Understanding the Palestine Liberation Organization

Since its creation in 1964, the PLO has gone through several make-overs--from resistance organization to terrorist organization to quasi-occupying and governmental force (in Jordan and Lebanon) to close to irrelevance in the late 1990s in the Occupied Territories. What is it today and what power does it wield? The Palestine Liberation Organization was created on May 29, 1964, at a meeting of the Palestine National Congress in Jerusalem. The Congress meeting, the first in Jerusalem since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, was held at the then-brand new Intercontinental Hotel. Its earliest leader was Ahmed Shukairy, a lawyer from Haifa. His leadership was quickly eclipsed by that of Yasser Arafat. Arab Duplicity in PLOs Creation The blueprint for the PLO was drawn by Arab states at an Arab League meeting in Cairo in January 1964. Arab states, especially Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, were chiefly interested in channeling Palestinian nationalism in such a way that Palestinian refugees on their soil would not destabilize their regimes. The motive behind the creation of the PLO was therefore duplicitous from the start: Publicly, Arab nations averred solidarity with the Palestinian cause of reclaiming Israel. But strategically, the same nations, intent on keeping Palestinians on a short leash, funded and used the PLO as a means to control Palestinian militancy while using it for leverage in relations with the West and, in the 1980s and 1990s, with Israel. It wouldnt be until 1974 that the Arab League, meeting in Rabat, Morocco, officially recognized the PLO as the sole representative of the Palestinians. The PLO As a Resistance Organization When the 422 Palestinian delegates claiming to represent half a million refugees formed the PLO in Jerusalem in May 1964, they rejected any plans to resettle those refugees in host Arab nations and called for the elimination of Israel. They declared in an official comuniquà ©: Palestine is ours, ours, ours. We shall accept no substitute homeland. They also created the Palestine Liberation Army, or PLA, though its autonomy was always doubtful as it was part of the armies of Egypt, Jordan, and Syria. Again, those nations used the PLA both to control Palestinians and use Palestinian militants as leverage in their own proxy conflicts with Israel. The strategy was not successful. How Arafats PLO Came to Be The PLA conducted several attacks on Israel but never amounted to a major resistance organization. In 1967, in the Six Day War, Israel demolished the air forces of Egypt, Syria, and Jordan in a surprise, pre-emptive attack (following rising belligerence and threats from Egypts Gamal Abd el-Nasser) and took over the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights. Arab leaders were discredited. So was the PLA. The PLO immediately began developing a more militant tenor under the leadership of Yasser Arafat and his Fatah organization. One of Arafats earliest moves was to amend the Palestine National Councils charter in July 1968. He rejected Arab meddling in the PLOs affairs. And he made the liberation of Palestine and the establishment of a secular, democratic state for Arabs and Jews the twin goal of the PLO. Democratic means, however, were not part of PLO tactics. The PLO immediately became more effective than Arabs intended, and more bloody. In 1970 it attempted a take-over of Jordan, which led to its expulsion from that country in a short, bloody war that came to be known as Black September. The 1970s: The PLOs Terrorist Decade The PLO, under the leadership of Arafat Also recast itself as an outright terrorist organization. Among its most spectacular operations was the September 1970 hijacking of three jets, which it then blew up after freeing passengers, in front of television cameras to punish the United States for its support of Israel. Another was the murder of eleven Israeli athletes and coaches and a German police officer during the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, Germany. Following its expulsion from Jordan, the PLO established itself as a state-within-a-state in Lebanon, where it turned its refugee camps into armed fortresses and training camps used Lebanon as a launching pad for attacks on Israel or Israeli interests abroad. Paradoxically, it was also at the 1974 and 1977 Palestine National Council meetings that the PLO began moderating its ultimate goal by setting its statehood sights on the West Bank and Gaza rather than the whole of Palestine. In the early 198s, the PLO began edging toward recognition of Israels right to exist. 1982: The End of the PLO in Lebanon Israel expelled the PLO from Lebanon in 1982 in the culmination of Israels invasion of Lebanon that June. The PLO established its headquarters in Tunis, Tunisia (which Israel bombed in October 1985, killing 60 people). By the late 1980s, the PLO was directing the first intifada in the Palestinian territories. In a speech to the Palestine National Council on Nov. 14, 1988, Arafat recognized Israels right to exist by symbolically declaring the independence of Palestine while endorsing United Nations Security Council 242--which calls for the withdrawal of Israeli troops to pre-1967 borders. Arafats declaration was an implicit endorsement of a two-state solution. The United States, led by a lame-duck Ronald Reagan at the time, and Israel, led by the hard-liner Yitzhak Shamir, scorned the declaration, and Arafat was himself discredited when he supported Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War. The PLO, Oslo, and Hamas The PLO officially recognized Israel, and vice versa, as a result of the Oslo talks of 1993, which also established a framework for peace and a two-state solution. But Oslo never addressed two key issues: Israels illegal settlements in the Occupied Territories, and Palestinian refugees right of return. As Oslo failed, discrediting Arafat, a second Intifada exploded, this time led not by the PLO, but by a rising militant, Islamic organization: Hamas. Arafats power and prestige were further diminished by Israeli incursions into the West Bank and Gaza, including a siege of his own compound in the West Bank town of Ramallah. The PLOs fighters were to some extent incorporated into the Palestine Authoritys police force, while the authority itself took over diplomatic and administrative functions. Arafats death in 2004 and the Palestinian Authoritys decreasing influence over the Territories, compared with Hamas, further diminished the PLOs role as a significant player on the Palestinian scene.

My Bondage and my Freedom Essay - 1931 Words

At first glance, the book â€Å"my bondage and my freedom by Frederick Douglass appeared to be extremely dull and frustrating to read. After rereading the book for a second time and paying closer attention to the little details I have realized this is one of the most impressive autobiographies I have read recently. This book possesses one of the most touching stories that I have ever read, and what astonishes me the most about the whole subject is that its a true story of Douglass life. â€Å" Douglass does a masterful job of using his own experience to expose the injustice of slavery to the world. As the protagonist he is able to keep the reader interested in himself, and tell the true story of his life. As a narrator he is able to link those†¦show more content†¦Douglass thesis mostly focuses on slavery and how it destroys the humanity of all those involved. He also takes time to speak of the unthinkable deeds which took place between the masters and the slaves.In many cases, slave holders commit adultery and rape with their female slaves in order to produce more slave. â€Å"He can be father without being husband, and may sell his child without incurring reproach.†[3] â€Å"A master fathering a slave child destroys the very concept of fatherhood and of family. Family is antagonistic to slavery. He made a personal argument later in that same paragraph My father was a white man, or nearly white. It was sometimes whispered that my master was my father. The very existence of such a slave threatens the sanctity of the slaveholders family. â€Å"Genealogical trees do not flourish among slaves†[4] The father must either sell his own child, or raise him as a slave with all the abuse that comes with such a life.†[5] He writes in vivid detail about the common cruelties slaveholders inflict against their slaves, making it a point to show how dehumanizing slavery is not just to the slave, but to anyone who supports it. Douglass uses the character of Sophia[6] as a prime example of a person corrupted by slavery in order to depict a much broader sense of the evil powers slavery possess. Her face was lightened with theShow MoreRelatedMy Bondage And My Freedom1223 Words   |  5 Pages â€Å"My Bondage and My Freedom† Slavery, Hardships, and Freedom? This book describes a day in a life of Frederick Douglass. In 2013, I saw a movie called ’12 Years A Slave’ reading this book and watching the movie was eye-opening for me. ‘My Freedom’ in this book explains that young Douglass suffered as a slave, when which he failed to flee his ‘Bondage’, then eventually he escapes that life. Douglass’s story continues to reverberate throughout his life and the American Dream that he conquered allRead MoreMy Bondage And My Freedom1393 Words   |  6 PagesIn 1855, My Bondage and My Freedom, was published by Fredrick Douglass. Douglass was a slave, but he was much more than just someone’s property. He was born in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818. Slavery during this time was in full effect. Families were being separated and ripped apart from one another, and sold to masters. My Bondage and My Freedom was an autobiography written by Douglass after he was free fro m slavery. This book is more than just a summary of a historian’s explanation of slavery;Read MoreMy Bondage, My Freedom Fredrick Douglass772 Words   |  4 Pageslong in finding out another important truth, what man can make, man can unmake† (Douglass 59). In My Bondage and My Freedom, Fredrick Douglass explains in detail the harsh and cruel realties of slavery and how slavery was an institution that victimized not only slaves, but slave holders, and non-slave holding whites. Fredrick Douglass could not have been more right with his observation of slavery. In my opinion, slavery is not only an institution, but is a prime example of a corrupt business modelRead MoreMy Bondage And My Freedom By Frederick Douglass1846 Words   |  8 Pageswas born in Talbot County, Maryland in 1817 as a slave due to his mother’s status. During his life he had faced many cruelties by his masters and failures escaping slavery. When he finally escaped slavery, he wrote an autobiogr aphy called My Bondage and My Freedom, which was published in 1855. This book impacted society by bringing realization on how slavery was inhumane, and needed to be abolished. Also, this book was so inspiring and successful, it had an abundant of reprinted copies in differentRead MoreMy Bondage And My Freedom By Frederick Douglass1885 Words   |  8 PagesThe autobiography My Bondage and My Freedom, by Frederick Douglass, illustrates the life and the journey of a born slave in Maryland, into liberation and the gradual understanding of slavery’s inconsistencies in general. He tell his story the public sphere, white non slaveholders, in hopes of helping them gain a better understanding of what slavery truly is from a first hand perspective. It starts off with a realization that he, his grandmother, and everyone around him belonged to someone named â€Å"oldRead MoreMy Bondage And My Freedom And Frederick Douglass Analysis1701 Words   |  7 Pagesequality. As it may seem imm oral to twist truths, if done correctly it will strengthen the authors message, without compromising the authenticity of the plot. One can see this in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, along with his, My Bondage and My Freedom. Both novels are accounts of Douglass’ troublesome journey from a slave to a freeman. These heroic accounts served as prominent and respected propaganda upon entering the abolitionist crusade. Despite the criticism garnered during Douglass’Read MoreMy Bondage And My Freedom 1855 Edition† Is One Of The Most1429 Words   |  6 PagesMy Bondage and My Freedom 1855 Edition† is one of the most interesting autobiographical narratives I have ever read. Fredrick Douglass wrote it and published in 1855. Various scholars have also praised the quality in the book. For instance, Stauffer puts it in his foreword that, The story is a profound meditation on what race, slavery, and freedom mean, as well as a demonstration of the power of literacy and faith† (Stauffer 16). â€Å"My Bondage and My Freedom† is the second book of Douglass’s threeRead MoreThe Unnatural Insitution Essay745 Words   |  3 Pagesnot found in nature. â€Å" Institutiones (161AD). Fredrick Douglass wrote My Bondage My Freedom as a marketing ploy based on Jurist Gaius’s idea. Slavery is an unnatural institution and it affects everyone. It affects those enslaved, those whom enslave, and even those who are not involved with either one. It is easy to see how those whom have been enslaved are affected. The most come, or easier seen is the simple lack of freedom. Those whom are enslaved are slaves and not free men, but the damageRead MoreFrederick Douglass, An American Slave1114 Words   |  5 Pages(Graves, 52 ) Frederick’s oratory skills left the largest impact on Civil War time period literature. Douglass’s most significant autobiographical works include: Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: My Bondage And My Freedom: and Life And Times Of Frederick Douglass. These three books are about the same person, and share a similar message, but are written by Frederick at different times of his life, looking at the past in different ways. In NarrativeRead MoreEssay Frederick Douglass and Slavery1448 Words   |  6 Pagesscarce meals, and other harsh treatment. His thirst for freedom , and his burning hatred of slavery caused him to write Narrative Of The Life Of Frederick Douglass, and other similar biographies. In his Narrative, he wrote the complete story of his miserable life as a slave and his strife to obtain freedom. The main motivational force behind his character (himself) was to make it through another day so that someday he might see freedom. The well written books that he produced were all based on

Infosys Case Study Free Essays

Oracle Customer Case Study Infosys Goes to University to Build Business Worldwide â€Å"The quality of the courses is very good and the materials are extremely well designed. We have also had extremely strong feedback from Infosys staff who have completed courses at Oracle University. † – Dr Subhash Chandra Rastogi, Head, Enterprise Solutions Academy, Infosys Technologies Ltd Infosys Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: INFY) defines, designs, and delivers IT-enabled business solutions. We will write a custom essay sample on Infosys Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now These solutions focus on providing clients with strategic differentiation and operational superiority. Infosys creates these solutions by leveraging its domain and business expertise to offer a complete range of services. For the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007, Infosys recorded revenues of more than US$3 billion with net income of over US$850 million. Infosys is a NASDAQ 100 company. Infosys uses a global alliance with Oracle to deliver Oracle-based systems and services to clients worldwide. These enable businesses to build a more flexible architecture to support faster deployment of new applications, achieve a consolidated view of their global supply chain, reduce costs by leveraging global sourcing, or employ predictive capabilities to exploit emerging opportunities or avert looming obstacles. To support Infosys’ status as a Global SI Partner—recognized at the Worldwide Certified Advantage Partner level—Oracle has provided extensive training support through its Oracle University educational resource. More than 3,000 Infosys employees globally have benefited through Oracle University-based knowledge, enabling them to deliver Oracle products and services to a high level of expertise. Oracle University courses typically run between five and 15 days, depending on the complexity of the product and associated business process changes. â€Å"The quality of the courses is very good and the materials are extremely well designed,† said Dr Subhash Chandra Rastogi, head of the Enterprise Solutions Academy at Infosys. We have also had extremely strong feedback from Infosys staff who have completed courses at Oracle University. † Copyright  © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Published February 2008 Infosys Technologies Ltd Bangalore, India www. infosys. com Industry: Professional Services Annual Revenue: US$3. 09 billion Employees: 80,500 Orac le Products Services: Oracle University Key Benefits: Ensured more than 100 staff are certified in Oracle E-Business Suite, qualifying them to deliver the solution to customers worldwide Provided feedback into the beta version of Oracle E-Business Suite Enabled staff around the world to undertake training in their own time via online courses Enabled more than 3,000 employees to take various Oracle University learning programs through a range of delivery modes Oracle Customer Case Study Upskilling Delivers Results Infosys is one of the world’s most rapidly growing consulting and information technology services companies. In 2007, the company’s revenues crossed US$3 billion. Key to the company’s success is its low-risk, high-quality Global Delivery Model, whereby work is broken up into logical components to be completed in the most efficient location. With staff numbers rising sharply, in 2003 Infosys created an Enterprise Solutions Academy (ES Academy) within the company to manage the educational requirements of everyone from new recruits to 20-year veterans. The ES Academy currently has to service an annual intake that reached 1,740 engineers and MBA graduates in 2006. â€Å"This is a very different concept for a systems integrator, but we had to ensure our staff could get the expertise nd certification needed to service our clients to the very highest level,† said Dr Rastogi. While the ES Academy itself provides an extensive portfolio of training and certification courses, the academy has partnered with Oracle University to provide its consultants with training in Oracle products. â€Å"Oracle is constantly growing its portfolio of solu tions, upgrading existing products, and acquiring new product companies,† said Dr Rastogi. â€Å"Oracle University provides expert, in-depth training across the Oracle suite of products and services. There is no point in us trying to duplicate this effort or invest in something we don’t need to,† he added. Participating in the Oracle University program brings benefits to Infosys other than a more skilled workforce. As a strategic partner to Oracle, Infosys can also contribute knowledge to the development of new Oracle products and services. â€Å"We did contribute to the beta certification of Oracle E-Business Suite, with more than 150 Infosys consultants providing input to Oracle University as to where the product could be improved,† said Dr Rastogi. We now have more than 100 people certified in Oracle E-Business Suite—more than anyone else in the world— and they continue to provide lots of input to Oracle as well as staying appraised of new developments. † Copyright  © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Published February 2008 Oracle Customer Case Study Oracle University Reviews Infosys Curriculum It often becomes viable for the ES Academy to deliver Oracle courses internally based on the level of demand, or for some basic products. For example, 85% of consultants that specialize in relatively ‘vanilla’ products such as Oracle9i Database are trained in-house, with the remaining 15% undertaking courses at Oracle University. â€Å"To ensure quality, we engaged Oracle University to review our curriculum content, materials, and questions for course attendees,† said Dr Rastogi. â€Å"They give us sound advice that ensures we deliver the best possible internal courses. † These courses do not cover newer products, or products taken on through acquisition of companies such as Hyperion or Demantra. About 95% of consultants that specialize in these new areas take the relevant courses from Oracle University. Overcoming the Tyranny of Distance Infosys’ burgeoning growth within India and worldwide has created a geographically distributed organization that makes delivering face-to-face training, a sometimes costly exercise. â€Å"This has posed a problem for us because people in India are not used to alternatives such as e-learning,† said Dr Rastogi. â€Å"People prefer to come to a classroom. â€Å"In addition, the firewall we apply across our systems prevents Infosys employees from viewing streaming audio and video. To create more flexibility for staff to access the online courses available through Oracle University, Infosys is establishing e-libraries in offices in Pune, Mangalore, and Hyderabad. These currently include 20 PCs where staff can access streaming audio and video. This number is expected to grow to 100–150 by late 2008 across various locations i n India. Employees working in Europe and the U. S. are already benefiting from streaming audio and video. The availability of online courses through Oracle University means staff will be able to undertake training without disrupting their client work. The benefits of e-learning apply to staff outside India as well. â€Å"Our certification program applies to employees regardless of Copyright  © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Published February 2008 Oracle Customer Case Study country,† said Dr Rastogi. â€Å"We have 25 to 30 staff who specialize in Oracle E-Business Suite who work in Europe or the U. S. † Helping Ambitious Employees to Get Ahead A certification from Oracle University can provide ambitious employees with an edge in the competitive Infosys culture. Because it’s an external certification, it provides good branding for an employee,† said Dr Rastogi. â€Å"They become of greater value to Infosys and to our customers. † Infosys Technologies Ltd (NASDAQ: INFY) defines, designs, and delivers ITenabled business solutions. For the fiscal year ended Marc h 31, 2007, Infosys recorded revenues of more than US$3 billion with net income of over US$850 million. Copyright  © 2008, Oracle. All rights reserved. Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners. Published February 2008 How to cite Infosys Case Study, Free Case study samples Infosys Case Study Free Essays Case Study Infosys Strategic Human Resource Management Kaplan University October 31st, 2011 In October 2006 Harvard Business Review article entitled, Infosys: Strategic Human Resource Management† discusses the rapidly expanding computer software giant and the challenges it faced in maintaining its high performance and employee satisfaction. In this article, the company’s strategy regarding strategic human resource management was evaluated. This case study was written based on the information gathered from this evaluation and is based on three parts. We will write a custom essay sample on Infosys Case Study or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first part identifies the major issues preventing Infosys from achieving its goal to regain its top ten ranking for best performing company and best employer. The second part address the strategies the company chose to mitigate the issues identified. Finally, it will conclude with a summary of the analysis. Reasons Infosys Employee Satisfaction was on the Decline Infosys expansion rate exceeded the human resources available at the time. Despite this fact they continued to grow but had difficulty managing the expectations and communication of the new employees. As the company grew so did so did its inability to squelch the increasing diversity and disparity of an increasing number of employees. Strategic Management Jeffrey Mello presents Strategic Management in five distinct steps. (1) Mission Statement (2) Analysis of Environment (3) Organization Self-Assessment (4) Establishing Goals and Objectives (5) Setting Strategy (Mello, 2010). Infosys was challenged in following the steps in the strategic management process regarding its relationship with employees due to its rapid expansion. Once the process of strategic management steps are understood and followed sequentially the organization can align itself with the stakeholder’s objectives. If any of the steps are not followed or the employees do not buy into the goals or the communication is not successfully accepted, aligning the strategy with the stakeholder’s objectives may not develop effectively. Infosys has gone through some significant growth since its humble beginnings in 1981. With the company’s mission and core values et in place early in the start-up of the organization, they successfully earned the Business Today Best Employer Survey two years in a row. However, they faced challenges managing the human resource aspect of their organization the following year when they lost the coveted top employer survey. Despite the rave reviews by employees during the earlier years of the organization, the hierarchy of employees had become despairingly discontent. In the early days the company off ered stock options which made the employees very wealthy. This provided a sought relationship between candidates and employees alike. Expecting the same treatment as their predecessors, the newer employees we not offered the same strike price benefit due to a government agency. One of the issues was that both middle and senior managers were not in touch with their rapidly growing subordinates. The managers did not correlate the discontent with their employees doing less interesting work as well as not being richly rewarded as in years past. Another issue employees at Infosys disliked was the company becoming process oriented; this led to employees performing repeatable projects. Employees began to realize they were not being stimulated technically as they had been in the initial years. Many employees felt as though the organization was becoming too impersonal. Additionally, they also felt that Infosys was taking some of their bonuses away with the lack of equitable stock options that had become expected. How Infosys Tried to Link the People In an effort to revitalize the organization’s morale, Infosys strategized in multiple ways in which to gain buy-in to its goals and objectives. At its inception, Infosys had an employee oriented vision; they created a company that was not like any other Indian corporation. They felt the other Indian organizations were either too personal or too impersonal. Infosys set out to build an organization that was fair to all its stakeholders, shareholders, employees and customers alike. The company insured it was offering its employees’ salaries in the top 10%-15% in their competitive peer group and began offering stock options that vested in five years; this was a first in their peer group. The company exhibited extraordinary employee loyalty as part of its mantra. They always kept an open door policy regarding employee grievance resolution. They provided emergency assistance to families of employees, if needed, and created their own healthcare platform to ensure employees remained physically and emotionally healthy. Infosys went as far as creating extracurricular activities and hobby groups for their employees to foster a life-work balance. In conclusion, effectively linking the employees to the strategic management process by communicating and managing their expectations, the company can move forward to achieve its goals. Missing part of Mello’s five step process previously mentioned will effectively mismatch the organization’s needs with that of the employees. References Delqong, T. (2006, October 16). Infosys (a): Strategic human resource management. Harvard Business Review,  9(406), 1-11. Mello, E. A. (2010). Strategic human resource management. South-Western Pub. How to cite Infosys Case Study, Free Case study samples