Scouting The Braves free essay sample

The Atlanta fans ignite with sports chants such as lets go Hayward and lets go braves. As the game starts saw the coaches giving the players signs using sign language to tell them to bunt, or even to take a pitch. There are many different assets that mold the baseball culture together which include chants, sign language, sports talk, the sounds of the game, the smells of the ballpark and many different rituals that are particular to baseball, which have witnessed in person. There were forty three thousand fans that showed up and all had on some type of shirt supporting their team.Many fans had on jerseys of their favorite player, while others wore a shirt the color of their team. While the fans dressed to support their team, the players put on their jerseys in which they all wear a hat, a shirt with their team name on it, pants, belt, and baseball cleats. We will write a custom essay sample on Scouting The Braves or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The only difference separating the two teams is the colors of their team and their name. Every player in the field has a baseball glove and the players batting carry a bat. All the fans are chanting for the home team, the Atlanta Braves and mostly all of the fans are doing the chop with foam tomahawk chops they gave out before the game. Every time someone gets a hit for the home team the fans start clapping, cheering and shouting in joy for their team. The opposite happens when something good happens to the Atlanta Braves opponent, the Braves fans start booing. This is because the fans care about their team and want their team to win, so when something good happens to the other team, which is the Dodgers, the Braves fans arent happy. Although the Dodgers have a few fans too, which theyre pulling for their team and hoping for something good to happen for their team.Baseball is an intense game especially when it comes to the postseason and both the players and the fans are emotionally attached to their team. Just like any other sport, the team you grow up near or what is to be the team representing your home State is the team youre mostly attached to and the team you pull for. It was a beautiful night for baseball as the fans were snapping pictures, the smell of the ballpark food and the amazingly fresh cut grass of t he baseball amend. Before the game many people caught pictures with some of the players they loved to watch play the game of baseball.Also throughout the game the fans were taking pictures just to catch the beautiful scenery the night brought. While watching the game my dad and I would talk baseball, which many others wouldnt understand if you werent familiar with baseball. My dad and I were talking about how and where to pitch a player up at bat by saying, he needs to throw him a slider here low and outside or give him the high cheese. These are certain pitches related to an off speed pitch and a high fastball.Walking around the ballpark before the game you could smell the best smell in the world, ballpark food. Fans were lined up at the concession stands waiting to feast on whatever food they wanted during the game such as hotdogs, nachos and most baseball favorites sunflower seeds. Even the players would chew on sunflower seeds during the game while theyre playing. The keys to the baseball culture and what makes baseball includes the smell of fresh hotdogs, the sounds of the crack of the bat and he view of a beautiful baseball diamond.I sat in the stands along with all the other forty three thousand fans pulling for the Atlanta Braves. Was in the stands supporting my team to victory and I too was also doing the Tomahawk Chop, which the Atlanta Braves are known for. I talked with a few fans around me, just chatting about the game of baseball and exchanged thoughts about the game. Also, every time the Braves did something good would exchange high fives with the fans around me. Was a one of many fans that came out to support the Atlanta Braves, in which the fans are a big factor in helping a team win. The fans act the way they do because they have grown to love their team. The fans where their teams jerseys and colors to represent their love for that team. With the fans doing the Tomahawk Chop, this is their way Of showing the Braves rituals, as every team has their own. With the players using sign language lets only the team giving them understand what is suppose to happen, so they wont give away what they are calling. All assets of the game are crucial in winning a baseball game and having a great atmosphere.The smell of fresh cooked burgers, the sound of hard hit ball, the chanting and the different traditions are the heart and soul of baseball, which I had seen firsthand at the Atlanta Braves baseball game. It was a sight to see as Atlanta took the game in a four to three victory over the Dodgers. The fans stood by their seats and cheered so proudly for their team as they walked off the field with a win. There was nothing better than seeing a culture come together in supporting their team by using ritual chants as in the Tomahawk Chop and just witnessing the beautiful game of baseball.

Impact of corporate governance on the financial pe Essays - Economy

Impact of corporate governance on the financial pe Essays - Economy Impact of corporate governance on the financial performance of Nepalese Enterprises Lilesh Kumar Yadav, LumanaTamrakar, Manika Shrestha and NamrataPandit Abstract This paper empirically examines the relationship between corporate governance and performance of Nepalese enterprises. The performance variables used in this study are return on assets and return on equity and these are the dependent variables. The corporate governance variables such as board size, audit committee, board diversity, ownership structure and control variable such as leverage and firm size are the independent variables. The population of this study consists of financial and non- financial companies listed in Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE). Total number of 27 financial and non- financial companies listed in Nepal stock exchange for a period of five years from 2011-2015 are used as the sample size. Data are collected from annual report of the respective firms. The pooled cross sectional data analysis has been carried out in this study. The multiple regression models are applied to test the significance and important of corporate governance in the Nepalese firms. The study reveals that board size, leverage and firm size are positively related to return on assets of non- financial firms. This indicates that large the board, leverage and firm size, higher would be the return on assets. The results also show that there is negative relationship of return on assets with audit committee and board diversity. This indicates that higher the audit committee and board diversity, lower would be the return on assets. There is a positive relationship of return on equity with board size, leverage, firm size, and audit committee and board diversity. In the case of financial firms, the study reveals that there is a positive relationship of return on assets with audit committee and firm size. This indicates that higher the board size, leverage and firm size, higher would be the return on assets. The regression result shows that the board size, leverage and firm has positive impact on return on assets in the case of non-financial firms. Similarly, in the case o f financial firm, there is a positive impact of ownership structure, audit committee and firm size on return on assets whereas the coefficients are negative for board size, board diversity and leverage. Keywords: return on assets, return on equity, board size, ownership structure, audit committee, board diversity, leverage and firm size. 1. Introduction Corporate governance is the system by which companies are directed and controlled. It is also argued that the corporate governance is the framework by which the interest of various stakeholders is balanced. It shows a set of relationship between a company's management, its board, its shareholder and other stakeholder. Corporate governance provide the mechanism by which the problems of corporation stakeholders, which include the shareholders, creditors, management, employee, consumers and the public at large are framed and resolved. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) also defines corporate governance as the system by which business corporations are directed and controlled. The Asian Development Bank defined the concept as the manner in which authority is exercised in the management of a country's social and economic resources for development (Eng Mak, 2003); corporate governance has become a topical issue because of its immense contribution to the econom ic growth and development of nation. The absence of good corporate governance is a major cause of failure of many well performing companies. Existing literature generally support the position that good corporate governance has a positive impact on organization performance (OECD, 2009). Effective corporate governance has been identified to be critical to all economic transactions especially in emerging and transition economies (Dharwardkar et al., 2000). The concept of corporate governance has been increasing public interest in recent years due to its plausible importance on the economic health of corporation in general. Good corporate governance practice provides a means to recognize the dreams of justifying risks and optimizing performance concurrently in today's aggressive and regulatory setting. Corporate governance lays down objective framework for creating long term trust between company and its stakeholders. It is solved by rationalizing and monitoring risks of a company, limiting liability of top management by carefully articulating decision making process, ensuring integrity of financial reports, and finally providing a degree of confidence necessary for proper functioning of an

bzyt archtecture essays

bzyt archtecture essays The greatest of medieval civilizations was the Eastern Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was divided in 395. The Western half, ruled from Rome, was ruled by the barbarians in the 5th century. The Eastern half, known as the Byzantine Empire, lasted for more than over 1,000 years. The Byzantine Empire was one of the leading civilizations in the world. Is a mixed style composed of Graeco-Roman and Oriental elements which, The form of the church used most in the west, a the long rectangular part of the cathedral with the alter in it is supported on columns and an atrium appears in many examples of the fifth century in Byzantine. In the West this style of building occasionally presents similarities which are thought by some authorities to be of Oriental origin galleries over the side aisles, spirally channelled columns, and imposts between capitals and arches. Vaulted basilicas were made at a early date in Constantinople. The domical style, with barrel-vaulted side aisles and transepts is a favourite with the Byzantines. Many of the oldest basilicas in Asia Minor, as well as the Church of St. Irene, Constantinople, carried one or more domes. This type leads to the structure in a centralized circular, octagonal, or cross shaped plan. In ancient Roman times tombs and baths had this sort of plan. These types of buildings cannot be s een as only Byzantium, because the Romans and Oriental also used these kinds of plans. Even in Italy, the churches there were strongly influenced bu the many influences from the west and particularly from the Byzantine. In the church of St. Sophia, built by Justinian, all the principal forms of the early Christian churches are represented. A rotunda is enclosed in a square, and covered with a dome which is supported in the direction of the long axis of the building by half-domes over semicircular rounded ends of the building. In this manner a basilica, 236 feet long and 98 feet wide, and provided with domes, i...

Decrease in Supply of Dalda Ghee Essay Example

Decrease in Supply of Dalda Ghee Essay Example Decrease in Supply of Dalda Ghee Paper Decrease in Supply of Dalda Ghee Paper OLPER`S MILK EXPIRES BEFORE EXPIRY DATE PREPARED FOR THE REGIONAL MANAGER,ENGRO FOODS, COL. AKHTAR KHALILI PREPARED BY ASST. QUALITY CONTROL MANAGER DECEMBER 29, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 03 INTRODUCTION†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 04 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 04 FACTS AND FINDINGS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 05 1. Testing Expired Milk Before Expiry Date†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 05 2. Survey Of Plant In Sukkur†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦O6 3. Chain Of Distributors†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦07 DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦08 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:- This report comprises of the cause of decline in the sale of Olper`s Milk as many complaints were received quoting that milk was expired before the expiry date. This report analyses the causes and recommend certain solutions that Engro Foods should take to correct this situation. The report also clarifies that Olper`s Milk is 100% full of nutrition and have no harmful chemicals or bacteria which could cause diseases. INTRODUCTION:- Engro foods launched its most famous product Olper`s milk in the year 2006. Since then this product is highly demanded all over Pakistan. Recently many complaints have been made from our most valuable customers that milk was expired before the expiry date. This report comprises of facts and findings about this cause of failure of Olper`s milk due to which our bar of good will is decreasing. After study of this report you will be able to answer the following questions: * Who was responsible was this failure of Olper`s milk? * What are the reasons behind this problem? What initiative should be taken to solve this problem? CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS:- After completing all my research work and findings on this problem I came to a conclusion that the distributors of Olper`s milk were at fault, they played with our trust and good will. They removed the original expiry date form the tetra pack container of Olpers milk and printed a new expiry date just to avoid the consequences of over stocking of inventory. Olper`s milk is full of nutrition than any other tetra pack milk. It consists of some good nutritional fats that give it a rich flavor and taste. According to my survey of plant and dairy farm no harmful chemical of bleaching agent is added in our milk it’s pure and healthy. Following are the recommendations I conclude on the basis of my finding: * Engro foods should immediately break its contract with JAVED BROS. chain of distributors as they misused our product for their benefit and directly blamed our brand for providing expired milk. * Promotional deals should be launched for Olper`s milk for increasing its demand. * New advertisements should be on aired to promoting Olper`s milk and for gaining back the trust of our customers * JAVED BROS. hould be sued and compensation should be demanded. FACTS AND FINDINGS:- For finding the real causes behind our customers complains I made certain surveys and researches to come to a conclusion. The research findings presented here falls in to four categories: 1. Testing Expired Milk Before Expiry Date 2. Survey Of Plant In Sukkur 3. Chain Of Distributors 1) TESTING OF EXPIRED MIL K BEFORE EXPIRY DATE:- I started my work by testing the expired milk before expiry date to know about the actual damage of the milk. The results showed that milk was actually expired and had been curdled and a bit smelly. The expired milk contained a few percentage of urea in it which revealed that it was harmful and expired. Due to this reason our sales declined by a heavy margin in last month as compared to our competitors: Size (ml)|   |   | PERCENTAGE OF SALES IN NOVEMBER 2012|   |   |   | OLPER`S| HALEEB| MILKPACK | MILLAC| NIDO| 1000| 46| 45| 70| 45| 39| 500| 50| 65| 85| 57| 49| 250| 13| 12| 19| 10| 20| This rapid decrease of sales came with no of complaints as well and I compared the complaints of last three months and found out that that in November complaints were increased by 90%. ) SURVEY OF SUKKUR PLANT:- After testing the expired milk I visited our milk processing plant in Sukkur and there I came to know that Olper`s milk is being processed in the correct way and no harmful chemicals are being added in it to make the expiry process earlier. The nutritional values of our milk are in accordance with those suggest by World`s Health Organization Here we can also see that expired mil k did not contain any amount of iron in it as it was turned in to urea after expiring. 3) CHAIN OF DISTRIBUTORS:- My final survey was of the chain of distributors we use to distribute our roduct in market we recently changed our distributors an 2012 and had signed a deal with JAVED BROS. chain of distributors. I disguised myself as a new trainee over there and spend a week analyzing the situation over there. I came to know that from past few months they are having a problem of overstocking of Olper`s Milk and as it’s a perishable good it has to be used otherwise the distributor will face loss | | | | (Packets )| | S. No| Month| Order| Demand| 1| September| 30000| 28000| 2| October| 31000| 22810| 2| November| 37000| 29000| The above chat is the ending inventory chart of distributors of Olper`s Milk. This shows that the Distributors are at fault and for their own profit are selling the expired milk by changing its expiry date. 3) DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS:- Olper`s Milk is the sign of good taste. Never in past six years such problem has occurred as Engro Foods works with honesty and show complete dedication towards their work. They have even created employment for women in their Sukkur plant and also give employment to women in Punjab to collect milk form dairy farms and deposit in Olper containers. The Facts and Findings of my research also mention the fact that Engro Foods were not at fault. Distributors played a deadly game with us and tried to destroy our good will just off the sake of their own profit. * UHT OLPERS MILK:- Olper`s Milk can never get expired before its expiry date as Engro foods uses UHT(ultra heat treatment)method to pasteurize the milk for 3-4 seconds under 275?. It uses a special new technology LACTOSTAR from China to make sure milk is 100% suitable for health.

The effect of insecurity on economic growth in Mexico Research Paper

The effect of insecurity on economic growth in Mexico - Research Paper Example This reduces the GDP of the country since employees are less productive when they are under stress and trauma when they are in their working stations. Violence and insecurity in Mexico is a cause of a number of mental illnesses among the citizens of Mexico. This reduces the productivity of the Mexican population and since mentally ill people who would offer personnel are under strain. The cost of insecurity in Mexico turns detrimental with the effect it has on the levels of sales. Business hours are short in societies where there is high insecurity. The Mexican business sector thrives under strenuous conditions with intense insecurity in the country. This reduces the level of sales and profits and, consequently, the GDP. According to the World Bank Group, 2011, heightened insecurity in Mexico, there is a most likely high expenditure in internal security. The high expenditure on the internal security reduces the level of investments that the country has on infrastructure and developme nt projects. Investment in human capital equally reduces with increased expenditure on security in Mexico. The cost of health care in Mexico increases with intense insecurity situations. The cost of policing is most likely to increase with high instances of insecurity in Mexico. All these costs have detrimental effects on the economy of Mexico. ... According to Rodgers, Beall and Kanbur, 2012, the violence-insecurity nexus poses detrimental effects to the local economy of most Latin American societies, Mexico included. Crime in cities of Latin American countries is among the greatest challenges to growth of businesses. The investment confidence of most investors in Latin American societies is low because of the high level of insecurity. Domestic investors in Mexico are reluctant to take risks involved in putting up businesses. Foreign firms are cautious to put up investment in insecure societies because of the high potential impacts of insecurity. Losses to business from the high incidences of burglary in Mexico are among the most detrimental challenges to investors. The cost of paying internal security officials to protect the Mexican society from violence continues affect the economy. The cost of compensation by insurance firms is high because of spreading incidences of robbery and burglary to businesses in Mexico. The net ef fect of insecurity to the Mexican economy is the loss of the potential revenues that accrue from domestic and foreign investments in the country. Sohnen, 2012, addresses the detrimental consequences that the high rate of crime, violence and insecurity has in Mexico and most of Central American society’s economic prosperity. The consequence of insecurity on the health of Mexicans is high and has related effect on the cost of health care expenditure. According to Sohnen, cooperation among different institutions in Mexico is under great challenge from the escalating insecurity conditions. Insecurity in the country compromises the efficiency of different government institutions to coordinate and promote economic growth in the country. The economy, therefore, experiences retardation

Epidemiology According to John Snow and William Farr Research Paper

Epidemiology According to John Snow and William Farr - Research Paper Example When the second cholera pandemic broke out and reached London in 1832, a number of theories on the causation of such catastrophic spate were proposed, including miasma or â€Å"bad air† and changes in environmental conditions (Morabia, 2001, 150th Anniversary, 2004). However, John Snow, who was a respected medical practitioner specializing in anesthesia and respiratory physiology, questioned the correctness of those theories. He observed that the symptoms were intestinal in nature, abdominal pain is one of the first complaints of the afflicted, accompanied by vomiting, diarrhea, and dehydration (Eyler, 2001). At the same time, treatments that acted specifically in the digestive tract seemed to alleviate early symptoms. From these observations, he proposed that cholera could not be a blood or respiratory infection but an infection of the gut. Snow proposed that the main proponent of transmission was not the soil, nor climate change or miasma as originally suggested, but the ing estion of water contaminated with fecal matter. But this did not convince the medical community. Without definitive data, Snow’s analogy was not good enough. In 1854, another wave of cholera plagued the Soho district yet again. This time, Snow suspected that an infected water pump located in Broad Street brought upon the outbreak. Following his earlier proposal that the cholera infection was from the ingestion of contaminated water and bearing a record of death from Cholera from the General Register Office, he traced the deaths attributed to cholera within the vicinity and found that they drank water from a common water pump in Broad Street. Snow elucidated this by plotting a Cholera spot map showing the areas collectively affected by the epidemic, as well as its proximity to the specific pump in question.  

Character Analysis Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Character Analysis Paper - Essay Example in Single 149). Williams suffers enormous guilt for surviving the familial worries that eventually devastated Rose. Similar to Menagerie’s Tom, Williams also pays remorse for his escape from his family (Single 149). This essay analyzes the character of the matriarch, Amanda Wingfield. Amanda is a selfish, hero mother, with romantic-pragmatic ideas and who created a dysfunctional family by treating her children like a glass menagerie through vanity, arrogance, and control over her family’s life. Amanda is a hopeless romantic. She has been hurt deeply when her husband left through an inconsiderate postcard, and yet she sees her former husband as the personification of romance, connecting him to her earlier life filled with gentleman callers and flirtations (Tischler and Bloom; King and Bloom 85). This is why even if her husband abandoned her, a large picture of him hung in the house. His presence might remind everyone else of his abandonment, but for Amanda, she continues to remember her sweet, youthful, and happy days through this image. Furthermore, she is also ready to leverage and defend her earlier life (Cobbe 50). It is a life of comfort and education she overemphasizes with her children. Whenever Amanda wants to talk about Blue Mountain, a discussion occurs between Tom and Laura: TOM: I know what's coming LAURA: Yes. But let her tell it. TOM: Again? LAURA: She loves to tell it. (Williams scene 1). Amanda enjoys reminiscing her past. It is both her curse and treasure. It is her curse, because she can never reclaim her youth and freedom. She just keeps on replaying it as a narrative, which wears her children out. Her past is, furthermore, her treasure, because her memories remind her and the people around her that she was once a well-coveted and important lady, where she would receive seventeen gentlemen callers in a day. When she is not working at Famous-Barr showing brassieres, she is active in selling subscriptions to a magazine that respond s to female visions of romance (Single 149). Tom uses particular images when describing his mother; one is related to Amanda's romanticized past, and the other is the image found in a glamour magazine cover, which is a superficial image masking their family's dysfunction (Single 149). Williams depicts Amanda as trapped in the past, but pragmatic about the present and the future. As the author describes Amanda, â€Å"She is not paranoiac, but her life is paranoia† (Tischler and Bloom). Amanda is possessed with girlish manners, but she has a pragmatic view of her children’s future. She refuses to know it, but she knows Laura will never marry. She then tries to put Laura in the business world and enrolls her in a school for typing lessons. Unfortunately, Laura is too shy to finish the typing test. Amanda then rallies for the courageous, but bleak, attempt to find a gentleman for Laura. When this fails too, it is a more tragic event for Amanda than Laura. It seems that she has somehow transfixed her dreams of a good life on her daughter. Laura deals with Jim’s rejection quite maturely, which underlines who is more mature in the family. It is not Tom or Amanda, but the one who is considered the most delicate and helpless, Laura. Amanda also pressures her son to work hard for the family. In a quarrel with Tom, she scolds him: â€Å"

Handout Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Handout - Essay Example ssion can also occur from mother to child during â€Å"pregnancy, birth or through breast feeding† and this happens when infected maternal fluids enter a baby’s circulation. Another mode of transmission is through injections in which people share infected needles and syringes, especially those who abuse drugs. The shared materials often contain blood samples of previous users and the blood is injected into another person’s system (Public Health 1). Transfusion of contaminated blood, though this is controlled by screening blood products before use to minimize the risk, is another mode of the infection’s transmission. Other medical processes such as organ transplant may also transmit HIV but prior screening reduces recipients’ vulnerabilities. Previous infections by sexually transmitted infections like gonorrhea and syphilis among other sexually transmitted infections increases a person’s risk of contracting HIV. Lastly, transmission can occur in health care settings when one encounter contaminated fluids or accidental injury by contaminated objects. The virus does not however spread through casual contact like shaking hands, toilet seats, and sharing towels as well as contact with saliva unless it is contaminated with blood (NHS Choices 1; Public Health

Marketing Plan for Atlantic Quench Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Plan for Atlantic Quench - Essay Example The researcher states that the current marketing strategy of Atlantic Quench is to push its product portfolio of existing juice products in its existing market. Atlantic Quench has specialized in producing cranberry juice products, which are known for its high nutritional value. Based on the current marketing strategies and the environmental condition, the marketing plan for the next year has been designed. The marketing plan of a company acts as a blueprint which guides the future marketing efforts of an organization. The marketing plan encompasses the developing the desired marketing mix and isolating the target customers based on the product category and posting of the company. This paper is focused on the marketing strategies and future marketing plan of a hypothetical fruit juice company called Atlantic Quench, which is a cooperative firm originated in the US. It covers a detailed study of the existing marketing strategies of the company along with the internal and external envi ronmental analysis. The marketing plan has been outlined by SMART objectives and it includes the strategies to devise the future marketing mix and marketing communication strategies for the next year. The political environment of the nation largely influences the marketing strategies of a firm. It dictates the trade policies and regulations both in terms of domestic and overseas operation. Atlantic Quench mostly operates in the US which is its home country and it has also diversified into UK. These nations have a relatively stable political structure to support the growth of a fruit juice company like Atlantic Quench. However, the rise of the interest rate by the US government has made it relatively difficult for companies to finance their business. Moreover, the political relationship between the home country and the host country can also influence the supply chain of the companies. Therefore, the success of internationalization of Atlantic Quench is dependent of the political stat us of the US.

Background and conditions Essay Example for Free

Background and conditions Essay How is it possible that two people grow up together in the same family background and conditions, yet turn out to be strangers? How is it possible that two people who have lived together for many years are strangers to each other at the end? In Sonnys Blues, two brothers the narrator and Sonny, grows up together in Harlem, fall apart as they grow older, and live completely different lives. In Lullaby, Ayah feels that Chato, her husband, has remained stranger to her even when they have spend forty years together, facing all the hardships and sufferings given by life. In Sonny Blues, the narrator is the older brother who is conservative, determined, and a kind of family person. Sonny, who is his younger brother, is carefree and undecided about his future plans. It is sometimes very difficult to understand how two people coming from the same background live life completely opposite from each other. As the narrator and Sonny grow into adults, one moves towards success and the other moves towards failure. Once when their mother was dead, their lives completely changed. The narrator wants Sonny to finish his school and think about his future seriously. After knowing Sonnys plans to play jazz music, the narrator is surprised and annoyed. His conservative thinking and definition of success makes him unable to understand his brothers feelings. He fails to understand that music is Sonnys life and thats what he wants to do all his life. That makes him feel that he doesnt know his brother at all. He is like a stranger to him. The narrator, in some way or the other, wants his brother to be like himself and wants him to do whatever he thinks is safe and right for his future. So Sonny was forced to move in with his brothers fianci e, Isabel, where he has to stay until he finished high school. Sonny starts skipping school and eventually he ceases to go all together. He has been spending all his time with some musicians in a white girls apartment. He is scolded and screamed at by Isabels mother and that is what breaks him down and he runs away. After that, whenever the two brothers met they always fought awfully. It is hard to not be able to fit into society and that is why Sonny turned to drugs for a sense of belonging. Nobody was aware about this problem until it was too late. The narrator has never been a good listener to his brother. That is what I think is the greatest factor that gives him the sense of alienation towards his brother. Sonny was always kept away from his dreams. At the end of the story, the narrator for the first time listens to his brother after all these years and tries to understand him and the sufferings he has to face all his life and tries to console him. Thats when he hears him playing the piano and he ends up being proud of his brother. He becomes the important person in Sonnys life, on the way from suffering to success. They both end up happy and understanding each other much better. In Lullaby, Ayah, the old woman and her husband, Chato have lived together for forty years. Together, they have seen their three children getting apart. Ayah hates white people because she thinks that Jimmie, their eldest son, died due to them. BIA-Bureau of Indian Affairs, who consists of white people, takes away her other two children. On the other hand, Chato is always eager to learn white ways of living. He is fluent in both English and Spanish languages and works for white people in a horse farm. She hated him for teaching her to sign her name in English because thats what takes her children away from her. If she had not signed it, her children would never have departed. The white people fired Chato; he became ill after that. As Ayah describes it, That satisfied her. To see how the white man repaid years of loyalty and work. All of Chatos fine -sounding English talk didnt change things(Baldwin 127). This shows that Ayah was so rigid about her thoughts for white people that she didnt even spare her husband from criticizing. They got some money from the government that Chato spends for his wine. He was sick and drunk one evening when Ayah had to go to pick him up from the bar. That is when she feels a sense of alienation and estrangement towards Chato. She could not see him as a person so ill, drunk, and broken mentally from what he has faced after his sincere and loyal work toward white people. This feeling is very different from what the narrator in Sonnys Blues feels about his brother at some point in the story. Even if Ayah and the narrator in both the stories feel the sense of estrangement and alienation towards the people, so close to their hearts, it is different. The narrator and Sonny never stayed together for long when they grew up. They were always apart and different. Ayah and Chato were different in every way but they lived together all their life, they knew they had, and faced every suffering together. When Ayah sees Chato losing his strength to fight against the hard facts towards life, she feels this sense of estrangement. She has never seen Chato losing or giving up. She has always seen him facing the difficulties with courage and determination. She feels that they are old now. In Sonnys blues, both the brothers end up happily, but in Lullaby, the end is sad. Ayah has nothing to say about anything anymore. Her life has become memories. But the narrator and Sonny have a lot to do together in their life.

Analysis of Marks and Spencers Marketing Mix Executive Summary

Analysis of Marks and Spencers Marketing Mix Executive Summary Marks Spencer is one of the most renowned and oldest retailers of Britain. It was found in 1894 through the partnership of Michael Marks and Thomas Spencer. The first store was opened in Manchester and the company was based on primary values emphasizing on high quality, value for money, service, innovation, and trust. Due to these corollaries, the organization experienced a great success which led to national and global expansions. Today, it is one of the largest clothing retailers with 895 stores in more than 40 countries around the world. Its also listed on the London stock Exchange and FTSE 100 index. The companys current main products include clothing range, home ware and food products with a supply chain of more than 2000 suppliers globally. Nevertheless, the company started facing problems due to the various reasons such as outdated fashion products that were not on par with the fashion trends. This was primarily due to the fact that it lost focus on their central business by introducing a wide range of products that were not compatible with their core competencies. This led rivals to steal the market share. In order to tackle these issues MS decided to move into the Chinese market where they saw better and wider opportunities. Why Chinese market? China is the worlds third largest economy (behind the USA and Japan in US$ terms) and the country has the largest population of 1.3 billion (in 2008) making it one of the fastest growing economies. When the recession hit the worlds economy and the leading retail markets like US and Europe the companies were looking for opportunities to expand and diversify the risk. China was one of these markets that were not affected by the economic downturn. In 2009 its retail sales hit  ¥12.5 trillion ($1.8 trillion), an increase of 15.5% from the previous year. This was due to the continuous rise in the same year of the per capita disposable income which amounted to  ¥17,175 ($2,515). http://chinabusinessreview.net/public/1005/lu.html In 2008, MS opened its flagship store in Nanjing Road, Shanghai. However, the outcome of this venture was not as successful as expected due to several problems ranging from product incompatibilities to superstitious beliefs. The first section of the paper highlights the current financial performance of the company. This is followed by an exploration of the problematic marketing mix that contributed to the failure of the firm in China. After which, recommendations will be provided for MS to use as a turn around strategy. othman Financial highlights: The financial and trading performance is the measurement of the results of a firms policies and operations in monetary terms. These results are reflected in the firms return on investment, debt to equity ratio and many other ratios (Dictionary, 2010). A ratio is one value divided by another. The result is representative of the value of one quantity in term of another (Ross, Westerfield, Jordan, 2006). During this section the light will be put on the financial aspect of Marks and Spencers business to assess whether its financial situation is adequate or if there is any loopholes that the company might have to consider in the future. For a matter of better understanding, the financial key performance indicators will be compared to TESCOs ratios. Income: From these figures, it can be seen that Marks and Spencer has be gradually increasing its net revenues. However, even if they increased, its net income and earnings per share decreased. This can be explained by the investments that have been carried out by the company to realize its internationalization strategy. Not all of these investments have been successful as some did not succeed like in France for instance where the company decided to close all its stores and exit the market. Indeed, they abandoned their opportunity to expand in France but the cost to exist was relatively expensive mainly because of the labor force protection by the French Government (Global Oneness, 2010). Revenue by region: Stock performance: Ratios: In short term solvency, it can be said that the company is managing normally its activities in an inefficient way. Indeed, if it was to pay its short term debt immediately, the company would just be able to cover around 80% of them. If Tesco is taken as an example, its current ratio is 345% (Yahoo Finance, 2010) which means that Tesco is more secure financially than Marks and Spencer. Thus, investors would be willing to invest more in Tesco. This situation also spread bad image for the company in its financial circle which can have the effect of reducing the investing power of the company. Regarding the long term situation, the level of Asset-to-equity and Debt-to-equity ratios show that the company have a large part of its assets financed by Debt. Consequently, it highlights a high level of financial leverage, approximately 64%; which is supported more by the debt ratio. Problematic areas of Business: nafisa Marketing mix Porduct: Clothing It is crucial in fashion industry to get the product right. In the past decade, MS had downturns of business and brand image related to its apparel getting old fashioned. Although analysts say they have recovered, they seem repeating product mistakes in Chinese market as well. Experts in fashion, have identified key issues that may lead a fashion product to fail. According to Jackson and Shaw (2009), here are the common reasons why fashion products fail: poor or outdated design; poor sizing or fit; unfashionable or irrelevant styles/prints/colours; poor positioning or in-store presentation; poor value or uncompetitive price; poor or non-existent consumer awareness of the product and/or its availability; hyper strong competitive offers elsewhere. Researches and analyses on the MS expansion to Chinese market indicate that all above points were relevant to their products. 4.1.2 Sizing Each clothing retail brand has its basic pattern block that probably has been made after studying target groups measurements and taking the average from that. Marks Spencers typical apparel customer is a woman after 40s who prefers comfortable fit and quality. This has affected MS fashion and sizing as well. Customers complain MS clothes and underwear are larger compared to the same sized item from another shops. In mass production of several thousands of pieces of garments, shrinking the measurement in to unnoticeable 1 cm may make noticeable reduction in cost. Therefore fashion is created according to feasibility, cost effectiveness of the designs and it is influencing the way clothes fit and the sizing as well. The reason why MS clothes seem greater compared to cheaper rivals is actually can be explained by the philosophy of not compromising on quality. Average size in Chinese apparel industry is smaller than European size in every dimensions. It is shorter; sleeves are 2 inches shorter, sizes up to 16-18. In Europe it is up to 26. When a fashion retailer enters a new market, it is important to research consumers sizes, body structure, and culture. Because these things influence peoples fashion tastes and clothing culture. Style and Fashion: In the Chinese market, MS offering large size garments that pleased expatriates who struggle to find their size in shops, which target average Chinese women. However, Chinese customers showed very low interest, as the clothes are too big and too simple. MS is a department store that tries to meet the needs of all age groups with different needs. Where as competitors try to focus on one segment and one fashion concept and therefore perform effectively. The brands failure of drawing young Chinese peoples attention could be due the failure of Everything for all positioning in general. Fast fashion requires the retailer to focus on certain, preferable well-specified segment (like Zaras, classy chic over 20s). May be it is time for MS to give in-house brands independence and expose number of different brands, keeping MS just a store name. Diversified products result in bigger and slower supply chain. Because competitors are adopting efficient and quick product turnover, smaller and faster batches, MS clothes, when arrived to stores cannot stand the competition. Costumers find them out of fashion. Brand value is a key for success in fashion industry. Fast moving, better-positioned and low price competitors are jeopardizing brand value of once famous clothing retailer with heritage. Celebrating its 125 birthday, MS resembles older generation fashion and in store brands and young celebrities used as brand ambassadors not helping to attract 20-25 year olds although they are helping to retain more customers whod switch to competitors otherwise. According to research by Datamonitor, more than 75% of shoppers in the food halls of MS, are over 45. In the fashion department the problem is worse: 65% of its main clothing shoppers were aged over 55, as were those who accounted for 48% of spending on MS clothing last year. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/nov/22/bolland-marks-spencer-problems ) hassan Food: Limited range and Long life food products: Marks and Spencer has been criticized by its Chinese customers that the food products in shelves were produced a long time ago from the date of purchase. So there is only a small portion of fresh products and also the range and variety is limited. Majority of products are approaching towards expiry date. The food items contain preservatives that effect taste of products. Further research shows that a large amount of products were destroyed due to expiry, spoilage and bad conditions. Almost all products are made in UK so this leads to customers perception of Marks Spencer as a British store. Research shows that the main reason for above mentioned problems is that Marks and Spencer imports its products from UK. It takes a significant time in shipment of goods from UK to China due to enlarged supply chain cycle involved. A portion of products is deteriorated due to inefficiencies in handling, storing and transportation procedures. Branding issue Marks and Spencer brands all its products under its trade name MS. this brand name appear strange to Chinese people and they have translated it into a Chinese term. Also this brand name has no direct linkage with products. This is due to company policy towards branding and trends in UK market as much of retailers such as Tesco brands their products under their trade name. 4.2.3 Packaging issue: Marks Spencer customers are finding product packs confusing and misleading. Research reveals a customer complains that he bought a packet assuming it to be biscuits but when he opened it were snacks. The above problem is a result of standardized strategy towards packaging and labeling. The labeling lacks Chinese description and also rich in text and without product images. othman Marketing Mix Price: When setting the price of a product, the company must understand perfectly its cost and the customer value perception for the product (Armstrong, Harker, Kotler, Brennan, 2009). Marks and Spencer did surely understand these points when operating in UK and in other successful countries but not when it came to China as the company failed to set the price correctly. Normally, the price the company charges will fall somewhere between one that is too high to produce any demand and one that is too low to generate any revenue (Armstrong, Harker, Kotler, Brennan, 2009). These are the extremes and Marks and Spencer leaned far too much to the high price end. As a result, the company found it very hard to sell its product and generate profit for a viable business in China. One example would be the cashmere scarves that Marks and Spencer was selling or pretending to sell, as no one bought them, at  £50 where it was possible to get them for far less at nearby stores (Moore, 2009). However, in some cases the prices of products were convenient but the customers still did not buy them. The reason is primarily that Marks and Spencer did come late. Indeed, Wal-Mart and Carrefour were there before and had more than enough time to impose their respective brands and enjoy the lions part (Crabbe, 2010). Marketing Mix Place: When entering a new market, one of the crucial decision that a company has to make is choosing the right location to open in. indeed, the location is one of the key factors to a business success firstly due to of being the least flexible of the strategic retailing issues and secondly, because the location set the geographical boundaries of the trading area from which the store draws its customers (William Ferrell, 2010). As a result, in the following paragraph will discuss the problems related to the Marks and Spencer stores in China. Marks and Spencer has opened since 2008 two stores in China, one in Huaihai Road in Shanghai, the equivalent of Londons Oxford Street (City Focus, 2010). And the other one is in Yuyuan Garden, Shanghai major attraction and commercial hub (City in pulse, 2010). These stored, especially the first one, has suffered poor trading in the last months. This was due to many factors but the discussion will only focus on location related issues. The first issue concerning the location was the first store opened. Marks and Spencer had chosen one of the most popular streets in Shanghai because it wanted to show its brand reputation and refined stores. But at the same time, the company wanted to expand quickly and as a result the store was not ready to welcome the new Chinese customers. Indeed the walls were scuffed and the paint job was poor (Moore, 2009). As the old adage confirm, the first impression is the last impression and by failing to make a good one in the Grand opening of its first store, Marks and Spencer condemned itself of having a bad image in China. The second issue was that the company underestimated the differences in operating in China and Hong Kong, therefore using the same strategy to find the store location in China. Indeed, Sir Stuart Rose admitted to the Financial Times during his visit to the Shanghai store that Marks and Spencer did misunderstood the Chinese mainland market, assuming that its experience in Hong Kong could be directly transferred to this market (News, 2009). vaishali Marketing Mix Promotion: Brand awareness: One of the major problems with Marks and Spencers (MS) venture into China is the fact that many local people were not aware of the brand. In fact, one of the articles regarding MS in China talks about local men saying weve never heard of this company. Many female shoppers also claimed to be unfamiliar with the brand. Although it is a well-known British company with many outlets overseas, it is fairly unknown amongst Chinas local public. This means that there is a lack of brand awareness and advertising as the locals do not have much knowledge of its history. As a result of this, many customers would not be instantly drawn to it as they do not recognize it. Lack of familiarity discourages people to enter the stores which will inherently affect sales. Other issues: teja Supply chain: Global supply chain management is an important area for MS in its expansion to China. Global supply chain management involves the companys worldwide interests. In Chinas expansion it is noticeable that the supply chain related issues are based on the following areas. Timing Proper timing in approaching a market gives advantages for a company. For example first movers in a market always have advantages in gaining profits. Chinas retail industry has grown rapidly during the recent history. The move of MS to China was taken during the recession. Even though China was less affected by recession due to its closed financial system, the worldwide demand for Chinese exports were decreasing. It was a time when cash strapped consumers were moving away from expensive ready cooked meals and thinking about buying the cheaper substitutes instead of the expensive. Luxury ready prepared meal that is the mainstay of Marks and Spencers offering. Marks and Spencer dont have enough flexibility to move  their offerings at the time of Moving to China.   The result is loss of customers to competitors and it will become difficult to recover them when economic times get better. Institutional Factors Product controls, government regulations, tariffs affects supply chains. When MS initially started the business in China the company had lots of difficulties in getting products into the country. Chinese custom officials blocked MS goods. This situation created empty shelves in the food department of the store. (http://www.jddchina.com, 2010) Corruption and government bureaucracy remain a major issue in China. Business activities and financial related activities can take a lot more time than comparing with UK and the administration costs remain extremely high. The higher amount of control in the economy by the government creates policy uncertainty. This uncertainty exists as a major challenge for businesses operating in China. Integration According to the experience of successful international businesses in China such as Sara, HM and Tesco, it is necessary to take a long view in China. Existing products should not be transplanted into Chinese markets without making them localized. In the localization process it is necessary to have a proper integration with the local talents that can create better customer links. Nilesh Superstitious beliefs: Although China is one of the big and a great country in all the aspects of the world but still they have lots of superstitious beliefs. Marks and Spencer in china has suffered from these kinds of beliefs. China has a main impact of Feng Shui. Feng Shui is widely used to orient buildings. According to the retail competitors of Marks Spencer the main store is at a cursed location of the city. This superstitious gossip was because just at the four days of opening of the Chinas main MS store there was a death of one of the man named Harshit Shah. He got killed accidently while leaning over the side of escalator (The Telegraph, 2010). As MS is in China we cant neglect these things that could have been one of the reasons of the failure for Marks Spencer in China. Most of the Chinese people have some traditional beliefs about the numbers. They consider no. 4 is associated with the death so most of the times they dont even buy products that price starting or ending by number 4. They consider number 8 for prosperity and good luck. They also skip the 4th floor in many of the buildings. Different styles forms of the Feng Shui are often used to block or reduce the negative energies that occur. According to some believers of the Feng Shui the structure of the Marks Spencers store was wrong and that led think of superstitions as one of the problems for MS in China. Recommendations: nafisa Marketing Mix Product: Clothing Researches show Chinese consumers are not familiar with MS brand. This gives an opportunity of positioning the brand differently than it is positioned in home country. The construction of store image, comprising both tangible and intangible dimensions, compounds problems of moving into international markets as consumers in the host environment are less familiar with the intangible dimensions of image, which have been built up over time with exposure to the retail company. Retail companies therefore need to fully understand the importance of image in competitive positioning and the components of store image before attempting to replicate this image and positioning overseas. Repositioning the brand can give a chance to reach the desired customer, 25-35 year old Chinese consumer with higher disposable income. With current strategy MS cannot be as successful in china as in the UK. Because older generation in China do not have high disposable income unlike their European peers. BCG researches indicated that Chinese consumer is very young. Although fashion has become global already, it still needs localization when entering a new market. Jessica Lo, of the China Market Research Group warns that western brands should not bank on Chinese consumers directly paralleling European and American shoppers when it comes to taste and aesthetic appetites. Many western companies forget to localise both their styles as well as advertising. They use celebrities and images that work in the UK and Europe, but that dont resonate with Chinese consumers. It is critical that companies get the right product selection and style and advertising image. (http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6objectid=10650170 ) Marks Spencer can increase its Petite range products and bring it to Chinese market with different, localized brand. When petite sizes are average, its better to replace the name, because it may sound offensive rather than just size attribute. It is recommended that MS researches fashion preferences, consumer behaviour of Chinese people and then create an in-house brand customized for Chinese market. Similar brand should be created for menswear as well. hassan Food: Limited range and long life products: Chinese people are very conscious about their food selection because they link it directly to their good health and long life. So we recommend the following actions to be taken and implemented. Marks and Spencer should develop local production facilities so that products are produced and processed in china than importing from UK. So as a result people will get fresh products at best taste. This will also change its image from a British retailer to a local manufacturer. Develop methods and improve conditions so the preservatives are not added in the products. This can be achieved by improving packaging, storage conditions and efficient supply chain and product replacement cycle. Re-engineer the import process so the inefficiencies in handling, packaging, storing and transportation are removed to ensure minimum wastage. The freshness and pureness (no preservatives) features will be used for promotion of products as it is a successful practice now days used by high profile food manufacturers. The company executives can perceive local production as a costly operation when comparing to demand but it will increase demand in long term by bettering product image. We can also export our made in china products to other near locations like India and other markets. It will also lower the cost and will drive prices in a competitive range. Packaging: The packaging is a core area of concern as it acts in a multiple way by communicating product information and brand character. It is the first point of contact of product with customer so it should be attractive in terms of design and colour. The Chinese link longness to long life so package should be designed in long shapes and the colour are also important. As they will be attracted towards red packs which is a symbol of prosperity and avoid using black colour as it is for bad luck.( http://chinasearch.co.uk/buy/marks-and-spencer/) Package should be functional and clear so it shows the true picture and nature of product. It should be convenient for Chinese people to open as they avoid cutting things with scissors and knives. Package should be well labeled about product, brand and all relevant information. Marks and spencer should label products using a bilingual approach. Using both Chinese language and English so it will be useful for customers to read all information they need. The label can be made more attractive and functional by adding Chinese recipes. othman Marketing Mix Price: To make the prices of products more affordable and competitive, one solution would be that Marks and Spencer improves its supply chain to reduce cost: First, by exploiting the technology in its stores by introducing hand held communicators to track clothes from the distribution to the sales floor which helps to know exactly what is in the stores. The result would be a more efficient and cost effective delivery system Second, by introducing a technology that consists of counting the number of items sold by kind automatically when the transaction is handled; For clothes especially to know what items are better sold and what are the ones that have to be removed. Another suggestion would be to carry out a consumer shopping experience research to know what kind of design Chinese prefer, and what products should go together in order to get rid of unwanted products and consequently reducing the cost of unsold goods The last but not least is to make enough space between clothes and food so that the stores looks more attractive thus reducing the concern about price. Marketing Mix Place: As it was said at the beginning, the location is the less flexible asset. Consequently the suggested solution will focus more on upcoming stores. The ideal location for these future stores would be places that people can access more easily, also MS should think about starting to open small stores to catch also the low volume buyers as this type of potential customers are willing to become loyal clients but are not going to waste time in a supermarket just to buy few items. For future stores, Marks and Spencer should evaluate the relative ease if movement to and from the site, including factors such as pedestrian and vehicular traffic, parking and transportation (William Ferrell, 2010). The company should also evaluate the characteristics if the site itself: types of stores in the area and the visibility of the lot under consideration (William Ferrell, 2010). One last thing to do is to look for compatibility with neighboring stores merely because stores that complement one another d raw more customers for everyone (William Ferrell, 2010). vaishali Marketing Mix Promotion: Re-branding and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Due to the fact that the company has been battling with bad press and negative public views due to several reasons such as offering products that do not cater the needs of the market, lack of products, providing wrong sizes and superstitions due to the occurrence of a death during the opening week, MS needs to re-brand itself in order to move away from the negative connotations, erase the past image and start afresh. This can be done by changing the store look and layout. It should have colours and products that exude vibrancy and freshness. The MS logo should be re-designed in order to bring a sense of novelty. The focal signboard outside the store should grab attention and be vibrant. It can be designed with neon lights and a different shade of green, together with black in order to make it look noticeable. The window displays should also be creatively designed with mannequins dressed up in vibrant colours and innovative designs. The arrangement should grab hold of the passerbyà ¢ â‚ ¬Ã… ¸s interest, especially the female youth- which will be MSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s new target market. Although this is an advertising technique, it primarily falls under re-branding the store and giving the brand a new image. All these efforts should be concentrated towards recreating a store that does not remind the customers of the old store or their views of it- it should feel new to the customers and help develop positive impressions. Another way of erasing bad memories and creating a positive image in the minds of the public is by engaging in CSR (corporate social responsibilities) activities. MS should consider taking up a project that can prove to be beneficial for Shanghai and its people. One such way is by engaging in charitable causes that help raise funds to help out some of Shanghaià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s poor population. Such activities should have proper news coverage so as to disseminate the message amongst the people about MSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s good, unselfish deed. This will help change the minds of at least some of the people and help develop an optimistic view of the brand. Increasing brand awareness: Due to the fact that many people were unfamiliar with the brand, MS should engage in heavy advertising. It can include various mediums, some suggestions for MS are as follows:  · Television: This is the most successful way of reaching mass-market, especially in China where it is very popular. MS should consider buying slot times during programs that have the highest viewership. For example, the China Central Television (CCTV) claims to have 600 million viewers for its daily evening news- making it the most watched news program in the world. Adverts can also be shown during the running of popular programs like the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Spring Festival Galaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ (one of the highest rated show in China), à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Fashion Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ (on Gungxi TV, which shows the highlight from fashion shows around the world- also one of the top-rated shows) or during famous soap operas like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Wo Juà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. MS should create eye-catching ads with catchy tunes and cool graphics and also make use of famous local celebrities like Yao Ming, Zhang Ziyi and Jay Chou to establish a connection with the local people. Famous international celebri ties, like David Beckham or singer Rihanna, can also be used for TV ads to catch the attention of the expats, and these ads will still manage to get the attention of the Chinese people who also like and recognise them (celebrity branding).  · Print advertising: Newspapers are also Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s most popular advertising medium. Papers like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Jiefang Ribaoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ (Liberation Daily) and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Jingji Ribaoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ (Economic Daily) have high readership rates- nevertheless, these are mainly read by the working class people. In order to reach out to the youth market, MS can advertise in the popular Chinese Youth Magazine known as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Zhongguo Qing Nian Baoà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸. Popular female magazines like à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Elle Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ or à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Harperà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s Bazaar Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ can also feature MS adverts and it will help reach out to middle-upper class women interested in fashion. Also, television-based brochures also have high circulation rates. MS can feature its ads in the Shanghai Weekly Radio Broadcasting and TV known as à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾Meizhou Guangbo Dianshià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸, which has a circulation of 2.8 million in Shanghai.  · Online advertising: This is the usage of the World Wide Web in order to get the message across and build interest for your brand. In China, 1/3 of the population is found online, this makes it the second largest à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾internet communityà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ in the world. Internet is a good way of reaching out to young people, and this is important to note as they will be MSà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s target market for the clothing department. In China, Facebook is not as popular as websites called à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾QQà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¾360 Quanà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸ (Chinaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s largest social networking sites). Whereby companies today are creating facebook pages to reach out to the youth market (e.g. Burberry), MS should try and join the aforementioned sites to create awareness, inform the youth about the brand and its products and encourage them to buy them. This is also a good way to connect with the

Controversial Views in Kate Chopins The Awakening Essay examples -- C

Controversial Views in Kate Chopin's The Awakening "Too strong a drink for moral babies, and should be labeled `poison'." was the how the Republic described Kate Chopin's most famous novel The Awakening (Seyersted 174). This was not only the view of one magazine, but it summarized the feelings of society as a whole. Chopin woke up people to the feelings and minds of women. Even though her ideas were controversial at first, slowly over the decades people began to accept them. Kate O'Flaherty Chopin was raised in St. Louis in the 1850's and 1860's. Chopin had a close relationship with her French grandmother which lead to her appreciation of French writers. When she was only five Chopin's father, Thomas O'Flaherty died leaving her without a father figure. Eliza O'Flaherty, Chopin's mother, was from there on the head of the household. Chopin grew up knowing that women could be strong and intelligent and that they did not have to be submissive creatures (Skaggs 2). She loved her mother and considered her "A woman of great beauty, intelligence, and personal magnetism" (Seyersted 14). Growing up around independent women, however, did not dissuade her from marriage. Her marriage to Oscar Chopin by all accounts was a happy one. Taking on the role of a high society lady as well as wife and new mother, Chopin fit in well with the New Orleans culture. She enjoyed the Louisiana atmosphere so well that most of her writings were based here. Chopin continued living in Louisiana raising her six young children until the sudden death of her husband brought her back to St., Louis (Skaggs 3). Oscar Chopin died while their youngest child, Lelia was only three. Soon after Chopin moved her family to St. Louis to be with her dying ... ...admiration, it is easy to see how far this nation has come. Works Cited Bloom, Harold. Kate Chopin. New York : Chelsea House Publishers, 1987. Boren, Lynda S. and Sara DeSaussure Davis. Kate Chopin Reconsidered: Beyond the Bayou. Baton Rouge : Louisiana State UP, 1992. Delaney, Bill. Masterpieces of Women's Literature. New York : Harper Collins Publishers, 1996. Koloski, Bernard. Approaches to teaching Chopin's The Awakening. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1988. Nickerson, Meagan. "Romanticism in The Awakening", The Kate Chopin Project. America On-line. February 2000. Seyersted, Per. Kate Chopin: A Critical Biography. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1969. Skaggs, Peggy. Kate Chopin. Boston : Twayne Publishers, 1985. Taylor, Helen. Gender, Race, and Region in the Writings of Grace King, Ruth McEnerys Stuart and Kate Chopin. Baton Rouge

The Cattle Industrys Effect on our Environment Essay -- Beef Environ

The Cattle Industry's Effect on our Environment Before I began my research, I avoided beef for health reasons. During my junior year of high school, I reformed my diet away from my family’s very beef-laden diet into a more heart-healthy, Mediterranean-style one. My great grandfather started a revolutionary meat company in San Francisco, CA which later moved to Marysville, CA called DPM. Most of my family, including my father, worked in this company and its butcher shop for many years before it was eventually sold to an international corporation. Needless to say, my extended family has a strong love and passion for quality meat and cooking it is a large part of our frequent family get-togethers. I must continually defend my choice to not eat beef, and even though it has been many years since I first made this decision, many of them often seem to â€Å"forget† when choosing a menu. Since I stopped eating beef, I have been more interested in other related issues, such as the hormones and antibiotics we give our ca ttle, as well as the link to this nation’s huge obesity problem. I met a friend while I was living in Italy named Caitlyn who did not eat meat, primarily because of the impact it was having on agriculture, and the methods used in producing it. She told me briefly of her reasons, but never went into explicit detail with me; ever since then I have had a lingering curiosity to do my own research and come to my own conclusions. When I first began my research, I knew of many of the issues with antibiotics and hormones that we give our cattle, and did not agree with them. As biology major, I have learned about this trend in school. Antibiotic resistance is a huge problem; there are already many infections that whil... ...tions of nutrients in many of the crops. Organic farming today is closer to the way farming was in the days of old, with locally-minded people concerned with their community’s health and sustainability. If you want to make our environment better, buy grass-fed free-range beef and â€Å"Go Organic!† Works Cited Cheeke, Peter R. Contemporary Issues in Animal Agriculture, Third Edition. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004. 155-181. Goodall, Jane. Harvest for Hope. New York: Warner Books, 2005. 66-96. Harper, Charles L., Bryan F. Le Beau. Food, Society, and Environment. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2003. 162-201. Lappe, Frances Moore. â€Å"Diet for a Small Planet.† Composing a Civic Life. Eds. Michael Berndt and Amy Muse. New York: Pearson Longman, 2007. 454-459. Wallace, Scott. â€Å"Last of the Amazon.† National Geographic Jan 2007: 40-71.

Describe the Main Features of the Fulling Industry in Pompeii.

Describe the main features of the fulling industry in Pompeii. The fulling industry was extremely important in Pompeii. We know this as there have been at least four fulleries found in Pompeii, the most famous of these fulleries is the Fullery of Stephanus. The Fullery of Stephanus is situated on the Via Dell Abbondanza. This Fullery was a dwelling with accommodation for the slaves working at the Fullery.Throughout the transformation of the dwelling into a Fullery the existence of the house was not lost, as the rooms were unchanged. I know that the fulling industry was important because of where the fulleries were situated, the Fullery of Stephanus was positioned on one of the main streets of Pompeii; this was important because it was surrounded by other small businesses and was next to a textile business, showing there was a strong chance that this industry was likely to be linked to other businesses especially in the cloth trade.From the evidence that has been found we know that cl oth was brought there to be washed and treated in a mixture of urine and soda, (and then trampled on which released the grease and then was bleached), we are told this by the elaborate red paintings on the walls. It also suggests that urine was collected in large pots in the streets which were used by passing pedestrians as it was a valuable resource.For the fulling industry you need good supplies of water and from the evidence of lead piping found, there was a good supply of water to the industry, this mainly would be because they could afford it; however there is also evidence that there were people and businesses were illegally taking water from the official supplies.As previously said the fulling industry was important to the Economic status of Pompeii, this is because the Eumachia building in the forum was built and paid for by family which were linked to the Fulling industry, many people believe they paid for this because of how vital it was to the cloth trade, and the wool in dustry. We also know that this industry was an important part to the city because it was involved in local politics, and fullers were believed to of stood for election. What evidence is there for the baking of bread in Pompeii?There is evidence for around 35 bakeries, and most of these in North side of town, close to the necessary supplies of grain. From the number of bakeries found archaeologists believe that bread was a staple to the Pompeian’s diet, and they would rather buy it than make it themselves. At the largest bakeries they had the facilities to grind their own wheat for the flour, as they had the mills, the bakery of Modesto being a prime example. They believe at Modesto the mills made of volcanic rock were turned by animal power.They added the grain at the top of mill which was then turned and filtered through to the bottom where it was collected on a stone tray. At Modesto there were also large ovens with the serving hatches nearby for the use of the public. We a lso know that the dough used for the bread was normally mixed by hand but on industrial scale wooden paddles were used. Once the dough was mixed it was shaped and marked by the baker. We know things were done on industrial scale because 85 carbonised loaves were found in one oven, this also shows there was a large demand for bread.The ovens found were fuelled by olive logs and large chimneys and flumes took away the smoke and some of the heat. There is evidence that there was a list of what was available on the wall, and all these were found in the oven carbonised from the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. There is also evidence that some of these loaves were sold on the street, we know this because there is a message scratched into the wall of the temple of Apollo that ‘bread is sold here’.What purpose did the Forum have in Pompeii? The Forum was not just a one building wonder; it had many functions. Not only was it the towns trading centre it was a place of religious statues a nd included a law court as well as places for business meetings. In the open space they think markets would have been held, this space was raised to the pavements and they think the road may have been closed to wheeled traffic whilst the markets were taking place.At the north end of the forum was the Temple of Jupiter and honorary arches dedicated to Drusus and to Tiberius to Germanicus. The south end of the forum was bordered by three municipal buildings. On the west side was situated the Basilica, the Temple of Apollo, the grain market and warehouse. On the east side stood the covered food market or Macellum, the sanctuary of Lares Publici, the Temple of Vespasian, and the Building of Eumachia and the Comitium. They believe the building of Eumachia possibly served as a wool market.The basilica was the main court of Law in Pompeii and was where legal business including trials would have taken place. The Temple of Apollo was next to the Basilica was a large imposing building surroun ded by 48 columns, this was paid by the local councillors which shows the wealth of Pompeii and its citizens. The Macellum, Eumachia and grain market show that Pompeii was a centre of trade in the religion and that the forum lay at the heart of this trade.The public weights and measures table at the northern end of the forum would have been used by public officials to check that sellers were being fair to their customers and selling the correct weights, which also shows that the people earned their money fairly. However at the times of the eruption the forum didn’t contain any of the statues of important citizens as they are presumed to be in safe keeping or in repair after the damages that Pompeii suffered in the earthquake of AD62 which contributed to Pompeii being a lost city.

Honesty is the best policy Essay

Introduction: Honesty means â€Å"being honest†, another meaning â€Å"truthfulness†, Policy means â€Å"course of action adopted by a government, business group, individual, etc.† So here the complete meaning of the essay title is â€Å"truthfulness course of action adopted by an individual is the best one†. This â€Å"honesty† word is very much known to the whole world but has less impact on the majority of our society. Many social parameters are there which reflects honesty test, but in real sense there is no any concrete method to test honesty. If it would be then there would be no need of judiciary in the world. The largest judicial organisation are telling the story of dishonesty. Let us watch few honesty images. Value of Honesty: Highest complement for a person is a tag of honesty given by the society ; if he is attached to this virtue. Today’s biggest gap in true sense is the honesty; which is not strengthen properly in the school students. I am not saying that this value is not taught in the schools, but want to draw attention of the school teaching system about the falling graph of this ethical elements in present society. The school students must be engraved with honest practices rather than paying strong attention on science subjects. It is because this is one of the biggest virtue of the growing youngsters ; who will carry nation on their feet. Strong value of honesty will always be a biggest justification throughout the globe for the welfare of the whole humanity. We all have to dictate the tremendous value of honesty to our kids from very beginning in an easy understandable and practical way. True way of Solution of Human Problems: Many problems of the human society is because of less numbers of honest people. The today’s people forgot the best policy of living. In the world political system many wrong decisions are imposed wrongly because of self centered thinking irrespective of honest approach. In India recently Lokpal system was biggest news headlines. Lokpal is for protecting human interest and to monitor government decisions. I think this would not be required if honesty remains live in the human souls. If honesty remained the best policy of the past time then today’s evils would never come to damage the social, economical and functional balance of the society. Now the whole world have to rethink to renovate and rebuild the  honesty in the system by all possible means . Because no any system can check the every minister , clerk etc to stop corruption and self centered policy making. It is only the honesty of these men which will stop them to do disho nest to others. There should be a system to push honest people in the political system of all the nations. It is the only way to get the true solution for human problems. Advantage of Honesty: Honest people have high degree of social acceptance. They are not confined to a particular town but become the renowned personality of the larger area. It is such a quality of a human beings that uplift him at such a height that can not be achieved by working very hard in normal way. I am giving one such example of an honest man. He is non but the great Mahatma Gandhi of India; whose one word became the command for total Indians in the history. This is because of his honesty as a best policy. Every man believed from his bottom of heart that what Gandhi is telling is more than 100 per cent correct. There are many such examples in the world. Its invisible advantage are infinite. I said invisible because it can only perceived and can not be seen. Where and when we have to practice honesty: *At the time of paying for things at shop if shopkeeper is busy and forget to ask for payment. *In queue we have to be very honest to maintain it. *While checking examination copy of students. *While distributing something among family or in equal group. *At our professional position. Why people are Dishonest Today: It is noticed that human ethical index is degrading day by day. It is because the human beings have shifted from religious belief and become more scientific. But they don’t know that science only gives solution of naturally available thing. But creator is God; who created everything and is watching everyone. Honesty can only be judged in front of God and not in front of any law, system, anyone etc. Many of us also forget that science is very limited it will not be able to discover unlimited nature. If one consumes whole energy of the earth even then ten percent of sky distance is unreachable. It is my own calculation and according to my belief. Another example of perceiving the creator is that a bird flying above thousand feet can look the very small grains and  the bird can fly thousand of kilometer from one country to another with its small 500g muscle. Don’t anybody think this while flying in flight which requires gallons of oil to c over only 1000 km. If anyone can understand this then he is with my view. Conclusion: We have to realize the value of honesty otherwise social, economical balance will be lost. One day we have to answer our life before God. It is certain to happen otherwise no religion would exist on this earth. Much more can be written about â€Å"Honesty is the Best Policy Essay†. I will write short point wise essay for grade 1 to 2. Keywords: honesty is the best policy story, honesty is the best policy quote, pictures on honesty, honesty in life.

Promotional Strategy

MS. SHARUL SEEMA. NiN 5/12 Gertrude Street, St Albans 3021, VIC Ph: (M) 0420 573 056, (H) 0390 773 684 Email Address: [email  protected] com Objectives To apply my extensive administration and customer service skills to contribute the smooth running of the business. Skills Summary ? To pursue a career where I can utilize my education, skills, and experience, ? I am innovative, hardworking and have excellent customer focus, ? I am self motivated, enthusiastic and enjoy helping, ? I can work on my own and also in a team environment, I   have Good organizational skills, Good time management skills, ? Excellent communication skills, Honest, dedicated and committed, ? Ability to work and meet deadlines. Education 2012: Currently studying certificate 4 in business administration in Ashley Institute of Training Sunshine victoria 2012: Completed Certificate III in Business Administration in Ashley institute of training, Sunshine Victoria. 2002: Completed Masters of Business Administratio n MBA majoring in Human Resource Management in India affiliated to Newport University California, USA. 000: Completed Diploma in Computers from Web World in Karnataka, INDIA. 2000: Completed Bachelor of Commerce from Kuvempu University in Karnataka INDIA. 1997: Completed Year 12 from Karnataka, INDIA Professional Experience/history 20/ 10/2010- 25/02/2011 Worked as a Full time sales representative at Exhale store in Deer park Victoria. 21/10/05 – 23/03/06: Worked Part-time Customer Service Officer at Myer Sydney City Store. ? Opening and closing of Cash register banking. Handled cash, credit cards, EFTPOS, gift cards, lay buys, Gift vouchers, foreign currencies and foreign traveller’s cheques. Assisting customers in helping them to select the item and taking personal initiative to advice them of the specials and offers in the Men’s clothing. ? Solving customer queries and problems in person and on the phone. ? Taking orders from customers and other stores and as sisting customer in every possible way to meet their needs. ? Trained Christmas casual staff on the Cash register. 18/04/02 – Worked as a project Trainee in human resource management at Oriental Transport limited, BPL Group, Bangalore, INDIA ? Able to investigate and analyse and critically examine the performance on the Oriental transport company and its employees, Gained experience in completing appraisals for staff members as well as workers by evaluating the work performance. Achievements Worked as a volunteer and organised a big Christmas charity feast on 25th Dec 2004 for 600 homeless people in Parramatta at Uniting church Parramatta mission, Sydney, by gathering all food suppliers to help and make this occasion a memorable day for all homeless and needy people. Citizenship:   Permanent Resident of Australia. Referees: Name: ChloeName:Antonella Company:EXHALE, Deer ParkCompany:Myer Sydney City Store Victoria3021NSW2000 Role:ManagerRole:Manager Telephone:0435061575Telep hone:(02)92389111

This January I Switched to Apple. What are You Tolerating in Your Life

This January I Switched to Apple. What are You Tolerating in Your Life I’d say it was a long time coming, given that I’ve had nothing but problems with my Dell PCs for the last †¦ oh †¦ 20 years? For the most recent 3 or so of those 20, several of my friends and colleagues have been begging and pleading with me to convert to Apple. Did I listen? No. Changing just seemed like way too much work. Then, in January, I hit a limit. My 1-year-old Windows 8 computer, whose operating system I had just reinstalled, was not working any better than it was before I reinstalled it. My programs were constantly going to â€Å"Not Responding.† Tech support could not fix the problem and was telling me I needed a more powerful computer with more RAM. Sales was telling me the 8 GB of RAM on my current computer should be plenty. I figured either sales was wrong or tech support was wrong, and Dell should either fix the problem or give me some amount of credit toward a new computer. They claimed to be unable to do either. It was decision time, and I was DONE with Dell. Perhaps you are celebrating, along with many of my friends, colleagues and even distant acquaintances, that I waltzed into an Apple store and bought a MacBook Pro. In the end, this change happened in an instant. It wasn’t easy getting up to speed on the MacBook. The delete button drives me crazy. The command button is located in the most inconvenient spot I can imagine. My files are all organized differently now. Outlook was downloading all my email repeatedly and I had to get tech support to get a duplicate deletion program. I needed a new way to access my accountant’s server so I could use my QuickBooks program. I had to call HP support to get my printer working wirelessly. I blew out two adaptors trying to connect the Mac to an external monitor. And there’s more. This is why I did not want to switch to a Mac. But get this: The computer doesn’t use battery power while it’s asleep. It wakes up immediately. I can leave my house carrying my laptop and no power cord and trust that the battery will last. The programs work and don’t slow down on me ever. And iCal integrates with Google Calendar without a 3rd party program! Most of the issues I faced were ramping up issues and are all resolved. And I get all the good stuff. I’m starting to be a proud Mac user. My question out of all of this is, â€Å"Why the heck did I wait so long?† You can ask any of my close friends and relatives and they will attest to the fact that I was spending hours upon hours with Dell tech support for years. I have never been happy with a Dell computer! And yet, I resisted change. Pure and simple. I kept choosing to upgrade to a â€Å"better† Dell, hoping it would solve my problems. It never did. People do this. Look at how many people stay in relationships that require hours of conversation to try to make them work. Look at how many of these people move in together, or get married, thinking that the â€Å"upgrade† will help. Or they have children in order to fix their relationship. Now that’s an upgrade! We so often avoid the risk of starting over with someone else because it would require an unknown amount of work – even if we have a strong inkling that ultimately the benefits would justify the investment. We resist change even if all our friends are telling us to â€Å"switch to Apple.† Many of us stay in jobs that are not a good fit. Even if we’re miserable, at least we’re dealing with a known quantity. I myself kept working for 10 years as a lawyer, because it was safe and provided a living wage, even though there was no amount of adjusting and mind talk that could make me enjoy that job. I even accepted a promotion (my â€Å"upgrade†) before reaching my breaking point and starting something new. The February issue of LeaderMag featured an article by Bruce Hodes, Five Ogres and an Angel, about the resistance to change in organizations. I love this quote which he shares: â€Å"Change is hard because people overestimate the value of what they have and underestimate the value of what they may gain by giving that up.† James Belasco and Ralph Stayer, Flight of the Buffalo (1994). Hodes asserts that two of the main elements blocking change are â€Å"comfort† and â€Å"drift.† Comfort is something we’re all familiar with. We humans like things to stay the same. We get attached to our routines like a warm blanket, even if they aren’t serving us. And drift, the pull of the current always in the same direction (toward the status quo), affects us whether in our homes or workplaces. Hodes’ advice: â€Å"Trust your intuition- be convinced that even in the face of resistance this is the way forward.† The payoff according to Hodes is Performance Improvement. I certainly got that with my MacBook Pro. My question to you is: Where in your life are you resisting change, falling victim to comfort and drift, when you really know it’s time to make a move? Where is there room for performance improvement in your life? Maybe it’s time to stop â€Å"upgrading† what you already have and to start something new.

The Black Codes and Why They Matter Today

The Black Codes and Why They Matter Today It’s hard to understand why African Americans are incarcerated at higher rates than other groups without knowing what the black codes were. These restrictive and discriminatory laws criminalized blacks after slavery and set the stage for Jim Crow. They are also directly linked to today’s prison industrial complex. Given this, a better grasp of the Black Codes and their relationship to the 13th Amendment provides a historical context for racial profiling, police brutality, and uneven criminal sentencing. For far too long, blacks have been dogged by the stereotype that they’re inherently prone to criminality. The institution of slavery and the Black Codes that followed reveal how the state essentially penalized African Americans just for existing. Slavery Ended, but Blacks Weren’t Truly Free During Reconstruction, the period that followed the Civil War, African Americans in the South continued to have work arrangements and living conditions nearly indistinguishable from those they had during slavery. Because the cost of cotton was so high at this time, planters decided to develop a labor system that mirrored servitude. According to America’s History to 1877, Vol. 1: â€Å"On paper, emancipation had cost the slave owners about $3 billion - the value of their capital investment in former slaves - a sum that equaled nearly three-fourths of the nation’s economic production in 1860. The real losses of planters, however, depended on whether they lost control of their former slaves. Planters attempted to reestablish that control and to substitute low wages for the food, clothing, and shelter that their slaves had previously received. They also refused to sell or rent land to blacks, hoping to force them to work for low wages.† The enactment of the 13th Amendment only amplified the challenges of African Americans during Reconstruction. Passed in 1865, this amendment ended the slave economy, but it also included a provision that would make it in the South’s best interest to arrest and imprison blacks. That’s because the amendment prohibited slavery and servitude, â€Å"except as a punishment for crime.† This provision gave way to the Black Codes, which replaced the Slave Codes, and were passed throughout the South the same year as the 13th Amendment. The codes heavily infringed on the rights of blacks and, like low wages, functioned to trap them in a slave-like existence. The codes were not the same in every state but overlapped in a number of ways. For one, they all mandated that blacks without jobs could be arrested for vagrancy. The Mississippi Black Codes in particular penalized blacks for being â€Å"wanton in conduct or speech, neglect[ing] job or family, handl[ing] money carelessly, and ...all other idle and disorderly persons.† How exactly does a police officer decide how well a person handles money or if he’s wanton in conduct? Clearly, many of the behaviors punishable under the Black Codes were completely subjective. But their subjective nature made it easier to arrest and round up African Americans. In fact, a variety of states concluded that there were certain crimes for which only blacks could be â€Å"duly convicted,† according to The Angela Y. Davis Reader. Therefore, the argument that the criminal justice system works differently for whites and blacks can be traced back to the 1860s. And before the Black Codes criminalized African Americans, the legal system deemed runaway slaves fugitives for stealing property - themselves!   Fines, Forced Labor, and the Black Codes Violating one of the Black Codes required offenders to pay fines. Since many African Americans were paid low wages during Reconstruction or denied employment at all, coming up with the money for these fees all too often proved impossible. Inability to pay meant that the county court could hire out African Americans to employers until they worked off their balances. Blacks who found themselves in this unfortunate predicament usually did such labor in a slavery-like environment. The state determined when offenders worked, for how long and what kind of work was performed. More often than not, African Americans were required to perform agricultural labor, just as they had during slavery. Because licenses were required for offenders to perform skilled labor, few did. With these restrictions, blacks had little chance to learn a trade and move up the economic ladder once their fines were settled. And they could not simply refuse to work off their debts, as that would lead to a vagrancy charge, resulting in more fees and forced labor. Under the Black Codes, all African Americans, convicts or not, were subject to curfews set by their local governments. Even their day-to-day movements were heavily dictated by the state. Black farm workers were required to carry passes from their employers, and meetings blacks took part in were overseen by local officials. This even applied to worship services. In addition, if a black person wanted to live in town, they had to have a white sponsor. Any African Americans who skirted the Black Codes would be subject to fines and labor. In short, in all areas of life, blacks lived as second class citizens. They were emancipated on paper but certainly not in real life. A civil rights bill passed by Congress in 1866 sought to give African Americans more rights. The bill, for example, permitted them to own or rent property, but it stopped short of giving blacks the right to vote. It did, however, allow them to make contracts and bring their cases before courts. It also enabled federal officials to sue those who violated the civil rights of African Americans. But blacks never reaped the benefits of the bill because President Andrew Johnson vetoed it.   While the president’s decision dashed the hopes of African Americans, their hopes were renewed when the 14th Amendment was enacted. This legislation gave blacks even more rights than the Civil Rights Act of 1966 did. It declared them and anyone born in the United States to be citizens. Although it did not guarantee blacks the right to vote, it  gave them â€Å"equal protection of the laws.† The 15th Amendment, passed in 1870, would give blacks suffrage. The End of the Black Codes By the end of the 1860s, many Southern states repealed the Black Codes and shifted their economic focus away from cotton farming and onto manufacturing. They built schools, hospitals, infrastructure and asylums for orphans and the mentally ill. Although the lives of African Americans were no longer dictated by the Black Codes, they lived separately from whites, with fewer resources for their schools and communities. They also faced intimidation by white supremacist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan when they exercised their right to vote. The economic woes blacks faced led to an increasing number of them to be incarcerated. That’s because more penitentiaries in the South were built along with all of the hospitals, roads, and schools. Strapped for cash and unable to get loans from banks, former slaves worked as sharecroppers or tenant farmers. This involved working other people’s farmland in exchange for a small cut of the value of the crops grown. Sharecroppers frequently fell prey to shopkeepers who offered them credit but charged exorbitant interest rates on farm supplies and other goods. Democrats at the time made matters worse by passing laws that allowed merchants to prosecute sharecroppers who couldn’t pay their debts. â€Å"Indebted African American farmers faced imprisonment and forced labor unless they toiled on the land according to the instructions of the merchant-creditor,† states America’s History. â€Å"Increasingly, merchants and landlords cooperated to maintain this lucrative system, and many landlords became merchants. The former slaves had become trapped in the vicious circle of debt peonage, which tied them to the land and robbed them of their earnings.† Angela Davis laments the fact that black leaders of the time, such as Frederick Douglass, did not campaign to end forced labor and debt peonage. Douglass primarily focused his energies on bringing an end to lynching. He also advocated for black suffrage. Davis asserts that he may not have considered forced labor a priority due to the widespread belief that incarcerated blacks must have deserved their punishments. But African Americans complained that they were frequently jailed for offenses for which whites were not. In fact, whites usually eluded prison for all but the most egregious crimes. This resulted in blacks jailed for petty offenses being incarcerated with dangerous white convicts. Black women and children were not spared from prison labor. Children as young as 6 years old were  forced to work, and incredibly women in such predicaments were not segregated from male inmates, making them vulnerable to sexual abuse and physical violence at the hands of both convicts and guards. After taking a trip to the South in 1888, Douglass witnessed firsthand the effects of forced labor on the African Americans there. It kept blacks â€Å"firmly bound in a strong, remorseless and deadly grasp, a grasp from which only death can free [them],† he noted. But by the time Douglass made this conclusion, peonage and convict leasing had been in effect for more than 20 years in certain places. And in a short stretch of time, the number of black prisoners grew rapidly. From 1874 to 1877, Alabama’s prison population tripled, for example. Ninety percent of new convicts were African American. Crimes formerly considered low-level offenses, such as cattle theft, were reclassified as felonies, ensuring that impoverished blacks found guilty of such crimes would be sentenced to longer prison terms. African American scholar W.E.B. DuBois was disturbed by these developments in the prison system. In his work, Black Reconstruction, he observed, â€Å"The whole criminal system came to be used as a method of keeping Negroes at work and intimidating them. Consequently there began to be a demand for jails and penitentiaries beyond the natural demand due to the rise of crime.† Legacy of the Black Codes Lives On Today a disproportionate amount of black men are behind bars. In 2016, the Washington Post reported that 7.7 percent of black men between the ages of 25 to 54 are institutionalized compared to 1.6 percent of white men. The newspaper also stated that the prison population has quintupled over the past four decades and that one out of nine black children has a parent in prison. Many ex-convicts can’t vote or get jobs after their release, increasing their chances of recidivism and trapping them in a cycle as relentless as debt peonage. A number of social ills have been blamed for the large numbers of blacks in prison - poverty, single-parent homes and gangs. While these issues may be factors, the Black Codes reveal that since slavery ended those in power have used the criminal justice system as a vehicle to strip African Americans of their liberty. This includes the glaring sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine, a higher police presence in black neighborhoods, and a bail system that requires those  arrested to pay for their release from jail or remain incarcerated if they’re unable to. From slavery onward, the criminal justice system has all too often created insurmountable hurdles for African Americans.