from southern and Eastern Europe (Bragdon, McCutchen and Ritchie, 1996, p.529). Furthermore, America welcomed immigrants from Canada, Mexico, Latin America and Japan (Brinkley, 2003, p. 502). Chinese immigrants, despite the Chinese Exclusion Act, along with the Japanese continued to flock America (p. 502). In 1880, there were around 75,000 Chinese in California, 1/9th of the state’s population (Tindall and Shi, 1999, p. 946). In 1870, the number of Japanese immigrants were roughly about 56; however by 1900-1909, the figures increased significantly to an estimate 7000 (p. 481).By 1890, four out of five people living in New York was born abroad; the state also become home to more Irish than the Irish people living in Ireland (p. 937). The appeal of America was probably due to the hardship their respective countries were expe rienced. The surge in immigration was responsible for the growth of the country, especially its urban growth as most immigrants were lured by the city, where the realization of the American dream had already begun. Europeans crossed the Atlantic in hopes of a better future in the cities of America (Jordan and Litwack, 1991, p. 504).As the new immigrants began to settle in the cities, they started to live in homogenous neighborhoods. Thus, there existed a Little Italy and a Jewish Lower East Side on the side of New York and Chinatown. These small enclaves allowed the immigrants to retain their sense of community. In 1920, Chicago had around 1 7 Little Italy colonies spread out in the city (p. 943). Ellis Island in New York became the port of immigrants. This reception center situated in an island off the New Jersey coast became the first soil that immigrants stepped on upon entering the United States (pp.940). The ethnic neighborhood facilitated for what could have been an easier ass imilation for these immigrants. They recreated their own churches, synagogues, and even printed their own newspapers (p. 531). However, the influx immigration created not only social problems but economic and as well. Immigrants had a hard time finding decent jobs, often toiling in sweatshops, factories and mines. The atmosphere of nativism, where native-born should be favored instead of immigrants in just about anything, was developing.Native-born Americans started growing prejudice against them, threatened their entry in the country. The differences not only in language, dress and customs made Americans fear for this looming social changes. Immigrants were easily the subject of hostility. Literary problems also started to arise, especially for those non-English speaking immigrants. The Japanese, for instance, started learning the American way of living, learning English and sending their children to public schools (May, 1989, p. 481). However, this did not sit well with Americans. In 1906, the San Francisco school board issued an order to separate Japanese children from the other students. When the Japanese government protested, President Roosevelt intervened. An agreement in 1908 centered on an agreement limiting the number of Japanese immigrants to the country (Jordan and Litwack, 1991, p. 506). California, which in earlier years, resented the presence of Chinese immigrants, passed an Alien Land Law, which banned Japanese from possessing agriculture land (p. 506). As labor unions began to form around the country, immigrants were still not accepted.For one, they received fewer wage. For a dollar that an American-born laborer received, Italians received 84 cents, Hungarians 68 cents and others 54 cents (Katz, 1993, p. 73). Furthermore, Americans organized themselves to counter the growing number of immigrants. They formed group such as the American Protective Association, which was against Catholic immigrants. The largest labor union, the AFL or American Fede ration of Labor excluded immigrants. As America continued to plunge into urban growth, political corruption became prevalent. Americans blamed corruption as the cause of the growing immigration.In response to this, immigrants chose to remain loyal to their employees. As civic reformers talked of cleaning up the government and expressing their contempt on immigrants, the bosses showed appreciation to their employees by helping them process their naturalization proceedings and helping them when they got into trouble (Jordan and Litwack, 1991, p. 507). With regards to the labor union, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWWW) was formed in 1905 to include all workers regardless of race, skill and gender (Katz, 1993, p. 73). The outcome of this was that immigrants had started to stand up for what they believed in.racial segregation still existed but the process of keeping their identities intact had begun. An example was the creation of French-language parochial schools in New England. Put up by French Canadians, the schools had grown to 179 elementary and 28 high schools in America (Katz, 1993, p. 15). It was a clear sign that immigrants were determined to stay in the country. Child labor laws prohibited immigrant children to work, forced them instead to go to schools. With the compulsory education laws, children of immigrants became indoctrinated with the American values and English values (p. 642).Majority of these children were responsible of passing their learning to their non-English speaking parents. The years 1921-1945 saw a decrease in the number of immigrants. Following the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, the list of requirements and restriction on immigrants had tightened. For instance, immoral persons and anarchists were banned to enter US in 1903, illiterates in 1917 (McClenaghan, 1988, p. 170). By 1920, roughly 20 various immigrant groups were not able to step in the country (p. 170). The lives of American immigrants became harder, especially with th e mounting antiforeign and anti-Black sentiment around the country.This period ushered in the Progressive spirit, which focused on every aspect of American life, including those of immigrants. This time saw reforms in what Progressives deemed as the evils of the American system. Discrimination and prejudice still reigned in the country, despite the fact that American immigrants have been in the country for years One political problem they faced was religious problems. As World War I erupted, many Europeans fled their countries and sought refuge in America. The â€Å"new immigrants,† as they were known, were mostly Jewish or Roman Catholics (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, and Williams, 1991, p.630). American Protestants feared that their religious values would shadow the presence of Catholics. Some employees also declined Irish applicants, to the extent of posting an â€Å"Irish need not apply† signs (Jordan and Litwack, 1991, p. 483). The Catholic Church was then dominate d by the Irish, thus became the subject of religious persecution. Additionally, various religious discrepancies among immigrants themselves caused more misunderstanding. To cite, Russian and Polish Jews had different traditions from Sephardic and German Jews (Tindall and Shi, 1999, p. 945).In response to this issue, the immigrants continued to go about their own ways. They formed groups, recreated their own churches and synagogues. The outcome of doing this was it strengthened the unity among immigrant groups. They became more close-knit, living in homogenous areas of the city. It was also during this period when immigrants faced greater social and political problems. Agitation towards immigrant became full-blown. Xenophobia or the fear of strangers became the growing sentiment in the country. The â€Å"new immigrants† made Americans alarmed over â€Å"race suicide† (Jordan and Litwack, 1991, p.63). For instance, Kenneth Roberts wrote in the popular Saturday Evening Po st that Polish Jews should be avoided for they were â€Å"human parasites† and that immigrants of Nordic, Alpine, Mediterranean and Semitic ethnicity were not only â€Å"worthless and futile† but â€Å"good-for-nothing mongrels of Central America and Southeastern Europe† (p. 630). Another problem which immigrants faced which further planted the seeds of the sedition was the celebrated case involving two Italian anarchists named Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. An anarchist is someone who does not believe in any form of government.The two were arrested for a payroll robbery and murder in Massachusetts (p. 629). They were sentenced to death although evidence against them was inconclusive. They were electrocuted in 1927, amidst a series of worldwide remonstration (p. 629). Some people believed that they were innocent and the reason that they convicted was because of their political beliefs. Moreover, it was during this year when Red Scare pervaded the United S tates. A few years ago, communists, called Reds, took control of the Russian government. The communists believed that the government should take control of everything, like farms and factories.This train of thought contrasts with the American system of free enterprise (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, and Williams, 1991, p. 692). Americans soon began fearing that communists living in the US would do embark on this. It did not help that during this time, labor unrest was notorious, stimulating more trepidation on Americans. To assuage their fears, some Americans revived the Ku Klux Klan, which was exclusive for â€Å"native-born, white, gentile Americans† (p. 693). The organization, started during the Reconstruction heyday, attacked not only black people but immigrants, Jews, and American Indians (p.693). In the mid 1920s, the group boasted of around five million members (p. 694). The revival of the Ku Klux Klan, the Red Scare and the conviction of the Italian immigrants made Congr ess pass the Emergency Quota Act in 1921 which restricted immigration to the country (Bragdon, McCutchen and Ritchie, 1996, p. 717). Immigration was limited to 3 percent of the nationality already in the US (p. 717). The act became a permanent policy three years later and in 1927 a total of 150,000 immigrants were to be admitted per year, divided based on the 1920 census (p. 717).Japanese immigrants were completely excluded with the passing of the Japanese Exclusion Act in 1924. In response to the overwhelming problems that beset the immigrants, the immigrants had no choice but to comply with the laws. In some cases, like with the Japanese, the exclusion greatly damaged diplomatic relationship between the two countries. At the height of the war, Japanese-Americans were forced to move to â€Å"relocation camps† (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, and Williams, 1991, p. 738). Japanese-Americans who lived on the West Coast were accused of helping the Japanese sabotage the country (p. 7 38).For some immigrants, the restriction and growing anti-immigrant sentiment thrown at them were not enough to make them waver and give in. They remained steadfast and continued living in proximity, becoming stable in the process. They formed groups such as the La Orden de Hijos de America, which comprised white Chicano workers fighting for their U. S. citizenships (Katz, 1993, p. 15). Despite the discrimination and maltreatment, many Japanese- Americans volunteered during the War. It paid off. In 1988, the Senate issued a public apology and provided a tax-free payment of $20,000 to surviving Japanese-Americans (p.738). Following World War II, Unit IV, covering the years 1946-1976, life for immigrants was much better. Despite the inequalities in America, many people chose to live in the country, some sought political asylum and freedom from oppression. Others simply wanted to have a better future in the US. In the 60s, where call for civil rights where at the forefront, many Americ ans demanded for immigration reforms. In July 1963, President Kennedy recommended to scrap the national origins quota system (Divine, Breen, Fredrickson, and Williams, 1991, p . 882).The Immigration Act of 1965 restricted the number of immigrants to 170,000 per year per country and phased the national origins quota altogether (Brinkley, 2003, p. 835). In the 70s, immigrations increased to 433, 600 a year (Jordan and Litwack, 1991, p. 892). The 60s saw a surge in Mexicans migrating to the country. One literary problem they faced was language barrier. Some Latinos who established their presence in America could not speak nor understand English. This proved to be a big barrier in applying for jobs and immersing in the American life.Several employers took advantage of this and exploited Mexican workers. In response to this, several Mexican Americans founded labor organizations to help them get jobs and receive due benefits. In doing so, they strengthened their ethnicity. With regards to their language, in 1974, the United States Supreme Court approved the right of non-English speaking students to seek education in their own language. Thus, the idea of bilingualism was injected into American culture. After the Vietnam War, several Asians took refuge in America. The door of immigration opened again for the country.In the 80s, legal immigration in the US was estimated at 7 million people (Tindall and Shi, 1999, p. 1653). It was also the first time that majority of these immigrants did not come from Europe (p. 1653). The new wave of immigrants, mostly from Asia and Latin America, reopened the old wound of ethnic conflict. One social problem these new immigrants faced were still discrimination. In 1994, California passed Proposition 187, which banned illegal aliens to have access to school, medical care and other social services (Bragdon, McCutchen and Ritchie, 1996, p. 1019).This created friction between the legal immigrants and the illegal ones. Some preached that th is is completely bigotry. Adding more salt to the wound was the 1998 approval of ending bilingual education in California. In response to this problem, immigrants worked to enter the country legally. Although there are aliens flooding the country from time to time, Immigration Services has employed a stricter guideline. Several ethnic groups have also asserted themselves. The entry of ethnic studies program in school and universities is one way of embracing cultural differences between Americans and differences.This is one outcome that immigrants had wanted to achieve from the first time they stepped foot in the country. The presence of immigrants in the United States has earned the country the moniker of being a melting pot. The country is a multi-cultural society with each group respecting the other. Mayor Share James of Newark, New Jersey, noted that America’s diversity is its strength (Bragdon, McCutchen and Ritchie, 1996, p. 1020). This makes sense. Since the discovery o f America, it has always been varied. Different cultures and ethnic background make it unique, in the same vein that the differences provide a sense of heritage.It makes America culture colorful. It is sad for a fact that it took people years to understand this and that the forefathers of immigrants had to endure torture and humiliation but the appointment of the first Black American president in the country is probably a sign that yes, the country is ready for change. References Bragdon, H. , McCutchen, S. and Ritchie, D. (1996). History of a free nation. Ohio: Glencoe/ McGraw-Hill. Brinkley, A. (2003). American history a survey USA: McGraw-Hill. Divine, R. , Breen, T. H. , Fredrickson, G. , Williams, R. H. (1991). America the peopleand the dream. Illinois: Scott, Foresman and Company. Jordan, W. and Litwack, L. (1991). The United States 7th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Katz, W. (1993). A history of multicultural America. USA: Sleek- Vaugh Company. May, E. (1989). A proud nation. Illinois: McDougal, Littell and Company. McClenaghan,W. (1988). Magruder’s American government Massachusetts: Prentice Hall. O’Neill, W. (2002). United States. In The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Vol. 29 USA: Britannica Inc. Tindall, G. B. , and Shi, D. (1999). America a narrative history. USA: W. W. Norton and Company.

Biography of J.P. Morgan

Hartford, Connecticut was the birthplace of J. P. Morgan. His parents, Junius Spencer Morgan and Juliet Pierpont, hailed from Boston, Massachusetts. J. P. Morgan was educated partly at the English High School in Boston and finished his education at the University of Gottingen in Germany. After leaving the University he had entered his father's office in London. He was an extraordinary mathematician and had been strongly tempted to take up the career of professor of mathematics.But his father thought otherwise, and in the offices of George Peabody and Company young Pierpont got his first training in the technicalities of commercial banking and no doubt began the development of that unusual cepacity for accurate and quick decision which so strongly characterized his entire career. (Hovey, 2) He suffered with rheumatic fever in the spring of 1852. The illness took such a toll on him that he was left unable to walk. This was the start of a life long battle with diseases of different sort s that recurred throughout his lifetime.As part of a recovery effort, his father sent him to the Azores on a ship owned by Charles Dabney, named Io. It took him an year to fully recover and be able to attend school again. After graduating from Boston, a school named Bellerive at Vevey in Switzerland became his home. Once he gained command on the French language, the University of Gottingen became his new abode where he worked on his German. Within half an year, he developed a satisfactory base in that language. Done with his studies, he arrived in the English capital passing through Wiesbaden on the way..Personality Description John Pierpont Morgan was an example of moral excellence, singing the old hymns his mother taught him, fraternizing with bishops, forgiving his enemies, loving those who hated him, visiting sick friends and going sorrowfully to their funerals, bouncing his grandchildren on his knees, and molding his numerous corporate reorganizations for the good of the countr y. The man was magnificently endowed to play the role of financial imperator. There was the necessary bulk of bone and flesh.He was six feet tall, weighed two hundred pounds. Standing with feet apart, looking forward, he seemed poised to make a formidable advance. His head was large, craglike, well poised on his broad shoulders, his countenance rough-hewn. The upper lip, even as a boy, was heavy, and as he grew older, hidden behind his unruly mustache, it gave to his face an aspect of cruelty. His powerful jaws and rugged brow were drawn down in an imperious scowl. His bulbous nose accentuated the dark aspect of his visage.His large, wide-opened hazel eyes bent upon a visitor or suppliant with terrifying attentiveness and made him a formidable man in conference. (Hovey, 2-3) As a boy in high school his teacher said he was little short of a prodigy and could solve mentally problems in cubic root and numerous decimals. He could speak French and German because he had spent two years in a French school in Switzerland and two at the University of Gottingen. But he had no use for the classics. He could express himself in written English in a clear, direct, and vigorous style.Furthermore, even as a youth, he could put these excellent sentences down in a hand of great neatness and symmetry. He was superlatively choosy about his friends. Even as a boy in school he mixed with but few. But he was deeply devoted to them as well as to his family, his parents particularly. From the time he returned to America from school at Gottingen in 1857 to 1890, when his father died in Europe, he never let a ship leave for England without writing him a letter. Often he had to write these letters late at night after the rush of the day's work.His father preserved them in a series of books in his library. Twenty years after his father died, Morgan, looking through them, put them into the furnace. That was in 1911, a year of magnate hunting. He was growing old, and these letters were full of news, comments, opinions on the events and men of his time. Early Life John Pierpont was successively academy teacher, private tutor, lawyer and merchant. Urged to the church, he was ordained minister in 1819, accepting a call to become pastor of the Hollis Street Church, Boston.Pierpont was a vital force in the Unitarian Church and one of the most active organizers of the American Unitarian Association. But the man was more than a minister, he was a social rebel. Compact of scriptural austerity, righteous indignation and moral passion, John Pierpont's religion was warmed by humanitarian aspirations for social betterment. (Magill, 15) It was in 1857, the year of a great financial panic in the United States, that John Pierpont Morgan, a tall, taciturn young man of twenty, stepped on the stage of American business.At that time the house of George Peabody and Company was doing its American business through the New York firm of Duncan, Sherman and Company, and this firm was so serio usly crippled in the financial crisis that in order to save the situation George Peabody and Company had to appeal to the Bank of England for assistance. This experience impressed the London house with the vital importance of closer control of its American business, and it was decided to send young Pierpont Morgan to represent the firm in New York as cashier of Duncan, Sherman and Company.In the offices of Duncan, Sherman and Company, Pierpont Morgan met Charles H. Dabney, a partner in the firm and also the accountant. It was through association with Dabney that Morgan acquired his remarkable and accurate knowledge of bookkeeping and accounting. (Brandeis, 56) But the connection of the Peabody firm with Duncan, Sherman and Company was not destined to last very long. In 1864, the year in which George Peabody retired and was succeeded by Junius S. Morgan, Pierpont Morgan and Dabney formed a new firm under the name of Dabney, Morgan and Company, with offices in Exchange Place, New York .This new firm became the correspondents of J. S. Morgan and Company of London. A few years later, Duncan, Sherman and Company failed and faded from view. 1871 saw the establishment of Drexel, Morgan & Company. Based in New York, it was the result of Morgan joining hands with the Drexels of Philadelphia. By 1895, the company became to be known as J. P. Morgan & Company. It preserved its earlier relationships with Drexel & Company, Philadelphia in the USA. On the other side of the Atlantic, close relationships were also maintained with Morgan, Harjes & Company in Paris, and J. S. Morgan & Company in London.From 1910 onwards, the latter came to be known as Morgan, Grenfell & Company. (Magill, 17) The group turned into an influential banking concern by the turn of the century, brokering big money deals in the corporate world relating to reorganizations, mergers, acquisitions and takeovers. Although Morgan worked with a number of partners including George W. Perkins, he managed to keep managerial control with him over the course of his career. Morgan rose to prominenece through his constant involvement in large corporate and financial deals that seemed more like wars then mere business.He stripped Jay Gould and Jim Fisk of the Albany and Susquehanna Railroad in 1869, and then lobbied Washington DC to put an end to the financial assistanc granted to Jay Cooke by the government. This was folowed by the development of a kingdom of railroads across the USA. (Brandeis, 62) This was accomplished through, M & A activity and monetary assistance. Morgan then went on to raise huge funds on the other side of the Atlantic. This money was utilized in the restructuring of the rail roads so that higher productivity could be attained.Speculation was discouraged by Morgan as he purported a plan to transform the existing transport infrastructure ino a unique connected and inter linked mechanism. In 1885 he reorganized the New York, West Shore & Buffalo Railroad, leasing it to the N ew York Central. 1886 saw Morgan putting his efforts into the Philadelphia & Reading rail road followed by Chesapeake & Ohio in 1888. Following the the Interstate Commerce Act in 1887, Morgan hosted industry conferences in 1889 and 1890. (Hovey, 3) It served as a forum for railroad bosses to highlight the oppurtunities that the new legislation provided.Consensus was obtained for the charging of â€Å"public, reasonable, uniform and stable rates† to consumers. This was a unique initiative on the behalf of Morgan, the outfall of which were the M & A activities in the 20th century. About the time he went into business for himself he also fell in love with a young woman named Amelia Sturgis. And this romantic episode forms one of the most appealing incidents in the life of this grim man. It revealed in him depths of tenderness, which his later life in Wall Street concealed wholly from the public.She was perhaps the first or at least among the first young women he met when he arri ved from Europe. His attachment to her deepened slowly but it was probably begun in those first meetings at Newport in the very first week he spent in America. In the spring and summer of 1861 he was completely immersed in the personal problem created by Mimi Sturgis' condition. She had contracted tuberculosis. She was wasting away rapidly. There was very little that could be done then against the ravages of this dread enemy.Before the summer was over he made up his mind to marry Mimi, to give up his business and devote him completely to saving her life. Her parents tried to induce him to give up his chivalrous project. But he was not to be turned aside. And so in early October, in the Sturgis home in East Fourteenth Street, with only the family present, young Morgan carried the frail Mimi downstairs in his arms, held her at his side while the marriage ceremony was performed, and then tenderly lifted her again in his strong arms and bore her to the waiting carriage and on to the pie r.They went to London and then to Algiers with its warm sun and then, as she continued to fade, to Nice. There she died four months after the marriage. Two months later, in May, he brought her body home and laid it to rest at Fairfield. This tragedy crushed him, for a time seemed to have broken his spirit and watered down his ambition to utter frustration. But slowly he took up the broken threads, brought his old Cheshire school friend, Jim Goodwin, into partnership with him, and set off again upon his course. Later Years Following the elderly Morgan’s death in 1890, J.S. Morgan & Co, known as Morgan, Grenfell & Company from 1910 onwards came under the leadership of the son. In 1900, he began negotiations with Charles M. Schwab then head of Carnegie Co. Andrew Carnegie had a direct stake in the company. Morgan aimed to takeover a number of steel and iron businesses including Carnegie's. The final plan was to merge them into one, thus giving birth to the United States Steel Co rporation. The deal was struck for a staggering sum of $480 million. No lawyers and no written proof of the sale were the highlights of this deal.By 15h of January 1901, newspapers were filled with the news of the impending merger. Late 1901, saw the birth of U. S. Steel with a capitalization of $1. 4 billion. (Hovey, 5) Given its financial strength, it was the first company of its kind. The mission of the new coompany was to gain the advantages offered by economies of scale. These included cutting down transportation and resource costs, diversifying product lines and focusing on efficient delivery. Moreover, now the USA was in direct competition with the likes of Brit steel and and the German steel giants.(Forbes 15) The sheer size of the company was instrumental as it paved the way for a global market for steel and its products. The company came under heavy fire from industry observers who blamed the company’s management of trying to establish an industrial hegemony by vent uring into the construction of all products that embodied the use of steel as a major raw material. Morgan soon controlled 67 percent of the market share and Schwab predicted the company to hold three quarters of the industry under its belt. However, time proved otherwise as the market share detoriated, proving his prediction wrong.(Brandeis, 63) Morgan also ventured into the manufacturing and mining sectors. Morgan also had stakes in Banks, insurance companies, shipping lines and communications systems providers. His concern routed large amounts of capital that was instrumental in the development of America. (Magill, 16) Morgan was criticised for financing the federal government in the 1895 crisis through the use of gold. The critics disagreed with him on his proposed solution to the Panic of 1907, and blamed him for the poor economic state of New York, New Haven & Hartford RR. It was discovered that the J. P. Morgan & Co.coupled with the board of the First National and National Ci ty Bank had a resource pool of $22,245,000,000. This fact was made public in 1912 by a a subcommittee of the House Banking and Currency committee. This financial resource pool was equavivalent to the valu of real estate in the twenty-two states that lies west of the Mississippi River, according to Louis Brandies, former Judge of the Supreme Court. (Forbes 15) Nikola Tesla and his Wardenclyffe Tower were recipents of monetary support from Morgan worth $150,000. Following Tesla’s failure, Morgan pulled out of the venture in 1904.It is estimated that Morgan and his firm of partners controlled assets worth $1. 3 billion during the peak of their power in the dawning years of the 20th century. Works Cited Magill, Frank N. Great Lives from History. Michigan: Salem Press Inc. 1987. Pg 15-17. Hovey, Carl. The Life Story of J. Pierpont Morgan. New York: Sturgis & Walton Company. 1911. Pg 2,3,5. Brandeis, Louis D. Other People's Money: And how the Bankers Use it. Sunnyvale: Stokes. 1914 . Pg 56, 62, 63. Forbes Bertie C. Men who are Making the West. Emeryville: Forbes publishing Company. 1923. Pg 15.

Put the best topic Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Put the best topic - Assignment Example Heroism is not recognized in leadership but everything that is done in leadership is through the assumption that one matters in all aspects. Role models in leadership are mostly family members from where one comes from. Entertainers are considered to be role models in leadership (Law and Ian, 301). Leadership is not inborn but can be learned. It is learned from observable practices, skills and behaviors. The learned are the reasonable skills and abilities. Skills and abilities that are learned can be strengthened and enhanced through motivation and desire that one has. John Cedel develops his leadership talents through observation of what was happening in the environment. He was keen on the other leaders, their strengths and their weaknesses. Once one is a leader, they learn to be better that what they are (Law and Ian, 106). Learning about leadership is not for everyone but for those who master it and considered having a strong desire to excel and belief that skills and abilities ca n be learned and enhanced. Leaders can be good but there is consideration that best leaders are the best learners. A good leader is that person who never stops learning. Experiences, both good and bad should be used to enhance leadership. Those that are learned about leadership should be put in practice. Becoming a leader is not for the sake of an individual but for the sake of everyone in an organization. High IQ does not make performance of a leader better. Those that are brilliant only have the average intelligence without practicing. John Cedel after becoming a leader does not stop learning about leadership skills that are needed in the organization. Skills that he learns make him effectively manage workers in the organization. Having a passion to learning is what makes a leader have good performance (Law and Ian, 205). The passion exposes one to honestly examine how the leader and the others perform. It is through the belief

Critically discuss the business case for diversity and inclusion by Essay

Critically discuss the business case for diversity and inclusion by drawing on academic theories, research evidence and practice - Essay Example In addition, the business rationale behind embracing a diverse workforce will be also underlined. Finally the popularity and benefits that an organization draws for having diverse and inclusive workforce will be portrayed. The discussion section will illustrate the effect of diversity and inclusion on the factors such as -corporate success, profit, innovation, risk, creativity, individuality, experience and personality of employee. Also some of other aspects of diversity an inclusion will be underpinned. The management of diversity at the micro level, macro level and meso level will be also discussed. Furthermore, challenges pertaining to the implementation of diversity will be also examined. Based on the findings from different sources, a conclusion will be drawn that will mark the importance and benefits of a having a diverse and inclusive workforce. Finally some suggestions for managing and encouraging diversity in an organization will be provided. Background There will be only fe w people in this world who will disagree with the fact that positive relationship with colleagues and having respect for each other promotes better working environment and results in higher productivity. A number of organizations around the world proudly exhibit their espoused values like teamwork, individual dignity, integrity and respect among the employees (Bailne, 2007, p.2). They also have a sense of harmony throughout the organization. However there are also organizations which face several complexities in maintaining the workforce and internal harmony. The employees of those organizations are faced with large number of obstacles in carrying out their day to day activities. These issues do not arises for less qualification or low performance levels, rather it generates for some group membership activities. Several scholars stresses on the fact that the only way to curb such occurrences is implementation of workforce diversity and creating an inclusive workforce. Organizations should try their level best to embrace diversity in their human resources. Thus considering the present business environment there is a need for a shift in paradigm for the way organizations look towards the subject of creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce. Defining Diversity Diversity is a broader aspect. From the perspective of human resource of an organization, diversity signifies having employees from different segments of the society. It is therefore defined as the element or aspect which is being used by the organizations to differentiate people and group from each other. This comes in the form of national origin, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, education and disability. Nevertheless diversity in an organization does not remain constrained with those elements only. It also takes into account life style, working experience and culture. Hence diversity is considered as a ‘big idea’ or a ‘big thing’ in a society as well as in a business venture. Moreover, it help organizations to embrace large variety of people within the system (Gatrell and Swan, 2008, p.3). Defining Inclusion Inclusion is the

Promotion in Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Promotion in Marketing - Research Paper Example The research paper "Promotion in Marketing" talks about the promotion strategy, advertisement, promotion mix (TV advertisement, direct selling, sales promotion and publicity) for Wal-Mart. This paper also discusses the Wal-Mart’s social marketing and promotion strategy for Nordstrom. Wal-Mart seeks to attract the middle and low-income group people. The brand sells itself towards consumer as much inexpensive compared to other brands. In advertising, the key message of Wal-Mart is â€Å"We have lower prices than anyone else†. To promote the brand the company puts a high-velocity product in a high visibility area in every division. It develops a perception that since the first product is inexpensive, the other products will be inexpensive as well. Wal-Mart focuses on advertisement through the website and in-store TV Network. The in-store network displays a continuous stream of product advertisement. Wal-Mart TV has almost 130 million observers which make it the fifth biggest television broadcasting network in America. The network of Wal-Mart can be found in almost 2600 sites. The advertisers pay 137,000 USD– 292,000 USD to place a single business advertisement. The expense of advertising is based on the length and total stores where the advertisement w ill be displayed. Wal-Mart seeks to fit the broadcasting more distinctively according to the field of store depending on regional preferences and conditions. The TV network of Wal-Mart is very sophisticated and an internet oriented system.

Introduction to Statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Introduction to Statistics - Essay Example a) Proportion of affected patients was with the 95% confidence interval for the proportion of stroke patients who become clinically depressed given by . The confidence interval indicates with a confidence coefficient of 0.95 that the true proportion of stroke patients who become clinically depressed lies within this interval. b) To evaluate the claim of the health magazine, we check whether the confidence interval contains 60% of stroke sufferers. Since 0.60 is within the confidence interval, we conclude that the claim by the health magazine is consistent with the observed data (Mendenhall en Sinchich). c) The assumptions for the confidence interval to be valid include large sample size to ensure the validity of the normal approximation. The sample size of 79 is large enough to guarantee the validity of the normal approximation. d) Sample size to be used to achieve a 99% level of confidence that the sample proportion of stroke patients suffering from depression is within 0.025 of the true proportion is computed from the following formula. b) The main assumption for the validity of the confidence interval computed is that the sample should be drawn from a normal distribution or asymptotically, it should tend to a normal distribution. This assumption is violated since from the boxplot, the distribution of the temperature is right skewed. This is evident from the unequal length of whiskers of the boxplot, with a longer whisker for data to the right of the

Success in Social Commerce Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Success in Social Commerce - Research Paper Example By the end, we draw the growth pattern of social commerce chronologically on the basis of business articles and educational publications starting from 2005 to 2011. A structure that unites people, administration, expertise, and the information scope is used to present an organized study of the progress of social commerce. Our assessment portrays that from 2005, the year the terminology social commerce had begun to be used, suppositions and perception of individual in social commerce moved from a universal depiction of human nature to an intensive research with diverse perspectives from social psychology to social culture, and economic environments. According to the administrative aspect, business plans and model develop from the short-tail to long-tail thinking with innovative notions such as branded social communities, forte social networks/communities, niche brands along with joint purchasing, and multichannel social systems (Wang & Zhang, 2012). According to our assessment, the ni che social networks/communities give power to smaller businesses in the cut throat commerce world. Success in Social Commerce Introduction Alongside the attractiveness and profitable achievement of social networking sites and different kinds of social channels, the term social commerce was envisaged in the year 2005, portraying a rising phenomenon (Beisel, 2006). For argument sake, we precisely define social commerce as a type of business that is arbitrated by social media. Social commerce uses social channels that assist social communication and involvement of the users to support activities in the business of different products and services conducted both online and offline (Afrasiabi & Benyoucef, 2010). It signifies prospective business opportunities that merge shopping and social networking via social media. The social media users enjoy many online activities that are similar to the offline activity mode, the online difference being the mode of attaining the activities, such as online shopping, online interaction with friends and so on. The challenge for the social media is to give a satisfactory experience to online users so that they switch to the online mode of shopping and socializing. Referral economy is a new category of e-commerce that is basically gaining from the positive aspects of information technology (Harkin, 2007). Discussion Social commerce where vendors advertise through social networks or intensely incorporate social media into the purchase procedure is already consumed by several major brands globally. Many brands advertise their products and services on the social media platforms and with this advertisement they are able to reach a wide audience. It is little in terms of profits but has a vivid – although uncertain – future (Brito, 2011). In technological terms, IT competencies and potential for social commerce develops from blogs, to social networking sites, to sites that share media and to smart phones. Despite the fact that Facebook becomes a moneymaking platform, developing the idea of f-commerce, Google and Twitter became tough competitors with immense possibilities as well (Gordon, 2007). The competition level in the social media platforms is immense and each social media platform has to provide some unique feature which is not present in other platforms.

What Effects Does Age Have On Graduation Rates From Online Based Research Paper

What Effects Does Age Have On Graduation Rates From Online Based College - Research Paper Example Among these has been the introduction of online college programs that is meant to attract those students who would otherwise not have the time to attend classes on a regular basis. The education system of the United States has become so much eroded that it has now become necessary for students to go to college in order to attain the types of jobs that they would like. In earlier years, especially within the first half of the twentieth century, students who went through high school were equipped enough to attain jobs without having to go to college. However, the education standards came to be raised so much that it has now become necessary for students to spend more time in college in order to ensure that they achieve their academic goals. This has created a situation where individuals are barely able to cope with college education especially when it is considered that the students involved have more priorities other than their academics. It is a fact that many of the college students in the country also have to work in order to earn a living while others even have families and this only works towards increasing the pressure on them to be more productive. The latter situation makes it harder and harder for individual students to continue with their education and this has continued to be even worse as they grow older. This is because the older the students are, the more likely that they will develop other commitments in their lives and this may have an influence on the high dropout rates among them. This is perhaps the reason why the college education system needs to be reformed to such an extent that it stops being class based and instead be based on the internet since the latter is a much easier tool to access for many individuals. This will encourage...A review has also been included in this research which supports the above observations. This study is is substantial to meet the requirements of adult students who are less confortable with traditional college b ased education. The American system of education is considered to be the provider of one of the best quality education when compared to other education systems in the world. However, despite this fact, most of those high school graduates who enter college for the purpose of acquiring higher education unfortunately do not make it to graduation and end up becoming college drop-outs. This happens because of the shifting attitudes of the students regarding the courses which are included in their curriculums and their failure to understand the course outline.Study suggests that only 33% of the freshmen who made their entrance in the University of Massachusetts, were able to complete their education within the period of 6 years. Moreover, less than 44% of students from University of Mexico and 41% graduate from the University of Montana made it to their graduation in the required timeframe . One of the most influencial economists in the current era, Mark Schneider considers the high college dropout rate to be one of the reasons causing slow economic development in the country.

Servicescape Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Servicescape - Coursework Example ines the impact of servicescape on Las Iguanas restaurant in terms of the emotional, cognitive and physiological effect that the business environment has on customers and employees. Las Iguanas is a popular restaurant chain in the United Kingdom with major branches in London, Liverpool, Newcastle and other towns and cities. The company’s restaurants are located in different environments with each environment bringing its unique opportunities and challenges to the company’s marketing strategy. This study is based on the company’s branch in Liverpool. The study employed a stratified sampling technique to collect data through questionnaires and semi-structured interviews based on a sample size of five employees and five customers of the restaurant. After a detailed analysis, it was clear that the physical environment and ambience of the company had a huge impact on the organization’s operations. All the respondents admitted to having been influenced by the restaurant’s physical environment and ambience. From the findings, 90% of the respondents were positively influenced by the restaurant’s physical environment and ambience, 8% were negatively influenced, while the other 2% were unsure as to whether the business’ environment had a role to play in their association with the restaurant. This studys objective was to focus on assessing the impact of servicescape on customers and employees of Las Iguanas restaurant in Liverpool. Servicescape refers to an organizations ambience and physical environment. This study applies the servicescape model on one of the prominent restaurant businesses in the UK, the Las Iguanas Restaurant. This will assess the impact of Las Iguanas physical environment and ambience on its marketing activities in order to provide appropriate recommendations to the management team of the business for necessary improvements. The study is guided by the research question, what is the emotional, cognitive and physiological effect that Las

Term Shopping Mall Essay Example for Free

Term Shopping Mall Essay What is a Mall ? A shopping mall, shopping center/centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct, or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area – a modern, indoor version of the traditional marketplace. Modern car-friendly strip malls developed from the 1920s, and shopping malls corresponded with the rise of suburban living in many parts of the Western World, especially the United States, after World War II. From early on, the design tended to be inward-facing, with malls following theories of how customers could best be enticed in a controlled environment. Similar, the concept of a mall having one or more anchor store or big box stores was pioneered early, with individual stores or smaller-scale chain stores intended to benefit from the shoppers attracted by the big stores.[1] Regional differences In most places, the term shopping center (shopping centre in British Commonwealth English) is used, especially in Europe, Australia, and South America; however shopping mall is also used, predominantly in North America.[2] Outside of North America, shopping precinct and shopping arcade are also used. In North America, Gulf countries, and India, the term shopping mall is usually applied to enclosed retail structures (and is generally abbreviated to simply mall), while shopping center usually refers to open-air retail complexes; both types of facilities usually have large parking lots, face major traffic arterials, and have few pedestrian connections to surrounding neighborhoods.[2] Read more:  Essays About Shopping Mall Shopping arcade in Tokyo, Japan Shopping centers in the United Kingdom can be referred to as shopping centres or shopping precincts. Mall primarily refers to either a shopping mall – a place where a collection of shops all adjoin a pedestrian area – or an exclusively pedestrianized street that allows shoppers to walk without interference from vehicle traffic. Mall is generally used in North America to refer to a large shopping area usually composed of a single building which contains multiple shops, usually anchored by one or more department stores surrounded by a parking lot, while the term arcade is more often used, especially in Britain, to refer to a narrow pedestrian-only street, often covered or between closely spaced buildings (see town center). History Cabot Circus in Bristol city centre, England One of the earliest examples of public shopping malls come from Ancient Rome . One of the earliest public shopping centers is Trajans Market in Rome located in Trajans Forum. Trajans Market was probably built around 100-110 AD by Apollodorus of Damascus, and is thought to be the worlds oldest shopping center and a forerunner for the shopping mall.[4][5] Numerous covered shopping arcades, such as the 19th-century Al-Hamidiyah Souq in Damascus, Syria, can be considered precursors to the present-day shopping mall. Advantages and disadvantages of a mall At shopping malls, you can end up buying more things than youd planned, thanks to the abundant availability of goods and services. Mall culture has become big business, as shopping malls have evolved into multi-storied structures housing a large number of stores that sell diverse products and services. Shopping malls house a collection of retail stores and restaurants, adjoined by pedestrian areas or an exclusive pedestrian street. In 1928, the Arcade in Providence, Rhode Island was the first to introduce the shopping mall concept to the United States. However, the concept was not new, if you consider the indoor, multi-vendor shopping of Isfahan, Irans Grand Bazaar in the 10th century. 1. Availability of Parking * Parking is one of the major hassles for people who go into the city to shop. Shopping at malls eliminates this problem, because parking is provided either free of charge or for a nominal fee. Shopping malls incorporate vast parking areas into their design and construction. This makes it advantageous for people to choose to shop at a mall rather than a single store. Families who choose to visit a mall on the weekend or holiday for a family outing find it to be a more convenient option mainly because parking is provided. One-Stop Shopping and Entertainment Center * Visiting a mall is advantageous because of the numerous stores housed in one complex. Groceries, clothes, shoes, reading material, food courts, cinemas and entertainment arcades are available in one place. It is possible to spend an entire day out at the mall, shopping, eating, taking in a movie or playing games. Malls make great meeting places for friends to catch up over coffee at a cafà © or a meal at the food court. Families get to do their weekly shopping, pick up odds and ends and keep the kids entertained at the mall. * Inconveniences of a Mall * One of the major disadvantages of shopping malls is their inconveniences. These include excessive crowding, especially on weekends and holidays. Sometimes it seems that everyone has the same ideato congregate at the mall. Crowded aisles and stores make shopping very difficult; people often end up forgetting items they needed to buy. Senior citizens with mobility problems may have difficulty in traversing the mall, because of the largeness of the place. Parking can also be a problem when the mall is very crowded. Shopping Malls are a Drain on Resources * Shopping malls incorporate a large number of products and services inside them. It is not always easy to go to a shopping mall and exit with only what you came to purchase. The temptation to browse is always present, and browsing often leads to buying things that are not needed. Keeping to a monthly budget becomes increasingly difficult every time you visit the mall. With all the sales and special offers intended to tempt buyers, saying no becomes very hard. Chennai Citi Center for Shopping Lovers!!! (History)About Chennai Citi Centre: Chennai Citi Centre is an exclusive shopping mall in the heart of the City, spread over four floors-nearly 150,000sq.ft. Established by the group of B.S. Abdur Rahman Buhari on March 3rd 2006 it is a â€Å"must go† place for all Chennai shopping lovers. It is very near to Marina Beach, Kapaleeswarar temple and Santhome Bascillica which are tourist spots and naturally Chennai Citi Center also attracts many tourists. Location| Mylapore, Chennai, India| Opening date| 3-Mar-06| Developer| ETA Star Properties Ltd.| Management| Chennai Citi Centre Holdings (P) Ltd.| Owner| Chennai Citi Centre Holdings (P) Ltd.| No. of stores and services| 400 shops, 100 dining establishments| No. of anchor tenants| 9| Total retail floor area| 10,925 m ²| No. of floors| | 5| Lifestyle and Landmark, which together occupy more than half of the mall. Lifestyle International (P) Ltd, part of the prestigious Dubai based Landmark Group, started its operations in India with the launch of the first Lifestyle store in Chennai in 1999. In little over a decade’s time, Lifestyle has established itself amongst the leading retail companies in India. Positioned as a youthful, stylish and a vibrant brand, Lifestyle Departmental stores offers its customers not just the ease of shopping but also an enjoyable shopping experience. Each Lifestyle store brings together five concepts under one roof – Apparel, Footwear, Children’s Wear Toys, Furniture Home Furnishings, Beauty Fashion Accessories offering a convenience of a one-stop shop and a wide choice of national international brands. Home Centre by Lifestyle is a one stop destination for Furniture, Home Dà ©cor and Soft Furnishings that truly represent style, comfort and individuality. Home Centre uses a unique ‘Concept Room’ display model to give customers a practical idea of how each piece of furniture would look in a particular room. In keeping with the Group’s tradition of making every shopping experience rewarding and memorable, The Inner Circle – Landmark Group’s Loyalty program allows members, to enjoy exclusive benefits and privileges such as reward points and exciting offers. The Inner Circle is today recognized amongst the leading Loyalty Program in the country with an ever increasing base of customers. The card is accepted across all Landmark Group Stores in India including Lifestyle, Home Centre by Lifestyle, Max Fashion, Bossini, Spar Hypermarket, Polynation Food Court Gloria Jean’s Coffees. Lifestyle and Home Centre offer a truly international shopping experience Landmark, a TATA Enterprise, is India’s largest book and music retailer. Started in 1987 as India’s first large-format book and music store, Landmark was all about building a generation of well-informed people. Since then, Landmark has expanded into toys, stationery, gaming, electronics, gift articles , home decor, art craft and sports accessories. Now a part of Trent, the retail arm of the Tata conglomerate, Landmark has 18 large format stores, 1 hotel store, 1 airport store, and 1 IT Park store, across 10 locations in India.. Known for its multifaceted and popular events, quizs; Landmark has been a destination for book and music launches, hosting authors and artists from across the world. The guest list boasts of writers like Jeffrey Archer, Ken Follet, Wilbur Smith, Salman Rushdie, Amitav Ghosh, and Kiran Desai, film personalities like Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shyam Benegal, and Karan Johar, and music artists like MLTR, Swarathma, Sukhwinder, and Soulmate, among others. Landmark has also been at the forefront of holding events that present children with their favourite characters like Ben 10, Barbie, DORA, and Doraemon. The rest of the mall has designer shoe shops like Mochi, Titan, a Health and Glow outlet, Cookie Man, Foodworld and a few accessory shops. There are many food stalls serving coffee, fresh corn, samosas and other snacks and is a great place to take a break during shopping. There is also a food court serving various cuisines and a large play area for children. Citi Center is a one-stop shop to shop, dine and watch a movie, or just hang out with friends. Citi Center is a unique host of flagship outlets of the top brands. Food For movie lovers there is INOX. For food lovers there are various spots starting from Pakistani Kebab, Arabian Hut, Little Italy, KFC to south Indian Sangeetha – so try out anything you want!!! For Kids Kids will love the Fun City with its electronic rides and various arcade games. There is a new facilty for practicing cricket with state of the art bowling machines. Parking Most important you need not worry about parking – there is a huge parking lot exclusively for Citi Center shoppers. If you don’t want to take your car or your own vehicle, you can travel in comfort by MRTS or any one of the air-conditioned buses which stops opposite Chennai Citi Center.

Google; the most popular and most exciting company

Google; the most popular and most exciting company Google Google is indubitably the most popular and most exciting company in the world today. According to its corporate website, its mission is to â€Å"organize the worlds information and make it universally accessible and useful† (Google, 2010). Google ranked first place in Fortune Magazines annual â€Å"Best Companies to Work For,† besting other top companies for two consecutive years, in 2007 and 2008. The most cited reason its performance as a top employer is because of its internal company culture. Google is the ultimate global company and is described as â€Å"high-energy, fast paced work environment† (Google, 2010). On its website, its policy of â€Å"favoring ability over experience† rings true as the employees of Google are all college degree holders at the very least. Because Google is oriented toward its â€Å"youthful† internet-savvy market, the average age of its employees is noticeably lower than most companies. The median age at Google is 3 0 years old and the gender distribution is 65% male and 35% female (Linkedin, 2010). The dress code is â€Å"casual† and laid-back because the company values ability and hard work, not appearance. Google has a very engaging company culture. Its headquarters at Google Mountain View, CA called Googleplex is designed to be have a â€Å"campus-like† feel attuned to its predominantly young college-level fresh recruits (Google, 2010). There are several facilities in Googleplex such as a cafà ©, snack rooms that are well-stocked, and a cafà ©. There is also a great degree of independence for Google engineers because of the so-called 20% program. Engineers can devote 20% of the total number of work hours on projects that truly interest them . This policy reduces the level of stress as well as promotes creative thinking. Despite being a global business, Google executives say they try to maintain a â€Å"small company feel† and treat everyone equally (Google, 2010). Dur ing lunches, everyone eats at the office cafà ©, we still maintain a small company feel. At lunchtime, almost everyone eats in the office cafà © and the environment is kept casual in order to allow Googlers to interact and share ideas with other teams. There are plenty of perks available for employees. Google have shared cubicles, laptops for everybody, bicycles/scooters for inter-office travels during meetings, massage chairs, dogs, inflatable balls and dogs. There are also assorted recreational activities and facilities such as pool tables, foosball, ping pong tables, video games, pianos, and even yoga classes. Employee groups devoted to all sorts of interests are also encouraged. Nutrition is emphasized with healthy lunches offered at the cafà ©. Company Profile Google has expanded from a two-man team in 1998. Although based in Mountain View, California, Google has over 20,000 employees offices in 57 countries all over the world (Linkedin, 2010). In the US alone, Google offices are located in almost all major cities. Google specializes in Internet-based products and services and derives most of its revenue from advertising profits via the Adwords application. It is most famous for its search engine Google, ranked by Alexa as â€Å"the Internets most visited website† (Alexa, 2009). Its products include email software Gmail, social networking tools like ORKUT and Buzz, desktop applications, web browser Google Chrome, photo editing software, Googletalk instant messaging, and the Android mobile phone (Google, 2010). Googles main competitors are the topnotch tech companies that are competing for the most innovative products to introduce to the world market: Apple, Microsoft, Amazon.com, Facebook, Twitter, Mozilla, Yahoo, Cisco, IBM, and No kia (Global Thoughtz, 2010). Recruitment at Google is famous for being a tough process. Acceptance of applications are based on interviews and college grades. There are also allegations that the company recruits only those below 30 (Logan, 2009). Candidates undergo multiple face interviews and are judged mainly on college academic performance. Google has an â€Å"unlimited sick leave policy† and requires employees to work hard only â€Å"70 percent of the time† (Google, 2010). References Alexa (2009). â€Å"Google.coms worldwide traffic rank.† Retrieved from http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/google.com Linkedin. (2010). â€Å"Google.† Retrieved from http://www.linkedin.com/companies/google Global Thoughtz Technology (2010). â€Å"10 Toughest Competitors for Google.† Retrieved from http://technology.globalthoughtz.com/index.php/10-toughest-competitors-of-google-in-2010/ Google (2010). â€Å"The Google Culture.† Retrieved from http://www.google.com/corporate/culture.html Logan, G. (2008). â€Å"Google hiring policy is key to its success as best place to work in UK.† Retrieved from http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/06/02/46091/google-hiring-policy-is-key-to-its-success-as-best-place-to-work-in-uk.html