Marie Antoinette: Research Paper

Melissa Arias Alma Aguilar Political Science 101 24 September 2012 Marie Antoinette â€Å"Let them eat cake† is probably one of the most recited quotes around the world, which is known to be spoken by the last Queen of France, Marie Antoinette. Although often reffered to as â€Å"The Party Queen† or in other words, the Queen who danced while her people starved. But what many fail to recognize is the fact that Marie Antoinette was the Queen who cared for her people. The only think she cared for more than the welfare of her people, was the welfare of her children.In order for one to understand and have the ability to fully understand the French Revolution, and Monarchy, one must go back and analyze Marie Antoinette's personal background, her political contributions and achievements, and her political influences. Personal Background Marie Antoinette (Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria) was born in Vienna, Austria on November 2nd, 1755. â€Å"She was the fifteenth child, and eleventh (and last) daughter of the Emperor Francis 1st of Lorraine and Maria Theresa of Austria, at the head of the Habsburg dynasty†(Moore 3).Francis 1st died in August 1765, leaving his wife and his elder son to co-rule his empire. â€Å"To promote diplomatic relationships with France, Marie Antoinette was asked to marry Louis Auguste, the Dauphin of France† (Campan 3). With the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, an alliance between Austria and France became a priority for Empress Maria Theresa; cementing alliances through matrimonial connections was a common practice among European royal families at the time. In 1765, the son of French Emperor Louis XV, Louis Ferdinand, died, leaving his 11-year-old grandson Louis Auguste heir to the French throne.Within months, Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste were pledged to marry each other. A child of only 14 years, delicately beautiful with gray-blue eyes and ash-blonde hair, in May 1770, â€Å"Marie Antoinette set out for France to be married, escorted by 57 carriages, 117 footmen and 376 horses. On May 16, 1770, Marie Antoinette and Louis Auguste were married†. (Campan 6) † Louis XV passed away in 1774, and Louis Auguste succeeded him to the French throne as Louis XVI, making Marie Antoinette, at 19 years old, Queen of France†(Barker 9).However, as personalities went Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette could not have been more different. He was introverted, shy and indecisive, a lover of solitary pleasures such as reading and metalwork. She was vivacious,outgoing and bold, a social butterfly who loved gambling, partying and extravagant fashions. Political Influences and Development Though many have argued that Marie Antoinette did not have any political development or influences, due to her social and eccentric ways, Marie always referred to someone in her life as the main source of admiration. Her Mother, Queen Maria Theresa, Marie often spoke of her with profound respect, but she based all her schemes for the education of her children on the essentials which had been neglected in her own†(Barker 9). Maria Theresa, often was inspired awe by her great qualities, taught the Archduchesses to fear and respect rather than to love her. â€Å"The Empress was too much taken up with high political interests to have it in her power to devote herself to maternal attentions. â€Å"(Campan 8) The queen's influence on domestic policy before 1789 has also been exaggerated. Her interference in politics was usually in order to obtain jobs and money for her friends. It is true, however, that she usually opposed the efforts of reforming ministers such as A. R. J. Turgot (1727–1781) and became involved in court scandals against them. â€Å"( Moore 12 ) â€Å"Activities such as the â€Å"diamond necklace affair,† where the queen was accused of having an improper relationship with a wealthy church official in exchange for an expensive necklace, inc reased her unpopularity and led to a stream of pamphlets and articles against her†(Barker 11).The fact that after the birth of her children Marie Antoinette's way of life became more restrained did not alter the popular image of an immoral and extravagant woman. As soon as the arrival of a stranger of rank at Vienna was made known, the Empress brought her family about her, admitted them to her table, and by this concerted meeting induced a belief that she herself presided over the education of her children. Contributions and WrittingsFrom the beginning of the revolution, Marie Antoinette and Louis had hopes for a compromise: in other words, a constitution that would include the monarchy. Trying to re-establish normalcy, Marie Antoinette continued her generous patronage of the poor children of Paris. â€Å"At the fireworks celebrating the marriage of the young prince and princess in May 1774, there was a stampede in which many people were killed. Louis and Antoinette gave all of their private spending money for a year to relieve the suffering of the victims and their families. (Campan 2)Marie-Antoinette's reputation for sweetness and mercy became even more entrenched in 1774, when as the new Queen she asked that the people be relieved of a tax called â€Å"The Queen's belt,† customary at the beginning of each reign. â€Å"Belts are no longer worn,† she said. She also spent as much time as possible with her own children, particularly the dauphin. â€Å"(Moore, 8). Much of the writings Marie wrote was her diary which is filled with a young girl's feelings about her arranged marriage.She describes a French Court dominated by intricate rules of etiquette and protocol and excessive attention to fashion and grooming. In her last letter, Marie-Antoinette wrote to her sister-in-law Madame Elisabeth: â€Å"‘Happiness is doubled when shared with a friend'†¦. † ( Campan 4 )In those words are contained the value she placed on friends hip to her happiness. The queen had a great capacity for friendship, although she was not always smart in her choice of companions. Conclusion The story of revolution and resistance in 18th-century France is a complicated one, and no two historians tell the story the same way.However, it is clear that for the revolutionaries, Marie Antoinette’s significance was mainly, powerfully symbolic. â€Å"She and the people around her seemed to represent everything that was wrong with the monarchy and the Second Estate: They appeared to be tone-deaf, out of touch, disloyal (along with her allegedly treasonous behavior, writers and pamphleteers frequently accused the queen of adultery) and self-interested†( Moore 17 ). What Marie Antoinette was actually like was beside the point; the image of the queen was far more influential than the woman herself. Marie Antoinette was the Austrian born child bride of the future King Louis XVI of France. It was an arranged marriage designed to (hopefully) create a better relationship between the two countries which was a common practice by the Monarchy to reduce conflicts and warfare between Nations†(Campan 7). The French people resented the Austrian Queen and she was the subject of numerous rumors that she had been planted in France as a spy, was a spendthrift, was cold, cruel, evil, mean and any number of other charges.In truth, she was a well educated woman with excellent regal poise, she was a well qualified linguist, played the Harp with great versatility, was an accomplished equestrian and was considered to be an excellent mother to her four children. † She was put to death during the French Revolution at the age of 37 on 16 October 1793. † (Marie Antoinette Biography 3) Marie Antoinette was a symbol of goodness and of everything that was right with the French monarchy. Also as queen, she made many changes that affected France's system of government and law.Marie had abolished the law of segregated dining spaces, as she felt it was wrong. She had gained popularity with people of France at first with her generosity as she continuosly gave to the poor of Paris. † After the Revolution, Marie faced the women who stormed Versailles and when her family and her were forced to live in Paris as prisoners she never lost hope that she would find a way to get out and hold her family's reputation as well as her political career; Even after the Republic was proclaimed in 1792, and her husband was executed. (Barker 5) Despite the tragic outcome of Marie Antoinette's life, she never blamed her people. She remained a devoted mother and wife, although her life as the Queen of France ended in a moments notice. Although many through time have viewed her as a shallow, weak and a self- indulgent person. But through recent years many historians have concluded the opposite; seen more as a lively, misunderstood, and compassionate character. She was a devoted mother,making sure her children were well educated, and cherished.And even when she knew her life was coming to an end, she made sure her children were in safe hands. And as Queen, she wanted the best for her people, giving generous donations and contributions to the minority. Marie Antoinette as a person and a friend was quite possibly one of her best traits, marked through history. The Political side of her and her family status was the main source of The French Revolution. She was proud to be french, but in the end all the hopes she had for her country demolished right before her eyes. But as terrible as she might be portrayed in your history books.Marie Antoinette will always be the last Queen France ever had. Bibliography Barker, Nancy. â€Å"Let Them Eat Cake: The Mythical Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution. † Historian (Summer 1993): 709-25. Madame Campan. Memoirs of Marie Antoinette. N. p. : Barker, n. d. Memoirs of Marie Antoinette. Web. 01 Sept. 2012. . â€Å"Marie Antoinette Biography. † Marie Antoinette Biography. N. p. , 01 July 2012. Web. 25 Aug. 2012. . Moore, Marianne. â€Å"Marie Antoinette. † New World Encyclopedia. N. p. , 03 Apr. 2007. Web. 01 Sept. 2012. .

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The leaders of the movement were not united, therefore they were not strong- many leaders were critical of others, for example, W. E. B DuBois criticised Washington, saying that blacks cannot get social equality if they do not get political equality first. The New Deal is a phrase used to explain the actions taken after Black Tuesday when the US Stock market crashed to stop the effects of the Depression disturbing the lives of the public. Laws were passed to help stop the consequences of the Depression becoming a long-term problem; within the first hundred days, President Roosevelt passed a law that lowered workers salaries and pensions by up to 15%- a move that people did not like, yet it saved a lot of money for the government. Another act was passed that stated that the government could inspect banks before letting them open again so they could see if the bank was eligible to lend and hold money. This prevented banks lending out money that they did not have, therefore they did not losing money for their customers and wouldnt have to close, as they would have to have done if they did lend out money they didnt have. The New Deal was produced so the government could help all of those that were affected by the Depression; this helped the blacks because they were some of the poorest people in the USA at the time, and as many as 8% of blacks were unemployed in 1955. For the blacks, the New Deal slightly improved their way of living as it was designed to help everyone without discrimination. Soon after New Deal was set up, the situation for blacks was improved socially by the outbreak of the Second World War. When the Americans were brought into the war, they needed as many men as they could to fight; blacks had regiments where they could join and be equal to whites, but they still were not allowed to belong to the same regiment as the whites- there were some who did, but they were rare, they normally belonged to an all-black regiment. At the end of the war, the blacks got more ambitious; they were allowed to fight for their country, but America wasnt even grateful enough of them to let them be equal. This would have enraged African Americans since they had fought so hard to be a part of America, so the Civil Rights movement activity increased, which put pressure on the government to do something. The Nazi ideology also pushed the government into action, because what the Americans were doing to the blacks could be compared to the Germans discriminating against the Jews in Germany; the blacks realised this, so demanded equality, as they didnt want the same to happen to them. In conclusion, the position of blacks in 1945 was not equal to whites: even after a century of supposed freedom from slavery, blacks were still treated as inferiors to whites. Laws and acts were in effect that encouraged the discrimination of blacks. Amendments such as the rights for blacks to vote and the rights for them to be equal were passed, but there were so many other laws that cancelled them out. Jim Crow laws in the South and practises such as red lining in the North made it impossible for blacks to be seen as equal politically, whilst rebellions by extremist whites and groups such as the Ku Klux Klan stopped blacks gaining any social standing or equality. Blacks were supposed to be equal, but by 1945, some may comment that the position of them was worse then slavery, as the blacks were on their own in there poverty and discrimination; before, they had their slave owners who would clothe and feed them to keep productive workers- they would never be out on the streets as slaves, but as free people, they received basically no help. Things that whites took for granted, such as clean and good-quality facilities, and jobs that are fair and just are things that blacks counted themselves lucky if they managed to get any equality. People like Martin Luther King Jr. and W. E. B. DuBois tried to get equality, both through violence and peaceful means, but it didnt have much effect to the political and social standing of blacks. The discrimination of blacks continued right into the 20th century, even up into the 21st century. It was slow going for the blacks right to equality, but actions by both blacks and whites changed things for the better. However, in 1945, blacks were not considered as equal, but as 3/5s of a human being. Bibliography: (1) http://www. alternativeinsight. com/Reparations-Slavery. html Field, Ron; Civil Rights in America 1865-1980; Cambridge University Press http://www. lawbuzz. com/can_you/plessy/plessy. htm http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/New_Deal.

Issues with Cadburys Workforce

Issues with Cadburys Workforce One of the most important workforces issues that Cadbury has to tackle after the Krafts takeover will be the psychological contract and the employee engagement, thus, the fundamentals issues this paper work address are; explores some of the most important external and internal influences and business pressures that Cadbury is facing now, recommending the most appropriate strategic responses and describing some of the key Human Resource issues that the company have to bear in mind during the whole process of this transition. Secondly, this essay does a depth analyses of how Cadbury should tackle their psychological contracts issues, through a fully understanding of the workforces expectations and beliefs towards the Cadburys new employer, generally these expectations are out of the formal or legal contract, which means they are unwritten and unspoken but they still play an important role during this takeover. In addition to the psychological contract, this essay also explores another important issue in this takeover which is the employee engagement, this engagement generally is something given by the employees to the company which shows their commitment, effort and dedication, using the best of their capabilities to achieve the companys goals, therefore, this paper studies how Cadbury should make an appropriate adoption of the employee engagement concept bringing a tremendous vantage for the company. 216 words STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK Business Pressure Cadburys company was built nearly two hundred years ago in Birmiham Great Britain, where during whole these years the company has stood up of the crowd for its chocolates quality and has even been awarded for the British Queen in February 1984 (Cadbury 1) Cadbury has also launched some chocolates which have became in a totally British iconic, chocolates bars such as wispa, which was first launched in 1981 and the creams eggs which sell around two hundred million units every year in the UK, and the Dairy Milk which was first launched in June 1905 and has become a mega well-known brand in many different varieties around the world (Cadbury 2), All these products and much more, have made that Cadbury become nowadays the second most engaging brand in the UK, according to a study made by the agency Hall Partners (2010), this study measures how the British people are engaged with brands and analyse how do they feel and think about it. The study reveals that Cadbury is a UK proud brand that British people love; as during whole these years, Cadbury has built a strong relationship with its customers and products in a consciously and unconsciously way. http://www.netimperative.com/news/2010/february/cadbury2019s-and-google-top-uk2019s-10-most/view Hence, taking into the account all these historic facts of Cadbury, it seem obvious that after the announce of Krafts takeover, a huge business pressure had grown all over UK regarding to continuation of the workforces inheritance , the maintaining of their manufactories in UK and the loss of jobs seems to be the most complicated business pressure. As a complement, after the acquisition of Cadbury in  £11.9 billion, Kraft is on  £7 billion debt, and to be able to solve this issue Kraft has created a saving plan of  £450 million a year (The Guarding 3) to pay off all its debts to the Royal Bank of Scotland, which ironically is 84% owned by the UK Government, which means that the UK government has borrowed the money to sell out one of the most engaging British companies. http://www.cadbury.co.uk/cadburyandchocolate/ourstory/Pages/ourstoryFlash.aspx#/1941_1980/product/1971_creme_egg (2) http://www.cadbury.co.uk/cadburyandchocolate/ourstory/Pages/ourstoryFlash.aspx#/1820_1860/product (1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/04/cadbury-kraft-union (3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8470776.stm (4) Strategic Responses Seems to be a very tough task, to set a good and appropriate strategic response, after all these enormous business pressures that surround Cadbury, hence, Kraft should start doing a deep analyses of each one of the business pressure, covering the customers and workforces expectations, to fully understand the whole context. Once exist a better understanding of the whole picture, Kraft should be more likely to face these business pressures in a more efficiently and appropriate manner, setting up the best possible strategic responses to tackle the whole problem. However, bearing in mind that my understanding of the whole picture will never be as deeper as the one Kraft could achieve inside their world, my best possible strategic responses should be keeping their pledges, showing the commitment and interest of Cadburys new owners to the workforce, doing the best of their capabilities to keep the social and ethical values, analysing the business strategic and vision of the company. On the other hand, UK Government should do everything they can, to ensure the jobs are kept in UK after the Krafts new acquisition, however the Cadburys Chairman has admitted that jobs loss are unavoidable as a consequence of the big acquisitions price of  £11.9 billion (The Indepent 2010 5), but as strategic response to this issue, Kraft should make a further investment in better technology machines to increase the productivity and reduce their overhead costs more efficiently without the need to make jobs redundant. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/takeover-will-mean-job-cuts-says-boss-of-cadbury-1873155.html (5) HRM Factors; possible impacts There are many numbers of possible HR impacts in this unexpected and unwelcome Krafts takeover, the first of them, is one of the most common HR impacts which takes place in most of the takeovers, these are the workforces strikes, which are already happening in Cadbury, the employees are desperately seeking for a plan or a law from the UK government which secure their jobs and give them work stability. Secondly but not less important, as consequence of this unwelcome takeover, Cadburys workforce might change its attitude and loyalty towards the company, creating a stressful and uncomfortable workplace environment for everybody, leaving as a result, a depth impact in the productivity of the company. Additionally to the job instability, lack of support from the companys new owner and stressful environment, all these issues could make that the best workforces men remaining in the company, decide to jump out of the ship before the company decides to throw them out. Lastly, the workforces future expectations, beliefs and principles might also change towards the company, meaning a partial or total loss of the engagement from the employees which could easily lead a collective decrease in the productivity. HRM Strategic to tackle As HR strategic, one of the first issues to tackle should be to build a much healthier workplace environment to the wellbeing and productivity of all the company, however to be able to solve this issue the strategic should starts improving the lack of communication between all the workforce, making ice-breaking session involving all manager and plant workers. On the other hand, the HR strategic, should also look at the terms and conditions of the workforces formal contracts, giving additional benefits, securing their jobs stability to all the workforce or at least the best workers and lastly making periodically reviews of their salaries and their current position in the company, all these incentives are with the aim of create a better perception of their psychological contract and get back the employees engagement. As a complement and improvement of the psychological contract perception, the company should also invest in their employees, giving them special training and special support wherever needed, earning also some of the trust which has been lost during this whole process. In support of the business pressures, strategic responses and HRM factors mentions above, the table below shows a strategic framework as develop by Sparrow and Pettigrew to complement the main points which have just been described, this framework shows some of the external influences issues and business pressures that Cadbury is currently facing after Krafts takeover, highlighting the most strategic responses and the HRM factors to my point of view. Business Pressure Strategic Responses HRM Factors Cadbury Now UK Prime Minister has done nothing to secure the Cadburys jobs Takeover will lead to a collective jobs redundant and losses at Cadbury as part of the annual cost saving plan of  £450 millions Public and government concerns about maintaining social, ethical values, and inheritance of Cadbury Customers value and expectations towards Cadburys product may change specially within UK Lack of trust between Cadburys new owners and Cadburys employees A massive disappointed from the UK citizens regarding to the money that RSB bank has lent to Kraft to takeover Cadbury Agreement between Cadbury and UK Government to maintain the Cadburys workforce Better technology machines should be used to increase the productivity and reduce the costs efficiently Show the commitment and interest of Cadburys new owners to the workforce, doing the best of their capabilities to keep the social and ethical values, analysing the business strategic and vision of the company. Keeping promises up to the workforce and showing them that the company really cares and worries for its employees POSSIBLE IMPACTS Possible strike from Cadburys workforce Insufficient support from the Company to the workforce, deteriorating the communications Hidden pressure that managers are not aware of The workforces attitude towards their work activities may change, leaving an impact on the company productivity Stressful work environment Employees concerns about jumping ship and their future career within the Cadbury Cadbury in the Future The UK Government cannot do legally anything to stop the massive fires; they were only concern about their votes There are not hopes that anything will change for the better as result of the takeover The takeover brings a deeper financial crisis for UK Government concern about lack of investment from Cadbury Kraft in UK The maintaining of the Cadbury manufactories in UK The inheritance of Cadbury have come to the end Make an aggressive marketing camping to show everybody the benefits, the takeover has brought To expand the manufacturing production along UK, Create a strategic plan to help sustain the inheritance of Cadburys workforce families HRM STRATEGIC TO TACKLE Restructure the workface of the company Create a healthy workplace environment for the employees wellbeing and productivity of the company Retain the best employees of the Company ensuring them long-terms stability Maintain terms in staff legal contracts (e.g. pension schemes) Revise recruitment policies (to retain existing staff + attract new talents from outside) Introduce training + long-term benefits for commitment of existing staff Conduct ice-breaking sessions for new managers and employees to build positive relationships 1470 words Management of the Psychological Contract and Employee Engagement The management of the psychological contract and employee engagement is one of the areas how Cadbury could tackle its challenges in strategic people management; however to be able to tackle it appropriately, first is essential some degree of understanding of what a psychological contract and what employee engagement is. Psychological Contract There are many different definitions of what the psychological contract is; this concept was first introduce by Argyris, C. (1960), to refer to the different expectations that the employers and the employees have out of the formal contract, since this concept was introduced, many writers have attempted to modify and refine it. At a general level, the concept of Psychological Contract refers to a voluntary agreement between the employee and the employer in exchange of compensations (Rousseau, D. Schalk, R. 2000), in this voluntary agreement, each party, held a number of commitments and beliefs, those beliefs can take the form of promises, expectations or obligations which are generally unwritten and unspoken in the legal agreement contract, however they still play a critical role as they can be interpreted differently by each party (Osborn Jones 2000). This concept of psychological contract implies that either the employee or the employer can have a different perception of anothers expectations, voluntary commitments, obligations and aspirations which are out of the formal contract of employment (Herriot, P. et al. 1997). Therefore, a certain degree of mutual understanding of the agreement between both parties is essential to achieve each participants goals. (Rousseau, D. Schalk, R. 2000), Employee Engagement This seems to be an easy topic to define and describe, however after some research, the huge numbers of definitions regarding this issue seem to be uncountable, making this topic unclear but at the same time attractive enough to the HR consultancy market, consulting firms, business press and some academics writers. Having said that, one of the most complete definitions I found about employee engagement out there to my point of view is the one by Robinson et al., (2004). A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee. Robinson et al., (2004) has also stated in his work, a set of additional characteristics of the employee engagement, which include a belief in the organisation, and the desire of the employees have to work and make the organisation better, basically the concept Robinson presented in his paper work is about the employees having a bigger picture and a better understanding of the business context as well as keeping up to date with the latest information which concern to his/her field. Relation between the Psychological Contract and the Employee Engagement Having defined the employee engagement as; a positive attitude, behaviour and/or outcome from the employees towards the company and its values, being aware of the whole business context and working together with the colleagues in order improve the performance of the company and gain the best benefits for the organization, and having defined psychological contract as; a set of beliefs which can take the forms of promises, expectations and/or obligations existing in a voluntary agreement between the employee and the employer. It seems to be a straightforward relationship each other definitions. Both definitions are relate to the employer and employee relationship, and the first challenge is to efficiently manage the loyalty and trust instead of dictate the rules by organizations, this relationship is fragile and should not be taken for granted by any of the parties, the second challenge is to keep a healthy relationship for the wellbeing of both participants. http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/features/Opinion/927664/Engagement-depends-clear-psychological-contract-employee-employer/ On one side, the employer expects that their employees always performance to the best of their capabilities, being loyal to the company and understand the whole business context, and on the other hand the employees want to be respected, valued, heard and compensated by the employers, therefore the key issue is to build mutual trust which engage the employees with the employers, always keeping an eye on the psychological contract, which means, keeping clear and understandable expectations for both participants (Wellin, M. 2007) However, Cadbury Previous Psychological Contract Having already analysed the general psychological contracts context, is much easier now to deepen in the previous Cadburys psychological contract, but bearing in mind this contract is a pure metaphoric action, where each participants have their own voluntary commitments regarding to the performance and fulfilment of each other, we can infer that each one of the 45000 UK Cadburys workforce have a different psychological contract, which make this an even bigger scenario to analyse but at the same time a extremely attractive, as based on the records, (reference) it shows that most of UK workforce had a similar metaphoric contract. Thus, is unavoidable raise a fundamental question; How Cadbury former owners made that all the forces underlying the legal agreement of their workforce where so similar to each other and how did they manage to sign 45000 similar psychological contracts where does not even exist a physical document as it is a subjective phenomenon? There are evidences (Morrinson, E. and Robinson, S. 1997) which indicate that the performance of each participants psychological contract is directly proportional to how clearly each participant has spelled out the conditions and exchange of their mutual agreement. This last paragraph makes me conclude that, Cadbury has truly understood this issue and has conveyed its commitments, beliefs, and expectations through their whole workforce, establishing in this way some degree of mutual agreement among its 45000 UK employees. Rousseau, D. Schalk R. (2000) indicated in his work that, when both participants of the psychological contract believe that they owed each other something, is very likely that each one gets whatever they desire. The power of the promises Cadbury seems to have conveyed well its expectations and beliefs, establishing a degree of mutual agreement. However, this might not be enough to unify the similar conditions of the psychological contracts in 45000 employees during 180 years. Is remarkable to note at this point, that all sort of beliefs cannot be taken as part of a psychological contract, what this means is, not all expectations, promises and obligations that arise in the workplace can form part of the psychological contract context, as if this happen the concept itself will be weak enough to utilize as an analytical tool (Convoy and Briner 2005), The challenge here is to identify and clarify, which promises, expectations, and/or obligations can be categorized as part of the psychological contract context, nevertheless, does not exist any concern for this essay to deepen in this subject. Having clarified that, psychological contracts are basically a subjective phenomenon based on implicit promises; promises which do not include any belief derive from other inferences. Despite to what we normally think that promises can only be a verbal action, in the psychological context the promises can also be inferred, and is right there, when it becomes difficult to properly interpret these promises into the psychological contract framework. The two key issues here are; primary, do not set promises in the legal contract which could lead to a future misunderstanding of the employees, second do not take into consideration promises derives from any inferences. Tackling the Challenges of the Psychological Contract Having spelled out the success of Cadburys previous psychological contract, is notorious that Kraft / Cadbury has the key issue to maintain the same psychological contract within the UK workforce in order to manage this takeover in the most appropriate way. Kraft will not enjoy of the current Cadburys workforce commitments until they truly understand its ingrain psychological contract as well as its own culture identity Therefore Kraft / Cadbury, in order to tackle the challenges of the psychological contract in the most effective way, they should firstly, fully understand the drivers of their beliefs and what make the employees engage with the company so tightly, taking into consideration the culture differences. As the saying goes, England and America are two different countries separated by the same language; this is a clear caveat to Kraft / Cadbury does not forget that exist some underlying forces of the legal contract, which could leads or infer to a misunderstanding of the beliefs between both participants and as consequence a disengagement of the workforces commitments. For instance, Kraft / Cadbury could hire an external local brand auditor to investigate the reason(s) of key employees engagement, such as plant employees and/or relevant senior employees with the company and/or the brand itself, this audit should be placed with the aim of understand the whole picture in a much clear scenario, before any action takes place to align the companys psychological contract Once these employee engagements reason(s) are clear and there are not doubts of the workforces beliefs, it is equally essential that Kraft/Cadbury spells out their own expectations towards the future of the company and most importantly, the future of their workforce, this action should be made in the most understandable way, covering the entire negatives and positives beliefs so that the workforce can clearly understand the companys position and deal with it in the same psychological contract context. However, this action of conveying the negatives and positives beliefs towards the company and workforce, does not guaranty that the workforce will accept them and share the same commitments that they were sharing before the merger, but at least it will not create wrong expectations, setting up fair rules during the game. Actions such as the recent announcement of the closing Somerdales factory close to Bristol, (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article7022608.ece) losing approximately 400 UK jobs, once Kraft had mentioned that there were not going to be any job cuts during the first six months of the merger, this announcement only creates unrealistic expectations among the workforce towards the company, and being this action the first impression which Kraft has given to their employees of breaking the pledges, it only shows the lack of principles and lack of commitments to keep what they say. These types of actions are the ones which Kraft has to avoid will happen again, after this announcement; it seems to be obvious that the way how Kraft expresses its beliefs and commitments, certainly has not been well understood not only for its workforce but also for all its UK customers and the UK government. Therefore, if Kraft really wants to be engage with their workforce is going to have to work even harder to firstly recover the trust which ever had gained and secondly to rectify the first opportunity which has just spoiled out. CONCLUSIONS

Characteristics Of A Successful Entrepreneur

Characteristics Of A Successful Entrepreneur Entrepreneurs use innovation to exploit or create change and opportunity for the purpose of making profit. They do this by shifting resources from an area of lower productivity into an area of higher productivity and greater yield, accepting a high degree of risk and uncertainty in doing so (reference Patricias lecture notes) An entrepreneur is a leader, a manager, a risk taker. However it is plausible to say that not all managers are entrepreneurs. Robinson, (1999) proposed key differences between a leader and a manager to back up the assertions that not all managers are leaders. LEADER MANAGER Innovates Develops Focus on people Inspires trust Has an eye on the horizon-long range Does the right thing Administer Maintains Focus on systems and structures Relies on control Keep an eye on bottom line-short range Does things right Source: Robinson (1999) McClelland, (1961) as cited by David D. et al, (2003) in their book; Entrepreneurship and small firms, propose three key competencies of successful Entrepreneurs namely; Proactively: initiative and assertiveness. Achievement orientation: ability to see and act on opportunities. Commitments to others. At a deeper level, Sue B. et al, (2000) refined this competencies, examining them in six critical dimensions of business practice: Strategic orientation: These stress the ability of an Entrepreneur to be driven only by the perception of the opportunities that exist in his environments and not constrained by the resources at his disposal. Commitment to opportunity: the ability of an Entrepreneur to pursue opportunity quickly as soon as it appears. Commitment of resources: The characteristics of a good Entrepreneur are a multi-staged commitment of resources, putting in minimum commitment at each stage or decision point. Control of resources: the ability of Entrepreneur to know and decide what resources are needed over time both human and material. Management structure: They contend that Entrepreneur is stereotyped as egocentric and idiosyncratic thus unable to manage. To be a successful Entrepreneur it is essential to have managerial skills. Reward philosophy: A good Entrepreneur is focused on creating and harvesting values. Theories/Approaches to Entrepreneurship Theories as define by Business dictionary, are set of assumptions, prepositions, or accepted facts that attempt to provide a plausible or rational explanation of cause and effect relationship among a group of observed phenomenon. Previous work and researches (McClelland, 1961; Komives, 1972; McClelland and Winter, 1969) help in developing three approaches to entrepreneurship, which is illustrated by Sue B. et al (2000) as; Personality approach; other writers called it the Trait approach (Summer, 1989) Social-behavioural approach The economic approach Entrepreneurship Economic writers and theorists: the economic approach The psychological characteristics school: personality approach Social-behavioural approach Source: David D. et al, 2003 Personality approach to Entrepreneurship, as argued by David D. et al, (2003) is identifying certain personality and traits in individuals that appear to be possessed by successful Entrepreneurs. Furthermore, they explain that the approach is concern with testing and applying some perceived characteristics in individuals. This approach assumes that Entrepreneurship as well as leadership consists of certain inherited characteristics or personality traits that make them more effective. These traits include; Self confidence/control Innovative Creativity Need for autonomy Vision Flexibility Calculated risk-taker Social-behavioural approach to Entrepreneurship assumes that an Entrepreneurs behaviours affects and is affected by the environment (group of followers). Behavioural approach views the creation of an Entrepreneur as a contextual event, the outcome of many influences (Summer, 1989). This approach believes that the skills of an Entrepreneur can be learnt developed and perfected. Economic approach to Entrepreneurship views an Entrepreneur as person who coordinates all the different factor of production (David D. et al, 2003). This approach implies that an Entrepreneur indentifies and fills market gab combining lands, labour and capital in profitable ways. The above theories and approach also applies to leadership as it can be seen that most leaders are Entrepreneurs. SELF ASSESSMENT Self assessment is extremely valuable as it propels me to evaluate myself in order to form judgements about my strengths and weaknesses. Self-assessment is the process of looking at the self in order to weigh up aspects that one may find important to their identity (Sedikides, 1993). After doing the Belbin team role test and taking the profiling for success assessment on the University of Bedfordshire career website couple with my personal skill awareness, I discovered the following; Strength: Leadership: I have a natural attitude to lead, I am always happy to take the lead when action is required. I am able to assert myself to get other people involve if necessary. The result on type dynamics indicator proves this to be true, a quote from the summary reads; You have indicated a preference for the Executive style. This style tends to be direct and focuses on end-results. Executives generally have a vision of the future and will work hard in order to gain the necessary influence required to have impact on the world around them (refer to the appendix). Team work: I am able to contribute effectively to the work and development of a team. I am able to carry out different roles within a team including those that require a practical task focussed approach. I showed these skills in my various group works in the course of my studies. I also proved to be a good team player whilst working for A.C.S technologies, a Nigerian based company, leading a team of five network engineers to install a virtual private network for a government organisation. Furthermore, the Belbin team role assessment I took in my first year shows the following result; A supportive, sociable, flexible, adaptable, perceptive, listener, calming influence, mediator in team work. Other team role the test defined is that I am a completer-finisher, it reveals that I have attention to details, am accurate, having a high standard, I am quality oriented and I deliver to schedule and specification. (Refer to the appendix). Communication: I communicate with clarity and purpose. Whilst working for A.C.S technologies Nigeria, I developed good communication skills which enable me to advice; problems solve and communicate effectively with a wide range of people from different organisations whilst troubleshooting their computer networks. I have also in the process, developed excellent listening and speaking skills. Organisation time management: I can create short-term goals to complete class work and to explore personal interests. Computing/IT: I am a proficient IT user, I am Competent with Word, Excel and PowerPoint and I can also design, build and maintain a computer network. I am a CISCO certified networking engineer. Adaptability/Flexibility: I have shown in all my academic pursuit and work experience that I can be flexible and can also adapt to new and challenging environment. This is because I studied accounting on a diploma level, and I had two years practice, and then switched to study computer networking. I even got certified as a CISCO networking engineer. My coming to the UK to study also demonstrates how flexible and adaptable I can be. Motivation: My passions are my motivation. I have a passion to develop and grow as a person and to succeed in life. I have a passion for integrity and legacy, these are my driving force which am convince will be useful in any career path I may take. This can be seen in the result on value base indicator of motivation (refer to appendix). Weaknesses Negative personal characters: I found out that in some cases I can be shy and indecisive when it comes to presenting my opinion to people I meet for the first time or those am not comfortable with. Sometimes I find myself to be so nervous when I really need courage to apply logic very fast. I can sometimes be easily distracted. Using the swot analysis I will elaborate on my strengths and weaknesses as well as demonstrating my understanding of their use in the pursuit of career. Swot analysis: This is a planning method use to evaluate the strength, weaknesses, opportunities and treat to an individual or a business. It involves specifying personal goal at the same time identifying the internal and external elements that can affect me both positive and negative in the race to attain my stated objectives. In order for a swot analysis to be useful, desire goal or objectives must be first stated. STRENGTH Leadership Work experience Education Flexibility motivation Personal traits (self-discipline, ability to work under pressure, optimism and creativity) Team work Organisation time management Computing/IT WEAKNESS Weak job hunting skills Negative personal traits (shyness, indecisiveness, slow application of logic) OPPORTUNITIES Lots of career option to choose Opportunity for advancement in my field of study Opportunity to start and run a business with the skills I have acquired THREATS Competition from fellow graduates on job opportunities High number of graduates with less jobs offers With this analysis, my best strategy in reaching my goals would be by exploiting my strength and opportunities available to me, while finding ways to neutralize the threats and working to improve on my weaknesses.

Essay About Family: The Family Road Trip :: The Family Vacation

My Sister, Niece and Nephew have taken it upon themselves to drive across the country this summer (my brother-in-law has signed on to assorted portions of this summer sized junket).niece and baby gator That desire to put a car on the road and aim it along a cardinal point is a peculiar - I'd like to say uniquely American - trait but it isn't just an American taste. It's pan cultural, like recipes for bread or dough fried in oil; An insight of my brother-in-law Al - we live in a world united not by love of justice beauty or freedom, but by variations of the doughnut. If the motor tour is not uniquely American it does unite many different types of American. Trail-blazing drummers thrashing across the Midwest and west outward from the rail lines in model-T's full of brushes and cheap vacuums in search of the previous generations of wanderer/homesteader now in need of household accessories. The airstream contingent twentieth century sun gleaming off their polished aluminum westering hull s. Ernest Bourgnine at the wheel of the converted Greyhound Motor home, his Boswell of the interstate, Jeff Krulik, in close formation. Jack Keroac, I read that book - borrowed it from a friend who warned me it wasn't as good as it is talked about - I read it anyway. There was some talk about driving, some talk about benzedrine, a lot of talk about other stuff. I can't remember more than that. My Father, saturated with the mid century love of the day trip delivered our family to most places that could be gotten to in a five hour drive from Boston - and that didn't cost anything once you got there. A cross country trip is a different animal altogether. It takes an singular spontaneity to put small children in a car and set out for America. The thread of spontaneity does not run through the cloth my sister and I were cut from. Mind , I have three sisters, the weave is a similar fabric for all, but different in small telling ways. Ann's and Mine is most near -notwithstanding the purple border on hers. To me this is a beautiful thing, a grand gesture, optimistic, and romantic. Granted A lot of people find reason to drive across the country. Some do it regularly, but in a country of 260 or so million many never do.

Surfing Is Supposed To Be Para :: essays research papers

Surfing is Supposed to be Paradise Every time a new 'untouched paradise'; is discovered, the first thing everyone wants to do is visit it. By their united enthusiasm to find these 'sanctuaries'; people bring the cage of society with them. Very quickly it becomes necessary to erect bars to keep people out. William Tucker 'Is Nature Too Good For Us?'; William Tucker's essay 'Is Nature Too Good For Us'; discusses the complications with the environmental movement to set aside pieces of land as wilderness. One of the main points of Tucker's argument brings up the problem with preserving natural land as wilderness is that these wild paradises often conflict with people's desire to visit these paradises and experience them. Tucker uses the example of Kauai as a paradise that has been ruined by the overuse and overpopulation. Tucker describes how in 1964 the Sierra Club put out an article on the relatively unknown island and by 1979 Time magazine ran an article in which some of the local people expressed their desire to keep outsiders out. The issue of protecting paradise is a hotly debated topic that is currently being fought over by surfers. To a surfer nothing is more rewarding than the search and discovery of perfect uncrowded waves. This notion of the search for uncrowded surf was brought to the attention of the general public with the 1963 release of Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer. The film documented two surfers traveling around the world to exotic locales previously left unexplored by the surfers of Western civilization. The images that Brown brought back to mainstream movie screens forever changed the lives of surfers. This film changed how surfers viewed the world. No longer were surfers confined to their local coastlines, they were inoculated with desire to seek out their own paradise.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Over the years many surfers have found their little piece of paradise and never left. Instead these surfers have opted to spend the rest of their lives surfing the waves they initially had intended to just visit and experience. They never left these beaches because the waves were uncrowded and the beaches were breathtakingly beautiful. Compare this to the modern industrial places in the U.S such as Los Angeles or San Francisco and you can see why surfers are constantly searching for paradise. Surfers get tired of surfing in crowded, polluted, and poor wave producing areas, so they travel.

The Metamorphasis by Franz Kafka Essay -- essays research papers

Early one morning, Gregor woke to discover he had transformed into a human-size bug. However, it was not him turning from a young man into a bug in the matter of one night that worried Gregor, but the fact that he was going to be late for work! After reading the first several pages, one might find themself bewildered as to why and how Gregor dealt with this transformation with such stride. No, Gregor had not lost his mind, nor had he expected this situation to ever occur (How could something so singular ever be anticipated for that matter?). It was instead, the mere fact that working as a slave to the relentless, capitalist society he knew as life had alienated Gregor to the point that such a change as becoming a bug was nothing more than a confirmation of his insignificant place in the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Attention. A simple word, yet without it, even the proudest slip into the darkest shadows of life. It is essential to human survival, and is the key concept towards understanding the ongoing transformation of Gregor throughout the story. Instead of worrying about their son and his new, awkward condition, Gregor’s parents worried about themselves, and how this tremendous change would affect their lives. What Gregor longed for, a chance to be loved and treated as a part of the family, was sadly what his own parents and sister failed to see all along. They paid no attention to his emotional or physical pain, but rather disowned the idea all together that thi...

Vampire Academy Chapter 3

THREE SENDING US STRAIGHT TO CLASS after our meeting seemed beyond cruel, but that's exactly what Kirova did. Lissa was led away, and I watched her go, glad the bond would allow me to keep reading her emotional temperature. They actually sent me to one of the guidance counselors first. He was an ancient Moroi guy, one I remembered from before I'd left. I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired. Or died. The visit took all of five minutes. He said nothing about my return and asked a few questions about what classes I'd taken in Chicago and Portland. He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class. 1st Period Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques 2nd Period Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3 3rd Period Weight Training and Conditioning 4th Period Senior Language Arts (Novices) -Lunch – 5th Period Animal Behavior and Physiology 6th Period Pre-calculus 7th Period Moroi Culture 4 8th Period Slavic Art Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. Novices and Moroi took separate classes during the first half of the day, which meant I wouldn't see Lissa until after lunch – if we had any afternoon classes together. Most of them were standard senior classes, so I felt my odds were pretty good. Slavic art struck me as the kind of elective no one signed up for, so hopefully they'd stuck her in there too. Dimitri and Alberta escorted me to the guardians' gym for first period, neither one acknowledging my existence. Walking behind them, I saw how Alberta wore her hair in a short, pixie cut that showed her promise mark and molnija marks. A lot of female guardians did this. It didn't matter so much for me now, since my neck had no tattoos yet, but I didn't want to ever cut my hair. She and Dimitri didn't say anything and walked along almost like it was any other day. When we arrived, the reactions of my peers indicated it was anything but. They were in the middle of setting up when we entered the gym, and just like in the commons, all eyes fell on me. I couldn't decide if I felt like a rock star or a circus freak. All right, then. If I was going to be stuck here for a while, I wasn't going to act afraid of them all anymore. Lissa and I had once held this school's respect, and it was time to remind everyone of that. Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were guys. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin. â€Å"Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time.† A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot. He was also one of the funniest guys I knew. We'd been good friends back in the day. â€Å"This is my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session.† â€Å"Oh yeah?† I retorted. â€Å"Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then.† â€Å"It's always a good a time to think about you naked,† added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile. Another friend of mine. Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian that didn't sound complimentary. But as for me? ­well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easygoing bunch, less focused on pedigree and politics than the Moroi students. The class engulfed me, and I found myself laughing and seeing those I'd nearly forgotten about. Everyone wanted to know where we'd been; apparently Lissa and I had become legends. I couldn't tell them why we'd left, of course, so I offered up a lot of taunts and wouldn't-you-like-to-knows that served just as well. The happy reunion lasted a few more minutes before the adult guardian who oversaw the training came over and scolded Mason for neglecting his duties. Still grinning, he barked out orders to everyone, explaining what exercises to start with. Uneasily I realized I didn't know most of them. â€Å"Come on, Hathaway,† he said, taking my arm. â€Å"You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time.† An hour later, he had his answer. â€Å"Not practicing, huh?† â€Å"Ow,† I groaned, momentarily incapable of normal speech. He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on – about fifty times. â€Å"I hate you,† I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow. â€Å"You'd hate me more if I held back.† â€Å"Yeah, that's true,† I agreed, staggering along as the class put the equipment back. â€Å"You actually did okay.† â€Å"What? I just had my ass handed to me.† â€Å"Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something.† He grinned mockingly. â€Å"Did I mention I hate you?† He flashed me another smile, which quickly faded to something more serious. â€Å"Don't take this the wrong way? ­I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trials in the spring – â€Å" â€Å"They're making me take extra practice sessions,† I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practices really became an issue. â€Å"I'll be ready.† â€Å"Extra sessions with who?† â€Å"That tall guy. Dimitri.† Mason stopped walking and stared at me. â€Å"You're putting in extra time with Belikov?† â€Å"Yeah, so what?† â€Å"So the man is a god.† â€Å"Exaggerate much?† I asked. â€Å"No, I'm serious. I mean, he's all quiet and antisocial usually, but when he fights? ­wow. If you think you're hurting now, you're going to be dead when he's done with you.† Great. Something else to improve my day. I elbowed him and went on to second period. That class covered the essentials of being a bodyguard and was required for all seniors. Actually, it was the third in a series that had started junior year. That meant I was behind in this class too, but I hoped protecting Lissa in the real world had given me some insight. Our instructor was Stan Alto, whom we referred to simply as â€Å"Stan† behind his back and â€Å"Guardian Alto† in formal settings. He was a little older than Dimitri, but not nearly as tall, and he always looked pissed off. Today, that look intensified when he walked into the classroom and saw me sitting there. His eyes widened in mock surprise as he circled the room and came to stand beside my desk. â€Å"What's this? No one told me we had a guest speaker here today. Rose Hathaway. What a privilege! How very generous of you to take time out of your busy schedule and share your knowledge with us.† I felt my cheeks burning, but in a great show of self-control, I stopped myself from telling him to fuck off. I'm pretty sure my face must have delivered that message, however, because his sneer increased. He gestured for me to stand up. â€Å"Well, come on, come on. Don't sit there! Come up to the front so you can help me lecture the class.† I sank into my seat. â€Å"You don't really mean – â€Å" The taunting smile dried up. â€Å"I mean exactly what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class.† A thick silence enveloped the room. Stan was a scary instructor, and most of the class was too awed to laugh at my disgrace quite yet. Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders, earning a few sympathetic smiles from my friends. I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians – including Dimitri – lingered in the back of the room. Outside the Academy, guardians focused on one-on-one protection. Here, guardians had a lot more people to protect and they had to train the novices. So rather than follow any one person around, they worked shifts guarding the school as a whole and monitoring classes. â€Å"So, Hathaway,† said Stan cheerfully, strolling back up to the front with me. â€Å"Enlighten us about your protective techniques.† â€Å"My? ­techniques?† â€Å"Of course. Because presumably you must have had some sort of plan the rest of us couldn't understand when you took an underage Moroi royal out of the Academy and exposed her to constant Strigoi threats.† It was the Kirova lecture all over again, except with more witnesses. â€Å"We never ran into any Strigoi,† I replied stiffly. â€Å"Obviously,† he said with a snicker. â€Å"I already figured that out, seeing as how you're still alive.† I wanted to shout that maybe I could have defeated a Strigoi, but after getting beat up in the last class, I now suspected I couldn't have survived an attack by Mason, let alone an actual Strigoi. When I didn't say anything, Stan started pacing in front of the class. â€Å"So what'd you do? How'd you make sure she stayed safe? Did you avoid going out at night?† â€Å"Sometimes.† That was true – especially when we'd first run away. We'd relaxed a little after months went by with no attacks. â€Å"Sometimes,† he repeated in a high-pitched voice, making my answer sound incredibly stupid. â€Å"Well then, I suppose you slept during the day and stayed on guard at night.† â€Å"Er? ­no.† â€Å"No? But that's one of the first things mentioned in the chapter on solo guarding. Oh wait, you wouldn't know that because you weren't here.† I swallowed back more swear words. â€Å"I watched the area whenever we went out,† I said, needing to defend myself. â€Å"Oh? Well that's something. Did you use Carnegie's Quadrant Surveillance Method or the Rotational Survey?† I didn't say anything. â€Å"Ah. I'm guessing you used the Hathaway Glance-Around-When-You-Remember-To Method.† â€Å"No!† I exclaimed angrily. â€Å"That's not true. I watched her. She's still alive, isn't she?† He walked back up to me and leaned toward my face. â€Å"Because you got lucky.† â€Å"Strigoi aren't lurking around every corner out there,† I shot back. â€Å"It's not like what we've been taught. It's safer than you guys make it sound.† â€Å"Safer? Safer? We are at war with the Strigoi!† he yelled. I could smell coffee on his breath, he was so close. â€Å"One of them could walk right up to you and snap your pretty little neck before you even noticed him – and he'd barely break a sweat doing it. You might have more speed and strength than a Moroi or a human, but you are nothing, nothing, compared to a Strigoi. They are deadly, and they are powerful. And do you know what makes them more powerful?† No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry. Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation, stone-faced. â€Å"Moroi blood,† I whispered. â€Å"What was that?† asked Stan loudly. â€Å"I didn't catch it.† I spun back around to face him. â€Å"Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger.† He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. â€Å"Yes. It does. It makes them stronger and harder to destroy. They'll kill and drink from a human or dhampir, but they want Moroi blood more than anything else. They seek it. They've turned to the dark side to gain immortality, and they want to do whatever they can to keep that immortality. Desperate Strigoi have attacked Moroi in public. Groups of Strigoi have raided academies exactly like this one. There are Strigoi who have lived for thousands of years and fed off generations of Moroi. They're almost impossible to kill. And that is why Moroi numbers are dropping. They aren't strong enough – even with guardians – to protect themselves. Some Moroi don't even see the point of running anymore and are simply turning Strigoi by choice. And as the Moroi disappear? ­Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"? ­so do the dhampirs,† I finished. â€Å"Well,† he said, licking sprayed spit off his lips. â€Å"It looks like you learned something after all. Now we'll have to see if you can learn enough to pass this class and qualify for your field experience next semester.† Ouch. I spent the rest of that horrible class – in my seat, thankfully – replaying those last words in my mind. The senior-year field experience was the best part of a novice's education. We'd have no classes for half a semester. Instead, we'd each be assigned a Moroi student to guard and follow around. The adult guardians would monitor us and test us with staged attacks and other threats. How a novice passed that field experience was almost as important as all the rest of her grades combined. It could influence which Moroi she got assigned to after graduation. And me? There was only one Moroi I wanted. Two classes later, I finally earned my lunch escape. As I stumbled across campus toward the commons, Dimitri fell into step beside me, not looking particularly godlike – unless you counted his godly good looks. â€Å"I suppose you saw what happened in Stan's class?† I asked, not bothering with titles. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"And you don't think that was unfair?† â€Å"Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?† I looked down at the ground. â€Å"I kept her alive,† I mumbled. â€Å"How did you do fighting against your classmates today?† The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too. â€Å"If you can't fight them – â€Å" â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know,† I snapped. He slowed his long stride to match my pain-filled one. â€Å"You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?† â€Å"Sure,† I shrugged. â€Å"Now and then.† â€Å"You didn't join any teams?† â€Å"Too much work. If I'd wanted to practice that much, I'd have stayed here.† He gave me an exasperated look. â€Å"You'll never be able to really protect the princess if you don't hone your skills. You'll always be lacking.† â€Å"I'll be able to protect her,† I said fiercely. â€Å"You have no guarantees of being assigned to her, you know – for your field experience or after you graduate.† Dimitri's voice was low and unapologetic. They hadn't given me a warm and fuzzy mentor. â€Å"No one wants to waste the bond – but no one's going to give her an inadequate guardian either. If you want to be with her, then you need to work for it. You have your lessons. You have me. Use us or don't. You're an ideal choice to guard Vasilisa when you both graduate – if you can prove you're worthy. I hope you will.† â€Å"Lissa, call her Lissa,† I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname. He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore. By now, I'd burned up a lot of time leaving class. Most everyone else had long since sprinted inside the commons for lunch, eager to maximize their social time. I'd almost made it back there myself when a voice under the door's overhang called to me. â€Å"Rose?† Peering in the voice's direction, I caught sight of Victor Dashkov, his kind face smiling at me as he leaned on a cane near the building's wall. His two guardians stood nearby at a polite distance. â€Å"Mr. Dash-er, Your Highness. Hi.† I caught myself just in time, having nearly forgotten Moroi royal terms. I hadn't used them while living among humans. The Moroi chose their rulers from among twelve royal families. The eldest in the family got the title of â€Å"prince† or â€Å"princess.† Lissa had gotten hers because she was the only one left in her line. â€Å"How was your first day?† he asked. â€Å"Not over yet.† I tried to think of something conversational. â€Å"Are you visiting here for a while?† â€Å"I'll be leaving this afternoon after I say hello to Natalie. When I heard Vasilisa – and you – had returned, I simply had to come see you.† I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine. â€Å"I wanted to tell you? ­Ã¢â‚¬  He spoke hesitantly. â€Å"I understand the gravity of what you did, but I think Headmistress Kirova failed to acknowledge something. You did keep Vasilisa safe all this time. That is impressive.† â€Å"Well, it's not like I faced down Strigoi or anything,† I said. â€Å"But you faced down some things?† â€Å"Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once.† â€Å"Remarkable.† â€Å"Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy.† He laughed. â€Å"I've hunted with them before. They aren't that easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence.† It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types of magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of psychic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey – as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves. â€Å"Did you face anything else?† I shrugged. â€Å"Little things here and there.† â€Å"Remarkable,† he repeated. â€Å"Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff.† I sounded just like Stan now. â€Å"You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond.† I looked away. My ability to â€Å"feel† Lissa had been such a secret for so long, it felt weird to have others know about it. â€Å"The histories are full of stories of guardians who could feel when their charges were in danger,† Victor continued. â€Å"I've made a hobby of studying up on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset.† â€Å"I guess.† I shrugged. What a boring hobby, I thought, imagining him poring over prehistoric histories in some dank library covered in spiderwebs. Victor tilted his head, curiosity all over his face. Kirova and the others had had the same look when we'd mentioned our connection, like we were lab rats. â€Å"What is it like – if you don't mind me asking?† â€Å"It's? ­I don't know. I just sort of always have this hum of how she feels. Usually it's just emotions. We can't send messages or anything.† I didn't tell him about slipping into her head. That part of it was hard even for me to understand. â€Å"But it doesn't work the other way? She doesn't sense you?† I shook my head. His face shone with wonder. â€Å"How did it happen?† â€Å"I don't know,† I said, still glancing away. â€Å"Just started two years ago.† He frowned. â€Å"Near the time of the accident?† Hesitantly, I nodded. The accident was not something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into them. Twisted metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot again. Lissa screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me. And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived. Apparently sensing my discomfort, Victor let the moment go and returned to his earlier excitement. â€Å"I can still barely believe this. It's been so long since this has happened. If it did happen more often? ­just think what it could do for the safety of all Moroi. If only others could experience this too. I'll have to do more research and see if we can replicate it with others.† â€Å"Yeah.† I was getting impatient, despite how much I liked him. Natalie rambled a lot, and it was pretty clear which parent she'd inherited that quality from. Lunch was ticking down, and although Moroi and novices shared afternoon classes, Lissa and I wouldn't have much time to talk. â€Å"Perhaps we could – † He started coughing, a great, seizing fit that made his whole body shake. His disease, Sandovsky's Syndrome, took the lungs down with it while dragging the body toward death. I cast an anxious look at his guardians, and one of them stepped forward. â€Å"Your Highness,† he said politely, â€Å"you need to go inside. It's too cold out here.† Victor nodded. â€Å"Yes, yes. And I'm sure Rose here wants to eat.† He turned to me. â€Å"Thank you for speaking to me. I can't emphasize how much it means to me that Vasilisa is safe – and that you helped with that. I'd promised her father I'd look after her if anything happened to him, and I felt like quite the failure when you left.† A sinking sensation filled my stomach as I imagined him wracked with guilt and worry over our disappearance. Until now, I hadn't really thought about how others might have felt about us leaving. We made our goodbyes, and I finally arrived inside the school. As I did, I felt Lissa's anxiety spike. Ignoring the pain in my legs, I picked up my pace into the commons. And nearly ran right into her. She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl. I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else. â€Å"It looks to me like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards.† Scorn dripped off the word Dragomir. Grabbing Doll Girl by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell. â€Å"She does have standards,† I said, â€Å"which is why you're done talking to her.†