Leadership styes used in modern Russia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Leadership styes used in modern Russia - Essay Example Under the modern Russia, there are various leadership styles which have become very apparent. This report shall consider and critically assess these leadership styles applied by companies/individuals in modern Russia. This paper seeks to assess what type and how these leadership styles are being applied in modern Russia, and how effective they are in helping achieve the economic and political goals of the country. Body During the transition period from the totalitarian governance to the free market, Russia has managed to overcome the major changes within the microeconomic and macroeconomic framework, including the political processes and cultural practices and behaviours (Fey and Dennison, 2001). It is therefore important to evaluate and understand the present progression of Russia under a global setting, and to evaluate the elements which indicate effective leadership and the impact of culture within the transition economy. Throughout the years, Russia was able to gain the values of both the West and the East, mostly in relation to reason as well as inspiration. It also provided a bridge between the East and Western values and traditions (Gratchev, 2001). These qualities helped push Russia to success, often encouraging it to concentrate its efforts towards gaining control over its large geographic space. Diversity In modern Russia, the role of the state and corporations in economic activities is very much significant. Their economy is controlled by a few financial and industrial conglomerates and considered significantly power than the government (Bollinger, 1994). Russia’s future will have to depend on the relations between the different major players in the economy and the government. Within the competitive framework of the modern economic Russia, the country’s management core is diverse in its economic and political interests (Gratchev, 2001). Some groups are known as the Old Guard who are highly adept at large-scale activities, including the management of technological innovations (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). These leaders also manage to access the primary decision-making points and utilize connections in order to control resources. These leaders manage large industrial corporations in highly competitive sectors including oil, gas, space travel, and shipbuilding (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). The other set of modern Russian leaders are known as the New Wave leaders. These leaders work based on the initiation of economic reform. These are also the younger leaders who seek success and business education. Another group of leaders are known as the Unwilling Entrepreneurs (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). These are leaders who are prompted to take the initiative due to their fears of unemployment; and most of their transactions are in the small-scale trade. Based on these diverse elements and motivations, modern Russian leadership contains elements of the diverse, and their distinct and diverse quality is their motivation for engaging in bu siness (Gratchev, et.al., 2005). Authoritative not authoritarian leadership Russia is traditionally based on authoritative leadership, and the new era of capitalism supports this tradition. Even with strong entrepreneurship competencies among its businessmen, these businessmen have significant power within organizations (Kets de Vries, et.al., 2004). Followers see their leaders as superior individuals who have unique

Developing an action plan Essay Example for Free

Developing an action plan Essay The Utah Symphony has proven its ability to generate substantial sums of Revenue with both performance revenues and by securing large sums of income from governmental grants along with generous contributions from individuals, corporations and foundations. The Symphony’s ability to draw large crowds along with their demanding schedule length allows them to offer the community ample opportunities to participate. The Symphony provides sustainability for 83 full time musicians, and this allows them to concentrate on the goals of the Symphony without the worries of looking for other income opportunities. Mr. Lockhart is a very talented and experienced music director that has a personal commitment to his symphony. Mr. Lockhart’s role as the music director comes with many challenges, it is through these challenges that he has elevated the Utah Symphony to the status they enjoy today. The musicians and Mr. Lockhart have developed a relationship of trust and respect, Mr. Lockhart has publicly acknowledged how important they are to the overall success of the symphony and his success as a director. The Utah Symphony has a very demanding schedule and with it comes great expense; the symphony needs to look for cost cutting options to maintain operations. They are relying on generous governmental funding and other contributions that are simply not what the previously had been. The symphony will need to look towards the possibility of reducing its staff’s income and benefits, to overcome this shortfall, which is a hard situation to deal with. Mr. Lockhart will need to take a stronger leadership role and develop a plan to approach the musicians about the dire situation they are in and try to develop a strategy to cut cost, however his personal relationship with them present a challenge that is not easy to overcome. Another concern is Mr. Lockhart does not want be perceived as â€Å"playing second string† when it comes to his Symphony and will need to look at the bigger picture to see what is best for the Symphony. Anne will need to be as straight forward and honest as possible about the  realties that the symphony faces, with regards to budget management and cost saving techniques. She will need to gain the trust of the musicians much the same way Keith has by developing the understanding of the importance the musicians hold within the developing organization for the merger to be successful. She needs to develop a relationship with Keith and his position with the symphony that does not create tension within the merged organization. The Utah Opera has developed a business strategy that works. They are running a very profitable organization that utilizes effective methods for fundraising and obtaining other contribution resources. They have appropriated their budget to allow them to maximize what revenue they attain wisely; they will have very little reduction in governmental grants, and a projected increase in contributions for individuals, corporations and foundations in the year to come. They have a large inventory of costumes and productions sets and own the building and land they operate in. With Anne as the head of the UOC she has grown the budget from 1.5 million to almost 5 million; she’s an accomplished fund raiser for the UOC. Anne bring many talents to the UOC from stage director, to general director Anne is a very crucial part of the success of the UOC. The UOC faces a challenging future with the lack of performance revenues projected for the upcoming season and increase in production cost they may have to make adjustments to staff to maintain their level of security, however they have been running an impressive surplus of nearly half a million dollars. With the merger details made public they have had some staffing concerns and even the resignation of the Director of operations Leslie Petersen. Some members of the UOC staff feel they may be placed in the shadows of the Symphony and end up flipping the bill for the symphonies failures. Anne has undertaken a huge role within the merger of the organizations and she will need to make sure she doesn’t lose focus with the day to day operations of the UOC, since she is currently without a Director of operations. Anne has a proving record of running efficient organizations and may not be sensitive to the needs and desires of the employees from both the UOC and USO, due to her drive for efficiency. Anne needs to place a Director of operations for the UOC as soon as possible. She will need to talk with her current employees and provide the assurance they need in regards to the important role they play in a successful merger. She will want to assure that the organizations will work together as one and the UOC will not be left flipping the bills from the shadows. Anne will want to continue to meet the needs of the UOC to maintain it level of success. Analysis of Company scorecards Financially the goals of the USO and UOC are quite similar they both are concerned with financial stability with increased profitability. Fund raising is realized as being very important to maintain that profitability with the USO focused more on keeping ticket prices the same as last year and the UOC with increasing their endowment being a priority, which has one to think that the UOC is more concerned with money then the artistic exposure aspect that the USO has. Both organizations have goals of increasing profitability, with the USO planning on a significant increased goal, the UOC just wants to increase the reserve funding (there security blanket). Both organization have similar goals with respect to notoriety however due to the size and scope of the entertainment they provide, the USO has a more world vision on success with the UOC is focused on national and regional recognition. Both organizations realize their success depends on great performances and talented performers; they remain very similar in that aspect. The crowds say it all and both the UOC and USO know that feedback and attendance is very important, but they have different views on how to gauge this with the USO focused on feedback directly from exiting customer and the UOC judging this by the ability to producing sell out performances. The internal processes of the two organizations are quite different with the USO maintaining the staff of it musicians tear round, and the UOC gaining new performers for different performances, they face different sets of challenges they both negotiate salaries for the performers and talents with  profitability being a major tactic. They measure the success of the internal process differently as we with the USO depending on improving ticket sales and returning customers the UOC is depending on reviews and profitability measurements for success. With respect to learning and growth, the organizations differ slightly. They are concerned with increasing the amount of performances, with the USO focused more on gaining a younger crowd the UOC is just trying to keep sales growing. They both realize the importance of ticket sales to their success with the UOC again is concentrating on having the increase in bottom line, where as the USO wants greater returning audiences. The scorecard does address some of the strengths and weakness, I developed prior but should have a better focus on what the organizations can do to improve and assure they will be successful in the future. The balance score card may not align with all the strengths and weaknesses of an organization but it more approximately focuses on what direction the organization desires to go to meet its desired outcome. USO UOC Balanced Scorecard Financial  ·Strategic Goal: Being Financially stable with increased profitability  ·Critical Success Factor: Maintaining highly successful fundraising efforts to maintain ticket prices and endowments.  ·Measure: Increase profits providing Surplus deficits. Customer  ·Strategic Goal: Providing Top notch performances and gain Notoriety  ·Critical Success Factor: Acquiring quality performers  ·Measure: Ticket sales and exit surveys Internal Process  ·Strategic Goal: Attracting top talent while improving profitability  ·Critical Success Factor: Negotiating contracts closely to assure profitability  ·Measure: Improved profitability, and ticket sales. Learning and Growth  ·Strategic Goal: Increase of productions to more appealing crowds  ·Critical Success Factor: Increased profitability with Larger demographic  ·Measure: Return sales and exit survey results The weakness of the merged organization with regards to the financial stability will be how to distribute the profits; they both have goals to increase profitability which is a good starting point, they will just need to develop a solid plan. With regards to the customer the organization wants to increase its overall notoriety and exposure to different demo graph’s and this is a great strength they share and can benefit from. With regards to Internal processes the current goals they share to maintain profitability while negotiating salaries is a weakness due to the inherently different classes of talents the organizations face and how they can balance that difference while maintaining peace. The organizations share the goal of increased growth and exposure to a varied age group while increasing production so this should be a strength that they both will benefit from and have little trouble adapting to. With the balance scorecard in place, the financial issue that could arise would be how the profitability of the organization should be allocated, whereas the UOC is more focused on maintaining its endowment the USO is more concerned with keeping ticket sales stagnate while keeping the musicians happy. The Humans resources department will be dealing with two very different groups of talent and with the USO musicians union to deal with they will have a very challenging task with the merger.  When dealing with customer satisfaction, due to the organizations producing very different types of productions they have a level of frustration and confusion with scheduling and production run times. The best way to educate customers on the performances will be through advertisements and customer interactions such as exit surveys and questionnaires. The new merged company executive will want to develop a detailed business strategy that will show how the organization will be able to maintain its level of profitability while achieving all the financial goals it has developed. The new executive must help the Human resources department understand their roles and assemble this department from both organizations to be successful. As with any company customer satisfactions should be a priority and by educating the public about the benefits of the newly merged company and the great performances you provide can greatly increase your exposure to a larger customer base.

Transit Oriented Development Tod Construction Essay

Transit Oriented Development Tod Construction Essay Transit-oriented development refers to a design of the area to maximize the access to so as the use of public transport to achieve sustainable transportation, and the sustainable transportation can help achieve sustainable society as a whole. Sustainable transportation is encouraged by promoting compact development around the major public facilities, improving the pedestrian walking experience, and increasing the accessibility to the public transit. It often incorporates the features to encourage transit ridership. TOD is a strategy to deal with dense population and it is a development to integrate with the transit system. A TOD neighborhood typically has a center with a transit station or stop of public transport, such as bus stop and railway station, surrounded by relatively high-density development with progressively lower density development spreading outward from the center. (Online wikipedia, 2012) High density population with mixed land use within short distance, TOD aims that people can access to place more easily with shorter time which would require less vehicle travel, save energy and emit less pollutants. Planning for compact growth of an area, rather than letting it sprawl out, has the potential to greatly increase the quality of the environment. It prevents problems of traffic congestion and the environmental degradation associated with urban sprawl. TOD contains specific features that are designed to encourage public transport use and differentiate the development from urban sprawl. Examples of these features include (Renne, 2009) the neighborhood is designed for cycling and walking, with adequate facilities and attractive street conditions. The streets have good connectivity and tracffic calming features to control vehicle traffic speeds, such as narrow streets. Mixed-use development is found that includes shops, schools and other public services, and a variety of housing types and prices, within each neighborhood. Efficient parking management to reduce the amount of land devoted to parking compared with conventional development and to take advantage of the parking cost savings associated with reduced automobile use. Transit stops and stations are convenient, comfortable and secure. (New urbanism) Implementation As discussed by Newman (2009), some strategic planning frameworks are needed as a set of policy tools to help implementing TOD. He suggests four strategic planning tools (Newman, in Curtis, 2009, p. 13): 1. A strategic policy framework that asserts where centers need to occur and at what kind of density and mix; 2. A strategic policy framework that links centers with a rapid transit base, almost invariably electric rail; 3. A statutory planning base that requires development to occur at the necessary density and design in each center, preferably facilitated by a specialized development agency, and 4. A public-private funding mechanism that enables the transit and the TOD to be built or refurbished through a linkage between the transit and the centers it will service. An area is created based on a set of urban design standard and zoning guidelines with a dense population and transit system. Increasingly, regional planning techniques are being used to control and shape of growth into compact, high-density, mixed-use neighborhoods, villages, towns, and cities, forming a hierarchy. Compact development provides sufficient population and demand to support transit system with a dense network coverage. TODs generally are located within a radius of 400-800 meters or up to 15-minute walk from a transit stop, it increases the location efficiency so people can walk and bike to take transit as it is considered as an appropriate scale for pedestrians. By improving the pedestrian walking experience and increasing the accessibility to the public transit, more people will take public transit and reduce the flow of automobiles. The area becomes an attractive and cohesive mixed-use area with commercial, retail and residential uses as self-sustaining. Many cities have faced the challenges of getting the right residential density because the density tends to be very low. Especially in the North America where people often rely on driving vehicles as their main transport mode, the higher-density residential development near transit system can limits the negative impacts to the environment. But TOD is suitable in Hong Kong, given the high density of population, it is able to support the development in transit system and develop the transit network into a comprehensive coverage with high accessibility. Hong Kong as an example of TOD Hong Kong has a total land area of 1098km2 and a population of 7 million in 2012. (Census Statistics Department, 2012) The land supply is scarce and residential use is dense. Worse still, large proportion of the land is hilly. While a certain portion of the land has been designated as country parks and catchment areas for reservoirs, much of the land are not feasible for development. With the rapid economic development, urban area in Hong Kong expands in a uncontrollable manner to the countryside which can be regarded as urban sprawl. This has created lots of unpleasant problems. To control urban sprawl and better utilize the limited land resource in Hong Kong, new towns are developed to relocate the soaring population and design them into a self-sustaining community with mixed land use. New town development with TOD is an appropriate planning strategy to deal with the dense population in Hong Kong. In early 1970s, the government implemented the New Town Development Programme in which new towns were planned to be served by railway linking to the urban area, for example, the New Towns such as Tai Po and Fanling in Northeast served by East Railway. Since the introduction of the Third Comprehensive Transport Study in 1999, the Government began to take a proactive role in integrating land use and railway development. Railway would form the backbone of the future passenger transport network. Railway stations would synchronize with land use development and become the hubs for transport interchanges. Some places were chosen to develop into new towns as the first planning tool mentioned above. New towns are designed to house a dense population with the sufficient provision of public facilities such as schools and shopping malls, and mixed land use. The new towns are developed into densely-populated area, we can know from the figures shown in the table below. New towns Time of development Population (in persons) Population density (persons/km2) Tsuen Wan 1959 774000 32300 Sha Tin 1973 630000 18000 Tuen Mun 1973 488500 25710 Tseung Kwan O 1982 350000 34800 Tin Shui Wai 1987 270000 63000 The buildings in new town are high rise and constitute a number of estates to concentrate the people, so stops and stations can be built to link them up and for more efficient transport. The housing estates are in various types, including public housing, private housing and so on at different price as choices to the residents. Cycling and walking lane are designed to improve the pedestrian experience and increase the accessibility to the public transit. Mixed land use with public facilities are developed based on the threshold of the goods and services to provide, many lower order goods and services can be found to make new towns self-maintaining, such as daily necessities and primary and secondary education. For example, Tin Shui Wai is a new town with many high rise buildings to house a very high density of population with the transit system of light railway among itself, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, and West railway connected to urban areas. For the second planning tool, the area is designed with a transit base. The compact growth of new towns can support every station of railway system and develop as a TOD neighborhood. Each new town is accessible nowadays by different lines in mass transit system. http://www.mtr.com.hk/eng/getting_around/images/MTR_routemap_510.jpgLook at the map of MTR, we can see most of the area can be reached by taking railway. The railway network is dense and covers most of the dense populated area in Hong Kong. Populous area in daytime, Mongkok, Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, populous area in nighttime, Tin Shui wai, Tuen Mun and Shatin, all are linked by the railway system. The distance between every station is close, people can take railway to any destinations, and the walking distance from home to the stations is not long, within the radius of 15-minute walk. The development of transit system and the new towns should be synchronized, the new town development was failed in the past decades when the land use and transit development were not synchronized. Tseung Kwan O line (completed in August 2002) and Ma On Shan Rail (completed in 2004) were constructed after two areas have been densely populated, the inaccessibility hinders the development of two places. These are the examples of the lack of co-ordination between the land use development and transit system. The third and fourth tools are the development in a center is preferably facilitated by a specialized development agency or funded by public or private mechanism. It can be illustrated by the example of Taikoo Shing as one of the first successful TODs was Taikoo Shing by Swire Properties Limited (Swire). The development started in 1970s when the MTR Island Line was not yet in operation. When the Island Line started to operate in 1985 plus the opening of the East Harbour Crossing Tunnel in 1989, Swire realized the land use development is profitable from MTR system. In order to capture the impacts of mass transit system, development in Taikoo Shing has been diversifying in land use with retail, office, commercial and residential functions, and leisure amenities, such as a large shopping mall called City Plaza. As a result of the New Town Development Programme, a major railway in the New Territories has linked with the Hong Kong Island line; more housing developments including private housing grew along the major railway arteries. The closer distance to the MTR stations, the denser the residential development. And as the population increases, development also expands to meet the demand. TODs are thus well developed in Hong Kong. Benefits of TOD More intensive mixed-use development allows an increase in walking and bicycling within the neighborhood, when a transit connection is added to the mix then auto-free travel to other parts of the metropolitan area become more feasible. Less automobile use means less consumption of fossil fuels, less air pollution, and lower the spending on transportation. (Reconnecting America) When the characteristics of a particular place are recognized as supportive of lower personal transportation costs, the monetary benefits can be captured by both individuals (in the form of greater mortgage borrowing power) and the community (in the form of lower development costs stemming from reduced need to build expensive parking). In short, transit-oriented development can be a central part of a development paradigm that is more environmentally and socially sustainable, and that contributes to higher quality of life. Moreover, existing historic neighborhoods are being preserved and enhanced by the proximity of more diverse housing, shopping and entertainment choices, and the increases in traffic are minimal. Conclusion The railway transit system is under extension and Hong Kong population is surging, believing that Hong Kong is continue to develop at a fast pace. The development of TOD is beneficial to Hong Kong in the sense that sustainable transportation can be achieved.

Washington Square Essay -- Argumentative Henry James Essays

Washington Square In Putt's book Henry James: A Readers Guide, he speaks in a chapter about Washington Square. Within this chapter he goes over the role that Catherine plays in the story. She ultimately chooses spinsterhood, and not to defy her father, and to be the good daughter. The theme of avoidance o f marriage, spinsterhood, is something that is focused on by James in much of his work (Putt 46). Putt dwells on the fact that the father was a cruel man, and gives extraneously long quotes from James's original text to make a small point. I think that this author would have been much more effective if he would have narrowed down his thought in this chapter. Putt touches on a lot of things concerning Washington Square, such as the intrusion of the narrator, in the second person no less, and the analysis of the novel by some Doctors out in the field. It seemed to me that Putt could have been more successful by keeping it short and sweet, and not giving brief synopsis of the entire novel. The novel, Wa shington Square, Putt says in this chapter, is not even long enough to be considered a novel. Please tell me why. Putt offers no explanation as to why he believes this is so, and really should not have put in his own two cents anyway. Once again this jump in topic indicates a real strain to try to keep up with the subject that the author wishes to discus. He asks more questions than he answers and to me that was very frustrating. If Putt was really trying to be objective, he could at least have gotten the answers he sought so that the rest of us would not have to ponder the answer for him. Putt seemed to me to be very critical of this work of James, although he does not deny that this is definitely one of James's best pieces. ... ... speaking of Morris Townsend's selfishness, both the doctor and Mrs. Montgomery admit that everyone is selfish. But the doctor proceeds to admit that he does not hide it well (one assumes the doctor does a much better job hiding his selfishness), and Dr. Sloper then admits to looking past Morris as a person: "You see I am helped by a habit I have of dividing people into classes, into types. I may easily be mistaken about your brother as an individual, but his type is written on his whole person" (James 87). This admission shows that Dr. Sloper's sense of Morris Townsend's character is biased and prejudice. Therefore there is no dichotomy in Dr. Sloper, and the novel does prove to be morally simple. Works Cited Hall, Donald. Afterword. Washington Square. By Henry James. New York: Penguin, 1979. James, Henry. Washington Square. New York: Penguin, 1979.

More than a Pastry :: Personal Narrative Essays

Danish is More than a Pastry Okay...this is one of the saddest things. I just spent 45 minutes typing this email and then the stupid mail system broke down and it was lost when I sent it! Aaaghh...the horror... The email was about my crazy, crazy day yesterday. What an adventure! But what happened, exactly? Well, I'll start from the very beginning! Here goes: I woke up to a beautiful day. Took my time preparing breakfast and enjoyed my good cup (well, cups) of coffee, as well as a bowl of oatmeal with sugar and raisins sprinkled on top, soaked 3/4s with milk. Delicious! I checked my email and started psyching myself up for the bike ride into Copenhagen. When 10:30 rolled around, I got my stuff together and headed out. I began my long, arduous journey from Roskilde to Copenhagen officially at 10:45. Rested from last night's good sleep, I could push myself and make it there in about an hour and a half. I was in no hurry though...my first obligation for the afternoon was meeting Carolina concerning our IPO (initial public offering) project due next week. And my first class wasn't until 3:30. So I had plenty of time! I was spinning pretty well...staying in second gear mostly. Yeah, that is NOT a typo...second gear. It must be noted that this bike HAS only 3 gears. It's my host-mom's bike...3 gears, purple frame, and you pedal backwards to brake. Oh, and when it's dark out I use what you call a "dynamo". I push it down until it touches the front wheel's rim, start pedaling, and it creates electricity so the light turns on! So smart! (I just consulted with my host-brother, Michael, and have decided to name my bike "Lille Lilla" which is "Little Purple" in Danish. That's a nice name) Right, back to the story...so Lilla and I are heading steadily east and I'm thinking "Gosh! This is amazing! I'm in Denmark...biking.....into school!" How cool is that? I'm in Europe and it's gorgeous here!" Sometimes I just get this overwhelming happy feeling; it's almost unreal I'm here. I'm about halfway to Copenhagen and I cross an intersection. When I cross, a car honks. Now, it's rare that cars honk in Denmark. You know, the Danes ARE very civilized people...and it's not necessarily honking at me, of course.

Comparing Two Seafood Restaurants :: comparison compare contrast essays

Comparing Two Seafood Restaurants From a succulent fresh lobster tail to a mouth-watering red snapper filet, everyone loves some type of seafood. The residents of our city are lucky, restaurants specializing in seafood are plentiful. Many locals consider Pappadeux and Joe's Crab Shack to be the best. Although they both serve wonderful, fresh seafood, the differences in the menu, the service, and the overall atmosphere set them apart from one another. Pappadeux offers elegant, elaborate dishes on its menu, while the food described on the menu of Joe's Crab Shack is the sort which tastes best when accompanied by an ice-cold beer and a large plate of french fries. For example, my favorite meal at Pappadeux consists of a flaky filet of red snapper blackened in hot Cajun spices and smothered in a rich Bearnaise sauce. It is then topped with lightly sauted crawfish tails and mushrooms. Once this concoction touches the tongue, it simply melts. On the other hand, Joe's Crab Shack has been made famous for its barbecued crabs. The cook begins by slowly cooking small dungeoness crabs in a large barbecue pit. Once the crabs have been seared to perfection, the cook tosses them on a large tray, and they are ready for presentation. The waiter then serves these divine crabs with a hammer, a bib, and a roll of paper towels. After pounding on the shell for five minutes, the lucky diner discovers a piece of crab meat which, like the sna pper filet, melts in the mouth. Distinguishing each restaurant further is the service; although it is impeccable at both Pappadeaux and Joe's Crab Shack, the manner in which one is served varies greatly. When dining at the classy Pappadeux, each patron is greeted by an exquisitely dressed staff. The waitstaff is clad in black slacks, white tuxedo shirts, and classic bow ties, while the hostess dons an elegant dress. The staff greets each diner with the traditional "ma'am" and "sir" and treats her or him with the utmost respect and dignity. In contrast, at the relaxed Joe's Crab Shack the entire staff wears t-shirts and shorts or jeans and treats everyone as if they are life-long friends; greeting patrons with "Hey! How's it going?

Modern Life Has Improved Since the 1950’s Essay

Modern life has improved since the 1950’s. This period is quite memorable for a lot of things, the more famous of which being the flared trousers Elvis Presley, the icon of rock and roll and pop music, brought into style. There were many positives and negatives of living in the 1950’s, but it is clear that modern life has been a great step forward from those times. Firstly, the general aspects of life such as money, crime, racism and drugs, were viewed very differently in the past. Secondly life today may not be as simple as the 1950’s, but huge leaps have been made in technology, medicine and education. Finally, the word ‘community’ has developed a very different definition to the past, as we have overcome the racial, religious and gender inequalities that separated us as people; modern life has improved in leaps and bounds since the 1950’s. In the 1950’s certain aspects of life including money, crime, racism and drugs, were viewed very differently compared to the modern day. Petrol prices could be found on the McDonald’s loose change menu, and a kid could go down to the corner store, empty his pockets and buy the groceries before walking the way home safely. Drugs and smoking were regarded the same way we would a morning jog today: harmless and good for the system. Racism was just a part of life: the blacks sat at the back of the bus, the whites at the front, and that was that. Nowadays, if petrol was that cheap, the earth would be run dry and pollution levels would greatly increase due to mining and car exhaust. Crime rates may be much higher than the innocent 1950’s but along with with the higher stats the modern police force is further advanced and more successful than the past. Racism is still a part of our lives, but there is a general understanding that no matter the colour of our skin, we are equals, and opportunities for ‘blacks’ have been improved far beyond better seating positions on buses. Thank goodness times have changed – while we may not be living as simply as before, the modern day is aware of saving the planet, good health and human rights; other areas of living have also been greatly improved during the last half century, especially education, medicine and technology. The frontiers of science and technology have taken education and medicine far beyond what the 1950’s could have dreamed of. Without internet and mobile phones, the 1950’s must have been a quiet life: but consider the fact that technology today is enabling our world to communicate faster and better than ever before. Most schools have access to computers, such as Friends, with each individual person owning a laptop that is vital for their education. Education can now be more efficient and fun with the new technology spreading world-wide. A leap in technology is supporting a huge economy and has opened up many job opportunities as well as developing frontiers such as science and medicine. Polio scares rocked the 1950’s with over 257,455 related deaths, but thanks to medicine advances nowadays polio is just a term many people confuse with a pool game (Marco Polo! ). In the 1950’s the life expectancy was much, much lower than it is today – is that a wonder with the many cigarette adverts that declared the health benefits of smoking? Medicine has been advanced to the point of bringing people back to life after death, and is often one step ahead of what nature throws at us. This is evidence that modern life has improved greatly since the 1950’s; but our culture has also developed to be stronger, more equal and empathic than the 50’s. The definition of community has greatly evolved since the 1950’s: community in the 1950’s went by the motto love thy neighbour, except the neighbours who don’t believe in your religion or those of different race; the term community in the 21st century is referring to equals who share their culture with one another. Children stayed children for longer in the 1950’s, neighbours new everything about each other, a hello was said to every passer by on the street and it is said there was never a greater time of peace than in those years. However, amongst the idealistic community life, it was black and white: literally. Blacks were discriminated far beyond what is accepted in Australian communities today, with over 50% of families living below the poverty line as a result of racism. Without the many new laws and rights other races are now entitled to (that have developed since the 50’s), many people would still suffer unjustly, and blacks would still sit at the back of the bus. Religion could lower your worth just as quickly as the colour of your skin: schools only taught by the Bible, and ‘good’ people believed in the Christian faith. Discrimination against women was also still in practice. An obedient wife was not to be unished, but the occasional wife-beating was completely in-line with the law. The phrase ‘kitchen bitch’ may have originated in the 1950’s, where the women were expected to work around the house, doing the everyday chores such as cooking for their husbands. Many women did not begin to demand recognition for their rights to work until much later, and in modern times, women are regarded as equals in Australia. The 1950’s were the calm ‘after’ the storm, the storm being World War II. Peace may be a word which is almost lost to the entire world, with conflict present at all times in many countries, such as Iran and Afghanistan. This may be the only aspect of life that has worsened since the good ol’ 50’s, but even so, the countless improvements to our beliefs, everyday life and sense of community balances this issue. In conclusion, though the 1950’s are remembered as a peaceful, simple and straight-forward period of time to live in, behind the scenes racism, lack of knowledge and inequality ruled. Modern times have greatly improved on these factors and many others since the 1950’s, with gender equality, medicinal knowledge, and new technology being just a few of the more major developments. Nevertheless, the past was vital in shaping our daily lives and culture today, and it’s impossible to brand the 1950’s as a wasted part of our history; our modern world evolved out of the 20th century. It is clear to see that life today has greatly changed since the 1950’s, for the better.