You can create this Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

You can create this - Research Proposal Example Welcoming international trade, the country is expanding its business relations with Spain (its closest neighbor), the US, and African countries. In many cases goods shipped to Portugal do not arrive there directly, but come to some other country of the EU, and only then travel to Portugal – in order to use the advantage of lower value added tax rates of the other country. Companies entering the Portuguese market are welcome to contact the closest US Export Assistance Center which supports exporters. U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service (100) recommends entering the market with an assistance of a local partner. Besides, finding a group or a right person to obtain useful advice and contacts is considered to be very beneficial because personal contacts are important for conducting a successful business in the country. In order to establish an office in Portugal, one should create a Portuguese company according to the country’s law. For most tenders and goods price is more important than quality. So, in order for a product to be competitive, the price must not be higher than that of the rivals. Portuguese importers now prefer to receive C.I.F. or F.O.B. quotations that include a product description, shipping weight, volume and time of shipment and delivery. Though such invoices (with all the mentioned above information) are not mandatory, they are very desirable. The largest part of the businesses of the country is concentrated in Lisbon, a capital of Portugal. Modern techniques of conducting business are widely spread in the country. However, traditional values are still in a great respect: personal contact and a handshake are still considered by many Portuguese businessmen to be more valuable than a signed contract. At the same time, a request for a formal contract will not offend them. At the same time, personal relations are valued and respected more than any legal

The Coercion used in Continental Army Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Coercion used in Continental Army - Essay Example Very little scholarly work had been done on military discipline and enforcement in the American army during the Revolutionary War. The neglect is not for lack f source material. Thousands f orderly books, manuals f instruction, court martial transcripts, and other primary sources exist in private collections and in local and national repositories, including the National Archives and the Library f Congress. Most f this material is readily available to researchers, and some f it, most notably in George Washington's papers, has appeared in print. Ward is the first historian to examine the primary sources in depth, however, and he has written a pioneering study f a very important element in the military history f the Revolutionary War. Washington was no touchy-feely general. As Ward explains, he developed his understanding f military discipline from study and observation f British practices during the French and Indian War. Discipline during that war followed standard eighteenth-century practice. Penalties were cruel--from whipping and riding the wooden horse to public hanging--and intended to terrify rather than to correct. Washington was as enthusiastic as any other officer in applying this discipline, often more so. And in the Revolutionary War, he made tough discipline a centerpiece f his military philosophy. The relatively democratic, easy-going methods common to the New England militia in early 1775 were not for him; and on taking command f the Continental Army later that year, he quickly instilled an authoritarian, hierarchic system that came down hard on everything from cowardice and desertion to foul language, gambling, and female camp followers. Ward's focus is less on policy formulation than on the effect that Washington's discipline--developed in consultation with Congress and the generals--had on the common soldiers. This emphasis on the average man helps to keep the book far more fresh and exciting than any purely administrative study. At all levels, from officers' guards, pickets, and police, to provost guards, executioners, and field musicians, Ward explores what it meant to live under Continental Army discipline, making use f numerous interesting anecdotes. At times, Ward's tendency to hop from one topic to another makes for haphazard reading, but the narrative, though at times awkwardly written, never loses interest. What is missing is a coherent overall sense f how military discipline evolved during the war, and particularly f how lessons learned during the course f the conflict influenced the development f U.S. Army discipline in succeeding eras. The book lacks a concluding chapter to bring all f the loose ends tog ether, instead ending rather abruptly with a discussion f military executions. Still, there is no question that Ward has written the definitive study f American military discipline during the Revolutionary War. The inability to adequately equip the troops stemmed from the structure f the Commissary Department, and its adjunct, the Quartermaster Department. Military officers normally headed these departments, but