Science Fiction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Science Fiction - Essay Example It’s so damn boring.† I wonder whether it is a custom among students to speak in slang or is it a part of university curriculum. I also saw some girls and boys sitting together on some benches sharing notes with each other. I ask myself, â€Å"It might be so that students on Earth share their things with each other but why do they do so when they should hide things?† I cannot come up with an answer since on my planet we hide notes from each other. I see many customs in this campus which are quite surprising for me and which I am sure I will keep on thinking about till many days to come. I see some parents coming into the campus too. One of them is carrying a magazine which says, â€Å"Parent Times†. A magazine for parents? What do parents have to do with a college magazine? And specifically written for them? Too surprising, I must say. And the parents are coming in for the family weekend! That was too hilarious! So, the parents are also involved in the univ ersity activities. â€Å"I will take this idea to my planet†, is the first thought that comes into my mind. The most obvious custom that I observe among students is that female students are being seated in the residence hall while males are standing.

Underground Railroad Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Underground Railroad - Essay Example These were groups that were against slavery and they felt that there was a need to come up with more effective measures to end this vice. The idea was actualized in 1838 with a well organized Underground Railroad having been developed. Robert Purvis was on the helm of this idea. Through the directions that were provided by the agents, thousands of slaves were able to escape from their masters. These Underground Railroads composed of mainly the back roads, swamps, caves, forest, rivers, etc. These well developed routes made it hard for the masters to recapture the escapees. As a result, many masters felt that there was no need to purchase more slaves only for them to escape using these well developed networks. Therefore, the notion that slave-trade was a loss making business played a significant role in reducing the magnitude of the trade (Peterson 35). The reason is that the demand for slaves reduced drastically after thousands of slaves escaped from their masters.The Underground Rai lroad actualized the campaign by the abolitionist that slave trade was immoral. Slaves who used these routes were put in safe places such as homes and churches where they could eat before embarking on the journey to freedom to as far as Canada. This aspect encouraged many slaves to attempt to escape, an aspect that made it hard for the masters to keep these slaves in their farms. This increased the interests of the masters towards paid labor or the use of machineries which were more predictable.

Deception Is An Important Theme English Literature Essay

Deception Is An Important Theme English Literature Essay Sometimes deception can be unintended when the characters dont mean to lie, as in the play by Anton Chekhov, however in Henrik Ibsens play, the deceiver lies intentionally to protect the one she loves. The initial act of deception is shown when Nora deceives her husband and borrows money from Krogstad to save Torvalds life. She then continues lying to him intending to repay back the loan. Nora thinks it her duty to lie in order to protect her husband however this makes her vulnerable as a heroine to Krogstad who now blackmails her. This is an example of a dramatic irony since the readers and most of the characters except for Torvald, know what Nora has really done. Unlike her, Ranevsky, the main heroine of the Cherry Orchard doesnt deceive others but herself. Self- deception is a process of denying logical arguments and clear evidence. Here the themes of changing times and inability to accept change are explored. Madame Ranevsky wants to seek refuge in her childhood past from the despair of her present life, to remember the past and forget the present by refusing to face the reality. After spending five years abroad, she comes back to her beloved home. However she starts crying at the sight of [Her] nursery, [her] dear, beautiful nursery! she feels like a little girl. The nursery is a misnomer and it introduces a very nostalgic atmosphere, which brings up terrible memories of the death of Madames son, which she can not handle. She left Russia for Paris, to forget the memories of her husbands and sons deaths in the first place. When the time comes to auction the cherry orchard, Madam Ranevsky does not want to understand the seriousness of the situation. She does not believe that she can lose the orchard because of the luxury she used to live in, allowing herself everything and now she can not and does not want to accept the fact that she has to change that. The heroine realizes that she has lead a wrong lifestyle, she sinned and overspent, however she does not do anything to change that. She believes that everything will resolve itself. In a similar way, Nora believes that her act of deception was done for the greater good, since she was motivated by her husbands illness and had to save him and so she does not try to avoid any more lies and falsifications. As a matter of fact, she keeps deceiving Torvald, on small things such as eating macaroons and tiptoeing to listen at his door, because she feels the need to conceal the truth from her husband to save their marriage and this is the main source of the plot movement. Torvald in return deceives Nora by making her believe he loves her, he even says Do you know Nora, often I wish some terrible danger would threaten you, so that I could offer my life and my blood, everything for your sake. In reality he prioritizes his reputation before her and just regards her as his property. He only fantasizes about how perfect their life is, which is another example of self-deception. Its clear that their entire relationship is built upon lies and deception. Nora encourages her children to lie to Torvald when she says Dont talk to anyone about the strange gentleman. You hear? Not even to Daddy. By doing that she sacrifices her childrens innocence. Like Torvald, Madam Ranevsky tends to build a fence around herself by ignoring her emotions to create a happy world for herself. When she comes back home, she is restless, she says I cant sit still! I cant do it! [Jumping up and walking about in great agitation.] This happiness is more than I can bear. Laugh at me! I am a fool! My darling old cupboard! [Caressing a table.] My dear little table! . This makes her character ridiculous and from her kissing the bookcases and her reaction over her acquaintances deaths, we understand that she cannot handle anything real. As mentioned before, France was a place of refuge for Madame Ranevsky when she needed to escape and now that one of the most difficult stages of her life is over she does not seem to appreciate Paris. Once she is back to Russia she tries to forget her life there because her lover cheated on her and she is broke. Although later on she escapes from Paris to Russia. When she receives two telegrams from there she immediately tears them up without reading, and says They are from Paris. Ive done with Paris. However when she comes back to Russia, we see that she still hasnt forgotten her past in Paris, her unfaithful lover and the death of her child. Later on in the play, when she talks to Gayef she suddenly exclaims Look! Theres mamma walking in the orchardà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in a white frock. There she is! One of the things about Madame Ranevsky hallucinating shows how disconnected she is from reality. Also, the composition and bearing of the hallucination reveal the nature of her disconnect ion. She seeks refuge in her past, her innocent childhood, and for her, the orchard is a symbol of her past- the fact that she fantasizes her mother in the orchard shows how disconnected she is from reality, confirming what she seeks. In a Dolls House, hope for freedom and independence motivates Nora to keep on lying and deceiving since we always tend to crave whatever we cant get. However she isnt the only character who lies and goes behind the back of her loved ones. Dr. Rank who is a family friend hides his true feelings for Nora from both Torvald and his wife. The only reason Nora actually finds out about how he truly feels, is when she tries to seek his help and she manages to see beneath the surface to his heart. This is how she finds out that he is secretly in love with her. On the other hand Dr. Rank seems to be very considerate and the only reason he deceives both his friends is because he tries to be a faithful friend to Torvald. He is trying really hard to be loyal but at the same time he can not stay away from Nora. Also he manages to expose Noras emotional immaturity and unwillingness to violate social conventions. Thus we cant be sure of whether his deception is intentional or not. Torvald, although it seems like he was the one deceived by both his wife and his friend, can be considered the one most guilty of the crime. Throughout the whole play, we see how he has deceived Nora into believing that their marriage is perfect, whilst in reality it was just his fantasy. The most important thing for him was to be able to keep up a proper appearance of moderation and appropriateness because the society he was brought up in is very judgmental and prejudicial. Like Ibsen, Chekhov presents a character who is also very concerned with looks and appearances. Lopakhin, an ex-peasant who is now a wealthy neighbor talks to the maid-servant, Dunyasha. Although he revels in his own economic situation, at the same time, he chides Dunyasha, by saying You are too refined, Dunyasha, thats what it is. You dress yourself like a young lady, and look at your hair! You ought not to do it, you ought to remember your place. He says that she is still of a low social standing. He is chiding her and telling her not to act like a lady, reminding her she is only the maid. This scene causes tension since there is this dichotomy as he is not quite comfortable with the new changes since he himself came from a peasant background. He almost contradicts what he is saying, which is another apparent example of self-deception. In conclusion, we see that deception is an important theme since its the main cause for characters to lose sense of reality and its also a catalyst of the climax. In the end of A Dolls House, Nora finally becomes more aware of how blind she was and walks out on her family to seek freedom and independence. Torvald on the other hand even at the end of the play, is still devoted to a mirage, an image of something that was never really there. At the end of The Cherry Orchard, Madame Ranevsky loses all her possessions together with the orchard and goes back to Paris, leaving behind everything that she thought she believed in. From this we learn, that deception is often triggered by the acceptance or disapproval of other people in society, since we tend to care too much about what everybody else thinks and thus try to blend in.

ATHLETIC BURNOUT :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Athletic staleness and burnout is a big problem for many of today’s athletes whether they are at the amateur or professional level. The good thing about this problem that ends up in total and complete physical and emotional exhaustion is that it can be recognized when it is taking place. It can also be treated if the recognition comes at too late of a stage of the onset of staleness and burnout. But the best remedy for athletic staleness and burnout is prevention of it in the first place. There are three different models that have been used to explain the causes of athlete burnout.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first one is the cognitive affective stress model, which tells us that the athlete is burned out due to chronic stress on the mind and body during athletic competition and outside of athletic competition. The second is the negative training stress response model that argues that burnout happens as a result of over training. The last one, which is undimensional identity development and external control model suggests burnout is caused by social problems in the way that a sport is organized believing the athletes have no control over their environment.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When diagnosing a player for staleness or burnout there are several behaviors that would make burnout noticeable. The first telltale sign would be that a player is in a slump at some point during the season. Another sign would be serious lapses in the players practice performance and chronic fatigue. The behavior of the athlete in all situations seems to be deteriorating when burnout and staleness are taking place. But there are ways to prevent complete burnout if the behaviors are detected early enough and coaches take heed to the warning signs. If the coach sees his players showing signs of lack of sleep, a sudden loss of confidence, a look of depression, or emotional instability. He should know that the player is in staleness mode and complete burnout is inevitable if something is not done about it.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  If the player does go into complete burnout mode or is even in a staleness rut there are treatments for the player. The most effective of all treatments is psychological reprogramming. The coach should begin to focus the player’s attention on new goals in the short term and reward their positive behaviors. H e should give the players more rest time in between practice and games and allow them to take their mind off of competition and performance for a while.

Vacant Chapter 6 Surprises

After four months, I continue to be astonished by what Emily can do with a dented, often label-less, can. She says it's all the Julia Child reruns on PBS, but I don't care who's to credit. Dinner is on the table every night with mismatched plates and silverware, and our economy paper towels are always folded into decorative shapes. It hasn't escaped my notice at how much I enjoy seeing our laundry mingled together, either. The bottom line for me is that she makes even this place seem like home. After Emily agreed to move in with me – which was no small feat – it took a month until she stopped knocking, then cracking the door and yelling, â€Å"Ethan?† before she would enter through the front door. It was as if she thought I would get mad if she didn't practice her self- imposed ritual. While her discomfort with calling this her home still lingers, it's just the tip of the iceberg concerning our†¦ issues. Initially, she'd been particularly insistent about getting a job and wanting to help financially. I hadn't argued, thinking she was nearly done, if not completely finished, with school. I hadn't bother to ask what her status was, figuring she was old enough to make that decision herself. So, it was with eagerness that I helped her look for a job. One roadblock was her lack of identification. Employers want an ID, but of course, Emily didn't have any. We spent an entire day at City Hall getting the required documentation and social security card, so we could then go to the DMV. That was the day I found out she was barely old enough for a driver's permit – let alone a driver's license. Emily insisted she was nearly eighteen when we met, but I found out she wasn't even close. Shock didn't even begin to explain what I felt at the revelation of her real age. She hadn't lied about when her birthday was; it was a month after she moved in, as she'd first said. However, she was turning sixteen, not eighteen. While I was monumentally upset by her deception, I got it. She was living with the fear of being herded into a state system that could feel like you were being fed to the wolves. I couldn't really blame her. After I got over my initial anger about her lie and the additional guilt of some of the inappropriate things I may have fantasized about her, I realized Emily missed the milestone of sweet sixteen. I remembered a co-worker talking about her sister's sixteenth birthday and the excitement that went along with the momentous occasion. Emily insisted she didn't want anything special and maintained that by finding me, she'd already received more than she ever hoped for after her mother's passing. The celebratory sad-assed cookie I had on my twenty-first birthday came to mind. I instantly knew it wasn't good enough for Emily, so I went into work and ordered the most extravagant and girly cake our bakery had – regardless of the fact it was almost forty bucks, my usual weekly food budget. Her reaction to the cake was like a kick to the stomach. When I brought it home, Emily cried, explaining that even her mother had never gotten her a cake since cake wasn't something you buy on a stric t budget. That was the moment I decided Emily would never go without again. Knowing that cake was so special made it all the more enjoyable when I ate it every meal the week that followed. â€Å"Ethan, go wash your hands please. Dinner is ready.† It never fails. The girl can literally watch me walk from the bathroom, knowing I've just scrubbed up, but she will still tell me to wash again, and I will. I know that she's tied to the routine, not really the cleanliness factor. Many who have been in a homeless situation will cling to routines for the comfort and solace they bring. We sit and eat in silence for the first few minutes of the meal. It's always balanced, particularly since she's taking a health class this semester and preaches the benefits of healthy eating habits and exercise. Sometimes it makes me laugh because she sounds just like one of those infomercials she occasionally watches in the middle of the night after she's had a bad dream. There are times I think it's more than just nightmares, though, when she wakes at night. She carries a lot of guilt around with her given our situation. Emily feels like she should contribute to the household with money. I feel like she needs to be in school, getting an education. Even though legally she could drop out, I'm constantly reiterating that school is her job, and there will be plenty of time for her to contribute in the future when she's a full-fledged taxpayer. â€Å"Hey, Ethan?† Emily asks cautiously, while pushing her cube steak around on the plate. I'm a bit nervous since she says it with hesitance. She hardly asks for anything, and when she does, she makes it seem like she's about to ask for a million dollars, but it's usually something small and relatively insignificant. This time, though, the accompanying look on her face indicates this isn't simple. I put my fork down and look up, giving her my full attention. â€Å"So, Christmas is coming.† I inwardly groan, not because she's brought it up, but because I participate in as little of the Holiday Cheer as possible. It's been awhile since I've celebrated the birth of Christ, mainly because I don't believe in God. Realistically, I see the holiday as an opportunity to earn extra money as I work all the shifts so everyone else can spend time with their families. I try to dislodge my anxiety about the topic but it doesn't work. The holidays are about commercialism and consumerism. Plus, I can't afford to buy gifts. â€Å"Yeah, I usually work Christmas. I get double time.† My dinner still sits heavy in the pit of my stomach. I know I should give her a special day. â€Å"Oh.† Now I feel like a jerk who's robbed her of the magic of Christmas. â€Å"Like all day or just part?† â€Å"The store is open from seven until two, then closing early.† I know why she's asking, but it doesn't keep me from playing stupid. â€Å"Why? What's up?† Emily finally stops pushing her battered piece of meat around on the plate and looks up. â€Å"I was thinking†¦and you don't have to†¦it's just something that†¦I mean, you can, but if it makes you uncomfortable†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I finally stop her rambling by touching her hand. My hope is that she will refocus her thoughts with my unexpected gesture. I'm successful. Emily sits up a little straighter, squares her shoulders, and wipes her mouth with her paper towel-slash-napkin. â€Å"I want to spend Christmas at the shelter. You know†¦it's the last place I was with my mom.†

Nike in China

Executive Summary Overview Nike is the market leader in athletic shoes in the United States. The Oregon based company has always utilized offshore facilities in low-income countries to produce at minimal costs followed by importation into predominantly the US for sales. Nike is quick to divest from emerging markets as costs rise and has recently signed short term production contracts with a long term strategy of production in China. Unlike Nike’s previous global endeavors, the political and cultural atmosphere in China has made the collaboration more demanding. Opportunities As the South Korean standard of living continued to improve, expected wages grew forcing Nike to look elsewhere for low cost shoe production. Market research identified China and India as the best long term possibilities for the new production facilities based on finances. Due in part to a trusting relationship between Nike and the Chinese government based on the family lines of vice president David Chang, China was determined to be the optimal location to grow. The possibility of a joint venture giving Nike access to a possible billion customer market was another opportunity that could only be found in China. Issues in China Nike has spent the last four years building facilities, training staff, and developing relationships in China. Unlike other facilities in low GDP countries that had been utilized previously, the China collaboration has been less than successful. The current infrastructure combined with landlocked facilities made transportation logistics difficult. The Chinese government had certain expectations and standardization requirements that were misaligned with Nike’s incentives in terms of quality, pay, pricing, and employee motivation. The PRC government also created difficulties in import/export restrictions causing logistical problems with raw materials, specifically anything entering the country through South Korea, a major Nike supplier. While a foothold in China could eventually lead to an enormous new customer base, the current global strategy was ill suited to take advantage at the current time. Options * Shift strategies in China from global to multi-domestic to take advantage of the market. This option would require the formation of a joint venture with the Chinese government. Move factory locations to reduce transportation and logistics issues. * Pull out of China completely. Recommendations We believe the government regulations will make quality improvement and cost effectiveness highly unlikely in China. Furthermore, a multi-domestic strategy requiring a high investment rate would be required to take advantage of the Chinese population as a new customer market. With low expendable income and a forced jo int venture with the government necessary to sell Nike in China, we determined that selling in China is not currently an option. As such, the team recommends an urgent identification of new possible production environments with a concerted and eventual total divestiture in China. Questions a. How has Nike conceptualized the athletic shoe industry: global or multi-domestic? Justify your answer. What are the implications of this conceptualization? Nike instituted a global strategy, as opposed to a multi-domestic strategy, from the company’s onset to compete in the athletic shoe industry. Knight identified opportunities abroad to reduce costs in the upstream functions of the value chain. Through the coordination of overseas operations integrated with US downstream functions focused on local US markets, Nike’s utilization of a Porter-defined global strategy has brought the company to China. The Far East’s Role in the Value Chain Beginning with the first Japanese facilities, Nike factories located in the Far East, Europe, and South America have accounted for approximately 93% of shoe production with only minor assembly in the US. The identified regions within this concentrated configuration were almost exclusively production-only facilities without the R&D, sales and marketing, and other downsteam services required for a successful multi-domestic strategy. The countries had been targeted due to low costs with certain factories being divested over the years due to increasing wage rates and political uncertainty. Competition to reduce costs between different countries was key to identifying new opportunities and deciding on which factories would remain open as economic factors changed. While reducing costs was the main concern in global production, Nike could not accept a subsequent loss of quality. Previous experiences in Far Eastern plants had proven successful via quickly accepted technology transfer and ratios of grade-B shoes falling below 5% at rapid rates. Without the combination of high value and low cost, the strategic competitive advantage would be lost. Assumptions and Implications of a Global Strategy Nike moved to China based on their strategic history of standardizing the operations life cycle. Knight believed China would mirror other Far Eastern locales. Cost cutting assumptions included pay based on relative Chinese wages (as opposed to relative Nike production wages), employee incentives capabilities, minimal import/export barriers, and an infrastructure for facile distribution logistics. For each unforeseen difficulty encountered along these assumptions, Nike’s costs would increase and could drive margins down to a point where China would no longer be financially competitive. The Olympic team public relations venture attempted to further the relationship between Nike and the Chinese government, not to present a new product for the public. The millions spent were misaligned with a low cost model and were identified with past exploitations by the West. While the possibility of two billion feet was enticing, Nike was in China to produce, not sell, shoes. There was no plan to market, distribute, or sell in China. Accordingly, the idea of a joint venture should not be on the table under the current strategy. However, the PRC strongly pushed JVs and the lack of a true collaborative environment could be detrimental in an environment so heavily regulated. b. Speculate on the reasons for Nike wishing to enter China. Before the entry do you think these reasons were valid? Justify your answer. China’s Excellence in Manufacturing China is known for their excellence in manufacturing. Nike intended to exploit this excellence in order to drive down their supplier costs, while maintaining their customer’s willingness to pay constant which creates value for Nike’s customers and shareholders. Prior to entry and based on Nike’s due diligence, this was a valid reason. However, Nike either underestimated or did not entirely comprehend the challenges of conducting business is China. From the difficulty of sourcing local materials to the inconsistency in quality of the finished product, China was not the optimal manufacturing location for Nike. Rapid Growth of the Athletic Footwear Market in the 1970’s (& Bad Forecasting) Perhaps Nike did not do enough high quality market research to see that the growth was slowing in their market. Nike may have become complacent due to their dominance in the industry or Nike may have discounted the market trends in the athletic footwear industry that showed a decline in the rate of growth, when comparing the 1970’s to the 1980’s. The bottom line is that Nike did not accurately forecast and adjust their strategy to the athletic footwear industry trends and market conditions. Prior to entry and based on Nike’s due diligence, this was a valid reason. Nike chose to enter China, in part, to meet the demand of the growing market. However, perhaps they should have spent more time and resources on market research, which would have revealed that the growth rate was declining, and perhaps additional suppliers were not necessary to carry out their business plan after all and that a different international location might better meet their sourcing needs and goals. Rising Costs from Existing Suppliers One of the reasons Nike planned to enter China was due to the costs of conducting business in other countries (for example, South Korea and Taiwan) had been increasing. Nike thought that they could source product from China at a lower cost than their current offshore producers. Prior to entry and based on Nike’s due diligence, this was a valid rationale. Due to the multiple issues that Nike faced in China, the costs associated in producing a pair of shoes were actually higher in China than their other international producers. See Table A in the appendix for a landed cost comparison from the case. Two Billion Feet Although the case clearly specifies this is not a reason for entry into China, one of Chang’s motives may have been to sell directly to the Chinese. The size of the Chinese population is over three times the size of the United States. Even though the shoes produced in China were for the US, Chang may have considered producing a low cost shoe for the Chinese. Perhaps Nike’s long term strategy was to navigate the Chinese political system, develop a strong local production presence, and then ultimately sell low cost footwear directly to the Chinese market. This reason was not valid prior to their entry. Nike’s product was not produced for the Chinese, as the average Chinese consumer could not afford the product. b. How did the decision to enter China complement Nike's overall strategy? Nike’s decision to enter China was based on flawed information. Nike underestimated the inherent challenges (political bureaucracy, materials sourcing, shipping and transportation, quality control and the Chinese culture of non-motivation and non-commitment) they faced when conducting business in China. Nike also failed to accurately forecast the demand in the athletic footwear industry. The decision ultimately hurt Nike’s overall strategy, as their production costs rose, while the demand for their product was declining. Higher cost and declining demand both negatively affected Nike’s bottom line. c. Identify the entry and ownership strategies used by Nike in entering China. Do you think they were appropriate? Base your analysis on the entry and ownership strategies outlined by Robock and Simmonds, referenced above. Justify your answer. As costs started to rise in other Asian markets, Nike made the strategic decision to open new full-scale manufacturing facilities in China, with the goal to reduce production costs. Nike’s entry strategy into China created obstacles in achieving their long-term goals, which they should have foreseen. Below are a few factors that contributed to the obstacles. External Factors Nike underestimated the scope of the Chinese bureaucracy. Nike’s only choice was to hire a consultant to navigate the issue. This consultant increased Nike’s costs of doing business in China. Furthermore, Nike overestimated the size and future growth potential of their target market. Nike should have conducted additional due diligence and more thorough market research before deciding to move into China. In addition, Nike did not forecast the materials sourcing issue, which added to product costs. Internal Factors Nike failed to forecast/implement some key factors when deciding to enter China. Nike lacked the necessary internal operations to actively manage and solve production problems in real time. Also, Nike had great difficulties communicating the issue of quality control to the Chinese. Furthermore, the Chinese managers and workforce lacked motivation to perform their jobs to levels satisfactory to Nike. Ownership Nike chose to be wholly owned. Nike did not pursue the joint venture route, even though China tried to persuade Nike otherwise. Nike did, however, hire a consultant as a strategic partner to help them navigate the challenging bureaucracy. Given the political climate in China, perhaps Nike should have approached China with a joint venture agreement. Having China as a partner may have saved Nike time and resources when launching a new manufacturing platform. Or, perhaps Nike should have formed a strategic partnership with a local footwear manufacturer in order to bypass some of the issues with starting an entirely new facility and would have had some assistance in navigating the local market. d. Would you say Nike's entry into China was a success? Give reasons for your view, explaining why the entry was successful or a failure. At the time of case study, Nike’s entry into China was not a success. This evaluation is based on several reasons primarily due to the cultural clash between Nike and Chinese production. By 1984, Nike encountered a range of problems—from quality issues (only 80% of Chinese shoes were A-Grade), to inventory management (records kept on a guess method of expected usage), lack of flexibility from Chinese managers, motivational issues with management and workers, as well as complex and difficult government relations. Quality Issues in Product and Management When China’s reformist leader, Deng Xiaoping, opened China to foreign investment and global market opportunities, Nike seized the opportunity to buy a finished shoe product from the PRC as a long-term, low-cost supplier. However, despite China’s opening to the global market, it still existed as a socialist state with severe trust issues and obstructions to the free flow of information. These factors compounded to cause an array of production difficulties. Due to the Chinese factories still producing 20% B-grade shoes (significantly higher than both South Korea and Taiwan), Nike management not only wasted additional time arguing with Chinese managers on the quality problems (rather than actually improving the problem) but Nike also had to hire additional inspectors for each factory. While the money spent to hire these inspectors was relatively low, this illustrates the need for oversight and the lack of faith and trust in the Chinese managers to run the factories to Nike’s standards. Governmental Regulation Additionally, as a socialist state, Chinese workers lacked motivation to increase production (factories at a standstill by midday) and to adhere to production schedules since they would be paid the same regardless of output. Even attempts by Nike of monetary incentives only appeared to have an effect for approximately 60 days. Because of the central planning system, the Chinese managers were used to stable prices. Price negotiations proved extremely difficult as none of the actual participants in the negotiations (foreign trade bureau, factory directors, local production bureau leaders) had the authority to make price decisions—everything relayed to authorities in Beijing. Compared to Korea or Taiwan, negotiations were slow which was extremely detrimental in a global and ever-changing environment. The levels of bureaucracy in China were much higher than those encountered in South Korea or Taiwan. Although Nike tried to establish a positive relationship with China (through contributions to the country’s sports activities and hosting various Chinese officials visiting the U. S. ), meeting with the high-live leaders in China did not prove useful. The Chinese bureaucracy made making decisions difficult as it was never apparent who was in charge of what and Chinese officials did not show the same level of interest in establishing a relationship with Nike (leaders sometimes did not show up for appointments). Ultimately, all of the cultural difficulties resulted in extremely low production numbers (Nike originally targeted production growth to 1,000,000 pairs per month by mid-1980’s but annual production in 1984 was only 700,000 pairs), significantly lower than both South Korea and Taiwan. Although Nike had ultimately hoped for a 20% price advantage over Korea, they were still losing $1. 00 on each pair of PRC shoes while the quality was much lower on these shoes as well. e. Identify the options available to Nike regarding its operations in China. If you were Chang at the time of the case, what future course of action would you recommend in China? Options Some of the options available to Nike regarding its operations in China are to pull operations out of China completely or consider entering into a joint-venture agreement with China. As of 1984, Nike’s foray into China has not been a success due to a variety of reasons (listed above). If Nike were to pull operations out of China, they would risk losing all of the equipment investment as well as damaging the sensitive and already tenuous relations ith the government. Other countries would have to be evaluated as a low-cost source of production. Some possible countries could be Indonesia or shifting a greater percentage of production to Taiwan as their comparative changes in unit labor cost, although increasing, were significantly lower than Korea or Taiwan. However, if Nike did decide to stay in China and enter into a joint-venture agreement, this step would potentially be viewed as a sign of trust and evidence of commitment by China. Nike would also be allowed to sell its products in China—a significant market to consider with a population of 1 billion people. Nike would also have additional freedoms with regards to hiring and dismissing personnel. The costs of a joint-venture agreement though, were estimated at $500,000 per factory and worker salaries would be about 20% higher than local factories. Recommendations to Nike If we were Chang at the time of the case, the future course of action that we would recommend to Nike would be to pull out of China operations. Although the possibility of access to a market with 1 billion people seems counter to this decision, China’s great strides in opening to global markets indicates the likelihood that Nike will be able to access this consumer at some point without having to make the commitment of a joint-venture agreement. Additionally, while recognizing the sunk-costs bias, we feel that the potential costs to continue operations in China would result in Nike still losing money on each pair of shoe produced instead of cutting their losses and finding another profitable production avenue. Conclusions Nike saw China, as well as the many impoverished nations where previous production had occurred, as a part of the supply chain with a cost effective advantage. Korea and Taiwan had become increasingly expensive and China was a long term option. Unfortunately, Nike did not understand the political or cultural implications for utilizing China as part of a global strategy. The political environment and infrastructure in China created unforeseen difficulties for Nike in building an efficient production system. Government controlled wages reduced the influence of incentives for both work efficiency and quality. Strained relationships with the South Korean government made importation of materials slow and expensive. Transportation logistics and regional cultural differences made the government suggested sites for initial factory locations less than ideal. China’s two billion feet did not align with Nike’s global strategy. The Chinese public could not afford the high costs for the Nike brand and current ROI expectations could not be achieved. The Chinese government’s relationship approach to external companies would have much greater acceptance towards a mutually beneficial joint venture. Some saw Nike’s global strategy as exploitation. The financial impact of Nike’s strategy could not be delivered in China. The collaborative relationship desired by the Chinese government was misaligned with Nike’s needs. Together, it becomes apparent that the best option for Nike is to locate a better location for production urgently and completely divest in China.

Arguments against cannabis legalization essays

Arguments against cannabis legalization essays THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A SOFT DRUG When it comes to discuss the problem of decriminalize or not cannabis, it is natu-ral that the interest is focused on whether or not we should classify cannabis to the same hard drugs category among other substances such as heroin. And this dilemma comes from the fact that for most people cannabis is considered as a benign substance com-pared to other drugs such as heroin or LSD. But recent studies and incidents from all over the world came to prove this allegation wrong. The separation of marijuana from the, so called, hard drugs is generally based in four arguments: 1. Marijuana is not an addictive drug. The UK Department of Health summed it up neatly: "Cannabis is a weakly addic-tive drug but does induce dependence in a significant minority of regular users." Around 9% of users become addicted, although some studies estimate that over 50% of users have "impaired control" over their use of cannabis. Of the 70 million Americas es-timated to have tried the drug, around two million uses it daily which means that 180.000 people are addicted only in the U.S. besides, if you are a regular cannabis smoker (every day) and you stop smoking, you will experience some of the following withdrawal symptoms: restlessness, irritability, mild agitation, insomnia, nausea, sleep disturbance, sweats, and intense dreams. These symptoms although mild and short-lived, lasting 2 to 4 days are vary similar to those one experiences when one stops using other drugs such as heroin. 2. You cannot die from cannabis use. The first death to be registered as having been caused by cannabis toxicity was reported in The Daily Telegraph in 01/18/2004. "The inquest in Haverfordwest, Wales, heard that Lee Maisey had smoked six cannabis cigarettes a day for eleven years. On August 22nd last year he complained of a headache, and was found dead the next morning. ...

Retaliating In America essays

Retaliating In America essays A water filled balloon comes sailing over a crowd of onlookers as it crashes into the back of a rather large individual. Immediately, the drenched victim turns and searches aimlessly for the perpetrator. Only, he finds no one to point the finger at for sure. Ideas of who the culprit may be races through his mind, and now he realizes it was probably the group of his peers that jeer at him every day. This time they have gone too far, the suspicion of an individual being responsible has left his mind, instead, he views the entire group of kids to be equally accountable. The aforementioned situation left the victim in a state of fury, wanting to retaliate and strike back. While half of his mind wants to pummel the ones responsible, the other half is left unsure what to do. This is the feeling an entire nation endured after the September 11th tragedy. While America remained united physically, they were separated mentally in whether or not to fire back, and still yet, others counte red with discriminatory remarks and actions to Americans resembling those who were accountable for the horrific tragedy. Those who wished to fight back responded immediately by outraging on the television, in magazines, and on the radio. Every station or page you turned to, there somebody or something was saying that we should retaliate. Most writers and broadcasters stated proficient reasons why they felt we should reciprocate. Each justified their opinions well because of how passionate they may have felt about that tragic day. Some stated that the United States should bomb back or send troops in, as long as it was physical destruction that we partook. While half of America felt we should fight back, the other half of the remaining individuals kept silent or spoke out that non-violence action was the best method of retaliation. Those who remained silent may have been decided in mind but could not actually speak what they felt because they we...

The Worlds Most Popular Languages

The Worlds Most Popular Languages There are 6,909 languages actively  being spoken in the world today, although only about six percent of them have more than a million speakers each. As globalization becomes more common so does the learning of languages. People in many different countries see the value of learning a foreign language to improve their international business relations. Because of this, the number of people who speak certain languages will continue to rise. There are 10 languages that currently dominate the globe. Heres a list of the 10 most popular languages spoken worldwide, along with the number of countries where the language is established, and the approximate number of primary or first language speakers for that language: Chinese/Mandarin- 37 countries, 13 dialects, 1,284 million speakersSpanish- 31 countries, 437 millionEnglish- 106 countries, 372 millionArabic- 57 countries, 19 dialects, 295 millionHindi- 5 countries, 260 millionBengali- 4 countries, 242 millionPortuguese- 13 countries, 219 millionRussian- 19 countries, 154 millionJapanese- 2 countries, 128 millionLahnda- 6 countries, 119 million The Languages of China With more than 1.3 billion people living in China today, it is no surprise that Chinese is the most commonly spoken language. Due to the size of Chinas area and population, the country is able to sustain many unique and interesting languages. When speaking of languages, the term Chinese encompasses at least 15 dialects spoken in the country and elsewhere. Because Mandarin is the most commonly spoken dialect, many people use the word Chinese to refer to it. While roughly 70 percent of the country speaks Mandarin, many other dialects are spoken as well. The languages are mutually intelligible to a varying degree, depending on how close the languages are to one another. The four most popular Chinese dialects are Mandarin (898 million speakers), Wu (also known as Shanghainese dialect, 80 million speakers), Yue (Cantonese, 73 million), and Min Nan (Taiwanese, 48 million). Why Are There So Many Spanish Speakers? While Spanish is not a commonly heard language in most parts of Africa, Asia, and the majority of Europe, that hasnt stopped it from becoming the second most commonly spoken language. The spread of the Spanish  language is rooted in colonization. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, Spain colonized much of South, Central, and large parts of North America as well. Before being incorporated into the United States, places like Texas, California, New Mexico, and Arizona were all part of Mexico, a former Spanish colony. While Spanish is not a common language to hear in most of Asia, it is very common in the Philippines because it too was once a colony of Spain. Like Chinese, there are many dialects of Spanish. The vocabulary between these dialects varies greatly depending on what country one is in. Accents and pronunciation also change between regions. While these dialectical differences can sometimes cause confusion, they do not block cross-communication between speakers. English, a Global Language English too, was a colonial language: British colonial efforts began in the 15th century and lasted until the early 20th century, including places as far flung as North America, India and Pakistan, Africa, and Australia. As with Spains colonial efforts, each country colonized by Great Britain retains some English speakers. After World War II, the United States led the world in both technological and medical innovation. Because of this, it was considered beneficial for students pursuing work in these fields to learn English. As globalization occurred, English became a shared common language. This caused many parents to push their children to study English as a second language in the hopes of better preparing them for the business world. English is also a useful language for travelers to learn because it is spoken in so many parts of the globe. A Global Language Network Since the popularity of social media, the development of a Global Language Network can be mapped using book translations, Twitter, and Wikipedia. These social networks are only available to elites, people with access to both traditional and new media. Statistics of use from these social networks indicate that while English is definitely the central hub in the Global Language Network, other intermediate hubs used by elites to communicate business and science information include German, French, and Spanish. Currently, languages such as Chinese, Arabic, and Hindi are vastly more popular than German or French, and it is likely that those languages will grow in use of traditional and new media. Sources Simons, Gary F., and Charles D. Fennig. Ethnologue: Languages of the World. SIL International 2017. Web. Accessed January 30, 2018Population, Total. World Bank 2017. Web. Accessed January 30, 2018.Ronen, Shahar, et al. Links That Speak: The Global Language Network and Its Association with Global Fame. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111.52 (2014): E5616-22. Print.Tang, Chaoju, and Vincent J. van Heuven. Mutual Intelligibility of Chinese Dialects Experimentally Tested. Lingua 119.5 (2009): 709-32. Print.Ushioda, E. M. A. The Impact of Global English on Motivation to Learn Other Languages: Toward an Ideal Multilingual Self. The Modern Language Journal 101.3 (2017): 469-82. Print.

Creating film script by myself (This is not an essay) Essay

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History Analytical Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

History Analytical Paper - Essay Example Like an ass he is owned by several people including priests and legionnaires, in his adventures he hears many novel tales. At the end of the book with the intervention of a god, he is turned into a human and joins the Isis cult when he returns to his native Rome. Peter brown depicts the non-factious various escapades of Augustine in the Augustine of Hippo. While not as interesting or humorous as the golden hand, it delves on Augustine change in believing from a Christian by his mother’s influence to a Manichean and later to Christianity where until his death he was a doctor of the church. To contrast the two books is intriguing and interesting as they both arguably represent literarily classical that has defied time to be among the best reads even in the modern day despite having been based in the early centuries of classical civilization. In two separate journeys, we are taken through memorable adventures whose discoveries and its outcomes are more or less similar. The Golden Ass and Augustine of Hippo both explore various themes in their story lines. Religion can be described as a person’s personal spiritual belief various religions abound. The narrator in The Golden Ass is interested in magic his beliefs. His interest in magic results in him turning into an ass. In the golden ass magic is largely discussed, a tale of Thelyphron is told. As a student Thelyphron indulges in many wanderings and runs out of funds. He is enlisted to take care of a corpse in an area where there are many witches it is said that the corpse pieces of flesh from his ears and nose are taken by the witches and more baffling is the resurrection of the corpse to affirm widow’s guilt. Peter brown in the Augustine of hippo explores religion deeply too (Brown, 342). He delves into Augustine of hippo’s life in various from when he is a Christian to mechanism and back to Christianity. In his faith’s journey, he develops some beliefs regarding

Business Management in Nursing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Management in Nursing - Assignment Example Being a business, the nurses are expected to put in effort to the achievement of that business’s objectives using effective staff and financial management resources. It is for this reason that Business management in Nursing is being offered; to empower nurses to be effective in managing the business aspect of nursing. This paper develops a syllabus for Business management in Nursing. Keywords: learner, nursing, business management Syllabus for Business Management in Nursing Instructor: Office: Office Hours: Contact Hours: Semester, Year: Telephone: E-Mail: Course Information 1. Course Description This is course is aimed at preparing students to meet the changing business management expectation of the present health care services. The students shall also learn about the changing trends in healthcare industry, the changing roles of nurses from bedside practice to middle management and the business aspect of healthcare in general. Students shall also learn of how the nurses can c ontribute to the success of the healthcare business using effective staff and financial management resources. 2. Course Content The following key topics shall be covered in this course; Management functions and decision making in which case topics under management like planning, staffing, directing, organizing and controlling shall be covered. In addition managerial roles like, decisional, informational, and interpersonal that assist in decision making shall also be covered. In addition the fourteen principles of management as put forward by Henry Fayol shall also be covered and how they are applicable in nursing. Employee and Healthcare organizational development in which case issues like change-management plan, organizational problem identification and resolution, behavioral-science knowledge, organizational behavior, linear and holistic organizational development, and the business management code of ethics shall be covered. Staff and Financial Resource Management in which case su b topics like budgeting and finance, human resource management, procurement, whole-school engagement to resource allocation, and an in-depth understanding and interpretation of financial statement information shall be covered. 3. Methods of Instruction The instructor will make use of case studies, lecturers, videos, student experiences and responses, guest speakers and questions and exercises from main reading materials. Student Outcomes and Expected Competencies 1. Competencies Students taking this course should have done BBM 101 (Principles of Business Management) and BNM 204 (Nursing Management). 2. Student Outcomes By taking this course, the learner should have the ability to; Display knowledge of the changing trends in nursing healthcare by; clearly examining and understanding the changing roles of nurses from bedside practitioners to middle management level managers; clearly interpreting the changing perspective of the health industry in which the health care practice is viewe d as business and the nurses are required to manage that business well; clearly demonstrating that he or she can apply the knowledge obtained about business management In the nursing perspective. Apply the five management functions of planning, controlling, staffing, organizing and directing to the nursing practice efficiently. Exhibit a strong business knowledge and orientation in the healthcare industry. Design organizational system to solve practical

Internet Marketing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Internet Marketing - Coursework Example It will then advice on the improvements that can be done to increase the effectiveness of social media for prospects, students and alumni engagement and support. The internet, also known as the worldwide web has become increasingly important in today’s world. Different sectors use the internet to do different kinds of things. The most important aspect about the internet is that it has made the world a global village where people in different parts of the world are joined together in real time (Mills, 2011:345). One of the sectors that has used internet in its different aspects is education. The education sector around the world uses the internet for research, administration, and learning and to promote social issues (Ractham & Firpo, 2011). One important aspect of the internet that has been used in education is social media. Brunel Business School has implemented social media in its studies to ensure that it attracts more students even as the world changes, for instance in terms of an increase in tuition fees among other aspects. There are several challenges that Brunel Business School is facing with its current social media adoption/ use that must be addressed to achieve more efficiency. As stated above, Brunel Business School has already implemented social media, for example, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as aspects that improve student experiences in the school as well as improving the prospects of the school in attracting other students. Today social media is used to create engagement in classrooms and in online courses. Social media varies from a fully collaborative approach to learning to social activities so that the learner to actively participate in the learning process. Social media such as Facebook links social issues with active learning to allow students have an all round experience in the learning process. This has been an advantage for Brunel Business School in its

Earnings per share for xyz Company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Earnings per share for xyz Company - Term Paper Example They normally give Earning per share a certain distinction among the financial ratios. Earnings per share are considered very important in a business since it allows the investors to know how much the business earned in their stock share investment. In other words, EPS shows how much in terms of net income did the business earned for each stock share owned. Basic EPS Ratio The essential EPS is given by the equation; EPS = Net Income / Total number of stock share (Wiley, 2013). For example, in the following income statement, the company’s $32.47 million net income is divided by the 8.5 million shares of stock it owns to get the $3.82 EPS. Income statement for the year 2010 Sales revenue $457,000 Cost of goods sold expense $298,750 Gross Margin $158,250 Sales, Administration and general expense 102, 680 Earnings before interest and income tax $55,570 Interest expense 6,250 Earnings before income tax $49,320 Income tax expense 16,850 Net income $32,470 Basic earnings per share $3 ,82 Diluted earnings per share $3,61 EPS = 32.47million/8.5million = $3.82 For the stakeholders of businesses whose shares are publicly traded, EPS becomes extraordinarily important. The stakeholders therefore need to pay close attention to the market price per share. In such cases, the stakeholders would prefer their net income to be communicated to them in terms of per share so that they can be able to compare it with the market price of the stock per share (Bryan, 2011). Unlike publicly owned companies, the stock shares of privately owned companies are not traded actively. This is because they do not have to report their EPS according to the GAAP. This exemption is explained by the fact that their stockholders do not focus on per share values but are instead interested in the business’s net income. The Diluted EPS Ratio The XYZ Company could be listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) given the assumption that its shares are traded at $70 per share. Well known as the B ig Board, requires that requires that the market capital which includes the total of the shares issued and the outstanding shares, should be at the least, $100 million and the number of shares available for trading should be at least 1.1 million. The Company’s market capital is $595 million with the 8.5 million shares trading at $70 per share and this is well above the NYSE’s minimum. By the end of the year, this company has 8.5 million shares just outstanding. This number refers to the number of stock shares that have been issues and are now owned by its stakeholders. Therefore, the Earnings per share is $3.82 as has been computed. Nevertheless, a complication sets in when the business is committed to issuing additional capital stock shares in the future for stock options granted to the executives by the company, and it has funds borrowed on the basis of debt instruments. This particularly gives the lenders the right to convert the debt into its capital stock. Followi ng that, the business may have to issue 500,000 additional capital stock shares in the future under terms of its management options as well as its convertible debts. When we divide the net income by the number of the outstanding shares plus the additional shares that could be issued in the future, the following EPS computation emerges; $32.47million net income ? 9million capital stock shares issued and potentially issuable = $3.61 EPS This second computation, as can be seen, has higher number of stock shares and is therefore referred to as diluted earnings per share. The term diluted is used to refer to thinned out or spread over a large number of shares. That notwithstanding, the

Movie Reaction Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Movie Reaction - Essay Example And, in the process, the audiences will get to see a new version of reality. Fantasy will actually be able to come out of the books and the directors will be able to portray their version of fantasy on the movie screen. With technology it is possible to show imagination. In the second scene from the movie, the director and the apprentice try to capture a local wedding in their video camera. In the beginning they seem really pleased with the progress but suddenly the mood of the wedding attendants’ changes. To get a good shot the two men stand right in the way of the wedding procession. The bride is being carried in a small decorated cart. The men with the bride see this as an interruption in their ceremony. They get angry and chase away the two men. I see that anything new or strange always brings out hostility in people. They chases away the cameramen in the movie but today no wedding is complete without a camera man. This scene reminded me of the Benjamin’s words; â€Å"Their most powerful agent is the film. Its social significance, particularly in its most positive form, is inconceivable without its destructive, cathartic aspect, that is, the liquidation of the traditional value of the cultural heritage.† (Benjamin, Ch. II) â€Å"The change that has come about is an expression of the particular conflict in which painting was implicated by the mechanical reproducibility of paintings. Although paintings began to be publicly exhibited in galleries and salons, there was no way for the masses to organize and control themselves in their reception.† (Benjamin, Ch. XII)   EXPLAIN why you chose the two paragraphs/sections from the article. HOW does those paragraphs/sections relate to the movie. *The focus should be on explaining your understanding of the paragraphs with support from movie This section (Part 1) is from Chapter II of the article and instantly reminded me of the

Earnings per share for xyz Company Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Earnings per share for xyz Company - Term Paper Example They normally give Earning per share a certain distinction among the financial ratios. Earnings per share are considered very important in a business since it allows the investors to know how much the business earned in their stock share investment. In other words, EPS shows how much in terms of net income did the business earned for each stock share owned. Basic EPS Ratio The essential EPS is given by the equation; EPS = Net Income / Total number of stock share (Wiley, 2013). For example, in the following income statement, the company’s $32.47 million net income is divided by the 8.5 million shares of stock it owns to get the $3.82 EPS. Income statement for the year 2010 Sales revenue $457,000 Cost of goods sold expense $298,750 Gross Margin $158,250 Sales, Administration and general expense 102, 680 Earnings before interest and income tax $55,570 Interest expense 6,250 Earnings before income tax $49,320 Income tax expense 16,850 Net income $32,470 Basic earnings per share $3 ,82 Diluted earnings per share $3,61 EPS = 32.47million/8.5million = $3.82 For the stakeholders of businesses whose shares are publicly traded, EPS becomes extraordinarily important. The stakeholders therefore need to pay close attention to the market price per share. In such cases, the stakeholders would prefer their net income to be communicated to them in terms of per share so that they can be able to compare it with the market price of the stock per share (Bryan, 2011). Unlike publicly owned companies, the stock shares of privately owned companies are not traded actively. This is because they do not have to report their EPS according to the GAAP. This exemption is explained by the fact that their stockholders do not focus on per share values but are instead interested in the business’s net income. The Diluted EPS Ratio The XYZ Company could be listed in the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) given the assumption that its shares are traded at $70 per share. Well known as the B ig Board, requires that requires that the market capital which includes the total of the shares issued and the outstanding shares, should be at the least, $100 million and the number of shares available for trading should be at least 1.1 million. The Company’s market capital is $595 million with the 8.5 million shares trading at $70 per share and this is well above the NYSE’s minimum. By the end of the year, this company has 8.5 million shares just outstanding. This number refers to the number of stock shares that have been issues and are now owned by its stakeholders. Therefore, the Earnings per share is $3.82 as has been computed. Nevertheless, a complication sets in when the business is committed to issuing additional capital stock shares in the future for stock options granted to the executives by the company, and it has funds borrowed on the basis of debt instruments. This particularly gives the lenders the right to convert the debt into its capital stock. Followi ng that, the business may have to issue 500,000 additional capital stock shares in the future under terms of its management options as well as its convertible debts. When we divide the net income by the number of the outstanding shares plus the additional shares that could be issued in the future, the following EPS computation emerges; $32.47million net income ? 9million capital stock shares issued and potentially issuable = $3.61 EPS This second computation, as can be seen, has higher number of stock shares and is therefore referred to as diluted earnings per share. The term diluted is used to refer to thinned out or spread over a large number of shares. That notwithstanding, the

The In-between world of Vikram Lall-Draft Essay Example for Free

The In-between world of Vikram Lall-Draft Essay Home is an anchor; without it, one is lost. Brainstorming: The story is itself of an Asian living in an alien land of Africa which since centuries has been a colony of British regime. This essay will be developed around the Vikram Lal’s life in the alien land, and how he landed in Canada. Vassanji’s power lies in his carefully narrated skill in examining the paradoxical and complex situations in which Lal Ji and many other Asians find themselves. It is all an issue of bringing forth hidden identity in the soils where racism and class division is at its peak and always struggling to make themselves feel at home in the alien land away from home. It is rightly said that Home is an anchor; without it, one is lost. It implies that Home makes us realize what we are and who we are. It makes us identify with ourself, with neighbors and society. In an alien land more and more we try to search our identity more and more we find ourselves lost in the two worlds. In the quest to be loyal to the alien land we deprive ourselves from our own identity and if we refuse to adopt the alien world, we are not adopted by that world. I would try to explore how Vassanji’s tried to explore this dilemma in the minds of the immigrants through the story of Vikram Lal in the family. Outline Racism Author was himself born in Kenya It is his own experiences which are reflected in the book Through the voice of Vikram Lal, this story will bring about the problem of citizenship for the people of Asian Descent in Kenya and how they are adjusting and adopting themselves in the alien land where Kenya is itself engulfed in the fire of rebellion against the British regime. The situation of Kenya when it is rapidly descended into neo-colonialism addresses the issue of citizenship for people of Asian descent in Kenya by studying the during the president-ship of Jomo Kenyatta. Rough Draft Racism was deeply into the   soils of Kenya and the Aisans too had to face the burnt of racism and the question of class further raised the question of establishing him politically. The way Vikram Lall perforrn his struggle for citizenship is in sharp contrast to his friend Nioroge who inspite of belonging to the very lowest strata of society, he occupied highest posistion duing neocolonial period.   was occupieng the   considered to be   differentiated

Proposed Roadmap for Cloud Adoption

Proposed Roadmap for Cloud Adoption 1. Chapter 8: Case Study based on the roadmap 1.1. Introduction This chapter focuses on the case study done by a privately owned company based in India. They were willing to adopt cloud for their IT Department. The proposed roadmap is being tested for the process they followed for the cloud adoption. This was done to know the significance of the proposed steps to be followed using the existing SDLC in chapter 6.The feedback is given by the team who worked on the proposed roadmap. The names have been kept anonymous for the confidentiality issues. 1.2. Project background The company who agreed to test the proposed system is a privately owned company with employee strength of 200-250 employees. The company deals in health care industry. The company is in a process of reshaping IT infrastructure and on its way of developing a cloud solution for the same. The reason for adopting cloud is the benefit it gives. It includes performance appraisal, resource utilization and scalable processes. The company wants to utilize the existing employee IT skills and resources. The company intends to do it by collaborating with the cloud service provider and customizing the cloud solution. It also intends to follow the different steps of the process to make sure that the requirement is met. 1.3. Framework walkthrough The roadmap is designed keeping in mind the challenges and best practices that are used while the cloud adoption of the project. It is believed that any project undertaking this roadmap with the highest score is more likely to succeed. The efficiency of the roadmap is tested based on a questionnaire designed for the different levels of process. The company will follow the steps of SDLC designed and customized especially for cloud adoption process given in Chapter 6. The five individual steps will have different set of questions. The IT manager will mark the question based on the importance of outcome by following the particular step in the entire process. Table 8.1 to 8.5 will represent the question for each stage. It will also contain the marks for each question. Table 8.6 will have the have the total marks for every stage based on the marking in table 8.1 to 8.5. Each phase has certain question that needs to be marked on a scale of 1-5 where 1 is least favorable and 5 a strongly favorable response. Each question is given weights (0.0-1) that are basically decided by the project team based on the nature of the project. The score for each question is then multiplied by weight given to it. The total of all the questions individual to each phase is done and then overall score adding the score of all the phases are done. The adding up of all the score adheres to the overall score of the project. The overall score represented how well the project adhered to the framework. Table 8.2: The questionnaire for the analysis phase Observation and comments for analysis phase: The successful implementation of the cloud adoption has made it a mandate step to do an intensive analysis and requirement gathering documentation. It is made a very necessary step as the process of cloud adoption is all in its early birth stages. The analysis phase requires the organization to closely analyze the future impact of cloud adoption on culture, politics, finances, procurement and in line work processes. Table 8.2: The questionnaire for the planning phase Observation and comments for planning phase: The use of standard tools and techniques based on organization’s standardizing tools for the planning phase was important. This helped to plan the right use of existing systems for the migration to cloud. The organizations benchmarks also helped to plan the performance standards for the systems that were moving on cloud. Based on the right planning it is also easy to chose appropriate cloud service provider. Table 8.3: The questionnaire for the design phase Observation and comments for design phase: This phase is majorly important in negotiating on the terms and conditions on the issues that were identified in the previous two phases that is analysis and planning. It is also realized that successes of design phase in entirely dependent on how efficiently the previous two phases are done. In other words design is basically a result of proper planning and analysis. Table 8.4: The questionnaire for the implementation phase Observation and comments for implementation phase: This is the phase where the actual movement of the application takes place to the cloud. This phase also deals with the end user participation and also the critical evaluation of the data involved. It was also found that the participation of the end users helps to address all the issues related to the new changes in the system. It helps to address the socio technical changes in the organization. Table 8.5: The questionnaire for the maintenance phase Observation and comments for maintenance phase: The phase basically makes sure the after implementation support that serves as a very critical indicator towards the success of cloud adoption. This phase is also important as this phase requires the team to address the best practices and also to document the lesson learned during the entire system development life cycle. This documentation serves as a building block for the future assignments. Table 8.6: Project phase totals It was observes that the analysis phase is the backbone of the entire project. It also serves as the building block of trust and understanding between the customer and the cloud vendor. The use of analysis phase as a part of SDLC was a positive point as the SDLC tool is familiar with mostly all the business managers. It also helps in selecting the appropriate infrastructure needed and the provider to provide them. The planning was observed as the most important and embarking step for the entire project. This is perceived as the most crucial step as this step interprets the result of analysis phase into the plan needed for design and then implementation phase. The design phase is successful only when the analysis and planning phase is done correctly. It is basically act as a result of the two previous phases. The implementation phase is the stage where all the issues are addressed related to social technical changes, resistance to change that occurs due to the result of the entire clo ud adoption. The last step of the maintenance acts as an additional advantage as this step provides the user support and monitoring control. This also serves as the important indicator towards the take off of the project. It also helps to improve for next coming projects as these steps requires the team to do the lesson learnt documentation and revive of all the best practices that were followed. 1.4. Conclusion A walkthrough of a case study is presented in this chapter. It was basically an illustration of how the proposed roadmap can be used in a cloud adoption project. It illustrates that how this proposed framework that can be used for a project. The each phase had questions to be answered by the project team using the framework. The individual phase had total score and that adds to the overall score to the project. The overall score represented how well the project adhered to the framework.

A Stressful Life :: Biography, Faulkner

William Faulkner was an American Poet, and writer. When he was young he loved football and later discovered that he also liked writing. When he started to work as a writer he started to fill stressed by the pressure he had so he started drinking. William Faulkner was born on 25 September 1897 in New Albany, Mississippi (Akers 1). He was the son of Murry Cuthbert and Maud Butler, and the first out of his four brothers (Kawin 1) His other three brothers were Murry born 1899, John born 1901, and Dean born1907. He learned to handle guns and hunt during his childhood. He lived among horses and dogs while their father ran the livery stable (Skei 2). He became shy, and did not do his schoolwork (Inge 6). He later quit school, returning only during the fall to play football (Skei 3). He attended school until eleventh grade because he was denied graduation (Inge 6). His family was well known for banking and the railroad. His father soon became the secretary and business manager of the University of Oxford (Kawin 1). Attended the University of Mississippi studying William Shakespeare(Skei 4). During his early life he worked as a store clerk, carpenter, general construction- worker, coal shoveler, deck hand, cadet –aviator, and in a bookstore in NY (Akers 2). He also worked at his grandfather’s bank and learned the medicine value of his liquor (Inge 1). Then he returned to Mississippi and worked as a postmaster from December 1921 to October 1924, but was accused of throwing all incoming mail into the garbage can (Inge 3). In 1918 he tried to join the U.S. Army Signal Corps, but did not meet the height and weight requirements (Kawin 1). He liked the British uniform and was nicknamed â€Å"Count† because his uniform was the latest in fashion (Inge 6). So then he enlisted in the Canadian RAF. He joined the air force in 1918 and got a commission as a R.F.C. pilot (Kawin 1). In training he crashed a plane that cost the British government $ 84.30 (Inge 1). World War 1 ended before he finished his training as a pilot (Inge 2). In 1919 he entered Oxford Unive rsity as a special student until 1920. As a special student he surpassed French and Spanish but did performed awful in English (Inge 2). In 1918 Estelle Oldham announced her engagement with Cornell Franklin. She had two children from her marriage with Cornell (Skei 3).

Teaching From A Design Perspective Essay -- Philosophy Education

Teaching From A Design Perspective Developing a philosophy of education is more than asserting a love of wisdom in the theory and practice of teaching. It may be heartening to feel, but it lacks backbone. For a philosophy to have weight and merit, it needs truth, logical strength, and soundness. (Hughes 19) My philosophy of education asserts the following premises that if we teach: learning as relational; creativity as skill; and knowledge as design; then, we create an instructional approach that is cross curriculum. The logical strength of my argument is delivered after each premise has been explained, and the proof statements of each are proposed as truth claims. In doing so, my philosophy of education is a sound argument challenging the existing education paradigm that makes a distinction between required and elective courses. Currently, the Ministry of Education’s requirements for graduation weakens elective courses as having less academic credit, strengthens required courses as having more educational disc ipline, and subsequently, unequally distributes creativity into the curriculum. However, as Perkins points out in his article â€Å"Creativity by Design†: If all knowledge were presented and discussed from the perspective of design, education would yield a much more creative view of knowledge. (23) In my philosophy of education, I argue that teaching creativity is the most significant skill a student can learn, and is a cross curriculum attribute that has equal weight in every type of discipline. Thus, my philosophy of education supports an interdisciplinary curriculum where predominately elective subjects, such as technology education and fine arts, stand on equal footing with required subjects typically regarded as... ...pose cross-curriculum equality begins by removing the academic and social prejudices that exist between required and elective courses. Works Consulted Conference Board of Canada. Solving the Skilled Trades Shortage. 28 March 2002. Fischer, Gerhard. â€Å"Social Creativity: Turning Barriers into Opportunities for Collaborative Design†. 8th Conference on Participatory design (Toronto). 2004.152-162. Hughes, William. Critical Thinking. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 1996. Perkins, David. â€Å"Creativity by Design†. Educational Leadership. 14.1 (1984): 18-25. Petrina, Stephen. Advanced Teaching Methods for the Technology Classroom. Hershey: Information Science Publishing, 2007. Pollack, Sidney. Sketches of Frank Gehry. 2004. Reid, Anna, Peter Petocz. â€Å"Learning Domains and the Process of Creativity†. The Australian Educational Researcher. 31.2 (2004): 45-62.

Cognitive Dissonance, Media Illiteracy and Public Opinion Essay

Topic – The article ‘Cognitive Dissonance, Media Illiteracy and Public Opinion on News Media’ is examining and discussing public opinion, media illiteracy and cognitive dissonance. The author takes you through a break down on public opinion of newspapers and television news and shows why a lot of the quantitative research taken over the past several decades is in fact invalid. The main purpose of this article is to compare and contrast newspaper and television news, and investigate the reasons why one source is more credible and reliable than the other. He also discusses the decline in the audiences of both. Context – Many other scholars have cited Claussen as to why he believes people choose TV news over newspaper is because ‘it is human nature to want a name and a face and a voice with communication’ (Claussen, 2006). It touches on the questions raised by other papers regarding the creditability of TV news and why people choose to watch the news as entertainment instead of reading newspapers for the facts, which also shows the differences in public opinion over the several decades in which the information is gathered. It follows in with fields of study such as journalism, media studies and mass communication as it breaks down how these types of communication are influential to the public. It intertwines with psychology, public sociology and cultural studies as the article examines the thought pattern and reasoning as to how people choose their preferred style of news consumption. Structure – This research article is developed from the findings of quantitative research conducted by the U.S. newspaper industry, American Society of Newspaper Editors and most recently The Ford Foundation. The article itself has two formal headings to break down what is being discussed and where the information was extracted: 1) Studies and Surveys About Newspapers Versus Television, and 2) Reasons Why The U.S. Public Gave Television News A Free Pass. The sections of this article are quite clear. It starts with the introduction, which gives an extensive summary of what is being discussed, whom this topic is affecting and the reasons why this information was gathered. It then moves Claussen’s main argument under the heading; Studies and Surveys About Newspapers Versus Televisions. In this section you find the evidence to support the author’s claims about the difference between newspapers and television news and the public’s opinion on this matter. The article then moves on to the second heading, Reasons Why the U.S. Public Gave Television News a Free Pass, which itself is a bold statement of the author’s viewpoint. Continually referencing Newhagen and Nass’ article ‘Differential Criteria for Evaluating Credibility of Newspapers and TV News’ (Newhagen and Nass, 1989), which shares Claussen’s view, this section also serves as a conclusion. This section concludes with the opinion that the reason why people choose TV news over newspapers is due to the public’s illiteracy of the media. The author is able to communicate his thoughts and ideas clearly without the use of diagrams, tables or visual aids. He uses ample facts and figures to support his argument, in a clear and well-structured article. Overall, the structure of this piece has been easy to follow, simple to read and very informative. Style – This is an informative yet persuasive piece; Claussen uses research to persuade the audience of his opinion on news consumption by the public. He is writing to a general audience, anyone who is interested in reading about this topic will find it to be an interesting piece to read. The language is simple and neutral, and is clear and easy to understand with minimal use of jargon and difficult words. The article is formal, and he does not use descriptive language or attempt to visualise the topic at hand, keeping his authority on the subject. Argument – The public opinion regarding news media, the differences between newspapers and TV news, the reasoning behind why the quantitative research on this topic is invalid and the changes made in this industry over the past several decades are all parts of the argument at hand. The author is trying to convince his audience that people will give an answer on this topic that is deemed more socially acceptable rather than the real truth as to the way they receive their news. He is also convincing the audience that newspapers have a lot more content and points of view than the simple ones broadcasted on television. The author believes lack of education on media literacy is the most important factor and that ‘the content of the television news has become so poor that many consumers can no longer deny that newspapers are higher quality news media than television news broadcasts’ (Claussen, 2006). The author makes few assumptions throughout the article; one being that ‘the newspaper industry and those who believe in an important, even unique, role for newspapers are concerned about the long term future of the industry’ (Claussen p212) as there is no evidence to support the scope of these claims. Evidence – The author has gathered examples of opinions by scholars and professionals in the mass communication industry, as well as gathered statistics from quantitative research performed by organisations and corporations to back up majority of his claims. The majority of the sources cited in this article are secondary sources, however I have found one case study from readership.org cited by Claussen. This case study looks at the type of news people want to read, and rankings of importance among types of newspaper readers, however all of the other original research cited in this article is no longer available via the web to legitimise the sources. Evaluation – Claussen included information from similar articles to draw on conclusions and back up his claims on this topic, in particular, the article ‘Differential Criteria for Evaluating Credibility of Newspapers and TV News’ (Newhagen and Nass, 1989) this is a peer viewed journal article which has been cited over 50 times. In relation to this article drawing on the conclusion that ‘newspapers will always be at a disadvantage relative to television in surveys of public attitudes because of the separation in time and space between readers and the people who produce newspapers’ some would say since the article was written in 1989 this paper would benefit from more recent findings on this topic as now this may have changed due to the instant feedback they can now receive via online surveys. This has been included to support the claims that it is harder to produce newspaper news than television news, however looking at this article this would be the main conclusion you would draw from this evidence. Another example would be ‘The Public’s Use and Perception of Newspapers’ (Bogart, 1984). This is another journal article, which compares newspaper content and the content of television news. The way the statistics are portrayed in this article compared to the original source strengthens the argument by changing the wording to make the argument more persuasive for example ‘only 53% said television alone was not sufficient’ (Claussen, 2006) compared to the original article that Claussen used to gain his evidence which stated ‘53 percent, say they do not get enough news from TV and want the added details from the newspapers on the big stories’ (Bogart, 1984). One major reason which has not been discussed in this article, is that majority of people in the US have a television in their home, which has free access to the local channels, therefore watching TV news is more accessible. This article has been somewhat useful in comparing the differences between newspaper and television news throughout history however not having any recent evidence or opinions has weakened the claims as there is no evidence given from the decade prior to writing this piece regarding the growth of media, including websites, smart phones, social media, and other communication sources. Conclusion – Going through the evidence and opinions that Claussen has cited to support his claims and after analyising the article more deeply, it would be found that his argument that newspaper content is a lot stronger than television news, is not necessarily correct, considering that television news is much easier to obtain. People prefer a more personal way of viewing their news and in this day and age people want as much information as they can get in the quickest way possible making TV news most popular. With the new technologies available in these recent times would these claims made regarding where people gain their news from still be relevant to the discussion on the newspapers long term future? References – Bogart, Leo 1984, ‘The Public’s Use and Perception of Newspapers’ The Public Opinion Quarterly, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 709 – 719. Retrieved January 11, 2012 from JSTOR Database via Griffith University. Juric, Pavica 2006 ‘Mass Media Usage during a Natural Disaster: LSU College Students and Hurricane Katrina’, Masters thesis, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge. Newhagen, John & Nass, Clifford 1989, ‘Differential Criteria for Evaluating Credibility of Newspapers and TV News’, Journalism Quarterly, vol. 66, no. 2, pp. 277-281,284. Retrieved January 9, 2013 from ProQuest Database via Griffith University.

Grade Speech Essay

From the minute the teacher mentioned the word SPEECHES i started to frown. I have never been a big fan speeches from the start, even though i have been doing them for a few years now i still have trouble with them. Whether its coming up with a topic, revising and editing, or presenting in front of the class i don’t like it one bit. But when you think of it who really does like doing speeches at are age. I have never met someone who has started jumping up and down cheering when they hear the teacher start talking about doing speeches. Or someone who started thinking yaaa i get stand up in front of all my friends and my classmates and talk about one subject for 5 to 6 minutes. But in the end we all have to do it one time or another. Knowing that I start thinking of different topics to do my speech on, and then i think why not do a speech on the very thing i have trouble with. Why not do a speech on doing a speech. So here’s my speech on speeches. The first step on creating your speech is too come up with a good topic. You wanna think of something that isn’t too boring. The last thing you want is to be standing there talking with half of the room falling asleep. You want a topic that is something your audience will find interesting or maybe something they can relate to. If your like me, coming up with the right topic to do your speech on can be challenging sometimes. So here are some things to keep in mind while finding a good topic for you. First thing is that the topic you choose has to be one that either you know a lot on or one that will be easy to research. If you cant get information on it then you wont have anything to talk about. Second thing to keep in mind is that you need to make sure the topic is appropriate for whatever audience you will be presenting to. Third thing is that another way to help think of a topic is to brainstorm. You can brainstorm many different ideas then choose the one you want to do most . The next part to do of the writhing section of your speech is the draft. this is one of the parts that takes the most work. The most important thing to keep in mind while writing your draft is that it’s a draft! A rough copy. You can go back and fix things later when you don’t like what u have written. There should be three parts to your speech. #1 the introduction. #2 the body. #3 the conclusion. The introduction is where it all starts. That’s where you have your opening sentence. You want your opening sentence to be something interesting that will grab the audiences attention and make them want to keep on listening to the speech. A good introduction is the way to start off a good speech the body of your speech is the middle. Its the biggest part of the whole thing. Then there’s your conclusion. Its the ending part of speech, the part where you Finnish up and conclude. Now its time to revise and edit.

Cognitive Process Culture Essay

Lamadrid takes into account the mythical or magical dimension of the novel and relates it to the emerging social consciousness of the protagonist. He asserts that Anaya elucidates that the command of Curandera is consequential in nature is derived from mythical though process and it resultant knowledge. These mythical thought processes itself are derived from resolution of the contradiction that is inherent within the culture. So he portrays power as capability to contemplate and comprehend the social processes in a dialectical way. So myth is not something extra-human and acultural phenomenon but it is a cognitive representation of social thought process. This scholarly article facilitates readers to understand the role of Antonio in the context of mythical realism and development of his mature social consciousness at the end of the novel. People resort to Antonio at critical times because they are inherently aware that these mediators have powers that can offer remedies to their maladies. So myth helps understanding the role of Antonio in the society and how this role is established. Mancelos, Joao de. Witchcraft, Initiation and Cultural Identity in Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima. Alfarrabio. Retreieved on 12 October 2008. Website: This article manifests the development of Antonio and how different elements of chicano culture i. e. witchcraft, cultural identity play a vital role in helping him achieving maturity. He considers the role of Ultima and his witchcraft prowess to help Antonio explore his cultural identity. This article elaborates the role of his familial traditions, by his Hispanic lineage and his Catholic religion at an early stage of his life. Later he learned the tussle between Ultima and his religions but prefers Ultima and his witchcraft. All this contribute toward his maturity at the end of the novel. This article explains various developmental stages of Antonio and contribution of various factors during these periods and enables us to understand the contributories toward this development.

ExxonMobil - Future potential Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

ExxonMobil - Future potential - Essay Example 7 3.1 Strengths of ExxonMobil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 7 3.2 Weaknesses of ExxonMobil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 3.3 Opportunities for ExxonMobil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 3.4 Threats to ExxonMobil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 9 4.0 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis of ExxonMobil †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 4.1 Threat of New Entrants †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 10 4.2 Threats from Rivals †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚ ¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 4.3 Supplier Power †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 4.4 Buyer Power †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 4.5 Threat of Substitutes †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 11 5.0 Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 12 References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â ‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 13 Executive Summary There is no doubt pertaining to the fact that ExxonMobil happens to be the biggest publicly traded company in the world that deals in oil and natural gas. The recommendations extended in this report directly ensue from varied facts and factors like the number one position of ExxonMobil in the oil and natural gas sector, the immense growth potential of ExxonMobil and the steps being taken by the company to extend its business all around the world. So far as its financial position is concerned, ExxonMobil is suitably positioned and has the capacity to benefit from the fluctuating oil and natural gas prices. So as to be able to have an insight into the future potential of the ExxonMobil, the report intends to analyze ExxonMobil’s business operations and the overall business environment in which the company operates. The report holds that Exxon Mobil has an immense growth potential in the future. This conclusion ensues forth from varied facts. Over the years ExxonMobil has managed to retain a robust financial position and standing in the oil and natural gas sector. Besides, ExxonMobil is proactively expanding its activities at an international level and is making immense investments in the oil and natural gas sector. These advantages enjoyed by ExxonMobil are much augmented by the fact that the demand for oil and natural gas is continually increasing all around the world. In the light of these facts, the prospects of ExxonMobil seem to be propitious in the future. 1.0 Introduction In order to have an insight into the future potential of ExxonMobil, it will be useful to consider its past track record and history. In the past 125 years, ExxonMobil has successfully graduated from being the largest marketer of kerosene within the United States of America to being the largest publically traded company that deals in oil and natu ral gas (ExxonMobil 2012). In the present context, ExxonMobil is operating in many of the nations and is known word over by the dint of its famous brands like Mobil, Exxon and Esso (ExxonMobil 2012). It goes without saying that the contemporary world economies are largely dependent on energy and the energy needs of the world are immensely expanding with time. The products made by ExxonMobil facilitate transportation, have a usage in the petrochemical and lubricants industry and power generation.