My Essayyyy.

Angela Pham Mr. Kakes World Lit/Writ 8 October 2012 Big Mama’s Funeral Big Mama is a rather large person, giving her the name Big Mama. She is considered to be a mom to the people of Macondo because she provides them with everything they need and she is a queenlike figure to them. Big Mama’s Funeral by Gabriel Garcia Marquez is about a woman given the title of Big Mama. She is the leader of Macondo. Marquez uses her to represent corruption on government and in this case, the government she runs. Big Mama is a corrupt leader.Then, her funeral became a festival and celebration of her death and everyone who came did not care that she had just passed away because she was a corrupt leader and they are happy that she has passed away. Big Mama represents a corrupt government, and Marquez uses dark humor and hyperboles often to show how people are being festive instead of mourning at the funeral. Big Mama represents a corrupt government. She arranges marriages in the case where the blood related members of a family marry within each other. That practice is the way she is able to stay in power for many years.Marquez attempts to show that some governments can be corrupt and somehow she has all the people believing it is okay or that there is nothing corrupt happening. â€Å"On the margin of the official family, the exercise of the jus primae noctis†¦ † (199). Her â€Å"official family† is all of the family members related by blood in some way. She has them marry each other. Her family does not react to what she is doing. Big Mama has been using that practice for so long and somehow the family thinks that it is okay for her to do that and they are afraid of her.Big Mama does this practice so no one new or someone she does not know can try and have a chance to take her position. The time that Big Mama has ruled â€Å"For many years, Big Mama had guaranteed the social peace and political harmony of her empire by†¦ three trunks full of forged electoral certificates which formed part of her secret estate† (207). Big Mama is able to stay in power by forging â€Å"electoral certificates†. The certificates are similar to voting for a president. She forges them and uses fake votes so she can win the election.Also, the â€Å"men in her service, her proteges, and tenants.. exercised not only their own rights of suffrage but also those of electors dead for a century† (207-208). She has been forging votes for a very long time. Marquez believes that corruption is something funny when in reality, it is not. Thus, using dark humor to make corruption seem funny when it is a serious matter. Big Mama uses the people who have been dead for over a hundred years, votes to make it seem like she has more votes and more people voting for her every time there is an election.There have been no new rulers ever since she has taken power. Very many people do not like her and are forced to follow her rules because they a re afraid of her and the amount of power she has frightens them. The people only attend her funeral in hopes of gaining something because of how well known she is and her position in society. They know that many people are going to be there because she is like a celebrity. They do not care about her or that she has died. People call the day of her funeral â€Å"the great day†. â€Å"The great day had arrived† (212). In the streets crowded with carts, hawkers, or fried foods, and lottery stalls, and men with snakes wrapped around their necks† (212). The great day is the day of her funeral. But, there are many carts and stands filled with fried food. Most funerals do not usually have carts with fried food around. The â€Å"men with snakes† are used for entertainment purposes and are just there to make a profit because all the vendors know that almost everyone is attending the funeral. It is humorous that there is entertainment and fun at a funeral.This is an instance of dark humor because instead they have entertainment and food carts at a funeral and are not mourning. They do not really care that she died. The â€Å"Duke of Marlborough†¦ overcame their centenarian hatred of Big Mama†¦ and came to her funeral to ask for†¦ the payment of their veterans’ pensions which they had been waiting for for sixty years† (212). They came to the funeral and asked for the money Big Mama owed them after 60 years. They know that she has just died. That is the perfect time to collect the money she owes them because she cannot prevent them from getting their money.They have hated her for over a hundred years and decide that the day of her funeral is the day to finally get their money back. After the funeral, â€Å"No one noticed that the nephews, godchildren†¦ of Big Mama closed the doors as soon as the body was taken out, †¦pulled the nails out of the planks, and dug up the foundations to divide up the house† (214). The family of Big Mama and everyone that is considered to be family to her do not even care about her and as soon as her body was out of the house they start to tear apart the house.Her nephews are ecstatic that she has died because now they can move on and forget about her. They are happy instead of sad. Marquez uses dark humor to show how people are festive at the funeral and hyperboles to really emphasize that there are many people at the funeral. On the first page of the story, the sentence that starts the story is â€Å"Now that the nation, which was shaken to its vitals, has recovered its balance†¦ the time to lean a stool against the front door†¦ before the historians have another chance to get at it† (197-198).The sentence is actually a whole paragraph and there are semicolons to separate the people who attend. The sentence is telling who is at the funeral and where they come from. Marquez uses hyperboles to emphasize the numerous amounts of people who are there and that they come from all over the world. Marquez uses dark humor to show how people are not mourning because she dies but are celebrating. They call it â€Å"the great day† because she is gone after many years and her family is relieved that she is gone and they do not have to listen to her anymore.When someone passes away people mourn but in this case, Big Mama passes away but everyone is celebrating by having a festival instead of a proper funeral. Her family is ready to move on because â€Å"as soon as the body was taken out†¦ pulled the nails out of the planks, and dug up to foundations to divide up the house† (214). When her body is gone they do not leave the house the way it is but start to break it and tear it apart because they want to completely forget her and anything that reminds them of her. Another hyperbole used is when â€Å"the garbage men will come and will sweep up the garbage from her funeral, forever and ever† (214).The re is not â€Å"garbage† that is swept up forever and will take an infinite amount of time to clean. The â€Å"garbage† represents all the wrong and corrupt things that Big Mama does and it will take a very long time to fix what she has caused. In conclusion, Big Mama represents corruption in a government and the people who attend her funeral do not care that she passes away; Marquez uses dark humor to show how people are celebrating by using hyperboles to emphasize the fact that there is a large amount of people at the funeral.Big Mama forces her family to marry each other so she can stay in power. The people in Macondo obey her because they are afraid of her. The people at the funeral use the fact that she is very popular as a way to make money or gain something. The dark humor Marquez uses is to show that people are celebrating her death and it is humorous because at funerals, people are sad and mourning At Big Mama’s funeral, people are having fun and it is similar to a carnival.

Maalouf – Leo Africanus

Amin Maalouf’s novel Leo Africanus, a fictionalized memoir by an actual sixteenth-century Muslim adventurer, is an often-interesting account of life during the turbulent end of the Middle Ages, told from the point of view of a man who survived his life’s ample turmoil and bridged conflicting cultures without wholly belonging to any. The narrator of this work, a traveler and author known in his lifetime as Jean-Leon de Medici or Leo Africanus, was born in 1488 as Hasan al-Wazzan, son of a prominent Muslim family in Granada, Spain.   At the time, southern Spain’s Andalusia region (of which Granada was its chief city) was Muslim-dominated, with Catholics, Muslims, and Jews alike coexisting in a cosmopolitan, relatively tolerant atmosphere.   Maalouf depicts Granada as an intriguing, exotic, tolerant place for its time, despite its corrupt rulers and ultimate weakness before the invading armies of Aragon and Castile. Shortly after his birth, Spanish forces conquered Granada and soon started persecuting all non-Christians, forcing them to convert to Catholicism or flee, depriving them of their wealth in either case.   Though European history depicts Spain’s liberation from Muslim rule as a glorious event, it was a tragic blow for the Muslims who had lived there for centuries and built a prosperous, learned society.   As his uncle Khali, a wealthy diplomat, laments, â€Å"See how the people . . . have been forced into slavery after their surrender!   See how the Inquisition has raised pyres for the Jews . . . [and] for the Muslims as well!   How can we stop this, except by resistance, mobilization, and jihad?†Ã‚   (Maalouf, 1988, p. 25)   Though the word â€Å"jihad† today carries ominous meanings for Westerners, in this context it meant self-defense in the face of an intolerant enemy. The Spanish appear in a distinctly negative light, as bloodthirsty, vindictive conquerors who used the Inquisition to crush their enemies, real or perceived.   Maalouf offers in interesting inversion of Western opinion here, and he shows post-1492 Granada as a dark, dangerous place whose intellectual life is crushed.   Also, while modern readers think of Jews and Muslims as mortal enemies, Maalouf demonstrates that they enjoyed peaceful relations in medieval Andalusia, and Leo laments the Spanish edict mandating â€Å"the ‘formal termination of all relations between Christians and Jews, which can only be accomplished by the expulsion of all the Jews from our kingdom’† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 59). His uncle Khali assumes a dominant role in Leo’s life, helping educate him and, more importantly, taking him along on his 1504 diplomatic mission to Timbuktu, then an important Muslim cultural and commercial center in sub-Saharan West Africa.   Even as a teenager, he demonstrates keen insights to the world around him, particularly to the appearances, peoples, and attributes of the cities he visits en route.   For example, he describes Ain al-Asnam, an ancient city destroyed during Islam’s spread, as â€Å"sole witness of the age of ignorance† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 155), implying that despite its former glories, it symbolizes the dark era before Islam spread its enlightened message. In addition, he reveals a gift for vivid descriptive prose when he says of Sijilmassa, a once-thriving city on the road to Timbuktu: â€Å"Of its walls, once so high, only a few sections remain, half-ruined, and covered with grass and moss.   Of its population, there remain only various hostile clans . . . [who] seem merciless toward each other [and] deserve their fate† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 157).   Though he is not intolerant of peoples different from himself, he also does not shy from passing judgments on unfortunate places, though his own life is full of misfortunes; he accepts fate’s fickle nature, which perhaps sustains him through his difficulties. His uncle dies en route back to Fez and Leo returns home to work in a hospice and marry his cousin Fatima, who is far less pleasing than Hiba, the slave girl who becomes his longtime mistress (similar to Warda, the servant whom his father chose over his wife, Leo’s mother).   He also tries to save his sister Mariam from the leper colony, where an influential suitor, a highway robber named the Zarwali, had had her banished for refusing to marry him. One sees by this point that women have a difficult position in Muslim society; denied many rights, they live tightly circumscribed lives and are subject to male commands and whims at all times.   Maalouf does not impose modern sensibilities here; he remains within the character of the times and accepts this lack of freedom as Muslims of the time did, and Leo laments his sister’s fate less because she lacks freedom than because her punishment was unduly cruel. As he enters adulthood, his life continues a pattern of good fortune followed by personal or financial disasters from which he always recovers and rebuilds.   Leo becomes a successful merchant in Fez and fathers a daughter with Fatima, but when his longtime friend Harun (who has married his unfortunate sister Mariam to liberate her from the leper colony) causes the Zarwali’s death, Leo is expelled from Fez for his complicity and loses his fortune on the road to a band of thieves.   He finds some relief in Hiba’s native village, where her former peers buy her back from Leo, restoring some of his wealth but costing him the love of his life. He accepts these reversals surprisingly well by modern standards, but Maalouf implies that the late medieval/early modern world was a cruel and fickle place, with few certainties in life other than misfortune.   A common theme throughout the book is that such events are simply God’s will; when he loses both his fortune and Hiba, Leo laments, â€Å"Such is the judgment of the Most High!† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 214).   His faith does not waver throughout the story, even when Christians abduct, enslave, and force him to become a Catholic. Leo’s destiny seems to be the roads he travels throughout his adult life; his form of geography and travelogue seem to be his calling in life, and he demonstrates a keen grasp of how to describe people and places.   His travels take him throughout northern, western, and central Africa, and he states without obvious boasting, â€Å"When our geographers of old spoke of the land of the Blacks, they only mentioned Ghana and the oases of the Libyan desert. . . . I myself, who am only the last of the travellers, know the names of sixty black kingdoms . . . from the Niger to the Nile† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 216).   Such knowledge would later serve him well. He becomes involved with the era’s political intrigues when he meets and marries Nur, the widow of the Ottoman ruler’s nephew.   While Leo supports the Turks in the vain hope that they will liberate Andalusia from the Spanish and make it safe for Muslims again, Nur opposes it and fears that Turkish agents will murder her infant son to prevent him from assuming the throne.   Reflecting on the discord within his own faith, Leo asks, â€Å"Is it not in the blade of a knife brandished by the Friend of God above a pyre that the revealed religions meet?†Ã‚   (Maalouf, 1988, p. 245)   He longs for the tolerance and unity of his youth in Granada, hence his somewhat naà ¯ve support for the Ottoman Empire, of which he says, â€Å"the turbans of the Turks and the skull caps of the Christians and Jews mingle without hatred or resentment† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 258). His destiny as a geographer and scholar is realized when Sicilian pirates kidnap him in Tunisia and present him to Pope Leo X as a slave.   As with the rest of his life, this misfortune leads to another lucky phase, as the pontiff, impressed with Leo’s intellect, employs him as a protà ©gà ©.   Forcing him to become a Christian and renaming him John-Leo de Medici (for the pope and the family that takes an interest in him), the pope employs him as a teacher of Arabic while tutoring him in European languages, so that he can produce a volume of his travels, Description of Africa.   He earns his freedom but becomes embroiled in papal intrigues, so he must flee yet again – this time for Tunisia, where he can again be a Muslim.   In closing, he advises the reader to be himself in the face of adversity, saying, â€Å"Muslim, Jew or Christian, they must take you as you are, or lose you† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 360).   Though he has kept his Muslim faith inwardly i ntact, Leo’s ability to adapt has ironically saved and sustained him. The book illustrates the uncertainty of life in the pre-modern era, since peaks and valleys of instability mark Leo’s life from the beginning.   His family loses its fortune and is driven from Granada by conquering Spanish Christians, who then launch a wave of intolerance against Jews and Muslims, forcing them to either become Catholic or leave.   In addition, he loses his fortune to thieves, his wife Fatima dies young, he remarries Nur (who leaves him after his abduction), and he is enslaved by Christian pirates in the Mediterranean. He handles it philosophically, accepting the fact that his life is destined to be itinerant, turbulent, and beyond his ability to control.   As he tells Nur, â€Å"Between the Andalus which I left and the Paradise which is promised to me life is only a crossing.   I go nowhere, I desire nothing I cling to nothing, I have faith in my passion for living . . . as well as in Providence† (Maalouf, 1988, p. 261). Overall, Leo Africanus is a solid effort to take the modern reader into the mind of an educated, influential Muslim living at an unstable time in European history.   Maalouf does not inject modern sensibilities into his narrative but depicts the Muslim culture of the times fairly, without a pro-Western bias.   In addition, he strives for authenticity by using a sort of formal, occasionally wordy prose that one assumes is based on the actual writing and conversational style of Leo Africanus’ times.   In the process of producing this interesting historical figure’s tale, Maalouf also makes clear one of the chief realities of this era in history – that life is uncertain and fickle, and that the intelligent, resourceful, and adaptable are best suited to endure these shifts of fortune. REFERENCES Maalouf, A. (1988).   Leo Africanus.   Chicago: New Amsterdam Books. Maalouf – Leo Africanus Amin Maalouf’s novel Leo Africanus is a novel based on an actual sixteenth-century Spanish-born Muslim geographer and writer born under the name Hasan al-Wazzan.   The author gives the reader clear insights into the conflicts between the Muslim world (whose influence in Europe was then waning) and that of Christianity (which reasserted control over his native Spain and to which he became a somewhat unwilling servant). The theme of the title character’s life is conflict and misfortune, which seem to plague him from early childhood.   Born in 1488 to a rich Muslim family in Granada, Spain, he witnesses as a small child the Catholic victory over the ruling but weakened Muslim elites, followed by a wave of vengeance and intolerance against not only Muslims but also the Jews, who have also lived peacefully in Spain with Christians for centuries.   Hasan (the name he uses throughout his life, except when in service to the Pope) demonstrates some of this by mentioning how members of the different religions interact and how some cultural exchange occurs. For example, when discussing dates, he frequently refers to Christian and Muslim holidays in tandem, showing their mutual acceptance: â€Å"It all happened on the ninth day of the holy month of Ramadan, or, rather . . . on St. John’s Day, the twenty-fourth of June, since Mihrajan was celebrated not in accordance with the Muslim year but following the Christian calendar† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 63). Here, Maalouf makes clear that Islam was then the much more tolerant religion, accepting aspects of Judaism and Christianity that the Catholic Church refused to allow.   Because Christianity and Islam were fighting for territory, intolerance was an instrument of control and oppression, and the victorious Spaniards had to qualms about driving out or murdering Jews and Muslims who refused to accept forced conversions to Christianity. His family, deprived of its wealth, flees for the North African city of Fez, where they live as refugees under the care of his kindly uncle, who provides for his education.   As he comes of age, he shows a remarkable ability to observe and understand the peoples and places he encounters – a gift he sharpens when, as a teenager, he accompanies his rich, well-connected uncle on a diplomatic excursion to Timbuktu. For example, he writes of Sijilmassa, a once-thriving city on the road to Timbuktu: â€Å"Of its walls, once so high, only a few sections remain, half-ruined, and covered with grass and moss.   Of its population, there remain only various hostile clans . . . [who] seem merciless toward each other [and] deserve their fate† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 157).   Though he is not intolerant of peoples different from himself, he also does not shy from passing judgments on unfortunate or blighted places, though his own life is full of misfortunes; he accepts fate’s fickle nature, which perhaps sustains him through his difficulties. Hasan’s adult life is generally unstable and rife with misfortune, which seems to be the norm in a world where little other than hard luck is guaranteed.   After his uncle dies, he returns to Fez to work in a hospice for the sick and insane, marries a rather plain cousin (despite his long relationship with Hiba, a slave mistress), later becomes a prosperous merchant, and seems to live a somewhat conventional life.   However, he is not destined to enjoy a stable, uneventful life. When he starts his business career, his mother makes a prediction that seems to foreshadow the direction of his life: â€Å"Many men discover the whole world while seeking only to make their fortune.   But as for you, my son, you will stumble on your treasure as you seek to discover the world† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 187).   Indeed, fate – so strong a presence in the novel that it almost seems like a character – intervenes and his life is again turbulent.   When he becomes embroiled in his childhood friend (and brother-in-law) Harun’s plot to avenge his sister Mariam’s confinement to a leper colony, the authorities expel Hasan from Fez and thieves on the road rob him of his fortune.   In addition, he is forced to sacrifice his mistress, Hiba, in order to regain some of his riches. However, his destiny is to discover the world, which indeed is why modern readers even know of his existence.   Always astute and insightful, Hasan compiles his observations during his many travels, forming the basis for his lasting renown as an early geographer and expert on sub-Saharan Africa.   He travels throughout the continent’s northern and central regions and, when speaking of other writers’ ignorance of Africa, states, â€Å"I myself, who am only the last of the travellers, know the names of sixty black kingdoms . . . from the Niger to the Nile.   Some have never appeared in any book, but I would not be telling the truth if I would claim to have discovered them myself, since I only followed the ordinary route of the caravans† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 216). He moves to Cairo (then under Ottoman Turkish rule) to restart his often-disrupted life, commenting that â€Å"I was suddenly certain that after the tempest which had destroyed my fortune a new life was awaiting me in this land of Egypt, a life of passion, danger and honour† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 218).   Here, he again finds himself on the wrong side of destiny when he marries into the Turkish sultan’s family and supports them in their political maneuverings, in the vain hope that they will retake Granada in the name of Islam. He dreams his entire life of his birthplace and the words of a visiting delegation from the sultan foster the naà ¯ve faith that he can return: â€Å"A great Muslim empire is in the process of coming to life in the East, and we in the West should stretch out our hand to it.   Until now, we have been subjected to the law of the unbelievers† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 257).   However, this scheme also goes awry and he is enslaved by Italian pirates, who give him to Pope Leo X. This phase of Hasan’s life is a strange twist of fate, in which apparent tragedy turns into great luck.   The pontiff, seeing that the learned, sophisticated Hasan is no ordinary captive, employs him as a tutor of Arabic and requires him to learn Latin, Turkish, and lessons in the Christian faith.   Hasan deems this â€Å"a refined form of forced labour . . . [and] proof of [the Pope’s] own enthusiastic interest in me† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 294). The end result of this gentle captivity is Description of Africa, a book describing his many travels in a continent with which Europeans were still largely unfamiliar.   He wins his freedom but again finds himself on the wrong side of a larger political conflict (this time within the Catholic Church), so he escapes Rome for Tunisia, where he can openly practice Islam again.   In closing, he advises the reader to be himself in the face of adversity, saying, â€Å"Wherever you are, some will want to ask questions about your skin or your prayers.   Beware of gratifying their instincts . . . beware of bending before the multitude!† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 360).   Though he has kept his Muslim faith inwardly intact, his ability to adapt and â€Å"go with the flow† preserves him. Without dwelling on the point, Maalouf makes clear to the reader that in this unstable, uncertain medieval world, Fate plays an exceptionally strong role in everyday life.   Indeed, Hasan witnesses plenty of calamity in his life; his birthplace is seized and made repressive by Spanish Catholics; he and his family see their wealth rise and vanish repeatedly; he marries twice and loses both wives (the first dies young, while the second abandons him after his enslavement); and he is forced to seek his fortunes elsewhere several times in his life. He accepts the fact that he is meant to live on the move and takes little for granted, seemingly aware that his fortunes can be reversed at any time (and frequently are).   However, he never becomes embittered; he accepts his fate but laments, â€Å"Such is the judgment of the Most High† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 214).   His faith does not waver throughout the story, and even when Christians abduct him and force his conversion to Catholicism, he follows but keeps his innermost religious beliefs to himself.   He excels as a chameleon and thus survives. His second wife comments on his tendency to travel and disrupt his own life, asking, â€Å"What substance are you made of that you accept the loss of one town after another, one homeland after another, one woman after another, without ever fighting, without ever regretting, without ever looking back?†Ã‚   † (Maalouf, 1989, p. 261).   He responds by telling her that â€Å"life is only a crossing. I go nowhere, I desire nothing I cling to nothing, I have faith in my passion for living, in my instinct to search for happiness, as well as in Providence† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 261).   Indeed, in this exchange, Maalouf presents the reader with the essence of Hasan’s character.   He is well aware of life’s transience and thus is passionate only about his religion; though he seeks wealth and happiness, he wastes little time mourning the loss of either and looks ahead to â€Å"the final Place where no man is a stranger before the face of the Creator† (Maalouf, 1989, p. 360). Leo Africanus is more than simply a fictionalized memoir.   It is a classic fish-out-of-water story, illustrating how this educated, well-connected Muslim merchant, traveler, and scholar finds reverses and radical changes in his life at several turns but adapts to each.   In addition, it demonstrates how people of that era were very much at Fate’s mercy; little could be taken for granted in such unstable times, but the narrator never loses faith in the â€Å"Most High,† the God to whom he turns for sustenance. In somewhat formal prose that one suspects was the norm for educated people of that era, Maalouf does not impose a modern viewpoint but offers a fair, compassionate, historically-aware portrayal of both Muslim society and one of the more unusual figures within it.   The story of Hasan al-Wazzan is, more than anything else, the tale of an accomplished scholar and a consummate survivor who never forgot who he was, the culture that produced him, or the deity that showed him mercy amidst the world’s turbulence. REFERENCES Maalouf, A. (1989).   Leo Africanus.   Chicago: New Amsterdam Books.

Explain The Implications Of Globalisation For The National Economies Assignment

Explain The Implications Of Globalisation For The National Economies In General And Its Impact On The Business Environment In The United Kingdom - Assignment Example Most of the governments were unable to protect their market from the foreign competitors and got attracted by the import tariffs. On the other hand, the introduction of advanced technologies has reduced the costs of communication and transportation by a certain degree (Shangquan, 2000). Likewise, this paper will provide a study of the enhancing factors and the major impacts imposed by globalisation in developing the economy and also the business environment of the UK. Theoretical Background There has always been a strong linkage between globalisation and growth along with development. Globalisation is duly considered as one of the major aspects in the modern economic scenario and is also regarded as one of the vital factors determining the future prospect of economic growth and development. This can be justified from a theoretical perspective that it affects the productivity of goods or services of a nation. In addition, it also affects labour employment and the elements utilised in the process of production by a greater extent. One of the major impacts of globalisation, in general, can be apparently observed as the growth in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). The FDI growth rate is much higher than the entire growth in the world trade in the course of globalisation. The reduction in trade barriers and the increment in the global income of FDI have led several countries towards attaining superior competitive position with better economic growth along with development. The growth in the FDI rate eventually lead towards the introduction of pioneering technological advancements and the establishment of huge enterprises on the global level. Thus, the combination of... This paper stresses that the aforesaid study reflects detailed information about the impact of globalisation especially on the national economy in general and also on the business environment of the UK. It has already been observed in the earlier description that the UK economy was the major beneficiary of globalisation. The reduction in the income of the labour and the fall in the bargaining power of the labour force are the major aspects that have been attained from the impact of globalisation. One of the vital impacts of globalisation on the UK economy and also on the business environment of the UK can be viewed as that the major portion of the companies has become much international in nature. This report makes a conclusion that tthe global financial system of the world is not working well as it is intended to. The writer affirmed that if the global system is working well, then why the global crises are occurring in various nations of the world. In recent years, it can be viewed that the net flow of funds has been transferring from the poor countries to the richer ones, but the actual incident should be the opposite one. However, in order to cope up with the problem, the writer has also suggested that the government and the larger organizations must keep in mind certain important aspects while performing business at the global level. The companies must possess effective labour force in their capital market.

Ecnmic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Ecnmic - Essay Example Again the prices fell during 2008, which reported a massive drop since the start of the year. These changes are due to the factors of recession that emerged during the last few years. The reasons for such change can be attributed to the demand and supply theory which states the relationship between demand and change in prices. The lower prices during 2008 are due to credit crunch that resulted in scarcity in availabilities of mortgages. The buyers could not purchase because they could not borrow money, thus, a fall in demand was seen in the housing sector. In order to boost the market, prices were lowered down to increase demand. According to certain forecasters, they will continue to remain slow because of rising inflation, unemployment and slow pace of growth. The interest rates during 2007 affected consumer spending. As in the theories of demand and supply, interest rates play a major part. Thus, the impact of interest rates on the house price will have to be established. As the interest rates rose, the number of mortgage approval also fell due to its effect on the consumer’s capacity to spend. When this ability decreases, the demand also decreases accordingly. It was also seen that with an increase in interest rates during 2007, a rise in sales of houses was recorded. Due to the rise in inflation, first time buyers of house felt the necessity of fund as they found themselves incapable to afford prices. Thus, with a thrust in the rate hike, the prices of house were also increased to maintain break-even as people were forced to take loan, despite the fact that interest rates were still high. Growth of real incomes: As there is a rise in an average standard of living, the demand for housing as well as for luxurious properties increased. As people in UK showed a trend to move to exclusive houses, the demand for housing increases with high prices which increased the growth of incomes

Intellectual property Master Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Intellectual property Master - Essay Example How far can these innovations be protected from being illegally copied The justification on part of the innovator from stopping its innovations or products from being replicated in some other form needs to be debated both on ethical and moral grounds. This argument is particularly common and debated in the pharmaceutical sector. The scope of such protection covers a gamut of industries, professions and products. We shall restrict the scope of this study to the copyright laws, internet sector and particularly focus on the music industry. Bainbridge (2002) describes intellectual property rights as a form of property that can be dealt with just as with any other property, and which can be assigned, mortgaged and licensed. Intellectual property is property in the legal sense: it is something that can be owned and dealt with. Looking at this definition, as suggested by Bainbridge, one can observe that the properties rights do not just include rights associated with land or buildings or any other assets that carries the physical characteristics of a "land-building" asset form. Intellectual property gives rise to rights and duties. It establishes property rights, which give the owner the right to do certain things in relation to the subject matter. Bainbridge, in his study, supports this argument with an example relating to the music industry - if the right is a copyright and the subject matter is a piece of music, the owner of the copyright has the exclusive right to make copies of the sheet music, to make an arrangement of the music and to control the performance of the music unless until he surrenders that right to some music label company. According to the government-backed UK - Intellectual Rights, intellectual property (IP) allows people to own their creativity and innovation in the same way that they can own physical property. The owner of IP can control and be rewarded for its use, and this encourages further innovation and creativity to the benefit of us all.1 It is essential to protect innovations from being illegally copied or pirated. Such guarantee of protection to innovations and inventions will encourage further innovative research and development and also reward entrepreneurs and innovators for their discovery. The protections come in the form of law and legal proceedings. 1.2 Intellectual Property Law. Bently and Sherman (2001) defines intellectual property law as a means to regulate the creation, use and exploitation of mental or creative labour. Intellectual Prop

Entry to a new market Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Entry to a new market - Research Paper Example Making an entry into the existing automobile Indian market should be carefully approached. For example, a company should consider whether to enter into the market through a joint venture, or opening up a subsidiary of the organization as part of the mother branch. The company should be aware of the pros and cons of all the available options and how much they would cost. Entry Modes into the market Foreign direct Investment One of the advantages of a foreign direct investment mode of operation is that the organization would have a large proportion of direct control of the firm that it sets up in India. A foreign direct investment would allow the American company to gain a high tax exemption. The Government of India is bound to view the foreign direct investment as an opportunity that will increase the country’s income through labor provision to its nationals.. A foreign direct investment often includes transferring labor, funds and new technology to the target market (Iyer 272) . A foreign direct investment might involve purchasing of an already existing organization or starting up of a new one. A foreign direct investment into India will require an input of large resources by the automobile company. The resources will go into putting up the organization and marketing services. However, the organization would gain a better understanding of the customer needs and how to reach their target market audience. Joint Venture The organization might also consider a joint venture entry into the Indian market. A joint venture with an automobile company would be strategic if the CEO decides to invest a minimal amount of money into the venture in India. The American automobile company would ideally invest half the money while the India co-venture investor would invest the other half. Both investors would learn from each other for the good of the organization. The Indian investor would guide the American automobile investor on issues such as Indian tax system, best labo r sources, best location, cultural awareness and distribution lines. A joint venture would be highly recommended when the two merging companies have the same kinds of business strategies that they would want to achieve. In order for the joint venture to succeed, both the organizations should be clear on their strategic goals and objectives, and the timelines within which they hope to achieve them. The joint venture organizations should also clarify on the duties and responsibilities of the different personnel that they both bring in to the organization. There are critical issues that might arise in the running of joint ventures (Tsang 218). The companies might have proprietary information that they might be afraid of sharing. Secret business ideas take a lot of resources to develop. Therefore, none of the organizations would take the resources invested lightly. One or both of the organizations’ employees might also develop apathy at the expense of the other joint venture part ner’s employees. If the duration of the organization was unclear, disputes might arise on how and when the company should be closed down. There might also be cultural disputes between the two companies in the joint venture. Each of the companies in the automobile joint venture might want to get the best of the partnership while what they put in is not equal to what they want to gain. Licensing Licensing for the automobile organization would require the organization to license an organization

Same Sex Marriages Should Be Legalized Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Same Sex Marriages Should Be Legalized - Essay Example This paper will argue for the legalization of same sex marriages. Same Sex Marriages Should Be Legalized Every person has a right to pursue happiness and therefore, no person or institution should attempt to deny this right (Sullivan 22). Marriage is a union, which is founded on love, respect, satisfaction, responsibility among other virtues, which guarantee happiness to those who are intending to marry. Different individuals have different needs, which they expect to be fulfilled through marriage and therefore, it is the right of every individual to choose whom they want to marry or get married to. It is therefore wrong and misplaced for any democratic society to try and influence its members to adopt a lifestyle, which they are not comfortable with. As long as the couples are adults and have consented to establish a same sex relationship, the government has a responsibility to grant them all the necessary support so as to facilitate them with an avenue to pursue their happiness. Co ntinuing to illegalize gay marriages will not change these people’s sexual orientation but it will continue to promote the existence of heterosexual marriages that are only there for convenience purposes. In this context, knowing that the society is against same sex marriages, gay men and women will try to cover up their ‘shortcomings’ by entering into heterosexual unions, which may end up contributing to the ever rising cases of divorce and disintegration of families. This is due to the fact that it would be difficult to satisfy their sexual and emotional needs, thereby compelling them to engage in adulterous activities with their same sex counterparts (Sullivan 41). Religion has played a major part in the prohibition of same sex marriages. The church, for example, has continued to maintain that marriage is a holy institution that involves the unification of heterosexual couples only (Rauch 52). This conservativeness of the church is counterproductive especially in the contemporary world, which is facing new challenges on daily basis due to the ever evolving needs of human beings. It is important to understand that we are living in a society that is full of diversity and therefore, not every person agrees with this perception. The church has a right to exercise its discretion while presiding over religious marriages but it does not have the right to dictate how the government should apply secular laws with regard to marriage. There is a clear distinction between the state and the religious organizations. While the state has the overall responsibility of ensuring that every citizen is protected and respected, religious organizations’ responsibility is to provide guidance and to preach the gospel to their followers so they can achieve spiritual nourishment. Therefore, it is important for the government to listen to the people demanding for the legalization of same sex marriages, instead of the church, as they are the ones, who underst and their needs. Legalization of same sex marriages will facilitate the couples with an avenue for child adoption (Rauch 66). It is a fact that gay couples cannot produce children. However, there are numerous children, who are living in children homes without a guaranteed future or a family to depend on. This is especially due to the fact that such children are only taken care of as long as they are below 18 years

Marketing Segmentation - Demographic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Segmentation - Demographic - Essay Example The inclinations of the consumers are different for the same goods and services produced in the economy. Thus, it becomes crucial to categorize or segregate the buyers possessing same characteristic features of tastes and preferences. This process of grouping buyers in terms of several common determinants is known as market segmentation (Wind and Douglas, 1972). Market Segmentation It is believed by many scholars that market segmentation is an alternative of product differentiation. In today’s world, market segmentation plays a vital role for formulating all marketing strategies adopted by a firm. It creates different samples of buyers with same type of demand patterns that helps a company in designing separate marketing plans for each group and thereby facilitates them to win over customer loyalty for all the divisions. A particular market can be divided or categorized according to psychological, demographics, geographic and behavioral determinants. A proper marketing mix for mulated by a firm would help it to suffice the demands of each segment separately, in an economic and efficient manner. This paper will implicitly explain the concept of market segmentation based on demographics (McDonald, 2012). ... raphic determinants, an organization can create excellent strategies of marketing that would help it to park potential customer base in its retail segment. It becomes very convenient to apply demographic methodology of market segmentation because it is easy to calculate the demographic variables during the procedure of market segmentation. Moreover, the factors on the basis of which demographic market segmentation is introduced can generally be used for almost all the products (Tyan, 1987). Life-cycle and Age It is analyzed by the economists that the nature of demand created by a buyer changes with age and time in the life-cycle process. The companies while making their business plans target consumers on the basis of age to sell their manufactured products. If a firm produces land line telephones, then it should realize that the potential buyers of such a product would be consumers of age group 60 years and above. This is because the old consumers will have less skill to use modern c omplicated technologies in the mobile phones. On the other hand, it would be wrong on the part of the company to analyze that the buyers of landline phones would be young in age in general. So the market is segmented on the basis of landline and mobile phones, age and life-cycle becomes a vital mode of market segmentation (Hoek, Gendall, and Esslemont, 1995). Gender There is a significant difference in the likings of men and women. Thus, while marketing a product a company must first segregate the marketplace on the basis of sex. Men and women possess separate attitudes about same type of a commodity. Companies dealing with cosmetics, magazines etc should always segment their market while launching marketing strategies and plans. Like, if a company desires to sell a foundation base in

Gaining Power and Influence in the Workplace Essay

Gaining Power and Influence in the Workplace - Essay Example From this study it is clear that  power is the aptitude to control people. Authority is the privilege to influence, control, and transform other people. To elucidate how the reporter gains power and influence in the work place, it is important to describe French and Raven model of power and influence. These two individuals postulated an all inclusive form of collective and shared authority. In doing so, they proposed and recommended various categories of authority. These categories include intimidation, incentive, valid, specialist, referent, as well as informational. People in positions of leadership can achieve power and influence through corporeal and oral intimidations. Power through intimidation can either be applied to a single entity or a group of people.This paper highlights that  achieving power and influence through incentives is practiced in many organizations all over the world. Individuals who are involved in making decisions regarding incentives have all the power a nd influence in the workplace. Valid power and influence is achieved on the basis of how the individual in management position is expected to behave by the public. In referent power, people are known to respect and recognize the authority of individuals that they are capable of forming relationships or associations with. Informational power depends on the status of an individual as some individuals are considered to be more knowledgeable than others.

Poem Explication Essay Example for Free

Poem Explication Essay The first two lines show the king’s envy of other people in his court who unlike him can sleep soundly. Subsequently, he blames his not being able to sleep upon nature and questions why it has not made him sleepy yet. Line five seems particularly important because there King Henry hints that what he really wants is not sleep itself but the forgetfulness that comes with it. This line somewhat shows why the king is not able to sleep. King Henry wants nature to steep his sense of forgetfulness and let him rest but it does not, and so the king further questions nature as to why those that he considers below him are granted what he is not. He contrasts the common sleeping area with that of his grand chambers in lines six to eleven and asks nature why it would choose the former over the latter. In this part of the poem, the king describes the first sleeping place as shabby and poor while describing his own bed chambers as â€Å"perfumed† with sheets that are very expensive. This shows that the king thinks highly of his status as being superior to others as first expressed in the poem’s first two lines. The king further establishes this in the next lines of the poem, comparing himself to a lowly cabin boy who is probably somewhere sleeping while the monstrous winds rocked the ship floor where he slept. The king again contrasts it to his own situation, peacefully lying down without the disturbance of a heavy storm and again questions why he is denied of sleep. The last line supports the inference made in the fifth line. The words â€Å"uneasy lies the head that wears this crown† denotes that the king cannot sleep because there was something that was really bothering him. Reference The Second part of King Henry the Fourth. Retrieved March 27, 2008 from: http://shakespeare.mit.edu/2henryiv/2henryiv.3.1.html

Appreciation Of Ringgit Malaysia Marketing Essay

Appreciation Of Ringgit Malaysia Marketing Essay The Appreciation of Ringgit Malaysia seminar is expect to be held between 20th to 21st December 2010 addressed the appreciation of ringgit effect on exports in Malaysia. Specifically, it will bring together a dynamic group of economists, futurists, academicians and students from public as well as private sector and government to look into the future and explore ideas about the appreciation of currency or exchange rate in ways that might challenge Malaysia. This executive summary provides an overview of the judgments, insights and implications for the seminar. Objectives This seminar aimed at promoting the monetary value of ringgit Malaysia by providing experts and academicians from within our country concerned an opportunity to share knowledge and experiences and to review challenges of the ringgit appreciation in Malaysia, and to have in-depth discussions on the role and prospects of this issue. In particular, by exchanging views and sharing the most updated information on exchange rate, it aimed at strengthening against most of the worlds major currencies and thereby contributing to the nations ambition to be a high-income economy. The seminar is also intended to provide an opportunity for the Malaysian citizens to understand the status and the challenges of the appreciation of ringgit on exports. Potential Participants This seminar would be of great interest especially to economists, financial analyst, international businessman, universities students, academicians and other communities as well. Mission and Vision Statements Mission To increase knowledge about currencies. To anticipate currency devaluation or appreciation and impacts on business world. To understand the exchange or conversion cycles for local and foreign currencies. Vision Educate the society on the importance of appreciation in ringgit. To encourage the society to look at the development of managing money and wealth. To promote an understanding on how major organizations such as the IMF are influenced by monetary transactions. To provide a better understanding on exchange rate in our country. Educate the society on the impact of appreciation and devaluation of ringgit on exports and imports. Event Team The Appreciation of Ringgit Malaysia event organising members include the following groups: What will be members role(s) in the proposed event? Director He as the director will be the primary decision-maker in our event plans. His responsibilities are to manage all his other group members ensure the member are carrying out their responsibilities in their respective roles, consult lecturer for advice and suggestion as well as to maintain order in our group. Secretary Preparing letters and log reports meetings are the responsibilities. This also includes tallying with the leaders of promotion, decoration and designing and treasurer in the purpose of recording the details in every respective role. Not forgetting, they also help in preparing letters, typing out drafts of event proposal and report, booking for the events venue and drop down selected ideas in every meeting. Treasurer This division will be in charge of the financial of the event, accounts, budget limitation and allocations. The primary task is creating a budget cost of the materials and applications with its pricing, original cost and etc. They also need to plan for fund raising, in charge of sponsorship matters and do help in publicity and promotion tasks. Design Technical Info The main task is to design the fonts, background, slogan, and events image as well as compressing the contents of our events massage besides estimating the precise size of the flyers, booklet and etc. They also help the leader in their decision making and present finalize ideas of design to the rest of members. Publicity and Promotion Promotion tasks are divided among the members in the same division and responsible in planning the promotion strategy to publicize our event, with the team title Appreciation of Malaysian Ringgit efficiently. Plus, they also collaborate with the leader about the decoration and designing and also design and technical info members to discuss on how to widen our publicity range within and outside the campus. Exhibition term For the exhibition, we will prepare a storyboard, drama or video for audience to enjoy seeing the facts and figures about the economy in Malaysia, especially from the aspect of worldwide money currency. Through the storyboard, drama or video, we will inform audience about Ringgit Malaysia, the important of stabilizing our money currency and the relation between Ringgit Malaysia and countrys export. We will be persuaded audience to support our Malaysia product through the storyboard, drama or video too. By using the method of drawing, we will show the story about how the Ringgit Malaysia can be strengthen and what its effect on our export in our country. When there is an appreciation in RM, product of Malaysia will increase the price and will reduce the local raw material cost. In addition, this will help to increase our nations export and income. So, we will use some industries and other countries as an example to make the story more interesting. Beside, through the video, we will show some picture and explain what causes the RM to appreciate or depreciate. Factors that causing a nations currency to appreciate or depreciate include: Relative product prices Monetary policy Inflation rate differences Income changes Secondly, we will exhibit the information of Ringgit Malaysia appreciation by doing the introduction to intro the Malaysians currency. The ringgit is the official currency in Malaysia which is often known as the Malaysian dollar. The Malaysian dollar or ringgit is subdivided into 100 sens, which are known as cents in foreign markets. For the example, The Ringgit Malaysia (RM) is one of Asias best performing currencies, which in 2010 has appreciated by 6% against the US dollar, 19% against the euro and 16% against the British pound. There were several factors that contributed to the stellar performance of the ringgit. Amongst them are Malaysias better than expected economic recovery, the central banks monetary tightening policies, the New Economic Model (NEM), and speculation on revaluation of Chinas Yuan, coupled with speculative funds inflow into Malaysias financial system. The currencys strength isnt likely to affect exporters, as Europes sovereign debt crisis may increase capital flows to Asia, and inter-Asia trade is expected to keep Malaysias exports at healthy growth levels. Malaysias exports to Europe make up some 10% of its total exports. Thirdly, we will exhibit the information about our seminar and the comparison advantages and disadvantages. The Pros and Cons of Stronger Ringgit Pros: Encourages the import of capital goods, which contribute to the innovation and automation of industries in the country. Improves the living standards of the people by increasing their purchasing power through cheaper imports and lower inflationary pressure. Cons: A stronger ringgit could pose challenges to the exporters of this export-dependent Malaysia, such as palm oil companies. The stronger ringgit usually trims the refinery margins as crude palm oil feedstock for refined products is priced in the currency. Any wild swings in the ringgit hurt refiners: For every 100 basis point appreciation in the ringgit, refining margins fall by US$2-US$4 a tonne. For example, if the ringgit keeps strengthening, where previously you would collect 3.2 for every US dollar you earn, now you get only 3.1. Information is very important in seminar to develop awareness about the theme of the seminar among audience. We will prepare accurate information in exhibition from Internet, survey, book, journal, and even Malaysia economic annual report. Advantages and disadvantages will clearly state in the exhibition and the information should be in bilingual, such as Malay and English. We will also consider on international students as audience too. Furthermore, the factors that cause Ringgit Malaysia to appreciate will be exhibit in the exhibition. We will collect the information from latest news or from others resources. All the information about the factors will be state clearly in the exhibition. Besides that, the comparison of the currency and different types of graph about the Ringgit Malaysia and exports of the products will be well prepared in the exhibition too. The information that we are prepared is due to these current years. The comparison of the currency within others country will be shown too. The countries that we will be compare such as US or China. The graph such as comparison of currency with others country, comparison of exports products, comparison of the latest years for currency will be shown too. For the exports of the products, we will be deciding to put example for palm oil or furniture. There are many types of graph will be shown during the exhibition. These aspects also consider as important information for audience to understand our main theme. Also, we will be taking the information through Internet, survey, book, journal and economic annual report. Committees in the exhibition are responsible to deliver a clear message to audience. Good interpretati ons will really helps the audience to understand the theme that we intend to deliver for them. Lastly, through the teamwork among the committee and the accurate and clear information in the exhibition, we will successfully organize the seminar and message will be well delivered for the audience. Potential speakers to be invite Prof. Dr. Mohd. Nazari Bin Ismail Professor Department of Business Strategy Policy Faculty of Business and Accountancy Universiti Malaya. Associate Prof. Dr. Fatimah Binti Kari Associate Professor Department of Economics Faculty of Economics and Admistration Universiti Malaya. Dato Mukhriz Bin Tun Dr. Mahathir Minister of International Trade and Industry Malaysia. Promotional and Publicity Strategies Internet Using social network as a main promotional tool to provide seminar information to promote and educate the targeted audiences regarding our topics of exhibition and seminar. Facebook Blogspot Twitter MMU Portal Newspaper Reporters will be invited to the seminar and before the seminar conduct to promote the seminar in aim to target public audiences. Interview session between the speakers and reporters will be conduct after / before the seminar. The Star The Sun MMU Nexus Promotion Booth Booth will be open before the week of seminar and exhibition to capture the attendance of MMU students and lecturers toward our seminar and exhibition. Members on duty will introduce to the public regarding the seminar and exhibition. Class Publicity CLC concourse FBL Lobby Selling Souvenirs (key chain, T-Shirt, and etc) Flyers Changing the computer background wallpaper to the seminar and exhibition wallpaper to promote the exhibition and seminar. (to be confirm later) Co-operation with lecturers Cooperate and encourage FBL lecturers to post an announcement regarding our exhibition and seminars. Lecturers may encourage students to attend and take as class attendance. SAPS point will be provide to those who attend the seminars. Take Attendance SAPS Point MMLS Invite higher education institutions Invite STPM students, or higher education institutions in Melaka to the exhibition and seminar. Stamford Collage Secondary Schools in Melaka Invite Vendors Invite Vendors to participate on the exhibition and seminar to selling their products. Part of the profit are encourage donate to the event. Fund Raising Due to Christmas is around the corner, we have planned to sell goody packs in our campus. Our goody pack includes sweet and chocolate. We can promote it through distribute flyers, so that all students will know goody pack is available for sale here. We may sell RM4-5 per one goody pack which price is reasonable and affordable for all students. We may sell the couple T-shirts. The couple T-shirts and the goody packs will be a good match for the students. They may wear it to celebrate for the Christmas and the sweets and chocolates will be the presents for their partners. We are planning to raise fund in the restaurant or cafà © by providing the services there. We can be the part time waiters or waitresses. The earning we get will be the funds for the projects. We will also try to ask the owner to contribute the earning for one particular day to be our funds. We have planned to sell fruits such as guava, papaya, and watermelon inside or outside the campus. Believe that, there are many students are like to eat fruit in such a torrid weather. So we may sell Rm1.50-2.00, which is affordable for them.

The Harry Potter Controversy Essay -- Fiction Literature Childrens Pap

The Harry Potter Controversy The wildly popular Harry Potter book series by J. K. Rowling has caused controversy for many families over the past five years. These novels according to some critics are harmless, adventurous, children's tales. Others choose to portray them as stories that inspire children to become involved in the occult and serious witchcraft. The Harry Potter novels chronicle the life of a young wizard whose wizard parents were killed by the evil Lord Voldermort. On his eleventh birthday he receives invitation to attend Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Each of the five books represents a year of his life there (Walker). This essay will discuss whether the Harry Potter novels are a suitable read for children and why despite what some critics portray, Harry Potter can be a positive role model for youth. In recent history a cultural phenomenon has occurred. With the rise of Harry Potter, this nation's youth have displayed a â€Å"mania† that has not been seen in reference to books for a long time. For example, Barns & Noble America's largest bookseller has recently declared that Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix will be their â€Å"largest seller in the history of the entire company† (Mangan). In light of this rise to fame one should note that Harry Potter can and will impact modern culture. In the â€Å"age of electronic entertainment†, Harry Potter novels sharply contrast by luring children away from the internet, and away from video games and the television. Children across the globe are rapidly becoming interested in reading the novels. Katherine Thompson, owner of Frugal Frigate Bookstore, declared the series a â€Å"literary phenomena.† She noted that children as young as eight-years-old will devour... ...nuum, 2001. Person, Judith. â€Å"Books debunk evils of Potter; Christian authors see enchanting talks as Gospel springboard.† LexisNexis . The Washington Times. (October 31, 2002): Joyner Library, City of Greenville, NC. March 2004. Rowling, J. K. â€Å"A Good Scare.† Time 30 October 2000 : 77-78. Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic, 1999. Seden , Janet. 295 â€Å"Parenting and the Harry Potter stories: a social care perspective.† Children and Society 16 (2002): 295-305. . Walker, Wren. â€Å" Muggles and Other Strangers: The Harry Potter Controversy.† Words, Wrants and Wramblings. December 1999. Weekly Editorials and Comments. < http://www.witchvox.com/harrypotter.html >. Colson, Charles. â€Å"Harry Potter and the Existence of God.† Christian Broadcasting Network. 14 July 2000 . Breakpoint. .

Physics of Skiing :: physics ski skiing

The sport of skiing has been around for thousands of years, originally existing solely as a form of transportation. Today the sport is entirely dependent upon the laws of physics, and has even had advancements through reliance on physics. There are two types of Nordic Skiing. These are Classic (or diagonal) and Skate Skiing. Usually these two forms are raced separate. To be fair, there are actually two slightly different forms of skate skiing; V1 and V2. As these can get very very complicated and precise in the technique, I will focus mainly on classic skiing, which is also the type of skiing that most people are familiar with. Cross-Country Skiing is the most basic form of skiing, even preceding downhill skiing. Primitive skis may have even been used about 3000 B.C. in Norway. There have been cave drawing found that seem to depict men on skis. Skiing has its roots in Scandinavia; Vikings used skis as a form of transportation in the 10th century A.D. Early skis were made of wood, and even the word ski comes from the Norse word skith a stick of wood. Norse skies were very rudimentary, little more than snowshoes. Glide was little to none. It was not until the early 1800s when Sondre Norheim changed the face of skiing and gave skis glide that the sport was introduced to the world. Competitive skiing started in the late 1800s, again in Norway. In the 1932 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, Nordic Skiing as we know it was added. Today the sport has evolved to be both extremely competitive and leisurely. In the past 30 years the sport has changed dramatically, adding skis made of synthetic materials, and utilizing waxes for improved speed. Physicists have been at the front line of all this; from determining the coefficent of friction for both the wax and the ski, to helping skiers change their technique based on the laws of physics. To maximize speed, Nordic skiing is more about form than probably any other sport. Brute strength and athletic prowess certainly have their advantages, but these pale in comparision to proper technique. While the shape of classic skis is slightly different than that of skate skis, the real difference is that classic skis have a "kick zone." This is a spot directly underneath the foot that has kick wax applied to it. Kick wax is a sticky poly-hydrocarbon that in theory is only supposed to provide a sticky surface from which to push back from.

Edward R. Murrow & Socrates Essay

Indestructible courage, persistence and public service drove both Socrates and Murrow to live their lives with unwavering commitment for truth, critical thinking and unbendable integrity. With these values, Socrates and Murrow made their own lives as vivid examples of truth and veracity. They set the standards for all subsequent Western philosophy and the ideal broadcast journalism respectively. Nevertheless, their enduring courage may have brought them also to make half of themselves as merely ego maniacs or perhaps, self-centered intellectuals. Socrates’ pursuit of virtue and his strict adherence to truth clashed with the current course of Athenian politics and society. During his time, Socrates appears to have been a critic of democracy wherein some scholars had interpreted his trial as an expression of political infighting. He boldly face the charges made by the jury as seen in Plato’s â€Å"Apology,† an account of Socrates’s (unsuccessful) speech in his own defense before the Athenian jury. Socrates’s speech includes a detailed description of the motives and goals of philosophical activity as he practiced it, together with a passionate declaration of its value for life. I was really struck when Socrates purposefully gave a defiant defense to the jury because â€Å"he believed he would be better off dead. † With this statement, we can say that Socrates really happens to be a man of truth and valor similar to his modern counterpart, Edward Murrow. According to Wadleigh, â€Å"†¦ Murrow, at every juncture, did what he thought was right. He took risks that at the time seemed outrageous†¦ and he was not afraid of anything. † Furthermore, his exceptional courage is seen when he let Senator McCarthy hang himself with his open criticism program- but without any â€Å"expose† (Wershba & Hottlelet). It was found out that Socrates’s works are often philosophical or dramatic texts rather than straightforward histories. Parallel to Murrow, â€Å"†¦ his voice made the words catch fire! The way he could add drama to the simplest looking text made him amazing! † (Wershba & Kalb). Murrow offered himself to public service analogous to the teaching life of Socrates. Socrates pointedly declined to accept payment for his work with students whereas Murrow fearlessly did his job as a broadcaster. â€Å"†¦ He was a driven reporter – truly driven to tell people what was going on. He do it with intensity! † (Hottlelet) Plato refers to Socrates as the â€Å"gadfly† of the state (as the gadfly stings the horse into action, so Socrates stung Athens), insofar as he irritated the establishment with considerations of justice and the pursuit of goodness. If Socrates stung Athens, then Murrow stung America: â€Å"†¦ using his charisma, integrity and personal standards† (Wershba). It is Socrates and Murrow’s critical thinking that made themselves â€Å"men of worth. † Socrates showed this (critical thinking) through his philosophical works while Murrow made this appear through his jobs as a writer and broadcaster. These two men were really exceptional by committing themselves in pursuit of truth. However, their deep thinking and boldness has somehow conflicted their commitment to truth thus making half of themselves as merely ego maniacs or self-centered intellectuals. It was supported by the reasons why Murrow left his job at CBS: â€Å"Then there was the other side of Murrow, the driven news reporter. Murrow made Harvest of Shame and showed the rotten spots of American life. [CBS Chairman William] Paley didn’t like that. It scared away sponsors. Paley wanted it tame. Murrow wanted it real. † (Hottlelet) Another statement was from Hewitt telling that â€Å"†¦ Murrow would talk with his Person to Person guests beforehand†¦ Murrow felt that for entertainment some discussion to prepare the subjects was legitimate. Paley disagreed, so Murrow left. † He has that hidden pride in his self. Like what I’ve said earlier, he did what he thought was right†¦ which is to leave CBS. Another thing I noticed about Murrow is his sense of egoism or perhaps, self-importance. It was stated in one of the interviews that â€Å"Murrow selected very good people, who, in his presence, got better. Those around him never wanted to disappoint or embarrass Ed—so they pushed themselves to their outer limits†¦ He set the pace; he was the example. † (Kalb) This statement was further supported by Hottlelet – â€Å"He never gave instructions. He knew his worth. I think he just expected the trained reporters he hired to follow his example. † The life of Socrates appears to be really parallel to the life of Edward Murrow. By following what they thought was right and by pursuing the truth, they made half of themselves as the greatest and the most defiant men in history but half as conceited and egoistic individuals of all times.

Personality Psychology and People

Monique Contero INFJ Tu. Th. 8 pm 10/23/2012 I learned that I am â€Å"The Protector† my primary focus of living is internal; I take things in through intuition. I also learned that my secondary mode is external; I deal with things according to how I feel about them and how they fit with my beliefs. I am a gentle, caring, complex person who is very intuitive. I am also artistic and creative. I put great importance on keeping things orderly and systemic. I put most of my energy into finding the best system in getting things done. I am usually right and I usually know I am but sometimes I don’t know why.I put a lot of faith and trust into my instincts and intuitions because most of the time I can sense things most people can’t see or feel. I get strong feelings and I can understand people. When someone is going through something I can usually feel it inside myself. I am a deep and complex individual but I am usually quiet and very observant. Most people don’ t understand me and I don’t open up much to people I don’t know. I hold a special place in most people’s heart to the people whom I am close to because I have a big heart and compassion for them.I usually care more about people’s feelings then I care about my own. I don’t like conflict and when conflict arises I am sensitive towards it. I get irritated or angry when there’s conflict and I don’t know how to tolerate it and I get stressed out over it. I am a stubborn and I don’t like listening to other people’s opinions. I am also a perfectionist. I am never at peace with myself because I know I can do better. I believe that change happens with us before it can happen in the world. I am easygoing though.I am devoted, patient, protective around people I care about who get hurt by others, and I am a natural nurturer. In the workplace I am always coming up with creative ideas and I like working alone. The field I am best in i s fields that are self orientated and allow me to use my creativity and instincts to help the world. I am the type of person that belongs in social work or working in law because I am a natural protector and I believe in growth. I can use my personality traits to help people to come up with new ideas to help the company expand.

Mgt602 Case Study Sample

Starbuck’ Strategy and Internal Initiatives to Return to Profitable Growth Shangze Li MGT 602 National University April 13, 2012 Starbuck’s Strategic Analysis Mission From the stuff of the textbook, there are some content about Starbucks’ mission statement. Howard Schultze who is the chairman and CEO of Starbucks would like their mission statement to convey a strong sense of organizational purpose and to articulate Starbucks’ fundamental beliefs and guiding principles. They renewed their mission statement in October, 2008.It is â€Å"To inspire and nurture the human spirit- one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time here are the principles of how we live that every day† (Thompson, 2012). The strategic mission of Starbucks is to establish Starbucks as the most recognized and respected brand name in coffee and for the company to be admired for its corporate responsibility. Starbucks has six corporate values as its own internal guideline. Firs tly, provide a great work environment and treat each other with respect and dignity.Secondly, embrace diversity as essential component in their business approaches. Thirdly, apply the highest standards of excellence to the purchasing process. Fourthly, roast and deliver fresh coffee. Fifthly, develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the time. Sixthly, contribute positively to communities and environment, and recognize that profitability is essential to their future success. As such, Starbucks uses these principles as a guideline for all employees to achieve the company’s goals (Starbucks, 2012). Store Expansion StrategyThompson mentioned Starbucks’ expansion strategy in this case. From 1993, Starbucks began their geographic expansion strategy to target areas. They believed â€Å"Starbucks everywhere† strategy cut down on delivery and management costs. The data showing that their operating margin was 14. 3% in fiscal 2007, but declining store sales and depressed economic conditions had driven the margin down to 6. 0% in fiscal 2008 and 7. 5% in fiscal 2009. In 1995, Starbucks began entering into licensing agreements for store locations in areas where it did not have ability to locate its own outlets.Till September 2009, Starbucks had company-operated and licensed stores in 50 countries and expected to open 200 new stored internationally in fiscal 2010 (Thompson, 2012). Revenue growth is decreasing because Starbucks lacks experienced management. Schultz has never led a growth effort of such magnitude and is just learning what the job of DEO is all about. Additionally, the US economic slowdown makes Starbucks experience a steeper fall and the customers are more price sensitive the past year. Customers lose their jobs, they don’t have money to drink coffee in Starbucks.According to this situation, Starbucks should reduce their US expansion efforts. Continued aggressive expansion in the United States by adding as many new stor e locations as in the past will inevitably act to cannibalize existing locations same store sales. The specialty coffee industry in the United State has entered the mature stage. One of the qualities inherent to the mature stage of the industry lifecycle is overcapacity. Any significant expansion efforts in an environment where overcapacity is present will be met with failure.By reducing their expansion efforts in the United States, Starbucks can redirect the capital saved into their international expansion efforts. The international market provides an ideal target for expansion and the penetration rate of specialty coffee in many nations is low and these countries have the potential market share capacity (Larson, 2008). Business Strategy From the mid-1990, Starbucks started their products strategy. The strategic objectives were to capitalize on Starbucks’ growing brand awareness and brand-name strength and create a broader foundation for sustained long-term growth in revenue s and profits (Thompson, 2012).Starbucks should start new independent business unit for new products, with decentralization for products-group structure. They should reduce cross functional tasks to reduce confusion between employees and increase efficiency. Starbucks gets the outsiders of their board to gain potential new ideas in new business. Exploring new business is a blue ocean strategy and gets a first mover advantage (Paydirect, 2012). Marketing Starbucks had spent relatively little money on advertising, preferring instead to build the brand cup by cup with customers and depend on word of mouth and the appeal of its storefronts.Adverting expenditures were $126. 3million in fiscal 2009, versus $129. 0 million in fiscal in 2008. Starbucks stepped up advertising efforts in 2008 to combat the strategic initiatives of McDonald’s and several other fast-food chains to begin offering premium coffees and coffee drinks at prices below those charged by Starbucks (Thompson, 2012) . Store Ambience Starbucks should create a store atmosphere that fits the local settings and by training baristas to increase the personal connection between themselves and their customers.Starbucks encourage s feedback from their customers to induce a family like feeling and instructs all baristas to greet every customer. To further increase this emotional connection with their customers, Starbucks can implement digital picture frames in all store locations and uploads local customer photos and perhaps even customer supplied family photos, customers have the option of uploading some of their family photos into the digital picture frames Starbucks gives them the chance to personalize their local coffee shop and joins a community (Larson, 2008).Research and development Starbucks can continue in their research and development strategy by being the technological leader in the coffee retail business (Thompson, 2012). Starbucks should continually improve the coffee’s variety. Maga zine consumer reports rated McDonald’s drip coffee as tasting better than that of Starbucks in 2009. To ensure the quality of their coffee, Starbucks should continually analyze their brewing systems and practices and considers renovations.The brewing process should at all times be judged based upon its ability to bring out the complexities and distinctive flavors of the world’s different exotic specialty coffees. Starbucks introduces their Tazo tea brand into the Japanese market. After a successful trial run in Japan, Tazo is brought into the US markets. Starbucks should diversify in related business to secure its own business, as customers have brand preference such as Macdonald, Donuts and so on (Paydirect, 2012). FinanceIn March 2010, Starbucks announced it first-ever cash dividend of $0. 10 per share to be paid quarterly starting with the second quarter of fiscal 2010. Net revenues increased 8. 6 percent in the second quarter of fiscal 2010 compared with the same q uarter in fiscal 2009 (Thompson, 2012). Starbucks should use the best of their economies of scale to reduce costs. Starbucks should start new independent business unit for analyze the cost and return of new coffee’s product which is a cost driver.Accountants and auditors should follow the corporate governance to control some unnecessary expense and use performance test to identify the financial competitive advantage (Paydirect, 2012). Starbucks should evaluate their performance substantively and symbolically to avoid any accumulative financial losses to take quick corrective actions. The best evaluation method for Starbucks will be measuring ROI for any new investment they made and for the old investments as well. Starbucks should measures net profit for each store to separate between profitable and non-profitable stores.Hence, Starbucks will have a clear financial positioning (Paydirect, 2012). Reference Larson, R. C. (2008). Starbucks a strategic analysis. Retrieved on Sep 22,2012 from http:// coe. brown. edu/documents/starbucksastrategicanalysis_ R. Larson_honors_2009. pdf Paydirect. (2012). About Us. starbucks. Retrieved from Sep 20, 2012 from http://www. starbucks. com/about-us Thompson, A. A. , Peteraf, M. A. , Gamble, J. E. , Strickland III, A. J. (2012). Crafting and Executing Strategy: concepts and cases: global edition. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill/Irwin.

Lord of the Flies: Intelligence and Good vs. Evil

Good versus evil is a common concept used often in storytelling, writing, plays, movies, etc. the basic story line is commonly used and developed to mold different ideals, meanings, and lessons into different types of works. William Golding’s novel the Lord of the Flies falls into this category of works with the good versus evil story line. Boiling the novel down to its most basic state it is a story of a group of boys. They all start out in a state of innocence, then as they adjust to their new surroundings after being stranded on a deserted island with no adults; they chose whether or not they turn from their innocence.When the boys turn from their innocence they go from being good to evil, or as the interpretation of this novel is commonly perceived the boys go from being civilized boys to savages. It is in this sense that civilized and good can be used interchangeably for this interpretation, and the same for evil and savagery. Golding puts an interesting twist to this bas ic plot right in the beginning of the story. Golding takes the story from just a simple tale of good versus evil to good versus evil with competing ideas of intelligence.Right in the beginning of the novel we see these ideas of intelligence take form. As the story builds the differences in the types of intelligence grows and becomes more distinct. From there the competition of good versus evil begins. After their plane crashes the boys who were on the plane to escape the warfare in England are scattered on the island. Ralph, the first boy we are introduced to meets another boy named Piggy. â€Å"It’s a shell! I seen one like that before. On someone’s back wall. A conch he called it. He used to blow it and then his mum would come. It’s ever so valuable-â€Å"(15).With Piggy’s help Ralph uses the conch they found to call out to the other boys on the island. This is the first hint at the two types of intelligence. Piggy is already exhibiting signs of natur al intelligence. This type of intelligence is developed based on the sensory analysis of the surroundings. This intelligence is more advanced and enables Piggy to think in more civilized, advanced ways. He is immediately made fun of for his appearance and as the story progresses is mocked as a know-it-all. No one listens to Piggy, even though the conch and the meeting were his ideas no one realizes this, nor do they care.Once all the boys are gathered together there is a vote on who should be chief. A boy named Jack is introduced as the leader of the choir boys and he wants to be chief, but when put to a vote Ralph is elected. Ralph does give the choir to Jack and asks what they would like to be. Jack tells Ralph that he and his choir shall be the hunters. Ralph depicts more social intelligence. Ralph knows how to work a crowd, how to lead a group, and how to gain respect. â€Å"Everybody must stay round here and wait and not go away.Three of us- if we take more we’d get all mixed, and lose each other- three of us will go on an expedition and find out† (23-24). This act showed that Ralph was able to get the attention of the boys at any time and that the boys would actually listen to him. His ability to be able to accomplish this as quickly as he did really shows his true social intelligence. â€Å"If a ship comes near the island they may not notice us. So we must make smoke on top of the mountain. We must make a fire† (38). Ralph does show some natural intelligence as well, but not nearly as much as Piggy exhibits.Jack also shows a form of social intelligence. He is able to keep command over his choir and they listen to him no matter what. This shows that in the beginning of the story even though the boys are all different, have different types of intelligence, and have mixed feelings about the situation they are still united together as a whole. â€Å"All day I’ve been working with Simon. No one else. They’re off bathing, o r eating, or playing† (50). The boys begin to slack and begin to realize that there aren’t consequences or punishments for the wrongs they do.Jack and his group of hunters become obsessed with the idea of killing a pig, and are the only ones exempt from helping build shelters, though the other boys don’t really care enough about their orders to help build or gather food. It’s at this point in the novel where there are serious signs of cracks and issues with the order system the boys have put in place since being on the island. Jack is beginning to slip into a more savage state, and is using his social intelligence to bring other boys down with him. The improvised form of society that the boys have created is already starting to weaken and fall. Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood† (69). â€Å"Look! We’ve killed a pig-we stole up on them-we got into a circle-â€Å"(69). It is at this point in the novel where the group of hunters, th e boys who killed the pig, have turned from innocence. The kill they had obsessed over finally happened and they were proud of themselves for killing. The act of killing a living creature, something they never had done before, was the true turning point for them. There was no turning back from it; the hunters even painted their faces, this sense of wearing a mask, pretending to be someone else enabled them to kill. ‘But they’ll be painted! You know how it is. ’ Eric says. The others nodded. They understood only too well the liberation into savagery that the concealing paint brought. ‘Well, we won’t be painted,’ said Ralph, ‘because we aren’t savages’† (Golding 172). Ralph is starting to understand that Jack and the group of boys who follow him are starting to turn to a more evil state. Ralph still tries to use his social intelligence and command over his boys so they don’t go over to Jack’s side. Within Jack’s group the obsession with hunting caused the boys to let the fire go out, and subsequently lose a chance at rescue.The hunters didn’t really seem to care about the fire; they were still overly hyped up about their kill, swearing that they would hunt again and bring back even more meat. As the boys become more and more content with letting go with the rules they get closer and closer to losing their sense of civilization completely. â€Å"‘If I blow the conch and they don’t come back; then we’ve had it. We shan’t keep the fire going. We’ll be like animals. We’ll never be rescued. ’â€Å" (Golding 92). As the boys start to fulfill their own wishes of hunting and playing they get sick of listening to Ralph and being controlled by the conch.They don’t want to do work; they just want to have fun. Jack rebels against Ralph and makes his own â€Å"tribe,† where he could be the leader and he would no longer be controlled by the conch. Evil starts to arise rapidly; the majority of the older boys side with Jack and abandon Ralph’s authority. After that Piggy, Sam and Eric are the older boys who remain with Ralph. As the night wears on, some of the â€Å"littleuns† sneak off to join Jack. This is truly the end of their makeshift society, it has completely failed.After the split of the group it appeared as though things could settle down, but Ralph and his boys find that it is nearly impossible to keep the rescue fire going. They need to ask the others for help but Jack’s boys are too afraid to help them. Jack had taken to using torturous and intimidation methods to keep control over his group. He wears a mask, like he did when he killed the first pig; this seems to allow Jack to give in completely to his â€Å"evil† savage side. It was while celebrating their savageness and reenacting the kill that they got carried away and got themselves overly worked up. The beast struggled forward, broke the ring and fell over the steep edge of the rock to the sand by the water. At once the crowd surged after it poured down the rock, leapt on to the beast, screamed struck, bit, tore. There were no words, and no movements but the tearing of teeth and claws† (Golding 153). The wickedness in all of the boys deludes them into mistaking Simon, the only truly â€Å"good† pure boy, as the beastie. Simon was considered to be the â€Å"pure† boy, the epitome of civilization and innocence. Jack and the other boys had completely given themselves over to their evil sides, giving in to their natural instincts and savagery.Social Intelligence and natural intelligence are both qualities that help a person to be successful in life. However, overall, society puts greater worth in social intelligence. The abilities to work with others, lead and motivate others, and inspire others make a person successful in life. Just like good and evil, social and n atural intelligence go hand in hand. One is not greater than the other, but like people believe good is better, people put more stock in social intelligence. In Lord of the Flies the boys put their trust in Ralph, but as time goes on, and rules begin to be broken, the less control Ralph seems to have.Social intelligence will only go so far, it can’t be natural instincts. Natural instincts are hidden behind the rules and expectations of society. When they begin to dwindle and those instincts become more prominent, that natural intelligence becomes important, it can be the intelligence or lack thereof that can make or break a situation. Without one, evil or good, natural intelligence or social intelligence, the other is not really known. Without evil how would we know what good is? If everyone was socially intelligent how would we know what natural intelligence is? The answer is we wouldn’t have a way of knowing.A person cannot know one without knowing of the other. Inte lligence and good and evil all work together, as seen in Golding’s novel. Jack possessed the same kind of social intelligence as Ralph, but when he gave in to evil his social intelligence the power it gave him over the other boys allowed Jack to change the atmosphere of the island and turn the boys away from goodness and civilization. Piggy had natural intelligence but because he lacked any real social intelligence he was shunned, mocked, and in the end killed for this. He came off as a know-it-all and a whiner; this annoyed the other boys and eventually led to his demise.The boys didn’t put any stock in natural intelligence; they put all their stock in social intelligence and natural instinct. Ralph, with Piggy’s help, was able to remain civilized and good. Though he lost his hold on the boys he still had his social intelligence, and even some natural intelligence of his own to rely on. When Ralph was in charge his positive outlook affected the boys as well, th ey were positive because he was positive. The struggle between good and evil does not just affect the person who’s battling it within themselves, it also affects those around them, and subsequently can change them too. ?

Reconfiguration of Invoices and Payment Methods Essay

This proposal lays out the benefits and impact of applying technology in order to reconfigure invoicing and payment method acceptance at Sunny’s Landscaping. The company suffers from low collection rates and long collection times. Its traditional method of work and invoicing is both ineffective and costly. Additional staff is required just to attempt to collect past due bills which are oftentimes erroneous and outdated. Moreover, the company would further benefit from a customer database that would compile all work orders and reduce or eliminate redundancy. The lack of technology use has put the company at a disadvantage in the industry. Problem The issues to be addressed are to lessen collection time of payments while simultaneously reduce overhead costs, create a customer database that can be accessed through marketing, finance, and customer service departments, and greatly improve upon operational processes. Approach Establish if implementing a handheld credit card acceptance method at the point-of-sale will effectively reduce payment collection time and give the company a competitive advantage. Further determine if electronic invoicing and database creation will eliminate redundancy and reduce costs. Methodology Meet with appropriate department heads—finance, customer service, operations, marketing—to determine how each will benefit by the reconfiguration and how to maximize profits from those benefits. Decide which database program would be most compatible for meeting the needs of the organization. Additionally, establish the costs and time associated with educating and training staff on the products and software being introduced. Allocate the time and expense and determine the best quarter to implement the changes. Company expenses, due to lack of payment collection and overhead, severely cut into profits. Immediate payment by way of a mobile credit card processing adapter at time of service will help increase company profitability and efficiency. Each program will tie into the next. The credit card processor will automatically generate electronic invoices to be emailed to the customer. These invoices will be housed in a database that will collect and store releva nt customer information. The impact on the company as a whole will be positive as departments will have the ability to share information and collaborate for optimal efficiency. Milestone 1 Problem The issues to be addressed are to lessen collection time of payments while simultaneously reduce overhead costs, create a customer database that can be accessed through marketing, finance, and customer service departments, and greatly improve upon operational processes. Company Background Sunny’s Landscaping was formed in 1976 by one man in Pennsylvania and started operations with only two additional employees. Sunny’s provides construction of ponds & rock walls, irrigation, lawn maintenance, flowerbed design, and all landscaping needs to its customers. It has grown to employ as many as seventy-five people and has net revenues of almost one million dollars per year. Sunny’s (The Company) services both residential and commercial properties with commercial generating nearly 75% of its annual revenues. In the early 1990’s the Company began providing additional services, such as snow removal and ice buildup prevention that would allow it to stay operational year-round. With these additional services came an increase in new accounts; most of which have been residential. The profit increase with respect to the new accounts has been mediocre at best. The Company’s inability to collect payment on the new residential accoun ts has begun to severely decrease profits and it has been proposed to reduce services. In an effort to continue all service and grow, the Company has begun to seek solutions. Approach Internal financial research has shown that decreased profits are due to a multitude of issues including the high number of delinquent or late accounts, excessive staffing expenses, and a general lack of sufficient and effective use of technology. Determine if introducing a new method of point-of-sale payment collection will reduce expenses related to residential accounts. Further determine if an electronic invoicing process will enable the Company reduce staffing costs while simultaneously creating a customer database. Methodology Convene with all the appropriate departments—finance, customer service, operations, & marketing—to determine how a database should be constructed so it is cross functional for each department. The company currently uses Microsoft Access for its customer list. Information pulled from this list is oftentimes outdated and erroneous. It is inappropriate software to use in order to transfer customer information to an invoice. This process increases work hours and is redundant. As work orders are issued and workers are dispatched, each should be provided with the ability to adjust the invoice electronically onsite for immediate customer payment. The method used now is to issue the order, perform the work, adjust the invoice if necessary, and then mail it out in the traditional fashion. The increase in new residential customers has also caused an increase in non-payment. The use of a mobile credit card processor could help reduce this payment delinquency. Options/Solutions Sunny’s Landscaping has very little collaboration amongst its departments and few tools to work with. Each department is independently operated from the others and has not yet adapted to the influx of residential accounts. Whereas, the larger commercial accounts are well known and recognized, the smaller residential accounts are given very little customer service. The Company must find a solution that will reconcile both the residential and commercial accounts with company’s overall needs and each department’s ability to operate. One centralized system would allow the Company to function as a whole. The Company has a need for a system that can accomplish three goals: 1. Generate invoices 2. Allow for point-of-sale credit card processing 3. Create a database that is cross functional All three systems must work in tandem and allow information to flow from one process to the next. For example, as work is completed a foreman requires the ability to generate an invoice on the spot. Then they must also have the ability to accept payment from the customer. Lastly, the customer’s information and work performed must be electronically transferred into the database where other departments will be able to access it for a follow-up service. Marketing could use the information for promotional mailers, customer service could use it to obtain feedback, finance would use it for records, and operations could use it to find out the type of service performed. If one system can be constructed that will support all three functions, it will reduce costs company wide, allow for customer informat ion to be used effectively throughout all departments, and increase profits while reducing delinquent accounts. Milestone 2 Sunny’s Landscaping will need to research further to determine if and what additional resources will be required to reconfigure its invoicing and payment methods. It must also determine how much training will be required for frontline workers and supporting staff. Sunny’s Landscaping should consider the following questions prior to making a decision about which software and hardware to use: 1. What point-of-sale device will allow for data to be stored in a database and extracted for invoicing? a. Is there one device that is superior over the other in price and performance? b. Will this device need any additional in-house hardware to function? c. Will customer’s financial and personal information be stored and processed securely; how can we ensure customers that it is? 2. How long, if at all, will funds be held for before deposit? 3. Will one database be able to support all the functions that each department requires? 4. Can prior customer’s information be easily entered into the new database? 5. Will a lack of mobile or internet connection affect point-of-sale processing; and if so, how are payments accepted otherwise? Point-of Sale Device The two most compatible devices with Sunny’s Landscaping needs are SquareUp and Intuit GoPayment. Each device works similar to one another. Research has shown the greatest differences are in payment deposit time and customer service. SquareUp appears to have a longer slower deposit time of funds, especially with new accounts. Moreover, the first few months of service do not allow new customers to withdraw entire deposit amounts. According to the SquareUp website, this payment hold is to reduce fraud. GoPayment by Intuit seems to have the greatest customer satisfaction. GoPayments device hardware also seems to be of a better, more secure design as can be seen in the figure below.