Internet Helps Women Entrepreneurs Overcome Hurdles

http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/tipsforsmallbusiness/internet-helps-women-entrepreneurs-overcome-hurdles.html The Internet may well be the best tool for women entrepreneurs as they seek increased opportunities, female mentorship, start-up capital, and perhaps even a way, if it exists, to let go of any mom guilt. From entrepreneurial websites designed just for women to crowdfunding and online-based small business financing, the Internet offers business-oriented women a wide array of start-up opportunities. Tamara Monosoff, a social entrepreneur and the owner of TamaraMonosoff.com, recalls when—in 2003—she was ready to launch her own business, she found next to nothing online about launching a new start-up as a mom. I had no idea†¦show more content†¦alone, women-owned companies grew by 68 percent at a time when all businesses grew by only 47 percent, according to 2014 data published by Womenable and American Express OPEN. And according to a Dell survey, the U.S. topped a list of 30 countries as the best for women entrepreneurs—followed next in line by Australia, Sweden and France. However, these survey results showed that 75 percent of these countries could do more to support female business leaders. Challenges that women face include male-dominated industries, limited access to capital, and less-than-stellar women s rights issues. In almost half of the surveyed countries, 50 percent of the female population are described as unbanked, meaning that a significant disparity exists between the number of men and women who have bank accounts. According to Business News Daily, other hurdles facing women entrepreneurs include lack of funding from venture-capitalist firms, balancing work and family life, and finding like-minded women in the business world to provide support and mentorship. A recent study from the Kauffman Foundation shows that the lack of available advisors tops the list of challenges for female entrepreneurs. Limitations also arise from gender stereotype. A recent study from the University of California, Santa Barbara, suggests that people generally regard female entrepreneurs as less competent and their businesses less worthy of investment. And, because men lead many venture capitalist firms,

The Effects of Misconduct on the Armed Forces Free Essays

string(80) " to instill discipline and order in the ranks are the noncommissioned officers\." The armed forces of the United States is one of the most feared and respected military organizations in the world. This image is helped by documentaries, news reports and even by the movies. But the real reason why the US military is considered very powerful and a dangerous enemy can be understood after reading the following explanation: The United States military is unique in the amount of power it can project globally. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Misconduct on the Armed Forces or any similar topic only for you Order Now Although France and the United Kingdom, as well as Germany, Spain, Italy, PRC, and European Union, are capable of projecting power overseas, the United States military is the only one with the higher military capacity to fight a major regional war at a distance from its homeland. The U.S. is also one of the few nations in the world that has a sizable nuclear arsenal and maintains active doctrines for plausible nuclear attack operations. (see Wikipedia: US Military). This is why America is feared and respected. Although there is reason to believe that Americans would prefer that their country and its citizens are respected rather than feared; there is also a lot of apprehension over the notion that U.S. superpower is a bully in the global theater. This negative image which others believe to be the dark side of this great institution is   putting a lot of pressure on the military organization to behave appropriately and to borrow from their lingo: there should be no conduct unbecoming a military officer. For when this happens the chain reaction can be unbelievable. One indiscretion and the whole structure will be placed in a bad light. Consider for example relatively recent events about U.S. soldiers abusing POW’s and some of its members involved in an alleged rape case overseas are a few instances when the rest of the world shakes its head and would love to believe that all this power had corrupted the men and women in uniform. In order to prevent such misconduct and to keep its integrity intact the U.S. military is keeping in place a system of rules, regulations, traditions, and protocols that would ensure that the rest of the world will hold the said institution in high esteem. Military Discipline The word discipline when put inside the world of soldiers takes on a different meaning. This has nothing to do with the kind of discipline kids get at home when they fail to do their homework or when they do not clean their room. Discipline in the ordinary day to day life of normal people can sometimes mean a temporary abstinence on doing something or a temporary increase in work volume to accomplish a task or simply to grit ones teeth and do something that is normally not done if the circumstances are more favorable. In the military soldiers do not wait until things are worse before they will begin to be disciplined. In other worlds soldiers do not wait until they are overweight before they start doing morning jogs and calisthenics. They trained before the need arises, they practice long and hard before the fight and they prepare before the crisis. Discipline in the Army, Navy and the Air Forces is a lifestyle. It can be said that it is more than a lifestyle in fact it is the blood that keeps the institution alive and the invisible force that holds it together. Without discipline the armed forces can easily disintegrate in quickly destroying everything in its path including itself. The infamous tortures at the Abu Ghraib prison – where prisoners of war were being held – was well documented and shown around the world. It was an example of a breakdown in discipline. And noncommissioned officers figured prominently in this fiasco. CNN reporters J. Johns, D. Ensor and M. Mount quoted Rep. Jane Harman in a letter to Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and Harman said, â€Å"The fog of war is thick, but these acts of abuse and humiliation contradict international norms, military regulations and the very values that our military fights to defend†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (see CNN.com) The report adds that all the perpetrators were, â€Å"†¦all officers or noncommissioned officers† (Johns, Ensor Mount). In an ideal setting this should not have happened especially in the presence of NCOs. The Role of Noncommissioned Officers NCOs are leaders, period. The military cannot function without leadership as much as a body cannot survive without a head. Everything depends upon leadership and in this regard NCOs play a major role. An Army Officer’s guidebook expounds on the meaning of the term and it says: A leader is people fitted by force of ideas, character, or genius, or by strength of will or administrative ability, to arouse, incite, and direct men in conduct and achievement. Leadership is the art of imposing one’s will upon others in such a manner as to command their respect, their confidence, and their whole-hearted cooperation. (Bonn, 320) In the NCO guidebook leadership is seen as basic in the structure of the U.S. armed forces and it says, â€Å"Leadership, despite the great strides in technology, remains the same – influencing and motivating people to get the job done† (Rush, 34).  With regards to the NCOs taking up a part of the burden of leadership, Rudyard Kipling was quoted as saying, â€Å"The backbone of the army is the noncommissioned man!† (as qtd. in Fisher, 3). An article in Wikipedia’s website expounds on the words of Kipling: The noncommissioned officer corps is the junior management of the military. An experienced NCO corps is a key component of Western armies: in many cases NCOs are credited as being the metaphorical backbone of their service. By contrast, the weak NCO corps of the modern-day Russian armed forces, and those modeled after it, is widely blamed for the general ineffectiveness of those militaries. (see Wikipedia: Noncommissioned Officers) NCOs and the Concept of Discipline The U.S. military structure amounts to a pile of junk without discipline and the people that are tasked to instill discipline and order in the ranks are the noncommissioned officers. You read "The Effects of Misconduct on the Armed Forces" in category "Essay examples" NCOs do the dirty work and this is very much evident in shaping a bunch of boys who know nothing about authority and following orders prior to enlistment into hardened men who will obey first before they complain.  Discipline is very important in the military because it is an organization tasked to do jobs that are out of the ordinary and in many instances, in life and death situations. These kinds of jobs will determine the safety of a country, the lives of their fellow soldiers or the civilians under their sphere of influence. NCOs instills this concept of a more serious kind of discipline by being an example for his men. In Semper Fi, a book about the highly respected U.S. Marine corps, a description of the NCO’s methodology – in terms of how he earns the respect of his men and how he hammers discipline into their system – was provided by the authors: The authority of the Marine NCO does not rest on fear; its foundation is the well-earned respect of equally tough men. He leads, and inspires, by being the man he wants his troops to become. The NCO personifies his expectations of the men he commands. He wants his Marines to look â€Å"squared away† and so he dresses and marches smartly himself. Since he wants to instill instant obedience, his men will see him obey instantly when an officer commands. He wants his men to be aggressive in combat, so he himself is the epitome of aggressiveness. The Marine Corps NCO, through his own behavior, creates a desire to be like him. (Carrison and Walsh, 69) The apt description of what an NCO is all about as presented by Carrison and Walsh answers the question on what happens when NCOs misbehave. Using the ideas discussed earlier it would be easy to list the reason why NCOs should always be the quintessential soldier. First of all it is due to his position as part of the leadership of the armed forces. An NCOs actions does not go unobserved and will always be an influence and guide to the new recruit and those under his command. If the NCO is unruly, does not follow orders and breaks the code of conduct then it is not surprising for the rest of the soldiers to do the same. An NCO could not afford to appear irresponsible and uncontrollable or speaks in a manner that show disrespect to his superiors and fellow officers simply because he is not in a normal setting. In an office or in a school perhaps undisciplined behavior and a rebellious attitude towards authority will not really cause too much damage in relative proportion to a similar behavior in the army. When NCO acts like a spoiled brat men dies and blood flows unnecessarily. Worse, the unit can be in grave physical danger and the morale of the troops would significantly decrease leading in more losses and more damage. The chain reaction from an NCO’s lack of prudence can not simply be taken lightly as the repercussions will be felt for many generations. And this is not an exaggeration. The following is an account of what happened more than 200 years ago – in America’s war of independence – that helped changed the course of history. It is a testament to the fact that undisciplined men would cause a series of events that will lead to catastrophe: Following the British victory at the Battle of Long Island in August 1776, Queens County came under military’s control [†¦] From the outset, military officials realized that the war had both military and political dimensions. [†¦] Military misconduct against civilians would only create enmity, hinder the effective prosecution of the war and make post war reconciliation more difficult [†¦] By wars end the people of Queens had become, not loyal subjects, but Patriots – as much by British default as by personal choice. (Fingerhut and Tiedermann, 50) Conclusion The effect of military misconduct especially when an NCO exhibits such undesirable behavior will first result in a breakdown of discipline but it will not end there. The men under the NCOs command will use said breakdown as an excuse for caving in under pressure. Thus when the going gets tough the men who witnessed insubordination and disrespect to senior officers will use that as an excuses for not following orders and then a chain reaction follows. When things begin to turn really uncontrollable, when the spirit of discipline that holds the army together is gone, the same soldiers who are selfless, hard workers, united and having one mind and heart will suddenly transform into a selfish monster who will do everything that seems to be right base on selfish interests. The result of which is written in the annals of military history. These events are labeled as infamous but it has cost more than shame it has resulted in the deaths and humiliation of the innocents. But from a military’s point of view it all boils down to failure in accomplishing a mission and for some cases it means losing the war. Works Cited Bonn, Keith E. Army Officer’s Guide. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2002. Carrison, Dan and Rod Walsh. Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way. New York: American Management Association, 1999. Fingerhut, Eugene R., and Tiedermann, J.S. The Other New York: The American Revolution Beyond New York City. New York: State University of New York Press, 2005. Fisher, E. F. Jr. Guardians of the Republic: A History of the Noncommissioned officer corps of  the U.S. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2001. â€Å"Military of the United States.† Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 27 May 2006. Wikimedia  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foundation, Inc. 28 May 2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Military_of_the_United_Statesoldid=55490638. â€Å"Non-commissioned officer.† Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 24 May 2006. Wikimedia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Foundation, Inc. 28 May 2006 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Noncommissioned_officeroldid=54910164. Rush, Robert S. NCO Guide. 7th ed. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 2003. 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Putin Tightens Grip on Legal System

Question: Discuss about the Putin Tightens Grip on Legal System. Answer: Introduction: The report is all about the closing Case of Putins Russia. This case is all about the Russian economy, Vladimir Putins political power in Russia, and how Western business started to invest in Russia. After the wreck of the Soviet Union and the ruble crash there was an economic growth of Russia which is considered to be the best till date. The era between 2001 2013 witnessed the progressive trend in oil and natural gas which benefitted Russias economy to boost up as this nation mostly depends on its oil natural gas resources (Durkalec Kroenig, 2016). In 2001 the nations President Aliyev authorized the privatization of nearly a hundred of state owned entities belonging to the fuel and energy sectors like the oil and natural gas sector along with machine building of the chemical sectors. The economy of Russia ran into trouble in 2014 due to Russias oil and natural gas prices fell out. The prices of the fuel got slacked as there was an increase in the supply of oil and natural gas globally by United States. The Russian ruble lost its value by half percent against USA, the countries of European Union and the weakening of the ruble (Dawisha, 2015). Starting his career as an officer in KGB Foreign intelligence, Putin dedicated 16 years of service before being the Lieutenant Colonel and joining the politics in 1991.After moving to Moscow he joined the administration of President Boris Yeltsin soon after he became the acting President in the year 1999. He won the presidential elections of 2000 by a major margin and again got reelected as the President in 2004 (Jonson, 2015). Russia witnessed a boom in the commodities and oil prices. Putin was unable to contest the election for the third consecutive time in accordance to the constitutional limits. Putin was then appointed as tandemocracy by then President Dmitry Medvedev in 2008 (The Economist, Februar, 2014). It was in 2012 March when the presidential tenure was extended to six years and Putin again contested in the elections and won with around 65% (Jonson, 2015). Putin became the leader who was internationally recognized as one of the most powerful leaders globally along with hi gh ratings of domestic approval (Sutela, 2013). Putin has been controlling Russia with extreme power. But with the recession that has hit Russia in 2015 has left Russia to stagnant and decline. Russia is the result of Putins leadership and had proved to grow under his leadership (Rutland, 2014). Along with certain poor decision made in military and economy such as invasion and annexation of Crimea and lower the fuel export price Putin seems to be strong but inefficient in controlling the fall of Russia into the abyss. Being mostly depended on its fuel resources Russia needs to find out ways to export its oil and natural gas and counteract the major share of exports globally by US to Iraq. The nation needs to alter the threat of natural gas reserves into the strongest opportunity. The manufacturing of more number of military and defense ships ,tanks, aircrafts and others transportation modes will boost Russias economy (Dawisha, 2015). The Shock Therapy by Yelstin in 1991 regarding privatization of the state owned enterprises gave encouragement and opportunities for the foreign countries to invest in Russia. This was an era in which the foreign investors looked for opportunities. However, the condition for foreign investments does not seem favorable. The companies which had been functioning in Russia for years find it difficult to withdraw and are forced to accept losses that are partial in nature or subsequently lowered their activity levels. The investors however, see a long term profit in the natural gas reserves and there is a decline in the natural oil and gas resource (Durkalec Kroenig, 2016). Thus, those investors are choosing not to withdraw from Russia. Moreover Russia has applied the lessons from the post communism disrupted structures of economy to get some relief. The education sector appears promising from investment point of view as the quality of education is very high and establishment of producti on facilities would be effectively implemented. In spite of the fall in the economy by 4% there is a considerable growth in the food and agricultural industry. The devaluation and restraint on the European food made way for the macroeconomic alterations in this sector. The Russian government continuously expresses enthusiasm in drawing foreign investments. Foreign investors need to look for opportunities and growth carefully (Dawisha, 2015). The foreign investors who are seeking to gain or increase ownership beyond a particular verge needs to get governmental approval from a commission headed by the Prime minister of Russia.129 among 137 foreign investments have already been approved which denotes scope for foreign investments in Russia even in present scenario. Conclusion This report finds out answer to some facts like how Russian economy underperformed in 2014, the political power of Vladimir Putins in Russia, and how Western business started to invest in Russia. References Durkalec, J., Kroenig, M. (2016). NATO's Nuclear Deterrence: Closing Credibility Gaps.The Polish Quarterly of International Affairs,25(1), 37. Dawisha, K. (2015).Putin's kleptocracy: who owns Russia?. Simon and Schuster. Jonson, L. (2015).Art and protest in Putin's Russia(Vol. 61). Routledge. Rutland, P. (2014). The Pussy Riot affair: gender and national identity in Putin's Russia.Nationalities Papers,42(4), 575-582. Sources: Putins Russia: Sochi or Bust, The Economist, February 1, 2014? Russia Economy: The S Word, The Economist, November 9, 2013? Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2014: Russia, www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedomworld/2014/? K. Hille, Putin Tightens Grip on Legal System, Financial Times, November 27, 2013. Sutela, P. (2013).The political economy of Putins Russia. Routledge.