German Economy Essays - Economy Of Germany, German Federal Bank

German Economy The Federal Republic of Germany's economy has now flourished despite its harsh times that have been faced throughout the decades. Most people know about Germany from its historic involvement in World War II; its successful campaign to unite East and West with the successful collapse of the Berlin Wall; and its world class development and production of automobiles. Unfortunately, what most people don't know is that Germany continues to fight an uphill battle in keeping its established ranking among the world's most important economic powers. A historic look back at Germany shows that after its fall in World War II, it needed a massive rebuilding in order regain its status that it once held. Various events took place that helped it re-climb the pedestal ladder. The year 1948 brought a currency reform that was the turning point for economic reform. There was a continuous economic growth each year for Western Germany, but the strict, conservative ways of East Germany's communist rule still slowed true growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To make matters worse, the whole country experienced a significant drop in its GDP, causing a recession from 1976 through to 1985. There was a growth again for the next eight years before a major down ward spiral began in 1992. Germany's early ?90s spiral was attributed to the reunification of the country between 1989 and 1990. Once the two countries formed their one republic, the economy took its major tumble. Economists have figured this to be true because West Germany continued to evolve with industrial and technological breakthroughs and standards, while the communist East Germany adhered to traditional, unproductive ways that in some cases dated back to the 1940s and World War II times. So instead of combining to form an economic powerhouse, the GDP tumbled and caused a massive surge to restructure and work began to regain the decades of reform that were no longer noticeable. The Republic formed after reunification consists of 16 states, which is still looked at and measured as East and West Germany. Despite all of these states following the established free-market economy, there is still a noticeable gap between the economies of the two sections. German government assistance of nearly $100 billion annually has helped contribute to an increased growth rate for eastern states. Despite this growth, a look at the added Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of eastern states ? $108.3 billion, an increase of 9% from the previous year ? shows it falls significantly short of the $1.23 trillion GDP of western states. The Western states recouped with a 2.3% increase that year, recovering from their 1.9% decline the previous year. So combined, this gives the Republic a valued GDP, in 1994, of nearly $1.34 trillion. To note another significant difference ? the $5,950 national product per capita for workers in the East severely undercuts the $19, 660 for Western workers. One of the largest contributors to the GDP is manufacturing and the goods that it produces ? claiming nearly 40% of the total GDP every year since 1992. This shows that the industry has steadily improved after its immediate 40% tumble it took back in 1989. It has not yet been figured if the GDP dropped because of the lack if manufacturing output, or the fact that both East and West Germany were now being figured into the equation as one instead of a split. Germany's main industrial area is the Ruhr Valley, in which a various amount of products are produced. The principle production item is the refinement of petroleum. This ranks first among other items such as steel castings; iron; cement; chemicals, resins and plastics; automotive vehicles, railroad rolling stock, aircraft; and cotton and other woolen fibers. Agriculture accounts for 2% of the GDP. Its chief vegetable crops include cabbage, carrots and cauliflower; while pears, apples, plums and strawberries lead the fruit crops. The country is also a leader in the production of hops, which helps contribute to its notoriety in the beer-industry. Wine grapes grown in the Rhine and Moselle Valleys help develop that notable industry. Germany has a fair balance of trade. Its exports include chemicals, motor vehicles, iron, steel and other raw materials. The value of these and other exports in 1996 where estimated at DM772 billion. Among items imported into the country are electrical products and apparel. With these products, the value of imports to Germany were DM670 billion. The most trade activity occurred with France, valuing their partnership at DM71 billion for exports and DM84 billion for imports. The United States figures stand

Biography of Paul Revere and His Midnight Ride

Biography of Paul Revere and His Midnight Ride Paul Revere (January 1, 1735–May 10, 1818) is perhaps best known for his famous midnight ride, but he was also one of Boston’s most ardent patriots. He organized an intelligence network called Sons of Liberty to help colonists fight against British troops. Fast Facts: Paul Revere Known for: Famous midnight ride alerting the people of Lexington and Concord of an impending British attack; one of the leaders of Sons of Liberty movementOccupation: Silversmith, artisan, and early industrialistBorn:  January 1, 1735 in Boston, MassachusettsDied:  May 10, 1818, Boston, MassachusettsParents’ Names: Apollos Rivoire and Deborah HitchbornSpouses Names: Sarah Orne (m. 1757-1773); Rachel Walker (m. 1773-1813)Children: 16, 11 of whom survived childhood Early Years Paul Revere was the third of twelve children born to Apollos Rivoire, a French Huguenot silversmith, and Deborah Hitchborn, the daughter of a Boston shipping family. Apollos, who emigrated from France as a teen, changed his name to the more English-sounding Revere at some point prior to Pauls birth- a common practice at the time. The young Revere left school in his early teens to become an apprentice in his fathers silversmithing business, which allowed him to interact with a wide variety of different people within Bostons society. When Revere was nineteen, his father died, but he was too young to take over the smithy, so he enlisted in the provincial army. The French and Indian War was ongoing, and Revere soon found himself commissioned to the rank of Second Lieutenant. After a year in the Army, Revere returned home to Boston, took over the family silver shop, and married his first wife, Sarah Orne. By the mid-1760s, the economy was sliding into a recession, and Reveres silver business was struggling. Like many craftsman of the era, Revere needed some supplemental income, so he took up the practice of dentistry. His skill in manufacturing false teeth from ivory was one that would serve him well later. The Brink of Revolution In the late 1760s, Revere formed a close friendship with Dr. Joseph Warren of Boston. The two men were members of the Masons, and they each had an interest in politics. Over the next few years, they became active participants in the Sons of Liberty movement, and Revere used his skill as an artist and craftsman to produce some of Americas earliest political propaganda. He illustrated carvings and engravings, many of which included images of events like the Boston Massacre of 1770, and a parade of British troops through the citys streets. As he became more prosperous, Revere and his family moved to a home in Bostons North End. However, in 1773, Sarah died, leaving Revere with eight children to raise; within a few months he married his second wife, Rachel, who was eleven years his junior. In November of that year, a ship called the Dartmouth docked in Boston Harbor, and history would soon be made. The Dartmouth arrived laden with tea shipped by the East India Company under the newly-passed Tea Act, which essentially was designed to force colonists to buy tea from East India, rather than purchasing smuggled tea at a lower cost. This was extremely unpopular with the people of Boston, so Revere and many of the men of the Sons of Liberty took turns guarding the ship, preventing it from being unloaded. On the night of December 16, Revere was one of the ringleaders when American patriots stormed the Dartmouth and two other East India ships, and dumped the tea into Boston Harbor. Over the next two years, Revere made regular rides as a courier, traveling from Boston to Philadelphia and New York City to carry information on behalf of the Committee of Public Safety. This was a grass-roots committee of patriots who did their best to make governing extremely difficult for British authorities. Around the same time, Revere and other members of the Sons of Liberty, and their associates, began a network of intelligence gathering in Boston. Meeting in a tavern called the Green Dragon, which Daniel Webster called the headquarters of the revolution, Revere and other men, known as Mechanics, disseminated information about the movement of British troops. The Midnight Ride In April 1775, Dr. Joseph Warren was alerted to possible British troop movements near Concord, Massachusetts. Concord was a small town not far from Boston, and was the site of a large cache of patriot military supplies. Warren sent Revere to warn the Massachusetts Provincial Congress so they could move the stores to a safer location. Interim Archives / Getty Images A few days later, British General Thomas Gage was ordered to move on Concord, disarm the patriots, and seize their cache of weapons and supplies. Although Gage was instructed by his superiors to arrest men like Samuel Adams and John Hancock for their roles as rebel leaders, he opted not to include that in his written instructions to his troops, because if word got out, there could be a violent uprising. Instead, Gage chose to focus his written orders on taking possession of the weapons he believed to be housed in Concord. Over the coming days, Revere instructed the sexton at the North Church to use a signal lantern in the steeple if he saw British soldiers approaching. Because the British could either take the road from Boston to Lexington or sail up the Charles River, the sexton was told to light a single lantern for land movement, and two if there was activity on the water. Thus, the phrase one if by land, two if by sea was born. On April 18, Warren told Revere that reports indicated that British troops were secretly moving towards Concord and the neighboring town of Lexington, ostensibly to capture Adams and Hancock. Although the weapons supply had been safely moved, Hancock and Adams were unaware of the impending danger. When the sexton at the North Church placed two lanterns in his steeple, Revere moved into action. He crossed the Charles River in a rowboat in the dead of night, careful to avoid the notice of the British warship HMS Somerset, and landed in Charlestown. From there, he borrowed a horse and rode to Lexington, sneaking past British patrols and alerting every home he passed along the way. Revere traveled through the night, visiting patriot strongholds like Somerville and Arlington, where additional riders picked up the message and traveled their own routes. By the end of the night, it is estimated that some forty riders had gone out to spread the word of the impending British attack. Revere arrived in Lexington around midnight, and warned Adams and Hancock, and then headed towards Concord. On his way, he was stopped by a British patrol and questioned; he told the soldiers that if they approached Lexington they would find themselves face to face with an angry and armed militia. At some point, once they neared Lexington with Revere in tow, the towns church bell began to ring; Revere told them it was a call to arms, and the soldiers left him in the woods to walk the rest of the way to town alone. Once he arrived, he met up with Hancock, and helped him gather up his family so they could escape safely as the battle on Lexington Green began. During the Revolutionary War, Revere was unable to return to Boston, but stayed in Watertown, where he continued his work as a courier for the provincial congress, and printed currency for payment of the local militias. Dr. Warren was killed at the Battle of Bunker Hill, and nine months after his death, Revere was able to identify his remains, exhumed from a mass grave, thanks to a false tooth he had mounted for his friend, making Paul Revere the first forensic dentist. There is no evidence that Revere actually shouted out The British are coming! during his famous ride. Later Years After the Revolution, Revere expanded his silversmithing business and opened an iron foundry in Boston. His business produced cast iron goods such as nails, weights, and tools. Because he was willing to invest money into expanding his foundry, and embraced new technological ideas in the field of metalworking, he became highly successful. Eventually, his foundry moved into iron and bronze casting, and he was able to mass produce church bells as America moved into a post-war religious revival. With two of his sons, Paul Jr. and Joseph Warren Revere, he founded Paul Revere and Sons, and gradually perfected the production of rolled copper. He remained politically active throughout his entire life, and died in 1818 at his home in Boston. Sources â€Å"Joseph Warren Dies a Martyr in the Battle of Bunker Hill.† New England Historical Society, 16 June 2018, www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/death-gen-joseph-warren/.Klein, Christopher. â€Å"The Real-Life Haunts of the Sons of Liberty.† History.com, AE Television Networks, www.history.com/news/the-real-life-haunts-of-the-sons-of-liberty.â€Å"Paul Revere - The Midnight Ride.† Paul Revere House, www.paulreverehouse.org/the-real-story/.Strangeremains. â€Å"Paul Revere: The First American Forensic Dentist.† Strange Remains, 11 Oct. 2017, strangeremains.com/2017/07/04/paul-revere-the-first-american-forensic-dentist/.

Critical Literature Review for Organizing for Success

Critical for Organizing for Success - Literature review Example Diversity therefore means any significant difference that distinguishes an individual from another (Yang & Konrad, 2011). This diversity affects motivation, success, performance and interactions with others within the organizations. In order for an organization to manage diversity to enable its success, the managers and other leaders must have a broader perspective on diversity which will enable them to include a variety of other dimensions (Choi & Rainey, 2010). Diversity in the workplace has been managed by many organizations enabling them to succeed (Cook & Glass, 2009). Workplace diversity management is the process of managerial for developing an environment that is suitable for all the employees. This will enable all staff to feel that they are included and not excluded in the management process (Herring, 2009). The staff will have a good relationship that enables employees to deal with the important issues that may arise later as explained by Yang and Konrad (2011). Implementat ion of diversity in the workplace involves creation of an inclusive environment that values and welcomes the contributions and talents of other people with different experiences, backgrounds and perspectives (Wood, 2012). Therefore, the paper reviews various literature works on the management diversity in organizations focusing on the following research questions: 1. How has diversity management enabled business organizations to prosper? 2. How managers and human resource directors ensures diversity implementation. The objectives of the study include the following; 1. To enable an individual to understand himself or herself in relationship to the people around them. This involves one’s own place within cultures, demographic subgroups and cultures and how these characteristics affect how they think and act (Hughes, 2012). 2. To understand the people around us including the peers, subordinates, our bosses, customers and other competitors. 3. To understand the process leading to usual reactions to anger, difference, hatred and fear and learn the positive way of responding to them. 4. To understand how management of diversity is related to strategic changes in organizations. 5. To equip one with management skills that improves outcome due to the fact that business environment, organizations and workforce are becoming more diverse. Organizational Frames Hughes (2012) explains that inclusiveness is useful in diversity management. In order to realize its usefulness, managers and human resource directors must identify the motives they have behind their interest in diversity (Visagie et al, 2011). The managers and directors should also identify the specific ways the organizations will benefit from diversity (Choi & Rainey, 2010). The success of diversity will depend whether the organization wants to tolerate, manage, harness, leverage, value or celebrate diversity (Wood, 2012). The outcomes organizations achieve are affected by the initiatives of framing workpla ce diversity (Visagie et al, 2011). Depending on how an organization defines diversity, the outcomes will be affected greatly (Hughes, 2012). An organization may define diversity as responsibility of only part of the organization, as a focused activity of a community, as a strategic planning outcome, or as a social justice (Hughes, 2012). Klarsfeld (2010) asserts that business organizations are different in both the degree to which they define diversity