State-Sponsored Terrorism: The Relationship between Hizballah and the I

Most of the countries involved in state-sponsored terrorism make modest attempts to disassociate themselves with terrorist organizations. These countries do this in hopes that the United Nations will not place sanctions. More often than not, these countries continue their support of various terrorist groups. They support the terrorist organization in various ways: financially, training, supplies. Iran has remained the most active state sponsor of terrorism to date (State Department, 2013). Iran supports several different terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Palestine Islamic Jihad, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command and Hizballah. Often times, Iran is involved in the planning and support of different terrorist attacks. Iran has most notably assisted the terrorist organization, Hizballah, with training, weapons and funding. The Iranian government has also allowed Hizballah to use Iran as a safe haven for any terrorists that might need to go underground to hide if they have been involved in terrorist attacks and are currently on a watch list. This paper will first define terrorism, as well as state-sponsored terrorism. Second, the paper will give background on the terrorist organization of Hizballah; to include why the organization was first created and what attacks the organization is responsible for. Third, the paper will discuss the ideology and goals of Hizballah and how their ideology and goals fit into those of the Iranian government. This paper will also exam the relationship between Hizballah and the Iranian government and how that relationship affects the United States and its interests in the Middle East, mainly Israel. There is not a definition of terrorism that is used universally. Th... ... terrorism. It went over some background on the terrorist organization of Hizballah; to include why the organization was first created and what attacks the organization is responsible for. It discussed the ideology and goals of Hizballah and how their ideology and goals fit into those of the Iranian government. It examined the relationship between Hizballah and the Iranian government. It also examined how that relationship affects the United States and its interests in the Middle East, mainly Israel. Works Cited "Country Reports on Terrorism 2013" Bureau of Counterterrorism U.S. Department of State 2013 Web. http://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/crt/2013/224826.htm "Lebanon 2006: Unfinished War" MERIA Journal Volume 11, Number 03 (Sep 2007) Snapper, Jessica. "The Hezbollah Dossier" December 15th, 2009 Web. http://jessicasnapper.com/the-hezbollah-dossier/

Mcdonald Case Study

McDonald’s: On a Customer-Focused Mission More than half a century ago, Ray Kroc, a 52-year-old salesman of milk-shake-mixing machines, set out on a mission to transform the way Americans eat. Kroc bought a chain of seven stores already existing for $2. 7 million. From the start, Kroc preached a motto of QSCV—quality, service, cleanliness, and value. These goals became mainstays in McDonald’s customer-focused mission statement.Applying these values, the company perfected the fast-food concept—delivering convenient, good-quality food at affordable prices. McDonald’s grew quickly to become the world’s largest fast-feeder. The fast-food giant’s more than 32,000 restaurants worldwide now serve 60 million customers each day, racking up system-wide sales of more than $79 billion annually. In the mid-1990s, however, McDonald’s fortunes began to turn. The company appeared to fall out of touch with both its mission and its customers.Amer icans were looking for fresher, better-tasting food and more contemporary atmospheres. They were also seeking healthier eating options. In a new age of health-conscious consumers and $3 muffin and coffee at Starbucks, McDonald’s seemed a bit out of step with the times. McDonald’s was struggling to find its identity among its competitors and changing consumer tastes. The company careened from one failed idea to another. It tried to keep pace. None of these things worked.However, McDonald’s continued opening new restaurants at a ferocious pace, as many as 2,000per year. The new stores helped sales, but customer service and cleanliness declined because the company couldn’t hire and train good workers fast enough. Meanwhile, McDonald’s increasingly became a target for animal-rights activists, environmentalists, and nutritionists, who accused the chain of contributing to the nation’s obesity epidemic with â€Å"super size† French fries and sodas as well as Happy Meals that lure kids with the reward of free toys.Although McDonald’s remained the world’s most visited fast-food chain, sales growth slumped, and its market share fell by more than 3 percent between 1997 and 2003. In 2002, the company posted its first-ever quarterly loss. In early 2003, a troubled McDonald’s announced a turnaround plan—what it now calls its â€Å"Plan to Win. † At the heart of this plan was a new mission statement that refocused the company on its customers. The company’s mission was changed from â€Å"being the world’s best quick-service restaurant† to â€Å"being our customers’ favorite place and way to eat.The new plan centered on five basics of an exceptional customer experience: people, products, place, price, and promotion. Under the Plan to Win, the goal was to get â€Å"better, not just bigger. † The company invested in improving the food, the service, the atmosph ere, and marketing at existing outlets. McDonald’s redecorated its restaurants with clean, simple, more-modern interiors and amenities such as live plants, wireless Internet access, and flat-screen TVs showing cable news.Play areas in some new restaurants now feature video games and even stationary bicycles with video screens. To make the customer experience more convenient, McDonald’s stores now open earlier to extend breakfast hours and stay open longer to serve late-night diners—more than one-third of McDonald’s restaurants are now open 24 hours a day. Moreover, MacDonald added healthier options, such as Chicken McNuggets made with white meat, a line of Snack Wraps, low-fat â€Å"milk jugs,† apple slices, Premium Salads.In 2008, when the stock market lost one-third of its value—the worst loss since the Great Depression— McDonald’s stock gained nearly 6 percent. Through 2010, as the economy and the restaurant industry as a wh ole continued to struggle, McDonald’s outperformed its competitors by a notable margin. QUESTIONS 1. What are the main environmental factors that affected MacDonald marketing strategy and way of doing business? 2. How MacDonald responded to the changing environment? (How these changes affected its marketing mix? )

Native American And First Nations Gender Identities Essay

One of the difficulties in studying and assessing the effects and causes of changing terminologies and beliefs regarding Native American and First Nations gender identities is the incredible variety between both the histories of different tribes and the individual’s understanding of personal identity. It is a frequent and recurring problem in academia surrounding minority groups, whether they be racial, ethnic, sexual, or gender minorities, that the voices of actual members of the group being studied are ignored. What they are saying can be sterilized, particularly when the researcher is not a member of the group. The reality of the emotional and practical reasons for terminology used by these individuals cannot be understood without direct input from their voices, and as such five different perspectives regarding identity and terminology taken by Native American individuals are represented here. These examples are taken from blog posts regarding various topics surrounding the se ideas, and the tribes represented include the Navajo, White Bear Clan, Cree, Metis, and Mi’kmaq people. While each of the five have different relationships to their Native ancestry, all five individuals take a perspective regarding the use of the term two-spirit. While all five take a positive stance on the use of the word, applying it to themselves, their understanding and emotional attachment to the word varies. For Navajo individual Jae Burbank, the discovery of being two-spirit came after plansShow MoreRelatedThe Influence Of Social Change On My Life1721 Words   |  7 Pagesstruggles, and livelihoods. Once you put on the sociological glasses though, the picture begins to clear and we seem more alike than when you were blind. You begin to sharpen in on our similarities of social changes, gender problems and how the world perceives us, and our out-of-the-home identities we struggle to hold. 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