Characterisitics of Business Leadership Vera Wang

CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: VERA WANG Describe the business leader’s primary business or businesses, highlighting how the leader got started and analyze the leader’s three (3) major business challenges in establishing and/or running the company. Vera Wang began her career in the fashion industry in 1971, working her way up the corporate ladder to Senior Editor for Vogue. In 1987, she began working for Ralph Lauren, dealing primarily with accessories. In 1987, out of frustration with the lack of options to suit her sophisticated taste, she designed her own wedding gown, commissioning a seamstress to assemble it. This inspired her to launch Vera Wang Bridal House Ltd., in the Carlisle Hotel on Madison Avenue, New York City.†¦show more content†¦Her plan is to make her product â€Å"widely known and widely worn†. The Ready-to-Wear line is exclusively featured at Kohl’s department store, affordable to the less wealthy customer. Challenge No. 3: Another challenge Vera Wang has faced is the shorter turn around times between shipments of new lines. She’s had to adjust her line of thinking and operations to suit the need for a new line, every couple of months, rather than the twice a year that it once was. This also reduces the time to select which pieces will be successful, in each new line, increasing the risk for poor sales, should they make the wrong choices in these selections. Not only is selection of pieces important (as trends and climate vary by area), but they are allotted less time to make such decisions as what sources for material they will use, where different components will be made and assembled and what path of shipment will be utilized. CHARACTERISTICS OF BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: VERA WANG Analyze this business leader’s leadership style and discuss how he or she has adapted to cultural differences and how he or she operates the business effectively in global markets. Her leadership style reduces the pains, somewhat, in the challenge just mentioned. She’s been quoted as stating, â€Å"You’re only as good as your team†. Executives, who work for her, assist her in making these decisions. These

Taking a Look at Math Anxiety - 577 Words

Math anxiety maybe unknown to many people and yet many more suffer from it. Math anxiety is defined as the feeling of tension and anxiety that interfere with the manipulation of numbers and the solving of mathematical problems in a wide variety of ordinary life and academic situations (Curtain-Phillips). Other studies suggest that math anxiety not only causes one to feel anxious in a mathematical situation but also causes a person to completely avoid a situation because of the ones insecurities of the subject (Math anxiety,). What can be done about it? What do I need to know? What is relevant? These feelings and tendencies all stem from somewhere, therefore knowing where it originates and what the facts are will ultimately help one to cope and in some cases prevent math anxiety. Anxiety in the subject of math is said to be caused largely by failure in the years prior to the realization of math anxiety. It has been said that due to the methodology of teaching math learners grow to be more anxious and less confident in their math skills. Methods such as imposed authority, public exposure and time deadlines tend to have a negative effect to today’s generation of learners (Curtain-Phillips). Also because of math’s serious nature, many argue that humor is necessary to lighten the atmosphere. Young children are entertained by cartoons and jokes and therefore experts promote their use for discussions or to introduce a concept. Furthermore teachers are being made toShow MoreRelatedStatistical Differences in Anxiety Essay1320 Words   |  6 Pagesfive academic anxieties (Test Anxiety ~ Math Anxiety), on the average (mean) of Score, Math Anxiety had the lowest Mean score (Funk, 2009). These results are difficult to believe given Funks previous res earch and mention about the majority of adults returning to having such high level of math anxiety upon returning to higher education (Funk, 2009). However, the reason for the scores results from how the results were contrived. The mean is an average of the five common anxieties found in the adultRead MoreBenefits Of Studying And Learning Mathematics Essay1681 Words   |  7 Pagesmathematics course†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (p. 4). Deficiencies in math skills occur for a variety of reasons. Today, more than 50% of all college students are over the age of 24 (Center, 2016) and need to improve or change their job skills. Those same students may never have had a college preparatory course. Many veterans returning to civilian life did not complete algebra 2 or higher in high school (Molina Morse, 2015). Finding new ways to help students brush up on their basic math skills, while getting them ready forRead MoreRaising A Confident Female Child1126 Words   |  5 Pageseverything (or ever yone) who will make her question herself, but you an minimize their effects. Since kids will emulate what their parents do, it’s important to introduce your children to powerful women. As your daughter looks to her social environment to figure out how to act, talk, look, and relate to the world, there is a better chance she will develop strong habits early on in her development. There is no denying that in this age of social media, we’re inundated with unrealistic images of womenRead MoreStandardized Testing is not a Gauge of a Student ´s Knowledge Essay904 Words   |  4 Pagesbecome so common that there are now instructions on how to deal with it. It is no longer just taking the test for students, but learning to preform under the stress and anxiety brought by the test. â€Å"Critical thinking cannot be tested accurately using standardized tests. Also many students who have grasped the main topics and concord the materials have not scored well on these tests due to stress anxiety.† A student is made up of more than just a number, for each student has creativity and personalityRead MoreGifted Program Research Paper953 Words   |  4 Pagespractice. Particularly when the only test used, the CogAT, is a timed test. Many of the affective characteristics of gifted students, like perfectionism, anxiety, stress, and sensitivity put them at a d isadvantage when taking these timed tests, and their abilities may go unrecognized. Consequently, these students are rarely even given a second look if their CogAT scores don’t meet a certain threshold. The only recourse a student has (aside from the appeals process which I’m fairly certain most parentsRead MoreThe Positive Effects Of Owning A Pet Essay1301 Words   |  6 Pagesto stress and anxiety relief. Animals also provide socialization and relief from complete isolation. Owning a pet has also been linked to improved weight control. As a pet owner, it makes sense that having an animal love you unconditionally could make life a lot easier to live. After all, many of us struggle in our everyday lives to maintain relationships, earn a living, raise children, or just trying to get through the day. Pets can add a companion that doesn’t care what you look like or if youRead MoreI Have An Adequate Amount Of Maths Skills875 Words   |  4 Pagesamount of maths skills and understandings that will be expanded on and improved throughout the course of this unit, to assist in everyday life, and to be able to teach it to primary school aged children. I have learnt all the basics of maths and can retract most from my memory when I need to, which is evident in the Maths Competency Test (MCT) score. I have the basic addition, subtraction, multiplication and division skills which do help me with percentages, averages and general everyday maths. 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I had always loved the freedom of my parents being able to choose what curriculums and subjects we did. Also I had always excelled at most subjects, but math and never seemed to be a problem for me, until now. I desperately wanted to enjoy my math likeRead MoreWhy Do Filipino Students Hate Math1494 Words   |  6 PagesWhy do Filipino students hate math? by jhay on June 16, 2009 X Welcome Googler! If you find this page useful, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic. Yesterday, I expected the first meeting of my statistics class to be the start of a boring and tormented semester of taking another math subject. My hatred or lack of enthusiasm in math as a subject stems back to my high school days spent being humiliated in front of class by a teacher who forced us to do manual calculations

Culture of Kazakhstan Free Essays

â€Å"Culture is a process for identity of living creatures and cultural evolution raises the identity of society, benefit goes to its individuals. Culture is the domain of human activity associated with self-expression of a person, a manifestation of his subjectivity. That’s why every culture has additional features, as related to both the `creative person, and everyday practice, communication, reflection, generalization, and his daily life† (Religious Studies:Textbook / Ed. We will write a custom essay sample on Culture of Kazakhstan or any similar topic only for you Order Now MM Shakhanovich. – St. Petersburg. Peter, 2006). On our planet, there are so many different countries with their own traditions, customs and culture, The relationship between these cultures and people rather strained, so there are national characteristics, specific to each nation. Actually, it’s not a secret that, traditions that are normal for Europeans, is totally unacceptable for Asian people. After the failure of etiquette, tradition and cultural heritage of the country, can lead to various conflicts. The uniquences of individual nation, lies precisely in its cultural characteristics that are unique to him. ( Every culture 2011) â€Å"Kazakh ethnic group, held a long period of formation, in which participated many tribes and nations, has an important place in the history of Eurasia, and one of the oldest ethnic groups. It is the successor to the cultural heritage of all nations who took part in its formation, so that the Kazakh people – one of the richest n ations in cultural terms. Kazakh culture until the twentieth century was a nomadic†. (Every culture 2011) According to the Kazakh traditions, guests are treated to the Kazakh national cuisine for dastarkhan (dinner table) in yurt. Yurt, adapted to nomadic life and a very effective tool in the process of nomadic meets all the requirements of the nomadic lifestyle can be easily disassembled and quickly installed a new location. Kazakhs have a lot of different traditional events, like Nauryz, or Spring Festival, Shildehana and so on. Nauryz falls on the vernal equinox. On this day, every woman cook a special dish, â€Å"Nauryz kozhe†, which consists of seven types of products: Siberian millet, wheat, rice, barley, millet, meat, and kurt. People go from village to village, eat this food, sing the song â€Å"Nauryz†, hug, congratulate each other a Happy New Year and wish a good offspring in the new year and prosperity at home. â€Å"Shildehana† – celebrated on the birth of son, wealthy people inviting people and organized contests of singers, trick riding on horseback. Also Kazakhstan like all countries where the spread of Islam, it was customary to   religious holiday – â€Å"Eid†. In this celebration, the sheep and lambs are sacrificed in the name of God.. The meat is given to the poor, and partly used for the family. An obligatory ritual of the holiday is a common prayer in the mosque prior to sacrifice. In this day of celebration in every home preparing a meal, all congratulate each other. At that time, â€Å"the more you learn about French traditions and culture, the more you will be interested in. France has a long and varied history to draw upon, and countless legends and customs have been passed from generation to generation. In addition, each region of France is quite unique†. Easy-french 2011) They expect guests and foreigners to behave in the same manner that they do. The French are all about preserving their culture and being individualized. â€Å"France is culturally vivid and varied phenomenon. Various times, manifest in the architecture of France, calling each other, also appear the picturesque outline of the locks, bridges, towers† (Everyculture 2011). When the French come off the art, they are happy to deal with such sports as football, rugby, basketball, cycling. Bycicle race tour in France popular all over the world. Traditional games such as bowls, are also very popular. â€Å"France is a secular state. The main religion is Roman Catholicism, but it doesn’t play a leading role in public life and experiencing a relative decline. Islam is the second most common religion, followed by Protestantism and Judaism† (Yakovlev, EG Aesthetics: A. Tutorial. – M. : Gardariki, 2003). So, people can notice, there are a lot of differences and similarities between European and Asian countries. In general, the greeting in both countries absolutely different. For instance, in France, â€Å"when people greet each other, they shake hands or embrace with a kiss on both cheeks . Kissing is only done when two people are close friends or relatives. For the most part, the embrace is done only the first time in a day in which one sees someone and is not repeated again until one says good-bye† ( Every culture 2011). Likwise in Kazakhstan, if you know the person very well, you should greet with a kiss on one cheek once and shake hands. Notably, in both countries, almost the same greeting. How to cite Culture of Kazakhstan, Essay examples

Clausewitz and the Nature of War Essay Example For Students

Clausewitz and the Nature of War Essay In seeking out the fundamental nature of Clausewitzs own mature theories, perhaps the best place to start is with some of the most common misconceptions of his argument. Such misconceptions are almost always the product of writers who either never read On War (or read only the opening paragraphs or perhaps a condensation) or who sought intentionally (for propaganda purposes) to distort its content. The books specific arguments are very clearly stated and rarely difficult to comprehend. The first of these misconceptions is the notion that Clausewitz considered war to be a science. Another (and related) misconception is that he considered war to be entirely a rational tool of state policy. The first idea is drastically wrong, the second only one side of a very important coin. To Clausewitz, war (as opposed to strategy or tactics) was neither an art nor a science. Those two terms often mark the parameters of theoretical debate on the subject, however, and Clausewitzs most ardent critics (Jomini, Liddell Hart, the early J. F. C. Fuller) tended to be those who treated war as a science. As Clausewitz argued, the object of science is knowledge and certainty, while the object of art is creative ability. Of course, all art involves some science (the mathematical sources of harmony, for example) and good science always involves creativity. Clausewitz saw tactics as more scientific in character and strategy as something of an art, but the conscious, rational exercise of military strategy, a term much beloved of theorists and military historians, is a relatively rare occurrence in the real world. It has become our general conviction, he said, that ideas in war are generally so simple, and lie so near the surface, that the merit of their invention can seldom substantiate the talent of the commander who adopts them. *2 Most real events are driven by incomprehensible forces like chance, emotion, bureaucratic irrationalities, and intraorganizational politics, and a great many strategic decisions are made unconsciously, often long before the outbreak of hostilities. If pressed, Clausewitz would have placed war-making closer to the domain of the arts, but neither definition was really satisfactory. Instead, war is a form of social intercourse. The Prussian writer occasionally likened it to commerce or litigation, but more usually to politics. *3 The distinction is crucial: in both art and science, the actor is working on inanimate matter (or, in art, the passive and yielding emotions of the audience), whereas in business, politics, and war the actors will is directed at an animate object that not only reacts but takes independent actions of its own. War is thus permeated by intelligent forces. War is also an act of force to compel our enemy to do our will, but it is never unilateral. It is a wrestling matcha contest between independent wills, in which skill and creativity are no more important than personality, chance, emotion, and the various dynamics that characterize any human interaction. When Clausewitz wrote that war may have a grammar of its own, but not its own logic, he meant that the logic of war, like politics, is the logic of social intercourse, not that of art or science. This approach may seem to violate our usual concept of war, with its focus on clearly defined forms of victory and defeat, but it corresponds well to our actual experience. For example, which of the following provides a better metaphor for the outcome of the war with Iraq? 1. Finishing a long, grueling, dangerous engineering project. 2. Completing a great painting or symphony. 3. Winning an argument with ones spouse. Writing in German, Clausewitz used the word Politik, and his most famous phrase has been variously translated as War is a continuation of policyor of politicsby other means. For the purpose of argument, he assumed that state policy would be rational, that is, aimed at improving the situation of the society it represented. He also believed along with most Westerners of his era that war was a legitimate means for a states advancement of its interests. This is often taken to mean that war is somehow a rational phenomenon, and Clausewitz is convicted of advocating the resort to war as a routine extension of unilateral state policy. In fact, the choice of translation for Politikpolicy or politicsindicates differing emphases on the part of the translator, for the two concepts are quite different. Policy may be defined as rational action, undertaken by a group which already has power, in order to maintain and extend that power. Politics, in contrast, is simply the process (comprising an inchoate mix of rational, irrational, and non-rational elements) by which power is distributed within a given society. *4 And war is an expression ofnot a substitute forpolitics. Thus, in calling war a continuation of politics, Clausewitz was advocating nothing. In accordance with his belief that theory must be descriptive rather than prescriptive, he was merely recognizing an existing reality. War is an expression of both policy and politics (see relevant cartoon), but politics is the interplay of conflicting forces, not the execution of one-sided policy initiatives. The actual word Clausewitz used in his famous formulation is Fortsetzungliterally a setting forth. Translating this word as continuation, while technically correct, evidently implies to many that politics changes its essential nature when it metamorphoses into war. *6 This impression is contrary to Clausewitzs argument. War remains politics in all its complexity, with the added element of violence. The irrational and non-rational forces that affect and often drive politics have the same impact on war. On the side of rationality, it is true that Clausewitz argued that a party resorting to war should do so with a clear idea as to what it means to accomplish and how it intends to proceed toward that goal. The connection of war to rational political goals meant that wars could not be made to follow some fixed pattern; the conduct of wars would have to vary in accordance with their political purposes. His definition of strategythat it was the use of combats for the purpose of the warhas been criticized for overemphasizing the need for bloody battle, but its key point is the purpose of the war. If war was to be an extension of policy, that is, a tool of policy, then military leaders must be subordinate to political leaders and strategy must be subordinate to policy. As the Moltke-Bismarck clash demonstrated, this poses practical organizational problems. Like many of Clausewitzs teachings, his solution was not a simple prescription but a dualism: The military instrument must be subordinated to the political leadership, but political leaders must understand its nature and limitations. Politicians must not attempt to use the instrument of war to achieve purposes for which it is unsuited. There is thus a gray area between soldiers subordination to political leaders and their professional responsibility to educate those leaders in military realities. Exactly whose responsibility it is to sort out that ambiguity is a constitutional matter of some importance. Clausewitz did little to clarify it. In his original manuscript, Clausewitz said If war is to be fully consonant with political objectives, and policy suited to the means available for war, the only sound expedient is to make the commander-in-chief a member of the cabinet, so that the cabinet can share in the major aspects of his activities. This was altered in the second German edition (1853) to say so that he may take part in its councils and decisions on important occasions. *7 Whether the change resulted from well intentioned editorial intervention (for the original edition is full of inconsistencies, obscurities, and obvious editorial errors) or more sinister motivations is unclear. This minor editorial subversion certainly was not the cause of later German strategic errors, as some have implied. *8 This constitutional question aside, it is clear that Clausewitz demanded the subordination of military to political onsiderations throughout a conflict. As he said in 1831, He who maintains, as is so often the case, that politics should not interfere with the conduct of a war has not grasped the ABCs of grand strategy. *9 Policy considerations also can demand actions that may seem irrational, depending on ones values. Clausewitzs desire that Prussia turn on Napoleon before the 1812 campaign would have demanded virtual state suicide in the short run, but he felt that the states honorand thus any hope for its future resurgencerequired it. Clausewitz saw both history and policy in the long run, and he pointed out that no strategic decision is ever final; it can always be reversed in another round of struggle. This side of Clausewitz is uncomfortable for modern Anglo-American readers because it reflects a romantic view of the state as something that transcends the collective interest of its citizens. It provides a philosophical basis for apocalyptic policies like Hitlers and Japans in World War Two. Most modern readings of Clausewitz, including my own, tend to skate over such aspects of On War. They are simply too alien to the spirit of our age to have much meaning. So much for the rational control of war. On the other hand, Clausewitz lived during the transition from the 18th-century intellectual period called the Enlightenment (which stressed a rational approach to human problems) to the age of Romanticism (which was ushered in by the disasters of the French Revolution and stressed the irrational, emotional aspects of mans make-upincluding nationalism). His world view reflected elements of each. His vision of war thus falls also very much into the domain of the non-rational and even the irrational, in which strictly logical reasoning often plays no part at all and is always apt to be a most unsuitable and awkward intellectual tool. *10 Because the flow of military events is uniquely shaped by the specifics of every situation, from its politics and personalities to the terrain and even the weather, the course of war is never predictable. One of the most important requirements of strategy in Clausewitzs view is that the leadership correctly establish kind of war on which they are embarking. *11 This is often understood to mean that leaders should rationally decide the kind of war that will be undertaken. In fact, the nature of any given war is beyond rational control: It is inherent in the situation and in the spirit of the age. Good leaders, avoiding error and self-deception, can at best merely comprehend the real implications of a resort to violence and act accordingly. Fu rther, a war often takes on a dynamic beyond the intentions of those who launched it. The milkman and the catalogue man EssayAs a total phenomenon its dominant tendencies always make war a paradoxical trinitycomposed of primordial violence, hatred, and enmity, which are to be regarded as a blind natural force; of the play of chance and probability within which the creative spirit is free to roam; and of its element of subordination, as an instrument of policy, which makes it subject to reason alone. The first of these three aspects mainly concerns the people; the second the commander and his army; the third the government. The passions that are to be kindled in war must already be inherent in the people; the scope which the play of courage and talent will enjoy in the realm of probability and chance depends on the particular character of the commander and the army; but the political aims are the business of government alone. These three tendencies are like three different codes of law, deep-rooted in their subject and yet variable in their relationship to one another. A theory that ignores any one of them or seeks to fix an arbitrary relationship between them would conflict with reality to such an extent that for this reason alone it would be totally useless. Our task therefore is to develop a theory that maintains a balance between these three tendencies, like an object suspended between three magnets. Let us analyze this quotation in detail: In arguing that war is more than a chameleon (an animal that merely changes color to match its surroundings, but otherwise remains identical), Clausewitz is saying that war is a phenomenon that, depending on conditions, can actually take on radically different forms. The basic sources of changes in those conditions lie in the elements of his trinity. The Clausewitzian trinity is often misrepresented as comprising the people, the army, and the government. Look more closely and you will realize that it is really made up of three categories of forces: irrational forces (violent emotion, i. e. , primordial violence, hatred, and enmity); non-rational forces (i. e. , forces not the product of human thought or intent, such as the play of chance and probability); and rationality (wars subordination to reason, as an instrument of policy). Clausewitz then connects each of those forces mainly to one of three sets of human actors: the people, the army, and the government. We should stress the word mainly, because it is clear that each of the three categories that constitutes the actual trinity affects all of these human actors to some varying degree. 1. The people are paired up with irrational forcesthe emotions of primordial violence, hatred, and enmity (or, by implication, the lack thereof). 2. The army and its commander are paired up with the non-rational forces of chance and probabilitythey deal with those factors under the creative guidance of the commander (and creativity depends on something more than mere rationality, including, hopefully, the divine spark of talent or genius). The government is paired with the rational force of calculationpolicy is, ideally, driven by reason. This corresponds to the famous argument that war is an instrument of policy. Thus, when Clausewitz speaks of war as a total phenomenon, he is not talking about war in the abstract (absolute war), nor about war in theory. He is talking about real war, war as we actually experience it, and he is describing just why it is that war is so dynamic, so unpredictable, so kaleidoscopic in its appearance. The concluding imile in this excerpt from On War is a nearly exact analogy: Clausewitz is saying that theory must be, as war is, like an object suspended among three magnets. He is referring to the observed scientific fact that such a pendulum, once set swinging between three centers of attraction, behaves in a nonlinear mannerit never establishes a repeating pattern. As it enters a phase of its arc in which it is more strongly affected by one force than the others, it gains a momentum which carries it on into zones where the other forces can begin to exert their powers more strongly. The actual path of the suspended object is never determined by one force alone but by the interaction between them, which is forever and unavoidably shifting. The trinity also provides us with clues as to what Clausewitz meant by Politik, for the only element of the paradoxical trinity which makes it unique to war is that the emotions discussed are those that might incline people to violence, whereas politics in general will involve the full range of human feelings. The policy aspects are those argely connected with rationality, whereas politics encompasses the whole trinity. The trinity metaphor, as given here, therefore serves to sum up much of Clausewitzs approach to war. In itself, however, it leaves out the fact, strongly emphasized elsewhere in On War, that war is always an interaction between opposing forces. That is, this trinity exists on both sides, thus further complicating the picture. An approach to theory which denies or minimizes the role of any of these forces or the interaction between them is, therefore, by definition wrong. The soldier who expects the events of war to unfold in any other way is doomed to be surprised, disappointed, and frustrated as events are forever spinning off on unpredictable trajectories. So what, then, was Clausewitzs strategic prescription? Various writers have argued that Clausewitz was the advocate of a particular style of war, held by some to be that of total or absolute war (terms that represent quite different concepts), and by others to be that of limited war. In fact, the mature Clausewitz advocated neither. Rather, he called for state policy to choose a form of war, consistent with its goals and the situation, from somewhere along the limited-to-unlimited continuum of real war. Although the younger Clausewitz of the Instruction for the Crown Prince tended towards a firm prescription of decisive battle, the mature Clausewitz of On War did not. To seek decisive battle did not, after all, make sense for a party who could expect to lose. Readers easily detect that Clausewitz had some emotional attachment to war in its more powerful form as a result of his own experience with it, but intellectually he was quite clear on the validity of either. The philosophers students are shown how to analyze a military problem, but left quite on their own as to what to do about the ones they actually face. Other writers have claimed that Clausewitz was an advocate of concentric attacks, in contrast to Jominis advocacy of interior lines. In fact, Clausewitz spent more time discussing concentric operations in part simply because Jomini had already done so good a job explaining the opposite approach. The choice of either would depend, as always, on the specific situation. Clausewitz did provide some guidance in choosing military objectives. Perhaps most important was the idea of focusing ones military efforts against the enemys center of gravity (Schwerpunkt), which has become an important concept in American doctrine. Clausewitzs use of this term is problematic, however. He often used it in very general terms to mean something like the main thing or the key point at issue. He used it in tactical discussions to denote the main line of attack. When applied to operations or strategy, however, the term assumed a more narrow definition. The center of gravity was the most important source of the enemys strength. Operationally, it usually appears as the key enemy field force. Strategically, it is most commonly the enemys military forces as a whole or in part, but it can be his capital or something less concrete, like the common interest of an alliance or even public opinion. The term comes from Mechanics, and Clausewitz was clearly trying to use a scientific metaphor to force the reader to focus on key considerations rather than frittering away his energy on peripheral concerns. Unfortunately, Clausewitzs statement that A center of gravity is always found where the mass is concentrated most densely is scientificly incorrect, and the metaphorwhile useful and interestingsuffers accordingly. In any case, as usual with Clausewitz, the correct identification of any center of gravity would have to be consistent with the character of the situation and appropriate to the political purposes of military operations. To seek for an all-purpose strategic prescription in Clausewitzs discussion of the center of gravity will therefore lead to the usual frustration. The rigid prescription simply is not there. Destruction of the enemy army is not the fixed goal of Clausewitzian strategy. A superficial reading of On War may, however, leave the reader somewhat confused on this point. Clausewitzs definition of strategy emphasizes battle, and he states quite clearly, time after time, that there is only one means in war: combat. The subtlety that one must be aware of here is that by combat Clausewitz means not only the actual bloody clash of armed men on the field of battle but also potential or merely possible clashes. *21 Since there doesnt seem to be enough space for the rest of my essay you can mail me to get the full annotated thesis.