Cultural Dimensions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cultural Dimensions - Assignment Example Cultural dimensions Disparities and similarities exist in the cultural domains between the two countries. The two countries exhibit lower long-term orientation. They score normative in this dimension. Spanish people prefer keeping their lives normal without considering what the future entails. Americans treat changes that arise in the society with great suspicion. They tend to analyze emerging information to confirm its validity. Americans possess good analytical skills that give them a clear view whether particular information is good or disastrous. The foundation of businesses in America is short-term goals. America and Spain share individualism in the cultural domains. The members Interact freely with people from other parts of the world. Americans find it easy to interact and seek information from non-Americans. They exhibit free-spirited interactions amongst themselves simplifying their engagement that relates to business and other activities. In the power distance domain of culture, the countries perform differently. In contrast to Spanish, Americans do not appreciate the fact that people must be different in the society. They constantly struggle to address the inequality that exists among people. Most employees in America prefer to participate in the decision-making process and tend to question the actions of the authorities on issues that relate to them. In Spain, people accept the diversity prevalent in the society. They make little effort to breach the gap. Spanish people refer to the decisions made by the authorities as autocratic and rarely challenge the directives from the leaders. In uncertainty avoidance domain, the two countries exist on opposite sides of the divide. Spain scores highly in this domain while America performance is below average. Americans find it easy to incorporate new ideas than the Spanish people.  

Major Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words - 1

Major Project - Essay Example However, there are arguments favouring and opposing the need to preserve the public employee union strength. The debate remains unsettled. The problem needs to be treated based on the peculiarities of the public sector and the implications of preserving the bargaining power of the union in an organization. In this essay, the debate in this regard is discussed based on the existing Wisconsin debate. This essay is organized as follows. In section 2 the history of public employee union is discussed. In section 3,the ongoing debate in Wisconsin is discussed based on the debate between the Unions and the state, parties, media, President of USA etc. Section 4 concludes the essay. 2. History of Public Employee Unions The first public sector collective bargaining started in the years between 1955 and 1965 along with the civil rights movement. Both of these were based on the principle of the need for granting the rights and freedom of all citizens equally. There were many acts granting the ri ghts of private sector workers like Wagner Act 1935 and Social Security Act while the public sector workers were not covered by these acts. This unequal treatment between both workers became more intense with the private sector workers achieving lifestyle of the middle class (Mc Cartin, 2011). This was intensely criticized by many including the special committee of the American Bar Association. The legislation for the public sector bargaining rights was first started in Wisconsin in 1959.Starting from this, many laws were passed here like the one in 1962, 1968 Meyers-Milias Brown Act in California, the one passed by Richard Nixon in 1969 etc. Consequently, there had been significant rise in the membership of public sector employee unions. However from 1970 onwards the public sector employee unions were seen to influence the political system of nations which resulted in the antiunion voices to a great extent like in Madison. According to the antiunion arguments by the Public Service Research Council in the 1970, the public sector employee unions will result in strikes that stop the works of many government institutions. Other argument includes possibility of unions controlling government. In spite of these arguments, practical experience showed no strikes that paralyzed government institutions and no control of the unions over the government. There are many arguments for and against preserving the bargaining power of workers. These include union strength as very important in protecting the rights of individual workers. The estimates show greater percentage of workers in public sector as unionized compared to the workers in private sector. Thus weakening of the union strength means weakening of union strength in the public sector. Weakening of the union strength results in weaker protection of non unionized workers for getting their rights (Halliday, 2011). The arguments against preserving the public sector bargaining rights include the huge disparity in the wag es and compensation benefits of public and private sector workers. However, the recent estimates show the disparity only at the national level while at the state and local level the disparity is not very much significant(Freeman,1988).Moreover arguments also are based on the adverse effects on the finances of government. The estimates by the Centre for Budget and Policy Priorities, shows no significant

Critically discuss the role of place branding and promoting a country Essay

Critically discuss the role of place branding and promoting a country in international marketing - Essay Example Many people flock the city, since it has been branded as a place where people are satisfied from the wide range of entertainment spots. Secondly, place branding helps to improve the image of a place. This attracts other people in the international community, as they would like to be associated with the place. For example, Abu Dhabi in United Arab Emirates is considered one of the most developing cities in the world. The marketing has focused on ensuring the image of the city as a developing and enhancing city attracts many people across the globe (Moilanen and Rainisto, 2009:12). When investors note that the city is among the most developing cities, they are encouraged to engage in investments in the city. This creates a business hub that continues to attract many people across the world. Apparently, the image and identity of a place is enhancing the development of many cities across the world, as they have a particular point of focus. For example, the population of Abu Dhabi has been increasing rapidly, as many of the settlers are technocrats and investors. Place branding is a prudent approach in reducing price sensitivity, especially to customers. At times, the brand of a place is widely renown, which attracts a large number of investors, stakeholders, and customers (Baker, 2007:6). These stakeholders and customers have stakes in the place, since they have their priorities in order. As such, they have to engage in business and trade with the stakeholders in the city, as they need to satisfy their needs. Apparently, when a place is branded with a particular identity, the stakeholders and customers only focus on the identity of the place. Therefore, the marketing directs the focus of stakeholders on satisfying their interests, while other factors are neglected. For example, the customers will direct their focus on the products and place, while neglecting the price tags. As a result, the customers are prepared to incur premium costs in satisfying their needs.

Globalink Understanding diversity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Globalink Understanding diversity - Assignment Example It has also discussed the best practices to manage organisational diversity. The micro analysis of organisational behaviour helps any business to understand the potential conflict issues within the individuals of the organisation. Most of the conflicts generate from the diversified work force of any organisation (Robbins and Judge, 2012). The workforce of this organisation is mainly diversified by age, race, and ethnicity. The organisation possesses different generation of workforce such as baby boomer, generation X and generation Y (Ibec, 2015a). The baby boomers of the organisation are mainly the sales managers who are within the age bracket of 45-65 years. Generation X employees or the supervisors fall in the bracket of 28-45 years. On the other hand the generation Y employees who are the call centre operative are aged between 20-27 years. These generation diversity causes difference in work related expectation and characteristics. These differences between these generations can be judged to understand the reasons behind the conflict within the workforce. The study of the differences of these employee generations has provided a clear view about the potential reasons of the conflict. The difference in work ethics, skill sets and attitude towards the jobs are causing conflict between different generations of the employees in the organisation. The different level of tolerance of these groups is creating conflict within the employees of different levels. The absence of proper interaction and communication is also causing problems within the employees and their managers. Another reason behind these conflicts is the cultural and racial diversity of the organisation. The employees of this organisation are from different race, religion and ethnicity across the world. The training procedure and work patterns of the organisation are not well designed as per the language and

Political Science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 5

Political Science - Essay Example When a particular state is composed of a single nation or people with common identity, we call it a nation-state† (Viotti 464). However, the dynamics of nationalism may be a little complex and tricky where more than one groups, may be on the basis of religion, race etc, exist and interacts to formulate the national interest of the state. This may result in sort of interest clashes if not dealt tactfully at state level. Ethnic and racial groups are conservative and traditionalist in their loyalty and allegiance towards their religion and race. These groups possess their own specific and rigid identities and like to maintain themselves as unit while sticking firm to these identities. The unity on the basis of religious or racial grouping gives birth to the problem of contentious autonomy within the state. The intricacies are purely the subject of politics and have to be address with political will while safeguarding the interest of state. The unity and identity on the basis of religion and race is a challenging issue for the state level unity and identity as a nation-state. People tend to retain their religious and racial identity while â€Å"Nationality involves a significant degree of self-definition and refers to a people with sense of common identity, if not destiny† (Viotti 464). Nationality demands subjugation of religious and ethnic interests by the sovereignty, integrity and solidarity of the state. If the group level identities and interests are dominated and governed by the state interests, the concept of nation-state persists and flourishes otherwise it spoils and destroys. Nationalism manifest itself in several different colors and shapes but one major attribute of the nationalism is its conformity to the history and myth. Every state despite existence of multicultural religious and racial groups and unities share some common exhibits of historical and mythical events which promote nationalism. Among these

Servant Leadership Integrative Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Servant Leadership Integrative Project - Essay Example Transformational leadership style is composed of so many components (Margaret 2013). The components of transformational leadership are well highlighted below; Intellectual stimulation This of component transformational style encourages creativity and innovation among the people who follow this style. The transformational leaders challenge the members who follow them and arouse them to identify new gaps and learn from that. The local churches can as well adapt this form of transformational style so that they identify the areas or points that they may need to strengthen to enable them develop and spread the gospel further (Larry 2002). Individualized or subjective consideration Under this component of transformational leadership, it is important to note that the transformational leaders give personal assistance to the individual followers. The followers can access the services they would require from the followers. They have ensured that there is transparency in the means and modes of communication between the leaders and the followers. This has helped as the followers can now see that the leaders acknowledge the efforts that they make towards the team. The local churches have always shown this especially in the cases where the church members would wish to have prayer requests at their residential places and thank God that the God sent servants have never let them down. The servants do this because the word of the Lord is free and to make the members see that the efforts that they put in the church are acknowledged (Mitsuru 2011). Inspirational motivation Transformational leaders have well set goals and missions that have boosted the loyalty of the members. The members therefore have developed a strong passion for the team thereby contributing much for the benefit of the team. In the local churches, the leaders have to be goal oriented of which the goal is spreading the gospel and they should not involve themselves in other activities that can send the people awa y from the Lord. They should therefore conduct themselves in an inspiring and a manner that is quite motivating (Rhonda 2011). Idealized influence Transformational leaders can serve as the moral icons fir their followers. Any move they take will therefore be highly copied and emulated by their followers. It is therefore important to highlight that they should conduct themselves well so that the picture that comes after they are seen is a positive one to the followers. The leaders in the local churches should therefore be on the forefront of inflicting good moral values to the people. This is another way of accomplishing the work of the Lord (Larry 2002). It is very important to highlight that transformational form of leadership has various core values that, are the propulsive forces that that back up the mission as well as the visional duties of the servants of God. The core or rather the main values of transformational style of leadership are highlighted below; Courage Transformati onal style of leadership needs a lot of courage for success to be realized in any mission that you undertake. With this, the servant has to be ready to take the risk and as well bear them. Courage must be supported with good will and positivity in any circumstance you choose to go for. Courageous servants of the biblical work mission have the potential of overcoming any temptation that may come their way. The missionary work of God

The Almanac of American Politics (2008) Essay Example for Free

The Almanac of American Politics (2008) Essay Presidential election results (2000, 2004) The following pages are quoted verbatim from the Almanac of American Politics, 2006 edition: American politics has devolved into a grim battle between two approximately equal-size armies in a take-no-prisoners culture war. In 2000, those armies fought to a near-draw—out of more than 100 million ballots cast, the presidency of the United States hinged on a breathtakingly slim 537-vote margin in Florida. Four years later, despite the occurrence of a recession, two wars, and a devastating terrorist attack on American soil, the two adversaries remain fairly evenly divided. In the wake of an acrimonious election where both political parties together spent roughly $4 billion on the federal elections the crisis spilled over into other areas of American politics: health and welfare spending, handling of the economy, and the continued occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan (Barone and Cohen, 2006) State Profile NEW JERSEY State Profile The following data and information about this state is taken from the 2006 Almanac of American Politics. â€Å"New Jersey boomed in the 1980s, suffered sharply in the early 1990s recession, came back strongly, and is now weathering the high-tech storms with mixed success.† At A Glance Size: 8,721 square miles Population in 2000: 8,414,350; 94.3% urban; 5.7% rural Population in 1990: 7,730,188 Population Change: Up 8.6% 1990-2000; Up 5.0% 1980-1990 Population Rank: 9th of 50; 3.0% of total U.S. population Most Populous Cities: Newark (277,911); Jersey City (239,097); Paterson (150,782); Elizabeth (123,215); Trenton (85,314) Registered Voters: 1,163,224 D (23.2%); 884,801 R (17.7%); 2,957,934 unaffiliated and minor parties (59.1%) State Senate: 22 D 18 R State General Assembly: 49 D 31 R State Legislative Term Limits: No Key Elected Officials Gov. Jon Corzine (D) Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D) Sen. Robert Menendez (D) Representatives: (6 D, 6 R, 1 V): Robert Andrews (D-01) Loida Nicolas Lewis (D-02) Jim Saxton (R-03) Chris Smith (R-04) Scott Garrett (R-05) Frank Pallone (D-06) Michael Ferguson (R-07) Bill Pascrell (D-08) Steven Rothman (D-09) Donald Payne (D-10) Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) Rush Holt (D-12) Vacant; formerly Robert Menendez (D-13) About New Jersey The Northeast has long been the nation’s least conservative region and turned out the biggest bonanza for the Democrats in their surge to an even greater House majority in 2008: 15 of the 25 seats the party took from the GOP were in the area.   Democrats say this â€Å"reverse alignment† — counterbalancing the Southern shift to the GOP — rolls on (The Electoral Map, 2007). â€Å"A valley of humility between two mountains of conceit: That is what Benjamin Franklin called New Jersey, which even in colonial days was overshadowed by the metropolises of New York and Philadelphia. New Jersey was named by King James II, then Duke of York, for the Channel Island on which he was sheltered during the English Civil War. But New Jersey has much to say for itself. It is a sort of laboratory in which the best blood is prepared for other communities to thrive on, Woodrow Wilson said when he was governor, just a tad defensively. Today, New Jersey is the nations tenth most populous state: It boomed in the 1980s, suffered sharply in the early 1990s recession, came back strongly, and is now weathering the high-tech storms with mixed success. New Jersey was the home of Thomas Edison and of the old Bell Labs; its successors Lucent and ATT were among its biggest employers in the 1990s. Other big employers include several of the nations biggest pharmaceutical firmsMerck, Johnson Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Novartis, Schering-Plough. These industries give the state a high-income, high-education work force, and in 2000 New Jersey passed Connecticut to boast the nations highest median household income. This is prosperous middle-income country, with more two-car than one-car families but fewer limousines than Manhattan, with an estimated 13,500 $1 million houses but not the multi-million dollar co-ops of Manhattan or mansions of Greenwich, Connecticut. Within New Jerseys close boundaries is great diversity, geographically from beaches to mountains, demographically from old Quaker stock to new Hispanics, economically from inner city slums to hunt country mansions. Though New York writers are inclined to look on New Jersey as a land of 1940s diners and 1970s shopping malls, this state much more closely resembles the rest of America than does Manhattan, even if its accents can sometimes be incomprehensible to outsiders. The Jersey City row houses seen on emerging from the Holland Tunnel, many renovated by Wall Street commuters and Latin immigrants, give way within a few miles to the skyscrapers of Newark and its new Performing Arts Center. Farther out are comfortably packed middle-income suburbs and the horse country around Far Hills, the university town of Princeton, old industrial cities like Paterson and Trenton, and dozens of suburban towns and small factory cities where people work and raise families over generations. Among them are commuter towns like Middletown, whose commuter trails lead to Lower Manhattan, and which lost dozens of neighbors on September 11. A year later, only 37% of New Jersey citizens said their lives had returned to normal and 29% said they would never be the same; 43% said they thought about the attacks every day. New Jersey has long been a magnet for immigrants, and it is again today. In 2000, 29% of its residents were born in another country or had a parent who was; only California and New York have larger percentages of foreign-born residents. Hudson County, the land along the ridge opposite Manhattan, was the home to hundreds of thousands of Irish, Italian, Polish and Jewish immigrants in the early 20th century; in 2003 it was 41% Hispanic, with Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and Mexicans. Immigrants are plentiful in the little middle-American towns of Bergen County, Filipinos in Bergenfield, Guatemalans in Fairview, Koreans in Leonia, Indians in Lodi, Chinese in Palisades Park. The old central cities of Elizabeth and Paterson were half-Hispanic in 2000 and Camden, opposite Philadelphia, was 39% Hispanic. There is still a black majority in Newark, but it includes many of the Brazilians in the Ironbound district. New Jersey has all the ethnic variety that America offers. In the last two decades, a new New Jersey has sprouted. The oil tank farms and swamplands of the Jersey Meadows have become sports palaces and office complexes; the Singer factory in Elizabeth, the Western Electric factory in Kearny, the Ford plant in Mahwah, the Shulton plant in Clifton are all gone, replaced by shopping centers or hotels or other development, and the GM plant in Linden, the last New Jersey auto plant, closed in April 2005; the intersection of I-78 and I-287 has become a major shopping and office edge city; U.S. 1 north from Princeton to North Brunswick has become one of the nations high-tech centers. Even some of New Jerseys long-ailing central cities are perking up. New Jersey increasingly has an identity of its own. It is the home of big league football, basketball and hockey franchisesthough after nearly three decades, two of them have threatened to moveand of the worlds longest expanse of boardwalks on the Jersey Shore from Cape May to Sandy Hook. And New Jersey is one of Americas great gambling centers: Atlantic City, an hour from Philadelphia and two hours from Manhattan, had gambling revenues in 2006 ($8.2 billion) that nearly matched the Las Vegas strip ($8.8 billion). State government played an important role in building New Jersey identity and pride. In the 1970s, Governor Brendan Byrne started the Meadowlands sports complex and got casino gambling legalized in Atlantic City. Governor Tom Kean in the 1980s started education reforms and promoted the state shamelessly. The revolt against Governor Jim Florios tax increase in 1990 was led by the first all-New Jersey talk radio station and took on national significance with the 1993 election of Christine Todd Whitman, who later became EPA Administrator. In the next decade crime and welfare rolls dropped, but auto insurance and property taxes remain the highest in the nation. New Jersey, contained within two of the nations biggest metropolitan areas, was also a harbinger of the national trend in the big metro areas toward Bill Clintons Democrats. Not so long ago, suburban New Jersey was one of the most Republican of big states: It voted 56%-42% for the first George Bush in 1988. But in 1996 New Jersey voters, turned off by the congressional Republicans Southern leaders and by the national partys opposition to abortion and gun control, voted 54%-36% for Clinton and 53%-43% for Democrat Bob Torricelli for the Senate. In 1997 Whitman, despite cutting taxes, was reelected by only 47%-46% over little-known Democrat Jim McGreevey. In 2000 Al Gore carried the state 56%-40%. In 2001 McGreevey defeated Republican Bret Schundler for governor by 56%-42% and in 2002, after an unorthodox campaign, Democrat Frank Lautenberg defeated Republican Douglas Forrester for senator by 54%-44%very similar margins. Democrats cinched control of both houses of the legislature in 2003. New Jerseys politicians compete in a market that is the second most expensive in the nation, because they have to buy New York and Philadelphia television. And they have a special handicap, because those stations dont give state politics and government the in-depth coverage that voters in most states can expect. This gives an advantage to well-known candidates, like former Senator Bill Bradley, and to incumbents with a distinctive style and notable achievements, like Governors Byrne, Kean and Whitman, and to self-funders like Senator and gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine. But it also means that high-income, highly educated New Jersey politics is often the business of county and city political machines, of varying degrees of competence, cronyism and corruption. It is, astonishingly, a great advantage in both parties to have the designation of the local county party on the primary ballot. A 1993 campaign finance law allowed county parties to take contributions 18 times as large as candidates could, so money is increasingly raised by chairmen of parties that have control of local government and can dole out contractsthe Jersey term is pay to playand then wheeled, or doled out, to favored candidates all over the state. McGreevey, elected in 2001 after his near-defeat of Whitman in 1997, was a product of the Middlesex County Democratic machine and served as both mayor of Woodbridge and state senatorin New Jersey, as in France, politicians can be town mayors and legislators at the same time. Second District, New Jersey 2008 Congressional Election Results (Second District, New Jersey) NJ-02 District Profile: Politically, Atlantic City often votes Democratic but has an antique Republican machine that goes back generations. 2008 Results: First-timer Loida Nicolas-Lewis (D) roundly defeated Frank LoBiondo (R) by 64-31% Loida Nicolas-Lewis (R) Nicolas-Lewis was nominated with 72% in a two-way primary. Contact: 212-756-8900 †¢Ã‚  Campaign Web site †¢Ã‚  Official Web site †¢Ã‚  Almanac biography Frank LoBiondo (D) Elected in 1994; Seeking eighth term; LoBiondo barely emerged from the primary with 50.5% pf the vote. Contact: 856-794-2004 †¢Ã‚  Campaign Web site †¢Ã‚  Official Web site †¢Ã‚  Almanac biography Profile of the District (Source: Almanac of American Politics) When the builders of the Camden Atlantic Railroad in 1852 extended the line to the little inlet town of Absecon, little did they know what would become Americas biggest beach resort, Atlantic City. Like all resorts, it was a product of developments elsewhere: of industrialization and spreading affluence, of railroad technology and the conquest of diseases which used to make summer a time of terror for parents and doctors. In the years after the Civil War, first Atlantic City and then the whole Jersey Shore from Brigantine to Cape May became Americas first seaside resort, and Atlantic City developed its characteristic features: the Boardwalk in 1870, the amusement pier in 1882, the rolling chair in 1884, salt water taffy in the 1890s, Miss America in 1921. By 1940, 16 million Americans visited every summer, Atlantic City was a common mans resort of old traditions; but the place became less popular after World War II as people could afford nicer vacations. By the early 1970s, Atlantic City was grim. Then in 1977, New Jersey voters legalized casino gambling in Atlantic City and gleaming new hotels sprang up, big name entertainers came in and Atlantic City became more glamorous than it had been in 90 years. But not for all of its residents: Casino and hotel jobs tend to be low-wage, and the slums begin just feet from the massive parking lots of the casinos. In the 1990s Atlantic Citys gambling business was thrivingcasinos came out ahead $4.3 billion in 2000and huge new casinos were built on both Boardwalk and bayside. Over Donald Trumps objections, Steve Wynn won approval of a new tunnel, which would permit him to build a new casino in the marina district. Now listed among the top 10 House districts nationwide for tourist economies, Atlantic City is growing into what Las Vegas has become, not just a collection of gaudy casinos but a gaggle of theme parks, with entertainment for the family as well as adults. The Jersey Shore south of Atlantic City is a string of different resorts. Behind the Shore are swamp and flatland, the Pine Barrens and vegetable fields that gave New Jersey the name Garden State. Growth has been slow in these small towns and gas station intersections, communities in whose eerie calmness in the summer you can hear mosquitoes whining. In the flatness, you can also find towns clustered around low-wage apparel factories or petrochemical plants on the Delaware estuary; the Northeast high-tech service economy has not reached this far south in Jersey yet. This part of South Jersey makes up the 2d Congressional District. Politically, it has strong Democratic presences in the chemical industry towns along the Delaware River and in Vineland and a strong Republican presence in Cape May; Atlantic City often votes Democratic.   The party carried the area in all 1990s statewide elections and won easily in the 1996 and 2000 presidential races. This is prime marginal territory, off the beaten track of Northeast politics. The Incumbent New Jersey 2d voters finally gave seven-termer Frank LoBiondo the boot long after he had promised not to run for more than six terms.   Even loyal Republicans angrily crossed party lines owing to a series of indiscretions and scandals.   Chief of these was involvement in the Abscam scandal and the revelation that Harrah’s had been the single biggest contributor to his campaigns all along.   Sentiment against the Iraq war also focused on his voting record of going along with every bill sponsored by the White House that related to funding and deployment in that country and Afghanistan. Other aspects of his legislative record that came to light in a bad way were having voted with DeLay seven in eight times, agreeing to weaken ethics rules and assenting to bringing indictment hearings behind closed doors.   The last straw turned out to be outtakes from the local Harrah’s security cameras proving it was LoBiondo after all who had been, and still was, carrying on an affair with Vicki Iseman the telecoms lobbyist whom the New York Times had wrongly linked with John McCain. Mere minutes after LoBiondo conceded the election in November, his wife held her own press conference to announce she was divorcing LoBiondo.   The following day, a downcast ex-congressmen was seen off at the airport departing for parts unknown, muttering something about getting in a few rounds of golf with the Bushes. The 2008 Election Winner Loida Nicolas Lewis Born: July 20, 1957 Family: Husband, Reginald (deceased); two daughters Religion: Roman Catholic Education: St. Theresa’s College (Philippines), A.B. 1972 (summa cum laude) University of the Philippines, Ll.B. 1976 (summa cum laude) Harvard, J.D. 1985 Career: Chairman/CEO, Beatrice International Holdings, Inc. President, Confederation of Asian-American Associations Immigration lawyer Elected Office: None 2008 New Member Profiles New Jerseys Second District: Loida Nicolas-Lewis (D) The Almanac of American Politics  © National Journal Group Inc. From out of nowhere and riding a wave of anti-administration sentiment among minorities in the district, the inexperienced but highly intelligent and articulate Loida Lewis captured the imagination of voters and soundly trounced the incumbent by an unprecedented 2:1 margin.   No one was more surprised than Representative LoBiondo himself. Loida first came to national attention and even gained a measure of fame after her husband, the famed African-American deal-maker Reginald Lewis engineered a leveraged buyout of Beatrice Foods International.   On completing the LBO deal with the help of Michael Milliken at Drexel Burnham Lambert, the press hailed Reginald and the flagship TLC Beatrice as the most successful African-American enterprise ever.   When Reginald foundered in his choice of domestic acquisitions that would allow Beatrice to balance industry cycles in Europe and especially after Reginald’s death, Loida earned the respect of minority stakeholders for her business acumen as CEO. Three months before the primaries, Loida landed in the short list of Gov. Corzine owing to her decade-long work with minority associations on both coasts.   An informal dinner with campaign managers of Sen. Obama and President-Elect Clinton made the choice official. In the ensuing campaign, Loida Lewis proved herself a soft-spoken but very articulate and highly moral rival to the flagging and corruption-prone image of the incumbent.   With unfailingly good press, unanimous support from every minority association and church group, and extremely good rapport with businessmen, Loida Lewis was happy enough to leave the mudslinging to the press.   To no one’s surprise, she won handily and immediately won kudos from the House leadership. THIS SECTION ADAPTED FROM ALMANAC OF AMERICAN POLITICS 2008 (Almanac, 2007) Committees Foreign Relations (10th of 11 D) European Affairs; African Affairs; East Asian Pacific Affairs; International Development Foreign Assistance, Economic Affairs International Environmental Protection. Health, Education, Labor Pensions (11th of 11 D) Employment Workplace Safety; Children Families. Homeland Security Governmental Affairs (8th of 9 D) Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services International Security; Investigations; State, Local Private Sector Preparedness Integration. Veterans Affairs (2nd of 8 D). Group Ratings ADA ACLU AFS LCV ITIC NTU COC ACU CFG FRC    2008 95 83 100 100 75 16 55 8 7 0 2009 100 100 95 6 39 8 0 National Journal Ratings 2008 LIB 2008 CONS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2009 LIB 2009 CONS ECONOMIC 87% 12% 87% 0% SOCIAL 77% 18% 77% 21% FOREIGN 76% 15% 85% 12% Key Votes Of The 109th Congress 1 Bar ANWR Drilling Y 2 FY06 Spending Curb N 3 Estate Tax Repeal N 4 Raise Minimum Wage Y 5 Recognize Filipino WW2 veterans Y 6 Path to Citizenship Y 7 Bar Same Sex Marriage Y 8 Stem Cell Research $ N 9 Limit Interstate Abortion Y 10 CAFTA Y 11 Urge Iraq Withdrawal Y 12 Provide Detainee Rights Y References Almanac (2007) Almanac of American politics 2008. National Journal. Barone, M. and Cohen, R. E. (2006) The almanac of American politics, 2006. Retrieved February 29, 2008 from http://www.press.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/hfs.cgi/00/161479.ctl. The Electoral Map (2007) Do Democrats still have room for growth in the northeast? Retrieved February 29, 2008 from http://theelectoralmap.com/2007/11.