Did strategy drive war or did war drive strategy in early modern and Essay

Did strategy drive war or did war drive strategy in early modern and modern France - Essay Example ue Protestants in France while helping Protestant organizations abroad— so as well did strategy turned out to be restrained.iii The bloodbath of the Thirty Years’ War gave way to wars fought for ‘reason’, to enlarge the ruler’s interests and through him the entire stateiv: hence the birth of strategy in early modern and modern France. While scholars analyzed old Roman literatures to unearth the element that made the legion indestructible mechanisms of strategy, so too did strategy practitioners revisit the Classical period where in the premise of foreign policy influenced the waging of war.v For some time, the growth of the newly centralized government and the creation of gunpowder seemed to destroy the formidability of fortifications: medieval defenses failed to endure the thrashing of late 15th- or early 16th-century weaponry.vi However, the creation of thoroughly devised geometric buttresses brought back a great deal of the balance. A well-defended kingdom was yet again a strong barrier to attacks, one that would entail a considerable amount of time and energy to weaken. The building of series of fortified towns along an empire’s border was the major peacetime ideas of strategists.vii Strategy started to look more like science than ability, method rather than art. Practitioners, like Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, a 17th-century French engineer, and baron de Jomini, an 18th-century French military historian and general, pioneered in making war a business of principles, guidelines, and laws.viii Expectedly, these developments overlapped with the construction of military academies and an ever more reforming and scientific inclination--- officers took lessons in military engineering and artillerists took lessons in trigonometry.ix Literature on military strategy mushroomed. Jacques Antoine Hippolyte’s Essai general de tactique, was one of the most insightful works that organized military philosophy, even though Guibert had inclinations of bigger

Risk Assessment report on an organization (Toyota USA) Research Paper

Risk Assessment report on an organization (Toyota USA) - Research Paper Example It is one of the highest ranked car companies in the entire world in terms of global brands. Even when sales are low Toyota in the United States sold almost 1.8 million vehicles, thus the company is able to make 16.7% share in the market. Toyota Being the third largest car manufacturer in the world, it has been known as the most efficient. The main business segments include automotive and financial services. The automotive segment can account for at least 90% of the revenue in Toyota and almost 96 percent of Toyota’s operating income. The manufacturing, product development and vendor management practices of Toyota Company are known to be the best. This risk assessment was carried out on Toyota Company in the USA to find out on the risks that face the company during production, selling and distribution. Toyota USA is faced with major risks that can affect the profitability of the operations. Factors such as vehicle sales volume, marketing costs, sales incentives, and price discounts, the vehicle models and the options that are sold, customer warranty claims or customer satisfaction actions, cost of research and other costs, production capacity, changes in the value of currencies used in Toyota business, intensified competition, and regulation issues. In Toyota company product development can be highly capital intensive. In any automobile industry, this has been experienced. The automakers are faced with the challenge of making new models from time to time to stay up to standards. The automakers are supposed to standardize the core product through creating a platform on which, they can build feature. Toyota can be said to be the pioneer in product development that is lean. A philosophy where a company is supposed to come up with a development process that comes up with new products using minimum resources. According to Toyota Motor Corporation SWOT Analysis 10, the automotive market worldwide is very competitive. Thus, Toyota faces high

Should the President Be Required To Have Served in the Military GP Essay

Should the President Be Required To Have Served in the Military GP week5 - Essay Example As the leader of the free world, our military servicemen look towards the man or woman sitting in the White House for leadership, guidance, and moral support. Our military has seen a long line of active or war veteran presidents stemming from George Washington who fought in the earliest civil war battles that freed our country from the British empire, all the way to George H.W. Bush who, although only a member of the Air National Guard (â€Å"Should Presidential Candidates and Elected Officials be Required to Serve in the Military?†, n.d.) , proved to be the last great American president who knew that there was a lot more at stake for the United States after the 9/11 attacks than just a vendetta upon those who took American lives in an act that rivaled the bombing of Pearl Harbor back in World War II. It is of the utmost importance that the American president have some sort of military service tucked under his belt, whether as a veteran of an international war effort or simply as a stateside based serviceman because our countrys history is steeped deeply in these â€Å"war efforts†. By actively serving the interests of the American military even during what is perceived to be â€Å"peacetime† America, the next president of this great nation ensures that he has a thorough understanding of the importance of the United States as a peacekeeping nation on the world stage, and also has a thorough grasp of the international foreign relations of the United States. By actively serving in the military, the next U.S. president will have an advantage over his non-active opponents, that of actually having been in the center of the great â€Å"wartime† political debate. He will have a greater knowledge and understanding that being an American is a privilege and should be r epaid by service. He will have come to the conclusion that, as a military veteran, he understands the needs of the international community in terms of U.S.

Transportation and Facilities Management role in Military Essay

Transportation and Facilities Management role in Military - Essay Example In the proving this commitment, the US Army Force has a well instituted program scale named Optimal Stationing Army Force (OSAF) that has helped in setting and making of viable organizational strategies (Dell 421). OSAF has fundamentally helped the US Army in organizing various installation programs and setting up of operational platform for the US Army Force. The Optimal Stationing Army Force has been significantly applied in the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC). The OSAF provides a significant tool for planning and scheduling the installation and reinforcement of the military forces in manner destined at cutting expenditure and resources spent in maintaining and sustaining the US Army (Dell 421). Every military plan conducted on the basis of the OSAF is done in such way that it will be implemented under the lowest possible cost. OSAF program dictates that every stationing plan for any army unit has to meet particular standards without which the particular unit may be disreg arded. The standards include the availability of field for maneuver training, buildings and various requirements for training a unit. The OSAF also provides strict and explicit mechanism for determining and evaluating every station plan. With the provisions in the OSAF, Army leaders have been able to guide stationing analysts on the appropriate channels and systems to rely upon, those to change and those to ignore in making decisions that meet qualitative and qualitative metrics of Army Stationing. Furthermore, Army has substantially used the OSAF program as a tool for determining appropriate conditioning of various facilities as well as upgrading the underdeveloped and outdated facilities (Dell 423). The Optimal Stationing Army Force (OSAF) is said to cover and perhaps judgmental of only five types of Army installations out of the total thirteen types of the Army installation. The five types of installation stations run by OSAF include the maneuver centers, professional schools con trol and command, major training bases and training schools. As observed by Dell the installation centers operated by OSAF are somewhat different from the other centers not operated by OSAF as determined by the high population of soldiers in the OSAF operated stations (424). In dictating the installation costs, OSAF uses the principles of the Cost of Base Realignment Action (COBRA) Army to arrive at the per-person cost of running particular installation station. The cost of running an individual installation station is calculated in terms of the location, medical costs, repair costs housing operations, modernization costs and the amount of allowances offered. According to Dell the installation programs of various stations face numerous problems and challenges that are however solved and settled by the OSAF (424). One of the noted problems that faces and affects the smooth achievement of the installation programs in various stations is the unpredictability of the actual costs and exp enditures. This results from the variability in the installation costs of different units in particular stations. Another problem faced in the installation program of stations relies upon the high transport costs of the soldiers and their families during their

The Innate Immune Response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Innate Immune Response - Essay Example The defense mechanism is categorized in three types; i. External barriers, comprising of skin, nostril hairs etc. which tries to prevent the pathogens from entering the body. In fact the external barriers include physical, mechanical and chemical barriers. For example, skin and nostril hairs are termed as physical barriers; tears and extraction from genitourinary tract are the form of mechanical barriers. Similarly secretion of skin, eyes, oral cavities and respiratory tracts in the form of sweat, tears, saliva, and mucus containing anti-microbial peptides are the form of chemical barriers. As the term 'innate' suggests, the innate immune system is the inherent immune system we are born with. In fact some antigens are also present in our body, but the defense mechanism learns to live with it and together with these types of proteins, the immune system gains strength over time. The innate immune system is entrusted with; The type of innate immunity system, available in the form of protein chemical is known as 'innate humoral immunity'. Body's complement system, interferon and interleukin are some of the examples of such a system. The complement proteins together with interferon and antibodies form the all important white blood cells in the body. The complement system is a defense mechanism involving a group of more than 30 interacting soluble plasma proteins. These cell proteins provide the early warnings by way of triggering inflammation and synthesis of enzymes, so that reproduction and multiplication of viruses can be blocked. Allergies and inflammation are the forms of innate immune response. Redness, swelling, heat and pain are some of the initial responses of the immune system against the infection. The innate immunity system tries to highlight the ferocity of the pathogens by such actions. The inflammation occurs when tissues are injured by bacteria, trauma, heat or toxins. The damaged tissues release some chemicals like histamine, serotonin or bradykinin. These chemical substances in turn cause the blood vessels to leak fluid into the tissues, which causes swelling. This helps in taking appropriate response e.g. medication and precaution. The innate immune response is generated by the white blood cells, natural killer cells (NK cells) and T

The Punic Wars Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Punic Wars - Research Paper Example However, the two strong rivals in power engaged in war, specifically in the Punic Wars, which was a series of three wars where Carthage was defeated by Rome three times. Carthage was defeated not only because of poor strategy but also because of corruption in its government. On the other hand, Rome won because of its military and political brilliance and sense of unity among its people and military groups. The First Punic War The first Punic War was fought by Rome and Carthage between 264 and 241 BC. It is interesting to note that by 275 BC, Rome had already conquered all of Italy and its goal was to prevent the neighboring countries from getting -------------- 1William C. Morey, The First Punic War, Forum Romanum, 2013. 2Ibid. 3Ibid. 4Ibid. hold of any Roman territory especially Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica. The first Punic War broke out in Messina, Sicily when the Mamertines, or the Roman mercenary soldiers who were employed by the Syracusan tyrant Agathocles, and who were in contr ol of Messana or Messina, were attacked by the Syracusan forces under Hiero II, the Greek Sicilian king. Upon the attach of the forces of Hiero II, the Mamertines called in Rome for help while Hiero II appealed to Carthage and joined the forces of Hanno the Punic, who just landed in Sicily5. Since Rome and Carthage both had interests in Sicily, the war began and continued for the next 24 years. The final victory of Rome was in the sea on March 10, 241 BC, specifically in the naval battle off the western coast of Sicily. During this time, Rome gained mastery of the sea. As a consequence of defeat, Carthage gave up Sicily and the other islands to the Roman Empire. The Second Punic War Between the years 241 and 218 BC, before the second Punic Wars broke out in 218 BC, the Carthaginians experienced what is known as â€Å"aggressive and unjustified†6 actions against Rome, as stated by the Greek historian Polybius. The treaty that Rome signed with Carthage after the defeat of the l atter was actually breached by Rome as the Romans occupied Sardinia. Rome threatened ----------- 5The Punic Wars, Latin Library, 2013. 6Ibid. Carthage with war and even ceded Sardinia and Corsica and forced Carthage to pay an indemnity. The skirmishes between Rome and the Punic forces in Italy weakened the latter, and the latter had no desire of responding to Rome with war7. As a response to this, the Carthaginian general Hamilcar Barca occupied Spain in 237 with an army for the purpose of opening new markets as well as for creating a new Carthaginian base for its operations. Hamilcar Barca militarized Spain and this militarization was continued by Hasdrubal and Hannibal and Barca’s son-in-law Hasdrubal. When Hannibal conquered Sagunto, Spain, which was a Roman stronghold, Rome declared another war against Carthage8. Hannibal was placed as the head of the army in 221. In 219, Hannibal seized Sagunto or Saguntum. During this time, the Romans in Rome issued an ultimatum demandi ng the Carthaginian council to surrender Hannibal, but Rome was not obeyed and the council supported Hannibal and accepted the offer of war9. The second Punic War broke out in 218 BC and it is considered as â€Å"one of the greatest military conflicts of the ancient world†10. The series of strategies of the Carthaginian general Hannibal until he was defeated are worth mentioning. The first victory of Hannibal was near

Recommendation and advice for sher holder in companies Research Paper

Recommendation and advice for sher holder in companies - Research Paper Example Following the same pattern, the dividend yield has also shown sign of improvement. Evaluating the financial outlook of Morrisons from investor’s point of view, it would be most prudent to invest in it, and the current shareholders of the company should hold their investment in the company as it promises to reap more benefits in the future. The fact that the investors should further invest or hold their investments in Morrisons is advocated by the fact that the company offered notable dividend of 8.20 per share. The dividend offered by the company during the current financial year is almost 41% higher than the one offered in the prior year. Selling stakes in Morrisons at this point of time when the company is offering attractive dividends to its shareholder, would be reckless and not at advisable. As quite obvious from the gearing ratio of the company, the operations are now more driven by the capital raised through issuance of share in the capital market, rather than acquiring financings from institutions. This shows that the investors have confidence in the company and are ready to bear the risk. The prospective and current investors should also analyze that the company is making the best use of its capital which is represented by the inclining return on equity (ROE) and return on capital employed (ROCE).