Analysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny Blues - 1753 Words

When we talk about darkness, it can have many different meanings. For example, darkness can mean shadow, sadness, wickedness, evil, iniquity, gloom, or without light. In the short novel Sonny Blues by James Baldwin, the word â€Å"darkness† appeared frequently throughout the reading. I think the significance of darkness of this particular situation of this book that Baldwin is trying to present is fear and suffering. It shows how the characters are in the state of panic and fear, of the situation they are in and all the sufferings they have to go through. Connecting the Baldwin to the novel, Harlem; where the story takes place is Baldwin’s hometown. He was born in 1924 and he worked as a Pentecostal preacher during this teens. As a youth like Sonny in the novel, Baldwin also got himself involved in drugs, alcohol, violence, and crime. Baldwin graduated from high school in 1942 and he moved away from the influence of the church and found himself a job in New Jersey laying railroad track. This is when Baldwin first experienced racial prejudice for the first time in his life. He was denied service in restaurants and barred from the local bowling alleys. With many struggles and suffering, Baldwin lost his job and returned to this home town. In the story, Sonny lost both his parents. As for Baldwin, he lost his stepfather. To help support his mother and younger siblings, he work his hardest trying to feed the family and decided to become a writer. With the inspiration from RichardShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 916 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin’s story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† tells the tale of two African-American brothers trying to survive in 1950s America. Both struggle with darkness in their lives, from drugs to bottling up emotions. The following sources were found Literature Research Center’s website. Each of the four sources will be evaluated for the quality of their information, as well as their usefulness on the topic of darkness in â€Å" â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. Flibbert, Joseph. Sonny s Blues: Overview. Reference Guide to ShortRead MoreAnalysis Of Sonny s Blue By James Baldwin Essay1004 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blue† by James Baldwin is a story about two brothers who grew up in poverty. One brother went on to become a teacher, while the other pursued his dreams to become a musician and finds himself in prison due to drug use. The story begins with the narrator finding out about Sonny’s arrest. It’s easy to see his shock and almost disbelief. It takes the narrator a while to write to Sonny, but eventually he does, and they regain communication with one another after over a year of silence. Sonny is releasedRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 933 Words   |  4 Pagesstory. Blues is a genre of music that is often used to express a sad mood. The contradictory lives of the two brothers contribute to the theme of being safe and take risks. In this story, James Baldwin writes about two brothers who were raised together. As time passed, they separated from one another and lived completely different lives. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin addresses the themes of finding comfort in music, dangers of addiction and the suffering of two brothers. First, Baldwin uses theRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1578 Words   |  7 PagesJames Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† was a great tale of the struggles shared between two brothers in Harlem in 1957. This story is about two African American brothers who, unfortunately, grew apart as the aged. The plot shows the struggles the two brothers faced as they grew up in Harlem, and in return, the two drastically different paths they perused. James Baldwin was an African American who grew up in Harlem in the 1930s and 40s. Baldwin was the oldest of nine children, and grew upRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay2104 Words   |  9 PagesSeveral dialectics are at play in James Baldwin’s short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† including a dialectic between the narrator and his beloved brother Sonny involving their opposing responses to the sense of oppression and limitation that arises from living in Har lem. This dialectic and its resolution closely parallel Baldwin’s masterful use of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music. We follow the narrator and his brother Sonny as they traverse the complexities of their individual and interconnected Harlem livesRead MoreAnalysis Of `` Sonny s Blue `` By James Baldwin1474 Words   |  6 Pages Music can be the lead to freedom from darkness. The story â€Å"Sonny’s Blue† by James Baldwin takes places in Harlem around the 1950’s. The story is about two brothers. One of the brothers is the narrator of the story whose name is unknown. The narrator tells the story of the struggles in Harlem but mainly the struggles of his brother with drugs, and his passion for jazz music. Through out the story the narrator avoids giving a sense of his own struggles with himself. However, in the end the readerRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1366 Words   |  6 Pagesand dark ultimately guides Sonny and the narrator in their journey to overcome their internal struggles. In the short story Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin uses darkness and l ight to show struggles and, transformation as both brothers teeter between the different shades of the blues, using music as a way to bring them both to redemption. Often times, when light is used in stories, readers can very easily relate the idea to happiness and following the right path. Baldwin uses light to illustrate whatRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 995 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin presents an emotional journey through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, the story is in medias res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story there is an ocean of emotions witnessed between these two brothers as they battle hardships from their past and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically a characterRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues Essay1154 Words   |  5 Pagesntroduction: James Baldwin, author of Sonny s Blues, once said, I grew up with music...much more than with any other language. In a way, the music I grew up with saved my life (Session 3 Inquiry: Rudolfo Anaya and James Baldwin, 2015).   Blues becomes Sonny s drug and his addiction to it his salvation.       Even though the adults refrain from lamenting their sufferings directly to the children and telling them about the darkness, the child-narrator still intimates its marks in their facesRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 1292 Words   |  6 Pages James Baldwin was raised in poverty in Harlem where, at the age of fourteen, he became a preacher in the Fireside Pentecostal Church. After high school he decided to become a writer and with the help of the black American expatriate writer Richard Wright, won a grant that enabled him to move to Paris, where he lived most of his remaining years. He wrote a variety of novels mostly about the intellectual trials of black men in a white, racist society and homosexual themes. James Baldwin wrote â€Å"Sonny’s

Organizational Behavior Of Six Sigma - 2737 Words

Six Sigma Six Sigma Six Sigma Jessica Acevedo, Brenda Griner, Angeline Bernard and Dwight Skeete Organizational Behavior in Healthcare HSA 6118 Executive MHA Professor: Jennifer Attonito, Ph.D. Email: Jattonit@fau.edu Introduction Six sigma is a methodology, discipline and a set of techniques used to improve a process by eliminating defects. In addition, it is also considered a management philosophy. The core of this philosophy is to develop future leaders and display strategies on how to conduct a business effectively. Six Sigma creates common language throughout an organization and serves as a method to transform culture. At its highest level possible, six sigma is there to improve both efficiency and effectiveness. Efficiency includes time, costs, and labor values; amounts of resources consumed, whereas effectiveness measures the degree to which the customer?s needs are met. This paper will examine the origin of Six Sigma and it?s evolution into the foremost accepted quality improvement processes across many disciplines. In addition, an examination will be done on the application of Six Sigma in the healthcare industry including all variables and their operational definitions. Clarification will be given on how the theory evolved into the foremost accepted process improvement methodology in the world. Finally, testing of the model will be conducted by applying the theory to a work setting within the healthcare environment. From the testingShow MoreRelatedProject Management : The Six Sigma Process1691 Words   |  7 Pagesand monitoring. Although there are many methodologies that are exercised in project management, the Six Sigma process offers a method of monitoring a project and ensuring quality, while offering a system for improvement and problem solving. Six Sigma presents a systematic approach to improve a project’s progression while reducing defects, enhancing quality, and improving customer satisfaction. Six Sigma In today’s fast paced and competitive marketplace, many organizations explore different methodologiesRead MoreExamining Structure Models for Ethics1113 Words   |  5 Pagesmajor financial disasters is evidence that corporation should have a models that can measure structural and behavioral organizational ethics. The various models that can utilize to measure structural and behavioral organizational ethics consist of â€Å"Six Sigma†, â€Å"Balanced Scorecard†, and â€Å"the Triple Bottom Line†. For the purpose of this paper this author will consider â€Å"Six Sigma†, and â€Å"the Triple Bottom Line† models. Moreover, this author will briefly explore the elements of these two models andRead MoreEssay on Module One Assignment1494 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Module One Assignment 1. Six of Demings 14 Points for Management that I believe are demonstrated in the organizational follows: practices and employee behaviors of Bronson Methodist Hospital (BMH) are ad. For each Deming Point chosen, write at least one sentence describing the point in your own words and at least one additional sentence regarding how that point is demonstrated. State SPECIFIC CASE FACTS -- not generalizations - to support your thoughts maximize earning full point credit.Read MoreLean Enterprise Organization Application Essay1194 Words   |  5 Pagestheir purchase of professional retail product in hand. Compare and contrast Six Sigma and TQM to Lean Enterprise I chose to compare and contrast Lean Enterprise with Six Sigma and TQM because although the two share similarities, they also have vast differences from each other and from Lean Enterprise. It is often stated that Lean Enterprise and Six Sigma go hand-in-hand and should be used together, which is how Lean Sigma came to fruition. Although there is some overlap, there are also several differencesRead More3ms Conundrum of Efficiency and Creativity Essay975 Words   |  4 Pagesthe idea of taking that glue solution and using it on the back of paper to hold the paper to anything. So the invention of the post-it came out and the business really took off. in the 2000 the newly appointed CEO James McNerney implemented the Six Sigma management style. He did this because he felt the company was stale and not growing as much as he felt. This new management style is â€Å"designed to identify problems in work processes, and then use rigorous measurement to reduce variation, eliminateRead MoreFocus Questions for Innovation Within the Organization619 Words   |  3 Pagesbusiness is better equipped to contend with change in the organization to maintain its competencies and foc us energies toward long-term success. Organizational mobility is another key element in facilitating the core competencies of an organization. Companies must recognize and reward significant contributions from employees. The result is continued behavior with hope that it continues to contribute towards the benefit of the company’s core competencies. 3.) Strategies offered in bothRead MoreBusiness Complexity And Socio Technical Uncertainty1729 Words   |  7 Pagescondition for sustainable organizational change. What is the meaning of this concept â€Å"change capacity and readiness† and why is change capacity and readiness important for organizations? The definition of change capacity is the ability to form a mental state that focuses on the beliefs, attitudes ad intentions (Buono and Kerber, 2010). Change capacity seeks to communicate the change reason, building support for the change, and gather support for the change. â€Å"Building organizational change capacity reflectsRead MoreOrganizational Behavior Concepts: General Electric2127 Words   |  9 PagesOrganizational Behavior Concepts: ï ¿ ½ PAGE * MERGEFORMAT ï ¿ ½9ï ¿ ½ Organizational Behavior Concepts: General Electric William Ward Axia College MGT245 Thomas Jankowski June 1, 2008 ï ¿ ½ ï ¿ ½ Introduction Every business has a set of key characteristics or values that make up an organizational culture which is unique to its business. Organizational behavior examines the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge towardRead MoreWhat Is The Automatic Quantifiable IC Effective Assessment Model?1139 Words   |  5 Pageswith Six Sigma (Zhou et al. 2016) is another alternative to apply statistical anomaly detection methods to achieve filtering overloading information. Statistically, Six Sigma is a practical tool to choose the activities that distribute on both tails of the distribution to investigate the original reason for these anomalies. At each time, the volume cannot be too much, but this tool can continuously adapt and tune the benchmark to fit operational reality. Hahn et al. (2000) described Six Sigma asRead MoreMacro and Micro Economic Factors that Influence Plant Activity1309 Words   |  6 P agesdown on waste. Along with the JIT approach we will utilize a six sigma strategy. Our ABC managers will become trained in these techniques which will benefit out organization worldwide. By eliminating waste and reducing mistakes ABC Complete Kitchens will become a leader within our industry. According to Terry, 2010: This is accomplished through the use of two Six Sigma sub-methodologies: DMAIC and DMADV. The Six Sigma DMAIC process (defines, measure, analyze, improve, control) is

Time is Money the Cost of Delayed differentiation Free Essays

string(31) " can be reduced or eliminated\." Introduction †Procrastination is the waste of time† and †time is money†. Mathematically combining the above quotes we may conclude that procrastination is indeed the waste of money, but in supply chain intelligent and thoughtful procrastination in postponement can create wonders. (Hoek 2001:161) Describes delayed differentiation or postponement as a concept in supply chain wherein some of the activities are not performed until the customers places the order. We will write a custom essay sample on Time is Money: the Cost of Delayed differentiation or any similar topic only for you Order Now (Lee 1998) Explains postponement as the process which delays timings of the crucial processes in which the final products acquire specific functional features and identities. The basic properties are kept the same but the customization takes place after acquiring the current knowledge of the market, requirements. This is done for the purpose of reducing the risk and uncertainties. There is a distortion and irregularities in the information flow which cannot be speculated. Postponement aims to keep this distortion minimum and thus helps to avoid stock out cost and obsolescence. Other advantages of postponement Reduce inventory cost. Reduce transportation cost. Reduce risk of obsolescence. Reduce demand variability. Improve competitiveness by offering customized products quickly. Types of postponement (http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/mtms/events/documents/Johnny_Wan.pdf,) Full speculation strategy manufacturing postponement logistics postponement time postponement full postponement Other types of strategies ( (Tage Skejtee-larsen 2007) Product development postponement -Delay critical product development decision Price postponement-known Delay the pricing decision until customer demand is Postponement of passage of title -to buyer Delay the transfer of product ownership from seller Demand postponement -Split demand due to capacity constrain Other types of Postponement ;( for warehousing) (Ackermann) Postponement of commitment. Postponement of passage of title. Postponement of branding. Postponement of consumer packing. Postponement of final assembly. Postponement of mixture or blending. Full speculation strategy This strategy in general followed by most of the companies as (Pagh 1998)states it. in this type of postponement, a full speculation and forecast of the manufacturing and logistics is carried out. The final consumer is places at the lowest level of the supply chain. All the manufacturing, designing operations are performed. The finished product is kept at a warehouse close to the customer and delivered as and when required. A decentralized distribution system is used for this purpose. The author further gives an example of this strategy by using Xerox Company. Xerox Company has become a generic term in photo copying departments. Xerox used this type of strategy for standardized products (plug-and play products like small workstations, small copiers, and telecopy’s). What they did was to manufacture, assemble and stored at a spot near the delivery needed. Further the author explains, this is because, the short delivery time is the ‘order winning’ criteria in this field. Advantages Large scale production possible. Distribution can be carried out in large lots. Disadvantages Inventory investment very high. (Amongst all strategies). Due to large stockings, obsolescence and return shipments may occur. The consequences of employing the full speculation strategy are difficult to generalize. Some points are, however, rather obvious. Full manufacturing and logistics economies of scale can be achieved, since products can be both manufactured and distributed in large lot-sizes.20 As a result of the decentralized inventories, the inventory investment will be high, the highest of all four of the P/S-strategies. Further, obsolete products and transhipments may occur. Manufacturing postponement strategy Manufacturing postponement is explained as a type of postponement in which the final processing( manufacturing is not carried out until the final customer order is received. the components which are required to be in the production of the final component are kept ready to an semi completed state. As and when the customer orders products, the product is manufactured (assembled) in the desired way, packing etc. It could be done at as low as at a distribution point. The use of this strategy facilitates the manufacturer to combine the spares in a very flexible way so as to increase the variety he offers and satisfy the demand of individual customers. This is a strategy which requires a lot of research and pre development strategy. The firm using manufacturing postponement also requires facing a good engineering and management so as to design the parts which can be assembled and modified as needed. Famous example of manufacturing postponement (Pagh 1998). The extract gives an excellent example of the manufacturing postponement strategy followed by Hewlett Packard. They were the pioneers in application of this strategy. Hewlett Packard’s is a leading name in printers. Instead of holding a large number and variety of premixed colours, what they did was, they started stocking neutral colours in sufficient amount. When a customer order was given they customized the neutral colour according to the need. The result was that the Stock keeping units of them were drastically reduced. After the success of this strategy they employed. This time they postponed the assembly of their printers for the European and Asian markets. All the spares were produces and stored at local distribution centres. The final assembly is done as per the customer demands. The author says that the result of application of this was positive and that, though the manufacturing cost increased a bit the overall cost (manufacturing, inventory and shipping) were reduced by 25%. Advantages, Reduction in inventory (finished goods), hence lower inventory costs. Extending product variety. Individual demand fulfilment. Achieving new markets. Disadvantages. Possibilities of late deliveries. Greater delivery costs. Possibilities of stock outs. Loss in control over production. Logistics postponement In this type of postponement the manufacturing is based on forecasts. The finished products are transported and stored at a distribution centre or a regional warehouse. The place for warehouse is chosen as to be at an optimum distance from the place where it is required at a particular time. This type of postponement strategy depends on totally speculation of market condition. Strategy, this is done by first transferring of finished products to regional distribution centres or warehouses. Then the final product is distributed to the customer as and when needed. (Pagh 1998) States that using this postponement strategy, through anticipatory nature of logistics can be reduced or eliminated. You read "Time is Money: the Cost of Delayed differentiation" in category "Essay examples" He further explains that this is because the products are delivered directly to the customers. Advantages reduction of inventory at the manufacturing plant( though larger warehouses required) more product variety Disadvantages High delivery costs, if regional distribution centres are not placed at proper distances from the places where they are required. (Tage Skejtee-larsen 2007)Gives the proof of success of this strategy by stating the example of FORDs European distribution centre near Cologne. He states that it delivers the spares parts required to all the dealers and garages across Europe within a time limit of 24-48 hours. (Pagh 1998) Further this is advocated by Pagh as the use of this strategy is increased in last few years. He gives an example of a study conducted by Abrahamson for three Swedish international companies (Atlas Coco Tools, Sandwich Cormorant and ABB Motors). These three companies have changed their postponement strategy from full speculation strategy to logistics postponement. Application of this strategy has created marvellous results. Prominent being them being increased on time deliveries, shorter and reliable lead times, reduce inventory costs and faster introduction of new products Full postponement This type of strategy is a combination of the logistics and manufacturing postponement. Full postponement is the highest level of this strategy. The customization of the product is delayed until the final customer is ordered. (Tage Skejtee-larsen 2007)states that the delay must be in a way that a partial assembly of products as per customer order. The final customization is carried out after the customer orders for the required stuff. The author points out the major difference in the strategy being that the production is carried out at a central suitable location while the delivery is directly done where required. A perfect example of this would b the Danish audio-video manufacturer Bang and Olusfen. (Abrahammsons (1993)) .It is a company manufacturing, distributing and selling high end televisions and stereo systems. As they sell high end items they lay a stress on design and quality. They customize each and every item as per individual customers need (quantity, model, colour etc). They get this information with the help of retailers. The final assembly then is carried put at the manufacturing plant. The author describes that earlier that the company used the full speculation strategy. The drawback of the strategy being high inventory levels and slower response deliveries. Advantages; Low manufacturing inventory costs. Reduction of inventories in distribution system. Extremely high flexibility. Disadvantages higher production costs longer delivery times Postponement of Commitment; This type of postponement aims at avoiding potential waste of committing wrong product to wrong market or incorrect distribution centre and later having to carry or return the shipments sent. It avoids the imbalance of inventory. Kenneth B. Ackerman (Ackermann)gives an example of air freight, wherein some manufacturers try to eliminate field inventories by keeping entire stock near inventory. He further explains this as if the air freight is well speedy to allow keeping all the inventory at factory, the manufacturer may reduce the air transportation costs by elimination inventory losses arising from obsolescence or miscommitment.Product is moved to the market in synchronisation with of field distribution centres. This postponement is very useful in reducing the cost of handling, storing and carrying cost of heavy and bulky appliances. Postponement of title passage This is type of postponement in which the manufacturer pays the warehousing charges and the passage of title is postponed until the product is release from the warehouse. The warehousing system, generally being third party one, the manufacturer still has some control over it. But the power of releasing it stays with the retailer. (Ackermann) further states that using this strategy enable the buyer to reduce the carrying cost of inventory. Also situation the warehouse in a proper location balances all other costs. Postponement of branding This strategy aims at last minute labelling. An example for this would be of a canned pea’s vendor (Ackermann)who produces peas for his own brand as well as for some private brand. For satisfying the needs what h does is that he keeps all the unlabelled cans together. Whenever the order of private brands comes accordingly the product is branded. . By this the possibility of incorrect product labelling and wastage is eliminated. Also fresh and bright branding can improve the aesthetics and looks of the product, hence can improve the sale. Postponement of consumer packing In this type of strategy the postponement occurs in packaging of the material. The example given by Kenneth in his book (Ackermann) is that of Soft drink manufacturer Coca Cola and that of Whiskey. Coke determined its manufacturing strategy as to make the concentrated syrup and then to transport it to soda fountains, regional bottles to make it attractive for consumers. What the manufacturers of Whiskey did was to transport in bulk the product and then to bottle it in the country of sale. This will eliminate the risk of damaging the bottles and also saving the customs duty. Postponement of Final assembly This is a very interesting type of strategy. This type of strategy is visible in day to day life. In this type of postponement the assembly of final product is postponed until final order is received. For egg, an office furniture manufacturer can postpone the assembly of finished parts he has until he receives the final order for delivery. This enables him to reduce chances of obsolescence. Also there is great flexibility in terms of production. Postponement of blending This type of postponement implies delay in mixing, combining or blending. Kenneth (Ackermann) gives an example of a gasoline pump developed by Sun Oil Co. The speciality of this pump being it has capacity to blend the ingredients in such a way so as to allow offering 5 types of fuels, low octane to high octane. Bibliography ABRAHAMMSONS, Mats ((1993)). Time based distribution. The international jounal of logistics management, 4:2, 75-83. ACKERMANN, Kenneth B. Practical handbook of warehousing. fourth edition ed., Chapmann and hall, 174-175. HOEK, Van (2001:161). The rediscovery of postponement. 19(2), 161-184. [online]. at: HYPERLINK â€Å"http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/mtms/events/documents/Johnny_Wan.pdf,† http://www.ifm.eng.cam.ac.uk/mtms/events/documents/Johnny_Wan.pdf, LEE (1998). Postponement for mass customization:satisfying customer for tailor made products. In:.GATTORNA, J.D (ed.). Best practices for supply chain management. chapter 5 :7-91 ed., Gower publications. PAGH, Janus D, Cooper,Martha C (1998). Supply chain postponement and speculation strategies:how to choose the right strategy. Journal of businss logistics,. TAGE SKEJTEE-LARSEN, Philip B Schary (2007). Managing the Global supply chain. third ed., Cpoenhagen Business school. How to cite Time is Money: the Cost of Delayed differentiation, Essay examples

Italian Tourism Essay Example For Students

Italian Tourism Essay YOU would not know it from the English-language signs promising to serve passengers quckly, but Naples Capodichinoairport is British-owned. In August, 70% of it was bought by BAA, a company that also runs, among other things, Londonsmain airport, Heathrow. For the Italian south this is a symbol of hope. Finding an international firm of this calibre willing toinvest there has greatly boosted its confidence. BAA, for its part, was attracted by the souths tourist potential, but spent three years thinking hard about the $44m deal. Whatclinched it in the end was the enthusiasm of Antonio Bassolino, the mayor of Naples since 1993. He won round BAA bosseswith his clear commitment to privatisation, and fought off opposition at home to foreign ownership, branded as colonisation bythe British. A former communist fundamentalist, Mr Bassolino is an unlikely champion of privatisation. But the BAA deal is no one-off. MrBassolino boasts about selling the municipal dairy-What was a city council doing selling milk?-and about pioneering, withMerrill Lynch, Italys first international municipal bond issue, which sold well in America. The cash was used to renovate thecitys public transport system. He is promoting public-private partnerships; and he has just persuaded the Chinese commercialfleet to use Naples as its main container port for serving Europe. The citys inefficient bureaucracy has been shaken up, with the mayor leading by example. His distinctly un-Neapolitanpunctuality and long working hours have earned him the nickname the German. Using money for hosting the G7 summit in1994 as a catalyst, the city has cleaned and restored many of its vast number of tourist attractions. It has also extended itsopening hours and cleared the main piazzas of parked cars (though not, alas, of moving mopeds). Mr Bassolino talks withpassion of re-born civic pride, of the need for Naples to solve its own problems. The south has been living on money from thegovernment for too long, he says; this has created a deadly dependence. Mr Bassolino explains that he has been able to make these changes only thanks to a new system, introduced in 1993, for thedirect election of mayors in cities throughout Italy. This gave him a mandate for four years, allowed him to appoint his own seniorofficials, and made him directly accountable to the electorate rather than to party politicians on the city council-who cannot nowremove him without also triggering new city-council elections. Past mayors, chosen by the ruling party on the council, did well tolast a year. Direct election has produced a crop of impressive new city mayors all over the south (and some in the north, too),many of whom have followed Naples strategy of promoting cultural tourism and tackling inefficient bureaucracy. Their first testwill come later this month, when some of them are up for re-election. But there is still plenty of inefficient southern bureaucracy left. Consider, for example, the startling statistic that in 1996 Italymanaged to spend only 30% of its entitlement to EU money to help disadvantaged regions such as the mezzogiorno. Thecountrys local and regional governments, it seems, are not even up to collecting hand-outs. The EU increasingly allocates moneyto specific projects instead of handing it over in a chunk. That means local administrators have to prepare a project submissionand translate it for officials in Brussels, for which many of them at present lack the skills. But things may be getting better, slowly.For instance, a Europe Office with English-speaking staff has been set up in Palermos city hall. Bassolinos new recipe for NaplesBureaucracy has also made it hard to do anything new. .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 , .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .postImageUrl , .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 , .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:hover , .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:visited , .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:active { border:0!important; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:active , .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2 .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ub368fa5b387da2db2eb344bffe4701c2:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: The Golden age of British television Essay One big firm wanted to sink some wells so it could build a new plant inSicily. Enzo Bianco, the mayor of Catania, tells the story of how, after two years of waiting, the firm made its fourth phone call tothe regional government, only to be told that if you call a fifth time, you will never get permission. Mr Bianco has made someimprovements in his city, including setting up a one-stop shop to help firms with permits. But much remains to be done, hesays: over the years, the impact of bureaucracy on Sicilys development has been no less than the impact of the Mafia. Who is the boss now? The Mafia (along with similar criminal organisations, such as the Camorra in Naples) remains a huge problem for the south. Evenin areas where the influence of organised crime has been greatly reduced, the image of Mafia violence continues to worryoutsiders. In Palermo, where two prominent anti-Mafia judges, Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, were blown up in 1992, TheMafia is now the cultural minority; it was the majority, says the citys mayor, Leoluca Orlando. The bureaucracy is nowhonest, which it was not ten years ago. Local experts on the Mafia say he may be exaggerating, but not much. Palermo is spending a fortune in establishing itself as a centre for cultural tourism, mounting hundreds of musical and theatricalevents. Many of its buildings have been beautifully restored. Those tourists who come say they feel safe. Yet it will be manyyears before the city sheds its worldwide reputation as the city ruled by the Corleone family. Naples, too, is more in control of its Camorra now. Tourists in the city centre are probably as safe at 3am as they would be atnoon in midtown Manhattan. Yet when 500 soldiers were sent to the city last summer to support local police, newspaperheadlines at home and abroad conjured up images of mob rule and tanks patrolling the streets. In fact, the soldiers were usedmostly to replace police guarding consulates and civic buildings while new police officers were being trained. Camorra killingsstill go on around Naples, but they arise from battles between rival gangs, away from the tourist areas. Both local and nationalgovernment are anxious to reduce such activity to levels no worse than organised crime anywhere else. The authorities say the Sicilian Mafia over-reached itself by declaring war on the state with the murder in 1992 of the two judgesand Salvatore Lima, a leading Sicilian politician. The public turned against the men of honour, and many pentiti, formermafiosi, gave evidence that led to hundreds of arrests. The command structure of the highly centralised Sicilian Mafia is thoughtto have been destroyed. The main concern of the police now is to identify anyone who may be trying to fill the void. Elsewherein the south, organisations such as the Camorra tend to be fragmented, so it takes far more arrests to reduce their effectivenessthan in Sicily, where a few key arrests had a huge impact. Even so, the state is winning out. According to Giorgio Napolitano, the minister of the interior, far more progress against organised crime has been made on thepolitical front-by breaking the links between crime, government and the judiciary-than on the economic side, where the potentialfor drug-dealing and racketeering remains significant. A new strategy of investor protection is to be put in place, coincidingwith the establishment of special enterprise zones, which will offer companies tax breaks to attract them southwards. In areaswhere significant investment is planned, the government will provide resources for policing and surveillance to keep organisedcrime at bay. .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f , .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .postImageUrl , .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f , .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:hover , .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:visited , .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:active { border:0!important; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:active , .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ue99465369e8c7e86889d2f02c2ec5e0f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Defining Art Essay If the authorities can show they are able to protect investors, many more international companies may follow in thefootsteps of BAA. But before they do, there is another thing that the south will have to get right: infrastructure. It suffers not only from the problemsafflicting Italy as a whole-such as inadequate roads and rail services and insufficient integration between different kinds oftransport-but also from its very own surfeit of white elephants. Much of the corruption revealed in the tangentopoli scandal wasconcentrated in the south, where many public-works programmes became purely a means of distributing public money. Fewpeople bothered to ask whether a particular project was needed, and many such projects never got finished. As one Neapolitanbusinessman put it, 70% of the new roads around Naples cannot be used. Lousy infrastructure is a bigger problem for mycompany than the Camorra. Seeing orange The mezzogiorno cannot afford any extravagant gestures. It is heavily exposed to international competition, explains GiovanniPecci, an economist at Nomisma. Its location on the periphery of European markets puts it at a disadvantage compared withCentral and Eastern Europe, which also offer far cheaper labour. Agriculture in the south is under threat from North Africa aswell as from the Middle and Far East. For instance, Sicily now imports oranges, of all things, from Israel because they arecheaper. (Encouragingly, the Sicilian grower who complained about this was on his way to Kuwait to try to sell his crop there.)And until the recent crisis in Albania, small industrial firms in Apulia, in the south-east of the region, were increasingly movingparts of their production there. With a GDP per head of only 70% the Italian average, the mezzogiorno is casting around for an economic winner. Its best hopeseems to be tourism. It may be hard to believe, but the tourist industry in Italy, and especially the south, is seriouslyunderdeveloped. In 1996, the country had only 33m visitors from abroad, compared with Spains 41m and Frances 62m,despite its unrivalled range of tourist attractions (see chart 5). Politicians and businessmen were slow to catch on, but are nowmaking the promotion of tourism a top priority. Foreign Languages