HR Employee Development & Workplace Learning Essay Example for Free

HR Employee Development Workplace Learning Essay Human resource development and knowledge is extremely essential for the success of an organization because HRD reflects upon the objectives and goals of the business which can be achieved through proper human resource planning and management activities and also through implementing the most effective human resource learning theories such as behaviorism theory and situated theory of learning which enhances the skills and talents of the employees to a great extent. (Allan, C. Greg J. Bamber, Nils Timo.. , 2006). It is extremely important for all organizations and managers to acknowledge the fact that the highly competitive business environment of today’s world mainly focuses upon the efficient use of human resources through learning and training them so that they can produce the maximum in a given time rate. Therefore, managers should clearly understand that they need to concentrate all their efforts into obtaining the best from their human resources. Butteriss,M. , 1998). Human resource development and management has always been a topic of discussion. Companies over many decades have tried to understand the complexities of human resource management and many researchers, analyst and great managers have come up with various theories and ideas to deal with this issue. (John B. P, 2009). To go forward with the discussion of HR development, we should first of all clearly understand what appropriate human resources are. Appropriate human resources refer to the individuals within the organization who make a valuable contribution to management system goal attainment. Research into this matter has proven that production in all businesses is accomplished by effective human resource interaction and combination of human resource management and theories. (Sheehan, C. , Peter Holland, Helen De Cieri. , 2006). Research has proven that if employee management and performance management (appraisal) works side by side then no problem can stop the organization from going towards success. For example, if through employee training and learning and training theories, the performance and output of the worker is evaluated then that knowledge regarding the workers performance can help the organization in giving bonuses and rewards to the worker for his dedication, motivation and hard work. (Bray, M. and Peter Waring. , 2006). For instance, a worker’s performance is checked through the performance appraisal system and it proves that the worker is very efficient and hardworking, then that worker can be awarded rewards and bonus for his efficiency and effectiveness. Peetz, D. , 2005) Extensive research into this matter has also proven that if organizations only focus on building and training their employees and do not focus on any program of performance check or management then these organizations will not be able to achieve effective results in the long run. This is because employees need to be constantly checked in order to find out whether they are working with dedi cation and motivation or whether their skills have become outdated or not. Leaving employees totally on their own can lead to disastrous effects. Performance management has become extremely popular in the recent years because its worth and value has been recognized by most organizations nowadays. Human resource managers now clearly understand that without appraising the performance of their workforce they can never find out how productive and effective their workforce is. Moreover, performance appraisal also allows the organization to give bonuses to their employees for good performance and to motivate them more for the future. Research shows that due to performance appraisals nowadays employees are dealt with strictly when they come late to work on a regular basis. Therefore, performance appraisal immediately makes the employees more efficient and effective and ends any kind of laid back behavior that they already had towards their work. (Mamman, A. and Christopher J Rees. , 2005) HR Management and development comprises of not only employee training but it consists of a broader aspect of employee development, learning and education. Through research, it has been found that the employees who have obtained extensive training, learning and development education are the most efficient and effective ones to work in today’s highly competitive business environment HR management basically tries to build the skills and work tasks of the employees so that they can give maximum success and productivity to the organization for which they work. (Ghai, D. ; Hewitt, C. , 1994) Research proves that the accuracy and fairness of the performance appraisal of employees keeps changing every now and then because the role of HR management itself is continuously changing all over the world due to a multiple reasons. (Hicks, N. L. ,1993) Furthermore, the recent crisis the world is facing namely, the War on Terror, has greatly affected the financial condition of the economy of the world due to which oil prices have increased, unemployment has increased, corruption has risen, privatization and consumerism has taken place and all these policies have had a very strong impact upon HRD as it changes to reduce employee stress. Freeman, C. ; Soete, L. , 1993). There are many theories given by a lot of renowned scholars on various issues of HR Management. Two of them are Behaviorism Theory and the other is the Situated Theory. These two theories play a major role in enhancing a trainer’s understanding of the learning process. The Theory of behaviourism is useful for the development of competencies and also for exhibiting technical skills. This is a learning theory and is most advantageous when a change in behavior of a worker is desired. This theory is really helpful for all the major organizations in the world as it plays an important role in judging the attitudes of the employees. Behaviourism is actually a model of training for employees. The systematic training designs, training objectives, computer or electronically device based learning, and also competencies are all a major part of behaviorist learning theory. There are few assumptions related to this learning theory which are to be given importance in order to implement it in an organization.

The Portrayal Of Homosexuals In Hollywood

The Portrayal Of Homosexuals In Hollywood Since the 1960s, Hollywood film industry has typically treated and portrayed homosexuals as subject of negative stereotypes and social pariahs. Queer identities might be the most extreme sexual dynamic at work in mass culture and reception and the least respected. Gay representations in the media have been considered to be an immoral code and as homosexuality was introduced into popular culture, the gay and lesbian community was oppressed from the start. Later film and television attempted to create well-rounded homosexual characters but often continued to reinstate negative social conventions with great attention in depicting gay stereotypes and how they shaped the publics impression of the gay community. Historically, heterosexuality has been seen as a crucial factor in defining masculinity and homosexuals have been perceived as lacking masculinity and in a sense feminine. Western patriarchal culture and system sees a simple interpretation of gay men and homosexual identities are oppressed within structures of domination and privileged. On the field of queer theory, the use of queer images, references and representations by mass media has not been seen in a positive light. Queerness popularity in advertising is not considered politically significant but instead commercialized. Queer politics expects that queers should be shocking and radical while being subversive. In reality, commercialized queer aesthetics makes it a mass media commodity, in which processed queerness loses its radical edge. As discussed in lecture, Adorno under the Grand Narratives of Modernity aptly states, Humans are not individuals or subjects, but rather commodities, objects and products of consumption with no unique characteristics so that they are easily and readily replaceable (Queerying Modern Law Lecture 2011). Mass media audience are all considered heterosexual, and mass me dias no matter how commercialized cannot shock, disturb or upset its paying hetero audience too much. Queer images in mass media are usually domesticated to ensure conservatism since being queer represented sexual glamour and exoticism. Images of queer identities in the media have nothing to do with equality between genders and sexualities (Mistry, 2000). The actual processes of commercializing and aestheticizing queer are in fact capitalistic utilization that colonizes queer identities. It makes use of the otherness of gay people which only to maintain heterosexual hegemony (Roseneil 2000: 154). As part of a social and mass culture revolutionary movement, the television series Queer as Folk (North American Version) portrays masculinity in a noticeably progressive way; due to the overtly sexual nature of the show and the fact that all of the characters are homosexuals. Queer as Folk, in many ways, attempts to broaden the category of normative masculinity to include gay men. All the while, the series flaunts and celebrates a non-normative and hegemonic masculinity most notable through the actions and characteristics of main character- Brian Kinney-a successful and good-looking 29-year-old with extreme arrogance, narcissism and sexual promiscuity. The series when viewed closer, subconsciously relates to queer identity, politics, masculinity and acceptance. Queer as Folk significantly function as the relation between queer politics and queer aesthetics. Queer as Folk (North American Version) is set in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and follows the lives of five gay men: Brian, Justin, Michael, Emmett, Ted; a lesbian couple, Lindsay and Melanie; and Michaels mother Debbie. The show is based off a British Series by the same name written by Russell T. Davies, a homosexual who wanted to fill the void within the British media of homosexual characters. It deals with issues that define queer politics and identities: coming out, same-sex marriage, gay adoption, discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, recreational drug use and abuse, artificial insemination, vigilantism, gay-bashing/violence, HIV-positive status, underage prostitution, actively gay Catholic priests, the internet pornography industry. The main characters are Brian, Justin and Michael, three male homosexuals who spend their time in the pubs and clubs of Pittsburghs Liberty Ave. The protagonists personify changes and new gayness- a modern phenomena in cultural re presentations of homosexuality as compared to their predecessors. In a world of almost compulsory heterosexuality, [gay men and lesbians] reality [are rendered] equally marginal and invisible (Robson 1998: 6). Postmodernism question the earlier approaches, through defined discourses of homosexuality. In comparing the representations of degenerated gay guys with pre 1990s identity problems, these modern gay men have become out and proud heroes who praised the culture despite being reset from social marginality. Hegemonic masculinity is a widely used concept that refers to masculinity that holds the power in the society (Sipilà ¤ 1994: 19). In Western societies, hegemonic masculinity associates white, middle-class, and heterosexual masculinity to power and influence. According to Connell, hegemonic masculinity is not a fixed character type, always and everywhere the same. It is, rather, the masculinity that occupies the hegemonic position in a given pattern of gender relations, a position always contestable (Connell, 1995a: 76). Masculinities that are not in the power position are subordinated or marginalized homosexuals. Oppression positions homosexual masculinities at the bottom of a gender hierarchy among men. Gayness, in patriarchal ideology, is the repository of whatever is symbolically expelled from hegemonic masculinity (Connell, 1995a: 78). Queer as Folk reveals, by exaggeration, excessive gay sex, cultural gay stereotypes, which traditionally reduce gayness to hyper sexuality and gender-bending. The show provocatively focuses on representing free time and sexuality of gay guys. It focuses heavily on their parties, alcohol, drugs, and multiple one-night stands, in which people are mainly seeking hedonistic sexual pleasure. It produces Butlerians idea of gender as performative in a way that embarrasses and confuses the viewers (Butler, 1993). The repetitive and explicit representations of sex acts become gender performance, in which the gender identities are actually represented by sex. Although the show produced queer aesthetics and making use of its fashionable appeal in today culture (Mistry 2000: 87) it is participating by watering down queers critical and political edge. All the while, it supports underlying queer political and provocative tasks. For example the show focus primarily on proud, healthy and wealthy, good looking and lively gays and lesbians that contradict traditional images of gay and lesbian representations usually represented as melancholic, deviant, deg enerated, sickly, and dying men and women (Lahti 1989 and Paasonen, 1999: 40). On the other hand it also declares gay rights and, more subtly, queer politics. As seen in a poster that states, Smash the Heterosexual Orthodoxy, and especially in Brians behavior. Brian clearly is a politically aware and hetero norms resisting person, usually responsible for explicitly constructing his own queer identity. For example, a sequence where Brian, a gay man, and Melanie, a lesbian woman, walk together with their baby (in doing so they are rebelling and falsely representing a nuclear family indicating the illusiveness of such representations) and kiss goodbye before Brian goes alone to a car dealership. The salesman in the store watches through a window of the family performance and with no question believes what he sees is a normal, productive, heterosexual family. Based on this the salesman tries to convince Brian that he should buy some other car than the one he has already chosen, because lots of gay guys drive that car, and it doesnt really fit into an image of a family guy, and a real man. He then adds that the resale value of those particular cars is high, because gay guys die young. Brian is aggressively and clearly annoyed of the remark and maliciously drives the car through the car stores window right in front of the upset salesmans desk when it was time to pay for the car. Word Cited Butler, Judith. (1993). Bodies That Matter. On the Discursive Limits of Sex. New York: Routledge. Connell, R.W. 1995a. The Social Organization of Masculinity. In Connell, R.W. Masculinities, 67-86. Cambridge: Polity Press. Lahti, Martti. (1992) Partial and excessively masculinity and the mans body. Womens Studies. 5:2. Mistry, Reena. (2000). From Heart and Home to a Queer Chic. A Critical Analysis of Progressive Paasonen, Susanna. (1999) Now! And forever rewind . Weddings media spectacle. Contemporary Culture Research publication 61. Robson, Ruthann. (1998). Sappho goes to law school: Fragments in Lesbian Legal Theory. Columbia University Press. Roseneil, Sasha. (2000). Postmodern changes in sexuality: Queer framework and its influences 2: 2000. Sipilà ¤, J. (1994). Mens Studies Cracks in Hegemonic Masculinity. In Sipilà ¤, J. A. Tiihonen (eds.). Constructing Man, Deconstructing Masculinities. 17-33. Tampere: Vastapaino.

Buddhism and Ecology :: essays research papers

If there was ever a culture that truly cared for the Earth, it was that of Buddhism. Buddhism itself is often known for commitment to World ecology. This is explored in the essay, Relational Holism, by David Landis Barnhill, in the book, Deep Ecology and World Religions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The subject of holism is brought to us many times and often acknowledgement of critical views is used to help convey the information. Beginning with a strong statement by Barnhill, â€Å"Critics of deep ecology have often attacked its holistic views of self and cosmology. For some, holism is both distorted and dangerous because it fails to affirm the individuality of beings and recognize the centrality of relations among individuals.† (page 79)Most people, especially of the western hemisphere, would like to think of themselves as individuals and unique. This is interesting in that, many eastern civilizations want the opposite. It is even a saying among Japanese, â€Å"the nail that sticks out is pounded in,†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next illustration of holism is brought to us on page 85, â€Å"In the conventional view, waves are independent, self-existing things. From the perspective of emptiness, however, the waves are recognized as lacking independent existence: they are not water in a distinct and temporary form, yet the waves are not separate from the ocean, they are the ocean.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Besides emphasizing holism, Barnhill discusses identification, with self and nature. â€Å"One way of seeing that the holism prized by deep ecologists can be combined with the relationality emphasized by ecofeministsis to consider the notion of identification.

MARCIA GRIFFITHS: REGGAE QUEEN? :: Essays Papers

MARCIA GRIFFITHS: REGGAE QUEEN? BEGINNING YEARS These two quotes are critical in answering the question of whether or not Marcia Griffiths is the true Reggae Queen. After looking at her success as a female artist, the answer to this question becomes obvious. Women have been oppressed across the globe for centuries, which make Griffiths success as a female Reggae artist that much more outstanding. Looking at her achievements throughout her life starting at a young age to thirty-seven years in the music business, the audience will understand why she is the true Reggae Queen. Linneth Marcia Griffiths was born and raised in Kingston. Music had always been apart of her upbringing from her father’s influence as a singer. Her talent was recognized very early by producers Clement Coxsone Dodd and Byron Lee, â€Å"who were said to be competing for her father’s signature on a recording contract even before she was ten. Coxsone won the compitition and his legendary Studio One and its downbeat rhythms became her musical college.† (Tafari, pg. 1) Marcia reached the big stage for the first time at the Carib Theater in Cross Roads, Kingston at the age of twelve. At the age of sixteen she achieved her first Jamaican # 1 with the Rock Steady hit â€Å"Feel Like Jumping.† After that, she opened shows in Jamaica for Carla Thomas, Betty Wright and Ben E. King among others. Since those vintage days, music has been her life and she has risen to the top of Rock Steady and Reggae Charts in Jamaica. While growing up she listened to and admired singers like Aretha Franklin, Carla Thomas and Deon Warkick. There were not many female artists in Jamaica, but one that she admired was the late â€Å"Hortense Ellis† who was a local singer. At a young age Marcia established a name for herself before teaming up with Rita Marley and Judy Mowatt. Over the years Marcia has built up a long list of solo hits, but the re-make by Marcia and Bob Andy of the Nina Simone hit â€Å"Young, Gifted and Black† in the 1970’s put her into a household name throughout the Caribbean and Europe. (Tafari, pg. 2) The record’s popularity rose the charts in the UK and soon became popular across Europe.

Individuals vs. Society Essay -- essays research papers

An individual’s role in society can vary with the number themes the characters exhibit. When there are signs of fate, cruelties, weaknesses, and desires for justice and catharsis the role of an individual becomes more complicated. In Antigone, most of those themes are shown thus a single person’s influence or role on society is very small and complicated to attain. However in The Lottery the society has most of the control and there is not many signs of those characteristics so the role of a person is simplified because they are nothing compared to the society combined. Finally, in The Penalty of Death, there are signs of many of the themes but since it is the societies influence against that of an individuals, it is simplified because they have to work together. Out of the three readings, I believe that Antigone exhibits most of the characteristics that complicates an individual’s role in society. There is a considerable amount of fate shown in this story. For example, the most evident is that of our main character Antigone. Her fate is shown from the Prologue where she makes her decision to bury her brother Polyneices. â€Å"Ismene, I am going to bury him. Will you come?† There is a point that sort of suggests where her conflict will arise where she defies Creon’s law by saying, â€Å"Creon is not strong enough to stand in my way.† Weakness was shown on the part of Creon. His main weaknesses were his cruelty and hubris. He seems especially cruel when he is enraged with Haimon for t...

Knowledge Management: PETRONAS

Introduction Today, oil and gas companies around the world are not just professional organizations who specialize in mechanical drilling and extraction processes. Increased oil demands and the need for improved productivity have forced these organizations into new methods and knowledge intensive approaches. For instance information technology has now become very much an integral part of the oil exploration and oil extraction business. The collaboration between multi disciplinary teams has become a norm. Real-time information communication from remote reservoirs, and processing of such data in a collaborative environment that involves multiple teams and vendor locations has become an essential part of the business decision making process. In other words, a knowledge based approach underlies the critical business decisions in oil majors. (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz, 2009, pg 284). As an oil and gas extraction company of the world, with presence in more than 30 countries across the world, PETRONAS is one of the Oil Majors. Being an increasingly competitive sector, skilled staff are always on demand in the Oil and Gas industry. This implies that organizations have to defend against attrition and be armed with effective knowledge management practices that manage vital information about processes, best practices and information about field experts and tacit knowledge about the entire operational processes. Effective knowledge management process is at the heart of business competitiveness and success. Knowledge Management Knowledge is a multidimensional and heterogeneous entity. Proper storage, classification and retrieval of knowledge is critical for innovation, cost control and hence the competitiveness of any industry. Particularly, for knowledge intensive firms such as PETRONAS, where high skilled engineering processes are involved, there is a need for ‘integrated operations’ between various knowledge areas. Ultimately, improving the production optimization process is at the heart of all knowledge management practices in PETRONAS. One of the important areas that lack coordination in the Oil and gas sector in general is the working of the reservoir engineers, the production engineers and the process engineers at the facilities. This implies that operation decisions are not always made in consultation with the onshore engineers. In other words this leads to what is known as the fragmented approach. (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz) 2009, pg 285 Integrated Operations (Process facility and reservoir sensors and Collaboration among vendors and operators) (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz, 2009, pg 285) Information technology has now penetrated every area of the production and process control aspects of the Oil and Gas companies. However, most of these IT tools are specialized and lack the integration that makes it difficult to access relevant data for purposes of production analysis and optimization. It is necessary that all the three major divisions (reservoir management, production management and process management) exchange real-time data. A shared information space might be the answer to the problems as it promotes better access to real-time data and integration of the various processes, which is the key to achieving production optimization. (Jemielniak & Kociatkievicz, 2009, pg 284) Knowledge Management in PETRONAS Knowledge management practices are very recent at PETRONAS. As the Knowledge Management manager, Miss Murni Shariff, disclosed in a recent interview, only in 2006 the company seriously focused on KM practices. Prior to that KM was mostly restricted to content and information management. (KMTalk, 2009) There are two types of knowledge namely tacit knowledge and explicit knowledge. Explicit knowledge, as the name suggests, refers to knowledge that could be easily documented. This type of knowledge is gained by reading, observation and discussion. For instance, documented guides about a program or the operational features of a product are examples of explicit knowledge. Tacit knowledge, on the other hand, is more implicit and it is not easy to document it and consequently much harder to share. Tacit knowledge is developed over a period of time when an individual gains insights and details about the various functions in the organization. (MMU, 2006) Currently, PETRONAS is focusing on all efforts towards transferring this tacit knowledge of its staff and making it accessible for future reference and for new workers. Achieving this tacit knowledge sharing pertaining to the various complex processes within the organizations is crucial for the company to reduce costs and become competitive. As Stephen Birell, marketing director of Vardus, a KM company focusing on the Oil and gas sector states, â€Å"The way the industry can drive down cost is by attacking the areas of huge cost which are facilities and drilling. And if everyone follows best practice and shares their learning, you won’t have people making the same mistakes twice. And that ultimately saves money.† (Chowdury, 2006) Three issues are the main motivating factors for the implementation of KM practices across the organization. These are 1) aging workforce- With more than three and half decades since its institution many of the technical staff members at PETRONAS are nearing their retirement age and this mass retirement would drastically impact upon the performance unless swift knowledge management policies are in place to capture the tacit knowledge of these experienced older workforce. 2) The global oil industry is very competitive placing a high premium for the experienced and knowledgeable workforce. High attrition rate at PETRONAS is one big problem as competitors are luring skilled staff. In this context the issue of Trust becomes foremost. The following 5 C’s are recognized as trust factors among knowledge intensive workers. These are a) Competence, b) Commitment, c) Conflict, d) Communication and e) Caring. Of these commitment is foremost and it is the responsibility of the team leade r or the manager to ensure that commitment to the organization and its values are developed naturally as a response to the motivation and example shown by the leader. (Ralston, 2007) Finally, increasing international operations also implies international competition and in this scenario an effective KM plan is indispensible for the organization to smoothly manage and coordinate the international operations. KM makes it possible to simply follow the ‘PETRONAS way’ of transferring knowledge across the different organizations. (KMtalk, 2009) Initially, the main focus was on technology and in removing the hindrances in sharing knowledge stored in varied database formats. However, more than the technical problems it is the problem associated with human acceptance that is currently a pressing issue. In other words, promoting effective change management is the key to implementing KM practices. At PETRONAS new initiatives were implemented to promote better change management. Communities of Practice A new, ‘Communities of practice’ (CoP) initiative was implemented with the idea of starting an effective KM program across the entire organization to better facilitate transfer of information between the various divisions in a swift and effective manner. Currently, there are over 50 CoP’s with each Cop having 30 members. A leader or a champion is chosen among each CoP team based on their performance criteria. The CoP’s were provided with a basic structural framework with which they can implement KM solutions and promote group-wide collaborative values. Regular monitoring of the CoP operations and impact of the same are undertaken. These leaders are also encouraged to share success stories on online CoP newsletter. To encourage enthusiastic participation from the staff, the Knowledge management team is also currently promoting a rewards system wherein the reports from the various Cop’s would be reviewed and the best performing team recognized and awarded (Murni Shariff, 2008) This CoP approach at PETRONAS has shown significant positive results so far with effective information exchange between various operating units already visible across the organization. This would also significantly improve the training for younger generation staff as they fast replace the retiring older generation. A simple online tool that was designed to evaluate the penetration of the CoP based KM practices has confirmed these positive improvements. ( Murni Shariff, 2008) Conclusion Knowledge management practices are critical to the continued competitive growth of any organization. In simple terms it facilitates effective reuse of organizational resources which is tantamount to considerable cost savings. Particularly, in a knowledge intensive and high-tech organization such as PETRONAS, KM practices help to promote better collaboration between multidisciplinary teams. This could help avoid millions of dollars in costs by helping workers avoid unnecessary delays and repetitive mistakes. The current KM practices involving Communities of practice concepts are showing good acceptance among the staff which is important for effective change management. As more and more staff members are encouraged to participate in KM activities, more intensive KM practices and collaborative platforms could be established. This would help in realizing organization wide process integration and overall business alignment. However, regular knowledge auditing is the key to understand the flow of knowledge within the organization and to ascertain areas where improvements could be effected by increasing knowledge sharing. Continued management support is the key as even a small amount of time and resources spent on good KM practices would definitely translate to considerable productivity gains in the longer run. References Dariusz Jemielniak & Jerzy Kociatkievicz, (2009), Handbook of research on Knowledge intensive organizations, Pub by Information Science Reference. Faith Ralston, (2007), How to manage four types of Knowledge Workers- Play Your Best Hand, Adams Media. U.S.A KMtalk, (2009) Knowledge Management in PETRONAS : Interview with Murni Shariff, viewed Jan 23rd 2012, Murni Shariff, (2008), PETRONAS : Engaging Knowledge Worker Communities to Stimulate Innovation and Build Corporate Capability, Viewed Jan 23rd 2012, Naguib Chowdhury, (2006), Knowledge Management Implementation in PETRONAS: A Case Study, Viewed Jan 23rd 2012, Manchester Metropolitan University, (2006) Introduction to Knowledge Management, viewed Jan 24th 2012,

19th Century American Imperialism & 20th Century War Essay

Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan couldn’t have said it any better, â€Å"No nation had ever become great without control of foreign markets and access to the natural resources of foreign countries† (Kinzer 33). Throughout the years, America has had an astonishing obsession with the idea of global imperialism. One can’t help but ask the following question: what sparked this sudden obsession with global imperialism? Even though there are many different factors that helped spark this sudden movement, the biggest single factor was the industrialization of the world’s major industrialist societies, such as England, United States, Japan, and Germany. The sudden explosion of industrialization sparked a huge consumption of the earth’s natural resources, and initiated the need for expansion. Throughout the late 19th century up until today, America has approached global imperialism in a number of different ways. Methods such as deception, intimidation, fear, and violence have all been used throughout the American conquest in order to expand this imperialistic society. America had to start expanding and had to take over weaker countries. See more: Homelessness as a social problem Essay Americans had to look to faraway countries, weak countries, countries that had large markets and rich resources but had not yet fallen under the sway of any great power† (Kinzer 34). This paper will primarily focus on the reasoning provided by Kinzer’s book Overthrow. America has become the imperialistic society it is today because of the rapid 19th century industrialization and the constant American hunger for natural resources, territory, and global domination. â€Å"Whether they will or no, Americans must now begin to look outward. The growing production of the country demands it† (Kinzer 33). During the late 19th century, America enjoyed a successful conquest of Hawaii, Cuba, Philippines, and Nicaragua. Hawaii, which has always embraced a history of tradition and culture, was faced with the issue of modernization. Throughout the years, Hawaii had slowly started to fall under white control. Hawaii has always been a huge producer of sugar, with one problem. The major market for sugar was in the United States, but the Hawaiians could not export as much as they would like because of the high tariffs imposed on imported sugar in the States. When the reciprocity treaty as signed in the summer of 1876, Americans started installing military and commercial bases in Hawaii. The renewed treaty however was what really displayed that Hawaii was falling under white influence. The renewed treaty gave United States control of Pearl Harbor, an extremely fine natural port. On January 14th 1893, Queen Liliuokalani made a disturbing announcement to her cabinet. She proclaimed a new constitution which stated only Hawaiian citizens had the right to vote. This meant that the Hawaiian population of Americans would no longer be able to vote. This move gave Lorrin Thurston and John Colburn the reason they needed to initiate the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy, which would mark America’s first overthrow of a foreign government. The alarmed Thurston quickly wrote a letter to John L. Stevens, requesting military assistance for the overthrow of the queen’s regime. Soon after, on July 4th 1894, the Republic of Hawaii was proclaimed. During the Spanish colonization of Cuba in 1897, William McKinley was sworn in as president of the United States. McKinley did not like the idea of the Spanish in Cuba. However when talking about McKinley, Kinzer states â€Å"William McKinley believed that a self-governed Cuba would pose an extreme threat to the United States, for they might not do Washington’s bidding† (Kinzer 35). After all, the revolutionary leaders in Cuba were already talking about the social reforms and land redistribution they wanted to initiate. This greatly alarmed many American businessmen, for over $50 million was invested primarily in Cuba’s agriculture. McKinley had finally had enough and had decided it was time to use military force to end the Spanish regime in Cuba. On April 25th 1898, the Spanish-American War had officially begun. After the Spanish surrender, America started to kill Cuba’s dream of independence. In the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain gave up all rights to Cuba, surrendered Puerto Rico and Guam, and sold Philippines for $20 million to the United States. The Platt Amendment gave the US some economic and military control of Cuba. McKinley initially only wanted to build a naval base at Manila, Philippines. Later however, he decided he would embark on a journey of Christianizing the country. This was unnecessary however, for most Filipinos were already Catholic. On June 2nd 1899, the official Philippine-American War started. The United States would win the war, and dissolute the First Philippine Republic. At this point, the United States had obtained, by force, full sovereignty over the Philippines. With Cuba, Hawaii, Philippines, Guam, and Puerto Rico under its belt, America now had access to a wide array of natural resources and an assortment of markets. However, the conquest would not end there. In order for one to understand the takeover of Nicaragua, one must understand Central America in the late 19th century. The late 19th century proved to be a strong idealistic era for Central America. Ideas of both social and political reforms were sweeping many Central nations, ideas inspired by European philosophers. These ideas were absolutely despised by the American government, for these ideas called for change. These ideas were admired by Central Americans because they all desired change. Jose Santos Zelaya became president of Nicaragua in 1893. He adopted many revolutionary changes, such as importing the automobile and legalizing civil marriage. He also had a very strong emphasis on building and expanding the country’s infrastructure. At first Zelaya and America were on good terms, for there have been talks of building a canal through Nicaragua. Later however, Panama was chosen as the building site, temporarily ending American interest in Nicaragua. As historian John Ellis wrote â€Å"To the State Department, Nicaragua was no longer a country that needed to be coddled or cared for in preparation for future usefulness, rather, it was not a country that needed to be watched carefully and kept in line† (Kinzer 60). A very strong nationalist, Zelaya was giving some of the American business based in his country trouble, which didn’t appeal to the United States secretary of state Philander Knox. What angered Knox even more was that Zelaya went to European banks to borrow money for his railroad project, not American banks. This showed the Taft administration that Nicaragua was trying not to depend on the States as much as they used to, which of course cause congressional panic. After much trouble from Knox, Zelaya finally resigned in 1909. After the brief command of Jose Madriz, Juan Jose Estrada took over the country, and the new conservative government was much admired and supported by the United States. Estrada’s coming to power marks the conquest of Nicaragua, because of America’s strong influence on Estrada’s regime. As demonstrated, the United States has always obtained a hostile approach regarding takeovers and conquest. The first overthrow took place in Hawaii where the queen was relieved of her position. Cuba was later obtained from Spain with the help of brute force and intimidation. Philippines and Puerto Rico were also obtained in the same fashion. Nicaragua’s government fell victim to an American sponsored coup, and their government was taken over by the Americans. It seems like there has always been a recurring pattern throughout American history. If you try to stand up to the US government, you will go down. If you operate your country in a way that doesn’t appeal to the US government, you’re going down. If you just happen to be doing good for your country, there’s still a good chance you’re still going down. America has always been that big bully that beats on the little kids at school, because they are just too weak to defend themselves. America throughout the 19th century was a product of a heavily industrialized society, a society that must rely on domination of other markets and other countries’ resources in order to keep expanding and thriving.