Greek Life Essay

Greek Life Since the Kappa Alpha Society was founded in 1825 at Union College, all but three United States Presidents have been members of a fraternity. The Greek system now contains nine million members across 123 chapters of fraternities and sororities. Nine million people have taken advantage of the opportunity to better themselves and their universities through a fraternity or sorority. However whenever a Greek organization is featured in the media, it is usually for reasons of an out of control party or hazing allegations.The media ignores the millions of hours dedicated to community service, as well as the millions of dollars raised for charity annually. Hazing makes headlines, philanthropy does not. The Greek system is frequently criticized for instances of members breaking the non-hazing policy of every chapter across the country, and is regularly condemned for it. Hazing is an illegal part of many organizations, including the military, sports teams, marching bands, fraternit ies and sororities. Hazing again is illegal in all of these organizations and is specifically addressed in the handbook of many Greek organizations.For some, hazing is seen as a rite of passage, and is expected when pledging a fraternity. Regardless, this practice is actually less popular than the media makes it seem. I personally am pledging a fraternity here at Salem State University, and have never been told or forced to do something I did not want to do. Hazing does happen though, and it sadly it hurts the image of the Greek system as a whole. Dartmouth College, the school where the famed fraternity film Animal House is set, has been notorious for their brutal hazing practices.In an article written by an ex-fraternity member at Dartmouth, Andrew Lohse recalls the horrible acts he had to perform in order to gain acceptance into one of the 17 chapters. â€Å"I was a member of a fraternity that asked pledges, in order to become a brother, to: swim in a kiddie pool of vomit, urine, fecal matter, semen and rotten food products; eat omelets made of vomit; chug cups of vinegar, which in one case caused a pledge to vomit blood; drink beer poured down fellow pledges' ass cracks†¦ mong other abuses. † This type of behavior does indeed happen at some chapters. Those chapters however, are quickly discovered, investigated, and when evidence of hazing is clear, the national chapter of that fraternity shuts down the chapter at the college. The members involved can also be tried in court, and face jail time and heavy fines. The purpose of pledgeship is not to humiliate and demean future members; it is to build a strong bond with one’s pledge brothers and fraternity brothers.As told to me by a brother when I asked if we were ever going to be hit, he answered, â€Å"no, this fraternity is made up of my friends and I don’t know about you, but I don’t hit my friends. † Throughout pledgeship we are told to look around at each other and r ealize that the gentleman in our fraternity are not just college buddies, they are going to be standing beside us at our wedding and looking over us at our funeral. As my pledgeship winds down and my initiation approaches, I can honestly say that I am much different than I was a few months ago.My leadership ability has increased immensely; I was elected the president of my pledge class and have taken on more responsibility than I ever thought myself capable of. I find myself not afraid to take on a challenge, or step up as a leader in my classes and activities. A fraternity does not just benefit an individual on a personal level, in the professional world; it is a huge advantage over competition for a job. Right now, 85% of Fortune 500 executives were a part of Greek life. The vast network of alumni branching across the world opens up numerous possibilities for employment.The Greek community takes care of each other, and when an employer sees that a potential employee was Greek in c ollege, they automatically have an advantage. If the employee was in the same chapter as the employer, that advantage becomes even bigger. Being in a fraternity opens up doors for thousands of college graduates every year. Warren Buffett, named one of the most influential people in the world by Time magazine, was a part of my fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi. Buffett has also been on the list for the richest man in the world numerous times.Many successful businessmen, politicians, and community leaders since 1825 are the products of Greek life on their college campuses. The public frequently condemns the Greek system when members choose to break the law, however the system is rarely commended when the same members raise thousands of dollars for charity. Personal leadership and responsibility is a skill that not many have, and cannot be taught. A fraternity or sorority does teach this and more, and develops wide-eyed freshman on a college campus into successful adults in a very short amou nt of time.The Greek system has been doing this since 1825, and will continue to mold model citizens for the world. Works Cited â€Å"Confessions of an Ivy League Frat Boy: Inside Dartmouth's Hazing Abuses. † Rollingstone. com. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Examining the Benefits of Greek Life | USA TODAY College. † Examining the Benefits of Greek Life | USA TODAY College. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"The Fraternity Advisor. † The Fraternity Advisor RSS. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Hazing Information. † Hazing Prevention. N. p. , n. d. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. . â€Å"Seeking an End to Hazing Deaths. † CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 05 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2013. .

Marketing †ethics Essay

Marketing ethics is an area that deals with the moral principles behind marketing. Ethics in marketing applies to different spheres such as in advertising, promotion, pricing. However, for purposes of this essay, the ethics of advertisements will be dealt with especially in relation to children. (Mohandeep, 2001)) Many marketers and analysts have agreed that children are marketer’s best friend. This is backed up by evidence from watch groups such as Media Channel. In the year 2007, they highlighted the fact that in the United States, close to two billion dollars was spent on advertisements to children. It was also revealed that children greatly affect the commodities their parents buy. Estimates done in this field show that projects tailored for children in the year 2006 totaled fifty two billion dollars. (McGee and Heubusch, 1997) Regardless of all this potential returns that children can give manufacturers and their marketers, there are key ethical issues that arise in the discussion. For example, do children have the capability of understanding some of the intricate marketing tactics? Do children possess the final buying power? Do marketers need to get permission from their parents? And do children understand the negative effects of some of the products advertised to them? These key questions will be analyzed in relation to business pressures then recommendations will be made. Key ethical issues in marketing to children Some companies have become notorious for the utilization of psychologists in their advertising and marketing campaigns. Normally what such companies do is that when trying to create marketing strategy, they will involve psychologist to tell them about tactics that they can use to influence children. Since psychologists understand the way child’s mind works, they can help marketers create campaigns that will be directly aimed at them and those ones that can easily influence their choices. This trend has becoming so alarming that the American Psychological Association has raised an alarm about it. They have set up a committee to estimate the effect that the involvement of psychologists in the marketing process of children’s products has on them. The group has asserted that no psychological principles should be used when marketing to children. They are also recommending that there should be some sort of strategy to protect the young ones from exploitation though the use of psychological ploys. (Beder, 1998) The basic framework which steers marketing ethics revolves around three main issues. These are: values, stakeholders, processes. Marketing ethics that are done on a value inclined framework are those one that involve the analysis of the kind of value that the marketing idea creates. So advertisements may instill in their target audiences positive or negative attributes. This all depends on their implementation. For example, an advertising targeting a child may become a problem if it violates the right to privacy, transparency, honesty or autonomy. By using psychologists in the process of creating advertisements for children, marketers are imposing upon children’s right to autonomy and transparency. They try studying children’s behavioral trends and then use this to exploit those children. This is quite unethical. The process oriented framework in marketing ethics is founded on the basis of analysing marketing ethics through the categories that marketers use. For example research, promotion and placement must be done in an ethical manner. This is something that marketers have chosen to ignore because their research is not done in an ethical manner. Their research involves using psychological experts who may use their knowledge to take advantage of children who belong to vulnerable groups (Lizabeth, 2001) Targeting children alone Marketers who create marketing campaigns that are just directed towards children only are engaging in unethical marketing practices. This is because children are naive. They are at a stage of development called proximal development. At this stage, children simply take up elements of what they perceive in the world around them and then use it in various aspects of their lives. There is a certain level of trust that children have over and above than one of adults. They lack the ability to weigh arguments in a sober and even sometimes a cynical way. Consequently, this makes them very vulnerable to exploitation. (Murphy et al, 2004) Examples of advertisements that are directed towards children alone are those ones that have cartoon characters and are seen as specifically meant for children. At that point, children will feel like they are the only ones with the ability of purchasing the item yet it is their parents who have to foot the bill. Unethical advertisements are those ones that do not involve getting consent from parents. Most of the time such advertisements are usually aired in the afternoon during kid’s programming sessions. They usually create desires in children to have those advertisements at all costs. When advertising is done without parental consent; that is when children are watching shows on their own then it became unethical. Children are too young to realize the manipulations that are going on through television or media advertisements. They also do not realize the financial pressures that come with the purchase of items. It would therefore be unethical for marketers to leave parents out of their marketing strategies. Normally, ethical advertisements are those ones that require children to get their parents involved in the marketing place. This can be achieved by stating it directly in the advertisement. It can also be achieved by limiting some children’s products in parental magazines or targeting families in general instead of just children. (Waymack, 2000) Advertisements targeting children alone have shown their effects in a number of ways. In the year 2007, it was found that about fifty eight percent of all the items purchased by children (through their allowances) are sweets and toys were the next highest items to be purchased by children. This took up a whooping thirty percent. Toys and candy are all items that are advertised directly children hence the staggering statistics. (Davidson, 2002) Advertising to children alone brings out very fundamental ethical issue. It highlights the power analysis issue in marketing. Any form of marketing that claims to be ethical must adhere to the power balance principle. The scales must not be tipped towards the consumer neither should they favor the marketer either. When marketers target vulnerable markets, they tend to make the situation favor them. This is what is called caveat emptor in marketing. It is an unfair scenario and is also exploitative in nature. (McGee and Heubusch, 1997) Types of products, manner of advertisements and other qualities can indicate whether or not an advertisement is targeting children. It should be noted that there are certain elements that if conducted by marketers may be deemed unethical for example, when an advertisement is made in such a manner as to imply that it is meant for children. Some elements to watch out for are: music, images, voices, color. These are all elements that are meant to draw on children’s attention. Besides this, there may be certain activities expected to captivate children such a drawing, then those advertisements may be meant for them. Besides that, some advertisements may have characters that are designed for that demographic group. Sometimes some advertisements may be placed in publications that are usually read by children alone. They may also be placed in areas that have children. (Murphy et al, 2004) All these features can be deemed unethical if they will be seen or heard by children exclusively, For example, if the advertisement is placed in a publication that is read by children alone then this is unethical because there is not parental consent there or if it is broadcast at times when children could be watching without parental consent. (Lizabeth, 2001) Sometimes the kind of content in the advertisements matters too. Advertisements that are created in such ways as to make children feel less about themselves if they lack that product may be deemed unethical. Also advertisements that will promote harmful products to children are also unethical. For example, there were certain toys from China that had an excess of chemical elements and exposed certain risks to children who were playing with them. If advertisements possess those characteristics, then they may be considered unethical. Responsible marketing The issue of marketing itself has two main components. The first group is made up of the abolitionists and the second are the libertarians. The abolitionists believe that all advertising to children is wrong and that it should be completely eliminated. But this is something that is unrealistic and cannot be feasible in today’s fast paced and commercial world. The other extreme is held by the liberalists who believe that advertisements to children should be left as they are. They insist that society shapes advertisements and that advertisements do not change moral values. But this is denying the obvious. The fact that children in the UK and even in other parts of the world spend the largest portion of their leisure time watching television implies that they will pick up some of the habits depicted on their screens. (Waymack, 2000) In light of the above facts, it is important to come up with a compromise on the issue through taking up responsible marketing. Children can still be considered as a target audience for marketing of retail products, however, this should be conducted in such a responsible and socially sustainable manner. There are three main alternatives available for marketers targeting children and these are: viewing children as docile consumers, viewing children as non-consumers, viewing children as informed consumers. Choosing the non-consumer part would not be very market friendly because as it has been seen from earlier parts of the essay; children have substantial levels of buyer power. It is would therefore be uneconomical not to tap this very valuable market resource. On the other hand, viewing children as docile consumers causes a lot of ethical controversies that have been raised earlier. Consequently, the most sustainable form of marketing should be viewing children as informed consumers. Marketers need to advertise and market their products in such a way that there will still be room for them in the future. This will be effectively achieved by informing children about marketing ideas. This will enlighten them and give them a very valuable asset; choice. (McGee and Heubusch, 1997) Informing children about the intricacies of marketing at an early age will go a long way in ensuring that children can understand the fundamentals of the commercial world. It will mean that children’s naivety will not be taken advantage of and that they will have the power to decide for themselves whether or not products are good for them. The ethical issues that have been brought forward stem from the fact that children are too young to understand the main reasons behind marketing displays. Informing them about this will drastically reduce those ethical concerns and will at the same time still allow marketers to go about marketing their products. (Beder, 1998) It should be noted that some countries like Sweden have argued that children can understand the effects of commercial marketing after reaching the age of twelve; some have suggested four and others ten. They claim that at that point, be it 4, 10, or 12, children can understand the commercial world and the exploitation tendencies that their worlds present them. Consequently, human rights groups claim that marketers should not target children that fall below that group. But that debate can be eliminated if children below those established ages are made aware of the commercial world. Regulations This is something that is already in place, but still needs more emphasis. Advertisements should not be aired during children’s programming as they are likely to be unsupervised at that point. Governments should institute statutory regulations on television advertisements. Advertisements should also be edited such that they do not seem to appeal to the child directly. They should be made in such a way that they will involve the parent or family. (Mohandeep, 2001)) Conclusion Advertisements to children have sparked off lot of controversy resulting in various reactions in various countries. However, experts agree that unethical marketing occurs when advertisements are directly aimed at children without getting consent from parents. Organisations can go about this issue through regulating their content, changing their times and embarking on a consumer education to make their young audiences aware. (Waymack, 2000) Reference: Beder, S. (1998): Marketing to Children, University of Wollongong Journal Lizabeth E. (2001): Marketing With A Conscience: Sales and Ethics; Journal for the US Dept. of State Mohandeep S. (2001): Ethics in Marketing; Encyclopedia of Business and Finance Davidson, D. (2002): The Moral Dimension of Marketing; South-Western Educational Journal Murphy, P. et al (2004): Ethical Marketing; Prentice Hall Waymack, M. (2000): The ethics of selectively marketing the Health Maintenance Organization, Journal of Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics, Issue 8, Volume 11, Pages 301-309 McGee, T. and Heubusch, K. (1997): Getting Inside Kids’ Heads; American Demographics, Vol. 19, No. 1.

Islamic politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Islamic politics - Essay Example Through the discourse of IMAM Dr. Abdul Jalil Sajid via the written work â€Å"Islam and Ethics of War and Peace†, the political theory of Islam on justice, war, and peace is based on the core teaching of Qur’an stating â€Å"The aim of war according to the Qur’an is not to propagate or spread Islam, nor is it to expand the territory of the Islamic State or dominate, politically or militarily, non-Muslim regions.† In order to gain deeper insight on war and peace under the context of Islamic principles, it would be useful to investigate with the empirical findings of Jeff Haynes in view of religious fundamentalism, the article â€Å"Understanding Islam†, S.P. Huntington on the â€Å"clash of civilizations†, as well as the report made by Diane Sawyer. Besides the conventional notion that religious fundamentalism pertains to a religious movement whose militant characteristic is justified by stiff adherence to fundamental principles, Jeff Haynes modifies the basic definition by critiquing that contemporary religious fundamentalism emerges out of ‘the failed promise of modernity’ and necessarily refutes the negative impact of modernisation upon moral development. According to Haynes, the religious militancy in fundamentalism is chiefly brought about by the general ‘decline of the societal salience of religion’ due to rapid cultural and economic changes particularly since the World War II. Normally, religious authorities are ideally expected to intervene in state affairs when advancing political interests so that the goals set herein can be directed to coincide with the public good or applied to satisfy the needs and desires of the majority. This way, religion serves to oppose secularism and mediate between the government and the people in order to ensure that the concerns of the latter are met within the constitutional framework and may be understood the principal grounds behind the 9-11 incident of 2001. Muslims are typically found in the state of

WalMart's profile of computing and network infrastructure Essay

WalMart's profile of computing and network infrastructure - Essay Example So our ties to Bentonville, Ark. - where Sam Walton opened the first store that bore the Walton name and where Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., is still based - give us our foundation. Another Walmart.com goal - providing easy access to more Wal-Mart - is evident in the more than 1,000,000 products available online and in the innovative businesses that Walmart.com continues to develop, such as Music Downloads and 1-Hour Photos, which gives customers the convenience of ordering products online and picking them up at a local Wal-Mart. In short, Walmart.com is passionate about combining the best of two great worlds - technology and world-class retailing - to give customers a wide assortment of their favorite products, Every Day Low Prices, guaranteed satisfaction, friendly service, convenient hours (24 hours, 7 days a week) and a great online shopping experience. According to Mark Schmidt, senior director for information services at Wal-Mart, the installation of NCR System 3000 processors -- which began last month in the Springfield, Mo., stores -- is the second phase of a systems upgrade at the chain that began in August 1990 with the installation of Hewlett-Packard's HP 9000 Model 375 system. The retailer chose to purchase both systems so that "we have two vendor partners to bank on," said Schmidt. Approximately 800 of Wal-Mart's stores will use the HP system and the other 800 will use the NCR system. Both models are open-system computers and both use the UNIX operating system, allowing intercommunications and compatibility. "We can take data tapes from one to the other if we had to," Schmidt added. Tony Fano, vice president of NCR Retail Systems Division, said, "The NCR 3445 support of UNIX V.4 matches Wal-Mart's UNIX open systems strategy. Because it is based on industry standards, the NCR 3445 can provide enterprise-wide computing solutions based on open systems components and cooperative processing." NCR's System 3000 is a seven-level family of scalable, compatible, general purpose computer systems that support the industry-standard operating systems -- UNIX V.4, SCO UNIX, OS/2 and MS-DOS. Wal-Mart had been using the IBM Series 1, which was installed in 1979. "It is a proprietary system. We wanted something more open, so we could be independent of a vendor if we needed to be, said Schmidt. "We needed a system with more capacity. We wanted one that was open and scalable -- to go in relatively small and then grow," said Schmidt. The installation of the HP 9000 Model 375 was completed last month, according to Schmidt. He said the chain is aiming at Aug. 1 completion of the NCR installation. The NCR 3445 will provide connections between NCR and non-NCR point-of-sale controllers and pharmacy systems with Wal-Mart's central computer in its headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. The NCR and HP systems are configured to support up to 16 terminals in a Wal-Mart store. According to Schmidt, the systems currently are doing traditional applications, such as payroll, general accounting and merchandise reorder. Potential applications include financial management, sales analysis and labor management (Tahmincioglu, 1991). Wal-Mart has signed a multimillion

Double standard for sexual relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Double standard for sexual relations - Essay Example A girl with the same sexual experience will surely become subject to ridicule and disrespect. Guys will take advantage of her, use her, and try to get her to bed. She will have a hard time having girlfriends as she will surely be avoided and despised out of disgust. She will surely become the talk of the school and will be labeled as a "slut." The stud-slut system is but one of the various manifestations of sexual double standard in the society where we live. Men are not exempt from the injustice of double standards. Having friends from the opposite sex during a relationship is also subject to the sexuality of who's making friends with whom. Girls will always tend to justify their relationships with other guys since they are known to be "always in control of their emotions" and are "able to separate boyfriends from boy friends." The situation is a lot more different when guys are concerned. A man who has a close friend while in a relationship is always confronted and accused of dishonorable things especially unfaithfulness. He may even be charged for keeping that special friend in times of "loneliness." With these experiences, it is apparent that double standard has become a bitter fact of life. It is one of the things which I need to live with. However, I am totally against sexual double standards. ... Double standard greatly violates one tenet of justice known as impartiality-the principle that "same standards be applied to all people, without regard to subjective bias or favoritism." I believe that the existence of double standard clearly implies the toleration of discrimination, unfairness, inequality, and prejudice. Thus, in order to promote justice in the society, double standard should be eliminated. I strongly support that men and women should have a fair playing field where each one receives equal reaction and recognition of what they "do" and not of what they "are." The widespread double standard in our society is warranted by various justifications. Most individuals have already taken the existence of double standard for granted arguing that sexual double standard is natural and that's the way things should be. Society has readily accepted that some things are naturally "men's" things while some are "women's." A good example of this is the widespread perception that men are polygamous, allowing them to sleep around even if they are in a relationship while women are expected to be faithful to their respective husbands. However, viewing that the existence of double standard as natural is also another way of accepting that prejudice and injustice are natural phenomena. The above illustrations of double standard emphasizes the fact that double standard tolerates misbehavior of one gender using "human nature" as a cover up. In our society, infidelity is perceived to be acceptable only when committed by the male population. The argument here is that, misbehavior should be totally reprimanded and eradicated as it destructs and endangers the morality of the whole community. I am filled with disgust just thinking about the number of families being shattered by

Business Statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Statistics - Essay Example Nearly 17 states had $1.8 as their average fuel price. But the coefficient of variation is obtained as 9.67. The median shows that about 25 states have average fuel prices above $1.84. This clarifies that the data is normally distributed with just one state having the $2.3 as the average price. However, the histogram shows two states, Alaska and Hawaii as outliers with their average fuel prices around $2.5 which is considered to be the highest fuel price. The scatter plot (Fig. 2) of the state by state average fuel prices for diesel fuel and premium unleaded fuel2 shows that both fuel are almost equally priced. Most of the pricing is in the range of $1.8 to $ 2.5. However, the graph shows that when the price of diesel is low (or high) the price of premium fuel tends to be high (or low). We also find that Alaska and Hawaii are the two states highlighted as outliers measuring the highest diesel and premium fuel prices. The Colorado weekly regular unleaded gas prices3 for the past 8 weeks from 5th January 2009 to 23rd February 2009 has been plotted as a line chart (Fig 3). The graph shows that there has been a gradual increase in the price every consecutive week. However there have been fluctuations in the price rise in the 6th, 7th and 8th weeks. The time series plot also shows a smooth linear upward trend indicating a smooth increase in the fuel price every week. The above study on the state by state average fuel prices of unleaded regular, premium gasoline and diesel in the United States shows that the prices are fairly equal among all the states except Alaska and Hawaii where the prices are very

Tuition Fee Spikes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Tuition Fee Spikes - Essay Example However, because of the lack of initiatives of the Congress to control tuition fee spikes, students are forced not to assume to attain college degrees by simply thinking about the financial aid coming from the federal government and hoping for good luck. Students are forced to work hard if they don't have enough money to support themselves in college paying for high tuition fees, and realize they have the capability to act on it. After all, college education is an essential tool for attaining the needed ways of getting success in the future careers. College education truly aids an individual to attain success (Rye 4). Being successful in college implies having the need to obtain the critical tools and skills that will lead to earning a degree. However, the Congress simply cannot interfere as to how the tuition fees are being laid down among private and prestigious universities and colleges in the country. Normally, the tools essential in college success are enough knowledge, skills and proper mentality, all of which can be obtained by being a part-time worker and student. These tools can be successfully merged with college education. College education gives an individual with particular knowledge on the subject in which the individual wishes to do his part. College education allows an individual to obtain knowledge and skills to analyze data critical in the pursuit of success objectives and in making right choices. College education, through the various stages of learning, includes the development of proper attitudes or the establishment of the appropriate behavior to attain success. However, because bright but impoverished students cannot afford to pay high tuition fees of top colleges and universities, they are forced to become part-time workers / students. Part-time workers and students, because of their hard luck lives, are able to develop optimism towards their capabilities to attain their objectives from attaining information and skills to evaluate skills and deficiencies in attaining the objectives. Part-time workers and students learn to maximize strengths and to evaluate deficiencies in order that the o pportunity of attaining an objective in college grows (McPherson 6). The emergence of part-time workers / students all over the country is the direct result of the Congress' inability to control the tuition fee spikes. A part-time worker and student rarely would save up for unnecessary luxuries while still in college which include big apartments, luxury cars, jewelries and other expensive things (Wilkinson 5). Therefore, by instilling responsibility and discipline in these students because no one, not even the Congress, will help them pay for their tuition fees but themselves in whatever they want to attain in college is definitely a positive attitude to inculcate in their minds. By hard work and perseverance, part-time workers and students will be able to attain their particular goals and desires without having to rely on the financial aid of the federal governmen

Historical relation between Islam, Christianity and Judaism Essay

Historical relation between Islam, Christianity and Judaism - Essay Example Religion helps to provide a driving force for every man’s existence on Earth – it is a belief of faith that people indulge in, in order to feel secure and protected in terms of their actions with relation to others around them. Islam, Christianity and Judaism are three of the world’s oldest religions, perhaps stemming and growing from each other initially as per historical evidences; however, today, the three have created a niche for themselves in the world with great followings of their own. It is said that Judaism was the backing that gave way to Christianity and Islam and that is why most of their teachings and beliefs are very much similar. The three religions share a stark relationship with each other in terms of their history with a connection between their messengers, texts and teachings. If checked properly, one can also notice the similarities between their rites and rituals, and how it is only different names and the use of different languages that sepa rates the three from each other. The commonality between the three is that each religion believes in its own God, and has put major emphasis on the higher supreme power that rules the faith. It is said that these Gods were the creators of heaven and hell, and of man’s existence on Earth, and that is why each religion has its own set of beliefs and laws for every man to dedicate his life to serving God.. Traditionally speaking, all three religions are bound by history because of their connection with Prophets like Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad. They each were the servants of their Gods, and came as messengers to people in order to reveal the truth about life that God imparted to them. Abraham gave his people the message provided to him by God, Moses provided the Israelis with the Ten Commandments, and Jesus was the harbinger of the teachings of God and Hebrew prophets. Finally, Muhammad is said to have combined the above messages of God and reject any kind of idolatry whi le simply establishing some required laws for the rest of humanity to follow. According to history, it is said that Judaism formed the roots of religion from which Islam and Christianity grew with the help of Messiahs. All three religions had their own Messiahs that delivered messages of truth and peace to the rest of their followers. While taking the literal meaning of the word ‘God’ into account, all three religions date back to their creations; The Hebrew word for God is ‘Elohim’ which in Arabic or Islam can be translated as, and means, ‘Allah’. Jews were said to come from Isaac, the son of Abraham, and the Arabs from Ishmael, another son of Abraham. According to this theory, all three religions were born out of the brainchild of a single God, despite having branched out into separate entities. Thus, all of mankind is a child of Abraham. On reading the holy books pertaining to each religion, i.e., the Holy Bible or the Qur’an, many hi storians as well as people specializing in theology have pointed out that the texts and readings of all religions contain the same teachings in different languages. The names of the Prophets are also strikingly similar, with a few changes in the pronunciation due to being spoken about and written in different languages and scripts. With respect to history, taken from a pragmatic point of view, there is only one God and his sons were the ones to have brought his message to the rest of mankind, and this was done by three different elements, thus leading to the creation of different religions. Judaism, Christianity and Islam, gradually developed into powerful tools used for the purpose of politics and monarchy in different countries, among different people. Preaching to the people became a widely known concept in the early centuries of the world, and more and more people began to take to power just in order to be able to gather mass following. This came as a threat to the identity and existence of the religions as the purpose of existence for

Examination Essay Example for Free

Examination Essay English Language and Literature (Specification B) Unit 3 Talk in Life and Literature 9. 00 am to 11. 00 am Thursday 24 June 2010 For this paper you must have: l a 12-page answer book. ELLB3 Time allowed l 2 hours Instructions Use black ink or black ball-point pen. l Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Examining Body for this paper is AQA. The Paper Reference is ELLB3. l Answer one question from Section A and Question 5 from Section B. l Do all rough work in your answer book. Cross through any work that you do not want to be marked. l Information The texts prescribed for this paper may not be taken into the examination room. l The maximum mark for this paper is 96. l All questions carry equal marks. l You will be marked on your ability to: – use good English – organise information clearly – use specialist vocabulary where appropriate. l l Advice You are recommended to spend one hour on Section A and one hour on Section B, including planning. H/Jun10/ELLB3 ELLB3 2 Section A – Talk in Life and Literature Answer one question from Section A and Question 5 in Section B (printed on page 10). The set plays for this unit are Hamlet, The Rivals, A Streetcar Named Desire and Translations. Read the passage from the play you have studied and answer the question related to it. NB: the questions are different on each play. EIThER Question 1 0 1 Hamlet – William Shakespeare Explore the ways in which Shakespeare presents the theme of falseness in this passage. In your answer you must consider how the playwright uses literary, linguistic and rhetorical devices and conventions to create specific dramatic effects. Where is Polonius? In heaven. Send thither to see. If your messenger find him not there, seek him i’th’other place yourself. But if indeed you find him not within this month, you shall nose him as you go up the stairs into the lobby. king (to attendants) Go seek him there. hamlet ’A will stay till you come. Exeunt attendants king hamlet king Hamlet, this deed, for thine especial safety, Which we do tender as we dearly grieve For that which thou hast done, must send thee hence With fiery quickness. Therefore prepare thyself. The bark is ready and the wind at help, Th’associates tend, and everything is bent For England. amlet For England? king Ay, Hamlet. hamlet Good. king So is it, if thou knewest our purposes. hamlet I see a cherub that sees them. But come, for England! Farewell, dear mother. king Thy loving father, Hamlet. hamlet My mother. Father and mother is man and wife; man and wife is one flesh; and so, my mother. Come, Exit for England! king Follow him at foot. Tempt him with speed aboard. Delay it not. I’ll have him hence tonight. Away! For everything is sealed and done That else leans on the affair. Pray you make haste. Exeunt all but the King H/Jun10/ELLB3 3 And, England, if my love thou holdest at aught – As my great power thereof may give thee sense, Since yet thy cicatrice looks raw and red After the Danish sword, and thy free awe Pays homage to us – thou mayst not coldly set Our sovereign process, which imports at full, By letters congruing to that effect, The present death of Hamlet. Do it, England. For like the hectic in my blood he rages, And thou must cure me. Till I know ’tis done, Howe’er my haps, my joys were ne’er begun. Exit Turn over for the next question Turn over H/Jun10/ELLB3 U oR Question 2 0 2 The Rivals – Richard Brinsley Sheridan Explore the ways in which Sheridan presents father-son relations in this passage. In your answer you must consider how the playwright uses literary, linguistic and rhetorical devices and conventions to create specific dramatic effects. sir anthony And it is my wish, while yet I live, to have my boy make some figure in the world. I have resolved, therefore, to fix you at once in a noble independence. Sir, your kindness overpowers me. Such generosity makes the gratitude of reason more lively than the sensations even of filial affection. I am glad you are so sensible of my attention; and you shall be master of a large estate in a few weeks. Let my future life, sir, speak my gratitude: I cannot express the sense I have of your munificence. Yet, sir, I presume you would not wish me to quit the army? O, that shall be as your wife chooses. My wife, sir! Ay, ay, settle that between you; settle that between you. A wife, sir, did you say? Ay, a wife. Why – did not I mention her before? Not a word of her, sir. Odso! I mustn’t forget her though. Yes, Jack, the independence I was talking of is by a marriage. The fortune is saddled with a wife – but I suppose that makes no difference? Sir! Sir! You amaze me! Why, what the devil’s the matter with the fool? Just now you were all gratitude and duty. I was, sir: you talked to me of independence and a fortune, but not a word of a wife. Why what difference does that make? Od’s life, sir! If you have the estate, you must take it with the livestock on it, as it stands. absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony H/Jun10/ELLB3 5 absolute If my happiness is to be the price, I must beg leave to decline the purchase. Pray, sir, who is the lady? What’s that to you, sir? Come, give me your promise to love and to marry her directly. Sure, sir, this is not very reasonable, to summon my affections for a lady I know nothing of! sir anthony absolute sir anthony I am sure, sir, ’tis more unreasonable in you to object to a lady you know nothing of. Then, sir, I must tell you plainly, that my inclinations are fixed on another. Sir, my heart is engaged to an angel. absolute sir anthony Then pray let it send an excuse. It is very sorry but business prevents its waiting on her. But my vows are pledged to her. Let her foreclose, Jack; let her foreclose. They are not worth redeeming. Besides, you have the angel’s vows in exchange, I suppose; so there can be no loss there. You must excuse me, sir, if I tell you, once for all, that in this point I cannot obey you. Hark’ee Jack. I have heard you for some time with patience. I have been cool, quite cool; but take care. You know I am compliance itself when I am not thwarted; no one more easily led when I have my own way – but don’t put me in a frenzy! Sir, I must repeat it: in this, I cannot obey you! Now, damn me, if ever I call you Jack again while I live! absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony absolute sir anthony Turn over for the next question Turn over H/Jun10/ELLB3 U 6 oR Question 3 0 3 A Streetcar Named Desire – Tennessee Williams Explore the ways in which Williams presents the relationship between the sisters in this passage. In your answer you must consider how the playwright uses literary, linguistic and rhetorical devices and conventions to create specific dramatic effects. This extract is not reproduced here due to third-party copyright constraints. H/Jun10/ELLB3 Turn over for the next question Turn over H/Jun10/ELLB3 U oR Question 4 0 4 Translations – Brian Friel Explore the ways in which Friel presents love and courtship in this passage. In your answer you must consider how the playwright uses literary, linguistic and rhetorical devices and conventions to create specific dramatic effects. Yolland Maire. She still moves away. Maire Chatach. She still moves away. Bun na hAbhann? (He says the name softly, almost privately, very tentatively, as if he were searching for a sound she might respond to. He tries again. ) Druim Dubh? Maire stops. She is listening. Yolland is encouraged. Poll na gCaorach. Lis Maol. Maire turns towards him. Lis na nGall. Maire Lis na nGradh. They are now facing each other and begin moving – almost imperceptibly – towards one another. Carraig an Phoill. Yolland Carraig na Ri. Loch na nEan. Maire Loch an Iubhair. Machaire Buidhe. Yolland Machaire Mor. Cnoc na Mona. Maire Cnoc na nGabhar. Yolland Mullach. Maire Port. Yolland Tor. Maire Lag. She holds out her hands to Yolland. He takes them. Each now speaks almost to himself/herself. Yolland I wish to God you could understand me. Maire Soft hands; a gentleman’s hands. Yolland Because if you could understand me I could tell you how I spend my days either thinking of you or gazing up at your house in the hope that you’ll appear even for a second. Maire Every evening you walk by yourself along the Tra Bhan and every morning you wash yourself in front of your tent. H/Jun10/ELLB3 9 Yolland I would tell you how beautiful you are, curlyheaded Maire. I would so like to tell you how beautiful you are. Maire Your arms are long and thin and the skin on your shoulders is very white. Yolland I would tell you †¦ Maire Don’t stop – I know what you’re saying. Yolland I would tell you how I want to be here – to live here – always – with you – always, always. Maire ‘Always’? What is that word – ‘always’? Yolland Yes-yes; always. Maire You’re trembling. Yolland Yes, I’m trembling because of you. Maire I’m trembling, too. (She holds his face in her hand. ) Yolland I’ve made up my mind †¦ Maire Shhhh. Yolland I’m not going to leave here †¦ Maire Shhh – listen to me. I want you, too, soldier. Yolland Don’t stop – I know what you’re saying. Maire I want to live with you – anywhere – anywhere at all – always – always. Yolland ‘Always’? What is that word – ‘always’? Maire Take me away with you, George. End of Section A Turn over for Section B Turn over H/Jun10/ELLB3 U 10 Section B – Talk in Life and Literature Question 5 0 5 Text A is an extract from Educating Rita (190), a play by Willy Russell set in a northern university. Frank is a middle-aged lecturer, and Rita his Open University student. She has just had an angry quarrel with her husband, who despises her longing for an education. She is anxious to know what Frank thinks about her essay on Macbeth. Text B is part of a transcription of a university tutorial. The tutor is discussing Julie’s essay with her. Compare the two texts, commenting on the ways in which they reflect the differences and similarities between talk in life and talk in literature. In your answer you must explore the relationship between context, purpose and audience and the ways in which speakers’ attitudes and values are conveyed. End of Questions H/Jun10/ELLB3 11 Text A (breaking away from him): It’s all right – I’ll be O. K. Just give me a minute. (She dries her eyes. ) What was me Macbeth essay like. frank: Oh sod Macbeth. rita: Why? frank: Rita! rita: No, come on, come on, I want y’ to tell me what y’ thought about it. rank: In the circumstances †¦ rita (going and hanging her bag on the back of the swivel chair): It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t; in the circumstances I need to go on, to talk about it an’ do it. What was it like. I told y’ it was no good. Is it really useless? frank sits in the chair. frank (sighing): I – I really donà ¢â‚¬â„¢t know what to say. rita: Well try an’ think of somethin’. Go on. I don’t mind if y’ tell me it was rubbish. I don’t want pity, Frank. Was it rubbish? frank: No, no. It’s not rubbish. It’s a totally honest, passionate account of your reaction to a play. It’s an unashamedly emotional statement about a certain experience. ita: Sentimental? frank: No. It’s too honest for that. It’s almost – erm – moving. But in terms of what you’re asking me to teach you of passing exams †¦ Oh, God, you see, I don’t †¦ rita: Say it, go on, say it! frank: In those terms it’s worthless. It shouldn’t be, but it is; in its own terms it’s – it’s wonderful. rita (confronting him across the desk): It’s worthless! You said. An’ if it’s worthless you’ve got to tell me because I wanna write essays like those on there. (She points to the essays on the desk. ) I wanna know, an’ pass exams like they do. frank: But if you’re going to write this sort of stuff you’re going to have to change. ita: All right. Tell me how to do it. frank (getting up): But I don’t know if I want to tell you, Rita, I don’t know that I want to teach you. (He moves towards the desk. ) What you already have is valuable. rita: Valuable? What’s valuable? The only thing I value is here, comin’ here once a week. frank: But, don’t you see, if you’re going to write this sort of thing – (He indicates the pile of essays. ) – to pass examinations, you’re going to have to suppress, perhaps even abandon your uniqueness. I’m going to have to change you. rita: But don’t you realize, I want to change!

Cultural Differences between United States and Italy Essay Example for Free

Cultural Differences between United States and Italy Essay All societies provide for certain broad areas of social living. Wissler (2000:99) identified these as universal patterns of culture, such as speech, material traits, art, mythology and scientific knowledge, religious practice, family and social systems, property, government, and war. Even within these broad areas of social living are a number of common elements. Moreover, cultures between countries differ because of the great variety of solutions people in different societies evolve in solving life problems. Amongst the important factors which give rise to cultural differences are the kind of environment within which the society lives, the human and natural resources available within this environment, the extent and intensity of exposure the society has to other people from which they can borrow ideas, and their cultural heritage. This paper intent to figure out the differences between the United States of America and Italy in terms of history, languages, Ethnical diversity, culture, superstitions and religions. II. Discussion A. United States of America The United States developed and grew from 13 English colonies on the Atlantic coast into an independent republic that eventually extended to the Pacific, with Alaska and Hawaii among its states. Although the original 13 colonies were British, several other nations took part in the discovery, exploration and settlement of the territory that became the United States. Both France and Spain once controlled more of North America than did Great Britain. Dutch and Swedish colonies existed temporarily on the Atlantic coast. Thus the beginnings of the United States, like its later development as a nation, involved contributions by people from many lands (see Graff, H. America: the Glorious Republic (2 volumes; Houghton Mifflin, 2001). North America was inhabited by Indians and Eskimos long before the first Europeans arrived. White men came into contact with the Indians from the very beginning, but the Eskimos were not greatly influenced by the white man’s civilization until the 20th century (see Link, A. S. , and others. American Epoch: a History of the United States since 1900, 9th edition (2 volumes: Knopf, 1999). There are various religions existing in the United States such as Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Islam, Unitarian Universalism and Hinduism while others claimed that they don’t have a religion. Amongst the religions mentioned, Christianity has the greatest number as surveyed in 2001. On the other hand, English is the de facto national language of the United States. Spanish language has also been taught as â€Å"non-English second language† (see Boorstin, D. J. and R. F. The Landmark History of the American People, revised edition (2 volumes; Random House, 1999). B. Italy Italy is a country in the southern Europe. Jutting southward from the Alps into the Mediterranean Sea, Italy consists mainly of a slender boot-shaped peninsula and the islands of Sicily and Sardinia. Ital is bordered by France, Switzerland, Austria, and Yugoslavia, and the Adriatic, Ionian, Tyrrhenian, and Ligurian seas. It completely encircles two tiny, independent states: San Marino, east of Florence, and Vatican City, in Rome. The name Italy was first used by the Greeks for the southern tip of the peninsula, where they established colonies as early as the eighth century B. C. Gradually, as the peninsula came under Roman rule, the name was applied to everything south of the Alps (see Coppa, F. J. , editor. Dictionary of Modern Italian History (Greenwood Press, 2000). Italy has contributed greatly to western civilization. For hundreds of years it was the center of the far-flung Roman Empire. It was in Italy that Christianity first flourished in Europe and became powerful force. Rome has long been the seat of the papacy and the world center of the Roman Catholic Church. The Renaissance, the period of enlightenment that ended medieval times, began in Italy and during this period Italians contributed greatly to the intellectual and artistic development of the Western world. Italy still preserves much of its noble past in its cities, museums, and ruins, attracting more foreign visitors than any other country in the world (see Guicciardini, Francesco. The History of Italy (Princeton University, 1999). The Italians, an Indo-European people, were settled in theItalian peninsula by 1000 B. C. In the eighth century B. C. the Etruscans (or Tyrrhenians), who came probably from Asia Minor, founded Etruria on the west. To the south was Latium, established by the Latins, an Italian tribe, with Rome as its strongest city. Farther south were Greek colonies (see Guicciardini, Francesco. The History of Italy (Princeton University, 1999). By the middle of the sixth century B. C. the Etruscans dominated central Italy, including Rome. Greeks and Romans cooperated in driving back the Etruscans. Raids by Gauls, who had crossed the Alps and settled in the Po Valley, helped weaken Etruria, and it rapidly declined (see Coppa, F. J. , editor. Dictionary of Modern Italian History (Greenwood Press, 2000). In the fourth century B. C. the Greeks made several attempts to conquer the Italians, but in the third century the Greek colonies fell to Rome. From that time until the collapse of the Roman Empire, the history of Italy coincides with the history of Rome (see Coppa, F. J. , editor. Dictionary of Modern Italian History (Greenwood Press, 2000). III. Conclusion United States and Italy has many differences in terms of culture and history. However, these two countries were able to experienced invasion from other countries that tried to colonize them. References: 1. Coppa, F. J. , editor. Dictionary of Modern Italian History (Greenwood Press, 2000). 2. Guicciardini, Francesco. The History of Italy (Princeton University, 1999. 3. Graff, H. America: the Glorious Republic (2 volumes; Houghton Mifflin, 2001. 4. Link, A. S. , and others. American Epoch: a History of the United States since 1900, 9th edition (2 volumes: Knopf, 1999. 5. Boorstin, D. J. and R. F. The Landmark History of the American People, revised edition (2 volumes; Random House, 1999.

Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) Analysis

Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) Analysis My individual research work undertaken is based on the business strategy concept known as Blue Ocean. The concept of the Blue Ocean Strategy (BOS) originated in 2005 when two authors named as W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne of the BOS Institute wrote a book named as Blue Ocean. Commonly, people believe that the finest organizational strategy is the one which escalate profits for the organization. According to the book written by these authors, firms should seek to build demand for their products or services in a market where there is no competition rather than competing nose to nose with existing producers in the industry. Vice versa, in existing industries firms often compete with each other and seek to surpass their competitors and snatch their market share which makes it very tough for every firm to survive. Such an industry is known as Red Ocean where all the firms strive to capture the same market share from each other and as new suppliers enter into the market, profits are redu ced, chances for growth are depreciated which often create threats for new entrants and/or disable some businesses to retain their share in the market. For this reason, such a strategy would not fit best for every firm in the modern business environment. A Blue Ocean strategy identifies such industries that do not exist or are unknown. The application of such a strategy requires that demand must be created for the product or service rather than competing against the rivals. The supporters of the Blue Ocean strategy argue that firms can rapidly boost their profits and grow expeditiously if the firm is able to provide products and services that are innovative to both the buyer and the business. This is because innovative products and services are more likely to be valued by the customers and eliminate such products or services which are of unsubstantial value to the existing or the future market. (B) Key Areas of Research and sources: To navigate the blue ocean is it required to think outside the box. There must be an idea or approach which must not necessarily a better way to do something which is already being done and where there must be a competitive edge in a limited market space. The difference between the red and blue ocean is that in the red ocean there would be a competition in the current market space of your contraption whereas in the blue ocean an incontestable market space is established which attracts new demand. Therefore, there must be a clear idea whether we are in a red or blue ocean before the start of research. A field research strategy is used where the fundamental aim of this research is the identification of the potential group which is not your customer in strategic buyers group both inside and outside the industry or substitute markets. This research also helps providing us the contour of existing buyer and non customers. A team is developed comprising research experts and analysts, professionals in qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. The team is a master in all the important areas market intelligence, competitive intelligence, analysis of the vendor, research and analytics, analysis of various trends in the market, forecasting and business analysis. The resource for this research includes experienced analysts from globally recognized market intelligence organizations, business economists and financial experts with comprehensive sector experiences. Qualitative research method is used for the collection of data in the field at the initial phase of research. The contraption for this research includes surveys, questionnaires, guides for interviews and virtual or on the spot discussion forums. This approach promotes open ended discussions in a composed ambiance to advocate true and direct dialogue. This method is mostly used because the data and intelligence which are required to recognize new buyers and market opportunities are not obtainable easily A secondary, quantitative research is acknowledged in the research plan when wide range of representative data is needed to know about new market circumstances. This methodology includes sample management, survey instrument design and management of data, tabulation and analysis by both the traditional methods for the collection of data. (c) Discussion of Strategic Models Identified:- During my research, I have come across plenty of strategic models which enable the implementation of the blue ocean strategy. Some of them are discussed below. The Four Actions Framework:- This framework looks at different aspects of the industry by asking four different questions. These questions help to straighten the focus of the business and realign its overall strategy to create value. These questions involve asking: What are the factors that need to be created which have not yet been created by the industry? What are the factors that should be promoted over the industrys standards? What are the factors that need to be scale down the industrys standards? What are the factors taken for granted by the industry and should be exterminated? The first question assists the managers of the firm to explore new ways of adding value to their products or service for the buyers. The second question encourages the management of the firm to divulge and eradicate the compromises made by the buyer. The first two questions seek to provide the firm with a differentiation edge. The third question points out the factors that need to be reduced which may have been redesigned in order to compete with the rivals. The fourth question identifies those factors which may have had value in the past but are of minute value to the buyers today. The last two questions seek to assist the firm in becoming a cost leader in the industry. Buyer Experience Cycle:- While making a purchase, a buyer goes through six different stages, from the initial purchase to the final disposal of the product. In deciding which product to purchase, a buyer thinks from unalike aspects in order to buy the product that best satisfies the needs of the buyer. These stages are called utility levers. Stage 1: Purchase: At the initial stage, the buyer has a set of questions in his mind based on which he decides which product he has to buy and how much time it would take for him to find the desired product. For this reason, it can be seen that shopping malls today are successful because they have different products under one single roof and at the same time seek to satisfy diverse needs of a variety of customers. Theoretically, it is quite simple but marketing managers should give sufficient consideration to this factor and make the product finding experience easier and much simpler for the buyer. Also, customers tend to buy their products from places that are attractive or give them the option to choose their desired products from the most fascinating products. On the other side, accessibility is a vital issue. If a store offers the best products in town but is not in reach of the buyers, they are most likely to switch to an alternative store to make their purchases. Moreover, from the perspective o f a buyer, a secure transaction environment has a positive psychological affect on the buyer and encourages him to make his purchases. Lastly, customers always prefer to buy from such stores which they are familiar with because they know they would be provided with a commendable customer service. Stage 2: Delivery: The next stage is concerned with delivering the product to the buyer. Buyers usually ask that how much time it would take for the product to be delivered to them. This is where businesses can outdid their competitors in the market and exclusively in the services sector where on time delivery is the critical success factor for many businesses. Stage 3: Use: Are the functions and features of the product effective? Do they satisfy the desired needs of the customers? Does the buyer require any guidance or teaching in order to use the product? Is the product easy to use and operate (e.g. in case of electronics)? Stage 4: Supplements: Some products require the support of other products in order to operate effectively and meet the demand of customers. Customers always think that how much the supplement product would cost them? In this case, customers who are price sensitive might decide to switch to some other product which does not require the support of other products to operate and meet the needs of customer. On the other hand, customers who are not much price sensitive would consider whether the supplement product is available and accessible. However, this is one of the salient factors which the marketing managers should consider before deciding to introduce a fresh product to the consumers. Stage 5: Maintenance The next factor that buyers usually consider is how easy it would be to maintain the product and how much it would cost them. In the modern business environment, customers wish to purchase such products which can be maintained in less time and reduced cost. This is one of the most imperative factors which marketing managers should consider if they wish to retain their customers and also attract new customers from the market. Also, if a product requires external maintenance, customers think of factors such as cost of external maintenance and accessibility of maintenance store. Stage 6: Disposal Lastly, customers also think whether it would be easy to dispose the product or not. In this regard, managers should consider the legal and environmental issues before promoting their product into the market. Sustainable development of a product is a key aspect in the modern business environment and the firm which is able to develop, promotes and dispose their products without causing minimal harm to the environment would surely have a differentiation edge over their rivals in the market. Four Hurdles Execution:- After the management has established a blue ocean strategy, the next step in the process is to effectively implement such a strategy. Successful implementation of a strategy at any phase plays a vital role because ineffective implementation of a strategy can lead to wastage of precious resources and time. While implementing a blue ocean strategy, an organization is faced with the following four types of hurdles. If the organization wishes to succeed, it must take appropriate measures to overcome these hurdles to find a blue ocean. The Cognitive Hurdle: Normally, companies operate in red oceans which may not to lead to sustainable growth and profits in the future. Although, companies have grown and met their milestones while operating in the red ocean, managers must think beyond this if they wish to survive in the modern business environment where new competitors arise everyday in the industry making the competition more rugged. The organization as a whole must be mentally prepared for such a strategy before implementing it so that precious resources are not wasted. The Resource Hurdle: Normally, organizations believe that when it changes its business strategy, additional resources would be required to implement the new strategy. At this point, this is the greatest hurdle which organizations come across during the implementation of the new strategy. But such a hurdle can be easily surmount if the firm has a competent and experienced human resource department. The Motivational Hurdle: A radical shift in the strategy of the business might demotivate the employees in an organization. If the management is competent and capable, they would also overcome this hurdle by creating a sense of ownership in the employees and also enriching their jobs. The Political Hurdle: Some organizations are very much influenced by the political environment. This is the last hurdle faced by an organization when implementing the blue ocean strategy. Governments have the right to completely abandon a product if they think the product can cause harm to the public at large e.g. drugs. A detailed analysis of the political environment would surely put the managers in a better place which would ultimately help them to overcome this hurdle. (d) Key conclusions and findings:- Based on studies, the authors of the blue ocean strategy have suggested that companies in the future would not be able to flourish by just competing with their rivals to retain their market share. The authors believe that in the modern business environment, innovation is the key to success and if an organization succeeds in creating a culture of innovation, it can easily survive in the long term without competing with any rivals in the market. Since the past many years, companies have fought with each other in order to secure their profit and market share. As a consequence, such rivalry between the firms has resulted in bloody red oceans where everyone tries to grab others share of the market and steal their customers. This ultimately means that if an organization wishes to survive in the modern business environment, it should therefore try to adopt a blue ocean strategy. This is because adopting such a strategy would place the company in a much better position with no competitors in the market and might put the business in a monopoly position which would ultimately make the business the leader of the market. A Blue Ocean strategy focuses on six principles which if followed adequately can create a blue ocean for the business where competition is irrelevant. These principles include: Identification of diverse pathways through which a market can be created where the business has no rivals to compete with. Encourage the managers to create value innovation rather than just focusing on increasing the profits or turnover of the business. Plan to attain beyond current demand and create new demand by targeting non-customers. Follow the right strategic sequence to create a blue ocean. Prevail over the four hurdles of execution. Execute the blue ocean strategy by motivating people to do so. The management must be capable to deal with behavioral issues in order to implement this final principle. However, there are some risks associated with the blue ocean strategy which the organization should seek to minimize to successfully implement the blue ocean strategy. These are: The blue ocean strategy encourages the managers of the business to develop new strategies and new products to create uncontested market space. The idea seems fair but this could also encourage the managers to ignore competition and they may lose grip over their core competencies. A competent management assumes that they have no rivals in place and seek to continuously improve their performance. Such a strategy could also encourage the management to overlook their rivals in the market and as a result they might lose their attained market share. Although every business seeks to create a blue ocean by trying to develop strategies and product which differ largely from the products offered by their competitors. This means that a business may think that they have created a blue ocean whereas actually it has not been successful in doing so. A blue ocean strategy encourages the businesses to look for industries that are far beyond their own core competencies. When the business is enthused to think different under a blue ocean strategy, there is a risk that the business might overlook their strengths and history and forced to diversify in such industries where the risk of failure is high because of no experience in that industry. All in all, a blue ocean strategy is more likely to lead a company to flourish in the future but it is vital that the pros and cons are considered evenly before implementing such a strategy. (e) Summary on the success or failure:- Overall, working on such a project has aggrandized our team working skills because everyone took the responsibility on themselves which created a sense of ownership in every team member and ultimately the team as a whole was able to conclude the work effectively. For this reason, all of the questions which were asked of us were abundantly answered including the group presentation. Working on such an assignment has been very informative for us and we all are now aware of the different types of business strategies in the modern business environment. This could prove useful for us when we start our practical career. From the group standpoint, we are now aware of the different types of business strategies and how successful implementation of a blue ocean strategy can be of benefit to a business. We have also learned that how such strategies can be implemented and what are the pre-requisites for implementing the different types of business strategies. Moreover, we have also learned what type of strategy would suit a particular business and we agree on the fact that the blue ocean strategy is not fit for all types of business. The selection of a strategy varies from business to business depending on their environment and other significant factors which the management should bear in mind when choosing a strategy. Individually, I have understood that in the modern business environment, adopting and implementing a business strategy is vital for the success of a business. It doesnt matter whether the business decides to adopt a blue ocean strategy or not, what matters is the commitment of the management and their capabilities and experience which would result in the long term survival of the business. (f) Individual contribution and impact on group presentation:- Before proceeding with the assignment, all of the team members were assigned particular areas of their interest to work on. I was assigned to identify the different types of strategic models which could help the business in achieving their aims and objectives in the long run. This doesnt mean that all of the team members were working in isolation, instead all of the team members were helping and supporting in each others work. This created a team spirit and all of the team members felt a sense of ownership as everyone felt that it is their responsibility to complete the assignment. Lastly, my presentations focal point is the adequate preparation of slides and plenteous research from diverse resources. Detailed work was done with the team to cover up all areas of the assignment evenly.

Urbanization and Human Influence Essay -- Environmental Geology Essays

Urbanization and Human Influence It is estimated that by the year 2000, half the world population will live in urban environments (Porter and Brown, 1996). The US Bureau of the Census defines an area as being urbanized if a central city and its closely settled surrounding territory are of a certain size with 50,000 people and density of at least 1,000 people per square mile (Knox, 1994). A component of the definition denotes that human influence is a main aspect of urbanized areas in the process of urbanization. Unfortunately in order to create an urbanized area, a natural environment must be destroyed. Urbanization and human activity within an urban system produces many destructive and irreversible effects on natural environments such as climate change, air pollution, sediment and soil erosion, increased flooding magnitude, and loss of habitat. Cities in an urban environment change the local climate dramatically. Temperatures are always warmer in the city than it is in the surrounding areas creating a sort of "heat-island" (Harms, 1994). In a city, the sun’s energy is not used in the same way as in open landscapes with vegetation and trees. Concrete, stone, asphalt, and roofs tend to act as solar collectors and emit and absorb heat. The burning of fossil fuels also emit greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide that heat up the atmosphere around the source and usually the source is within urban environments. Cities also tend to be cloudier, rainier, and less humid than their surrounding areas. Cities are 10 percent rainier and 10 percent cloudier and have a 25 percent lower average wind speed, 30 percent more summer fog, and 100 percent more winter fog than nonurban areas (Keller, 1996). Average relative humidity is six percent... ...an up and rebuild cities in balance with nature (Merrifield and Swyngedouw, 1997) rather than destroy natural environments. With more and more people living and moving to cities, the problem will extend beyond existing boundaries and result in more damage to the natural environment. The effects of urbanization on the environment are permanent and extensive and urban policy must change in order to save what is left in the natural world. Literature Cited Harms, Valerie. 1994. The National Audubon Society: Almanac of the Environment. G.P. Putnam’s Sons: New York Keller, Edward A. 1996. Environmental Geology. Prentice Hall: Upper Saddle River. Merrifield, Andy and Erik Swygedouw. 1997. The Urbanization of Injustice. New York University Press: New York. Porter, Gareth and Janet Welsh Brown. 1996. Global Environmental Politics. Westview Press: Boulder.

Montag as Hero in Fahrenheit 451 Essay -- Fahrenheit 451 Essays Papers

Montag as Hero in Fahrenheit 451 Â   Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 was first published in 1933, and its story entails a futuristic world in the middle of a nuclear war. The totalitarian government of this future forbids its people from reading or taking a part in other acts that involve individual thinking. The law against reading is, presumably, fairly new, and the government is faced with the enormous task of destroying all of its citizens' books. This disposal of books is the profession of the main character, Guy Montag, who is officially titled a "fireman." He and his crew raid libraries and homes, burning any books they find before dozens of overjoyed onlookers. Throughout the beginning of the novel, Montag appears to be a ruthless, detestable human being. Surprisingly, however, it is Montag who emerges as the protagonist at the end. Montag is a dynamic character; he is constantly learning, changing, and keeping the reader interested. Ray Bradbury is able to incorporate careful details and ideas which change the re ader's opinion of Montag and allow him to become the hero of the story. As Fahrenheit 451 begins, Guy Montag is burning the books of a house, and is thoroughly enjoying his feast of flames. Bradbury places several subtle metaphors in this section that cause the reader to equate Montag with a detestable, serpent-like human being. As Montag stood "with this great python spitting its venomous kerosene upon the world, the blood pounded in his head. . ." (19). Montag even takes on the appearance of a monster in the line, ". . . and his eyes all orange flame with the thought of what came next. . ." (19). It is difficult to understand why Montag loves burning so much, and the fact that he receives so much pleasur... ... story progresses, Montag completely turns his belief system around and becomes an advocate for the salvation of books. He is cast out of his own job and home, but at the last moment his decision saves him from certain destruction by a nuclear bomb. Montag becomes a hero, one of the last few remaining with the power of literature contained in their minds. Fahrenheit 451 shows that a character's personality may have many more facets than are first visible. Bradbury is able to refract the crystal of Montag's character, so that it reflects into each reader's heart a different aspect of humanity. Once Montag becomes more human, Bradbury makes it nearly impossible for the reader to hold grudges about his past. Using this as a tool, Montag, the first apparent antagonist of the story, overcomes the government, which is the real antagonist, and emerges as the hero. Â