Beowulf and Christianity Essay

A Critical Response to Beowulf After reading the story Beowulf as translated by Burton Raffel, I saw two aspects of this story written in the Anglo-Saxon period. When reading the story you notice that there are multiple aspects of paganism and of Christianity included in the story. Many scholars have debated whether of not a monk might have written it during the paganism period or whether a second author might have added to the story later on in history. I believe that it might have been written by a monk who decided to add to t while he wrote the original. I also that even though pagan ideas were implemented into the story, the Christian ideas are more prominent. Firstly, there were many pagan ideas in the book. One of the non-Christian things that Beowulf and his men did was to drink at Herot. (19-20) The men there at Herot were drinking and some were drunk which is a sin in the Bible. Other pagan ideals include that of Beowulf being full in himself and wanting to be remembered rather than doing it out of the kindness of his heart. 9-20) During this part of the story, Beowulf talks about how many monsters he has slayed and how he will be remembered for killing Grendel. He also talks about this at the end of the story when Beowulf is dying. (37) He says, â€Å"†¦ The brave Geats build me a tomb, when the funeral flames have burned me, and build it Here, at the water’s edge, high on this spit of land, so sailors can see this tower, and remember my name†¦ † Secondly, in the story I believe that the Christian aspec ts of the story overpower the pagan beliefs. I think that the story of Beowulf closely resembles the story of Jesus in the Bible. In the Bible, you have the conflict of Jesus and Satan, and in the story you have the conflict of Beowulf and Grendel. It also presents the good vs. evil theme as well as the Bible. The story also refers to Grendel as being a descendent of Cain (14) from the very beginning. This comes from a story in the Bible. Taking this story another step further, you can parallel the death of Christ to the death of Beowulf. In the 14 ection, literally described as the â€Å"Final Battle† he takes on a dragon, (also a form of Satan) and ends up fighting and defeating the dragon. Beowulf defeats evil but pays a price in the end. Just as Jesus died on the cross to defeat evil for all of the world, Beowulf also gives his life while defeating â€Å"evil† to save the Geats. In conclusion, I believe that the Christian overtones of the story overpower the pagan beliefs. In the end, I think that a monk might have written this and incorporated the Christian beliefs into the story.

Othello and Racism Essay

In conjunction with Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, Othello is said to be one of the four great tragedies written by Shakespeare and consequently a mainstay of what is said by most critics to be the peak of Shakespeare’s theatrical talent. Othello is exceptional in the midst of Shakespeare’s grand catastrophes. Not like Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, which are put up in opposition to a setting of political affairs and which resound with propositions of widespread individual apprehension, Othello is situated in a clandestine world and centers on the infatuations and private lives of its chief figures. Othello basically is the central character as well as the hero of the play under consideration. Being a Christian Moor and general of the armies of Venice, Othello is a well-expressed and actually controlling figure, who everyone around him respects a lot. In the face of his prominent status, he is all the same easy victim to insecurities due to his age, his existence as a soldier, and his race. Analysis The chief character of this play goes by the name of Othello, and he seems to be a person who has an unconventional and open personality, which is used by his ensign Iago to dispose of his love for his partner, Desdemona, into an authoritative and reproachful cupidity, which turns him into an assassin. Insensible of Iago’s manipulative and the lucent incorruptibility of his wife and lieutenant, Othello is sooner or later a victim of his own credulity and unyielding unawareness. But the most prominent theme is that whatever was faced by Othello was due to the fact that he did not belong to the Elizabethan civilization and was a â€Å"black moor†. As we know, Othello is presented as a Black Moor who is the furthermost General of the Army in Venice. He is intellectual, audacious, and praiseworthy. The wedding that takes place between him and the fine-looking Desdemona, who is the daughter of a well-known Venetian, aggravates racial affront in opposition to him. In the Elizabethan times, there was much racial discrimination against blacks and moors. But even though the vain hero of this play faced racial prejudice, he keeps on living with courteousness and sense of worth as he shows the way to an army in opposition to Turks on Cyprus. His perseverance to sense of duty is obscured only by his commitment to Desdemona, who makes her way to Cyprus with him. The love Othello has for his wife is so deep and passionate that he cannot bear even the contemplation of a different man even looking at her. And in that lies his weak point, which is resentment. Othello’s consideration to the theme turns out to be apparent when Iago makes use of it as confirmation that Desdemona could never be truthful to a person who does not even belong to their society and is a person who is so â€Å"unnatural†. The self-assurance felt by Othello that was once so strong is with ease tattered by Iago’s propensity to persuade him that he is second-rate in comparison to the men of Venice. The vain hero of the drama Othello is a Moor who prevails the compassion of Desdemona with his vigorous tales of encounter and escapade, adding to the disappointment of her father and the Venetian court of which they are a component. Othello is happily married with his wife. After certain happenings take place, the stratagem takes place rather speedily when Iago, a subsidiary of Othello, sets his mind for taking revenge after he does not get the promotion that he really wanted. He figures out plans to set Othello against his own wife. What takes place after this is a succession of maneuverings in which Iago gradually persuades Othello of Desdemona’s faithlessness and that she has something going on with Cassio, the lieutenant who gets raised to the position that was sought after by Iago. The basic point here is that Othello was used by Iago in a way this his own race was used against him. Othello was made to realize that his chances of being loved by Desdemona were low for the fact that he did not even belong to their civilization. Readily in Othello, the central character, Othello, can be made out as an archetypal tragic hero who is conflicted by the brawny force of his instinctive gullibility and over-trust as defects in his otherwise honorable character. All the way through the speedy expansion of the play, we see Othello’s character fall to pieces as a consequence of his increasing resentment and are at last incapacitated by a commanding catharsis where in spite of his bad behavior; the person who reads feels compassion for Othello and his calamity. In this catastrophe of character, the prevalent bereavement and dread can be undoubtedly accredited to the foreseeable fault in the personality of Othello, the heartrending hero. Straight away the wicked character of Iago is set up and discovers the hero’s disastrous flaw; eventually that of simplicity. He hath a person and a smooth dispose, to be suspected, framed to make women false. The Moor is of a free and open nature, that thinks men honest, but that seem to be so, and will as tenderly be led by th’ nose, As asses are†. (Shakespeare, lines 440-445). Even though no time is wasted by Shakespeare in converting the honorable central character almost unbelievably into a thoughtless and cruel murdered of his wife who does not have any faith what so ever in her, one must bear in mind the fact that he is up in opposition to, moderately convincingly, the most resourceful archvillian in literature. Being the malevolent, but shrewd human being that he is, Iago does every single thing that he can think of so as to intensify the effects of the hero’s heartbreaking flaw and make such attempts that it would work against him. The most manipulative characteristic of Iago’s stratagem are persistently seen all the way through the play, when he delicately makes his own image better than all others while harming the other people’s image. The expansion of Othello is basically focused in the order of the mounting covetousness of the adversary as the medium with which his disastrous imperfection gets hold of his breakdown. As a consequence of Othello’s unquestioning personality, Iago’s monstrous thoughts are permissible to break through into his more often than not unsuspicious mind and in that distort his judgment and actions all the way through the course of the play. As an outcome of the wholesomeness and certainty in the love amid Othello and Desdemona, Othello is incapacitated with heartache when it is recommended that Desdemona has been disloyal to him. At first he does not wish to believe it, but handing over deceitful Iago to the charge of discovering the truth without doubt buries him deeper in dishonesty. Poor Desdemona is killed over a crime she had never even thought of. But here the play shows that Othello’s mind has been taken over completely by Iago’s conniving nature. Eventually when Othello realizes his mistake, he commits suicide, saying, â€Å"I kissed thee ere I killed thee, no way but this, Killing myself, to die upon a kiss† (Shakespeare, line 420-421). Perhaps it would not have been easy for Iago’s scheme to work had there not been the elementary setting of ethnic discrimination in Elizabethan civilization, a prejudice that was felt and sensed by both Desdemona and Othello. Shakespeare’s Desdemona puts up with intolerance by disproving it right of entry to her own life. Her relationship that is shared between her and Othello is that of love, and she is intentionally faithful to that relationship. On the other hand, Othello does not have any knowledge what so ever about how intensely chauvinism has broke in into his own character. This immersed bigotry weakens him with opinions similar to thoughts like he is not good-looking and does not deserve Desdemona. He starts believing that Desdemona does not really love him and even if she does then there has to be something erroneous with her. These feelings, reddened by Iago’s intimations and fabrications, put off Othello from conferring his apprehension and qualms honestly with Desdemona, and in this regard he acts on alarmed supposition. So as to live on the collective ambush of internalized chauvinism and the aimed at malice of Iago, Othello would require to be close to faultless in potency and self-knowledge, and this just is not a reasonable requirement. Racial Discrimination in Othello The basic issue that has been presented in the play is that of prejudice and racial discrimination. Every single human being at some point in his or her life goes through a feeling of complete alienation. This can come up in the form of a new child at school, or those who form a part of a cultural or religious marginal, or as someone who clutches an ostracized estimation. In order go make this problem known to the general public, Shakespeare has made his hero out to be an outsider, a person who does not fairly fit in, in the culture in which he lives nor is he of their ethnic background. Since the very beginning of the play, when the hero is detained in suspicion by a gentleman who impeaches him of seducing his daughter with incomprehensible charms, Othello has been made apart from all of the other characters of the play who belong to the same cultural background. Considering that he has been made out as a person who belongs to an exclusively dissimilar country, much of the discrepancy he puts up with is because of the scheming conviction that he does not fit in with this civilization. In the Elizabethan times, as can clearly be seen from Othello, race was a subject of great dispute and argument. Even in the current times, the dispute keeps hold of its disagreement and enthusiasm. On the other hand, approaches towards ethnicity have taken a spectacular turn at some point in the last century (Racism and Othello). In the current times, people have come to live in a gradually more multi-ethnic society, who would unquestionably be more open-minded and would refuse or even be affronted by racial unfairness to any individual or segments of the society. People have cleanly been labeled as â€Å"racists† in the current times and have also been started to be considered as outcasts. This puts up the questions of what type of meaning Shakespeare wanted to convey to his spectators and was Othello the moor represented as a disastrous hero or did his personality sooner or later come to bear a resemblance to the discrimination of which he was a sufferer. Shakespeare also talks about the question of race with additional characters for instance the detestable Iago and the discrimination concealed deep in Brabantio (Racism and Sexism in Othello, p. , Othello – A Racist Play? , p. 1). The proceedings of Brabantio commence the awareness in the race subject in Act 1 Scene 1 far more than Iago’s tainted abuses for the reason that the kind of concealed racism is in point of fact present in contemporary society. Brabantio criticizes of his daughter even thinking of getting married to Roderigo considering that Roderigo did not have a very good reputation in society but subsequent to listening to Iago inform him that his daughter is going out with a moor he wishes that Roderigo would have married Desdemona. Therefore Brabantio recommends that he would rather have his daughter married to a man who has a bad reputation in the entire society and believes that he is better than a moor who is an appreciated noble and gentleman in the army. As Brabantio believes the only problem that lies with Othello is that he is black and does not belong to their society (Twyman, p. 1). There is a little proof that Shakespeare was using Othello to endorse ethnically discriminatory views as suggested by certain critics. Shakespeare has presented Othello to be a dignified person and a Christian. As an alternative, Iago is represented as the most iniquity bad character and also the terrible racist. Iago considers Othello’ lips as â€Å"thick-lips† (Shakespeare, p. 66) and calls him as â€Å"an old black ram† (Shakespeare, lines 88-89). Even though there might be a few reasons behind the deceitful actions taken by Iago. Even though he does undergo suspicion about whom his wife would be going out with behind his back and he dislikes Othello because of the promotion he gained which was desired by Iago, but from all of his speeches, the thing which is most obvious is the fact that he dislikes Othello because of the color of his skin. By putting forward to us the scoundrel of the play to have such deep-seated bigotry; Shakespeare is disapproving all of the people who attack others purely because of the color of their skin or their ethnic group or religion. A contemporary spectator would consequently perceive that in their visualization, correctly, Shakespeare has made an attempt to send out an anti-racist point (The Racism in Othello, p. 1). Considering the fact that there was no real reason for Iago to hate Othello, he starts inventing novel reasons to disgust Othello. He comes up with the idea in his own brain that his wife is cheating on him with Othello. Even as this is perceptibly fallacious, it makes it easier for Iago to have a reason to loathe Othello for reasons other than his skin. His annoyance is fairly understandable when he comes out with the declaration â€Å"hell and night / must bring this monstrous birth to the world’s light† (Shakespeare, lines 397-98). This outburst does not only demonstrate Iago’s disdain for Othello, it obviously illustrates the satirical switching of issues to the matter of color once again (Racism in Othello, p. 1). Conclusion In the light of the above discussion we can hereby culminate that Othello is a play written by Shakespeare in which we see how a man full of courage and bravery is tricked upon by the villain of the play. Racial discrimination is a theme that is very prevalent in the play and tells us of how outsiders in the Elizabethan times were treated.

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Coffee Case Study - 2

Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and Keurig Coffee - Case Study Example Howard Schultz is the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Chairmen of Starbucks Corporation, whereas Jeff Hansberry is the President of Starbucks Global Consumer Products Group. The current CEO of GMCR is Larry Blanford. The net sales of GMCR have been depicted as 3,859,198 US Dollars in 2012, whereas profit of the company was 1,269,399 US Dollars in the year 2012. In accordance with GMCR, in 1983, it had kept waste reduction along with responsible energy as top priority (GMCR, 2013). In the year 1989, GMCR engaged in the development of earth-friendly coffee fitters. In the year 2010, GMCR and Starbucks build up a strategic relationship for marketing and selling of K-cup portion cup. The company has engaged in K-cup portion cup business in the GMCR’s Keurig single-cup brewing system (Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, 2012). Dunkin’s K-cup portion pack can be regarded as a key strength of GMCR. Dunkin’ Donuts is primarily famous for providing quality coffee. Alliance between these two companies has strengthened the position of GMCR by increasing the customers’ preference for Keurig brewer. Another vital strength of the company is Tully’s acquisition in the year 2009 that provided it leadership dominancy in specialty coffee. One of the key weaknesses is recognized to be GMCR’s dependence upon a single manufacturer i.e. China. Moreover, the company also greatly depends upon few retailers for revenue. It’s entry within the functional drink market in the United States (US) can be considered as its major opportunity. GMCR’s product Keurig is another pertinent opportunity for its sustainability in the competitive market. Furthermore, GMCR’s ‘Hotel in-room’ brewer can also be determined as an opportunity for the company. Increase in demand fo r Arabica-coffee, which is of good quality might stand as a threat for the company (Jang et al., 2013). GMCR has faced challenges

Managing multinational operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing multinational operations - Essay Example Acme’s first business assumption is that they will have subsidiaries in South America and Asia. Within this context of understanding, all the banks analyzed have South American and Asian locations, with HSBC have more diversified locations in these areas than either Bank of America or Citibank. Acme also has the specified need of local lending sources for operating cash. In these regards, HSBC presents the most local subsidiaries for access to lending cash. Acme’s next assumption is the need to centralize cash management. In these regards, all banks offer centralization opportunities. Acme has also specified the need for short-term investment vehicles for excess cash balances. All banks contain investment vehicles, but it’s clear that Citibank’s investment model is based for life-term retirement interests rather than short-term options. Conversely, both HSBC and Bank of America provide short-term and international investment options. While Bank of America has a self-directed investment program it’s clear that the impetus must come from the client to seek out international investments. HSBC is different than Bank of America in that it offers and promotes a number of short-term and multinational investment opportunities. In these regards, HSBC is the most effective short-term investment vehicle for Acme. In terms of access to foreign markets and forward market services, all banks offer a version of these needs. Still, it’s clear that Bank of America and HSBC offer the best options. In these regards, the decision is based on a qualitative assumption, as both banks offer equal access to foreign exchanges. All of the banks analyzed offer currency exchange options, which will allow the organization to pay bills in both local and other currencies. While both Bank of America and HBSC satisfy the future assumptions of Acme Corporation, it’s clear that HBSC would be the greatest option. The primary reason for

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 43

Case Study Example First, A. Raptis & Sons Ltd is one of the largest seafood companies in Australia and establishing one of its branches in Argentina would need much effort for it to succeed. The reason behind this is because people from Argentina do not like eating sea foods. They are accustomed to eating beef. Therefore, the company will have to convince Argentines to buy its goods. According to Isenrath (2012), many Argentines view gender-based etiquette as good business manners. So when doing business there, don’t be surprised if your female counterparts expect men to open doors for them. Such a gesture is not viewed as sexism as it is viewed in other western countries. So, issues of sexism should not be a threat to performance and attitudes of employees. Another observation of cultural customs in Argentina involves keeping time. It is a custom for Argentines to be late for about thirty minutes (Isenrath, 2012). So, a manager should expect his or her employees to be late for work and should, therefore, create advance time for such incidents to enhance the productivity of the company. Argentina has a high context culture and Argentines not only have a strong sense of family, but also have a high commitment to community. Therefore, it is a guarantee that good rapport will be formed among all the stakeholders of the company, which means productive outcomes. In a high context culture, non-verbal communication is imperative. Therefore, A. Raptis & Sons Ltd will have to use marketing strategies that are more formal and direct to reach its consumers. For instance use of non-verbal cues like facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, and

Resistance to Change and Rapid Change Coursework

Resistance to Change and Rapid Change - Coursework Example Once such absenteeism takes place, there becomes lack of consensus to the change agenda and the subjects in turn refuse to see the need to corporate. In another breadth, resistance to change takes place because subjects develop suspicions of unfairness in regards to the changes that take place. Commonly, resistance happens through the development of organizational conflicts (Jim, 2001). Also, resistance may happen through a lack of commitment towards new regulations that are spelt out in the course of the change. What is more, resistance take place through absolute disregard and disobedience to the instructions associated with the change. To address the issues of resistance to change, managers are advised to understand why resistance would take place and a will power to address the issues head-on. A democratic organizational decision making system that takes up the interest of all stakeholders on board is for example suggested as a very useful strategy in addressing the issue of resi stance to change. This strategy is sure to work because it seeks to bring all people on board ahead of the change implementation. Once everyone gets satisfied with the need for there to be change, they are left with no other choice than to heed to the changes (Bill et al,

Consequences of a Fall in the Global Price of Oil Coursework

Consequences of a Fall in the Global Price of Oil - Coursework Example Most economists believe that since oil is associated with so many products any change in its price have a trickle-down effect or a chain reaction affecting the prices of many commodities and/or affecting the rate of inflation in the economy or the general price level. If we suppose that there has been a fall in the global price of oil there will be a fall in the quantity supplied of oil because the producers will now be left with a lower profit margin and some of them may also go out of business if they would find it difficult to cover their average variable costs. There will be an increase in the quantity demanded of oil and buyers who were not able to afford oil at previous prices and opted for substitutes may now turn towards oil, current buyers may also buy more. If we take the example of British Petroleum, BP will reduce its quantity of oil supplied to the market because they will now experience a lower return on oil, its current customers may want to buy more since the product is now available at lower prices and some customers may now be interested in purchasing oil rather than purchasing its substitutes such as coal, gas etc. The fall in oil prices may cause some producers who were already finding it difficult to cover their costs to go out of business or shift to the production of other commodities, this means that BP will now have a lower number of competitors in the market and will face a lower competition than in the past. Si nce the affect on the quantity supplied is due to price there will not be a shift in the supply curve of BP, it will operate on its previous supply curve but at a lower point because of the contraction in supply. Similar is the case for quantity demanded, BP will not experience a change in its demand curve because of a change in price, it will operate on the same demand curve but at a higher point due to the extension in demand.

Organizational behaviour - HRM report Assignment

Organizational behaviour - HRM report - Assignment Example The healthcare organization can be considered as one of the largest organization in terms of bed capacity and employee strength. The employee strength of the organization is 1000. The organization has adopted the workplace diversity aspect in the business operation process. Strong multicultural workforce of the organization states that the organization believes in workplace diversity. Human resource management is considered as one of the important organizational departments that help to manage the overall performance of the organization. The functions or the activities of human resource department includes recruitment, selection, orientation, training, performance management, leadership, motivation, performance management, performance appraisal, compensation, reward distribution and employee retention. Now-a-days, several organizations within the healthcare industry are trying to improve the human resource management practices in order to increase the efficiency in the business perfo rmance. Effective human resource management practices help the organizations to maintain effective workplace environment that influence the employees of the organization to improve their performance level. Efficiency in this human resource department helps the management of the organization to motivate its employees. Several healthcare organizations are trying to maintain strong workplace diversity as the management of these organizations believe that the knowledge sharing and skill of entire workforce can get increased due to having multicultural employees in the organization. An organization cannot manage a diverse workforce without having effective managerial and leadership skill. In addition to this, employee motivation can be considered as an important aspect as several motivational techniques or tools help an organization to maintain effective relationship with the effective and skilled employees. These aspects will help the organization to retain their skilled employees. In a ddition to this, effective human resource management practices can help an organization to maintain sustainability and corporate ethics in each and every business operation processes. It is highly important for an organization to develop and maintain strong relationship with the external and internal stakeholders in order to develop a strong image within the competitive industry. It is clear that the Red Line Hospital can be termed as one of the largest private hospital due to its 200 bed capacity. Moreover, the healthcare organization has 1000 multicultural employees. Therefore, it is important to analyze the efficiency of human resource department and organization behaviour of the organization. Kurt Lewin’s change management model, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, Herzberg’s motivation theory has been discussed in this study with respect to the workplace diversity and organization behaviour of Red Line Hospital. Different types of leadership styles has been discusses in this study in order to help the organization to improve its multicultural workplace performance. Lastly, the assignment will

Richer Districts and Higher Quality of Education Essay - 4

Richer Districts and Higher Quality of Education - Essay Example This is done by giving them education vouchers and this means that they are able to take their children to schools in other districts. To begin with, using this method leads to poor the parents having to deal with more financial issues. When the parents are allowed to use this, their children will have to go further from home which means more transport costs which the parents may not be able to afford. As a result, while this may help the parents to take their young ones to a better school outside the district, it may also mean that they are no able to improve the education of the children. They will not be able to go home early and yet in poor families older siblings are part of helping the parents with younger siblings. Seeding them to school further from home will leads to them being unable to go to a home in the event in good time. In most poor families, the younger children are part and parcel of playing some home chares including helping in the bringing up of the younger siblings. When these kids go to school too far from home, they are not able to go home in time to help their parents with these issues. The other issue is the fact that it leads to school district funding being transferred to other diacritics and this weakens the public schools even further (Hanushek, 258). Giving parents the money to take their children to districts other than where they stay will mean that the funds are being taken outside of the local districts. This leads to the local education in public school getting even worse due to the fact that the funds they would otherwise use to improve their education are being taken to other districts. Apart from that, it also leads to issues of lack of tax accountability of tax to some people which also leads to poorer education.  

Comparison Contrast Between Iphone and Blackberry Essay Example for Free

Comparison Contrast Between Iphone and Blackberry Essay My world and Ray Bradbury’s world has some similarities and some differences. Both of our worlds have characters that agree with the negative effect of technology and the positive effect of it. To me I would agree with the positive effect of technology because without it people wont be the same as today. Have you ever thought of living without an iPod, laptop, cell phone, car, or a TV? Just take a second and imagine. Well, I can’t and I never could imagine that because ever since I was young, my whole life was based on technology. To me, technology is everything and without it I would feel lost, bored, and confused. Manny people would think that technology is the reason why were living, this is because its impact on everything we do. Like communicating, transporting, and being happy, However Technology is important because it is rapidly changing the way people are living. When I was in fifth grade my first electronic device that I used was a T-Mobile phone that my dad got me. I was so excited about, that I use to hold it in my hand 24/7 just to show off with it like I’m holding an iPhone. The phone was pretty, it was pink and it had some flowers on it. I use to always text my only one friend that I had on my phone, until my dad took it back from me and regret giving it to me, because I wasn’t ready for it. I was sad at that time, but then I realized that it’s not worth it. Staying up all night talking to your friend when she goes to the same school, now that’s just stupid. Later in the years I became more mature, and I got to explore on more stuff about technology that would just blow my mind off. An IPod touch came to my mind I felt like this is the most remarkable thing that have ever been invented. I told my dad that I wanted it and so he got it for me as a graduation present from elementary. I was so happy about it, that all I could remember is that I download 2 thousand songs as if I was going to listen to all of them. And I noticed that I wasted my time doing that, just for fun when I don’t even like listening to music that much. Currently my dad got me a Toshiba laptop, of course I loved it and at that time and I was so excited about it. But then when I got into school we started using Macbook, and I realized that its so much better then mine. So I started hating the one that I was using currently, and I begin to dislike everything about such as the word document and so on. And that’s because I wanted the better and newer one. I mean look at how fast technology can get, it changed my mind view of my new laptop that I just got to a newer one that I used in school for a couple of days. These days, technology is taking over us with out us knowing. Technology has influenced us in so many ways, we now think that the Internet is our first priority and we stopped spending time with our family like we use to do in the good ol’ days. I found that sad even though I do it myself with out knowing. The Internet is getting better, but worse at the same time, me, myself, and I try to take the good things from it and just ignore the other stuff. When I finished reading Fahrenheit 451, I noticed that there were many similarities and differences between my world and their world. The main thought that stood out for me was that my community in this world like to know about things but in Fahrenheit 451, they don’t really care about socializing or knowing stuff. I also found that in my world people love technology 99% of them cant even live with out it including me. But what I’m trying to say here is that in Fahrenheit 451 they all have negative effect about technology. One of the differences in my world is that when you go anywhere you would find books. In my world books are used to research a project, or to learn about life and so much more other stuff. Although I think these days not many use them as much as they use the Internet to find out stuff. But talking about Fahrenheit 451 they are not allowed owning a book. When there is hidden forms of information, opinion, or sense of understanding, that makes the society becomes unsuccessful, which show the necessity of books. Without the steady current of Information that books offers, the world of Fahrenheit will create weakness in society. People, in the novel, are left not knowing what true happiness because of the empty knowledge. Second reason that is similar in my world is the Parlor wall. In the novel, Mildred has a family on the television, which he uses to replace his own family with media, since it offers more happiness and less investment of her time, which is quicker than in real life. This wall is a flat screen kind of looking thing that would get people together for hours and make them communicate with each other even though they don’t know each other. This is the same in our world; Because people now a days would just ignore sitting with family, witch is the most important thing in life, and they would just create there own fun people that they would talk to 24/7 instead of setting with there family. Over all, you can see that our world and Fahrenheit 451 world is like total difference. And in my point of view I think our world is so much better. Technology in my world has a better use, we some use actually work with it, but the other half would actually just use it for entertainment just like what they do in Fahrenheit 451. In conclusion, I would say that technology has a huge impact in anyone’s life. It is part of who we are today. Facebook, MySpace, Skype, Twitter is now necessity to the world. Our world is growing bigger and smarter. We now have everything that you have never thought of when you were young. And that is where it all comes from â€Å"Technology†.

Business Organizations In A Global Context Commerce Essay

Business Organizations In A Global Context Commerce Essay What is a business organization? A business organization can be defined as one or more business, which has in common the person or group of people controlling it. An organization may have more than one business but a business is limited to one organization. Business organization uses a systematic approach to achieve goals. Its people, the process in place and the policies are used to ensure that the organizations mission is realised. Within the structure of the organization is its culture which is essential to the success of the organization as it hinges on the workforce working together towards a shared goal Section 1 The Key Difference Between Global Business Operations Businesses are started for any number of reasons. And there are endless types of business due to the very fact that they are all started up by different people with different personalities and goals. There are three main sectors in the business world: private, public and voluntary. The private sector is made up of organizations that are privately or independently owned and not part of the government. This sector includes corporations (profit and non-profit), partnerships and charities. Retail stores, credit unions and local business operate in the private sector. The main objectives of businesses in this sector revolve around maximum sales and market growth. Examples of Private Sector Organizations are McDonalds, Tesco and Apple. The public sector is usually composed of organizations that are owned and operated by the government. They are established to achieve different objectives of society. The public sector operates on the taxes collected. Within the public sector lie public corporations. These have been set up by Acts of Parliament to run an industry or service. Examples of such corporations are Bank of England, BBC and the Royal Mint. Voluntary groups are set up by ordinary people and they aim to help others in the local community. Although they are not owned by any one individual, someone is elected to take responsibility of setting targets, budgets and day to day running of the group. In the recent past, businesses have seen a change in the economic setting. The domestic market is no longer able to meet the demands of the globalised people. Businesses have developed to ensure it thrives in the age of globalization. This development has made many domestic businesses become a household name worldwide. Besides globalization, an improved communication technology has also been a key factor in the success of these globally operating organizations. This allows efficient communication and swift access to global markets. One other strategy employed by global organizations is market research. This will help organizations pin point profitable areas for marketing. The internet and world-wide web has made available databases which enable organizations to access relevant information at a reasonable cost Section 2 The Impact of External Factors on Organization A number of factors are taken into consideration when measuring how the performance of a national economy impacts the activities of business organizations. Output effect: this is a measure profits generated by businesses in the UK Income effect: this is a measure of total income generated by businesses in the UK Employment effect: this is a measure of the number of jobs created by a businesses in the UK Further to this the direct, indirect and induced impacts of the categories above are generated using the IMPLAN methodology where the effects of the aforementioned are combined to reflect the total economic impact on the activities of business organizations. Direct impact: represents the purchase of goods and services by business owners from other businesses in the UK Indirect impact: represents business- business transactions, where the suppliers of the business owners purchase goods and services from other suppliers in the country Induced impact: The employees of the business owners and the employees of the indirectly affected businesses purchase goods and services in the UK. The second wave of economic impacts known more commonly as the induced effect is created b these purchases. The government has taken numerous steps to influence businesses. In some regions their influence is great but in most parts of the world they are kept at bay by capitalist leanings. Among the measures taken by governments is positive discrimination, also known as affirmative action. The term affirmative action was first used in the United States in  Executive Order 10925  and was signed by President  John F. Kennedy  on 6 March 1961; it was used to promote actions that achieve non-discrimination. Itrequires government employers to take affirmative action to hire without regard to race, religion and national origin. This law forces businesses to hire staff they might not have considered to hire in the past. Section 3 The Impact of Global Factors on Business Organizations How businesses are run differ country to country. A combination of a number of factors such as marketing, sales and technical skills are required to increase the productivity of a business. What makes a business successful relies a lot on the staff and the world experience they bring to the business. This varied background is what brings fresh insights to solving old problems as issues are seen from different viewpoints. Global integration is a challenge faced by all organizations. The environment in which the business is in prescribes changes in the structure of the organization. In addition to this there is also language, culture and regulations to deal with. In this instance it is essential that the organization does its best to foresee complications that may arise and put in place actions to overcome them. International trade has both good and bad effects on domestic products and services. International trade pumps money into local economies, which helps produce more goods for the local markets. It helps expand the local markets because the money derived from it goes into other business ventures. On the negative side, international trade shrinks local markets because some imports are far much cheaper than local manufactured goods. This results in people shunning local goods for the cheaper imports. The global economy has had an amazing impact on the way companies do business. In addition to the tremendous opportunities for growth and expansion into new markets that it brings, it also leads to interesting and unique challenges, as have been mentioned in the earlier paragraph. When contemplating expanding internationally organizations should consider a number of factors in order for it to be successful. Being strategic about the countries chosen to expand in Having a local presence in the country Taking into careful consideration the people, the culture and business environment Ensure all employees who are not local be given cultural awareness training Financial stability Developments in technology have made communications swifter and more efficient. Information Communication Technology has had a very positive impact on global economy. It can be said that ICT is one of the precursors to the success of global economy. Emails and internet ready mobile phones has allowed globalization to take place. The internet is also key to the achievements in banking, production of capitalism and globalization. ICT has made the banking industry the economic mover of the world. The adoption of ICT in banks has improved customer services, facilitated accurate records, provides forHome and Office Banking services, ensures convenient business hour, prompt and fair attention, and enhances fasterservices.ICT directlyaffects how managers decide and plan and what products and services are offered in thebanking industry. It has continued to change the way banks and their corporate relationships areorganized worldwide and the variety of innovative devices available to enhance the speed and qualityof service delivery. Not only has ICT impacted the globalization of banking, it had also impacted productivity. Productivity is one of the driving forces of economic progress. ICT has impacted economic progress in two ways. Firstly it has made it possible for an organization to spread itself around the globe, i.e. headquarters in London, design facilities in California and manufacture in China. The second way in which ICT has affected productivity lie in the ways in which companies are producing. Lines in the manufacturing industry which used to rely heavily on manpower have been replaced by computerised robotic production lines leading to faster, more efficient and better quality products. Section 4 A Review of the Current Issues Impacting On Business Activities After the recession of 2010, the global financial system remained fragile but this did not last for very long as economies started moving toward recovery and growth. Some economies, especially those from the emerging markets, continued to grow rapidly. There are six broad, long-term developments that shape the business world: Emerging markets increase their global power Clean-tech becomes a competitive advantage Global banking seeks recovery through transformation Governments enhance ties with the private sector Rapid technology innovation creates a smart, mobile world Demographic shifts transform the global workforce Global economies are strongly unified that companies, governments and industries will find that they are forced to cooperate in ways they did not imagine a few years ago. Ernst  Ã‚  Young believe the six trends are themselves connected by three underlying drivers that have helped establish each trend and perpetuate it. Demographic shifts that see population growth, increased urbanization, a widening divide between countries with youthful and quickly aging populations and a rapidly growing middle class are reshaping not only the business world, but also society as a whole. Reshaped global power structure. The balance of global power between the public and private sector has shifted quickly as the world recovers from the worst recession in decades. Disruptive innovation.  Improvements in technology continue to have massive effects on business and society. Emerging markets have become sourcesof innovation, especially in its efforts to reach the growing middle class and low-income consumers around the globe. As these trends change the ways in which businesses operate, grow and compete, winners and losers inevitably will emerge. The winners will be easy to identify. These are the organizations that will monitor trends in the environment, look for talent everywhere and embrace technology. They look outwards in their attempt to adapt to local environments and create global workforces. They are looking in to ways in which Clean-tech can fit into their growth plans and making it part of their global strategy. It is essential for organizations to develop strategies that will help expand the business in the environment it is set in. These strategies should address the issues that affect the business. A deep knowledge of the culture of the environment is key to success. Understanding the values and beliefs will promote the business as this makes the locals feel that the organization respects its interests and needs. Many times language can be a barrier. If effective communication does not take place business activities will slow down and in some instances come to a halt. Employees will need to be able to communicate verbally at a basic level, with on-going training to develop their language skills. It may be necessary in this instance to hire an interpreter or hire locals to do the job. The regulations of the country may also form another inhibitor. Each country comes with its own laws and regulations that apply to all businesses. A highly skilled and experienced specialist with experience in global integration would be the ideal choice. Such a person would help the company not only resolve and regulatory problems but also iron out problems where language and culture are concerned. Conclusion As businesses and governments move forward they will need to think deeply about the opportunities and risks that are presented by changing trends and the forces behind them. The mindset of organizations needs to undergo a transformation so that it can re-imagine what is possible, discover what they can do that is new and how to do it. With a different mindset, they can re-imagine what is possible, discovering what they can do that is new, and how best to do it. The dynamics of the global market is changing. Emerging markets are coming out strong and as they rise so do their companies. Many companies that had previously posed no competitive threat to multinational corporations now do so.These emerging market leaders represent a major shift in the global competitive landscape a trend that will only strengthen as they grow in size, establish dominance and seek new opportunities beyond their traditional domestic and near-shore markets.Those that succeed may find themselves not just navi gating tomorrows global trends, but actually shaping them.

Ngugi wa Thiong’os Personal and Political Beliefs Through A Grain of W

Ngugi wa Thiong’o's Personal and Political Beliefs Through A Grain of Wheat Ngugi wa Thiong’o is a Kenyan born writer of Gikuyu descent, born in 1938 in Limuru. He attended Alliance High School in Kenya, Makere University in Uganda, and Leeds University in England. In 1992 Ngugi was honored with the Paul Robeson Award for Artistic Excellence, Political Conscience, and Integrity. He received the Gwendolyn Brooks Center Contributors’ Award for Significant Contribution to the Black Literary Arts in 1994. Currently he is The Erich Remarque Professor of Comparative Literature and Performance Studies at New York University. However, before achieving this notability, Ngugi experienced life in a colonized country. This ultimately led Ngugi to become an active supporter of Kenyan independence and Jomo Kenyatta through his writings. Ngugi’s personal and political beliefs are reflected in his novel A Grain of Wheat, which he wrote as an optimistic patriot. Ngugi has written numerous novels and plays on the politics, the corruption, capitalism, religious hypocrisy and the cultural effects of colonization. Some of his works include Weep Not, Child (1964), Decolonising the Mind (1986), and Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary (1981). To further support his political belief, Ngugi stopped writing his books in English. He called his book Decolonising the Mind his "farewell to English" (Margulis http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/Ngugi.html) because it would become his last book written in English. In 1978 Ngugi was imprisoned for one year, without trial, by the Kenyan government after co-writing the play I Will Marry When I Want. It was during this imprisonment that he wrote the book Detained to describe his ordeal. However, Ngu... ... the elections. Ngugi does remain optimistic that one day his people will reunite and learn that change is inevitable, and one-day Kenya will achieve what its founding fathers envisioned. Works Cited Behrent, Megan. â€Å"Ngugi wa Thiong’o on the Language Question†. Online posting. 1997. Political Discourse – Theories of Colonialism & Postcolonialism. November 10, 1999. <http://landow.stg.brown.edu/post/poldiscourse/behrent.html.> Margulis, Jennifer. â€Å"Ngugi wa Thiong’o†. Online posting. Spring 1996. Ngugi wa Thiong’o. November 10, 1999. <http://www.emory.edu/ENGLISH/Bahri/Ngugi.html.> Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Personal Interview. October 28, 1999. Ngugi wa Thiong'o. A Grain of Wheat: New Hampshire: Heinemann, 1967. "Ngugi wa Thiong'o" Encyclopedia Britannica Online. http://www.eb.com:180/bol/topic?eu=57045&sctn=1 [November 10, 1999]

Civic Education :: Graduate Law Admissions Essays

Civic Education Gordon Gee in The Grace Adams Tanner Lecture in Human Values on April 28, 1999 mandates that the modern university "must provide the moral, intellectual, social cultural, and emotional framework into which [students] can properly place the pieces of the puzzle of life. We [the university] must help our students accommodate not only their hopes and aspirations, but also the inevitable fears, disillusionment, the desperate moral dilemmas, the guilt, the anger, and the questions of conscience which are part of every life. We must help them channel the power of the individual into strengthening the community." Gee speaks about an obligation of the university to prepare her students for life as members of a greater community. He places inherent value on the strength of community and assigns, as do the two authors quoted, a "moral responsibility" on contemporary universities to enable each student to contribute to this strength. Like Gee, William James talks about the "action of innumerable imitative individuals upon each other." Both Gee and James believe that education is not an individual search for self or righteousness or belonging. This process is not one about receiving wealth or fame. It is a process about learning to give. It is a process about acquiring the knowledge necessary to strengthen the community in the ways you feel are right. My own experience at Brown is one that has led me to internalize many of these same values. When I first arrived at Brown, I asked myself where I would fit here; what was it that I was supposed to do? I took advantage of Brown's liberal curriculum and sought the perfect concentration for me. When I settled on Political Science, I asked myself what I wanted to DO with that degree. Over the course of my Junior year, the answer simply emerged. I became interested in education and finally found the perfect field for my interest: Civic Education. I plan to write my honors thesis next year with professors Tomasi and Kaestle on civic education. The question I ask myself now, is not what can I do with Civic Education, but rather, how can I use my academic work to enhance the educational experience for all American children. In contemporary debates over civic education theory, the question is often posed: how can an Aristotelian, republican notion of cultivating citizens fit into a modern liberal democracy?

Standardized Testing Is Counterproductive Essay -- Problems With High

Excessive testing has been integrated in the public school system to measure student intelligence, observe teacher proficiency, and distribute federal funds since the passage of the No Child Left behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001. The (NCLBA) ‘‘called for 100% of the nation’s public school students to become proficient in mathematics and reading by 2014’’ through the usage of standardized testing (Hanson 3). Since the inception of this policy there have been numerous issues involved in these tests. ‘‘Instead of providing equal access for all children, the frenetic use of mandated testing in schools and in teacher education is having the opposite effect’’ (Richardson 34). Standardized testing is an ineffective and outdated tool that creates a counterproductive learning environment; testing enforced by the state should be altered to better accommodate the students needs. The primary function of standardized testing is to provide an accurate measure of student and teacher performance; they fall short of meeting this standard. Test scores don’t accurately reflect a child’s intelligence. One reason for this is that a single test cannot properly show the extent of a child’s knowledge. Language barriers are a determining factor as well, if English is not the primary language of a student they will have a harder time understanding questions and in turn procure lower scores. More problems arise when students enter high school; students don’t try as hard since standardized tests do not affect class grades. Moreover, scores are influenced by external factors. A child’s emotional or mental state during testing is detrimental to their results. Living conditions along with social status affect testing data as well. If a student is upset or living... ... ERIC. Print. Longo, Christopher. ‘‘Fostering Creativity or Teaching to the Test? Implications of State Testing on the Delivery of Science Instruction.’’ Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas, 2010. ERIC. Print. Phelps, Richard P. ‘‘Characteristics of an Effective Student Testing System.’’ Educational Horizons, 2006. ERIC. Print. Reddell, Samantha. ‘‘High Stakes Testing: Our Children at Risk.’’ Online Submission, 2010. ERIC. Print. Richardson, Brian; Wheeless, Lawrence R. ‘‘Teachers Tattling on Teachers: Policy Attitude and Tenure's Influence on Peer Reporting of Unethical Behavior.’’ International Journal of Educational Reform, 2009. ERIC. Print. Ryan, Katherine E., Allison M. Ryan, Keena Arbuthnot, Maurice Samuels. ‘‘Students' Motivation for Standardized Math Exams.’’ Educational Researcher, 2007. EIRC. Print.

Sears V.S Walmart

1. What ratios are MOST important in assessing current and predicting future value creation for Sears? For Wal-Mart? Sears Sears grew up to the world’s largest retailer by expanding annual sales through diversifying sale products, such as apparel, cosmetics, jewelry, electronics, household appliances, cookware, bedding and hand-tools. This article shows that Sears suffered from a cost increase in 1997, including lawsuits, credit collectibles and sales in Mexico. Besides, the flexible payment facility that Sears offered is also a reason for cost increase. These problems brought Sears with bad debt and hence decreased the cash flow. The problems of the company came from the liquid market security, so I emphasize the flowing concepts: 1. Profit Margin, ( Net Income / Total Revenue) â€Å"It measures how much out of every dollar of sales a company actually keeps in earning. † This concept is effective to compare similar companies in an industry; a higher profit margin indicates a better leading position in the industry. It is an indicative factor for Sears to forecast its position in this industry 2. Asset Turnover rate ( Revenue/ Asset) This ratio can measure how efficient Sears uses its asset to chase for revenue. . DEBT to Equity Ratio ( Total liability/ equity) (5. 6 in 1997, 6. 3 in 1996) The ratio of debt to equity measures the risk of the corporation’s creditors and its prospective creditors 4. ROA (Net Income/Total Asset), Since the company has a higher sales in 1997 than the past 2 years but lower net income. To evaluate the performance of the company, we must know how profitable Sears is relative to its total assets. 5. ROE (Profit Margin * Assets Turnover * Leverage Ratio) which is more accurate way to evaluate the performance of Sears in the retailer industry. . Days of receivable Since Sears have a big issue about the credit collection, we need to think about the days of receivable. 7. Liquidate ratio * Cash ratio * Current ratio ( Current Assets / Current Liabilities) (1. 94 in 1997, 1. 90 in 1996) the current ratio is about 1. 9, it indicate Sears is using its liquidity to grow up. * Quick ratio Wal-Mart Wal-Mart was founded in 1962 and has the ROE of 20%. Wal-Mart also offers store Credit Card, but unlike Sears, it is Chase Manhattan Bank rather than its own credit company. Wal-Mart also boosts the annual sale by diversifying products as Sears does, but Wal-Mart also has different stores to target at the customers of various market segments, such as Wal-Mart Discount Store, Wal-Mart Supercenters and Sam’s Clubs. In order to measure how the performance of the Wal-Mart now and in the future, (Wal-Mart wants in low price and low cost) we need to analysis some financial ratio from the number on books. 1. Profit Margin, (Net Income / Total Revenue) 2. Asset Turnover rate (Revenue/ Asset) this ratio can measure how efficiency Sears to use its asset for revenue. 3. DEBT to Equity Ratio ( Total liability/ equity) . Leverage Ratio ( Long Term Debt / Shareholder) 5. ROA (Net Income / Total Asset), 2. Do you agree with Ravi Suria's analysis of the credit risks associated with Amazon bonds ? 1 In Ravi Suria’s analysis, â€Å"we believe that the current cash balances will last the company through the first quarter of 2001. † According to Exhibit 12c the cash flow statement, in contrast, the cash balance could last for the first quarter of 2001, when it suffered from 407 losses in operating activities, though positive in investing and financial activities. In summary, Amazon experienced 375 losses in the first quarter in 2001. Just from the number on the accounting book, we cannot see whether it is wrong or right. We must see the business strategy and where they spent the money, which is the key of the company for the long term. 2 I personal calculate the working capital of the 2000 and 2001 | Working capital ($M)2000| Working Capital 2001| March | 704| 205| Jun | 559| 87| Sep | 504| (21)| Dec | 386| (38)| His analysis was based on the working capital is shirking. The Working Capital table shows a decreasing trend since 2000. I don’t think amazon can still cover the cash flow in 2011 and use its capital efficiently. However, we cannot only use assumption of Working Capital to analysis a company, we need to look at the strategy, inventory, and so on. As this point, we will know Suria’s analysis is not proper. 3 Suria calculated the inventory as the stable mumble and use the revenue instead of Cost Goods Sold. But the revenue record as the market value, not as cost goods sold can indict the cost for the inventory. Amazon’s revenue varies season by season. We can use COG / average of the inventory to include the seasonal factor, instead of revenue/ inventory. 4 As for the inventory, I think, Suris is misleading by another point. He only thinks the inventory turnover is very low. However, amazon increases its inventory at the beginning year (from the case, the company only have 4000 books, but later on it run CDs, video, and movie. That’s why amazon has a very low inventory turnover at the beginning years. 5 Suria thinks the Amazon has low â€Å"cash flow per unit of product sold†, and he shows us some calculation about his conclusion on page 10. However, this is already a great business mode and strategy in the market. And it has already been proved from the success of Wal-Mart and Costco retailer, which is called â€Å"low gross margins†.

Narrowing a Topic

Associate Program Material Narrowing a Topic Example Worksheet Review the following example worksheet: |What general topic have you selected? |Education | | | | | | | |What components, or subtopics, are related to this topic? Multiple intelligences | | |Classroom management | | |Importance of higher education | | |Benefits of higher education | | |Elementary school | | |Standardized testing | | |Parental involvement | |What particular aspect of this topic interests you most? | | |Classroom management | | | | |What is your purpose or goal for writing an essay on this topic? |To explain to the reader the various methods of classroom | | |management used in the elementary-school classroom | | | | | | |What questions do you want to answer or address in the essay? |What styles of classroom management exist? | | |What effect does classroom management have on the classroom? | | | | | | | |What is your narrowed topic choice for final expository essay? Classroom manage ment in the elementary-school classroom | | | | |Is your topic still too broad for the length of the paper? |No, I think my narrowed topic would be acceptable for the length | |Explain your answer. If so, how might you narrow it further? |of the final paper. I will be able to explain the various types | | |of classroom-management styles and explain the effect that they | | |have on the classroom. | Expository Essay Topic: Option 1 Worksheet If you selected Option 1 for this assignment, complete the following worksheet: |What general topic have you selected? | | |Video gaming | |What components, or subtopics, are related to this topic? |Types of games | | |Price of games | | |Hand and eye coordination and motor skills | | |Addictiveness/time management | | |Violence related to game play | |What particular aspect of this topic interests you most? | | |Educational value of video games in children | | | | |What is your purpose or goal for writing an essay on this topic? |To inform the reader what educational benefits video games have | | |upon a child | | | | |What questions do you want to answer or address in the essay? How would a child benefit from playing video games | | | | | | | |What is your narrowed topic choice for final expository essay? | | |Is your topic still too broad for the length of the paper? | | |Explain your answer. If so, how might you narrow it further? | | | | | | | |

Deoderent Market in India Essay

Abstract Topic:- Monopoly or monopolistic competition in Deodorant brands? After seeing so many outrageous deodorant advertisements on television we were wondering whether it affects the consumer behavior and we also wanted to find out whether Axe has a monopoly over this market or not. The aim of this assignment is to compare the parent companies of five deodorant brands with the help of ratio analysis. We are going to consider the time period 2007-12. Primary data was collected through a survey which will help us determine what thinking goes behind purchasing a deo between college students and the office going crowd. To conduct the ratio analysis we used secondary data by obtaining the balance sheets of the various companies. The market share and revenues of five major brands- Axe, Adidas, Nivea, Wildstone and Park Avenue will be analyzed. Introduction Monopolistic Competition Monopolistic competition is a type of imperfect competition such that many producers sell products that are differentiated from one another as goods but not perfect substitutes (such as from branding, quality, or location). In monopolistic competition, a firm takes the prices charged by its rivals as given and ignores the impact of its own prices on the prices of other firms.[1] In a monopolistically competitive market, firms can behave like monopolies in the short run, including by using market power to generate profit. In the long run, however, other firms enter the market and the benefits of differentiation decrease with competition. There are six characteristics of monopolistic competition (MC): * Product differentiation * Many firms * Free entry and exit in the long run * Independent decision making * Market Power * Buyers and Sellers do not have perfect information (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monopolistic_competition) Economic Background The deodorant market in India is estimated at Rs 900 crore. Men’s deodorants dominate the category with a 70 per cent share estimated at Rs 650 crore. The segment is expected to grow 25 per cent annually to become three times its current size in the next five years. The overall deodorant market has grown by about 40 per cent a year in the past five years driven by introduction of new brands and aggressive media promotions. The market will continue to grow at 20-25 per cent thanks to low penetration and availability at low price points. Deodorant sales are seasonal — maximum sales happen in the summer months (April to September). About 90 per cent of the market is concentrated in the mass segment (with deodorants priced between Rs 125 and Rs 175 for a 150 ml pack). With new players entering the category at popular price points, the mass segment, with brands like Axe, Adidas, Nike and Reebok, will continue to grow faster and command higher share in the deodorant market. The size of the premium and above segments, which have brands like Burberry, The Body Shop, Kenzo and Ralph Lauren, will double by value in the next five years. (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/kit-the-men%5Cs-deodorant-market-in-india/443714) Method We will be using the financial tools of various ratios to determine which company has been more successful in this market. Survey The survey was conducted on 200 males in the college and office going crowd the results were as follows. 1. Which Deodorant do you use? Analysis As we can see from the above graph that Axe has a majority amongst the people surveyed while the others are below 10%. This gives us a picture of the domination of Axe in this market and same is the case when market share all over India is observed. 2. Reason for buying the particular brand. From the above graph we find that the decision of people in the age group of 15-25 behind buying a particular deodorant is not its fragrance but its price followed by easy availability and advertising. This shows us that main factor which affects a consumer’s decision, in this age group is the price of the product followed by other factors regarding quality, availability etc. This was the result obtained from the office crowd which gave an entirely different reason. The consumers decision in this age group is affected by the brand as people become brand conscious and are more bothered about which brand they use rather than its use. After the brand value the price affects their decisions. Hence from both these results we see that consumer behaviour varies on the different age groups and changes as a consumer grows older. Findings: Name: Mahikaansh Reddy Brand: AXE (Hindustan Unilever) AXE was launched in France in 1983 by Unilever. It was inspired by another of Unilever’s brands, Impulse. Unilever were keen to capitalize on AXE’s French success and the rest of Europe from 1985 onwards, later introducing the other products in the range. Unilever were unable to use the name AXE in the United Kingdom and Ireland due to trademark problems so it was launched as Lynx. The European launch of the deodorant was followed by success in Latin America and moderate impact in Asia and Africa. In the new millennium, the brand has launched with great success in the United States and Canada. The company has also consolidated its deodorant portfolio by migrating other overlapping male deodorants into the Lynx brand such as South Africa’s Ego brand. In January 2012, Unilever launched its first Lynx product for women in the United Kingdom as part of a global expansion of the previously men’s-only brand. The AXE deodorant was popular in India in the Grey market (duty paid shops). Impressed by the volume of AXE sold there, AXE deodorant was launched in India in 1999. The brand launch was very quiet and had the strategy of ‘High Price, Low Promotion’. At that time, the deodorant market was a nascent one with an estimated market size of Rs 72 crore. HLL, at that time, had the brands Denim and Rexona and was ruling the market. AXE was priced at a premium. In just three years flat, AXE had a market share of over 35% and HLL started phasing out Denim to concentrate more on AXE. It is known for its very controversial advertisements which actually helped in its publicity and led to a faster growth in the industry. Its target group was mainly men between the age group of 18-24 as they were seen as the easiest to convince with such advertisements. Not only does the brand use TV commercials to its advantage, but it also uses its print ads effectively. Besides print, the brand also uses outdoors for maximum impact. Hence, Axe is a classic example of the 360 degree branding effort. Therefore Axe is a perfect example of how important advertising is for a brand and how it can lead to higher revenues. Marketing Mix 1. Product: 2. Place: Available at all malls across India. Every deodorant selling shop will 99% be selling Axe. All other variants of Axe brand could be purchased from established retailers viz. BIG BAZAAR (PANTALOONS RETAIL INDIA LIMITED). 1. Promotion: Concentrates on single- segment male youth and targets young at heart. The competitive advantage of this brand is its complete monopoly over this proposition. The â€Å"Axe Effect† is one of the most famous claim in the world. This so called effect is supposed to draw women in hordes to any male who has sprayed himself liberally with the Axe deodorant. The advertisements are very slick and usually display a normal male but with oodles of self-assurance as an Axe user. The females get irresistibly drawn to this male implying that Axe acts like a nasal aphrodisiac. 2. The Axe brand of deodorants is from Unilever and is primarily targeted at 15 to 25 year old males. The brand portrays normal yet cool, trendy and confident, a positioning that is aspirational to the target segment. At a more subtle level, the Axe Effect also acts on the confidence levels of the user. The very act of being associated with the brand serves to boost the ego. The success of AXE attracted lots of new brands which were trying to follow the same marketing strategy as AXE. The one notable difference though is that all these newbies use hunks as opposed to the regular guys which are a stable for the Axe advertisements. This strategy has proven very effective for the brand. It comes across as approachable and it acts like a confidante and friend to its users. They are currently distributed in more than 40 countries. Unilever started out allotting roughly 60 percent of its advertising budget to television, but it has since winnowed that down to about 30 percent, pouring more money into offbeat alternatives. Competitive analysis: Axe faces competition from new entrants such as Wildstone, Adidas, Park Avenue etc. However among all these brands AXE has a dominating share in the market because of the brand equity and brand loyalty that it has built and is leveraging the same. AXE has a wide acceptance among the youth which forms the major chunk of perfume & deodorant users. Vis-à  -vis all these the AXE deodorant never forgets to promote any of its new product. AXE time and again, on launch of the new product goes for PR as well as wide advertising campaigns. 3. Target group- 18 to 24 What next? As such, I believe that AXE has the potential to spread its reach and increase its market share by expanding into the 35-50 year old demographic. In doing so, AXE will need to associate and disassociate itself with a more mature brand image and its inexpensive nature respectively, thereby attracting the average male aged 35-50 years. Hence it needs to re-focus the marketing mix towards 35-50 year old demographic, whilst retaining its keystone market, the 16-25 year olds. Conclusion Axe has a very large share in this market and has hardly got a foot wrong. It just needs to follow its tried and tested market strategies and build upon it, by doing that it can thwart the competition and maintain its kind of monopoly in the market. The only thing that could be suggested is to increase its target group so that it could expand more in the market and serve a larger base leading to higher revenues. Hence Axe just needs to follow what it was doing from before and be wary of the new competition in this segment with the help of excessive advertising and PR.

Presentation of the Kite Runner Essay

INTRODUCTION This paper copes with the analysis of Hosseini’s Kite Runner using Marxism approach. Marxist theory mainly deals with the literary works and evaluates the works by the examining of its historical, social and economical background. Marxism evaluates the work how it is influenced by the time in which it was produced as well as social, political, economical sphere (Chowdhury, 2011). Thus, this paper will focus on: (1) The Marxist Approach To The Kite Runner; (2) The relationship among characters as a representation of the differences between social classes; (3) The relationship between Baba and Ali serve as a representation materialism versus spirituality; (4) Baba as the representation of economic power in his society in the period of time; and (5) Cultural and political hegemony as representation of situation in Afghanistan. 1.The Marxist Approach To The Kite Runner The marxist approach to literature is based on the philosophy of Karl Marx, a German philosopher and economist. His major argument was that whoever controlled the means of production in society controlled the society—whoever owned the factories â€Å"owned† the culture. This idea is called â€Å"dialectical materialism,† and Marx felt that the history of the world was leading toward a communist society. From his point of view, the means of production (i.e., the basis of power in society) would be placed in the hands of the masses, who actually operated them, not in the hands of those few who owned them. It was a perverted version of this philosophy that was at the heart of the Soviet Union. Marxism was also the rallying cry of the poor and oppressed all over the world (Kurtz). To read a work from a Marxist perspective, one must understand that Marxism asserts that literature is a reï ¬â€šection of culture, and that culture can be affected by literature (Marxists believed literature could instigate revolution). Marxism is linked to Freudian theory by its concentration on the subconscious—Freud dealt with the individual subconscious, while Marx dealt with the political subconscious. Marx believed that oppression exists in the political subconscious of a society—social pecking orders are inherent to any group of people. The four main areas of study are economic power; materialism versus spirituality; class conï ¬â€šict; art, literature, and ideologies. 2.The relationship among characters as a representation of the differences between social classes On the beginning of the novel, Hosseini briefly contrasted the high class layer from low class layer in several ways. a.From physical appearance of the characters. Baba and Ali. Baba and Ali are much different. Baba was a strong, and powerful man. â€Å"It was Rahim Khan who first referred to him as what eventually became Baba’s famous nickname, _Toophan agha_, or â€Å"Mr. Hurricane.† It was an apt enough nickname. My father was a force of nature, a towering Pashtun specimen with a thick beard, a wayward crop of curly brown hair as unruly as the man himself, hands that looked capable of uprooting a willow tree, and a black glare that would â€Å"drop the devil to his knees begging for mercy,† as Rahim Khan used to say. At parties, when all six-foot-five of him thundered into the room, attention shifted to him like sunflowers turning to the sun† (ch.3). Ali was a weak, flawed and men. â€Å"But polio had left Ali with a twisted, atrophied right leg that was sallow skin over bone with little in between except a paper-thin layer of muscle†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ (ch.2), in other hand, the novel states that â€Å"Ali’s face and his wa lk frightened some of the younger children in the neighborhood. But the real trouble was with the older kids (ch.2). Amir and Hasan Physically, Amir and Hassan were different. Though Amir was older than Hassan, but Hassan was stronger than Amir. Hassan can run faster than Amir. When they were running to catch the kite one day, Amir looked very tired. â€Å"They called him â€Å"flat-nosed† because of Ali and Hassan’s characteristic Hazara Mongoloid features. â€Å"For years, that was all I knew about the Hazaras, that they were Mogul descendants, and that they looked a little like Chinese people† (ch.2) Sofia Akrami and Sanaubar Sofia Akrami, Baba’s wife (Amir’s mother) was from a rich family. â€Å"When people scoffed that Baba would never marry well–after all, he was not of royal blood–he wedded my mother, Sofia Akrami, a highly educated woman universally regarded as one of Kabul’s most respected, beautiful, and virtuous ladies. And not only did she teach classic Farsi literature at the university she was a descendant of the royal family, a fact that my father playfully rubbed in the skeptics’ faces by referring to her as â€Å"my princess† (ch.3). Sanaubar, Ali’s wife, was a beautiful woman. â€Å"†¦ a beautiful but notoriously unscrupulous woman who lived up to her dishonorable reputation. Like Ali, she was a Shi’a Muslim and an ethnic Hazara. She was also his first cousin and therefore a natural choice for a spouse. But beyond those similarities, Ali and Sanaubar had little in common, least of all their respective appearances. While Sanaubar’s brilliant green eyes and impish face had, rumor has it, tempted countless men into sin, Ali had a congenital paralysis of his lower facial muscles, a condition that rendered him unable to smile and left him perpetually grimfaced. It was an odd thing to see the stone-faced Ali happy, or sad, because only his slanted brown eyes glinted with a smile or welled with sorrow. People say that eyes are windows to the soul. Never was that more true than with Ali, who could only reveal himself through his eyes†¦. â€Å"I have heard that Sanaubar’s suggestive stride and oscillating hips sent men to reveries of infidelity† (ch.2). b.Tribe’s difference. Hosseini exposes two different tribes between Pasthuns and Hazara in some points of view. ï‚ §Oppression of Pasthuns to Hazara. Pasthuns is a high class layer while Hazara is a low class layer. This can be shown from the citations as follow: â€Å"An entire chapter dedicated to Hassan’s people! In it, I read that my people, the Pashtuns, had persecuted and oppressed the Hazaras. It said the Hazaras had tried to rise against the Pashtuns in the nineteenth century, but the Pashtuns had â€Å"quelled them with unspeakable violence.† The book said that my people had killed the Hazaras, driven them from their lands, burned their homes, and sold their women. The book said part of the reason Pashtuns had oppressed the Hazaras was that Pashtuns were Sunni Muslims, while Hazaras were Shi’a’ (ch.2). The insulting to Hazara. As it has been pointed out that Hazara was low class layer, Hazara’s people were placed as a minority and they were mostly insulted by people around them. Ali, who belongs to Hazara, was chased by children around. â€Å"They chased him on the street, and mocked him when he hobbled by. Some had taken to calling him _Babalu_, or Boogeyman† (ch.2). Hassan, who was known as Ali’s son, was very often insulted by his neighbours when he walked with Amir. Amir says that â€Å"It also said some things I did know, like that people called Hazaras _mice-eating, flat-nosed, load-carrying donkeys_. I had heard some of the kids in the neighborhood yell those names to Hassan. Amir’s teacher even said that â€Å"That’s the one thing Shi’a people do well,† he said, picking up his papers, â€Å"passing themselves as martyrs.† He wrinkled his nose when he said the word Shi’a, like it was some kind of disease (ch.2). Assef really hated Hazara people. In another occasion, when he met Amir dan Hassan, Assef strictly said to Hassan: His blue eyes flicked to Hassan. â€Å"Afghanistan is the land of Pashtuns. It always has been, always will be. We are the true Afghans, the pure Afghans, not this Flat-Nose here. His people pollute our homeland, our watan. They dirty our blood.† He made a sweeping, grandiose gesture with his hands. â€Å"Afghanistan for Pashtuns, I say. That’s my vision† (ch.5). Amir and Hassan, on one day walked around and met Assef on the way. Assef says to Amir â€Å"How can you talk to him, play with him, let him touch you?† he said, his voice dripping with disgust. Wali and Kamal nodded and grunted in agreement. Assef narrowed his eyes. Shook his head. When he spoke again, he sounded as baffled as he looked. â€Å"How can you call him your ‘friendâ₠¬â„¢?† _But he’s not my friend!_ I almost blurted. _He’s my servant!_ Had I really thought that? (ch.5). 3.The relationship between Baba and Ali serve as representation materialism versus spirituality. Materialism refers to desire for wealth and material possessions, while spiritualism refers to a philosophic doctrine, opposing materialism, that claims transcendency of the divine being (Empi, 2009). Hosseini opposites two characters between Baba and Ali. Baba is materialism as stated in the novel that Baba says that â€Å"If there’s a God out there, then I would hope he has more important things to attend to than my drinking scotch or eating pork. Now, hop down. All this talk about sin has made me thirsty again† (ch. 3). Baba also just only interested to talk about business, politics and football as the central topics on conversation with his friends in his room one day as stated that â€Å"Baba and his friends reclined on black leather chairs there after Ali had served dinner. They stuffed their pipes–except Baba always called it â€Å"fattening the pipe†Ã¢â‚¬â€œand discussed their favorite three topics: politics, business, soccer† (ch.2). When Amir told Baba about religious teaching of Islam at school that they learnt about Qur’an, Baba said to Amir that â€Å"I see you’ve confused what you’re learning in school with actual education,† he said in his thick voice (ch.3). Baba also said to Amir that â€Å"You’ll never learn anything of value from those bearded idiots† (ch.3). In contrast, Ali is a religious man who had memorized the Koran†¦. (ch.3). In addition, it is cited that â€Å"Hassan’s father, Ali, used to catch us and get mad, or as mad as someone as gentle as Ali could ever get. He would wag his finger and wave us down from the tree. He would take the mirror and tell us what his mother had told him, that the devil shone mirrors too, shone them to distract Muslims during prayer. â€Å"And he laughs while he does it,† he always added, scowling at his son† (ch.2). Furthermore, Ali and Hassan were religiously to Islamic Teaching, and he never left for praying. One day Amir got up late and found â€Å"Hassan had already washed up, prayed the morning _namaz_with Ali†(ch.4). Hassan never missed any of the five daily prayers. Even when we were out playing, he’d excuse himself, draw water from the well in the yard, wash up, and disappear into the hut (ch.4) 4.Baba as the representation of economic power in his society in the period of time. In Marxist’ theory society is divided into two classes based economical point of view. They are the upper class/bourgeoisies and the lower class/labors/proletarians (Darma, 2013). Hosseini exposes the economic power characters in the novels in several points. ï‚ §Hoseini symbolizes Baba and Ali as the bourgeoisies and proletarians. Baba was a rich man. He has the most beautiful house in Kabul, while Ali’s house is small. It is stated in the novel that â€Å"Everyone agreed that my father, my Baba, had built the most beautiful house in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, a new and affluent neighborhood in the northern part of Kabul. Some thought it was the prettiest house in all of Kabul† (ch.2). On the contrary, Ali was a poor man which worked only for Baba as a servant. His house was small and lied behind Baba’s house. The novel states that â€Å"On the south end of the garden, in the shadows of a loquat tree, was the servants’ home, a modest little mud hut where Hassan lived with his father. (ch.2) ï‚ §Baba was a successful businessman. When people around doubted him on his success, he run a business and he became a successful merchant in Kabul as stated that â€Å"Baba proved them all wrong by not only running his own business but becoming one of the richest merchants in Kabul†¦ Baba and Rahim Khan built a wildly successful carpet-exporting business, two pharmacies, and a restaurant† (ch.3). Baba also built an orphanage by his own money to show his economic power. The novel stated that â€Å"In the late 1960s, when I was five or six, Baba decided to build an orphanage. I heard the story through Rahim Khan† (ch.3) â€Å"Baba paid for the construction of the two-story orphanage, just off the main strip of Jadeh Maywand south of the Kabul River, with his own money (ch.3). Bourgeoisies way of life was identical to hedonism. It was stated in the novel that â€Å"In 1933, the year Baba was born and the year Zahir Shah began his forty-year reign of Afghanistan, two brothers, young men from a wealthy and reputable family in Kabul, got behind the wheel of their father’s Ford roadster. High on hashish and _mast_ on French wine, they struck and killed a Hazara husband and wife on the road to Paghman (ch.4). 5.Cultural and political hegemony as representation of situation in Afghanistan. According to Encarta English Dictionary (2009), hegemony is authority or control: control or dominating influence by one person or group, especially by one political group over society or one nation over others. Hosseini describes the hegemony in culture and politics was presented in several way of his work’s The Kite Runner. a.Cultural Hegemony. The Pasthuns controlled Hazara by forbidding them to come to school. Hazara’s people were identical with iliteral and servant of Pasthuns. This was represented in the novel that Hassan will do anything whatever Amir asked him. Amir was very often asked Hassan to do something impossibly. It stated in the novel that â€Å"Eat dirt if I told you to,† I said† (ch.6). In addition, most Hazara people were servants, Amir says that â€Å"I remember one kid, Ahmad, who lived across the street from us. His father was some kind of doctor, I think. †¦Every morning , I watched from my bedroom window as their Hazara servant shoveled snow from the driveway, cleared the way for the black Opel† (ch.6). Afghans were independent people. Pasthuns controlled Hazara in all aspects. b.Political hegemony. This was represented in Assef statement that â€Å"â€Å"I’ll ask the president to do what the king didn’t have the quwat to do. To rid Afghanistan of all the dirty, kasseef Hazaras† (ch.5). In addition, Assef also ever told Amir that â€Å"For a lot of Hazaras, Iran represented a sanctuary of sorts–I guess because, like Hazaras, most Iranians were Shi’a Muslims. But I remembered something my teacher had said that summer about Iranians, that they were grinning smooth talkers who patted you on the back with one hand a nd picked your pocket with the other† (ch.6). REFERENCES: Chowdhury, M. A. U. (2011). The Kite Runner in the light of Marxism. Retrieved 25 January, 2013, from http://jottify.com/works/the-kite-runner-in-the-light-of-marxism/ Darma, Budi. (2013). Handout of Literary Criticism on Marxism. Presented on the P2TK class on Program Pasca Sarjana UNESA. Empi, Varun. (2009). Materialism Vs Spiritualism. Retrieved on January 24, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/varun_empi/varun-materialism Hosseini, K. (2003). The Kite Runner. New York: Riverhead Books. Kuntz, K. Teaching Khaled Hosseini’s from Multiple Critical Perspectives. Retrieved on January 24, 2013 from http://www.prestwickhouse.com/PDF/SAMPLE/305052.pdf Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009.  © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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