Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian - Essay Example The novel can be called a â€Å"historical novel† without the aura of historical fiction, and not an â€Å"escapist Western† as it chronicles the expeditions of Glanton’s paramilitary gang sent out by both the Mexican and Texan authorities to murder and scalp as many Apaches as possible. Further encouraged by the bounty offered by a Mexican governor for Indian scalps, the Glanton gang takes to scalp hunting Apaches with a vengeance. However, this is not just a case of bloodthirsty whites slaughtering noble savages: the Apaches themselves commit horrendous atrocities of their own. Most of the action in the novel centers around Judge Holden, a massive 7-foot albino who towers over everyone else, yet seems pre-pubescent because of his total lack of hair and small hands and feet. (â€Å"He was bald as a stone and had no trace of beard and had no brows to his eyes nor lashes to them† {McCarthy 6}). Judge Holden manages to manipulate everyone with whom he comes into contact (even Glanton), and easily turns situations to his advantage. The Judge’s physical characteristics are used as comparison with other characters such as the Kid (the Kid is not big, but he has big wrists and hands {McCarthy 4} – unlike the Judge’s small hands) and the dead babies that the Kid finds, who â€Å"stare eyeless at the naked sky. Bald and pale and bloated†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McCarthy 57): a comparison with the Judge, who is bald and pale (being an albino). Judge Holden is a mystery from his very first appearance in the novel and remains so until the very end, when he is one of the few characters surviving. One mysterious aspect is his uncanny ability to move from place to place so swiftly and eerily that it seems he is in fact not one, but two persons (e.g. he escapes from the riot in Reverend Green’s tent to a salon where he is completely dry, even though it is heavily raining outside). His seeming â€Å"double

Kingship In Anglo saxon Britain Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Kingship In Anglo saxon Britain - Term Paper Example The kingdoms stood alone for several centuries during which there occurred Christianization of the citizens. Before the 10th century, these kingdoms were rivals as their respective leaders wanted to gain control over other kingdoms. However, it was the threats of possible Viking as well as Danish settlers’ invasion of the island of Britain that saw the unification of the seven kingdoms into one known as England under the hegemony of Wessex between the ninth and tenth centuries. With the unification and the formation of the new kingdom, an English medieval kingship that is still in use to date came into being. This kingship started with Alfred of Wessex and his succession line gave the English state substance2. The kingship acted as the institution, which had the maintenance of social order as its ultimate responsibility. A medieval king, one needed to adopt delicate approaches that aimed to pay attention closely to the sensibilities of the locals in order to attain success. As such, different rulers of England employed codes that have differences and similarities at the same time. These codes have gone a long way in defining the modes of leadership, the direction it takes, as well as the codes and laws o f the generations of administration that followed them. Alfred’s succession was unexpected with him having four older brothers, which meant that he was fifth in line of succession. However, with the deaths of all the older brothers, Alfred took the throne aged 21 at a time when the kingdom of Wessex was in conflict with the Danes and the Vikings as in all kingdoms in the British island at the time. However, his greatest battle was with the Danes with whom he delved into guerilla tactics and finally defeated them. He also resorted to dialogue when he realized that he could not remove the Danes from the island, with a few intermarriages occurring and even resulting in the conversion of the Danish king into

Intercontinental Hotels Group Analysis

Intercontinental Hotels Group Analysis Intercontinental Hotel Groups is an international hotel company that has a goal that it always aims at achieving is that to create Great hotels that the Guests love. Intercontinental hotels group which is also known in short form as IHG has more guest rooms available under their banner than any other hotel group. IHG has grown from a very small company to a massive company handling various branded hotel properties under its wings. IHG has more than 650.000 rooms in over 4,400 hotels across 100 countries the total stays that are done by guest in the IHG properties is over 130 million every year. 1(IHG website) With a clear view of what are its priorities, IHGs main purpose is creating Great Hotels Guests Love with everything done focused on the guest the staff. It operates hotels in three different ways as a franchisor, a manager and on an owned and leased basis. It also operates seven leading hotel brands InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Staybridge Suites and Candlewood Suites. It also manages the worlds largest hotel loyalty programme in the industry known as the, Priority Club Rewards, which has 48 million members worldwide. IHG is molded around these three regions: The Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa; and Asia Pacific. 2(IHG Annual Report) 1 Strategic Corporate Development History of IHG: The formation of IHG has gone through various stages as any other company would have gone through which was taken successfully by William Bass who had a brewery in 1777 slowly but gradually entered in the hotel industry by acquisition of a breweries like the Mitchells Butlers in the 1960s which grew considerably large which when the government realized issued orders in legislations that breweries cannot hold on a large number of pubs which then made Bass reduce the pubs it owned dramatically which triggered a huge amount of cash flow which gave Bass an ability to develop an international hotel business which started with the acquisitions of a few hotel groups like Holiday Inn in 1988 also launched the Holiday Inn Express to be complementary to the Holiday Inn brand, side by side Bass grew his pub business side by side acquired The Harvester Chain of Restaurants in 1994 also launched its new brand of hotels known as Crown Plaza Hotels resorts climbing up to the upscale hotel mar ket. In 1996 bass tried to acquire  ½ of Carlsberg Tetley which again was hampered by the UK government which helps Bass to come back on line concentrate on the hotels pubs divisions leaving breweries aside. A year later in 1997 the hotel business focus becomes truly brand focused because Bass had already sold a few north American midscale hotels but held back to the brand name of the hotels through franchising agreements. Also that year Bass created launched a new brand of hotels known as the Staybridge Suites which was targeted at the upscale hotel market. Staybridge suites became the fastest brand in this upscale segment to reach 50 units in America. In 1998 Bass acquired the intercontinental hotel company, adding adding to its fold another upscale brand to its hotel portfolio. It was another considerable acquisition to cost saving synergies to the fold of hotel portfolio run by Bass. In 1999 Bass again acquired 550 handpicked high potential sites in UK also a strong 3500 strong pub estate from allied domecq. In 2000 Bass went on to acquire the Southern Pacific Corporation (SPHC) in Australia, which guaranteed Basss position as the leading hotel company in Asia Pacific. Later in the year Bass sold of his Bass breweries for 2.3 billion pounds. This was the final step by Bass to completely focusing on being the international hospitality retailer from being a domestic brewer a process which took a long period of 10 years to complete. Over the period of time Bass sold off name of bass and changed the name to Six Continents PLC. a name which it bettered into to reflect the global spread of the groups business. In the month of February 2001 Six Continents sold 988 of its smaller unbranded pubs for 625million pounds, which further funded the buying of the European Posthouse chain of hotels for 810million pounds. The acquisition of this company which had strategically placed hotels could be converted to Holiday Inn concentrating the Holiday Inn brand in UK Europe. Later that year it went on to acquire Intercontinental Hong Kong for 241 Million pounds strengthening its position in the Chinese Asia Pacific markets. On 1st October 2002 Six Continents Plc announced its separation of the groups hotel soft drinks businesses (to be called Inter Continental Group Plc) from the retail business (to be called Mitchells Butlers Plc) of which 700 million Pounds of the proceedings returned capital to shareholders. The whole procedure of separation was completed on the 15th of April 2003. Intercontinental Hotels Group Plc (IHG) from then on is a distinct, discrete company, listed in the UK US stock markets. In July 2003 IHG sold Staybridge Suites to Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT) entered into a 20year management agreement. Later in the year they added a midscale extended stay brand Candlewood Suites to its portfolio. In the year 2004 IHG announced the introduction of a new brand, hotel Indigo which focused on providing affordable boutique accommodation. In the same month, the group adopted new standards for selling and re-selling hotel rooms for guest stay through online travel companies. Following the success of the Up Scale market brand of Staybridge Suites North America IHG launched its extension of Staybridge suites to UK in April2005. Also in 2005 IHG went ahead disposed of its soft drinks 100% holdings in Britvic Plc. With this disposal IHG became a company with a pure hotel focus. In 2006 IHG went ahead signed a joint venture with All Nippon Airways (ANA), resulting the following projects IHG ANA hotels group Japan will be the largest international hotel operator in Japan, the worlds second largest hotel market. The deal saw the introduction of three new brands created for Japan. ANA-IHG, ANA-Crowne Plaza ANA Holiday Inn. In the year 2007 IHG announces that a worldwide relaunch of the Holiday Inn brand family, comprising Holiday Inn, Express by Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Express. The re launch was done with the intention of giving it a refreshed contemporary brand image. All the hotels were supposed to have completed the re launch in 2010 with the 1st re launch taking place in 2008. In the year 2008 after the re launches of Holiday Inn taking place Staybridge Suites extended its brand more in UK the first Hotel Indigo opened in London. In 2009 the1500th hotel was relaunched over the 40% of Holiday Inn Holiday Inn Express. Strategy used from the start to the current time period: Bass the main brain behind the whole formation of the Intercontinental Hotel Group has played a major role in the slow but steady growth of this company from a small company to a worldwide known company. Bass has grown this huge group through the basis of trial error round which he has experimented in various concepts of owning then selling then franchising finally managing properties. Bass has being following the linear model of growth through various acquisitions. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC was formed by the separation of Six Continents PLC (previously Bass PLC) on 15 April 2003. The restaurant and pubs part of Six Continents became Mitchells Butlers plc. However, IHGs brands trace their history back much further than 2003. Our Holiday Inn brand, one of the worlds most recognized was created in the 1950s by Kemmons Wilson in the US. InterContinental, another of our brands was created by Pan Am in the 1940s, when hotels were built in many of Pan Ams destinations. 3(ihg.com) Over the past few years, Intercontinental hotels group has maintained itself strategically to be more efficient and effective and make full use of their global status. A predominantly franchised and managed, fee-based business was the main focus of IHG. The strategy that IHG followed made their income stream predictable with a strong cash generation which allowed it to continue in growth because all their new hotels were funded by third-party investment. IHG went ahead and relaunched Holiday Inn in 2007 and although the unexpected economic circumstances that came by IHG during that time period, it went on and got on with the $1 billion programme because of the belief of the heads of IHG that it was exactly the right time to go ahead with the relaunches. The relaunch went on to building back peoples perceptions of Holiday Inn. The guest wanting to try Holiday Inn with IHG with its value theyre giving the Brand once down another try and liking and accepting what they found. Guest satisfaction was going up and owners could see the Revenue per rooms out perform. These economic circumstances might seem like a great reason to shy away from making such big changes, but time will show that it is both a very opportune and very effective initiative for this, our biggest brand, as quoted by the CEO of IHG Mr. Andrew Cosslett. 3 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 Current strategy used by Intercontinental Hotels Group: Bass the main brain behind the whole formation of the Intercontinental Hotel Group has played a major role in the slow but steady growth of this company from a small company to a worldwide known company which currently has an operating strength of 4400 hotels with 130 million guests visiting a year and under its umbrella has and widely known and reputed hotel brands covering all the major segments of the market, also have a reservations system which consists of 10 call centers in 29 languages it has also strived to be the top leader in the market has been able to position itself through its strategy of growing doing retailing in hotel sector have been able to position itself among the 6 largest hotel market, much more than any other company. Intercontinental hotel group has also been able to make the no.1 website for its guests investors in 13 different languages. They also have a global sales team of 8000 to conduct the sales of the hotels situated all over the 100 countries that they have their presence. Intercontinental hotels also has a loyalty programme which offers priority club rewards which are largest in the industry for over 48milllion of the guests which has been planned so strategically that . It has been stated on IHGs website that We have moved from investing heavily in hotel properties to return to our roots as a hotel franchise and management company with only a few owned assets. This change of focus has led to an industry-leading asset sale programme. Since 2003 we have sold  £2.9 billion worth of property. Many of these hotels have remained under our brands with management or franchise contracts, thereby creating a future income stream for IHG 4 (ihg.com). Over the past few months, IHGs continued growth in new rooms has helped to put off some of the revenue lost from Revenue per room declines. Driving in coming revenue into the hotels had been a priority and its system is the key to delivering this. Their system comprises of world class reservations centres, websites, global sales teams and Priority Club Rewards loyalty scheme and delivered 68 per cent of rooms revenue to the hotels in 2009. Reducing the overall cost base of IHG was crucial to managing through the downturn. IHG was already reducing costs to run the properties more effectively but with the economic downturn they steeped up the pace of change that was being gradually run. While they were reducing costs by taking better advantage of their way of operation as well their spread being worldwide, this also forced them to make reductions in the number of staff which unfortunately impacted jobs of IHG staff all over in the majority of properties. All these actions were taken in 2009 to reduce costs, while it was a very difficult period of the economic downturn; it allowed IHG to save a lot of cash and continue its investments in those things that attract guests to come to its hotels and revenues to the owners. The great working relationship that IHG shares with the owners of their properties, both directly and through the IAHI, which is IHGs Owners Association, has also been major contributor to the quick recovery also to the massive expansion taking place. By working alongside with the hotel owners, IHGs able to focus on the guest experience and on delivering Great Hotels Guests Love. 5 (ihg.com). 4http://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/files/pdf/2009_Annual_Report.pdf 5http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 The 48 million members of IHGs Priority Club Rewards programme remained loyal though the economic downturn and had been most supportive during the difficult times. Not only did these guests stay with IHG more often, they spent more when they did. A guests loyalty can never be taken for granted it is something that can take years to achieve and seconds to lose. So IHG had made sure they have continued to add benefits to the loyalty programme right through the downturn, and made membership of it even more worthwhile. In 2009 it enrolled six million new members into the programme thats a significant number of people whose first choice will now be to stay in one of IHGs hotels. IHGs future growth will be achieved predominantly through franchising and managing rather than owning hotels which in turn will drive down costs increase profits by the fact that all the investment in the hotels would be done by third parties. Approximately 641,000 rooms operating under the Group brands are franchised or managed and 5,800 rooms are owned and leased. The franchised and managed fee-based model is attractive because it enables the Group to achieve its goals with limited capital investment at an accelerated pace. A further advantage is the reduced volatility of the fee-based income stream, compared with ownership of assets. A key characteristic of the franchised and managed business is that it generates more cash than is required for investment in the business, with a high return on capital employed. Currently 87% of continuing earnings before regional and central overheads, exceptional items, interest and tax is derived from franchised and managed operations. The Current Strategies followed by IHG Hotels Group: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 90% of deals signed in scale markets and key gateway cities; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 10 signings of Hotel Indigo and Staybridge Suites outside of North America; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 439 hotels opened globally. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increased proportion of revenue delivery through IHG global reservations channels and PCR members direct by four percentage points to an average 68% of global hotel rooms revenue in 2009 à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Major procurement savings made; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Increased use of offshore transaction processing; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Technology infrastructure developed to support owner management and loyalty marketing. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Continued to cascade Great Hotels Guests Love in hotels and corporate offices; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Meeting ongoing resourcing requirements to match hotel growth in scale markets; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Managing employee engagement; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continued focus on attracting and retaining talent. 1,697 relaunched Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express hotels open around the world; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Industry-leading Priority Club Rewards (PCR) loyalty programme with 48 million members, contributing $5.6bn of global system rooms revenue à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Green Engage sustainability management system developed (patent pending); rolled out to over 900 hotels by 31 December 2009; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Extensive consumer research undertaken to quantify green opportunity with consumers; and (IHG annual report) 3 Future strategies to be used by Intercontinental Hotels Group: IHGs prime focus should be on growing faster by making its brands the first choice for both guests and hotel owners. We will do this by building the hotel industrys strongest operating system, focused on the biggest markets and segments where scale really counts. 5 (ihg.com). During these tough economic times, IHG had taken decisive action both to strengthen the efficiency of its businesses and to keep their course with its growth strategy. IHG should continue to invest in its staff, its systems and its brands, while moving even closer in working relationships with its hotel owners and partners. With momentum and a united, winning spirit inside the business, IHG is well placed to make the most of the upturn when it comes. As quoted by the CEO of IHG Mr. Andrew Cosslett. IHGs Ambition IHG should focus on its core purpose of creating Great Hotels Guests Love as the moto has always been, which is a growing crave to deliver among other key performance indicators (KPIs), closely enduring top quartile shareholders returns when measured against a broad global hotel peer group. For the three-year period of 2007 to 2009, IHG was fourth among its peers on Total Shareholder Return (TSR) and should always remain focused and try to come to the 1st position. Measuring IHG against a collection of specific KPIs aimed at delivering its core purpose, cascaded to the hotel level. Successful performance against various combinations of these metrics would result in higher profitability.. IHGs Future Strategy: IHGs strategy has seen significant development through 2009 as it moved to make its core purpose a reality, despite challenging economic circumstances. In 2009, IHG took a hard look at its operations and capabilities to focus on what really matters most to deliver Great Hotels Guests Love. It has backed this up with a major effort to align its staff and measure the most important drivers, resulting in a clear, target-based programme within the hotels to motivate teams and guide behaviors. IHGs strategy encompasses two key aspects: Where does it choose to compete; and How will it win where it competes? The Groups underlying Where strategy is that IHG would grow a portfolio of differentiated hospitality brands in select strategic countries and global key cities to maximise the scale advantage. The How aspect of our strategy flows from our core purpose and our research at the hotel level as to what really makes a difference for guests. In support of this overall strategy there are key priorities like Where we compete and How we win. To help IHGs hotels and corporate staff measure their efforts in achieving Great Hotels Guests Love, IHG provides clear metrics aligned with the four How we win priorities against which progress is gauged. The Group strategy also translates into specific regional objectives and priorities. . IHGs Delivery System:C:UsersdDesktopUntitled.png Driving demand IHGs operating system is made up of all the things we do to drive demand for our brands. This includes our advertising and marketing campaigns, our 10 global call centres, 13 local language websites, an 8,000-strong sales force, Priority Club Rewards the worlds largest hotel loyalty scheme which has 48 million members and all the advantages that IHGs global hotel distribution and scale brings to brand awareness. Hotel distribution IHG has over 4,400 hotels in over 100 countries worldwide. Our brands are in the top 3 in 7 of the 12 largest hotel markets in the world. When people travel, they look for familiar brands they know from home, increasing the demand for hotels that operate under our brands around the world. Advertising and marketing Each year, IHGs franchisees pay a fee into a central fund. This fund is used on their behalf for marketing and promotions to drive guest demand for IHGs brands. Brand sponsorships, television and print advertising campaigns and public relations activity across the globe are all ways in which the fund can be used. Priority Club Rewards IHGs Priority Club Rewards is the largest hotel loyalty scheme in the world, with 48 million members. Web presence The 13 local language websites take over 7.4 million bookings a year theyre a shop window for the hotels across the world under IHG,s banner, 365 days a year. www.holiday-inn.com is one of the industrys most visited websites, notching up 75 million site visits in 2005. The websites operate in the following languages: Arabic, Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese and Spanish. Reservation system IHG,s 10 global reservation offices are available to take hotel bookings from guests 24 hours a day in 26 languages including Arabic, Cantonese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Tagalog and Thai. They deal with 700 transactions per minute. Sales force IHG have a global sales force of more than 8,000 professionals throughout the world, talking about and selling the booking of hotels under our brands to individuals and companies. Considering the future strategy which is goin to be used to the growth achievement of IHG are as follows: Consumer understanding: As one of the worlds largest hotel groups, IHG has gained valuable insights into where and how consumers seek hotel information and make reservations across various channels and from various local, regional and global sources. This information has shaped the way we engage with our customers and enabled us to drive up returns for owners. Global Reservations System All IHG hotels benefit from the worlds most advanced reservation system Holidex Plus.The system links more than 230,000 terminals worldwide and processes over 130 million stays a year thats about 700 transactions per second. This is serviced by our 12 worldwide reservation centres which receive up to 14 million calls annually in 15 different languages. Global Distribution Systems (GDS) Our reservation systems also link with all the major GDS, the channel of choice for travel professionals and large corporate buyers. This gives us global around the clock access to the travel trade. IHG online Our websites continue to be a fast-growing reservation channel. They offer a comprehensive, customer-friendly and secure booking service in 13 languages and provide a low cost of sale. We receive more than 5 million unique web visitors per month and also benefit from the lowest clicks-to-book rate in the industry. Worldwide sales IHGs worldwide sales team is more than 8,000 strong. As well as generating new revenue, the team also manages key corporate and agent accounts and provides local hotel sales support to maximise revenue and keep IHG hotels top of mind. 6 (IHG.com) Some Of the Future Milestones to be achieved: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue international roll-out of Staybridge Suites and Hotel Indigo; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Execute growth strategies in agreed scale markets; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue to leverage scale and build improved strategic position during the economic downturn Increase global sales force effectiveness; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue further procurement programmes to identify efficiencies; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Begin migration to next-generation revenue management IT systems; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue focus on owned and managed estate margins and return on capital employed (ROCE), especially in our key InterContinental assets. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Drive greater efficiency and simplicity through better use of technology; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Focus on developing skills to support the key goals for responsible business, guest experience and financial returns. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Complete Holiday Inn repositioning roll-out; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue to simplify brand standards process to improve owner returns without impairing guest experience; à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Continue to enhance experience for PCR members in hotels and across global reservations channels; increase IHG business from PCR members à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Continue to roll out the Green Engage sustainability management system to 100% of our owned and managed hotels and expand into the franchised estate in all three regions; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Focus on innovation within new and existing brands to deliver valued green related hotels and services to guests. (IHG annual report) 6 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=293 BIBLOGRAPHY: 1http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=16 2http://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/files/pdf/2009_Annual_Report.pdf 3 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 4http://www.ihgplc.com/files/reports/ar2009/files/pdf/2009_Annual_Report.pdf 5http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=40 6 http://www.ihgplc.com/index.asp?pageid=293

Desire in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick Essay -- Moby Dick Essays

Desire in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick Moby-Dick describes the metamorphosis of character resulting from the archetypal night sea journey, a harrowing account of a withdrawal and a return. Thus Ishmael, the lone survivor of the Pequod disaster, requires three decades of voracious reading, spiritual meditation, and philosophical reflection before recounting his adventures aboard the ill-fated ship.1 His tale is astounding. With Lewis Mumford’s seminal study Herman Melville: A Critical Biography (1929) marking the advent of the â€Å"Melville industry,† attentive readers—amateur and professional alike—have reached consensus respecting the text’s massive and heterogeneous structure. Moby Dick, for all its undeniable heuristic treasures, remains a taxonomist’s nightmare. For Melville’s complex narrative is an embarrassment of riches variously described as a novel, a romance, and an epic, as a comedy and a tragedy. Indeed, the text is an anatomy of the adventure story i n the tradition of world classic accounts of the epic hero from Gilgamesh to the Arabian Nights, from the 0dyssey to Beowulf. Although from a formalist perspective Ishmael is clearly the sole narrator, the tale remains markedly divided in expression; that is, the tone, diction, register, and underlying psychology of the account describe two radically different modes of experience. Ishmael in his own voice is empirical, democratic, sane, philosophical, comedic; while Ahab’s discourse is transcendental, autocratic, mad, rhetorical, tragic. Still, like Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (whose class, values, and mind set are separate and discrete) Ishmael, the common sailor before the mast, and Ahab, the demonic ship captain, finally emerge as disjoined fragment... ... 11 Zizek, 3. 12Zizek, ix. Works Cited Fiedler, Leslie. Love and Death in the American Novel. NYC: Criterion Books, 1960. -----------------. â€Å"Come Back to the Raft Ag’in, Huck Honey!† Partisan Review 15 (1948): 2 664-71. Freud, Sigmund. Civilization and Its Discontents. Trans. and edit. James Strachey. NYC: Norton, 1961. Girard, Rene. Deceit, Desire and the Novel: Self and Other in Literary Structure. Trans. Yvonne Freccero. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1965. Kristeva, Julia. Black Sun: Depression and Melancholia. NYC: Columbia Univ. Press, 1989. Melville, Herman. Moby-Dick or, The Whale. NYC: Penquin Books, 1992. Said, Edward. Orientalism. NYC: Pantheon, 1978. Steiner, George. Martin Heidegger. Chicago IL: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1989. Zizek, Slavoj. Enjoy Your Symptom! NYC: Routledge, 1992.

The Theories that Withhold Normative Ethics

Normative Ethics is a theory of ethics that is based on what ought to be morally right. Most ethical theories are based from a normative base. Normative ethics are based on what ought to be good or bad, right or wrong, and just or unjust. The ethical principles are ways to describe the actions and behaviors that we perform. There are several theories that apply to normative ethics like utilitarianism, pluralism, and rights based ethics. Utilitarianism is a principle, which approves or disapproves of every action according to whether it increases or diminishes the amount of happiness or good of the interested party. This issue is deeply imbedded in the ever-expanding world of information technology. New technologies like personnel monitoring hit this issue directly. Employers may see short-term benefits of monitoring employees, such as insider trading, efficiency, or performance. But, employers must consider what effect that the monitoring will have on the employees. The overall happiness or good for all the parties involved are not always addressed. The company may see results from their end but the employees may receive an adverse effect. To successfully make a utility-based decision managers must take in to consideration who is going to be influenced by the decision to be made. Pluralism or duty based ethical principles outline some different ideas. Immanuael Kant say the worth of an action is not found in what the person is trying to accomplish but rather the intention that they had. People must perform actions as a function of duty regardless of the consequences. Duty is an obligation to follow universal moral laws. These moral laws are outlined to make sure that projects or objectives do not superceded the worth of human beings. An important IT example would be the use of private customer information in a negative manner. Managers have a right to ensure that customer information especially financial information like credit cards or asset holdings. The managers have a duty to the customers to respect their privacy of information. Companies that provide hardware and software solutions to companies have a duty to provide a quality product. Reliant companies need those systems to run the companies. Manufacturers have a duty to balance profit maximization and quality to ensure that the product is functional for everyone. Rights based ethics focuses on the rights of individuals and respect of people†s rights. There are two different types of rights in this theory. Negative rights are rights that are free from outside interference. Therefore these rights allow people to have certain rights without someone interfering. Positive rights on the other hand are rights that people are entitled to. Examining ethical aspects using this theory people consider whether the action will impede on human or legal rights. Information management has great rights implications. Consumer†s information is located on many databases throughout the nation. Companies have to ensure that consumer†s rights to privacy maintained. Companies often sell information to marketing organizations who put you on other lists that they may sell. Many organizations make a point of telling consumers that their information will remain private. Consumers also want their information to be current and accurate. Information about peoples credit histories and financial information need to be accurate otherwise the customer may be negatively impacted. People make ethical and moral decisions every day. But, what really influences people when they are making decisions. Family has a large part to play in the way that a person views the world. Values and moral are instituted in children by their parents as they grow. The structure of the family may influence the way that children view the actions of their parents and others. Also integrated with the aspect of family are the areas of religion and culture. There are certain practices in different religions that may shape the way an individual view a decision as either moral or ethical. Subjects like sex or drugs may be accepted in various forms from one religion or culture but not another. This may determine how a person may view a decision in the future. Practices vary from country to country. Therefore, a practice like corporate spying my be acceptable in one culture but is frowned upon in ours. Companies may endorse sweatshops in other countries but it is not ethical to do it in the US. Other factors that may influence how someone makes a decision may be based on their socio-economic position in life. A person desperate for money or food my have a different outlook on some moral or ethical decisions. Personal crises alter a persons view on the world and what should be done. Age also plays an important part of how situations are solved. Younger people may view moral and ethical issues lightly because they don†t understand the consequences of the actions. As people grow older their outlook on life becomes altered. Experience makes a person view the whole picture when a decision needs to be made. People†s values change making their moral and ethical instincts stronger. While people age education level varies. Educated people have a different outlook on life than an uneducated person. Having more tools to access allow people to make a more informed decision. All of these different ideas shape the outlook that people have on the world. Individual views of society shape the moral and ethical decision-making process. The factors outlined above and some of the ethical theories we can speculate how ethical dilemmas might be resolved. Ethical dilemmas need to be examined in various steps. First of all you need to assess the ethical issues in the problem. Determine what issues will become a factor in your decision making process. Decide what your moral intuition says on the issue. How do your own personal views shape the issue? Once you have determined your personal stance on the issue, you must examine the ethical frameworks to decide how the issue can be applied. What course of action do the theories point you to? You must decide what conclusions should you follow as well as considering public policy implications. The actual decision needs to be a very informed one. Every side of the issue needs to be addressed from the different ethical theories. The informed decision will create a better outcome because the pros and cons have been addressed before a solution is designed.

A Long Way Gone Essay

â€Å"A Long Way Gone†, a memoir about a Sierra Leonean young boy who is a â€Å"child of war† has many themes in the novel but what is the most important? Relationship, I believe that this is the most important theme because without relationship, Ishmeal Beah, the author of â€Å"A long Way Gone† and a human rights activist would not have survived nor would he have recuperated from the war in Sierra Leone. Relationship with the lieutenant, Ishmeal looked up to his lieutenant as a father figure. Ishmeal would usually look forward to seeing him and spending time with his lieutenant. â€Å"I was looking forward to seeing the lieutenant. I hope we might find some time to talk about Shakespeare.† I believe that Ishmeal looked up to the lieutenant as a father because he lost his real father and he would usually ignore Ishmeal. Ishmeal worshiped the lieutenant because he saved his live when Ishmeal was shot through his legs. Ishmeal would have died from the pain but the lieutenant ordered the doctor and two other men to save his live, â€Å"do not let the boy die†. Ishmeal believed that the lieutenant cared for him and Ishmeal wanted to survive so that he can fight as hard as he can for the lieutenant. Ishmeal developed more feelings for his squad as well. Relationship with his gun and the squad, Ishmeal refers to his squad as his family and his gun as his protector. â€Å"My squad was my family, my gun was my provider and protector†. Ishmeal had spent so much time with his squad and his gun that he had developed feelings for them. Ishmeal’s rule was to kill or to be killed. â€Å"My rule was to kill or to be killed†. When Ishmeal was shot in the leg and recuperated from that, he immediately asked for his gun and cleaned it. He truly did believe that his gun was his protector and provider because he was so intrigued with his gun. Ishmeal had lived with war for so long that his reality was to kill and survive. Ishmeal Beah has also had good relationships during his childhood. The strong bond between Ishmeal and Alhaji, Ishmeal had befriended boy from his squad. Alhaji was mainly with Ishmeal during the time when the two of them where recuperating from the war in the hospital. I think that Ishmeal wanted a deep relationship that can replace his brother and the boy from when he was on the run with the group of six. The two boys would spend most of their time together and the bond they shared was as if they were brothers. When Ishmael was asked to go to the city he immediately asked if Alhaji can come too. I  believe that Ishmeal wanted to experience with Alhaji. This is one of the few good relationships Ishmeal shared with someone in his past. The most important theme in â€Å"A Long Way Gone,† was not to be strong or fear. The most important is relationships. Without relationships Ishmeal would not have survived or recuperated the way he did. If Ishmeal did not have any relationships whatsoever, he would have died from the very beginning. Even if he had survived, Ishmeal would probably not want to live when he was shot through the leg because he had nothing to fight for. Without relationship Ishmeal wouldn’t want to recuperate because there was no one there for him like the nurse or Alhaji was. This is why I believe that relationship is the most important theme in â€Å"A Long Way Gone†. A long way gone Essay Violence has a major impact on teenagers and children in today’s society. In the novel A Long Way Gone; memoir by a boy soldier Ishmael Beah, displays how teenagers are exposed†¦ Through the medias they are showed that the movie Rambo, which influences them to be violent and fight. Another way to seek violence is in real life when the boy soldiers are sent to fight the rebels. The violence that the young boys are exposed to caused them to think and act violently towards others, Firstly the boy soldiers in this novel are influenced by the movie Rambo , it encourages them to work harder and more violent. After the young boy soldiers watch Rambo for the first time they were motivated to be just like him and while in battle. â€Å"We all wanted to be like Rambo ; we couldn’t want to implement his techniques† (beah 121). This movies showed the boys how to fight , they wanted to use the same techniques to fight against the rebel villages. Some of the boy soldiers have been so influenced by this that they already implemented goals that will allow them to act like Rambo; â€Å"sometime I am going to take on a whole village by myself, just like Rambo† Alhaji told me smiling at the new goal he had set for himself† (122). This young boy has been trained to fight and destroy, watching Rambo has influenced him so much that he wants to take a whole village on by himself. Watching violent movies influences the boy soldiers how ever this is not h ow they gain courage and experience. Secondly the boy soldiers are able to gain courage and experience by being sent to fight against the rebels. The boy soldiers are brought to fight after being trained, they are told; â€Å"if you see anyone without a head tie of this colour or a helmet like mine, shoot them†(115). The boys didn’t know that they are actually going to battle however they do know what they have to do when they are in the field. When they are in the battle, the boys watch their friends get killed, this empowers them to fight back and kill; â€Å"I raised my gun and pulled the trigger , and I killed a man†¦ I shot everything that moved†(119). After watching his friends get killed Ishmael starts to fight back, he is saddened by what has happened to his friends and wants to have revenge on the people that caused their death . when the boys are in combat they gain the courage to fight back and kill people. The violence they are exposed to influenced them to act violently them selves. The boy soldiers are exposed to violence in their society which causes them to both think and act violently. The boy soldiers in the novel A Long Way Gone; memoirs of a boy soldier, are exposed to violent images in the media and in real life, which causes them to become addicted to violence. The boy soldiers in this novel are exposed to violence through movies and real life action. In conclusion violence can have a major impact on all teenagers and children no matter where they come from or how they are raised in their country.

Welcome to Reedsy

Welcome to Reedsy Welcome to Reedsy Hi! Welcome to Reedsy.At the London Book Fair this past April, I heard a bit of wisdom worth passing along: The bigger the ship, the more difficult it is to change its course. It’s easy to see the truth of that when you consider that of the 600,000 to 1 million books published last year in the US, more than half were self-published. And the authors of those books actually earned more than those whose books were released by big-ship traditional publishers.As you might have guessed, I’m a big fan of little ships. Especially those setting sail in this vast ocean we call â€Å"the self-publishing industry†. You don’t have to study the waters for long to see that most companies are taking the â€Å"self† out of self-publishing- they are optimizing services for speed and profit, rather than focusing on developing authors and their books.At Reedsy, we focus on authors. The whole idea behind self-publishing is to bring power and freedom back to authors, so it only makes sense to make authors our focus. But the more I spoke to authors- traditionally published, self-published, not-yet-published- the more I realized that authors don’t churn out books in a vacuum. They have help. Sometimes, lots of it.The authors I interviewed couldn’t stop talking about their fabulous editors, creative cover designers, layout artists- one writer even told me about his â€Å"book shepherd†. Taking all of this into consideration, combined with countless hours of research about what authors need, where they struggle, and what they have to do in order to be successful, led to Reedsy. And Reedsy led to this blog.Here, I’ll focus on topics like how to write, self-publish, and market books. What services to get, where, and how much to pay. In short, I’m here to offer impartial advice if you’re new to self-publishing.So what is Reedsy? Well, it’s a publishing marketplace with a carefully curated pool of freelancer s. We’re not just another freelancer free-for-all focused on high-volume projects and outsourced bids; in fact, we’re the complete opposite of that. Reedsy is populated by professionals focused on authors and their books, ready to take you from shore to shore- from the germ of an idea to a published book.There is no big secret in self-publishing, no method that will turn a lousy manuscript into a best-seller- or even a great manuscript into a best-seller. It’s all about tips, little things to know, lots of common sense and, more importantly, having the right people to help you. The crew you’ll need varies from author to author, genre to genre. But that’s the power of Reedsy: we’ve found the best people out there, and they’re all waiting to hear from you.I’d just like to say thanks for stopping by the Reedsy blog. I’m here to help you navigate the vast waters of self-publishing aboard the SS Reedsy. I guess the only quest ion now is, where do you want to go?RicardoFollow our Facebook page for daily updates and tips on self-publishing!We’re also on Twitter!   Follow Ricardo, Emmanuel, and ReedsyClick on these links  to learn more about editing, design or publicity  on Reedsy!

Student Welcome Letter

Student Welcome Letter A student welcome letter is a great way to greet and introduce yourself to your new students and their parents. Its purpose is to welcome students and give parents an insight into what you expect as well as what students need to do throughout the school year. This is the first contact between the teacher and home, so include all essential elements to give a great first impression and set the tone for the rest of the school year. Elements of a Welcome Letter A student welcome letter should include the following: Personal informationContact informationA description of your classroom behavior planA brief description of your classroom environmentHomework policyA classroom supply listA brief statement of your teaching philosophy Sample Welcome Letter Below is an example of a welcome letter for a first-grade classroom. It contains all of the elements listed above. September 2019 Dear Parents and Students: My name is Samantha Smith, and Id like to welcome your children, and you, to my first-grade class. Your children have all just completed a busy and productive year of kindergarten, and Id like to assure you that their education will continue as we work to meet their individual and collective learning goals. First, a little about myself: I have been a first-grade teacher for 25 years, including the last 10 here at Spencer V. Williams Elementary School. I believe in student-centered approach to learning. That is, I feel its important that I get to know every student individually and develop individual education goals for each that tie into our classroom learning. I also believe that its important that we- your child, you the parent, and I- work together as a team to help your children succeed. This year, we will be focusing on district and state first-grade learning standards, which include: Math: Problem-solving, operations, and number senseReading: Basic sight-word recognition, first-grade reading, phonemic awareness with more complicated sounds like blends and digraphsWriting: Formal work on handwriting skills in addition to creative writing tasksVisual Arts: Identification of lines, colors, shapes, forms, and textures as elements  Other Areas: Including basic science concepts, social studies, and social skills These are, of course, only some of the academic areas we will explore and learn this year as a class. I will inform you soon of our back-to-school night date and details, as well as dates for parent-teacher conferences. But please dont limit your contact to those. I am happy to talk or meet with parents any afternoon after school or early mornings. I have attached a copy of my classroom behavior plan, homework policy (I assign homework every weeknight except for Fridays), and classroom supply list. Please retain those for your records. Also, please feel free to call or email me with any questions, thoughts, and even concerns. Sincerely, Samantha Smith First-Grade Teacher Spencer V. William Elementary (555) 555-5555 smithsvwilliams.net Importance of the Letter The letter will be slightly different depending on the grade level. For middle school or high school, for example, or even for upper elementary school years, youll need to emphasize different curriculum requirements. But the letters structure can be similar regardless of the grade you are teaching because it sends a clear and open invitation to parents to work with you and their child as a team. Sending out this kind of letter to parents at the start of the school will make your job as a teacher much easier and open up a dialogue with parents, an important step in helping each child succeed in your class.

An Analysis of the Myth and Issues of Our Organic Food System

An Analysis of the Myth and Issues of Our Organic Food System In the last decade, a new fad has been sweeping the nation: Organic Foods. All around America organic markets like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s are popping up, offering a variety of organic produce, grass-fed beef, cage-free eggs, and all natural cosmetic products. People switch to organic products usually out of a desire to eat healthier, and take a stance on conventional agriculture and meat products. Food markets such as Whole Foods do indeed feel more welcoming when you step inside. As compared to most food and drug stores, you are greeting with warm lighting and earth colored walls and floor, instead of fluorescent lights and linoleum floors. The meat section has elaborate details, depicting pastoral settings of cows on wide, open grazing fields, and chickens running wild. Every object in the produce aisle is traced back to the place where it was grown, and the â€Å"USDA Organic Certified† label is printed on most everything. In this setting, consumers feel they a re eating the healthy alternative, with no synthetic hormones, pesticides, or GMOs. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. These foods do indeed come from organically certified farms, but these farms are not as airtight in regulation as one might assume. In reference to these welcoming organic products and their origin, Michael Pollan, author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, states â€Å"Theyre organic by the letter, not organic in spirit if most organic consumers went to those places, they would feel they were getting ripped off.† In the organic system, there are tons are loopholes allowing them to sell less than organic products to the consumer. And we fall for it. Today, we import more food from around the world than ever before. We have dissolved ourselves from a time where spices were one of the most valuable commodities to a time when we can walk into our local food and drug store and have everything we could want from all around the world at our fingertips. While this may seem like a dream come true compared to the old days, it does not come without severe consequences. Higher food prices come as a result, chemicals are being sprayed in mass amounts, from synthetic hormones to preservatives, and carbon emissions are at an all time high due in part to the use of fossil fuels used to transport these food stuffs from all around the globe. This is not sustainable. Many see organic farming as a feasible way to fix this mess. However, organic farming is not as different to regular agriculture as one might think at first. Upon further inspection, organic farming standards are not airtight, and leave plenty of room for harmful pesticide spraying. The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) requires that these chemicals and pesticides must come from a â€Å"natural source†. Take Rotenone for example. Rotenone was a chemical used for spraying organic produce for decades. In her article Mythbusting 101: Organic Farming Conventional Agriculture, Christie Wilcox writes â€Å"Because it is natural in origin, occurring in the roots and stems of a small number of subtropical plants, it was considered safe as well as organic. However, research has shown that rotenone is highly dangerous because it kills by attacking mitochondria, the energy powerhouses of all living cells.† Rotenone was linked to Parkinsons Disease in rats and can also resul t in death for humans. This was allowed because of it’s â€Å"natural source†, but natural does not always mean good for you. These chemicals that come from a natural source are then lightly processed, if at all. NOSB is an organization that also votes on proposed pesticides allowed for organic farming, so the list is always changing. Another troubling aspect about these chemicals is that the volume that they are sprayed is not monitored by the government. A lot of these chemicals are sprayed in heavy volumes, which can pose serious health hazard to people and the environment. This is because often times these chemicals are not as strong as conventionally used pesticides, so it takes more to have their proper effect. So then what is the point of these organic foods? The organic food market has made $52 billion in the last couple years worldwide, so it is most obviously turning a profit. Is certified organic food becoming widely available to provide the masses with a healthy, ethical alternative, or are corporations like Whole Foods painting these beautiful pictures of to gain a profit? It could possibly be a mix of both. Organic foods are not bad, despite what it might sound like, and do often provide a healthier alternative for consumers. However, these corporations are using a â€Å"supermarket pastoral† to sell their products that makes it easier to cover up what’s going on behind the scenes. As Michael Pollan states, â€Å"Supermarket Pastoral is a most seductive literary form, beguiling enough to survive in the face of a great many discomforting facts.† In order to ensure a healthier organic market with more accessible information, the organic food market must have different standards and more monitoring from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). As of now, the USDA still allows some GMO’s to be used in organic farming, but the screening process allows them to slip by unnoticed. USDA organizations like National Organic Program (NOP) set the regulations for organic food, grant certificates, and do investigations when certified organic farmers are under suspicion of violating code. But the level of regulation that actually exists is extremely lenient. This makes it so that the organic label is misleading, due to the product being treated with substances that are not truly organic. Once an organic farmer is certified organic, they must comply to a production plan. This plan is then approved by a certifying organic agent. Once the certification is granted, a farmer cannot be penalized if there is an unintentional us e of GMO’s or inorganic pesticides used on the plants as long as it is unintentional. This in turn creates a loophole that farmers can slip through, allowing them to use these inorganic substances as long as it is â€Å"unintentional† by nature. The products they put out can then be labeled organic even though this statement lacks truth, and their names are untarnished. If suspicion arises that an organic farmer is abusing their production plan, and intentionally using pesticides, the USDA will step in. The USDA requires that â€Å"certifying agents test five percent of their certified operations each year. The certifying agents themselves determine which operations will be subjected to testing. (Henri Miller).† These testing policies are supported by organic communities and federations. The USDA’s response to why they impose such minimal testing is that an increase of testing would result in higher operating and production costs for organic farmers beyond the high expenses they already pay. This is turn would lead to higher prices in food markets. The fact of the matter is that organic food is already much more pricey than their chain-store counterparts, which makes organic food barely accessible to those in the low income bracket. And is higher prices something the public wants to pay for more widespread testing? It would certainly b e better for those who can afford it, but it does not make much sense economically. â€Å"Wordy labels, point-of-purchase brochures, and certification schemes are supposed to make an obscure and complicated food chain more legible to the consumer (Pollan, 136).† While organic labeling certainly does clear up some of the confusion of point source, it could be doing more. For example, â€Å"free-range chicken† may not be what it seems. Tyler Cowen discusses this example in his article Can You Really Save the Planet at the Dinner Table? Which appeared on Slate.com, â€Å"though we feel good about eating free-range chickens—and are willing to pay more for them—many of those birds dont fare much better than their peers: They often receive only a few inches of additional space in factory farms and then a few weeks time to step outside through a tiny door—and most chickens stay inside, having learned a fear of the unknown.† The same can be said for organic milk. There are mass quantities or organic milk being produced in factory farms. Horizon, the largest organic dairy label was exposed by the Cornucopia Institute for having 4,000 10,000 cows in factory farms producing milk for the company. The company created the false sense that their cows were kept on green pastures with access to pristine grazing lands. The truth is, many more of their cows not in farming factories were being kept in southern Idaho in grassless conditions. Here they were milking thousands of cows that â€Å"spend their day milling around a dry lot a grassless fenced enclosure (pollan, 156).† When the USDA investigated complaints of the operation, they sent in the same agent that had originally approved the operation in the first place, as per policy. Eventually, due to the Cornucopia Institute filing legal cases against the company starting in 2004, Horizon was decertified and now remains under close speculation from the U SDA. Another myth that consumers are failing to realize is that organic farming is not always best for the environment. This is true for all agriculture, as pollutants from pesticides, fertilizer, and nutrients from unturned soil from the farm are swept away by rain and erosion, causing them to seep into the waterways surrounding them. This causes severe damage to rivers, lakes, and other water works, and is called nonpoint source pollution. Organic farms are not innocent of this either. And if while keeping in mind ecological preservation, it seems to make less sense to switch completely over to organic farming as more land would have to be cleared and cultivated for these farms to exist. A way to help this dilemma would be to support local organic farms, which are less likely to spray harmful pesticides. This in turn helps to promote local economy, and would also spark a decrease in fossil fuels being used and carbon emissions being emitted to transport large quantities of food from across the country. However, this switch would not come without consequences. It would mean a cut in the variety in food available year round, such as no bananas in the dead of winter. Berries and other out of seasons produce could still be frozen however. But these sacrifices are relatively little compared to what we would be gaining a more ethical, economically beneficial, and environmentally safer way to eat organically. On top of switching to small, local organic farms, there could also be tightening in the USDAs regulations on large-scale certified organic farmers. A possible way to do this without increasing production costs for organic companies would be the create government ince ntives and possible tax breaks for farmers to use better forms of pest control. Money could be saved simply by growing what is in season, considering it takes less pesticides to produce. When it comes to labeling, the â€Å"supermarket pastoral† may be a beautiful way to subdue our interests, but should be more transparent when it comes to where our food is sourced, including livestock and dairy products. Like Pollan says, we should be able to weigh out the pros and the cons in what we are eating. Organic farming is a step in the right direction, but like most things, could use some refining. It’s not an easy matter, Especially when large corporations like Monsanto show no interest in backing down. But if we were to work towards these guidelines, we would be closer to becoming healthier, for ourselves and for planet earth.

Schedule and Cost Control Techniques - Quality Essay

Schedule and Cost Control Techniques - Quality - Essay Example However, from the perspective of the project management, total quality management poses a slightly different orientation. Quality in terms of project management means "project management technique or strategy that is implemented to assure that an awareness of quality is embedded in all phases of the project from conception to completion." (http://www.project-management-knowledge.com, 2008). It is believed that implementing quality in service oriented organizations as well as the project management is trickier in comparison to the manufacturing concerns mostly due to the measurement issues related with the quality (David A.Waits, 1994). However, despite that organizations and project managers are continuously stressing on the use of quality measurement tools for project management so that a consistent level of performance is achieved which is comparable with certain standards of quality. Insuring a good quality in project management requires that certain key areas are taken care of before implementing the concepts of quality and expecting the results which may be exceeding the expectation. First and foremost, it is very critical that quality assurance within the project management must get the commitment from the top management. Top management of the organization must have the ability to plan for the quality in project management but also have the required willingness to provide the resources to the project managers to deploy the necessary resources required to make the quality an integrated part of the project management. Further, top management of the organization must review the progress made against the set standards for the project management and must have the ability to reward the appropriate successes made in achieving the required quality standards for projects.It is also important that in order to achieve the quality in project management, the employees' em powerment is the key. This empowerment is achieved through the training and development of the members of the project teams. Further, empowerment can also be achieved through initiating the culture of appreciation and rewarding the genuine successes made towards achieving the required quality within the projects as well as through the various suggestion schemes so that the members of the project management team should feel themselves as part of the project as well as the whole organization. This can create strong stimulus for the project management team to deliver beyond the expectations of the management while achieving and maintaining a defined level of quality also. In order to achieve and maintain quality within the projects, it is very critical that the decision making is based on the facts and not made out of the emotions or guess work. As we have been discussing the various techniques of project management such as PERT and CPM, it is of the highest importance that the data provided for calculations made with the help of such techniques are correct and that the decisions made by the project managers at the various stages of the project are made inconsistent with the available facts and figures. This

Critically examine the ways in which China is represented in Flowers Essay

Critically examine the ways in which China is represented in Flowers of Shanghai. Your answer must make reference to the ways - Essay Example The director of the movie Hou Hsiao-hsein is an award winning director and one of the leading contributors to the new wave cinema movement in Taiwan. He has been regarded among the best movie directors of 1990s on creating master piece like Flowers of Shanghai. Some movie critics called it an innovative and prettiest movie however, at the same time the movie also invited waves of criticism and it was also expressed by some movie critics that it was a static, dull and boring movie that does not truly deserves to be listed among the top ten best movie of 1990s. Flowers of Shanghai is widely appraised and viewed as finely blended presentation of artistry, beauty, restrain and patience through its major characters. The plot of the story revolves around four prostitutes living in a Shanghai brothel. The movie depicts the power struggle of prostitutes called flower girls, gentlemen callers and the powerful Auntie who run the show for the prostitutes. The flower girls always look for the fa vour from the auntie that she will give them the richest customers and will send more customers to them. Though the movie is filmed in a brothel but there are no sex scenes in the movie. The girls are shown feeding the men and serving them opium and in exchange they were looking for someone to pay their debts and arrange livelihood for them. When the men show their willingness to marry any girl, the auntie plays the role of merchandiser and books them. It is more focused upon the problems and the efforts of the girls to get out of the problem rather depicting the sex scenes. The plot of the movie is set in the time of late nineteenth century where Shanghai was divided in to several foreign concessions and there are several luxurious flower houses created in the British concession that were meant for the make elite of the city. These brothels were not for the common Chinese people but only the elites for whom they were established could visit at these flower houses. These brothels ha ve their own self-contained world and people use their own language. The visitors came here not only for satisfying the sexual desires but also to dine, smoke opium and to relax their mind with different games. The women working at these brothels were given the name of flowers of shanghai and the movie flower of shanghai is mainly based upon the inner lives of these brothels and the flowers of Shanghai working there. The movie uses single stain of music that is repeated over and over. The repetition is an attempt to convey the message that is real life also same incidents occur again and again only the faces of the players are changed but the game remain the same no matter who win and loss. The movie sets the scene of Shanghai, the capital city of China however, it was not filmed in China but it is the proficiency of the director that he selected the set in such a way that the entire film is shot indoor and not even a single shot of sky or outdoor is included in the movie (Reichert, 2003). The director has close connections with China that could be seen in the movie as well. The way he set up the scene of China outside the country shows his strong imaginations and affiliations with the Chinese environment and culture. There are several cinematic techniques used in the movie that add depth and meaningfulness to the story and at the same time it is

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Research Paper Example One of the spiders, which have recently become a primary concern of those living in Salt Lake City is the Hobo spider. The scientific classification for the Hobo spider is Tegenaria agrestis. It is in the family Aglenidae. It is not originally native to North America, but was brought over when Western Europeans began to colonize North America. The species was originally discovered in Europe by C.A. Walkenaer in 1802 and then was rediscovered in the United States in 1936 by Harriet Exline. The appearance of the Hobo Spider varies greatly, however there are a few core characteristics, which make it easier to identify. The abdomen has v-shaped patterns on its abdomen which aim down toward the head of the spider. They also have a light stripe, which runs down the middle of the sternum. Considering the size of typical spiders, the Hobo Spider is of a larger variation, usually ranging from twelve to eighteen millimeters in body length. Compared to other spiders, they have very poor eyesigh t and lack the normal climbing ability that many other spiders share. There are also sexual differences, which allow for further identification. The male Hobo Spider has two pedipalps in front of its two front legs, which is homologous to the male gentials in humans. The female Hobo Spiders have a much larger abdomen than the male Hobo Spider and lack the pedipalps (Ethan 4-12). ... After the new spiders hatch, they spend a majority of the first part of their life underground feeding and growing. After they have reached maturity, they begin searching for a mate. The females remain stationary and build their webs. The males come to the females. After mating, the males die first and then are followed by the females. The cycle then repeats itself over again. In the predator-prey relationship, the Hobo Spider does not fall at the top of the food chain. The Hobo Spider has three natural enemies that control the population: the preying mantis, wasps, and other spiders. Hobo Spiders especially have the disadvantage compared to other types of spiders. The first is that they lack the climbing ability and ability to escape from other spiders’ webs, which leaves them extremely vulnerable. The Hobo Spider tends to feed on smaller insects that it can catch, due to the type of web that it spins. It is known as a funnel web spinner. They are typically long in shape and have an empty hole in the middle in which the spider sits waiting for prey. Compared to other types of webs, they are not as thick (Vest). The venom of the Hobo Spider is potent. One important fact regarding bites made by the Hobo Spider is that those made in defense typically do not carry venom, compared to if it was the result of the spider hunting. This is because venom requires energy for the spider to make, so the spider tries to conserve this. The severity of the bite is often dependent on where the bite is located and how old the spider is. Another sexual difference between these spiders is that the male’s venom is more potent than that of the female. The venom is similar to the brown recluse in that it is a necrotic

Discuss the actual and potential implications of Osman for the law of Essay - 1

Discuss the actual and potential implications of Osman for the law of tort - Essay Example In accordance with the decision of the new President of the Chamber, Mr. Bernhardt, the hearing took place in public in the Human Rights Building, Strasbourg, on 22  June 1998. The Court had held a preparatory meeting beforehand. The applicants were citizens of London, Mrs. Mulkiye Osman, who was widowed by Mr. Paul Page-Leiws on March 7 1988 when he shot and killed her husband Ali Osman, as well as Ahmet Osman, her son who studied under Paget-Lewis at Homerton House School. The Osman’s press charges against UK authorities for failing to act on threats Paget-Lewis was making against their family. The family argued that authorities were given ample enough warning to act and prevent the murder and assault that occurred on their family. The application of the exclusionary rule formulated by the House of Lords in Hill v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police ([1989] AC 53) as a defense against actions brought against the police, constituted a disproportionate restriction on their right of access to a court which proved to be in breach of article 6.1 of the European Convention on Human Rights. Likewise, in the specific case of Osman v U.K, it was the Osmans’ position that law authorities had neglected the rights provided them in act 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights 1 Under Article 2, it was ruled by The Court that the states had three main duties, a duty to refrain from unlawful killing, a duty to investigate suspicious deaths and, in certain circumstances, a positive duty to prevent foreseeable loss of life. In the case Osman v UK [1998] it was summarized that â€Å"United Kingdom – alleged failure of authorities to protect right to life of first applicant’s husband and of second applicant from threat posed by individual and lawfulness of restrictions on applicants’ right of access to a court to sue authorities for damage caused by said failure 2† Criminal Procedure Code was established in 1952 and made

The Painted Veil Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Painted Veil - Literature review Example W. Somerset Maugham’s novel the Painted Veil is today recognized as a 20th century classic. The novel itself takes its title from a Percy Bysshe Shelley sonnet that states, â€Å"Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life" (Maugham, ix). One considers that both the sonnet and the title hold a great degree of insight into the novel’s inter-workings. Specifically, the novel follows a variety of characters through personal challenges and foibles that are revealed after removing the metaphorical ‘painted veil’. This recognition carries with it a number of direct questions for the novel. For instance, is the work a bildungsroman -- a novel of development – or is it merely a critique of human weaknesses? This essay argues that the novel functions to demonstrate that life is the continual negotiation between moments of development and human weakness, and as such the central theme is one of adaptation and change. Analysis Throughout the nove l tremendous periods of change occurs, most notably in Kitty Fane’s life. The most notable developmental change in Kitty’s life occurs in direct relation to the specific places she lives and the people she encounters. One considers Kitty Fane’s life throughout the early stages of the novel as largely seeking a more firmly established identity or purpose. In the early stages of the novel Kitty’s weak identity is established as she faces pressure from her mother to marry. The text notes that, â€Å"Mrs. Garstin was a hard, cruel, managing, ambitious, parsimonious, and stupid woman" (Maugham, p. 19). This cruel and managing influence becomes a central area of concern in the novel as it drives much of Kitty’s decision-making. Not being able to recognize her mother’s social ambitions, Kitty rushes herself into an unhappy marriage with Walter Fane. Of course a notable shift in Kitty’s life occurs as she moves to Mei-tan-fu. Upon moving her e, Kitty states, â€Å"I feel like one of those old sailors who set sail for undiscovered seas†¦and I think my soul hankers for the unknown† (Maugham, p. 153). This is a highly significant statement within the text as it indicates that Kitty has achieved a new purpose in life. To an extent the notion of this area as contributing to Kitty’s new purpose in life is directly attributed to her becoming involved with the French nuns; these individuals work with the poor and take care of the orphans in the area. One considers that throughout a great portion of Kitty’s life her actions have been motivated out of self-interest and her mother’s irrational expectations. Her move to Mei-tan-fu then has allowed her to remove herself from her dysfunctional and ineffective adulterous affair with Charlie Townsend, as well as discover and throw herself into a life-pursuit that extends beyond her immediate self-interests. These are both things that she could not achie ve in London or in colonial Hong Kong. While Mei-tan-fu largely represents a period of awakening and stability for Kitty one recognizes that this peace is soon punctured by further moments of human weakness and strife. Despite Kitty’s new sense of purpose, her relationship with Walter is still recognized as containing considerable strife. Even Kitty’s newfound purpose and stability is not able to rectify the situation with Walter. It is not long before he gains cholera. It seems that to an extent Maugham implements Walter’s cholera as a sort of symbolic comment on the nature of their relationship as sick of dysfunctional. The text states, â€Å"I do not know what Walter has in that dark, twisted mind of his, but I’m shaking with terror. I think it may be that death will be really a release† (Maugham, p. 220). While Kitty is vague as to whose death would be a release it seems clear that the cholera in this instance functions outside of the direct re alms of a plot device and more in terms of a symbolic comment on the nature of the relationship. From the perspective of the novel as one of development it seems

Executive Compensation and WorldCom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Executive Compensation and WorldCom - Essay Example His strategy, however, failed, and the company’s expenses increased as a percentage of total revenue occasioned by a drop in growth of earning. By falsifying WorldCom’s accounting numbers, he hid the operating expenses and instead presented them as long-term capital investments, effectively but falsely showing increased assets. However, concerns arose when AT&T, the then leading telecommunication company, was posting loses yet WorldCom was seemed to be thriving, which led to internal audits that, in turn, led to revelations that accounting standards had not been followed. Eventually, the company filed for bankruptcy. Feeling unsatisfied with the low profit margins the telecommunication was comfortable with in the 1990s, CEO Bernard Ebbers of WorldCom, which was the second most successful telecommunication company then, acquired more than 60 small telecommunication companies between 1995 and 2000. After venturing into the internet and data business, by 2000 WorldCom was handling not only half of the internet traffic in the United States, but also half of the world’s total emails. In 2001, it owned a third of the United States’ data cables. From this description, WorldCom was by all accounts a telecommunication giant, only second to AT&T as a long-distance carrier. However, as has been the tradition with executive compensation and remuneration for many years, executives also earn more when the companies perform better (Neokleous, 2013). Bernard Ebbers, therefore, not only made profit for WorldCom’s shareholders and owners, his personal wealth was also growing. Yet, when the in dustry started experiencing business declines, the company was also affected and the price of its stocks dropped, reducing profits. Ebbers used unscrupulous means to show that the company was indeed making profits and, as a direct consequence, ensure his executive compensation (Jeter, 2003). This paper will

The Painted Veil Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Painted Veil - Literature review Example W. Somerset Maugham’s novel the Painted Veil is today recognized as a 20th century classic. The novel itself takes its title from a Percy Bysshe Shelley sonnet that states, â€Å"Lift not the painted veil which those who live / Call Life" (Maugham, ix). One considers that both the sonnet and the title hold a great degree of insight into the novel’s inter-workings. Specifically, the novel follows a variety of characters through personal challenges and foibles that are revealed after removing the metaphorical ‘painted veil’. This recognition carries with it a number of direct questions for the novel. For instance, is the work a bildungsroman -- a novel of development – or is it merely a critique of human weaknesses? This essay argues that the novel functions to demonstrate that life is the continual negotiation between moments of development and human weakness, and as such the central theme is one of adaptation and change. Analysis Throughout the nove l tremendous periods of change occurs, most notably in Kitty Fane’s life. The most notable developmental change in Kitty’s life occurs in direct relation to the specific places she lives and the people she encounters. One considers Kitty Fane’s life throughout the early stages of the novel as largely seeking a more firmly established identity or purpose. In the early stages of the novel Kitty’s weak identity is established as she faces pressure from her mother to marry. The text notes that, â€Å"Mrs. Garstin was a hard, cruel, managing, ambitious, parsimonious, and stupid woman" (Maugham, p. 19). This cruel and managing influence becomes a central area of concern in the novel as it drives much of Kitty’s decision-making. Not being able to recognize her mother’s social ambitions, Kitty rushes herself into an unhappy marriage with Walter Fane. Of course a notable shift in Kitty’s life occurs as she moves to Mei-tan-fu. Upon moving her e, Kitty states, â€Å"I feel like one of those old sailors who set sail for undiscovered seas†¦and I think my soul hankers for the unknown† (Maugham, p. 153). This is a highly significant statement within the text as it indicates that Kitty has achieved a new purpose in life. To an extent the notion of this area as contributing to Kitty’s new purpose in life is directly attributed to her becoming involved with the French nuns; these individuals work with the poor and take care of the orphans in the area. One considers that throughout a great portion of Kitty’s life her actions have been motivated out of self-interest and her mother’s irrational expectations. Her move to Mei-tan-fu then has allowed her to remove herself from her dysfunctional and ineffective adulterous affair with Charlie Townsend, as well as discover and throw herself into a life-pursuit that extends beyond her immediate self-interests. These are both things that she could not achie ve in London or in colonial Hong Kong. While Mei-tan-fu largely represents a period of awakening and stability for Kitty one recognizes that this peace is soon punctured by further moments of human weakness and strife. Despite Kitty’s new sense of purpose, her relationship with Walter is still recognized as containing considerable strife. Even Kitty’s newfound purpose and stability is not able to rectify the situation with Walter. It is not long before he gains cholera. It seems that to an extent Maugham implements Walter’s cholera as a sort of symbolic comment on the nature of their relationship as sick of dysfunctional. The text states, â€Å"I do not know what Walter has in that dark, twisted mind of his, but I’m shaking with terror. I think it may be that death will be really a release† (Maugham, p. 220). While Kitty is vague as to whose death would be a release it seems clear that the cholera in this instance functions outside of the direct re alms of a plot device and more in terms of a symbolic comment on the nature of the relationship. From the perspective of the novel as one of development it seems

Formative assessment Essay Example for Free

Formative assessment Essay Formative Assessment: raising standards inside the classroom Black. , P. (1998), provides a brief overview of the evidence, both qualitative and quantitative about the quality of teacher’s classroom assessment practices, about the effectiveness of good formative assessment in promoting pupil’s learning and the features of classroom assessment that enhances students learning. Paul Black carried out two practical inquiries in various schools. The first experiment involved twelve classes of thirty pupils each in two schools. This experiment work was structured around pupil’s tools of systematic and reasoned inquiry and greatly emphasized on student’s communication skills and peer assessment. The students were required to carry out a science group project which involved experimentation. The results showed that the students who had the best assessment process achieved the highest scores. This was only possible where students were able to communicate effectively with each other and were able to evaluate their own understanding of the concept being taught. Thus, the author showed that self- and peer assessment can be achieved by giving pupil’s opportunities to reflect their learning. Similarly, the second experiment involved forty eight eleven year old Israeli pupils from twelve classes across four schools where half of those selected being in the top quartile of their class on tests of mathematics and language and other half being in the lower quartile. They were taught materials not directly related to their normal curriculum, and given written tasks to be tackled individually under supervision, with an oral introduction and supervision. Then the pupil’s were divided into three groups and feedbacks were provided. The first group was given comments only, the second group was given grades only and the third group was given comments with grades. The research showed that for ‘comments only’ showed an increase in the performance of the students while the other two groups showed a significant decline in the scores across the three sessions. Therefore, this research article tries to show that if feedback comments are in principle, it is operationally helpful for a pupil’s work, and literature also indicates that ‘task-involving’ feedback is more effective than ‘ego-involving’ feedback. Likewise, the reports studied by Paul Black and his colleagues showed that formative assessment helps to enhance feedback between the students and the teacher as it increases new modes of pedagogy and will cause a significant changes in the classroom practices. Similarly, formative assessment increases pupil participation in the classroom and can help affect motivation and self-esteem of pupils. Therefore, effective teaching must be carried out in a classroom that will enhance students learning. However, posing of questions is a natural and direct way of checking on learning, but is often unproductive. It becomes important for teachers to generate good questions and this can be obtained from outside sources such as internet and library sources. Thus, teachers should ask themselves that: Do I really know enough about the understanding of my pupils to be able to help each of them? Therefore, what seems both obvious and problematic is that the whole area is at the heart of pedagogy and may have been appraised and shaped further in terms of a theory of larger scope to encompass school learning comprehensively. One of the limitations of this article is that this has not been attempted, so that what is here needs the discipline of a broader context. Thus, a classroom must be implemented that focuses on the policy for raising standards that will help improve formative assessment. (Black. , P. 1998. Formative assessment: raising standards inside the classroom. School Science Review.

The International Strategy Of Coca Cola Company Marketing Essay

The International Strategy Of Coca Cola Company Marketing Essay In this essay we are going to study about the international strategy of Coca-Cola Company using the IR framework for the Indian market. Coca-Cola Company is world known organisation. The growing market around the world mostly depends upon the technologies, knowledge and integration of market, it clearly demonstrates the flow of knowledge, services, goods and capital through different nations and in which creating the competition on a world-wide basis creating an integrated global space is called globalization (Porter, 1986; Albrow, 1997; Friedman, 1999; Gupta et al, 1999). Its a very challenging task for any organisation to move from domestic market or home market to international market, especially for those organisations which are facing saturated market in their home country (Yip, 2003). The process of globalization is interdependence and integration of countries exchanging different trade, culture, outsourcing, capital investment and the growth of the nations relationship. Busine ss systems, knowledge and unification of culture have led to globalization (Daniels and Krug, 2007). Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by Dr. John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia (Palazzini, 1989). The main reasons for the global venture are cheap labour, distribution and transportation, communication and information technology, cultural convergence, increasing disposable of the global middle class, extension of IP rights, reduced trade barriers, privatization programs and development of international standards (Stonehouse et al., 2000;Denton and Al-Shamali, 2000). India was rated the top international investment opportunity among 30 emerging markets for mass merchant and food retailers looking to expand globally (Business Credit, 2006).. After losing the Indian market previously the company re-entered in the Indian market in 1993 and now have 7000 distributors and more than 1.3 million retailers in Indian market. Today the Coca-Cola Company is the leading non-alcoholic beverage company with ten different products. Coca-Cola Company is now the largest distributor, manufacturer, mar keter of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrup which operate in around 200 countries (coca-cola, 2010). If its international venture is successful then the brand name and the brand value increases for the company. Literature review: A Company operating internationally faces two forces of pressure of local responsiveness and pressure of global integration (Daniels et al, 2009). In 1987 Prahlad and Doz came with a IR framework on internationalization, their IR framework created a big platform for the study on global business which helps to form an international strategy that has multi dimensional contextual setting. IR framework has limitations for the global industrial competition specified only for the first stage, vagueness in the concept that defines the bond between industry forces and finally lack of proof for supporting the framework (Rugman et al, 2006). Bartlett and Ghoshal (2008) further studied and came with some additions in IR framework and came up with 4 strategies that are international, global, transitional and multi-domestic approaches to the foreign market. The Global Strategy adopted by Coca-Cola can be critically analyzed using the IR (Integration/ Responsive) framework proposed by Bartlett, Gh oshal and Beamish (2008) and Hill(2009). Figure 1: IR- Framework ` The global standardization products and services focus on huge profit, but they compromise on their products price. The marketing research, production and research are done in precise regions with some certain standard and it is sold globally. So those type of products face a huge pressure in reducing the price according to the place where it is sold for example Intel, a chip company (Hill, 2009). According to Bartlett and Ghoshal (2002), a solution for the cross border business is Transnational, which is considered as the important approach for the international market. The transnational strategy gives a lot of pressure to the company for cost reduction and local responsiveness. This could be achieved by transferring the precise skills and expectations of the company from the home country to the needs of the foreign country, where they compete with the local market with reduced price for example Caterpillar (Hill, 2009). Entry Modes: Every organisation looks for the opportunity to expand their business across borders, and finding the appropriate entry mode is an intricate task for international business. Different organisation chose different entry modes, to control foreign operation with strategic decision making and which are compatible with the laws of government and culture of the country. There are various modes for entering in the international market like exporting, licensing, franchising, joint ventures with the host country firm, acquisition, and wholly owned new subsidiary in the foreign Country (Hill, 2009). Joint Venture: it is one of the method of entering and sharing of ownership between two or more firms. The percentage of the ownership varies according to the organisations. The firms holding majority of share will have a tight control on the strategy (Hill, 2009). International joint venture benefits the firm from the use of local market knowledge of the host country, culture, competitiveness, legal and political system and development. From International Joint Venture the risk can also be shared with the local partner. Joint Venture has disadvantages also when a firm enters into a joint venture it risk giving control of the technology to its partners. Another disadvantage is if the share of joint venture is not that high or 50-50% then it does not give a firm the tight control over subsidiaries that it might need to realize experience curve or location economies (Hill, 2009). Used by PepsiCo to enter in the Indian Market. Acquisition: it is another method of entering into the international market by acquiring or buying and combination of different companies that can aid, finance, or help a company in a given industry without creating a new business entity (Hill. 2009). Used by Coca-Cola to enter Indian market. It is important for the organisation to consider factors such as the nations long run profit potential, the economic benefits of that country, the market size, and purchasing power of consumers and customers which is linked to the economic growth rate when entering in the market (Hill, 2009). Global Strategy of COCA-COLA: (Zhang, 2010) Indian market is one of the major developing economies in the world. The Indian economy is one of the worlds fastest growing, with gross domestic product (GDP) expanding at an average annual rate of about 7.5 percent for the past three years (Choi, 2006; The Economist, 2006) and the retail market expanding 10 percent on average (Business Credit, 2006) (anon). The Indian retail market, an estimated $250 billion annually, is the worlds eighth largest market and is projected to grow by more than 7 percent annually (Embassy of India, 2007-Cited in Halepete, 2008). The Coca-Cola Company is mentioned as a global company with global products and global activities. In 1980 the company was moving towards centralised control. At that time the motive of the company are to be global in order to expand geographical wise into many of the countries in which the company does business today. In 1990 the world began to start smaller and smaller as a town for the global companies. Globalisation forced changes to appear so fast that many countries could hardly manage the new global environment. As a result, the very forces that were making the world more connected and homogeneous were simultaneously triggering and preservation of unique culture identity. The world is demanding greater flexibility, responsiveness, local sensitivity, nimbleness, speed, transparency and local sensitivity had become essential to success (Draft, 2000). Coca-Cola Company sees itself not as a global organization, but as a multi-local enterprise (Svensson, 2001). Coca-Cola Company historical strength came from operating as a multi-local business that for a very long time relies mostly on the insight of local bottling partners. Thats why the global strategy of coca-cola allows its business in more than 200 countries to act according for local laws, local culture, and local needs and so on. Coca-Cola pursues an assumed global strategy, allowing for differences in packaging, distribution, and media that are important to a particular country or geographical area. Hence, the global strategy is localized through a specific geographic marketing plan. Instead of applying a global strategy, it is likely to be a strategy of thinking globally, but acting locally. The global success of Coca-Cola is the direct result of people drinking it one bottle at the time in their own local communities. So we are placing responsibility and accountability in the hands of our colleagues who are closest to those billions of individual sales (Draft, 2000). This signifie s that if their local colleagues develop an idea or a strategy that is the right thing to do locally, and it fits within fundamental values, policies, and standards of integrity and quality of the Coca-Cola Company, then they have the authority and responsibility to do so. At the same time, they will be accountable for the outcomes of the idea or strategy. It is apparent that a company such as the Coca-Cola Company has realized the weaknesses and the deficiencies of applying a genuine or true global strategy approach in their worldwide business activities. To be in high favour of local ultimate consumer adaptations is emphasized as crucial for their business activities to be prosperous. Therefore, their multi-local strategy approach is still going strong and adequately for the companys worldwide business activities. In addition Gould (1995) states that coca-cola has become a part of peoples daily meal, a price at which anyone can buy and it is available to people in any part of the world. The IR framework has been used to critically analyse the global strategy of Coca-Cola. COCA-COLA COMPANY saw that there is an opportunity in Asian market and their home market situation is saturated. COCA-COLA COMPANY decided to re-enter in the Indian market in 1993. Indian government plays a major role in every international company and had a law that any international company have to become a partner in Indian market with an Indian company. To overcome this problem COCA-COLA COMPANY acquisition of local Indian popular brands including the THUMS UP (the most trusted brand in India), Mazza, Gold Sport, Citra and Limca providing a good base not only in bottling, manufacturing and di stribution assets but also very good strong consumer preference(Kaul, 2003). From this acquisition the leading Indian brands join the family of global brand and its products like coca-cola, diet coke and others. From this acquisition Coca-Cola enables to exploit the benefits global branding and global trends in taste while also tapping in other domestic markets (Lane, 1998). Coca-Cola adopted the standardisation strategy to produce and sell its standardised products globally (Rodrigues, 2009). Coca-Cola Company do franchise with the local manufacturing bottling companies through which they have a local response and local touch. In India COCA-COLA COMPANY have 46 bottling plants from which 22 are company own and rest are the franchise operated plant (Coca-Cola, 2010). After re-entering the Indian market in 1993 the COCA-COLA COMPANY operations grown rapidly through a model that supports local business which includes over 1.3 million retailers and over 7000 distributors across the country. Coca-cola has been successful in the global market as well as Indian market because it follows the local strategies and is able to deliver as per the needs of the local people by manufacturing and distribution by the local company (Hill, 2009). In manufacturing the product the water which is used is local from which the customers get the local taste. The company have an approach where in, their business does not get influenced by the area of sales. Rodrigues (2009), states that Coca-Cola pursues the global strategy of producing diverse products as per the local culture. For instance in India people prefer sweeter coke. Also Coca-Cola launched Georgia, a canned coffee specially intended for Indian market which captured 40% of the market soon after its launch (Hill, 2009). According to Cokecce.com (2007), Coca-Cola trains their managers in their management school, to make them aware of the global perspective of their operations. Figure 2: IR-Framework Adapted from (Bartlett, Ghoshal and Beamish (2008) and Hill(2009)) Manufacturing Distribution Process: This picture is to explain the process from the production and manufacturing to the consumers. Marketing is one of the back bones of any global industry in any country. As to stay in the market ahead from the competitors, marketing plays the major role in Indian market for soft drinks. The post- liberalization period in India saw the comeback of Cola but Pepsi(one of the major competitor India) had already beaten Coca-Cola to the punch, creatively entering the market in the 1980s in advance of the liberalization by the way of joint venture. Coca-Cola Company benefited from Pepsi creating demand and developing the market for soft drinks. (Kaul, 2004) Coca-Cola Company marketing strategy is based on 3 As that are Availability, Affordability and Acceptability. The first A is for availability of the product to the customers. The second A is for affordability is for pricing and the third A is for acceptability which stands convincing the customer to buy the product. In 2001 Coca-Cola CEO Douglas Daft set the new direction for next generation of success for global brand with a Think global, act local mantra. Recognizing that a single global strategy or single global campaign wouldnt work, locally relevant executions became an increasingly important element of supporting Cokes global brand strategy. Coca-Cola Company re-examined its approach in an attempt to gain leadership in the Indian market and capitalize on significant growth potential in the rural markets. The foundation the new strategy grounded brand positioning and marketing communications in consumer insight, acknowledging that urban versus rural India were two distinct markets on a variety of important dimensions. (Kaul, 2004) In rural market, where both the soft drink category and individual brands were undeveloped, the task was to broaden the brand positioning while in urban markets, with higher category and brand development, the task was to broaden the brand positioning while in urb an markets, with higher category and brand development, the task to narrow the brand positioning focusing on differentiation through offering unique and compelling value. (Kaul, 2004) Coca-Cola used two different marketing strategies for each urban and rural market. The first marketing life ho to aisi means life as it should be for urban market and the other was thanda matlab coca cola which means cool or cold is coca cola which hit the rural target very highly and gain the market very efficiently because the 96% of the population are in rural and developing cities. Coca-Cola Company reduced its rate for the rural market by providing 200ml bottle so that those customers and consumers whose wages are not so high can also have it. (Kaul, 2004) At the same time, Coke invested in distribution infrastructure to effectively serve a disbursed population and doubled the number of retail outlets in rural areas from 80,000 in 2001 to 160,000 in 2003, increasing market penetration from 13 to 25%. As a result of the marketing campaign, Coca-Cola won Advertiser of the year and Campaign of the year 2003. (Kaul, 2004) Swot analysis of Coca-Cola Company: Strengths: The brand image of coca-cola is very strong around the world and have a strong brand portfolio. Cola-cola brand value was increased by 2% from 2007 to 2008 and it is $66,667 million. Coca-Cola owned top five brands of soft drinks market around the world. Strong brand image allows the company to introduce new flavours in the market like vanilla coke, cherry coke and coke with lemon. The companys strong brand image facilitates customers recall and allows company to penetrate new markets while holding the old ones. Coca-cola Company offers more than 3000 products across the world. Coca-cola Company is running business in more than 200 countries in the world which provide it a strong global image. Due to the strong business model across the world company is able to generate significant cash flows up to $50 million a day. (Data Monitors, 2009) Weakness: Pension assets effect the company liquidity position of the company due to financial market volatility. Coca-cola Company is very mature having significantly more pensioners than active participating members. (Data Monitors, 2009) Opportunity: Globally the non alcoholic ready to drink market is increasing by 6% every year for the next 12 years. (Data monitors, 2009). This project growth is due to the increase in middle-class consumers and fast growing urban societies expected to form in the future. The company can capture this growth with innovative new products with old products. (Data Monitors, 2009) Threats: Coca-Cola Company is largely dependent on the bottling partners across the world. Approximately 78% of its worldwide production was produced and distributed by its bolting partners in 2008. Due to independent bottling partner companies make their own business decision that may not always align with Cola-Cola Company interest. Many of its bottling partners have a right to manufacture or distribute certain products of other beverage companies. In soft drink market there is intense competition and one of the major global competitors of Coca-Cola Company is PepsiCo. Competitive factors impacting companys business include advertising, product innovation, sales promotion programs, brand and trademark development and pricing. Decline in the market share of the home country which means the consumers have started to look for greater variety in their drinks and are becoming health conscious. Other major threat for the soft drink companies is reducing level of water for which the government and WHO is forcing the companies to reduce the level of water used in manufacturing the products. (Data Monitors, 2009) Competitor Analysis: The one of the major competitor in India and in global market is Pepsi. Pepsi entered in the India market in 1980s through joint venture. As early as 1985, Pepsi tried to gain entry into India and finally succeeded with Pepsi foods limited project in 1988 as a joint venture of PepsiCo, Punjab government owned Punjab agro industrial corporation (PAIC) and Voltas India limited (Singh, 1997). Pepsi was marketed and sold to Lehar Pepsi until 1991 when the use of foreign brands was allowed under the new economic policy and Pepsi ultimately bought out its partners becoming a fully owned subsidiary and ending the joint venture relationship in 1994. While the joint venture was only marginally successful in its own right, it allowed Pepsi to gain precious early experience with the Indian market and also served as an introduction of the Pepsi brand to the Indian market and also served as an introduction of the Pepsi brand to the Indian consumer such that it was well poised to reap the benefits when liberalization came (Kaul, 2004). SWOT analysis of PEPSICO: Strengths: The PepsiCo brand is figured at the 27th position in the top 100 global brand rankings of Business Week. The brand value of PepsiCo is $13,249 million in 2008. PepsiCo owns 18 mega brands which are recognise globally and generate annual sales of $1 billion each. In some countries PepsiCo is allowed to manufacture, sell and distribute soft drink products other than PepsiCo, including Dr Pepper and Squirt. PepsiCo have a strong manufacturing and distribution channel having 591 facilities till the end of 2008 and half of it is in USA and Canada. (Data Monitors, 2008) Weakness: The company operates 74.4% of its revenue from its home country USA and the USA market for soft drinks is decreasing. The net profit margin of the company is reduced by 3.9% as compare for the last year. The weak operational growth of the company will affect its future growth plan and can affect the investor confidence. (Data Monitors, 2008) Opportunities: Bottled water is one the fastest growing market globally. PepsiCo has the leading manufacturer and distributor in this market and can capture more market by developing new brands and making better the existing ones. PepsiCo made significant acquisition including two of the other Pepsi bottlers in which one is the eight largest Pepsi bottler in the Pepsi Bottling Group from which they are reducing the partners power slowly. (Data Monitors, 2008) Threats: PepsiCo is facing problem in the home country from where the company is generating the maximum revenue. The consumers are becoming more health conscious. The company is facing intense competition from its competitors mainly the Coca-Cola Company which is one of the major competitors globally. Competitive factors impacting companys business include advertising, product innovation, sales promotion programs, brand and trademark development and pricing. There are new laws from government and World Health Organisation(WHO) to reduce the usage for water in the manufacturing and for labelling, employment, and recycling and product safety. Conclusion: By using the IR framework tool it is evident that Coca-Cola is a global company and doing business in more than 200 countries with a global strategy and a local response. It entered in Indian market due to saturation in the home country market and the growing economies of India. Coca-Cola Company entered the Indian market by acquisition entry method by acquiring Local soft drinks brand like Thumsup, Limca from which gain knowledge about the country soft drink market. The company captured the Indian market majorly through marketing and targeting the rural market which contains the 96% of the population. The company use three A strategy to be to gain more market share. In Indian market Coca-Cola have 46 bottling plants some of them is owned and others are in partnership from which they share the risk, 1.3 million retailers and over 7000 distributors which gives the company a strong base. 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