Tattooed Soldier Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tattooed Soldier - Essay Example Antonio Bernal, a Guatemalan refugee is traumatized by the brutal death of his wife and only one son. He flees to Los Angeles to find solace, forget the problems and redeem his life. ‘When he first came to Los Angeles, Antonio thought of it as the place where he would redeem himself, undertake a new beginning’. Being a middle class civil servant once, seven years down the line, Antonio is wandering like homeless tramps in the city. He has been evicted from a rental house for failing to clear rent. The bitter truth that Los Angeles is no better than Guatemala reveals itself. He finds that life in the city is much more difficult and all his hopes abort. Guillermo Longoria is an ex-military soldier, an perpetrator of Antonio’s family and a member of death squad, the jaguar battalion of the Guatemalan army. He has tattooed his forearm with a yellow menacing jaguar as a mark of ruthless executor. Having contributed to the genocide that burnt the Guatemalan highlands and participated in the assassination of many Guatemalan citizens, he also flees to Los Angeles. He hopes to rid off the feelings, memories and the guilty consciousness he is suffering from as a result of his actions. He believes Los Angeles is not infected with the filth and pandemonium like that in Guatemala. Unfortunate for him, he learns that the city is even worse. ‘This place, this Los Angeles, is a cloud of filth, even the sky is muddy brown†¦ no one in Los Angeles seemed to care about trespassing, about people breaking the law†... Unfortunate for him, he learns that the city is even worse. ‘This place, this Los Angeles, is a cloud of filth, even the sky is muddy brown†¦ no one in Los Angeles seemed to care about trespassing, about people breaking the law† (Tobar, 34). The two men have been brought up in humble backgrounds. Both are haunted by past experiences and hopes for bright future in America. Antonio, seven years ago a middle-class civil servant, married and with one son comes home from work to meet his wife and son killed. The memories and fear ignites cowardice and he is fighting with self esteem in the move to avenge his family murderer. Longoria was a peasant before being coerced to join the army, a profession he eventually came to love. Luckily, his military experience earns him a job and is able to have his own home in America. Having committed crimes in Guatemala, he believes to find peace in Los Angeles, where he thinks is crime free. â€Å"He would not be swallowed by the uncle anliness around him’ (Tobar, 34) The book is a story of exiles, outsiders, the marginalized, and the powerless. Immigrants have very high expectations about America. Unfortunately, when they move in, especially elites, their profession and social statuses are reduced. Tobar says’ Women with medical degrees became laboratory assistants, accountants became ditch diggers.† (Tobar, 51). the social inequalities are very visible. Only a few like longoria can survive in the city because of its diversity. But immigrants have a hard time being assimilating in the American cultures. The powerless have no option but to concede injustice. Longoria has gotten away with so many crimes but his military experience earns him a

Project at Aux Bons Soins Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Project at Aux Bons Soins - Essay Example May be this was in response to the sentiments coming through from the finance department. But this as well drew the wrath of the end users of the new system. They were up in arms mainly due to what they termed as preoccupation with delivery time lines and technical implementation. They opined the project manager had no regard to personal considerations of the rest of the team especially the end users of the system being implemented. Several managers involved with the project felt that there was more emphasis on the speed of implementation as opposed to the nature of business processes. Some of the team members lamented that he/she was being paralyzed by the constant reporting on deliverables that the project manager was insisting on. The line managers started having second thoughts about the project thereby questioning the credibility of the IT team. This came through even as the IT team maintained that the system being implemented would revolutionize business processes and increase efficiency. These squables paralyzed the project manager and rendered him ineffective due to his inability to mobilize the team members to own the project. There had to be a change of strategy if not personalities. This was made necessary by the fact that the very people who were expected to own and drive the project had turned out to be its biggest critics. This complicated matters because they were the same people who were relied upon to deliver the new system. Their grievances may not have been very genuine but they were paralyzing the project none the less a solution therefore had to be found. From the three stories, nothing is said of the professional qualifications and experience of the first project manager. I have reason to believe that if at all he was well trained and experienced project manager, he would have been able to factor in the grievances being aired by both the users and the finance department. He may not be the one to bare the entire blame for the difficulties f aced in the project but it’s expected that having implemented other projects before; he must have come across such opposition before. He would have employed his previous experience to solve the current mess. A change in leadership of the project was necessary. Solutions A new project manager who had a vast experience in project management was brought on board. Andre Gagne has been trained as an accountant and also had a master’s degree in information technology. Those are two areas of expertise that were very vital for the project which may be the former project manager didn’t have or chose not to employ. Having managed several other systems that involved integration of business processes and information technologies not to mention the solid background in insurance industry, he was well placed for the job. Within a short time, the new project leader was able to win the confidence of team leaders and restored the credibility of the project. Some of the changes he made that eventually saw the success of the project was sharing out the work. He reorganized the team into multidisciplinary teams in charge of developing solutions for the various problems that the project was to solve. Each multidisciplinary team consisted of experts from the relevant departments, management and the IT technical team. He went on to put together an orientation meeting