Reflection Paper for Leadership Class

In today’s society the success of business and personal life of a person depends on the attitude and how he or she handles challenges of life and opportunities it may bring. One of the important things about working together rather it’s in a workplace, school setting, or family is to know what it takes to work successfully in a team. Excellent teamwork, collaboration, good communication, positive attitudes, and adaptable personalities assist in motivating people, greater self-confidence and increased self-esteem.All of these traits combined together provide an effective tool for the success in the work force, sports, extra curricular activities, and in a person’s personal life to name a few. I participated in the DISC Behavioral Assessment in order to further understand my personal strengths and weaknesses so I can meet the demands of my environments better. The report measured how I respond to problems and challenges, how I influence others to my point of view, my response to the pace of the environment I’m in, and how I respond to rules and procedures set by others.The report states that it measures and analyzes normal behavioral style, a person’s manner of doing things. The assessment only took about 10 minutes and had me rate sequences of four words with one word describing me the most and one word describing me the least. The assessment describes my natural behavior as being nonjudgmental, open, patient, and tolerant of differences. Being receptive and listening well, helps me to excel in gathering information. However, having my mind changed is sometimes difficult.The assessment also states that I can be spontaneous and casual in familiar circumstances. I win through hard work and persistence. I like to stay with one task until it is completed. Also being stated is that I am considered to be people-oriented. I don’t resist change as much as I resist being changed. I want to be a responsible person and will avoid b ehavior that is seen by others as irresponsible. I am persistent, stable, tough-minded, and objective.My adaptive behavior in my present work environment is seen as exhibiting an active and creative sense of humor, preferring people involvement over task focus, being flexible, and working without close supervision. It also lists I may need to contact people using a variety of modes and maintain an ever-changing, friendly, work environment. I honestly do believe this assessment is very accurate with my leadership style that I do have. I always want a plan of action and want that plan carried out. I find that making decisions are easier when I know that others respect what I am trying to do.I want a stable, family-oriented environment. I feel like I have been in all situations, high and low, good and bad, and I have true empathy for those experiencing difficulties in any aspect of their lives. The assessment stated that I like to know what is expected of me in a working relationship a nd have the duties and responsibilities of others who will be involved explained as well. This is so, so true. Communication to me is huge. If everyone is on the same page, any and all obstacles can be overcome. I enjoyed taking this assessment. It was quick and easy but listed and provided a lot of wonderful and helpful information.The way that it broke down the areas in which I was valuable to a team, organization, my do’s and don’ts of communicating, and then tips was superior to many other assessments that I have taken. This will encourage me to dig a little deeper and work on strengthening my weaknesses; which in turn will only cushion and build my strengths. This assessment also allows me to compliment myself on my leadership skills that I do possess. Reading wonderful things about my leadership style from this analysis is extremely encouraging and self-rewarding. Durek Neblett

Persuasive Essay on Global Warming Essay

Recent news all around us gives rise to much concern about global warming. Personally, I am alarmed at the rate that the earth is now deteriorating. For example, there is the fact that the second warmest global surface temperature in more than a century was recorded in 2001. News such as these should not only affect me, but the entire world. Starting from individuals like me, every little effort towards avoiding global warming would count and make a difference. On this note, it is nice to learn that there are many groups and institutions that actually endeavor to develop new technologies that could help prevent global warming. The whole world should join in this effort to save the environment. There are many issues that are bothering the human population nowadays, such as terrorism, war, economy, and others. However, there is no other issue that so pervades human consciousness recently than the issue on global warming. Many celebrities and international organizations are exerting efforts to build awareness around the world that there is a real danger to our planet, and that the time is ripe for all to take action. Everyone should be concerned about global warming, especially considering the various deleterious effects it poses on life in the planet. The gravity of the situation calls upon nations, as big movers and possessors of power in large scale, to put more effort into developing new technologies to prevent further global warming. On the small scale, recent news on global warming should be enough to wake everyone from slumber and do their part in saving our environment, which is becoming more dangerous because of continued global warming. The gravity of the current situation is shown by the fact that the second warmest global surface temperature in more than a century was recorded in 2001. Previous decades, particularly the period between 1951 and 1980, registered cooler climates. This trend of warmer climates is seen as a consequence of anthropogenic causes such as the emission of greenhouse gases (Hansen, Ruedy, Sato, and Lo 275). Such trend is alarming and should wake people up from their inaction, because the recent calculations of temperature increase foretell the possibility of even greater temperature in the coming years (King 780). Moreover, as the facts recorded at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hilo, Hawaii tell, carbon dioxide levels consistently rise at a rate of about 2 p.p.m. per annum (King 780). These data show a marked increase in the rate of carbon dioxide levels, that are way above recorded levels in previous warm periods (King 780). These facts also show how warm global temperature has gotten since the last century, which further confirm the realization of the greenhouse effect theory (King 780). It is appropriate to note that the theory of climate change can be traced as far back as 1827, when a French mathematician named Fourier thought about the possibility that the earth may be absorbing the heat that should be sent back to space (King 779). At the time, Fourier built upon the observation of British scientist Tyndall that minority gases in our atmosphere, namely, carbon dioxide, methane, and water vapor, cause the greenhouse effect (King 779). This theory is fast demonstrating its reality, as shown by the above observations. Globally, there are observed environmental changes that have become worse in time. Among these are deforestation, greenhouse gas-induced warming, loss in biodiversity, and desertification (Grimmond 83). These environmental changes are caused largely by the rapid increase in human population (Grimmond 83). The effects of all these environmental changes are being felt both in large and small scale. The effects of these changes in small scale climate change can be seen at the urban level, wherein broader environmental changes are being felt in greater magnitude (Grimmond 83). Urban climates have changed. Among the effects of urbanization on climate are the alteration of energy and water exchanges and airflow due to surface and atmospheric changes and urban warming due to direct anthropogenic emissions of heat, pollutants and carbon dioxide (Grimmond 83). While there are some cities that can be considered lucky, because their large spaces of irrigated greenspace provide cooler temperature, a majority of the cities experience up to a 10-degree-Celsius difference in temperature (Grimmond 83). The materials chosen and used in the construction of buildings and other infrastructure in urban locations and other factors such as the distances between such structures all contribute to urban warming (Grimmond 86). The morphology of cities, particularly in terms of the width, height and density of the buildings therein, affect solar access in daytime and the cooling rates at night (Grimmond 83). Unfortunately, urban warming has grave implications to inhabitants, such as those relating to their well-being, health and comfort (Grimmond 86). Compared to rural environments, urban locations are warmer by an average of 1 to 3 degrees Celsius (Grimmond 83). One of the scariest implications of urban warming is felt mostly by the poor (Grimmond 87). For example, heat waves swept all over India in 1998 and caused injuries and deaths (Grimmond 87). The same catastrophe occurred in France and Spain in 2003 (Grimmond 87). With regard to the effect of urban warming on human comfort, there is involved a vicious cycle. The intense heat makes people uncomfortable. Thus, they would want to use airconditioning systems (Grimmond 87). The increase use of airconditioning, on the other hand, generates more heat and demands more energy through increased generation of electricity, which again would cause increased urban warming (Grimmond 87). Indeed, this is not an unjustified fear. The increased use of airconditioning had already been observed in large continents such as Asia, Europe and North America (Grimmond 87). Such increased demand has been observed to cause amplified electricity generation (Grimmond 87). This, in turn, results in the production of more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which again leads to intensified global warming (Grimmond 87). With the continued abuse by people of the environment and the continued generation of heat, risks greater than the heat waves experienced in many countries are very likely to arise (Grimmond 87). It may be considered that the contribution of urban development and urban warming to the global scenario is small; however, the dangers tat urban warming poses should not be ignored (Grimmond 87). Gases from urban areas, such as pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are the leading anthropogenic sources of global warming (Grimmond 87). Moreover, as discussed above, the experience of warmer climate in the cities lead to increased consumption of energy, which again causes global warming (Grimmond 87). The combinations of many factors, including those occurring in urban zones, would surely give rise to global consequences and implications (Grimmond 87). It is important, in any effort to convince people into action, to make them understand the implications at stake (Grimmond 87). The strategies towards solving the problem of global warming cover a wide range, and any move should involve the participation of all stakeholders (Grimmond 87). For example, in the community level, each person can do his small but significant part in mitigating global warming, by avoiding or minimizing the use of airconditioning in order to reduce consumption of energy. Reduced demand for airconditioning would lead to decreased demand in energy supply, which would lead to less production of greenhouse gases (Grimmond 87). Thus, a simple act of minimizing the comforts of the modern world could do wonders in preventing further global warming. The threat of continued and sustained global should be enough to raise concerns among all people, because of the extreme events that we should be prepared for as a consequence of global warming (King 780). For one, global warming causes more water vapor to remain in the atmosphere, which is exactly what the greenhouse effect means (King 780). Increased water vapor is a result of increases in the level of carbon dioxide in the air, and comes alongside the increase of temperature in the seas and the earth (King 780). Deforestation is another negative effect of global warming (King 780; Saxe, et al.). The increased temperature leads to decreased rainfall, which leads to dryer conditions and more forest fires (King 780; Saxe, et al.). Increased global heat contributes to easier catching up of large fires in the forest. In turn, deforestation again increases global warming, like a vicious cycle. Deforestation deprives the planet of vital carbon sinks, which are required to balance the global carbon budget (Saxe, et al. 389). Fortunately, this can be reversed through the planting of more trees and building more density in the forests, in order to counter the production and existence of carbon in the atmosphere (Saxe, et al. 389-390). Global warming can also cause the loss of the Greenland ice sheet (King 780). This would cause serious problems because it could raise the sea level around the globe by approximately 7 meters over a period of about a thousand years (King 780). It could also cause enhanced retreat of glaciers in some places (King 780). Further effects of global warming can also be observed in the oceans, through increased acidity (King 780). The increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere cause a corresponding increase of the same in oceans, thereby increasing their acidity (King 780). Thus, there are already observed effects on coral reefs and plankton population, while wider impact on marine life and on the food chain is yet to be observed (King 780). To date, a documented total of 17 coral reef ecosystems have been found to be degraded around the world. This is a huge blow to the planet, since it is estimated that â€Å"coral reefs provide support to ecosystems worth more than $375 billion per annum to the global economy (King 780).† These terrible consequences should be enough to make everyone concerned about global warming and its deleterious effects on all aspects of life in the planet (King 780). People should be concerned about destroying life and support systems in different ecosystems, which would eventually affect human lives. Having seen the scary possibilities that come alongside global warming, everyone should join the movement towards making this planet greener and healthier. People should be moved by stories of forest fires, destruction of ecosystems, and deaths due to heat waves, that are occurring all over the world (King 780; Saxe, et al. 389). The planet is becoming less safe with each passing day that people live in ignorance of the damage they are causing the environment. Continuous apathy and inaction could lead to more catastrophic deaths and further destruction of the planet, which possibilities should raise alarm and concern in all mankind. Each person can definitely do his share in minimizing the anthropogenic causes of global warming. We have seen how a simple act of minimizing the consumption of airconditioning could have positive effects on the environment. It is time that each of us does our share to save our home. This is the only way that future generations could still enjoy earth as we know it. Works Cited Grimmond, Sue. â€Å"Urbanization and global environmental change: local effects of urban warming.† Cities and Global Environmental Change: 83-88. Hansen, J., Ruedy, R., Sato, M., and K. Lo. â€Å"Global Warming Continues.† Science, New Series 295 (2002):275. Kellomaki, Seppo, Rouvinen, Ismo, Peltola, Heli, Strandman, Harri and Rainer Steinbrecher. â€Å"Impact of global warming on the tree species composition of boreal forests in Finland and effects on emissions of isoprenoids. Global Change Biology 7 (2001): 531-544. King, David. â€Å"Climate change: the science and the policy.† Journal of Applied Ecology 42 (2005): 779-783. Saxe, Henrik, Cannell, Melvin G. R., Johnsen, Oystein, Ryan, Michael G., Vourlitis, George. â€Å"Tree and forest functioning in response to global warming.† New Phytologist 149 (2001): 369-400.

How does body dissatisfaction in men lead to eating disorders such as Literature review

How does body dissatisfaction in men lead to eating disorders such as anorexia - Literature review Example om, whether or not age, sexual orientation, or social class have a part to play, whether or not body dissatisfaction in men contributes to health problems with alcohol and drugs which can in turn lead to eating disorders, and questioning whether the media has a role to play in this as well. Through seeking to answer each of these four sub questions, the literature review will seek to engage the reader with a further analysis and discussion of some of the relevant findings and existing research that has been published with respect to eating disorders within the male population. Although it is reasonable to assume that many of the contributions which have thus far been put forward and published will be helpful in seeking to understand the questions which have thus far been elaborated upon, the literature review will also be concentric upon providing counter arguments, critiques, and limitations of the articles that have been utilized. Accordingly, it is the hope of this particular anal yst that the literature review will provide a more informed basis for an understanding of eating disorders within the male population and the means through which they are currently understood; as well as providing metrics for potential future research questions and gaining a further level of inference upon the situation as such. According to research by Cohn & Lemberg (2014) over 2.1 million men within the United Kingdom suffer from one form of eating disorder or another. This figure comprises approximately 1.5% of the entire adult male population. Although this figure is necessarily small, at least as compared to women, it is nonetheless relevant and affects the life, psychological outlook, and happiness of hundreds of thousands of individuals within the United Kingdom. Perhaps more importantly, the research by Cohn & Lemberg (2014) indicates that the single greatest danger associated with the prevalence of eating disorders within the male population of the United Kingdom is

Plato's Republic, Book VII - The Allegory of the Cave Essay

Plato's Republic, Book VII - The Allegory of the Cave - Essay Example Since the cave represents the world in which we initially live, with the condition of gloom symbolic of human ignorance, as prisoners of ignorant thought or apprehension, we ought to settle such predicament by moving from the state of darkness where only illusions can be made into that of light in order to acquire a clear view of things. Here, Socrates attempts to communicate the essence of education in the significance of correcting the way things are seen where one engages not only with viewing matters of the physical world accurately but also with the point of gaining access to the ‘forms of ideas’ that are independent of the visible world. Cave dwellers are representative of us people who need to climb our way out of the cave in search of light and the quest is conducted on a gradual basis for any event of proper learning is similar to a meticulous quest which cannot be hurried. This brings stages and identity to a cave dweller who is a metaphor of a person who could reserve the option to stay, leave, and return to the cave. (c) Based on your answer in part â€Å"b†, what does Socrates expect you to do as a result of hearing this story? Be sure you defend your interpretation of the allegory of the Cave. Use examples from the text as needed and provide good reasons to support your interpretation. While Socrates illustrates how indispensable education is in living and what entails systematic acquisition of knowledge which so often is tedious and complex, depending upon the influences that surround a person and his comprehension of them, the philosopher in dialogue expects for the audience to respond by taking concrete action. Having been able to come out of the cave of ignorance, one certainly becomes acquainted to the reality as experienced in the actual so that any prior knowledge is translated with exactness. After this is appropriately carried out, I suppose that Socrates expects the educated individual like me to be accountable for ot hers who are still in the dark and convince them to see the light. In particular application to my life, struggling to get along with a group of people for instance likewise embodies my way out of the cave of illusions wherein while I justify my righteousness over certain matters of dispute, I am blind to the truth about the goodness in others, judging them by my

Personal Financial Analysis Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Personal Financial Analysis Plan - Essay Example These financial areas include investment into bonds/stocks, purchasing a real estate, insurance coverage as well as income generating activities. My ultimate aim is to create a portfolio of such assets so that a consistent cash flow is being delivered to me throughout my retirement life. Out of the $100,000/- I would allocate $100,000 to purchase 30 years bonds of a large corporation which can provide return equivalent to the return of 5% to 7% whereas $100,000/- of existing financial resources are going to be invested into the purchase of stocks of a blue-chip company having a history of providing consistent stream of dividends. I also intend to buy a small piece of real estate at the total investment of $250,000 whereas I also intend to purchase an insurance cover which not only pay for my medical expenses but guarantee a consistent annuity amount over the period of retirement life. A bond is a long term security which provides a constant/variable rate of return called coupon over the period of its life besides returning back the investment made into it. Bonds are considered as less risky than the stocks as they guarantee a consistent fixed income over the period of investment and offer priority rights to the bondholders in case of liquidation. They are considered as best financial securities for planning retirement. (Investopedia, 2008). Stocks on the other hand are the shares in a company's equity and holders are given the status of shareholder in the business. They are more risky than bonds because return on them is not variable but also subject to fluctuations into the financial position of the company. Further, from a retirement planning point of view this can be more risky as it is not necessary and obligatory for the company to pay dividends to their shareholders. (Investopedia, 2008). Investing into real estate is now considered as one of the most lucrative form of investment as it not only appreciate in value but also provide a consistent stream of rental income over the contractual period. Insurance covers especially life insurance provide you an opportunity to protect your family in case of your death and after the retirement can also guarantee you a consistent stream of income out of the insurance premium you have accrued over the period of time. (About.com, 2008). Conclusion Preparing for after retirement period is one of the most critical issue in one's life as when approach that phase of your life where you may not be able to work as good as you were able to do in your youth. It is therefore of critical importance that personal financial planning for the future should be strong enough to ensure that all your financial needs are fulfilled. Investing into various real as well as financial assets is an excellent way through which one can plan to achieve a good mix of assets guaranteeing the overall achievement of financial goals of a person. My personal financial

Opportunity Corridor Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Opportunity Corridor - Essay Example In some instances, the program may lead to urban sprawl as well as less congestion when cities receive expressways and freeways. Large-scale urban renewal programs across the U.S. commenced during the interwar period. The purpose of the program was to clear slums and transform them into cities thereby rehabilitating and repopulating the cities (Schmitt 34). Thus, the program addressed social, economic, and environmental concerns affecting the suburban sprawl. In Ohio State, Cleveland constitutes one of the regions where urban renewal program is ongoing through the Opportunity Corridor road Project amounting to $331 million (Schmitt 37). The paper aims at discussing the contentious Opportunity Corridor project. However, I believe that the Opportunity Corridor project is of great benefit to the Clevelanders Cleveland’s City Charter through the City Planning Commission adopts a comprehensive plan aimed at developing and improving the city. Since the city has plans of achieving social, economic, and environmental sustainability within its districts, various plans are therefore underway. One of the plans entails the Cleveland Opportunity Corridor Study Project. The study examines the potential to develop a transportation system as well as support premeditated economic development growth in regions ranging from I-490/I-77and University Circle within Cleveland. The region is regarded as Forgotten Triangle since it lacks economic activity (Greater Cleveland Partnerships 1). This region has been a center of heavy industrial activities since the 1880s. Both investment and population within the area have recorded a dramatic decline with the neighborhood recording abandonment and neglect in the recent years. Besides transportation benefits, the project will create and increase the potenti al for new jobs, novel economic development as well as a fresh identity for the community. Grassroots group of citizens oppose the construction of the Opportunity

Wireless systems Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Wireless systems - Research Paper Example In last couples of decade’s wireless communications, systems along with their applications and underlying technologies are among the most active area of development and enjoy the fastest growth in history. The rapid development in this regards has turned the world into a global village (Prassad, and Ruggieri 2). Basic Building Blocks/Components of Wireless Systems Since wireless communication involves number of technologies and their applications hence similar to wired communication there exist a wide range of equipment’s (both at transmitter and receiver ends) to execute communication task by propagating light or radio waves through a medium. However in border sense a wireless system consists of following primary network components. a) Users- The users of a wireless system can be anything including human beings. The users can be mobile or stationary. The basic function of a user is to initiate and terminate the use of a wireless network, making the term end-user approp riate. b) Client- The second major primary component of a wireless network is a computer device designed according to specific need, generally termed as a client. A client works on certain operating systems like as Windows XP, LINUX, or MAC OS etc. Similar to a user a client can be mobile or stationary. For mobile support applications, client devices are generally small and handy (fig.1) with display and keyboard along with a battery power backup (Geier 37). Fig.1 Wireless Devices c) Network Interface Card- Network interface card (NIC) provides an interface between a network device and a wireless network. Depending on requirements, NIC can be a part of a client or as external network adaptor as shown in fig.2. Wireless NICs are designed to meet certain form factors like Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA), Fig. 2 NICs Peripheral Component certain form factors like Industry-Standard Architecture (ISA), Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) and PC Card etc. These factors actually d efine the physical and electrical bus interface that enables the card to act as a bridge to carry communication between a computer device and wireless network (Geier 38). d) Medium- A wireless system uses a medium like air to propagate its signals (radio or light waves) from sender to receiver. Various modulation schemes like amplitude modulation (AM), frequency modulation (FM) and phase modulation (PM) are used to propagate the signal over long distances (Kennedy, and Davis 3). Wireless Systems The development of various wireless systems is a wide area of present day research. Following is a brief overview of current wireless systems. a) Cellular- Cellular wireless communication comprising 1G (AMPS, IS-41, ETACS) 2G (USDC-IS136, GSM, CDMA-IS-95), 2.5G (CDPD, GPRS, EDGE, CDMA1-IS-95B), 3G (TDS-CDMA, CDMA2000 1X, 2X) and futuristically the 4G networks is the major contributor of wireless cellular systems (Li 19). b) Private Mobile Radio- The private mobile radio (PMR) is another impo rtant category of wireless systems. Analog, digital, mesh and emerging technologies including cognitive radio and software defined radio (SDR) are important categories of private mobile wireless

Term Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Term Paper - Essay Example The main objective of this paper is to analyze the present employment situation in the UK market along with the history of job opportunity before and after the financial crisis in the UK in 2007. The paper is also emphasizing on the role of the government to combat that situation and also discuss about a suitable model for the UK government which can assist them to increase the rate of employment in the country. The recent survey clearly represented the fact that, most of the well-known British companies enrolled lesser number of graduates in 2012 compared to that of 2011. The recent data from the top 100 companies of the UK clearly suggested the fact that slow recruitment rate is the clear indication of sustained economic indecision in the corporate sector which was started during the financial crisis in the year of 2007. The data available from top 100 companies clearly represented the fact that there is 0.8% less graduate-level jobs available in those companies. The most affected sectors are the investment banking and accounting firms. According to Walker, (2013) â€Å"the drop reverses a trend which saw rises of 2.8% and 12.6% in 2011 and 2010, which followed sharp falls amid the global financial crisis in the two previous years. There is mixed news for those leaving university this year and currently buried under applications forms. On a positive note, the companies surveyed said they expected overall vacancies to nudge up by 2.7% this year.† (Walker, 2013). As per the opinion given by several top recruiting agencies, in the recent years most of the vacancies are expected to be filled up by the people who have prior work experience with them. The demand for the experience professional is going to be nearly 50% in case of the law firms and almost 75% in case of the various leading investment banks.  (Walker,2013) Due to the financial crisis and

Experience with Market Place Live Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Experience with Market Place Live - Term Paper Example Advertising- The Company had a small advertising budget because it wanted to keep its costs low. Having a low advertising budget led to the rejection of the company’s adverts by the International advertising federation. Had the advertising succeeded, the company would have sold more and even increased its market share from the current 38 percent. Sales team- The selected sales team was too small as compared to the demanding market in which the company operates. If the company had a stronger sales team, it could have sold more units and would have sold all the units as compared to the current situation where it had inventory left. The company should, therefore, focus on building a strong sales team both for the web and the sales office. Un-fulfilled demand- Dues to the small size of the company’s sales team; a situation which left the company with inventory totaling 400 as shown below. The figures above show that the demand per salesperson for Space-Age Technology was mu ch higher as compared to other of its competitors. The sales team had to work three times harder than those of other companies. Cutting costs- The Company decided to cut costs by redesigning its brand of computers and invest more in areas that were thought would help the company grow. The company missed the opportunity to make money and increase its market share by using the competitors brand data in making its redesign decision. The redesign decisions that affected Space Age Technology are shown below.

Public and Private Sector Collaborations Essay Example for Free

Public and Private Sector Collaborations Essay Open research organizations and private firms work under very diverse situations and with poles a-part aims and objectives, which result in fairly different outcomes in the two types of organizations. Public researchers are mainly ambitious due to their willingness to expand knowledge and publish them in journals and magazines to help for the cause of bringing it to knowledge of the masses. On the other hand, private firms and ventures aim to achieve higher profits through commercially valid information that the firm builds up or obtain to be kept in the boundaries of the company and far away from opponents in the market or the industry. This usually results in the conflicts among the two forms of organizations and it is difficult to work in collaboration between the public and private organizations. But it has also been evident from the past that, private companies and firms which have worked in public collaborations, although not many succeeded, but those who did, have been able to achieve goals and have set trends for other organizations to work for the cause of social development and enhancement of public systems for noble cause. Current Situation (LoJack) and Strategy: LoJack Corporation markets and authorizes the LoJack System, a unique, proprietary system used entirely by law enforcement workforce to track, establish, and pick up stolen motor vehicles. The problem of vehicle theft has escalated to an epidemic level an estimated to result in an yearly loss of approximately $8 billion. The LoJack System has an established track evidence of falling damages, striking public protection, and solving grave crimes related to motor vehicle thievery, all accomplished within the realistic restrictions of overburdened law enforcement structure.   Currently, LoJack has unique system designed to assist law enforcement in locating and tracking stole vehicles. Competition is fierce if viewed with Telemetric and GPS tracking devices. However, if we look at vehicle recovery systems, LoJack is the global leader with a law enforcement network that cannot be easily duplicated.   This law enforcement network is challenging politically and requires a high degree of local political assistance.   Financially, sales are climbing, but year over year growth is declining.   The distribution system through auto retailers seems stuck to new car sales. The LoJack strategy at the present time consists of several discrete variables.   LoJack has elected to expand into new geographic areas and markets which is a logical growth strategy for the firm which has established an enviable reputation in terms of asset recovery systems.   This company has developed a new tracking unit that permits it to move into new segments such as trailers while simultaneously reducing costs for such units, therefore, establishing itself as a cost leader in the sector.  Ã‚  Ã‚   This combined with a strong differentiation of product through law enforcement networks gives LoJack a strong competitive advantage.   These are strengths that cannot be quickly or easily duplicated and because of the proprietary technical aspect of this product.   Competitors would have to try and find substitute products to compete directly with LoJack. Competitive Environment New Entrants Teletrec and other competitors were on the market prior to LoJack’s entrance and other competitors are entering the market through GPS based systems such as ‘OnStar’.   These systems are not a onetime purchase but incur monthly fees to maintain service and may require the use of a cell phone. Substitutes Just as with GPS, there is a threat of substitute products coming on-line through new technology, but this threat should be mitigated by LoJack’s network with local law enforcement agencies. Suppliers Suppliers are also a threat as the auto industry is developing its own telematics technology.   The automakers have started relying on standards to speed up the plan cycle. Their incapability to bring state-of-the-art activity, communication, routing, and other telematics (navigation, driver-warning, and communication systems) evidently emphasize the manufacturers unwillingness to relying on these standards. The automakers came into view to have understood their errors and restrictions and are participating in the development of new network standards for both critical mission and convenience or entertainment systems. LoJack must continue to market its law enforcement advantage to thwart off this threat. Buyers At this stage, buyers have relatively limited buying power due to the lack of alternative technology. However, the threat is the heavy reliance on car dealers to sell the product.   If there is no incentive to do so, then the buyer may lack the knowledge that would drive the purchase. Intensity of Rivalry Although the product is in its growing stages, and there is no clear competition, the increased activity in this sector could be conducive of a threat to achieve a large enough market share to make the implementation worthwhile. Perspective on network level strategy Both LoJack and Micro Logic embrace the embedded organizational structure.   While they both have proprietary technology, they rely on other organizations to leverage these technologies.   LoJack’s technology would not have been possible without the alliance with local law enforcement agencies, Motorola, and Micro Logic.   Micro Logic’s existence had been to partner with organizations to influence its technological resourcefulness to additionally expand the companies that it works for.   It would take an evenhandedness stand in these companies and take a long term approach. In order for Micro Logic to be successful in this venture, it would need to rely on LoJack’s distribution and marketing systems. Not only to sell its products but also to ensure its own financial stability. If LoJack is to review its long term strategy, it must understand that research and development are not at the core of its operation.   Motorola is a key component to both LoJack and Micro Logic and has been a strong partner providing vital assistance. They cannot be relied on to only provide this technology to LoJack.   They are a much larger company and will look to broaden their reach.   In the fall of 1999 Motorola was already working to become a driving force in the telematics industry and moved to position itself with the major car companies. Recommendations Short Term LoJack should look to form a free alliance with Micro Logic. This would allow for LoJack to expand into the new market of construction equipment where need exist and no clear provider exist. An alliance between these two organizations has a proven track record and a proven product that can be marketed globally. The alliance should tackle the construction equipment market. This is a market that has a strong need for a location and asset management technology there is no clear market leader and creativity and innovation in products play a vital role to become a leader. The combination of LoJack’s proven solution for tracking and the ability of Micro Logic to develop strong asset management software would allow for strong penetration in this market.   Both organizations should look to work in their core areas of expertise. LoJack recognizes how to market and allocate the products and Micro Logic should right away assume the Research Development purpose. This will allow both companies to continue to drive down cost. LoJack presently has sufficient cash on hand to assist the need for cash with Micro Logic.   At this point, the cash infusion should be done as a low or no interest loan to Micro Logic. The partnership works well over time, Micro Logic can establish if this is their core business.   If not, they will be able to sell this product back to LoJack just as it did the first time and move in a different direction or become a secondary firm to LoJack.   Motorola is currently working on the 3rd generation LoJack and Micro Logic shou ld work directly with Motorola on this function. Medium Term Once a clear hold on the construction market is protected, then the alliance will have the opportunity to move into the trailer market. A proven track record in auto recovery and construction equipment asset management will allow strong credibility and should allow LoJack and Micro Logic to become the market leaders. During this stage both firms will need to determine the structure of the company and if they are able to grow construction equipment sales to the same rate as existing auto sales then LoJack would be in a position to either absorb Metrologic into the existing organization or turn Micro Logic into a subsidiary. Long Term Emerging markets will be critical to the long term success of LoJack.   With a strong foothold on the construction market this area would be a logical first step into emerging markets as contraction equipment would usually surpass new car sales.   Immerging markets will provide the strongest revenue growths for the company and is possible this may need to be moved into the mid-term focus depending on the success for the technology.

The Truth About The First Thanksgiving

The Truth About The First Thanksgiving Every year on November 26th, families get together and celebrate Thanksgiving. They celebrate Thanksgiving thinking about the pilgrims and how they survived in America. They think about how they grew crops and found the food, and then had a huge feast afterward. That is why they think we celebrate Thanksgiving today, but they do not know the real truth about the first Thanksgiving when the pilgrims came over. The story of Thanksgiving has been being told for centuries, some of the information in the stories is not true that is passed down from generation to generation. There are many myths about Thanksgiving that people still think are true to this day. Some of the main information that is misled is about who came to America first and what happened when the pilgrims arrived on the land. (livewiredj.net) The Native Americans were a major part in America long before the pilgrims had even thought about sailing for America. They had been in America over a thousand years before the pilgrims arrived. The Native Americans had learned how to survive through the harsh winter and hot summers. They built adobe houses that would hold heat in for the winter and would keep cool in the summer. They would plow crops into the ground and harvest them in the summer and fall. They would also hunt for food, with bows and arrows, and they would kill deer and buffalo for meat. They would use everything that they killed for food, nothing was ever thrown away. They even used the bones and hides for something. (livewiredj.net) One of the most misled stories during the Thanksgiving time period is about how the pilgrims were some of the first people to ever set foot on land in America. The truth is that the Native Americans had been there for quite some time before the pilgrims even thought about going over to America. The Native Americans had lived in America for a thousand years, and apart from them the Spanish had also settled long before the English pilgrims. People think that the pilgrims settled in Plymouth and started a country later, but the Native Americans and the Spanish had already been there for quite some time. (livewiredj.net) The Native Americans were a huge part to the development of America. They had been living in America long enough that they had learned how to build things and use materials very well to suit their lifestyle. They had their own architecture buildings that were very advanced and modern day. If someone got sick, they knew which type of plant could help them. They had people who went out and got the plants and the doctors that knew how to use it to help the person that was sick. They were very skilled in growing crops also. They had created many fields without tearing out any forests or damaging any land. They found an open area and plowed seeds into the ground and let them grow. That is where a majority of their food came from so they had to do it right. (livewiredj.net) In the story of Thanksgiving everyone tells about how the Indians helped out the pilgrims and that they were all practically one big happy family, but that is not how it happened. There was lots of fighting going on between the Native Americans and the pilgrims at this time. The pilgrims brought over diseases that the Indians were not immune to and they did not know how to cure that disease right away. They brought over various European diseases, like influenza and measles. Some of the Indians died because of the diseases that the pilgrims brought over and that did not go over well with the Indians. The pilgrims also began to take land that the Indians believed to be theirs, so they began to fight over land. Now besides the diseases, they had to watch out for each other because they would attack and try to kill each other. If a pilgrim went out to hunt or plow a field by himself he would most likely not come back because the Indians would find him and either take him hostage or just shoot him. So they had lots of problems with each other at this time period. (livewiredj.net) With all of the fighting and the problems between the pilgrims and the Native Americans, they also were fighting because the pilgrims were trying to teach them their religion and the Native Americans had their own beliefs and culture that they had been following forever. The pilgrims wanted everyone in America to have the same religion and they were trying to teach the Indians their religion, but the Indians did not want to learn it and kept practicing their own religious beliefs. They pilgrims began to get frustrated and decided that there was no hope with dealing with the Indians. So they became like to different countries, the Indians and the pilgrims. (livewiredj.net) In the stories today, people tell how the pilgrims were kind enough to introduce the Native Americans to their Thanksgiving feast and how the Native Americans had never seen such a thing before, but that is not what actually happened. The Native Americans were the ones who knew how to grow the corn, beans, and other types of various foods that were available for them at the first Thanksgiving meal. The pilgrims were the ones who had not seen such a feast before and they were amazed how much food was there. Also the Native Americans had been having harvest celebrations for centuries but Thanksgiving did not start until during the 1890s. (planetblacksburg.com) Today, we teach what is says in the text book and whatever source that it went by, but the whole truth is not in the text books and there are many things that were not in the book that need to be taught. There are many things that need to be involved in the teaching of the first thanksgiving that arenà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t, like who was here first, the Native Americans and the Spanish, and all sorts of other things. In the textbooks it tells how Squanto was a friendly Indian who learned English and helped the pilgrims, but that is not the truth. Squanto was kidnapped as a young boy and taken to England, and he was then took by a slave holder and sold into Spain. Then Squanto escaped his slave holder and got back to England. When he finally got back to America he had realized that his entire village had been destroyed and the only people left were the British who he had spent most of his life with already. (livewiredj.net) After the British had become comfortable and started to learn how to do things on their own they didnà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢t need the Native Americans or the Spaniards that were there anymore. So the British started to force them to move further and further east, making them give up their own land and their personal lives. The British just took over what was the Native Americans at one time and forced them to have very little and made them live where it was hard to grow crops and the wildlife was scarce. Then there became less and less Native Americans, and they had to live where the British wanted them to live, without any basic needs for a good lifestyle. (planetblacksburg.com) From generation to generation the stories of Thanksgiving have been telling myths. Most of the great story that is told to kids and people during Thanksgiving is mostly made up. The Native Americans were the real ones who started America and learned how to survive. They are the people who started the country that we live in today and the basics things that we still do today like growing crops and hunting. Eley, Nicole. The Truth about Thanksgiving. Planet Blacksburg. Planet Blacksburg, 13 Jan. 2006. Web. 21 Apr. 2011. Harvey, Jennifer. The Truth About Thanksgiving. Unkown. Concordian Online Edition, 19 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. http://www.livewiredj.net/concordian/pacercms/article.php?id=1008 Sutter, Richard. The truth about Thanksgiving. Anglocatholic central. Joomla, 15 Nov. 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2010. the-truth-about-thanksgiving>.

Essay --

T. S. Eliot: Metaphysical Poetry, Prufrock and Hollow Men In the essay â€Å"The Metaphysical Poets,† T. S. Eliot explicates and praises the anti-Romantic and intellectual qualities of metaphysical poetry which Johnson had disapproved. Eliot writes â€Å"the poet must become more and more comprehensive, more allusive, more indirect in order to force, to dislocate if necessary, language into his meaning.† Eliot praised the metaphysical poets’ ability to find the verbal equivalent for states of mind and feeling while using clear, simple, pure language, and unexpected analogies to makes their reader sit up and consider a thought or emotion in a completely nuanced way, such language of metaphysical poetry is evident in Eliot’s poems, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and The Hollow Men. Eliot states that the term metaphysical has been used as a term of abuse or as the label of a quaint and pleasant taste. Johnson himself, who employed the term ‘metaphysical poets’ with the poet Donne chiefly in mind, remarks, â€Å"the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together.† Johnson apprehended the metaphysical style where the â€Å"effects are due to a contrast of ideas, different in degree, but the same in principle.† The force of Johnson’s argument lies in his belief that the metaphysical poets could only correlate dissimilar ideas with violence, and that they could not fuse their analogies into a whole. Eliot remarks that this, however, is not the case and that many of the metaphysical poets have succeeded in combining heterogeneous ideas. Eliot quotes from Bishop King, Herbert and Cowley and other such poets to support his assertion. Thus, Eliot concludes that the fault Johnson references is not valid and the unity of heteroge neous ideas is com... ... as corrosive and cowardly. In the final lines of the poem, the prickly pear rhyme ends in a song about the end of the world. And this is how the world ends in the realm of the hollow men, â€Å"not with a bang, but with a sad and quiet whimper.† Eliot creates a desolate and alienated world where the hollow men dream of a kingdom that could release them from the constant state of nothingness. He focuses on the hollow men’s inability to transcend although it is their only hope. He uses the imagery of disembodied eyes and fading stars to depict the state of the men’s consciousness. Aspects of the form copy the characteristics of the hollow men, as well. The speakers desire to avoid speech and his inability to complete full sentences are shown in the final lines of the poem. Eliot deploys, the hollow men represent all humankind, and their tragic existence concerns everyone. Essay -- T. S. Eliot: Metaphysical Poetry, Prufrock and Hollow Men In the essay â€Å"The Metaphysical Poets,† T. S. Eliot explicates and praises the anti-Romantic and intellectual qualities of metaphysical poetry which Johnson had disapproved. Eliot writes â€Å"the poet must become more and more comprehensive, more allusive, more indirect in order to force, to dislocate if necessary, language into his meaning.† Eliot praised the metaphysical poets’ ability to find the verbal equivalent for states of mind and feeling while using clear, simple, pure language, and unexpected analogies to makes their reader sit up and consider a thought or emotion in a completely nuanced way, such language of metaphysical poetry is evident in Eliot’s poems, The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, and The Hollow Men. Eliot states that the term metaphysical has been used as a term of abuse or as the label of a quaint and pleasant taste. Johnson himself, who employed the term ‘metaphysical poets’ with the poet Donne chiefly in mind, remarks, â€Å"the most heterogeneous ideas are yoked by violence together.† Johnson apprehended the metaphysical style where the â€Å"effects are due to a contrast of ideas, different in degree, but the same in principle.† The force of Johnson’s argument lies in his belief that the metaphysical poets could only correlate dissimilar ideas with violence, and that they could not fuse their analogies into a whole. Eliot remarks that this, however, is not the case and that many of the metaphysical poets have succeeded in combining heterogeneous ideas. Eliot quotes from Bishop King, Herbert and Cowley and other such poets to support his assertion. Thus, Eliot concludes that the fault Johnson references is not valid and the unity of heteroge neous ideas is com... ... as corrosive and cowardly. In the final lines of the poem, the prickly pear rhyme ends in a song about the end of the world. And this is how the world ends in the realm of the hollow men, â€Å"not with a bang, but with a sad and quiet whimper.† Eliot creates a desolate and alienated world where the hollow men dream of a kingdom that could release them from the constant state of nothingness. He focuses on the hollow men’s inability to transcend although it is their only hope. He uses the imagery of disembodied eyes and fading stars to depict the state of the men’s consciousness. Aspects of the form copy the characteristics of the hollow men, as well. The speakers desire to avoid speech and his inability to complete full sentences are shown in the final lines of the poem. Eliot deploys, the hollow men represent all humankind, and their tragic existence concerns everyone.

College Stress Essay -- essays research papers

Typical November nights in a college students residence include cramming obligated to catch for papers due in December, and exams that lurk around the corner on a topic you felt up on sleep for. Deadlines and due dates are non-existent for students until the night before since the preoccupations; partying and overall good times which lack libraries and study sessions, expel more excitement than the adrenaline rush of a chemistry chronicle or a pre-cal problem. At most schools, the days of dorm rules, dress codes, and even mandatory class attendance is long gone. But while freedom can be exciting and fun, it can also be stressful because no one is telling you what to do. You have to make a lot of decisions on your own and readjust your own values and normal life. There are bound to be mistakes, but that is part of the process. College Life is more then just going to school and making the grades that your parents require of you. This is why many students will incur an ailment called s tress. Stress in college is caused by many influencing factors. One of these important factors would have to be the expectations set by parents. Parents can be more then just an annoying voice in your ear every time you come home for the holidays. They are normally the reason you are at your present school , so pleasing them by getting good grades is almost mandatory. This thought of displeasing the parents can be detrimental to one’s thought process; meaning that it most likely would cause a wor...

The Language of the Mafia Essay -- Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Language of the Mafia Mobspeak is a language that grows out of secrecy, and who can be more secret than the Mafia? The anti-social nature of the Mob is the perfect breeding ground for an "Antilanguage," which is, according to M. A. K. Halliday, a language that develops out of an antisociety which stands as a mode of resistance' to the society within which it exists (Butler 1). In his 1976 article, Halliday suggests that in these societies, a type of language forms in an effort to exclude outsiders for various reasons. One striking reason for the existence of an antilanguage is to hide the activities of the group. Halliday gives evidence for this claim through the existence of Elizabethan thieves cant, a form of communication derived in the Calcuttan underworld that thieves use to speak to one another without fear of incriminating themselves. Similarly, the Mafia -- which is often the target of FBI wire-taps -- requires its own thieves cant. The Mob constantly tries to hide its activities from the authorit ies. One way to accomplish this goal is to use somewhat cryptic vocabulary. For instance, there are over twenty words for the verb to kill'. If someone were to disrespect The Family' somebody might do a piece of work on' him. He could get whacked, erased, burned, clipped, iced, or hit -- just to name a few. In order to have a full understanding of the Mafia's unique use of language it is necessary to realize the context in which it is used. The Mafia's major business is providing "protection" for merchants in their territory. Basically, they insure that no other criminals will give any of their clients trouble. However, when anything comes under mob protection, the Mafia considers itself its "owner". They do not offer... ...English. Virtually everything the Mafia does has an impact on its language. Many defining characteristics of Mobspeak spawn from the illegal activities of the organization. They speak in codes due to a requisite for secrecy. The same applies in their unreserved overuse of profanity -- another way of expressing power. Their linguistic characteristics are a reflection of their roguish behavior and lifestyle. Overall, the language of the mafia is unique in that employs Halliday's ideas of an antilanguage in a modern sense. Sources Cited Butler, Todd. Exploring the Antilanguage of Gangster Rap. The Secol Review V. 19 (Spring 1995): 1-24 Le Vien, Douglas, Jr. and Juliet Papa. The Mafia Handbook. New York: Penguin Books, 1993 Pieggi, Nicholas. Wiseguy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1986 Pieggi, Nicholas. Casino. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1995

Ramona and Beezus

Ramona has a very creative imagination but hilariously brings her to many mishaps in school and even at home. She is nine years old and very Jolly who takes things seriously that makes her brain works to create many ideas to solve a certain problem. She has this big sister named Beatrice who is shucked with a nickname Buzzes. According to Ramona, when she was very little and is starting to learn how to speak, she accidentally called Beatrice Buzzes because that's what little children do.They mispronounce words and sometimes get stuck in it. Buzzes and Ramona most of the mime has quarrels and arguments at home. Ramona said that her sister hates her very much because Buzzes calls her a pest. However, Ramona showed great respect for the elders even if they don't listen to what she wants to express and is misunderstood that performs many acts of silliness. Ramona continued her imaginative adventure until a problem in the family gone very far to the extent that their parent's quarrel over small things.What I like most about this movie is that it simply shows what happens at home in reality. Our relationship with our parent's and siblings brings us many memories and lessons in life such as understanding one's emotions, giving comfort, being patient, being kind, and being respectful. In the family, when one doesn't understand another, there'll be quarrelling and arguments which will lead to another problem. This is what I don't want to happen in my own family.Just like Ramona, I want to help my family solve some problems in my own little ways. I want to be productive and not be a problem to them. So, if there's a problem at home, I am really doing my very best to help. I really love Roman's adventures and this inspires me to be sensitive in other people's feelings. The movie also taught me to love my own family no matter what they are and who they are, because the family is the first group of people you can run to in times of trouble/ problem.They are truly God's gift that no other treasures I can compare. Finally, despite of the problems we encounter everyday, we must be like Ramona: Brave and full of Joy. We have to face our problems lightly in order for us to concentrate in seeking possible solutions to it. We have to bear in mind that no problems we can't endure if we only let God help us as what a famous quote says: A family that prays together, stays together.

Heathcliff has been described as both an archetypal romantic hero and an intrinsically evil villain

â€Å"She abandoned them under a delusion† he said, â€Å"picturing in me a hero of romance and expecting unlimited indulgences from my chivalrous devotion. † Heathcliff is portrayed as a villain but at the same time, a romantic hero. It seems that he is double edged. He schemes to get Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights, but he is not always so vengeful and rancorous. For example, when the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw came to the window, he wept for her and begged for her to come back. â€Å"Come in! Come in! Cathy do come. Oh do once more! Oh! My heart's darling! Hear me this time, Catherine at last! † in this he shows his hypersensitive side and emotional side. He begs Catherine to go to him and be with him forever. However, his vengeful side does get the better of him quite often and demonstrates him to be gothic, dark, evil and morose. â€Å"Though it's as dark, almost as if it came from the devil. † This explains his gothic and dark approach. The evil and morose trait is unveiled with Hindley, where he swears revenge on him for all the grief and pain Hindley inflicted on Heathcliff. Hindley was so callous and malicious towards Heathcliff and always belittled him as well as treating him like a dog, that this made Heathcliff become so vengeful, he became bitter, twisted and calculating. This vengeance has built up inside Heathcliff stemmed from the mistreatment that he received as a young boy. The fact that he ran away from Wuthering Heights was because of an Earnshaw, just not Hindley, but Catherine. An archetypal romantic hero is one that was typical and habitual. They can be dark and moody and vampiric, like Heathcliff, or hypersensitive, passionate and emotional, also like Heathcliff. In the Victorian era, there would've been lots of heroes like Heathcliff, called Byronic heroes. Bronti challenges the morals of the Victorian era, by creating a dark, bitter, twisted mind that is Heathcliff. Also she challenges the morals of the Victorian era by giving Catherine the more dominant role. Her husband, Edgar Linton, is made out to be more feminine than Catherine is. In the Victorian period, the male would've played the dominant role traditionally. Bronti defies convention by portraying Catherine as the more dominant of the two. Bronti depicts Edgar as somewhat womanly up against Heathcliff. She describes Heathcliff as a tall grown man and up against him; Edgar looks and acts more pale and feminine than normal. Bronti also makes Edgar out to be the weaker sex. He is always being pushed around by Catherine and is a complete walkover. He never sticks up for himself around Heathcliff and cannot fight Heathcliff on his own. Edgar is constantly hiding behind his men or Catherine because he is so weak and anxious. Even his sister, Isabella, completely makes him out to be superfluous and unneeded. Bronti also defies convention by giving the females the authoritive role. She gives Nelly the role of the person who stirs things up and blows things right out of proportion. Nelly always interferes with other people's business and meddles in other people's affairs. She stirs up a rumour about Catherine and Heathcliff ‘arguing' and tells Edgar. This sparks off a massive argument between Catherine and Edgar because he won't fight Heathcliff on his own. Catherine is thought to be attention seeking by Nelly, who doesn't believe her at all. By being an attention seeker, Catherine gets what she wants, and if she doesn't, then she will do her damnedest to make sure she gets it. Because she cannot have both Edgar and Heathcliff, she makes herself terribly ill because they have both broken her heart by arguing. By doing all of this, Catherine makes herself so ill, that she eventually dies. But before she dies, Heathcliff wills to see her. He is portrayed as the romantic hero then towards Catherine. He cries when she is drastically ill and dying in his arms. â€Å"Oh Cathy! Oh my life! How can I bear it? This shows how hypersensitive he can be. He truly loves Catherine and doesn't want to lose her. He blames her for inflicting pain on him by making herself ill. He hates her for it but he still madly and deeply loves her and cannot find it in himself to hate her forever. He has an absolute determination to be with her for as long as they both shall live and even when she dies, he cries. He detests being away from her and wills her to haunt him. He cannot bear the thought of someone else having her, which is why he was so cut up about Catherine and Edgar getting married. He believes in transcendent love and wants to carry on loving her but wants to be with her. He wants Catherine to come back to him so they can carry on together. Whilst he is with Catherine, he turns quite violent on her and shouts at her, demanding to know why she has been making him suffer so badly. She is very apologetic towards him and begs for his forgiveness, as well as wishing she wasn't dying so she could be with him for even longer. Heathcliff is intent of pushing the boundaries so as he and Catherine can be together forever. Towards Hindley's son Hareton, he deviously takes away his rights, but at the same time, makes Hareton love his oppressor. Because Hindley has neglected Hareton due to his drink problem, Heathcliff has taken the liberty of acting like Hareton's parent, but at the same time, taken all of Hareton's rights away from him and downtrodden him to the level Hindley walked over and belittled Heathcliff to. This is one form of many ways of revenge Heathcliff has on the Earnshaw family. We wouldn't have expected this of Heathcliff, because Nelly described him as a sweet little boy who never stirred whilst ill. Heathcliff has shown and intrinsically evil villainous side to him. He is a born evil character and is always seeking revenge on everyone who mistreated him or anyone who did something to him or did something he didn't like, such as Edgar and Catherine getting married. An intrinsically evil villain is one who is pure evil, 100% evil even. He or she will stomp and trample over anyone to get what he or she wants and will not stop until they get it. His actions and evil motives are essential to the plot because he is the most unpredictable person in the novel. What he does is so unpredictable, yet so obvious. This reading of Heathcliff is backed by his mistreatment of Isabella and Hareton, his scheming to get what he wants (namely Wuthering Heights, Thrushcross Grange and Catherine) and his violence towards Hindley. â€Å"If you don't let me in, I'll kill you! † this evil quote was spoken by Heathcliff and aimed towards Isabella. This was when she locked him out in the cold, just like when Hindley made him sleep in the stables. We cannot however, deny the fact that we are secretly impressed with his cleverness, shown through his scheming and wickedness. We are impressed because we are all a tiny bit envious of him because of his cleverness and amazed at how he gets away with the scheming. Not only does he act a role of the villain but he also challenges the generic description of a romantic hero. He has no morals, his behaviour is devilish and demonic, his gothic and vampiric connotations and his sheer enjoyment of being with the dead. He is, to some extent an anti-hero, yet has the charm and with to win over anyone he chooses. He is cunning, conniving, scheming and hell-bent on revenge. This type of behaviour makes him out to be an anti-hero. He is so outrageous and demonic, he lacks all heroic, admirable morals and qualities and is so evil, and it is hard to describe him as a hero. Throughout the book, Heathcliff only ever shows his ‘romantic' qualities he has to Catherine. He doesn't show them to Isabella, who really he should because she is his wife. He is totally iniquitous towards Isabella. However, she does antagonise him by taunting him about the death of Catherine and derides him about how he is going to live without her. It doesn't help that she locks him out of his own house. We sympathise with Heathcliff over the way he treats Isabella because she is silly and has a terrible attitude. His vengeance also stemmed from abuse he suffered as a young child from Hindley. Although he was a calm and peaceful child, his revenge grew and grew. So we fell his actions towards these two individuals is justifiable. For some strange reason he always has our feeling that, however unscrupulous his behaviour is, he is always right and justified. We see him as a villain but sympathise with him on the night of the funeral for the reason that he is distraught at the thought and reality of losing Catherine. Bronti is making a stand against convention. She feels that by giving males the dominance in novels and life is unfair, so she makes a stand against it. She wants people to be shocked by reading this novel and feels the only way she can do it is by doing the normal, then flipping it upside down. For example, Catherine is a rich female living with her husband. However, she is the more dominant of the two, which would have been strange to individuals in the Victorian era. The novel at the time was received with great criticism. One review of the novel quotes â€Å"too disgusting for the eye or the ear to tolerate, and unredeemed, so far as we could see, by one single particle either of wit or humour, or even psychological truth, for the characters are as false as they are loathsome. † This was one of the reviews that many people would have agreed with. They would have agreed with this because the characters were indeed eccentric and officious, but they were what they were. They were characters in a kind of love triangle. They were ordinary people who had very tumultuous relationships but deeply loved each other. Edgar loves Catherine, Heathcliff loves Catherine and Catherine loves both Heathcliff and Edgar. The novel was considered to be evil and immoral. Bronti wrote about females dominating some men in the novel. She defied convention to try and shock the reader into reality. She truly believed that women should have had the same rights as the men had. She criticised the way that women had to give up themselves and remain silent. This means they had no say in what happened. They could not work. They had to sit at home all day and sew or serve. Bronti didn't like that, so she wrote a novel that would make the reader see reality and hopefully change the way women lived. To publish the novel however, she used a pseudonym. She used the pseudonym ‘Ellis Bell'. If women wrote anything for example, it would not be published. The world then was considered to be male. The only way for women to heard was if they somehow managed to present themselves as male. This is why she used the pseudonym Ellis Bell. Her sister, Charlotte Bronti, also a writer, used the pseudonym Currer Bell, so as her novels, including Jane Eyre, could be published. Emily Bronti challenges stereotypes and the archetypal heroes that the readers are familiar with. She criticises the people who do not stand up for what they believe in. in Heathcliff, there is a character that everybody has to love because he poses a threat to conventional order and morality. Without Heathcliff, the novel would lack all passion and be boring and tentative. Bronti's suggestion in this novel is that people should follow their heart and not convention. Heathcliff and Catherine's idea of heaven is returning to the Heights. This is highly unconventional and totally unchristian. The raison d'itre of all the tragedy and evil in the novel was a result of Catherine doing what every other women in the Victorian era, not standing up for what she believed in and not standing up for what she really wanted. Heathcliff is full of contradictions. He has been described by many as a villain and also described as a romantic hero. He is intrinsically evil and contradictory. He is also an archetypal romantic hero. He flouts the typical description of him as a romantic hero and swears he is not a romantic hero. He seems to be double edged and has an absolute determination to be with his one true love forever. He is a great believer in transcendent love and assumes he can push the boundaries and be with Catherine for as long as time. His connotations with the devil and death are clearly stated and he refuses to be classed as a hero. He fascinates yet repulses us. We seem to take his side no matter how awful and immoral his actions are. I think that Bronti challenged the Victorian critics because she wanted to change the way life was. Women were not allowed a say in anything that happened, and she felt that that wasn't fair. Personally, I don't think Heathcliff is a very approachable character. He is moody, self-centred, annoying, vile, hypocritical and malevolently malicious. He only cares about himself, even after 150 years he is problematically difficult to understand. â€Å"His black eyes withdraw so suspiciously under his brows† is a perfect description of the demonic, evil mortal he is; he denotes the demonic qualities of a flea. He is annoying, you wish he wasn't there; you purposefully avoid anything like him and certainly do not want to be another victim of his cruel, malicious, blood sucking nature.

Kona coffee Essay

Kona coffee company is one of the largest coffee manufacturers in the state of Hawaii. Their products are made in Hawaii and they have over forty different flavors. Because the coffee beans are grown in Hawaii this is the only place it can be found. High-quality as well as luxurious products. Strong Point †¢Corporate culture †¢Products †¢Political and Legal Environment – Great assessment in communicating the need to be aware of not only American export laws, but Japanese import laws as well. †¢Coffee Market – Information about the numbers of coffee market was good in showing the increase in coffee consumption. – Also how Japan has become the world’s third largest importer of coffee. †¢SWOT analysis †¢Marketing Objectives †¢Marketing Strategies – Excellent target market. †¢Supply chain strategies †¢Implementation Plan 1 2 – Researching upscale stores, Partner with a local ad agency, and Promotions such as taste tests are excellent idea. Sampling is the best way to promote a product. †¢Measurement and Control Strategies – Surveys are a great way to gain feedback both positive and negative. Weak Points †¢Situation Analysis †¢Markets. †¢Economic Environment – Could go more into detail about reasons why expansion would be good in this market. How is Japans economy? †¢Distribution †¢Competitive Environment †¢Promotion Strategies – A little bit weak on promotion. The biggest promotion should be social media. Missing Points †¢Situation Analysis could have gone more in depth – Main competitors are not mentioned – Product distribution missing – Environmental factors – Core fundamentals such as strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats need to be slightly mentioned †¢Mission statement is missing. – Although I did find a cute quote on their web page â€Å"The warmth of the islands in every cup†. †¢Distribution – Could have mentioned how much is distributed to each store – Also how much is sold online My Conclusions: Although Japan is in its infancy in coffee culture I think it would be an excellent idea to offer Hawaiian coffee because Hawaii is seen as paradise. This analysis is missing in the report as well as Japans culture. They didn’t mention the fact that Japans coffee shops serve as meeting rooms for businessmen to talk and possibly capture new clients. It is very important to understand origins of culture so as to understand how to promote new 2 3 products in the best way possible. They don’t quit mention much about how brief japan customers visit a coffee shop and how to manage this problem. They would have to draw in and make the products attractive. It should be mentioned when Starbucks entered into Japan how it changed the views of coffee shops in Japan. It brought back a sit-and-have-a-chat style of coffee consumption. References http://www. hawaiianisles. com http://www. japantoday. com/category/opinions/view/japans-coffee-culture 3.

Addressing Challenges of Groups and Teams Essay

The use of teams in the workplace is continuing to grow because teams work more efficiently and are effective (Robbins & Judge, 2011). However with teams challenges and benefits present with group and team communication, collaboration, and conflict can arise. The Enron Corporation failed to have an effective plan to promote communication, collaboration, and address conflict. The following will review a plan that outlines the benefits and challenges of groups and team through the promotion of communication, collaboration, and address conflict. Creating an Effective Team  Three elements of an effective team are categorized as contextual, composition, and process (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The effectiveness of the team is dependent on the three elements collectively working together to form the team effectiveness. Contextual Factors The contextual factors determine the success of the team. The factors considered contextual are adequate resources, leadership and structure, climate of trust, and performance evaluation and reward system (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The adequate resources for a team begin with proper training about team development and how to work within a team. The team is supported by the organization and has the proper assistance to complete the tasks. The training plan for Enron begins with support from the organization. The team is supported by the executive leadership throughout the corporation. The failure of Enron resulted from the lack of executive leadership to support the ethical business practices within the organization. Therefore, an effective training plan with the support of the executive leadership is the key to success of ethical business practices throughout the organization. Leadership within a team is the key to the success of the team. See more:  Manifest Destiny essay Enron Corporation executive leadership failed to act as a leader and set the organizational objective for conducting business. The leader within the team helps the team define the shared objectives, member skills, and role clarity for the team members (Yukl, 2010). The leader of the team helps to establish the climate of trust among the members of the team. The climate of trust was not established throughout the Enron Corporation because the executive leadership knowingly engaged in accounting fraud and formation of illegal partnerships. The training plan allows each aspect of the contextual element to support the training plan for ethics throughout the organization. Composition Factors The composition factors of the effective team are composed of the abilities of the team members, personality of the members, and allocation of members. The team members have different skills and abilities identified and properly used to allow the member the reach the fullest potential as a member of the team. Identifying skills and abilities allows the proper allocation of roles (Robbins & Judge, 2011). Personality of members may have an effect on the team ability to complete tasks. Members of the team must be aware of their own personality to begin understanding how personality of others offers contributions to the team. Measuring emotional intelligence can help with self-reflection. â€Å"Emotional intelligence reflects the ability to read and understand others in social contexts, to detect nuances of emotional reactions, and to utilize such knowledge to influence others through emotional regulation and control† (Prati, Douglas, Ferris, Ammeter, & Buckley, 2003, p. 21). Therefore, leaders with high emotional intelligence assures self-reflection and reflection of others to determine the most appropriate way to interact with others. Team Processes The final element of effective teams is team processes. The team processes define the purpose and plan of the team. The processes set the goal for the team. Team efficacy occurs with continued success of the team. Team processes also provide plans for handling conflict as it occurs within the team. Applying the Training Program for Enron Enron’s collapse resulted from unethical business practices. The executive leadership within the corporation participated in the accounting fraud and hiding financial losses of the corporation. Enron’s code of ethics for the company should have served as a guide for employees ethically to conduct business practices. However, a waiver is included in the code of ethics that allowed the organization to engage in activities seen as a conflict of interest at the discretion of the chief executive officer (Elson & Gyves, 2003). The executive leadership failed to implement organizational behavior to instill ethical business practices throughout the company (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The initial step to applying the training plan is communication. Communication among the members of a team and a corporation serve as the first step toward success. Communication among the members of the team can occur through electronic mail, memos, and face-to-face meetings (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The leader of the team is responsible for communication between the team and the executive leadership. Communication serves to engage members of the organization, implement change, and establish a checks and balances systems. The Enron Corporation failed to communicate effectively throughout the organization. This lack of communication gave opportunity for the executive leadership to conduct unethical business practices. Collaboration among the members of an organization and team build the cohesiveness of the team and stimulate creativity to solve problems. Using collaboration to build the cohesion of the team keeps each team committed to the goals and mission of the organization. Collaboration will also help to maintain ethical business practices by assuring members of the organization responsible for the accounting and business practices are using checks and balances to report information accurately. Conflict is expected to arise in team and group work. Therefore, the leader must be dedicated to addressing conflict and guiding the team through the conflict. Failure to address conflict can lead to failure of the team (Robbins & Judge, 2011). The leader of the team will use the conflict process to work through conflict. The training plan for Enron that included managing conflict can help to address unethical business practices prior to occurrence. Through the use of internal and external audits deficiencies and conflicts can be identified and addressed before unethical business practices are implemented. Conclusion Communication, collaboration, and conflict management are keys to the success of teams and businesses. Enron failed to communicate, collaborate, and management conflict leading to the failure of a corporation. Enron allowed executive leaders to stifle communication, collaboration, and conflict management to hide fraudulent accounting practices. The implementation of a training plan supportive of communication, collaboration, and conflict management may have identified and addressed issues leading to the success rather than the failure of Enron Corporation.

Agrarian Domains Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Agrarian Domains - Essay Example The legal system and police encouraged segregation. However, beyond the legal system, there was often a potential risk by the terrorist aggression. The Ku Klux Klan, Knights of White Camellia, and other fanatics assassinated thousands of blacks and several whites to stop them from voting and taking part in public life (Stonaker & Shepard, 12). Execution was one of the major ways of violence. Between the year 1884 and 1900, white gangs assassinated approximately 2,000 blacks in the south. The gangs also burned them alive, shot them or even beat them to death. The perpetrators also executed blacks for any defilement of the southern rules and regulations (16). The southern states approved laws in the middle of 1800’s that obliged different accommodations for blacks and whites in schools. They also approved laws for different public transportation systems, courts, libraries, and cemeteries. Additionally, they also approved that no black man would be put in a similar insane shelter with the white man in every southern state. Popularly, all the above laws were collectively referred to as Jim Crow laws (Schultz & Tishler, 5). The first step towards the fight for elimination of legal segregation occurred when colored people, factions of African Americans and some European activists collaborated to fight segregation of trains in New Orleans. In 1905, W.E.B. Dubois led a number of Black activists at a meeting convened in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada to plan tactics for elimination racial segregation and advocate for racial equality. In the year 1909, this meeting by black activists became the Niagara Movement, which led to the formation of National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). This association concerted its efforts to fight for the rights of colored people and challenging racial segregation in courts (Stonaker & Shepard,

Genetic Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genetic Engineering - Essay Example Insulin is usually secreted by the pancreas in order to regulate sugar levels in the body; however in patients with diabetes, this does not occur. There are many advantages to genetic engineering in that it gives scientists greater control over the type of gene which is being encoded for. Scientists can also control the rate of production which can be accelerated unlike its natural counterparts. It works through plasmid recombinant technology. First, enzymes are used to isolate the human gene which encodes for the production of insulin. Then, this â€Å"sticky† fragment is inserted into a plasmid, which is a circular piece of DNA in a bacterial cell. Then, the bacteria are stimulated to reproduce and they undergo mitosis, meanwhile replicating the human gene along with its own. Then, the insulin is produced by the bacteria which can be harvested and administered to the population in large quantities, quickly and efficiently (Watson 456-58). This is only one aspect in which gen e manipulation technology has influenced pharmaceuticals and the daily life of diabetics. Gene technology has also been used in other applications of medicine such as in gene therapy, cancer research, and genetic counseling. All have been made possible by the technological advances.

Market analysis for Childrens Parties Services in the UK Essay

Market analysis for Childrens Parties Services in the UK - Essay Example This paper illustrates that a family business works with creating children parties making it stress-free for her parents. At these parties, everything that the client feel is necessary is provided. These include party suppliers, cakes, children’s costumes, and entertainers. Daisy entertainments market is wide and deals with all kinds of organization and communities dealing with children. Whether it is a large corporate or community with special needs, daisy entertainment crew is capable of adapting its services to suit the client's needs of the children. The team, which forms Daisy Entertainers, is energetic, in-house talented fun loving, loves children hence reliable and enthusiastic. Daisy's entertainment has a unique and simple party planning known as a party in a box. Party in a box includes everything the client requires for their child’s party as suggested by Daisy entertainments. These include filled party bags, napkins, invitations, table covers foil, cups, plat es, banners, party hats and latex balloons. However, all these facilities depend on customer’s choice and are delivered to the door anywhere in the UK. There are also various children themes from which entertainment programs are chosen. They include Disney princess, Hannah Montana, Spiderman, and the Night Garden. Daisy’s entertainers provide a wide scope of entertainment activities such as puppets, face painting, balloon modeling, magic, plate spinning among other. This organization can over a variety of things ranging from fun and lively children entertainers to catering services, birthday cakes, decorations, themed goody bags and set up services. The party is usually planned within the client’s requirements and budget. Children character entertainer; all types of children character entertainers are available at Daisy's entertainment and it is upon the client to make choice. They include games, magic, music, and puppets. The charges for character entertainers are  £195 for every two hours of fun.

The Marginal Productivity Theory of Distribution Term Paper

The Marginal Productivity Theory of Distribution - Term Paper Example As such, each factor of production can be paid based on what it contributes to the production of the output. This paper argues that the marginal productivity theory of distribution is valid, and, on certain highly limited assumptions, bears relevance to micro-economic problems such decisions of individual firms with regard to employment of factors of production. Marginal productivity theory of distribution presented a unified inter linkage between the pricing of commodities and the â€Å"pricing of persons† by indicating that the returns to all factors of production, are grounded in a single, marginal productivity principle. However, from the start, it was apparent that the marginal productivity theory could not stand by itself and only represented a derivative section of the theory of value. Three core properties of marginal productivity theory make this apparent: (1) the theory is essentially a theory of the demand for factors rather than their supply; (2) it adopts prices o f products as derived in the determination of demand for factors; (3) the theory cannot be applied to the determination of values within an exchange economy (Rima, 2001). ... the previous political economy with a novel science of economics or a discipline that employed rigorous methods mimicking those of the physical sciences (Fetter & Rothbard, 2007). Since its inception in the early 19th century, the marginal productivity theory of distribution (MPTD) has been cited by some economists as the solution to the ethical problem of distributive justice (as a means of determining fairness in wages, interest, profits, and rent). Other economists have rebuffed this ethical claim but have perceived the MPTD as a valid demand-side criterion, which forms the basis of determining equilibrium and efficiency (Blaug, 1996). Some of the pioneers of the theory such as John Bates and Philip Henry Wicksteed argued that a business enterprise would be prepared to remunerate a productive agent only that which it adds to the firm’s utility. Clark sought to establish that each unit of labour and capital can be settled based on the value that it adds to the total product or its marginal productivity (Wicksteed & Robbins, 1935). Clark maintained that, although, all tasks within an enterprise vary in significance the remaining work can be reassigned to ensure that all essential tasks would be undertaken; hence, no single unit of labour can be considered to be more critical than the other (Stigler, 1994). Clark’s marginal productivity theory can be considered to be a rebuttal to Marx’s assertion that competitive capitalism methodically robs workers their labour since the workers contributes more to the total product relative to the wages that they receive. According to Clark, the payment to capital can be established based on its marginal productivity, and that there cannot be a â€Å"surplus value† expropriated from the labour as Marx had claimed (Blaug, 1996).

Cultural Practices in Yanomamo Culture Research Paper

Cultural Practices in Yanomamo Culture - Research Paper Example This tribe did not have any contact with the outside world until the 1950s before which they lived in complete isolation. They were able to adapt themselves to their environment through means of cultural adaptation by following their cultural standards and practices (Trachoma among the Yanomami, Web). The Yanomamo tribe consists of hunters and horticulturists who frequently move to new areas when the soil becomes exhausted. More than half of the Yanomami live within the Amazon forest while some live along the major rivers. Similar to their living conditions, the Yanomamo also follow different rituals and beliefs. Their religious beliefs are also based on the principles of animism. They believe that the forests entail a spiritual existence along with its other uses of food and plants etc (Yanomamo, Varying Adaptations of Foraging Horticulturalists, Web). One of the main cultural practices followed by the Yanomami is Polygny which is the most common form of polygamy. Polygny is a practice in which a man has more than one wife at the same time. In the Yanomamo society, arranged marriages are common and the marriage is often based on survival and other economic factors. The men are given a higher position or role and the women are treated as servants and properties of other members of the society. The female members of this community are not allowed to participate in most of the activities but the preparation is done by the females themselves.

The United States from the World War II as the Strongest Economy in Research Paper

The United States from the World War II as the Strongest Economy in the World - Research Paper Example Each of the countries which signed their allegiance to the Bretton Woods indicates its recognition of four important factors. This uniformity becomes the cornerstone and the main factor which holds the international economy together. First, all the nations involved recognize and agree that â€Å"the interwar period had conclusively demonstrated the disadvantages of unrestrained flexibility of exchange rates† (Cohen 4). It can be recalled that the Great Depression in the 1930s has become a grim reminder of how floating exchange rates discourages trade and investment while increasing the risk of destabilization and competitive depreciation. On the other hand, architects of the Bretton Woods are also reluctant in adopting a permanently fixed exchange rate like the 19th-century gold standard. Thus, avoiding both maxims, delegates agree on a â€Å"pegged rate† or â€Å"adjustable peg† currency regime or a par value system (Cohen 5). Thus, each country is obligated to choose a par value in their national currency and intervene in order to maintain the exchange rate within 1% above or below the preset rate. Secondly, all nations hold that â€Å"if exchange rates were not to float freely, states would also require assurance of an adequate supply of monetary reserves (Cohen 6).† The financial hegemony held by the United States during the period significantly affected the final decision: â€Å"a system of subscriptions and quotas embedded in the IMF, which itself was to be no more than a fixed pool of national currencies and gold subscribed by each country†.

British economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

British economy - Essay Example In the entire EU the industries that are marketing or technology-driven had grown at the quickest rate. The media, printing, publishing and the sports commodities industries also made a considerable growth. Since 1995, the UK’s electrical, chemical as well as the optical sector (and also going tandem was the IT and communications sector) had a faster growth rate surpassing that of the whole economy. It’s believed that the shipbuilding, steel, clothing and textile industries were slowly moving to the poor nations due to the stiff competition by the aforementioned growing industries. As a result the capacity of manufacturing and the labour force dedicated to the manufacturing sector experienced a fall. ( Winford, et al 2005 pp 90-91) A while ago UK was called the ‘workshop of the world’. In UK is the origin of the industrial revolution as per the belief of many. The sector of manufacturing held the highest number of workers in the labour force of UK and the output used to be very high. However, the manufacturing sector of UK started to experience several over takings; first by the nation of Germany and later on by the US. This has gone on relentlessly and China as well as Japan have followed suit. Factually, the employment in the manufacturing sector of UK did not start in the last three decades, but since the 1950s. Towards the late 1970s the labour force proportion working in the UK manufacturing sector was about 7 million but in 2005 the number of employees was at 3.5 million. As an activity, manufacturing has been said to decline and it’s a verdict by many commentators. Most of the decrease has been linked to the fall in the workforce. Particularly, the fall in this sector in the context of UK has been witnessed from the 1850s due to the rise in the rate of industrialization of other nations. Also the

Chalice Wine Essay Example for Free

Chalice Wine Essay Chalice Wine Group is a publicly traded company that, through numerous partnerships, owns and/or operates a number of vineyards and wine manufacturing companies in California’s Sonoma valley. Previously, they enjoyed a time of profitability. Yet in recent years, expansion has saw a decrease in their level of profitability, followed by a repeating period of net income losses. The goal of the case is to determine whether the operation of a small winery can be a profitable venture. Upon reading the Chalice Wine Case, the primary issue that I have identified, is that the management of the company has not crafted a clear and identifiable mission. †¢As currently structured, Chalice Wine Group is attempting to be a â€Å"vertically† integrated company. In this they are attempting to accomplish ever step in the wine business. They are making their own grapes, processing their own grapes, bottling, and lastly shipping them to various distribution outlets. This is fine, as long as they are able to create an extremely efficient model to do so. But unfortunately, as their results indicate, they are not efficient enough to make this current model work. There are a number of possible avenues that Chalice Wine Group needs to explore, among those are: -Why are they paying a price for grapes(from themselves! ) that is so in excess of the market rate? There are currently some transfer issues in place, management needs to explore these costs. -Pressing and manufacturing of the wine: The costs of the machinery involved, is extremely expensive. What is Chalice doing with their equipment during the time periods in which there is no production? How are they utilizing this excess capacity? They can either outsource this to another company, or utilize this capacity to process wine for others. -Shipping and distribution: Why are they handling this process themselves? This is easily something that should be handled outside. †¢Secondly, they wish to be a niche wine provider, by manufacturing a high quality, high cost product. The problem is that this statement essentially contradicts their company’s vertical structure. This is illustrated through examination of some of their shipping/bottling practices and part of their distribution chain. -They do not package and bottle their products according to the same quality standards. For example, they are using different quality bottles and boxes for different products. In this eyes of the consumer, this can be inferred as different levels of wine quality. -Next, the desire to be a small niche provider is a direct contradiction to the thought of distribution through food markets. This alone can allow the consumer to infer a mass marketed, broadly distributed product of lower quality. If they want to be a niche provider, they need to market and distribute themselves as such. Chalice Wine Group needs to decide what kind of company they want to be, and as such, needs to structure themselves in a way that will help best meet that mission and goal in the most efficient manner possible.