The Islands Cuba, Barbados, and the Netherlands Antilles Essay

The Islands Cuba, Barbados, and the Netherlands Antilles - Essay Example Many of the original inhabitants died from diseases that were brought to Cuba by the arriving sailors. The first Spanish settlements were established in Cuba in 1511. This corresponds closely to the first arrival of the Spanish in the Netherlands Antilles in the early 1500s. The Spanish also contacted Barbados in 1536. Spanish conquistadors seized the Caribs on Barbados to be used as plantation slaves and by the time the British settlements arrived in the 1620s, the island was uninhabited. Within 100 years of contact by Spanish explorers, all three native populations had been eradicated or enslaved. During the 1600s, the rule of the islands changed hands from the Spanish to other European countries. Cuba remained a Spanish colony while Barbados was settled as a British colony. The Dutch captured the Netherlands Antilles in the 1600s. Under European colonial rule, all three islands experienced similar situations during the years 1600-1900. During these centuries, all three colonies exploited the sugar market. The large sugar plantations necessitated the importation of slavery. The slave labor was primarily from Africa, though Barbados imported slaves from the Celtic nations of Scotland and Ireland. Slavery was abolished in all three colonies in the middle of the 19th century. ... The descendants of the freed slaves continue to dominate the populations of these islands. Descendants of the Celts that were imported to Barbados are some of the poorest inhabitants there today. During the centuries of large sugar plantations and slavery, the islands were ruled by the monarchies of the Dutch, England, and Spain. Cuba, which had come under Spanish rule, suffered during these years from a repressive rule. Barbados and the Netherlands Antilles were under colonial rule that was less oppressive. The Spanish rule in Cuba resulted in a revolt against Spanish rule in 1898, which ultimately resulted in the Spanish-American war. During this period, Cuba ousted the Spanish and it became an American protectorate. Barbados fared better during this period, but the descendent slave population continued to live outside the mainstream political spectrum. Barbados had disenfranchised the female vote and also had an income qualification to be able to vote. Unrest at the beginning of the 20th century led to massive uprisings by the descendants of former slaves. In 1942, the income qualification was lowered and women were allowed to vote. While the English ruled Barbados was moving towards greater freedom, Cuba was inching into a series of oppressive dictatorships. Fulgencio Batista was the military leader and later President of Cuba beginning in 1933. Batista ruled a corrupt and repressive police state. During his rule, he often silenced his critics through violence, which spawned an organized opposition led by Fidel Castro. Castro's supporters were able to oust Batista in 1959 when he fled the country. At the time, Castro was seen as a pro-democracy movement and self-rule was sweeping the Caribbean nations. In 1954 the Netherlands Antilles had become an

Lincoln Electric Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Lincoln Electric - Case Study Example As the discussion stresses  one of the major contributing factors towards the success of Lincoln Electric is its flexibility. The company does not believe in maintaining an official organization chart in order to offer high flexibility. The company’s easy and less complicated policy support s employees to go to anyone whom they think to be proficient enough in providing solutions to their problems offering a flexible organizational structure. Flexibility is considered to be an important factor for the success of any organization. Employees or workers should be given enough flexibility to work according to their own ways and convenience in order to be productive ensuring the superiority of the end products.This paper highlights that  an easy and less complex policy would remove the barriers among the workers and the executives and would facilitate smooth communication. Communication is quite important in organizations so that the problems can be communicated to the concerne d person and measures can be immediately taken to find a solution without largely hampering the manufacturing functions.  The company does not have any special policies or perks for the executives which promotes a sense of equality among the employees and in turn encourages a sense of responsibility in them.  The company handed over the control of management to various teams which facilitate them with the right to take decisions when necessary. This ensures a smooth flow of work, as employees need not wait for others to take decisions and then having to act accordingly. This triggers in them a sense of responsibility to perform better (Willcoxson, 2011). Another important factor is that employees are entitled to profit sharing as well as stock options based on individual as well as team performance (McGee & Et. Al., 2006). Employees are influenced to bring forward innovative ideas by the management which would enhance their productivity. The company constantly invests on trainin g as well as educating the employees to make certain effectual contributions towards business performance. The responsibilities given to the employees are also considered as significant factor. They include pay cuts and penalties in case of absenteeism which instill a sense of responsibility, the workers related to production needs to provide assurance regarding the quality of individual piece produced by them or else no payment is made against it and finally there are only few supervisors owing to which team work is promoted without any detailed supervision. Thus, the above mentioned factors can be considered as the major contributing factors for the company’s superior performance (Lussier, 2008). Understanding of the Factors Responsible for High Performance The high performance of Lincoln Electric is reliant on many external as well as internal factors. Flexibility, communication, incentive structure, policies, sense of equality and responsibility are the most important contributing