Fate and Destiny in the Aeneid and the Odyssey

From the dawning of modern human thought, humans have questioned the nature of life and its passing. One of the most fundamental questions to arise from this train of thought is the ideas of fate and duty. We humans desire to know whether the path of our lives is preordained and unalterable or if it is just a series of consequences from our past actions. If we live by fate and believe our path is already set in stone, then is it our obligation to fulfill that destiny to the best of our abilities or can we resist and hope to forge our own story? It is quite obvious in the epics of both Aeneus and Odysseus that the idea of fate and duty plays a huge role. The difference we see between the two is which is more important and how each epic allows these two ideas to unfold. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Aeneus is driven by the prophecy that he will leave a legacy that will go on to found the greatest and most powerful empire the world will ever know. Aeneus’s journey is filled with trials and tribulations; some are purposefully placed in front of him with the intention of undoing his fate while others are pure happenstance. What drives Aeneus to press on is his sense of duty. One of Aeneus’s most significant obstacles is the princess of Carthage, Dido. The patron goddess of Carthage is Juno and she knows that Aeneus’s prophecy tells of his kingdom destroying Carthage in the future. So Juno sends Cupid to make Dido fall madly in love with Aeneus so that he will do the same and consequently will settle in Carthage never founding the foretold empire that will destroy Juno’s city. Once learning of this plan, Jupiter dispatches Mercury to remind Aeneus of his destiny. And are you at a time like this laying the foundations of stately Carthage, and building, like a fond husband, your wife’s goodly city, forgetting alas! your own kingdom and the cares that should be yours? † (Virgil, Book 4, line 279-282) Aeneus is awe-struck, but he immediately goes to repair his fleet and sail for Italy’s shores. To Aeneus, his sense of duty is so great that he, without question, leaves his wife Dido and the safety of Carthage. Aeneus does not leave Carthage without regard for Dido though. Aeneus attempts to leave before anyone will know they are gone, but he is caught and explains to Dido, â€Å"My quest to Italy is not of my own motion. † (Virgil, Book 4, line 391-392) With this Aeneus leaves Carthage driven by duty and obligation. In Homer’s Odyssey, the idea of fate is more significant than the idea and sense of duty. Odysseus’s journey begins when Poseidon learns that Odysseus blinded his Cyclops son, Polyphemous while trying to escape from his capture. This enrages the already hot-tempered sea god, damning Odysseus, his men, and his voyage. Poseidon attempts to delay and keep Odysseus from his home, Ithaca. His anger towards Odysseus is so great that Zeus has to step in to save him from the sea-god. Zeus, after Poseidon complains to him about the Phaenecians aiding Odysseus, states â€Å"Since for Odysseus now I vowed that he his home should win through many a misery yet utterly bereft not his return; for such your purpose was and decree. † (Homer, Book 13, st. 45) Zeus, in the Odyssey, acts as the hand of fate by preventing Poseidon from further stalling Odysseus’s return home. This is unlike Jupiter in the Aeneid, who dispatches Mercury to remind Aeneus of his purpose. Aeneas is then left with the duty of leaving Carthage and Dido behind, whereas Odysseus is more subject to each gods will. The idea of an inevitable and unchangeable fate is in both the Aeneid and Odyssey, what drives each character is the difference. Aeneus is driven by his sense of duty to start the lineage that will go onto to found Rome, whereas Odysseus is driven by his desire to return to Ithaca. This resembles the cultural and philosophical natures of the Greeks and Romans. The Greeks placed much emphasis on the individual, life, and pleasure which would naturally honor a hero who struggles tremendously to return safely home. The Romans placed large amounts of emphasis on Rome, what it stood for and their duty, undoubtedly Aeneus’s epic was bred from this culture. Although the cultural differences are evident, these two works both share an inevitable fate which drives the journey. Also, the god’s interference in the hero’s journey for either personal gain or to assure the fulfillment of their fate is evident in both works. Fate and duty have been human concepts for thousands of years; they both entail some form of obligation and are main themes in the Aeneid and the Odyssey. Aeneus’s obligation to his duty compels him to realize his fate. Odysseus, on the other hand simply desires to return home, but is subjected to the will of the gods which only stall his fate. Both works resemble their respective culture’s beliefs and ideals, but regardless of the differences, these two works are classic epics.

Quality Control of Parenterals

From Greek, Para outside; enter=intestine and exerts their action by directly entering into the systemic circulation. The quality of prankster's is the sum of all parameters that contribute to safety, efficacy and therapeutic efficacy of the drug. Drug products administered by injection are characterized by three qualities pertinacity, and freedom from particulate matter. The USPS compendia requirements has recommended the following tests for parentally products:1 . Pyroxene Testing.2. Sterility Testing.3. Particulate matter Testing.4. Package integrity Test.5. Safety Test.Pyroxene Testing Pyroxene are fever producing substances, which are metabolic products of microorganisms. Chemically, they are lipid substances associated with a carrier molecule, which is usually a polysaccharide. Pyroxene are produced by many microorganisms including bacteria, yeasts and McCollum. Most potent pyroxene are the antitoxins produced from the cell walls of the Gram- negative bacteria. Pyroxene can cau se a lot of damage, if they are injected into a human being. Hence every batch of parentally is tested for the presence of pyroxene. Page Number 5 Following Tests are Performed for Pyroxene testing: A. Rabbit Pyroxene Test (RPR) B. Ilium's Embody Alyssa (ALA) Test C. Monocot Activation Test (MAT) A.Rabbit Pyroxene Test (RPR) Introduction Selection of animals Animal quarters Retaining boxes Materials Thermometer Preliminary test Main test Interpretation 0 Introduction It is an in vivo test to detect the presence of pyroxene in parental to ensure their quality standards. In 1942 it was added on USPS as official test but it was replaced with ALA test in 1982. Biologic are still tested with RPR Early indention detection was accomplished by injecting rabbits with the sample and observing the response in their body temperature. Rabbits have similar indention tolerance to humans, and were thus an ideal choice. However, this method was costly, time consuming, and prompted protests from anim als rights advocates. But perhaps the biggest drawback of this test was its inability to quantify the indention level.Selection of animals Rabbits are used in this test because they show similar response as in humans. Following is selection criteria according to USPS 0 Albino rabbits should be used which grams in weight. 0 Rabbit should not loss its weight during week of test 0 Rabbit should be physically healthy 0 Rabbit should be on balance diet 0 Rabbit should not be administered with any anti body 7th – A I Survivors I The University of Lahore Page Number 6 0 The rabbits which are used three days before in a negative pyroxene test are not used 0 The rabbits which are used two weeks before in a positive pyroxene test are not used 0 Animal quarters Rabbits should be kept in special cages and individual rabbit in a single cage.Quarter and cage should be fulfilled following criteria: 0 Design of cage should be certified from ALL (American association of accreditation of labor atory animals) 0 Temperature of quarter should be 20 to 30 degree Celsius (temperature of performance area should also be in this range with deviation of 3) 0 If temperature of performance area is different from area where animals are kept then animals must be brought in performance area 18 hours before test 0 In performance area there should not be noise, due to noise temperature of rabbit can rise from 0. To 10 degree Celsius , which become normal after 6 to 9 hours. 0 Retaining boxes Rabbits are kept in separate boxes 1 hour before performance, design of boxes should be such that body can easily move and neck is at opening side. 0 Materials Materials such as syringes glassware etc. Should be washed with water for injection and place in hot air oven at 200 degree Celsius for 1 hour or at 250 degree Celsius for 30 minutes for dehydrogenation..Treat all diluents and solutions for washing and rinsing of devices or parentally injection assemblies in a manner that will assure that they are sterile and pyroxene -free. Periodically perform control pyroxene tests on representative portions of the diluents and solutions for washing or rinsing of the apparatus. 7th – A I Survivors The University of Lahore Page Number 7 0 Thermometer theorists probes or similar probes that have been calibrated to assure an accuracy of ? ±0. 1 0 and have been tested to determine that a maximum reading is reached in less than 5 minutes. Rectal thermometer is used in this test which is calibrated with 1 degree Celsius marks.Thermometer is inserted at depth of 5 centimeter. Temperature should be measured within 5 minutes. 0 Preliminary test Measure the temperature 1-1. 5 hours before test 0 Wash the marginal ear vein with ethyl alcohol (antiseptic) ethyl alcohol also act as clearing agent. 0 Now inject pyroxene free water with dose of 10 ml per keg. 0 Measure the temperature at intervals of 30 minutes for 3 hours 0 Any rabbit showing variation in temperature of 0. 6 degree will no t be used in main tests. 0 Main test Select three rabbits which are passed in the preliminary test. Monitor the temperature and inject the product after 90 minutes in marginal ear vein Dose should be 0. Ml/keg to 10 ml/keg as specified in individual monogram Product can be eluted with pyroxene free water or any solvent recommended in official books Quantity of drug is as in monogram. 0 Measurement of temperature and pyroxene response Measure the initial temperatures within 40 minutes of injection for this purpose take one reading at after 10 minutes and second after 30 minutes average of both will be the initial temperature. 7th – A I Survivors The University of Lahore Page Number 8 Now monitor the temperature for 3 hours at the intervals of 30 minutes and note the highest temperature.

Distribution Channel Management Essay

BMW Motorcycles is a division within the BMW Group. As such their mission is tied to that of the parent company. On the BMW Group website it is noted as follows:†Identifying potential and encouraging growth. Knowing what we represent. Recognizing where our strengths lie and making the best use of every opportunity. Following a clear strategy. Goals we have attained are in essence the point of departure for new challenges. This is the philosophy that inspires every individual at the BMW Group. It influences the company’s structure and it plays a vital role in the decision-making process. Our corporate ethos finds its expression in the uncompromising pursuit of the superlative. The result? Outstanding brands with an unmistakable profile. Automobiles and motorcycles which fascinate people all over the world and which win legions of new admirers every day. And a degree of success which sees the BMW Group go from strength to strength. With the three brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, the BMW Group has its sights set firmly on the premium sector of the international automobile market. To achieve its aims, the company knows how to deploy its strengths with an efficiency that is unmatched in the automotive industry. From research and development to sales and marketing, BMW Group is committed to the very highest in quality for all its products and services. The company’s phenomenal success is proof of this strategy’s correctness.†BMW Motorcycles provides a robust product line following three general categories: Touring, Sport, and Enduro. Touring bikes are built for the long haul, with rider comfort as the premium. These are the motorcycles you would take on a cross country trip. Sport bikes satisfy the â€Å"need for speed† and styling trends for the younger crowd. Enduro bikes are for the adventurer is us all; these bikes are built for on or off road travel. BMW Motorcycles’ main competition comes from Japanese motorcycle companies. Most American motorcycle companies produce cruiser style bikes; BMW offers little choice in this style of motorcycle. However, each of the main Japanese manufacturers (Suzuki, Yamaha, Honda, and Kawasaki) offers motorcycles that are very similar in style and performance. Although BMW has  historically had its own niche in the market, that of the older male, it has recently branched off into more dedicated off-road and super-sport bikes. These are categories that have been historically dominated by the Japanese manufacturers. Throughout the years, BMW motorcycles have been renowned for their durability and engineering. BMW has always been on the forefront of motorcycle engineering. BMW was the first motorcycle manufacturer to offer ABS on a motorcycle. They have also revolutionized motorcycle suspensions with their Telelever anti-dive suspension and Paralever single-arm suspension. Although BMWs are more costly, that price is offset by the life cycle of the motorcycle. Until recent years there hasn’t been much of a rivalry between the Japanese manufacturers and BMW Motorcycles. BMW had its small place in the market and was not a threat to the Japanese firms. BMW Motorcycles were not known to be stylish or fast, the two categories that attract the majority of motorcycle buyers. BMW attracted more mature owners who were impressed by the machine’s reliability and durability, and who had more money to spend on a new bike. The lack of power was partly due to BMW self-imposed limitations on horsepower in motorcycles. However, these limitations were lifted in the late 1990s, and BMW began to produce super-sport bikes that rivaled the Japanese bikes, and even surpassed the Japanese competitor’s performance. Up to this point, young males were rarely interested in purchasing BMWs. They cost twice as much as the closet Japanese bikes, they were slower, and they were less attractive. In essence they were the Volvo of the motorcycle world. However, like Volvo, once BMW redesigned their product line into more powerful and stylish motorcycles, they began to quickly cut into the Japanese manufacturers’ market share. BMW motorcycles have consistently won â€Å"Best Bike† awards in various categories within the past few years. Several of these awards include â€Å"2005 & 2006 Best Touring Bike† for the R1200RT, and â€Å"2005 Best Adventure Bike† for the F650GS. BMW Motorcycles reported December 2006 sales up 36.8% over the same period in 2005. In 2005, annual sales worldwide for BMW topped  100,000 motorcycles. In 2004, approximately 5.7 million motorcycles were sold in the US, of which 12,825 were BMWs. Estimates of market share for 2005 show Honda in the lead with 24% of the market, followed by Harley-Davidson and Buell with 22.6%, Yamaha at 15.9%, Suzuki at 11.8%, Kawasaki at 9.1%, KTM at 1.7%, BMW with 1.2% and â€Å"Other† at 13.7%. Although BMW gains less than 2% of total US motorcycle sales market, they only reflect less than half of BMW’s worldwide sales. BMW sold more motorcycles in Italy (13,651 bikes), than in the US, and Spain was a close third wit h 10,002 bikes. The BMW R1200GS has been the top selling bike worldwide for the past several years. As a result, Japanese motorcycle manufacturers have recently introduced large engine dual sport bikes to their lineups to compete with the BMW. The BMW R1200RT has been increasingly sought after by police departments as their bike of choice, replacing the mainstay Kawasakis. With their ever increasing popularity and sales, BMW is becoming a threat to the Japanese manufacturers and the rivalry is growing. Two of the primary attributes for motorcycles are durability and performance. Durability is defined as the capability of withstanding wear and tear, it is measured by a products ability to perform or compete over a long period. For a motorcycle this can include engine life, the ability to conduct repairs, and retention of market value. Performance is defined as the way in which someone or something functions. For motorcycles it includes horsepower, acceleration, cornering ability, and maximum speed. Target MarketsTarget Market 1: Young Males 18-25- Generally college age males, style and performance are the biggest factors for this group. Cost could be an exclusionary criterion, as this group may not have a large cash base. Target Market 2: Adult Males (25-40)- Established professionals. Performance not as big a factor as durability or economy is. This group is willing to spend more for a higher quality product. They are style conscious, but style is not necessarily a prime factor. Target Market 3: Females (all ages)- Female motorcycle buyers are a growing market, but still small enough to treat all ages as a singular group. Female riders generally are looking for something economical and stylish. Performance is low on the list of criteria. Primary Product Categories. -Enduro . These are dual purpose motorcycles that are built for both on and off road. -High Performance. Specialized off road motorcycle. -Tour. These are bikes built for long distance rides. Comfort is number one on these bikes. -Sport. These are your speed bikes. They are built to go fast and look good. -Urban. These are the bikes built to cruise the road and get good gas mileage while they are at it. This is the commuter bike category, not flashy but dependable. EnduroHigh PerformanceTouringSportUrbanYoung Male21 / 3Adult Male11 / 3Female221Core products2Rarely sold to these individuals3Biggest purchaser of items in this categoryImportant Cells:Young Male /Sport. This is the primary product line for this target market. They are looking for style and speed. This is the category that provides those. This line is very important, as this is the largest share of the entire market. BMW has been behind in this line, and only recently become competitive within the past few years. Although they now have one of the highest performing motorcycles, it is difficult to overcome the brand recognition the Japanese motorcycles have built up in this line. The competitive advantage in this line is gained through a mix of performance and appeal, with cost also a major factor. Perceived performance and style may be more important than true performance and style. Young Male / Urban. This is a growing market the past few years. BMW is neck and neck with all its competitors to grab a share, due to the newness of this motorcycle category. This is important, because getting the recognition and sales in this product line can affect the sales of the other lines. No company currently has an advantage. The advantage can be achieved by offering a motorcycle with excellent handling, great gas mileage, at a low cost. One of BMW’s products, the F650, has been seeing robust sales due to the high MPG. BMW is poised to gain an advantage in this market, the key will be to ensure the BMW name recognition is realized within this target market. Adult Male Enduro. BMW has had the leading product in this market since the introduction of their R – GS line of bikes. This award winning product has been continually recognized and awarded for its attributes. It is the king of the hill of enduro bikes, with no true competition in sight. This bike has become on of the cornerstones of BMW motorcycles, and thus its continued success will be a direct reflection of the company. BMW has been able to sustain their advantage in this market / line by continually improving the product. Adult Male / Touring. This category has seen large growth in the past few years. BMW is poised to gain an advantage here, due in large part to the recognition they are gaining by the police forces. Police forces have been buying their R-RT models in increasing numbers for the past five years. This has had a direct impact on the sales volume of not only this product, but the touring line as a whole. The police usage has given BMW greater brand recognition. Keeping the bikes visible within police forces will be the key to maintaining their competitive advantage. There are only two real competitors in this category, the Kawasaki Concours and the Honda Goldwing. The Honda has been the leader in this line until several years ago when BMW sales began to overtake them. BMW provides better durability, performance and comfort than the competitors. These are all key attributes for this target market. BMW has been pursuing new markets and products; they also have opportunity to develop both, especially in the female rider market. In the past few years, BMW has introduced improved models of their existing motorcycles to increase their appeal to younger markets. They have greatly increased their performance and styling, both key attributes sought after by this largest target market. As a result of developing this market, profits in the young male market have soared. In addition, BMW has introduced all new models of motorcycles. Of these new models, the most notable are high performance sport bikes to appeal to the young males, and less powerful, smaller frame bikes to increase appeal to beginners and females. Since 1999 BMW has developed close to 15 new motorcycle products for introduction. Each of these bikes has seen brisk sales. BMW does not hold a competitive advantage in the motorcycle market; this is due to several factors. BMW motorcycles are expensive. In many cases they cost more than $10,000 more than their market competitor. Although BMWs are more durable than their less expensive competition, the prime market does not appear to be willing to spend the increased cost for a higher quality product. In motorcycle sales, no company holds a sustained competitive advantage. The Japanese motorcycle companies, with their powerful, inexpensive motorcycles share the competitive advantage over the American and European motorcycle companies. However, this advantage tends to shift to a different company each year as new bikes are introduced. The price points for Honda, Yamaha, Kawasaki, and Suzuki are all similar for each comparable product; with generally only several hundred dollars difference. Any competitive advantage among these companies will rarely last over a model year or two. Thus there is no sustained competitive advantage among these rivals. Due to the similarities in the product offerings between all these companies, unless some revolutionary technology is developed, it will be nearly impossible to sustain any competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction is a high priority with BMW; in 2001 BMW Motorcycles introduced the â€Å"Customer-Oriented Sales and Production Process†. This process is used from customer order to delivery. It begins with an online  ordering system which allows a BMW Motorcycle dealer to send a customer’s order directly to the manufacturing plant, eliminating wholesalers or resellers and providing instant delivery status. This system also allows the customer to change any detail of his order, up to the minute that production is begun. All BMW motorcycles and parts are built at the BMW plant in Berlin, Germany. BMW motorcycles were originally built in BMW’s historic Munich plant until the 1960s. BMW concentrates all motorcycle related production, to include many component parts in the Berlin plant. This plant can build up to 500 motorcycles a day. BMW motorcycles are built to general specification and also may be custom designed from anywhere in the world. The Berlin plant builds motorcycles to the specific requirements of the over 20 countries they deliver to. The BMW motorcycle plant in Berlin uses state-of-the-art technology. It has been recognized as the most modern motorcycle manufacturing plant in the world. Like their motorcycles, the production plant is focused on ergonomics and efficiency. In addition, the factory incorporates numerous environmental friendly processes. Many of these processes, including production water recycling, also help to cut production costs. The BMW logistics division is responsible for organizing the motorcycle production. Together with marketing, sales and production departments it plans the production schedule, generates the best production sequence and ensures timely delivery of the motorcycle to the customer. Logistic specialists plan and coordinate the delivery of material to assembly and make sure that quality parts are cost-efficiently delivered to the production line. BMW Motorcycles has more than 400 external suppliers provide some 9,000 different parts and components. These parts are delivered to BMW’s Berlin plant on time and in the correct quantities. Most of the suppliers specialize in motorcycle parts for BMW. 65 % of the suppliers are located in Germany, 34 % in Europe and 1% in USA and Japan. In 2001, BMW reengineered its distribution process to reduce costs and improve response time for dealers and parts vendors. Once the motorcycle is completely assembled, it is transported from the factory direct to the retailer who placed the customer’s order through a â€Å"Retailer Channel† method. BMW uses a variety of transportation methods including truck, rail, and sea lift ; depending on the destination of the product. In the USA, BMW motorcycles are received and distributed out of two warehouse locations in New Jersey and California. From there, they are delivered direct to the retailer. BMW Motorcycle dealers are authorized by BMW to sell the motorcycle product line, and to also provide an after sales service to BMW customers. To maintain brand image and ensure customer satisfaction is met, the dealers comply with corporate requirements and guidelines in the presentation of their facility. BMW considers corporate identity and brand image to be paramount to maximize awareness of the differences between it and its competitors. These guidelines establish standards for interior and exterior design, levels of customer service, signage, typefaces and advertising. The goal of these requirements is to maintain BMW’s prestigious reputation. In addition, BMW provides management support, training courses for all dealer staff, recruitment assistance, marketing support, and an internal comprehensive online reference system which gives immediate access to up-to-date product and corporate information. BMW’s dedication to customer service, both service visible to the consumer and services which are transparent, give it a decisive advantage within its distribution channels. By striving to provide the customer the exact product desired, in a timely manner, they have streamlined their distribution processes. In addition to providing satisfaction to the consumer, this retailer channel process has cut transportation and resale costs to the benefit of both BMW and the customer. The benefits of BMW’s â€Å"Customer-Oriented Sales and Production Process† are  that the consumer can get an individualized BMW motorcycle without having to purchase a cookie-cutter motorcycle and numerous after-market products. The customer gets his one of a kind motorcycle right off the production line. In addition, he can order his customized motorcycle and receive it in a comparatively short period of time, with instantaneous production progress status available upon request. These are benefits to the consumer that the competitors cannot provide. With Japanese manufacturers, they sell the base motorcycle with very limited options. It is a dice roll that the configuration you want is in stock locally. This level of customer service, along with the high quality of the motorcycles, creates a rabid dedication to the BMW brand. BMW motorcycle owner typically will purchase another BMW over any of the competitor’s brands. This is decidedly one of the factors giving to the steady increase in market share of BMWs, and thus proof of BMW’s competitive advantage. References1. BMW Group. http://www.bmwgroup.com2. BMW Group Mission. http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_prod/e/nav/index.html?http://www.bmwgroup.com/bmwgroup_prod/e/0_0_www_bmwgroup_com/unternehmen/unternehmensprofil/strategie/strategie.html3. Web Bike World. http://www.webbikeworld.com/Motorcycle-news/blog/4. Hoffman, Nicole P. An Examination of the † Sustainable Competitive Advantage† Concept: Past, Present, and FutureAcademy of Marketing Science Review [Online] 20005.BMW Berlin Manufacturing Planthttp://www.bmw-werk-berlin.de/berlin/htdocs/english/produktion/logistik/index_logistik.htmlThe Motorcycles:1.BMW Motorcycles. http://www.bmwmotorcycles.com/index.jsp2.Suzuki Motorcycles. http://www.suzukicycles.com/3.Kawasaki Motorcycles. http://www.kawasaki.com4.Yamaha Motorcycles. http://www.yamaha-motor.com5.Honda Motorcycles. http://powersports.honda.com/motorcycles

Are hybrid cars better for the environment Essay

Are hybrid cars better for the environment - Essay Example Hybrids are gasoline efficient of all cars as they normally get 48 to 60 mpg (claimed). This is about 20% to 35% more beneficial than a fuel efficient gasoline provided fomites - like the Honda Civic which gets 36 mpg. This result in less pollutant discharged into the atmosphere (Philip Dunn, 2006). The second mode of hybrid cars is better to the environment because they help in reducing the levels of noise pollution. Hybrid car engines keep on blending the essential quantity of horsepower without any unnecessary roaring. When the hybrid cars are switched to the electric power mode they operate silently. This ultimately reduces noise pollution (Parashar Joshi, 2009). When everyone switches to hybrid cars it benefits the environment from reducing Global warming which is today's most crucial environmental issues. Lessening of smoke emission and chemical discharges on a large scale basis will help tackle the problems of global warming (Parashar Joshi, 2009). Actually, when the conventional cars ply on the roads the pollutants discharged by them will lead to respiratory ailments like lung cancer. But when hybrid cars are used the pollutants discharged are lesser and so our health is also protected (Lopez, 2008). In the most wide-ranging plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) research to date, which was brought out in 2007 by Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), results forecast that all greenhouse gases will be decreased as PHEVs start to perforate the car market.

Critical reflection of classroom observations Essay

Critical reflection of classroom observations - Essay Example Lesson aims for the students: The main aim of the lesson was to give the students an opportunity to developskills for generating a conversation more so with a stranger. Specific Skills: By the end of the lesson, the students were expected to generate a general idea of conversation starters through the completion of a specific task. The subsidiary aim of the lesson was to shine light upon the learners on they ought to speak and to learn the appropriate vocabulary for conversing with people under different circumstances. Anticipated Problems & Solutions: As is expected in every lesson, this lesson had its anticipated problems. Pronunciation was the first anticipated problem because the students would have found the new vocabulary in the text hard to cope with. Not only was the new vocabulary posing the problem of mispronunciation, it also had the possibility of making students to slow down in their reading. The students were also expected to present something that they generated from t he task that the teacher gave them. It was therefore expected that some of the students would be shy during the presentation. ... To eliminate the anticipation of the students being shy, the teacher had to make the lesson as interactive as possible and make sure that all the students participated in the activities. Assumed Knowledge: The basic assumption of the lesson was that the students were familiar with the concepts of starting a conversation, especially with a stranger. Materials: Delisle, R. (1997). How to use problem-based learning in the classroom. Alexandria, Va, Asociation for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Ellis, R. (2009). A typology of written corrective feedback types. Gear, A. (2006). Reading power: teaching students to think while they read. Markham, Ont, Pembroke Publishers. Harding da Rosa, J-M. (2012) ‘Managing your classes’ in English Teaching Professional, issue 82 ,pp 22-24. Harmer, J. (2007) The Practice of English Language Teaching (4th Edition). Hativa, N. (2001). Teaching for effective learning in higher education.Dordrecht, Kluwer Academic Publishers. Hebden, M. & Mason, J. (2003).Classroom organization.English Teaching Professional. Issue 28.Pp 23-5. Jacobs, G. M. and Ball, J. (1996) ‘An Investigation of the Structure of Group Activities in ELT Coursebooks’ in ELT Journal 50/2 99-107. Saginor, N. (2008). Diagnostic classroom observation: Moving beyond best practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. Senior, R. (2008) 'Developing Rapport' in English Teaching Professional, issue 54. Tudor, I. (1993) ‘Teacher roles in the learner-centred classroom’ in ELT Journal (1993) 47(1): 22-3. Widdowson, H. G. (1987) ‘ The Roles of Teacher and Learner’ in ELT Journal, 41/ 2 83-8. Wilson, K. (2008) ‘Facilitator Talk in EAP Reading Classes’ in ELT Journal, 62/4, 366-374. Zepeda, S. J. (2009). The instructional leader's guide to informal

Professional Practice (PGCE) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Professional Practice (PGCE) - Essay Example The teachers understood me as a student and that gave me a valuable lesson - that interacting, communicating and engaging ones students in a dialog helps in sharing of ideas and experiences and enhances our knowledge about the subject (Steffe & Gale, 1995). Such interaction also helped me realize the significance of active learning whereby students can learn merely through communicating with one another and through exchanging of ideas. It also taught me to be responsible and responsive to my students. The collaborative learning approach used in classrooms enabled holistic learning and development of the students (Cohen, Brody and Sapon-Shevin, 2012) and helped in reflecting on the concepts learned. The effectiveness with which the course was designed encouraged me to experiment with diverse ideas and approaches, which can be used in class while teaching and also equipped me with adequate knowledge and skills to address the various challenges that I would encounter during my role as a teacher. During the course of my study I had an opportunity to observe other teachers as well as be observed by other teachers and in the process I learned the various teaching approaches and the implication of using them in a classroom setting. I also learned to develop lesson plans and completed five modules which includes Introduction to teaching and learning, planning and assessing, applying theory to practice, reflective practice, curriculum and professional practice. Teacher observation helped me learn about skills such as classroom management, and the benefit of a student-focused approach. It helped in the overall professional development as a teacher. Through this course I realized the significance of observation and the manner in which it helps in self-reflection and influence the way we teach, since it exposes the teachers to new innovative methods of teaching and help in creating a professional learning environment with the

Provision 7 case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Provision 7 - Case Study Example Therefore, Melisa should devise an effective strategy to address the problem before it gets out of hand. The interaction of the instructor and the student will bear some influence on behavior perception. In this regard, Melisa should be vigilant when relating with the students to avoid development of negative attitude by the students. There are many approaches that the instructor can use to solve the problem facing the student and other difficulties facing the entire students’ body. For instance, the instructor can call the student in a private room or an open field where they are just the two of them and dialogue about the problem facing the student. Doing this gives the student assurance that the conversation is secure and that personal information cannot leak to a third party. After identification of the problem, the nursing instructor should prescribe the appropriate method of handling the problem. In addition, the instructor should refer the student to a professional counsellor to facilitate effective solution of the problem. In summary, nursing instructors should always be prepared to address both simple and complex problems facing the students, in addition, nursing instructors should engage in regular training to enhance development of diverse

Modern Architecture in Australia Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Modern Architecture in Australia - Essay Example However, Australia’s distinctive and unique climate necessitated adaptations in the architectural designs. Notable Australian adaptations include the Queenslander and Federation styles of residential architecture. Over the years, Australia has developed some iconic designs which include: the UNESCO, Sydney Opera House, and the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne. Early buildings in Australia had European fashions such as the Georgian style. This is a style that is exhibited in early government buildings and homes of the affluent. Francis Greenway, the architect who appears on the Australian ten dollar note designed early buildings in Georgian style with examples such as, the Hyde Park Barracks and St. James’ church. Further, another European style that gained fame and favour in the early 19th century in Australia was the Gothic Revival architecture which was particularly used in churches. It had its distinctive features which included pointed arches, turrets, and bat tlements and gothic ornaments. One of the best examples that exhibits this style can be seen at the lower end of Collins Street in Melbourne.1 The Australian gold rush of the mid-19th century saw major buildings especially in Sydney and Melbourne and to a minor extent in regional capitals being built in the style of Victorian architecture. Italian architecture also found favour from the period of about 1850-1893 as it allowed greater displays of prosperity through its rich and complex features such as slate roofs and cast iron work.2 A significant leap in architectural movements in Australia was the development of the Federation architecture style of the 20th century where Australia began to develop a sense of personal identity that was not related to the previous European designs. Technically, they began developing a style of their own. One of the most important local introductions to Australian architecture was the veranda which was introduced by pastoralists who took up land and built single storey houses with the addition of the veranda which provided shade and looked attractive. Like almost everywhere around the world, the movement in Australian architecture have been influenced by socio-political factors. For example, during the early 20th century, cities across Australia had placed height limits to buildings at typically 150 feet (45 metres) hence hindering the development of very tall buildings (skyscrapers) in the American style until the limits were lifted in the late 1950s3. Similarly, the Australian families sought to own their own free standing houses with space in the backyard which hence meant that high density houses were rare in Australia until the end of the 20th century. However, significant concerns were raised during the 1960s with the skyscraper boom which had led to the destruction of earlier historic buildings. A green ban was thus set in place to protect historic 18th – century buildings in The Rocks from being demolished to pav e way for office towers and also prevented the Royal Botanic gardens from being transformed into a car park for the Sydney Opera House.4 In the city of Melbourne the battle to preserve history was the one fought to preserve the Carlton from slum reclamation for setting up public housing. In the 21st century Australian architects have taken a more innovative approach to designs. Many buildings have emerged that truly reflect the unique Australian culture and values. As a result,

Logistics and Operations Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Logistics and Operations Management - Assignment Example Operational input includes staff cost, material, equipment, no. of rooms in the hotel while operational output includes number of rooms rented by patrons, no. of service availed by customers, increase in brand awareness among tourists etc. Choy and Chu (2001) defined customer satisfaction as the intention of the customer to repurchase/recommend services of the hotel after availing it first time. Hotels can be classified as Budget, Mid-Scale, First Class and Luxury on the basis of their revenue and size of operation (. In this report, the discussion will only be concentrated on Budget and Luxury hotel (PKF Consulting, 2010). It is evident from the above theoretical argument that operation management plays vital role in hotel industry. Hence, this report will try to indicate the difference between Budget and Luxury hotel in terms of various facets of operation management. A real life case study will also be used in this report in order to validate the argument of the researcher. Budget Hotel versus Luxury Hotel From the consumer viewpoint, budget hotels are perceived as the low cost accommodation place for tourist while customers ready to spend extra money on luxury are attracted to luxury hotels which have more to offer rather than offering only accommodation facility to customers. However, the demarcation between luxury and budget hotel is decided on the basis of different factors such as total cost of the project, price of the rooms, availability of services, no. of rooms, additional amenities, augmented facilities etc. TRI Hospitality Consulting (2007) defined budget hotel as the conjunction of ‘limited-service hotel’ and ‘select-service hotel’. For example, City Hotel located in central London can be classified as the budget hotel with room rent in the range of ?30 to ?50 (Hostel Bookers, 2013). TRI Hospitality Consulting (2007) defined luxury hotels as the accommodation place which offers additional facilities such as sports, leisu re, travel etc along with accommodation service and charges high price in order to reflect its service quality. Luxury hotels emphasize heavily on creation of customer touch points such as infrastructure, design and aesthetics of the building etc which can reflect the premium service quality to customers. For example, Bellagio located in Las Vegas can be classified as luxury hotel which charges minimum hotel room rent of ?200 to ?250 per day. It is clear from the above discussion that there is significant amount of difference exist between operations of a budget hotel as against operation of a luxury hotel. Gronroos (2007) stated that service driven business organizations need to focus more on creating customer touch points and customer service in order to deliver quality service to tourists and patrons in hotel. Mongiello and Harris (2006) found that traditional management concepts known as Fayol’s five elements of management can be successfully implemented by hotel managers in order to achieve business success. These 5 elements are defined as Planning, Organizing, Commanding, Coordinating and Controlling. Each of these elements can be used in order to contrast and compare the differences and

Oscilloscope and Function Generator Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Oscilloscope and Function Generator - Lab Report Example nd in trying to understand the fundamental functioning of the two, the variables that were measured include the period (in seconds), the frequency (in Hz), and the peak-to-peak voltage (in volts). This experiment verifies the relation between frequency and time as F = 1/T as evidenced by the results. in the functioning of these machines, these variables are used in varied ways. With frequency and time being reciprocals of one another, and this relationship is fundamental when displaying a current waveform or an AC voltage on the screen of an oscilloscope (Witte, 2002). This, in a nutshell, brings out the functions, as well as the difference of the function generator and the oscilloscope. Having understood the basic functioning of the function generator and the oscilloscope by using the numerical values of the time, period, and voltage variables, this experiment demonstrated the difference between these two machines, but also practically demonstrated each variable as an independent variable in different mathematical contexts. The functional difference, as well as the functional similarity of the function generator and the oscilloscope shed light on the practical functioning of the machines and the different variables they

More impotant than a baby sitter Essay Example for Free

More impotant than a baby sitter Essay In today’s world we live our lives constantly wondering what we can do to better ourselves or our children. When in fact we should be concerned with what we didn’t do already. Pet scans and other research show that from birth to age 6 are the most crucial years for brain development. At just the age of three, a child’s brain is twice as active as the average adult brain and it stays that way for the first decade of life. With the world at its most competitive period, we want our children to be as logical and knowledgeable as possible. Preschools are a great way to focus on the essential components that allow a child’s brain to develop. Even though some parents treat preschool as a baby sitter, they may be missing the bigger picture that these great facilities are making. Babies are born learning, they make synapses connections throughout the day. And these connections are only made if they are a repetitive action, like putting the square block through the square hole. This is considered the â€Å"wiring† of the child’s brain and only takes place during the young years. Teachers know this and make the children preform the repetitive actions so the connections they are experiencing are strong and last throughout the rest of their lives. Preschoolers learn so much so fast it’s like they are making leaps in their education. If everyone was educated starting at the preschool level who knows how much more successful and developed this world would be. Preschools offer a safe environment for children to interact for maybe even the first time. This one on one contact is for proper development; the child learns how to wait, take turns and how to listen. This helps determine personality for the long run of the pupil’s life. These experiences must happen during preschool age to have a long term effect and the child benefit. Children also learn motor skills in preschool and the soft; child friendly rooms prevent any accidents or damage to their fragile bodies. They are able to try new movements and exercise their motor skills all while having fun. Music is another item introduced to the children for the first time. Musically inclined people have found to be introduced to music at a very early age according to Educational Expert Barbra Callaghan. And music has positive effects with originality and creativity. And it’s hard to call it a preschool without arts and crafts, this type of hand eye coordination goes hand and hand with the skills learned from music. Music is also a great tool for memorization, face it, when you think about the alphabet that same tune they play in preschools comes to mind. It also teaches rhythm and tempo and stimulates their brain to perform as a â€Å"sponge† to soak up information in large amounts. The first day of kindergarten can be extremely confusing and overwhelming for some children, but for children that have been enrolled in preschool it’s just a lot bigger building with new people. Preschool has been called the â€Å"boot camp of education†, because it is designed relatively similar to elementary school. And the statistics prove preschool helps in the success of public school. In 2009 a study by Duke University showed that in America, 59% of high school graduates were exposed to preschool at some time, and 41% received no education prior to kindergarten. That’s an astounding number considering the high school dropout rate in 2009 was 16% according to CNN, and it’s safe to say more than half of them were not exposed to preschool in their younger years. Preschools are designed to be â€Å"fun† for small children, and they are. But the children are learning things they will need for the rest of their lives without even realizing. Almost every situation life brings to us on a daily basis can be traced back to the developmental years that take place during preschool. Whether it’s to help you develop independence, concentration, or even your academic foundation is developed in preschool. Think about all the children that are neglected of this solid start to education. Preschool has a greater purpose than being a babysitter; It’s something we can use to better ourselves for more breakthroughs with medicine and even discoveries of a new energy. It all starts at preschool, all babies are willing to learn its natural, we just have to give them the chance. Works Cited ARSLAN, EMEL, NESLIHAN DURMUSOGLU-SALTALI, and HASAN YILMAZ. Social Skills And Emotional And Behavioral Traits Of Preschool Children. Social Behavior Personality: An International Journal 39. 9 (2011): 1281-1287. Academic Search Complete. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. Callaghan, Barbara. The Benefits of Preschool. FamilyEducation. com. Pearson Education, 05 Nov. 2009. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Jackson, Marshall J. Brain Development. Birth to Six. Multnomah County Library, 03 May 2010. Web. 24 Nov. 2012. . Lynch, Robert G. The Economic Policy Institute. Economic Policy Institute. Economic Policy Institute, Oct. 2004. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. . Williams, Jessie. High School Dropouts Rise. CNN. Cable News Network, 05 May 2009. Web. 26 Nov. 2012. . `

Launching Strategy Essay Example for Free

Launching Strategy Essay Purpose: Alpen Bank is facing potential growth opportunities in terms of launching a credit card to the Romanian market. The overall goal is to increase annual profit by â‚ ¬5 million within two years of launch. Selection of the right target audience, while applying the appropriate launching strategy is the direction of our focus. Our goal is to extend the Alpen Bank premium service to customers via a new product market. Predictions of economic growth in Romania, proves that the market is growing increasingly ripe for credit cards. Therefore, the issue is not whether or not Alpine Bank should launch a credit card in Romania. The concern of Alpine Bank should be when to launch said services in Romania. Current models, statistics, and research are conclusive; the time to invest in Romania is now. Position Statement: The recommendation standing and supported by enclosed financial statements are as follows: Launching a credit card in the Romanian market would meet the stated purpose by targeting the affluent and most affluent audience (Exhibit 1). The marketing approach will consist of direct sales in conjunction with branch cross selling (Exhibit 2). Also the use of magazine and television advertising strategies will enhance our position. This approach will add support for the recommendation of taking advantage of a primarily non-penetrated market. Reason: The opportunity to invest in the Romanian credit card market yields potential revenue growth, along with increasing the life time value of each customer, new and existing. With Romania entering the European Union, Alpen Bank has been prompted to re-visit its previous credit card approach in the emerging economy. Additionally, there has been an increase in luxury products and purchases, displaying increased consumer purchasing power, a potential indicator of an increased interest in credit card. Furthermore, Romania is in a transition period, with cards gaining favorability over cash payments. Alpen Bank hopes to build upon prior methods explored in Romania by competing banks in penetrating the credit card market. Decision Options (Exhibit 6): 1.Launch a credit card in Romania. 2.Do not launch a credit card in Romania. Decision Option 1 a.Add a new market: Alpen Bank can continue its successful venture in Romania by adding a credit card to its portfolio. This will foster a continuing growth in an increasingly affluent Romanian upper class. As purchasing power is determined by income level and accumulated wealth, the affluent class is more able than the middle class to make purchases on credit. b.Increase revenue: Current models and predictions indicate a strong opportunity to significantly increase the yearly revenue by investing in the credit card market. Calculations display how the venture will increase the life time value of each customer, ensuring future growth. (Exhibit 1) Decision Option 2 a.Focus on existing markets: Venturing into the credit card market could draw resources away from core Alpen Banking services already in effect for the Romanian market. b.Assure no potential risk: All investments come with inherent risks. By investing substantially into an exploratory market, Alpen Bank is running the risk of not meeting the expected outcome. The potential monetary risk could run into the millions of dollars, along with an incalculable risk to reputation. How to measure Decision Option 1 a.Establish a customer base with the affluent and most affluent: By building upon the currently excising clientele, along with attracting untapped segments of the prosperous Romanian upper class. By comparing the actual number of clients utilizing the Alpen Bank credit card with the models and predictions made pre-credit card launch. (Exhibit 4) b.Increasing revenue from the credit card launch: Expected revenue from the credit card enterprise is projected to be â‚ ¬6,698,391 within two years (Exhibit 2). By updating current calculation models with on-going information as the enterprise proceeds allows for ongoing monitoring of predicted return on investment. The lifetime value of customers will also be assessed on a yearly basis, predicting the value of loyal, long term users of credit cards. How to measure Decision Option 2 a.Projecting further growth without credit card. Venturing into the Romanian credit card market taps resources away from current banking business. Investments could also be put to use in other areas, such as higher frequency of branches opening or improving services currently offered. b.Customer awareness of the bank’s premium brand: By investing in already offered business services. Alpine Bank is committed to improving our superior line of service currently offered to the Romanian clientele. Critique of Decision Options 1 Per limitations of senior management, the investment into the Romanian credit card market must prove itself profitable within two years, yielding at least five million euro. Investing in developing a profitable line of credit cards comes with several risk factors. Predictions of profit could be erroneous, leading to a less than expected return on investments. This in turn could lead to revocable and irrevocable damage to reputation, potentially resulting in a net loss of customer over short and long term. Projections of the positive effects of Romania’s’ recent acceptance into the European Union could also be incorrect. By investing time and energy into a new business venture, current banking services could suffer from subconscious neglect by employees involved in both enterprises. Critique of Decision Option 2 A decision not to invest in the Romanian credit card market will be a hinder of growth. Currently, competing banks are investing and have invested in the growing credit card market. By delaying a venture, Alpen Bank is permitting competitors to gain establishment and credit market branding. Alpen Bank currently holds the potential necessary for a successful venture into the credit card market. By failing to employ said resources, Alpine Bank is neglecting talent and opportunity, which could lead to failure in expected profitability. Being accepted into European Union brings increasing prospect of higher return on investments in the credit card market. By choosing to stay out of the market, Alpine Bank is also forcing excising customers to other banks for credit card services. As experienced in other emerging markets in developing countries, credit card customers are less likely to switch from one credit card to another. Therefore, failing to introduce a line of credit cards now will make it increasingly difficult to attract customers when Alpen Bank eventually starts its credit card venture. Action plan: Goals: †¢Launch a credit card †¢Reach the affluent and most affluent †¢Launch marketing and adverting that appeals to our audience Action Steps: Short term †¢Marketing Plan: Release a Premium Marketing Plan that is focused, achievable, compelling, and simple. As evident by exhibit 1, the chosen target group is the affluent and most affluent segments of the Romanian population. By ensuring a proper understanding of the dynamic characterizing the targeted demographic, we are able to construct the appropriate marketing plan. This will instill the programs, tactics, incentives, and budgets necessary for a strong image and a consistent message reaching the targeted customers. †¢Marketing: Investing in direct sales and branch cross-selling holds the highest effective rate of potential customers reached. These two methods also have the lowest cost per customer. Combined they ensure the most effective tactic in recruiting customers to Alpen Bank’s credit card. (Exhibit 2) †¢Advertising: Magazine and television advertisements. Our advertising goal is to capture the attention of perspective applicants as well as converting prospects involved with other credit card venues. Establishing a clear message for the audience is essential in launching advertising Alpen Bank’s advertising campaign. â€Å"A premium clientele deserves a premium banking experience.† The launch of the campaign considers the sophisticated, vernacular culture of our Romanian clientele. The goal is to assure the same quality experience in our established bank while adding an innovative credit card product to allocate more options for our clientele. -Magazine advertisements could feature admired Romanian model Diana Dondoe, to highlight Alpen Bank’s image of being an upscale and exclusive provider of banking services. -Television advertisements could consist of 30 second runs of a Romanian couple being picked up by their driver and dropped off at the premier launch of the credit card. These are some alternatives in order to illustrate how the product could be marketed. †¢Launch of promotional events by the Alpen Bank’s public relations department. Evening events could be held at elegant local venues for charitable fundraising purposes. Long term †¢Continuing growth in the Romanian market, with special focus on the credit card market. †¢Attracting customers to Alpen Bank by focusing on its premium image and superior services. †¢Expansion in the credit card market, to have established a customer base of 200,000 customers five years following initial launch. †¢As the Romanian economy is growing, the percentage of population with a disposable income is increasing. Alpen Bank will focus on attracting new members of the affluent segment of the population. †¢Increase the lifetime value of each customer, by further expansion of the financial services offered. †¢Increase credit card utilization by informing clientele of benefits associated with credit card purchases, along with temporary potential incentives offered in order to change consumer habits. Risk and Countermeasures †¢The chosen target demographic of affluent and most affluent Romanians could prove itself too limited for effective penetration. However, as the Romanian economy is growing, the targeted demographic is also expected to expand in size. Therefore, even if the current market niche is too limited, it is expected to grow substantially over the next two to three years. †¢The expected profit of five million could not be achieved within the timeframe of two years. As limitations set by senior management calls for a substantial profit to be made within a relatively short amount of time, there is a risk of the time restraints not being met. Yet these restrictions add a clear vision, enabling a structured approach in order to meet the expected outcome within the set timeframe. Final recommendation and conclusion By venturing into the Romanian credit card market, Alpen Bank is capitalizing on a ripe product opportunity. Current predictions and models consistently indicate that by pursuing the recommended strategy, Alpen Bank will see profits grow by a minimum of â‚ ¬6.6 million over two years. Romania’s recent acceptance into the European Union, accompanied with an increase in purchasing power among the affluent fragment of the population will ensure a substantial return on investment. (Exhibit 4, 5)

Objective Of Kentucky Fried Chicken Engineering Essay

Objective Of Kentucky Fried Chicken Engineering Essay Objective of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) have two objectives are stated objective and implied objective. First objectives in the stated objective are product development. In this objective the KFC do the increase variety on menu, introduce desert menu and introduce buffet to restaurants. Second objectives from the stated objective is introduction on the Neighborhood Program with menu items target African Americans in major cities with the items of greens, macaroni and cheese, peach cobbler and red beans and rise. Besides that, menu items targeting Hispanics in major cities with the items of fried plantains, flan and tress leeches. Others objectives is implementation on non-traditional units including the shopping mall food courts, universities, hospitals, airports, stadiums, amusement parks, office building and mobile units. After that, in this objectives want to increase profitability of KFC through the reduced overhead costs, increased efficiencies, improved customer service, cleaner restaurants, faster and friendlier service and continued high quality products. Also have to resolve franchise problems in the United States. In implied objectives have four objectives. First objective is expansion of international operations to provide the increased percentage of overall sales growth and increased percentages of profit growth. Also want to increased expansion of franchises into Mexico. The next objective is expansion of franchise operation beyond Central America, continued promotion of healthier image through removal of the world fried from the name and to improve menu selection of rotisserie. Industry analysis is important to unusual for a firm in a troubled industry to perform well. The economic structure of an industry is not an accident. It is complexities are the result of long term social trends and economic forces. But its effects to the business manager are immediate because it determines the competitive rules and strategies to use. Five forces that are widely use to assess the structure of any industry. The five forces are the bargaining power of supplier, bargaining power of the buyers, threat of new entrants, threat of substitute and rivalry among competitors. The strength of the five forces determines the profit potential in an industry by influencing the price, costs and required investment of business it is the element of return on investment. Stronger forces are associated with a more challenging business environment. In the first forces is bargaining power of suppliers thats means any business requires inputs such as labor, parts, raw, materials and services. The cost of inputs can have a significant effect to companys profitability. Whether the strength of suppliers represent a weak or string force thing on the amount or bargaining can exert and ultimately on how can influence the terms and conditions of transaction in their favor. Besides thats, to reducing the bargaining power of suppliers are reduce inventory costs by providing just in time delivers, enhance the value of goods and services supplied use of information about customer needs and preferences and speed the adoption of new technologies. Second forces is bargaining power of buyers thats the power of buyers describe the effect that the customers have on the profitability of the business. The transaction between the seller and the buyer creates value for both parties. Buyers have more power when the industry has many small companies supplying the product and buyers are few and large. After that the customers have access to and are able to evaluate market information. To reducing the bargaining power of buyers are increasing their loyalty to the business through partnerships or loyalty programs, selling directly to customers, or increasing the inherent or perceived value of a product by adding features or banding. The next forces of the industry are threat of new entrants thats means the new entrants is the possibility that new firms will enter the industry. New entrants bring a desire to gain market share and often have significant resources. Analyzing the threat of new entrants involves examining the barriers to entry and the expected reactions of existing firms to new competitors. These barriers protect the companies already in business by being a hurdle to those trying to enter the market. Entry barriers are unique for each industry and situation, and a change over time. The threat of new entrants is greatest when the processes are not protected by regulations or patents and competitors may be scared away when the learning curve is steep, competitors will be attracted to an industry where the production process is easily learned. The threat of substitutes is forces of industry. Be aware that substitute products can come in many shape and size, and do not always come from traditional competitors. Products from one business can be replaced by products from another. Substitute products are those that can fulfill a similar need to the one product fills. Substitutes are a greater threat when the products does not offer any real benefit compared to other products. After that, it is easy for customers to switch. Means thats a grocer can easily switch from paper to plastic bags for its customers, but bottler may have to reconfigure its equipment and retains its workers if it switches from aluminum cans to plastic bottles. To reducing the threat of substitutes is using tactics such as staying closely in tune with customer preference and differentiating the product by branding. The last forces are rivalry among competitors. Competition is the foundation of the free enterprise system yet with small business even a little competition goes a long way. Because company in an industry is mutually dependent, actions by one company usually invite competitive retaliation. Rivalry among competitors is often the strongest of the five competitive forces, but can vary widely among industries. If the competitive force is weak, companies may be able to raise prices, provide fewer products for the price, and earn more profits. The most intense rivalries occur when one firm or a small number of firms have incentive to try and become the market leader or when the market is growing slowly or shrinking. To reducing the threat of rivals is employing a variety of tactics. To minimize price competition, distinguish the products from the competitors by innovating or improving features. WHAT IS KFC KFC Corporation founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, called a concept, of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global Restaurants Inc. The company was founded as Kentucky Fried Chicken by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1952, through the idea of KFCs fried chicken actually goes back to 1930. The company adopted the abbreviated form of its name in 1991. Starting in April 2007, the company began using its original name, Kentucky Fried Chicken, fir its signage, packaging and advertisement in the United State as part of a new corporate rebranding program, newer and remodeled restaurants will have the new logo and name while older stores will continue to use the 1980s signage. Since its inception, KFC has evolved through several different organizational changes. These changes were brought about due to the changes of ownership that followed since Colonel Sanders first sold KFC in 1964. In 1964, KFC was sold a small group of inventors that eventually took it public. Heublein, Inc, purchased KFC in 1971 and was highly involved in the day to day operations. R.J. Reynolds then acquired Heublein in 1982. R.J. took a more laid back approach and allowed business as usual at KFC. Finally, in 1986, KFC was acquired by PepsiCo, which was trying to grow is quick serve restaurant segment. PepsiCo presently runs Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and KFC. The PepsiCo management style and corporate culture was significantly different from that of KFC. By the end of 1994, KFC was operating 4 258 restaurants in 68 foreign countries. KFC is the largest chicken restaurant and the third largest quick service chain in the world. Due to market saturation in the United States, international expansion will be critical to increased profitability and growth. The companies of KFC have more than 36 000 locations around the world. The company is ranked number 239 on the Fortune 500 list, with revenues in excess on $11 billion in 2008. Every day, more than 12 million customers are served at KFC restaurants in 109 countries and territories around the world. The companies of KFC more than 15 000 units around the world. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats involved in a project or in a business venture. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that objective. A SWOT analysis must first with defining a desired end state or objective. A SWOT analysis may be incorporated into the strategic planning model. Strategic Planning, including SWOT and SCAN analysis, has been the subject of much research. After that, in SWOT analysis have the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The strengths are attributes of the person or company that are helpful to achieving the objectives. The weaknesses are attributes of the person or company that are harmful to achieving the objectives. After that, the opportunities means external conditions that are helpful to achieving the objectives and the last is threats means that external conditions which could do damage to the objectives. In the strength have the lack of secondary trading such as sukuk flexibility of the Syariah, Syariah Supervision, advantages of religious preposition, less use of money for speculative purpose, divine sources, Islamic rating agencies, morale and commitment to serve, huge amount of saving, innovative aspect, location wise and geographically, transparency, justice and fairness, according standards, quality of service, legal and regulatory framework and information system. After that, the weaknesses have are lack of standardization, reverse engineering of conventional product, there are differences in theory and practice, lack of Islamic gedging mechanism, no fixed obligations, unresolved fiqh issue, small percentage of profit loss sharing product, lack of qualified personnel, time or season factors, disadvantages of proposition, divergence of Shariah opinion and lack of Shariah compliant investment avenue. The opportunities have the technological advances, Islamic is a complete solution, the growth of socially responsible investing, faith based customer, large potential ahead in retail, corporate and investment banking, potential relating to sukuk, better customer relations, serving for all potential specific sectors, potential in fund management and provide innovative product. The last is threats have the global financial crisis, economic uncertainty in global market, market demand, shortage of recourses, lack of sustainable financial backing, intense competition from the conventional institutions, paucity of 100% Syariah compliant solution, liquidity and monetary management, a lot legislation is required, lack of awareness and understanding of Islamic financial product and sophisticated conventional financial system. CALCULATION KFC NAB ALL ORDINARIES DATE ADJ CLOSE RETURN ks-k bars (ks-k bars)2 1 1/6/2003 3.5 2 1/13/2003 3.6 -0.012234456 -0.011218519 0.0001258552 3 1/20/2003 3.78 -0.021189299 -0.020173361 0.0004069645 4 1/27/2003 3.62 0.018783229 0.019799167 0.0003920070 5 2/5/2003 3.52 0.012165907 0.013181845 0.0001737610 6 2/10/2003 3.46 0.007466565 0.008482502 0.0000719528 7 2/17/2003 3.12 0.044921505 0.045937442 0.0021102486 8 2/24/2003 3.5 -0.04991345 -0.048897513 0.0023909667 9 3/3/2003 3.5 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 10 3/10/2003 3.46 0.004991946 0.006007883 0.0000360947 11 3/17/2003 3.4 0.007597182 0.008613119 0.0000741858 12 3/24/2003 3.46 -0.007597182 -0.006581244 0.0000433128 13 3/31/2003 3.42 0.005049993 0.00606593 0.0000367955 14 4/7/2003 3.46 -0.005049993 -0.004034055 0.0000162736 15 4/14/2003 3.42 0.005049993 0.00606593 0.0000367955 16 4/21/2003 3.5 -0.010041938 -0.009026001 0.0000814687 17 4/28/2003 3.5 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 18 5/5/2003 3.5 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 19 5/12/2003 3.48 0.0024888 0.003504738 0.0000122832 20 5/19/2003 3.48 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 21 5/26/2003 3.48 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 22 6/2/2003 3.5 -0.0024888 -0.001472863 0.0000021693 23 6/9/2003 3.66 -0.019413041 -0.018397103 0.0003384534 24 6/16/2003 3.66 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 25 6/23/2003 3.6 0.007178585 0.008194522 0.0000671502 26 6/30/2003 3.56 0.004852503 0.005868441 0.0000344386 27 7/7/2003 3.8 -0.028333599 -0.027317661 0.0007462546 28 7/14/2003 3.76 0.004595752 0.005611689 0.0000314911 29 7/21/2003 3.86 -0.01139946 -0.010383522 0.0001078175 30 7/28/2003 3.94 -0.008908917 -0.007892979 0.0000622991 31 8/4/2003 4 -0.00656377 -0.005547832 0.0000307784 32 8/11/2003 3.98 0.002176919 0.003192857 0.0000101943 33 8/18/2003 4.38 -0.041591038 -0.040575101 0.0016463388 34 8/25/2003 4.48 -0.009803903 -0.008787966 0.0000772283 35 9/1/2003 4.44 0.003895044 0.004910982 0.0000241177 36 9/8/2003 4.46 -0.001951889 -0.000935951 0.0000008760 37 9/15/2003 4.2 0.026085568 0.027101506 0.0007344916 38 9/22/2003 4.28 -0.008194479 -0.007178541 0.0000515314 39 9/29/2003 4.22 0.006131318 0.007147256 0.0000510833 40 10/6/2003 4.26 -0.004097148 -0.00308121 0.0000094939 41 10/13/2003 4.46 -0.01992526 -0.018909322 0.0003575625 42 10/20/2003 4.64 -0.017183122 -0.016167184 0.0002613778 43 10/27/2003 4.84 -0.018327381 -0.017311443 0.0002996861 44 11/3/2003 4.8 0.003604124 0.004620062 0.0000213450 45 11/10/2003 4.5 0.028028724 0.029044661 0.0008435924 46 11/17/2003 4.44 0.005829544 0.006845481 0.0000468606 47 11/24/2003 4.36 0.007896481 0.008912419 0.0000794312 48 12/1/2003 4.3 0.006018034 0.007033971 0.0000494768 49 12/8/2003 4.26 0.004058856 0.005074794 0.0000257535 50 12/15/2003 4.28 -0.00203417 -0.001018232 0.0000010368 51 12/22/2003 4.26 0.00203417 0.003050108 0.0000093032 52 12/29/2003 4.24 0.002043743 0.00305968 0.0000093616 53 1/5/2004 4.3 -0.006102599 -0.005086661 0.0000258741 54 1/12/2004 4.62 -0.03117352 -0.030157582 0.0009094798 55 1/19/2004 4.66 -0.003743941 -0.002728003 0.0000074420 56 1/26/2004 4.6 0.005628085 0.006644023 0.0000441430 57 2/4/2004 4.62 -0.001884144 -0.000868206 0.0000007538 58 2/9/2004 4.38 0.023167865 0.024183803 0.0005848563 59 2/16/2004 4.36 0.001987621 0.003003559 0.0000090214 60 2/24/2004 4.48 -0.011791525 -0.010775587 0.0001161133 61 3/1/2004 4.42 0.005855745 0.006871682 0.0000472200 62 3/8/2004 4.44 -0.001960701 -0.000944763 0.0000008926 63 3/15/2004 4.3 0.013914515 0.014930452 0.0002229184 64 3/22/2004 4.3 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 65 3/29/2004 4.3 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 66 4/5/2004 4.5 -0.019744058 -0.01872812 0.0003507425 67 4/12/2004 4.68 -0.017033339 -0.016017402 0.0002565572 68 4/19/2004 4.6 0.007488021 0.008503959 0.0000723173 69 4/26/2004 3.78 0.085266032 0.08628197 0.0074445783 70 5/3/2004 3.74 0.004620198 0.005636135 0.0000317660 71 5/10/2004 3.72 0.002328662 0.0033446 0.0000111863 72 5/17/2004 3.56 0.019092942 0.02010888 0.0004043670 73 5/24/2004 3.74 -0.021421604 -0.020405667 0.0004163912 74 5/31/2004 3.7 0.004669878 0.005685816 0.0000323285 75 6/7/2004 3.68 0.002353905 0.003369843 0.0000113558 76 6/14/2004 3.58 0.011964792 0.01298073 0.0001684993 77 6/21/2004 3.44 0.017324584 0.018340522 0.0003363747 78 6/28/2004 3.24 0.026013432 0.02702937 0.0007305868 79 7/5/2004 3.18 0.00811789 0.009133828 0.0000834268 80 7/12/2004 3.32 -0.018710964 -0.017695026 0.0003131139 81 7/19/2004 3.3 0.002624144 0.003640082 0.0000132502 82 7/26/2004 3.2 0.013363962 0.014379899 0.0002067815 83 8/2/2004 3.22 -0.002705893 -0.001689956 0.0000028560 84 8/9/2004 3.2 0.002705893 0.003721831 0.0000138520 85 8/16/2004 3.12 0.010995384 0.012011322 0.0001442719 86 8/23/2004 3 0.017033339 0.018049277 0.0003257764 87 8/30/2004 3.14 -0.019808393 -0.018792456 0.0003531564 88 9/6/2004 3.14 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 89 9/13/2004 3.16 -0.002757435 -0.001741497 0.0000030328 90 9/20/2004 3.34 -0.024059384 -0.023043446 0.0005310004 91 9/27/2004 3.3 0.005232527 0.006248465 0.0000390433 92 10/4/2004 3.34 -0.005232527 -0.004216589 0.0000177796 93 10/11/2004 3.42 -0.010279639 -0.009263702 0.0000858162 94 10/18/2004 3.36 0.007686829 0.008702766 0.0000757381 95 10/25/2004 3.4 -0.00513964 -0.004123702 0.0000170049 96 11/1/2004 3.48 -0.010100327 -0.009084389 0.0000825261 97 11/8/2004 3.48 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 98 11/15/2004 3.54 -0.007424018 -0.00640808 0.0000410635 99 11/22/2004 3.5 0.004935218 0.005951155 0.0000354163 100 12/6/2004 3.5 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 101 12/13/2004 3.44 0.007509602 0.008525539 0.0000726848 102 12/20/2004 3.5 -0.007509602 -0.006493664 0.0000421677 103 12/27/2004 3.52 -0.002474619 -0.001458681 0.0000021278 104 1/3/2005 3.58 -0.007340363 -0.006324425 0.0000399984 105 1/10/2005 3.8 -0.02590057 -0.024884632 0.0006192449 106 1/17/2005 3.9 -0.01128101 -0.010265073 0.0001053717 107 1/24/2005 3.8 0.01128101 0.012296948 0.0001512149 108 1/31/2005 3.82 -0.002279766 -0.001263829 0.0000015973 109 2/7/2005 3.8 0.002279766 0.003295704 0.0000108617 110 2/14/2005 3.8 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 111 2/21/2005 3.84 -0.004547628 -0.00353169 0.0000124728 112 2/28/2005 3.88 -0.004500501 -0.003484564 0.0000121422 113 3/7/2005 3.86 0.002244421 0.003260359 0.0000106299 114 3/14/2005 3.82 0.004523942 0.005539879 0.0000306903 115 3/21/2005 3.8 0.002279766 0.003295704 0.0000108617 116 3/28/2005 3.8 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 117 4/4/2005 3.74 0.006911994 0.007927932 0.0000628521 118 4/11/2005 3.7 0.004669878 0.005685816 0.0000323285 119 4/18/2005 3.74 -0.004669878 -0.00365394 0.0000133513 120 4/25/2005 3.76 -0.002316243 -0.001300305 0.0000016908 121 5/3/2005 3.68 0.009340026 0.010355964 0.0001072460 122 5/9/2005 3.7 -0.002353905 -0.001337968 0.0000017902 123 5/16/2005 3.68 0.002353905 0.003369843 0.0000113558 124 5/24/2005 3.58 0.011964792 0.01298073 0.0001684993 125 5/30/2005 3.52 0.007340363 0.008356301 0.0000698278 126 6/6/2005 3.32 0.02540458 0.026420517 0.0006980437 127 6/13/2005 3.22 0.013282212 0.01429815 0.0002044371 128 6/20/2005 3.32 -0.013282212 -0.012266274 0.0001504615 129 6/27/2005 3.28 0.00526424 0.006280178 0.0000394406 130 7/4/2005 3.46 -0.023202255 -0.022186317 0.0004922327 131 7/11/2005 3.3 0.020562159 0.021578097 0.0004656143 132 7/18/2005 3.32 -0.002624144 -0.001608206 0.0000025863 133 7/25/2005 3.3 0.002624144 0.003640082 0.0000132502 134 8/1/2005 3.3 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 135 8/8/2005 3.62 -0.040194631 -0.039178693 0.0015349700 136 8/15/2005 3.6 0.00240607 0.003422007 0.0000117101 137 8/22/2005 3.6 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 138 8/29/2005 3.5 0.012234456 0.013250394 0.0001755729 139 9/5/2005 3.5 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 140 9/12/2005 3.46 0.004991946 0.006007883 0.0000360947 141 9/19/2005 3.64 -0.022025285 -0.021009347 0.0004413927 142 9/26/2005 3.6 0.004798883 0.005814821 0.0000338121 143 10/3/2005 3.62 -0.00240607 -0.001390132 0.0000019325 144 10/10/2005 3.72 -0.011834369 -0.010818432 0.0001170385 145 10/17/2005 3.72 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 146 10/24/2005 3.68 0.004695121 0.005711059 0.0000326162 147 10/31/2005 3.72 -0.004695121 -0.003679183 0.0000135364 148 11/7/2005 3.7 0.002341216 0.003357154 0.0000112705 149 11/14/2005 3.74 -0.004669878 -0.00365394 0.0000133513 150 11/21/2005 3.74 0 0.001015938 0.0000010321 151 11/28/2005 3.72 0.002328662 0.0033446 0.0000111863 152 12/5/2005 3.76 -0.004644905 -0.003628967 0.0000131694 153 12/12/2005 3.72 0.004644905 0.005660843 0.0000320451 154 12/19/2005 3.74 -0.002328662 -0.001312725 0.0000017232 155 12/26/2005 3.82 -0.009191761 -0.008175823 0.0000668441 156 1/3/2006 4.1 -0.030720494 -0.029704556 0.0008823607 157 1/9/2006 4.12 -0.002113359 -0.001097422 0.0000012043 158 1/16/2006 4.02 0.010671163 0.011687101 0.0001365883 159 1/23/2006 3.94 0.008729831 0.009745769 0.0000949800 160 2/6/2006 4.16 -0.023597109 -0.022581171 0.0005099093 161 2/13/2006 4.14 0.00209299 0.003108927 0.0000096654 162 2/20/2006 4.04 0.010618976 0.011634914 0.0001353712 163 2/27/2006 3.98 0.006498293 0.007514231 0.0000564637 164 3/6/2006 4.04 -0.006498293 -0.005482355 0.0000300562 165 3/13/2006 3.88 0.01754964 0.018565577 0.0003446807 166 3/20/2006 3.8 0.009048129 0.010064067 0.0001012854 167 3/27/2006 3.82 -0.002279766 -0.001263829 0.0000015973 168 4/3/2006 3.78 0.004571563 0.005587501 0.0000312202 169 4/10/2006 3.8 -0.002291797 -0.001275859 0.0000016278 170 4/17/2006 4.32 -0.05570015 -0.054684212 0.0029903631 171 4/24/2006 4.22 0.010171296 0.011187234 0.0001251542 172 5/2/2006 4.1 0.012528594 0.013544532<

The Conqueror Worm and the End of the World :: Conqueror Worm Essays

The Conqueror Worm and the End of the World Edgar Allen Poe is one of the fathers of terror and mystery.   His twisted, Macabre tales and poems are filled with great detail and often end with a dismal twist.   "The Conqueror Worm" is one example of his masterful rhymes and tells how a play on life turns into reality for mankind.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The setting is a theater but it is not just a site for plays.   Poe describes it to be that way to trick the reader, but the theater is actually the setting for mankind.   We play our lives in this stage for everyone else to see.   Lines three through six describe the crowd and how they are there to see "a play of hopes and fears."   If people would look beyond the point of reading the line just to understand the words, they would see that the play is actually the lives of everybody in society.   I say this because everyone has their own hopes like getting a good job, succeeding, having a family and ultimately dieing happily.   Along with their hopes, everyone also has their personal fears.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The characters of the poem are also some very meaningful keys in showing the hidden meaning.   The first stanza describes the crowd that has gathered to watch the enactment of our human lives.   Lines three and four states "an angel throng, bewinged, and bedight in veils, and drowned in tears."   Poe is stating that a group of angels is going to watch the spectacle put on for them, although they are already drowning in the tears from plays before.   The orchestra that plays for them is another set of characters that have meaning.   They represent the background in everyone's life by "playing the music of the spheres."   A third set of characters that show hidden meaning is the "Mimes, in the form of God on high."   They denote the people that inhabit the earth.   Poe describes them as "Mere puppets they, who come and go at bidding of vast formless things."   The vast formless things are the ideas that we have.   Ideas l ike the things that we think we have to do for ourselves to survive and succeed.   They also make up drama of the play.   A final, prominent figure in this dramatic performance is the conqueror worm.   Poe illustrates it as "a blood-red thing.

Influences on Huck in Mark Twains Adventures of Huckleberyy Finn Essay

Influences on Huck in Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberyy Finn Throughout the incident on pages 66-69 in Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck fights with two distinct voices. One is siding with society, saying Huck should turn Jim in, and the other is seeing the wrong in turning his friend in, not viewing Jim as a slave. Twain wants the reader to see the moral dilemmas Huck is going through, and what slavery ideology can do to an innocent like Huck. Huck does not consciously think about Jim's impending freedom until Jim himself starts to get excited about the idea. The reader sees Huck's first objection to Jim gaining his freedom on page 66, when Huck says, "Well, I can tell you it made me all over trembly and feverish, too, to hear him, because I begun to get it through my head that he was most free-and who was to blame for it? Why, me. I could get that out of my conscience, no how nor no way." Huck is hearing the voice of society at this point, not his own. He does not see a moral dilemma with Jim being free; he is opposed to the fact that he is the one helping him. This shows Huck misunderstanding of slavery. Huck does not treat Jim like a slave when they travel together, this shows the reader that Huck views Jim as an equal in most ways. Huck sees having a slave only as owning the person, not actually being a slave to someone. Therefore, when he helps Jim runaway it would be like stealing. This conscience is telling him that Miss Watson, Jim?s master, never di...

gatdream F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - The American Dream :: Great Gatsby Essays

The American Dream   The American Dream was the philosophy that brought people to America and to start a new life in a strange, foreign land. Due to this dream, it was believed that America was the land of opportunity, wealth, and prosperity. The dream consists of three components: all men are equal, man can trust and should help his fellow man, and the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a condemnation of American Society and focuses on its downfall. This holds true for three of the main characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan.   To reach his ideal dream of spending his life with Daisy, Jay Gatsby attains his millions in a corrupt way which help him to replace emotions, and tries to cover it up with lies throughout the novel. In order to become rich, Gatsby engaged in illegal occupations such as bootlegging and being involved in the Mafia. â€Å"He and this Wolfsheim bought and sold grain alcohol over the counter.† (Fitzgerald 134). This is the opposite idea of the American Dream, which states that only the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. Gatsby also lies his way through life to conceal his wrongdoing. Gatsby claims that he belongs to a rich family whom provides his way to Oxford and from whom he inherits his riches. â€Å"’I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now.’† (Fitzgerald 65). Only later on in the novel, does Nick uncover the truth that â€Å"his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people...† (Fitzgerald 99). Gatsb y also relies on money to bring him the comfort of family. Gatsby’s musicians sing, â€Å"The rich get richer and the poor get-children.† (Fitzgerald 96). He attempts to reclaim the loss of family that he experiences through his wealth. Nick describes a story about how Gatsby, â€Å"agreed to pay five years’ taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family...† (Fitzgerald 89). Gatsby takes advantage of wealth to solve his problems.   Members of the upper class such as Tom Buchanan, sacrifice morals and righteousness in order to gain wealth. Tom Buchanan is a man from a wealthy family, yet to Nick; he seems to have lost virtue and kindness. gatdream F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - The American Dream :: Great Gatsby Essays The American Dream   The American Dream was the philosophy that brought people to America and to start a new life in a strange, foreign land. Due to this dream, it was believed that America was the land of opportunity, wealth, and prosperity. The dream consists of three components: all men are equal, man can trust and should help his fellow man, and the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby is a condemnation of American Society and focuses on its downfall. This holds true for three of the main characters in the novel, Jay Gatsby, Tom Buchanan, and Daisy Buchanan.   To reach his ideal dream of spending his life with Daisy, Jay Gatsby attains his millions in a corrupt way which help him to replace emotions, and tries to cover it up with lies throughout the novel. In order to become rich, Gatsby engaged in illegal occupations such as bootlegging and being involved in the Mafia. â€Å"He and this Wolfsheim bought and sold grain alcohol over the counter.† (Fitzgerald 134). This is the opposite idea of the American Dream, which states that only the good, virtuous and hard working are rewarded. Gatsby also lies his way through life to conceal his wrongdoing. Gatsby claims that he belongs to a rich family whom provides his way to Oxford and from whom he inherits his riches. â€Å"’I am the son of some wealthy people in the Middle West-all dead now.’† (Fitzgerald 65). Only later on in the novel, does Nick uncover the truth that â€Å"his parents were shiftless and unsuccessful farm people...† (Fitzgerald 99). Gatsb y also relies on money to bring him the comfort of family. Gatsby’s musicians sing, â€Å"The rich get richer and the poor get-children.† (Fitzgerald 96). He attempts to reclaim the loss of family that he experiences through his wealth. Nick describes a story about how Gatsby, â€Å"agreed to pay five years’ taxes on all the neighboring cottages if the owners would have their roofs thatched with straw. Perhaps their refusal took the heart out of his plan to Found a Family...† (Fitzgerald 89). Gatsby takes advantage of wealth to solve his problems.   Members of the upper class such as Tom Buchanan, sacrifice morals and righteousness in order to gain wealth. Tom Buchanan is a man from a wealthy family, yet to Nick; he seems to have lost virtue and kindness.

Restructuring & Downsizing Essay

Human resource management has evolved from a largely administrative and operational role to one that plays an important part in strategic planning. This shift is more evident in its role towards downsizing. The decision to downsize is a decision that requires careful planning and consideration. It is critical to consider the long-term effects that short-term cost cutting measures can bring. Downsizing creates disruptions in the organization’s relationships with customers, suppliers and employees, organization’s structure, culture and climate. As Wayne F. Cascio says â€Å"if you must downsize, do it right, that no class of employee can be disproportionately affected. † Finding the best way to downsize is crucial, because the success of organisations that have downsized in the past has not been particularly laudable. Downsize Decision The downsizing decision is the most demoralizing and stressful aspect of the emerging Human resource managerial role. Downsizing is viewed as having a profound effect on the organization and the personnel including those who are terminated and those who survive. Yet it is the integral part of any workforce management decision. It involves understanding the tangible pitfalls of a reduction in workforce and analyzing the emotional and practical ramifications. Downsizing may occur intentionally as a strategic, proactive response designed to improve organizational effectiveness, increase productivity and cost cutting strategy. This response may involve mergers, acquisitions, sell-offs, or restructuring to better enable the organization to meet its mission or fill an environmental niche. It may involve reduction in personnel through transfers, outplacement, retirement incentives, buyout packages, layoffs, attrition, and so on or may occur in which new products added, new sources of revenue are opened up, etc. It affects work processes. Fewer employees may be left to do the same amount of work and the quality may suffer. Downsizing activities may include discounting functions, abolishing hierarchical levels, merging units, or redesigning tasks. Downsizing can impact financial well-being, health, personal attitudes, and family relationships. Before downsizing HR need to explore possible alternatives such as reducing hours across the board, introducing forced vacation, asking for layoff volunteers, compressed workweek, hiring freeze, and early retirement or implementing other cost-cutting measures. Human resource managers should weigh in on several factors that influence downsizing decisions. They need to identify the specific problems downsizing is expected to solve, consider overall financial health of the company, fiscal operating policies, and industry benchmarks before proceeding, and review all legal implications. Managing Process One key to a successful downsizing plan lies in management’s ability to clearly convey to employees the purpose behind the cost-cutting efforts. Secondly, consider any oral or implied contracts of employment, review employee files, plan for the contingencies, know the stakeholders, clearly define criteria for selection factors on which downsizing decisions will be made. Downsizing may have variety of adverse effects on layoff individuals, survivors and organizations such as loss of morale, distrust, anxiety, feelings of job insecurity, anger, job stress, physical ailments, poor mental health, decreased loyalty, lowered motivation and productivity, increased resistance to change, crisis mentality, politicised special interest groups, occupational violence, lack of teamwork, perception of unfairness, lack of leadership and overall commitment to the organization. Downsizing decision has to be a prudent one because it deals with lives of people. The managers will be faced with a work force at least partly staffed with survivors of downsizing. Providing information regarding the type of severance packages or outplacement benefits will be given to those displaced will alleviate some fears and let those who remain will know that their colleagues are being taken care of. The personnel attribute of downsizing usually involves reductions in personnel. However, downsizing is not limited entirely to personnel reductions. In some downsizing situations new products are added, new sources of revenue opened up, and/or additional work acquired. Even though some people may be added, the overall process results in fewer numbers of workers employed per unit of output as compared to some previous level of employment. Human resources must also position the company to be able to respond quickly and effectively when the economy recovers. The approach taken by the organization to the downsizing process can have an ongoing impact on the company’s reputation with clients and potential future recruits. An inability to recruit critical talent later can mean an inability to rebound, so human resources must provide information openly and promptly to manage perceptions and rumors — both internal and external — about the fairness of any reductions and the need for additional downsizing in the future. Job placement services, employee assistance programs and financial counseling are all services that human resources should consider offering to affected employees. In the aftermath of a mass downsizing, employee morale will undoubtedly be affected. Employers should strive to be as open as possible during the process. Information should not come as a surprise to employees. If the company repeatedly assured workers everything was fine before announcing an unexpected layoff, it will be difficult to regain the trust of the workers who remain. Similarly, if the company focus has always been on meeting the needs of employees and taking active steps to motivate and encourage staff, a forced layoff may actually be more detrimental because it is so contrary to employees’ expectations of the organization. Management and human resources should meet regularly with employees to keep them informed, answer questions and respond to concerns. Any downsizing of the workforce is likely to result in the loss of key knowledge and critical skills. In the case of a voluntary separation program or early retirement initiative, Because turnover increases in the wake of a layoff, human resources must connect with key workers to outline their importance to the organization and provide information about how the company plans to recover. HR should also detail future career opportunities that can be realized by remaining with the business. Clear documentation, particularly regarding the layoff process itself, is important. Therefore it is vital that HR management weigh the relative costs and benefits against the negative impact downsizing has on employees and identify hazards, undertake risk assessment, consult with employee representatives, pursue compliance with legislative duties and take appropriate steps to manage any significant hazards that are identified, including psychosocial hazards. Downsizing refers to activities undertaken by management to improve the efficiency, productivity, and competitiveness of the organization by reducing the workforce size. Implications of Organisational Restructuring to HR Planning Restructuring: A Perspective Organizations and businesses today are faced with increased demands to become leaner due to global competition and rapid technology change. Many organizations have responded by corporate restructuring and downsizing or streamlining their operations and often outsourcing many functions originally assigned to permanent employees. Restructuring can lead to changes of ownership, radical changes in the internal management structure, mergers, acquisitions and significant downsizing or hiring trends. Internal factors can also include the addition or removal of a major product or service, addition or loss of a major client or the restructuring of departments. Restructuring is not a quick fix. Before restructuring we need to spell out the expectations and objectives and effectively communicate with the all the stakeholders to improve organization’s ability to move through change effectively. Restructuring is a formal system of re-aligning tasks and reporting relationships that controls, coordinates, communicates, decides and motivates employees so that they cooperate to achieve an organization’s goals. Restructuring may be carried out to expand and create new departments to serve growing markets or to downsize or eliminate departments to conserve overhead. Depending on the size of the organisation and type of business one may adopt a flat or tall structure and model it according to functional, divisional (product, market or geographic) or adaptive lines. Implications of Organisational Restructuring to HR Planning In the event of restructuring HR planning becomes critical because HR is typically responsible for handling all aspects of an organization’s restructuring. HR departments provide or support announcements to employees regarding restructuring. HR is typically present when employees are informed of layoffs or permanent downsizing related to restructuring. Changes in employment policies, organizational structure, workforce, and location and job descriptions are announced to employees by human resources and management. HR also calculates changes in compensation and benefits resulting from reorganization. Organizations rely on human resources to provide a smooth transition during restructuring while retaining desired employees and integrating new employees into the new organizational plan. Restructuring leads to a new organization chart and HR need to reassess and alter their existing roles and responsibilities to better reflect the dynamics of the shifting workplace environment. HR departments also fulfil staffing recruitment needs including preparing job descriptions, posting and publishing available jobs, screening and interviewing candidates for employment and integrating new staff members into their assigned work areas. HR will often be called on to act in an advisory capacity salary ranges and often making changes to benefits, profit-sharing and other corporate perks. HR also institute training and educational programs and seminars and assist employees with transitions in and out of positions and in and out of the company. It may provide information, updates and job seeking resources for employees displaced from their jobs due to restructuring. HR departments are responsible for researching, recommending and implanting employee retention strategies during restructuring. Restructuring brings in changes to corporate cultures, which directly affects employees and may result in loss of identity, shrinkage in compensation, distrust, stress and conflict. HR has to ensure the internal processes accommodate the changes and the communication base is prepared to sensitize the various stakeholders.