Creative Technology entry in the US market. Political factors that can affect its operations Essay

Introduction There are various political factors that can affect the operation of the Creative Technology in the US market.   First the company will be required to comply with the various government regulations that affect the pricing and the entire production process. The company also needs to comply with the various tax systems that are present in the American economy ( Donici, Maha, Ignat & Maha,2012).   In addition the company is also required to comply with the various trading agreement of the companies that operate in the industry. The US government is also known to have to have minimum intervention on the business which will in turn help to ensure that the business is able to achieve its objective (Shaw, 2007).   The political stability currently enjoyed by the US government will also play a critical role in helping to ensure the company achieves its strategic growth objective in the US market. Domestic approach that might change Building a strong brand The company need first ensure that it concentrate on building a strong brand in the US market. Though building a strong brand the company can therefore be able to achieve to capture the interest of the consumer and therefore ensure the company achieves its strategic growth objectives. According to Ryan & Jones (2012) building a strong brand can help to create the necessary emotional connections with the target consumers. Most importantly building a strong brand will help the company to compete with some of the companies that are leading in the sale of the earphone in the US market. Adopting online sales and marketing Online sales and marketing is current becoming one of the most important factors that helps to ensure that various business survive in US domestic market ( Donici et al.,2012). There is therefore need for the company to adopt the online sales and marking strategies in order to ensure it reaches its target consumers. In this case the company needs to set up a website that has an accurate reflection of the company goals and objectives. Reference Ryan, D., & Jones, C. (2012). Understanding digital marketing: Marketing strategies for engaging the digital generation. Philadelphia, PA: Kogan Page. DONICI, A., MAHA, A., IGNAT, I., & MAHA, L. (2012). E-Commerce across United States of America: Amazon.com. Economy Transdisciplinarity Cognition, 15(1), 252-258. Shaw, S. (2007). Airline marketing and management. Aldershot: Ashgate.

Social Learning: Knowledge Acquisition in a Social Context

Social learning theory posits that knowledge acquisition is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement. In addition to the observation of behaviour, learning also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as of vicarious reinforcement.Role Model TheorySocial learning theory states that people learn from the people that they look up to; this has a huge effect on children of young age and because of their age and knowledge they don’t fully know what’s wrong and what’s right, so that’s why most children look up to celebs on T. V and they want to achieve what they have achieved, sometimes a child’s biggest role models are their parents and they will imitate their behaviour for example if the father of a child is abusive and rough with them than the child might grow up thinking th at was normal and imitate the behaviours when they are older.Social learning theory was first introduced in 1977 by Albert Bandura and he stated that behaviour is learned from the environment around us and through the process of observational learning, for example a child’s environment and upraising is very important in influencing the child’s behaviour in later life, if the child’s environment is a rough area and are brought up by rough parents then the child is more likely to copy the actions and the behaviour of the parents when they grow up.This is clearly illustrated in the Bobo Doll experiment in 1961 by Bandura. Bobo Doll Experiment In 1961 Albert Bandura selected 36 boys and 36 girls from ages between 3 to 6 years old, bandura also chose 2 adults a male and a female; he wanted the adults act aggressively towards the Bobo doll while 24 of the children watched, he wanted the adults act as role models for the children so he can analyse what effects that has on the children, the adults were told to throw the doll about and attack it with various weapons like toy guns, hammers and sticks.While 24 of the group of children watched the 2 adults hitting the doll, the other group of 24 children were watching a non-aggressive adults and the final 24 child were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all. After the children experienced the adult’s (whether they were  aggressive, non-aggressive or no adult) they were taken in the room with toys and they were also told not to play or touch the toys, as the children got angry and frustrated over the rule of not playing with the toys they were taken to another room where there was a Bobo doll and aggressive and non-aggressive toys that they were allowed to play with, the experimenters recorded the children behaviour.Bandura found out that the children who were exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to act in aggressive ways than those who were not exposed to the aggressive model, those children who were exposed to the aggressive model started hitting the doll with a toy gun and a hammer and also started to punch, kick and throwing it while shouting at the doll. But the children that were exposed to non-aggressive models did not react aggressively towards the Bobo doll instead they just played with the toys and the Bobo doll. Self-full filling prophecySelf-fulfilling prophecy a positive or negative expectation about people that may affect a person’s behaviour towards another in a manner that causes those expectations to be made true. e. g. â€Å"treat others how you would like to be treated â€Å"This happens because our beliefs influence our actions. A child might have low self-esteem so he/she will not try out for any sports teams because their belief is that they are not confident and good enough so he/she will make that belief and prediction happen because they have no self-esteem and confidence.Anti-discrimination behaviour Ant i-discrimination behaviour is action taken to prevent discrimination against people on the grounds of race, class, gender, disability etc. Anti-discriminatory practice promotes equality by introducing anti-discrimination policies in the workplace, this is a good way to preventing discrimination in the workplace because it makes the employees aware of the rules and the horrible effects that discrimination could have on people including self harm and suicide.Another really good way of preventing discrimination on a wide scale is to get popular celebrities to promote a campaigned against discrimination on T. V so it can be seen by millions. Because the campaign is promoted by a popular celebrity it will have lots of followers and supporters, this is because the celebrity acts as a role model and will influence their fans to prevent discrimination from happening.As well as celebrities preventing discrimination and promoting anti- discrimination, other people who aren’t celebritie s can also promote anti-discrimination but it will take longer than celebrities because not everyone is well known and have that many supporters or fans to follow them, this can be done by a person encouraging family and friends together and telling them to let others know about anti-discrimination and after a while more and more people will be promoting the campaign.With lots of supporters. An example of a celebrity promoting anti-discrimination is David Beckham and he promotes the â€Å"SAY NO TO RACISIM† campaign through videos, conventions and also by telling supporters to spread the word, because is well known and liked around the world he has a huge number of followers on twitter which he also uses to promote his campaign. Groups and effects of others (Asch experiment)Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments in which he studied the willingness of an individual to fit in a group while answering a question, even when those answers were obviously wrong. In the experi ment, subjects who were unaware of the actual experiment were told that they were participating in a vision test. In reality though, each subject was placed in a group of people for the experiments. The people in the group were fully aware of the true purpose of the study.The aim of the experiment was to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. They seated the group in a classroom and they were asked a variety of questions about an image on which was placed in front of them which contained straight line labelled A, B and C and they were asked how long line A was, which line was longer than the other, which lines were the same length, etc.The group was told to answer each question out loud in front of the rest of the group, with the accomplices of the experiment always answering before the subjects and always giving the same answers as the others. They answered a few of the questions correctly, but then started answering incorrectly on purpose. The results of this experiment were that nearly 75 percent of the participants in the conformity experiments went along with the rest of the group at least one time even though the answer was obviously wrong.The results showed that people feel pressured go along with the majority of people because they feel pressured to fit in with the group and not stand alone against them. Health and Social Care An example of a positive role model for children to look up to and be inspired by is a doctor because they are respected by society and also they help people in need as they save the life’s of hundreds, this makes children look up to them because they see them as hard working, intelligent and respected professionals who make sick people better.Another reason a doctor is a good role model is that their professional achievement is an indication that they have finished education and worked hard to get to where they are, so that influences children to do work har d to and do well in school to get to where they want to be. They are also positive role model because they promote a healthy living and the majority of them promote anti-discrimination and these influence kids to be health and not to judge people because of their skin or background. Social Learning: Knowledge Acquisition in a Social Context Social learning theory posits that knowledge acquisition is a cognitive process that takes place in a social context and can occur purely through observation or direct instruction, even in the absence of motor reproduction or direct reinforcement. In addition to the observation of behaviour, learning also occurs through the observation of rewards and punishments, a process known as of vicarious reinforcement.Role Model TheorySocial learning theory states that people learn from the people that they look up to; this has a huge effect on children of young age and because of their age and knowledge they don’t fully know what’s wrong and what’s right, so that’s why most children look up to celebs on T. V and they want to achieve what they have achieved, sometimes a child’s biggest role models are their parents and they will imitate their behaviour for example if the father of a child is abusive and rough with them than the child might grow up thinking th at was normal and imitate the behaviours when they are older.Social learning theory was first introduced in 1977 by Albert Bandura and he stated that behaviour is learned from the environment around us and through the process of observational learning, for example a child’s environment and upraising is very important in influencing the child’s behaviour in later life, if the child’s environment is a rough area and are brought up by rough parents then the child is more likely to copy the actions and the behaviour of the parents when they grow up.This is clearly illustrated in the Bobo Doll experiment in 1961 by Bandura. Bobo Doll Experiment In 1961 Albert Bandura selected 36 boys and 36 girls from ages between 3 to 6 years old, bandura also chose 2 adults a male and a female; he wanted the adults act aggressively towards the Bobo doll while 24 of the children watched, he wanted the adults act as role models for the children so he can analyse what effects that has on the children, the adults were told to throw the doll about and attack it with various weapons like toy guns, hammers and sticks.While 24 of the group of children watched the 2 adults hitting the doll, the other group of 24 children were watching a non-aggressive adults and the final 24 child were used as a control group and not exposed to any model at all. After the children experienced the adult’s (whether they were  aggressive, non-aggressive or no adult) they were taken in the room with toys and they were also told not to play or touch the toys, as the children got angry and frustrated over the rule of not playing with the toys they were taken to another room where there was a Bobo doll and aggressive and non-aggressive toys that they were allowed to play with, the experimenters recorded the children behaviour.Bandura found out that the children who were exposed to the aggressive model were more likely to act in aggressive ways than those who were not exposed to the aggressive model, those children who were exposed to the aggressive model started hitting the doll with a toy gun and a hammer and also started to punch, kick and throwing it while shouting at the doll. But the children that were exposed to non-aggressive models did not react aggressively towards the Bobo doll instead they just played with the toys and the Bobo doll. Self-full filling prophecySelf-fulfilling prophecy a positive or negative expectation about people that may affect a person’s behaviour towards another in a manner that causes those expectations to be made true. e. g. â€Å"treat others how you would like to be treated â€Å"This happens because our beliefs influence our actions. A child might have low self-esteem so he/she will not try out for any sports teams because their belief is that they are not confident and good enough so he/she will make that belief and prediction happen because they have no self-esteem and confidence.Anti-discrimination behaviour Ant i-discrimination behaviour is action taken to prevent discrimination against people on the grounds of race, class, gender, disability etc. Anti-discriminatory practice promotes equality by introducing anti-discrimination policies in the workplace, this is a good way to preventing discrimination in the workplace because it makes the employees aware of the rules and the horrible effects that discrimination could have on people including self harm and suicide.Another really good way of preventing discrimination on a wide scale is to get popular celebrities to promote a campaigned against discrimination on T. V so it can be seen by millions. Because the campaign is promoted by a popular celebrity it will have lots of followers and supporters, this is because the celebrity acts as a role model and will influence their fans to prevent discrimination from happening.As well as celebrities preventing discrimination and promoting anti- discrimination, other people who aren’t celebritie s can also promote anti-discrimination but it will take longer than celebrities because not everyone is well known and have that many supporters or fans to follow them, this can be done by a person encouraging family and friends together and telling them to let others know about anti-discrimination and after a while more and more people will be promoting the campaign.With lots of supporters. An example of a celebrity promoting anti-discrimination is David Beckham and he promotes the â€Å"SAY NO TO RACISIM† campaign through videos, conventions and also by telling supporters to spread the word, because is well known and liked around the world he has a huge number of followers on twitter which he also uses to promote his campaign. Groups and effects of others (Asch experiment)Solomon Asch conducted a series of experiments in which he studied the willingness of an individual to fit in a group while answering a question, even when those answers were obviously wrong. In the experi ment, subjects who were unaware of the actual experiment were told that they were participating in a vision test. In reality though, each subject was placed in a group of people for the experiments. The people in the group were fully aware of the true purpose of the study.The aim of the experiment was to investigate the extent to which social pressure from a majority group could affect a person to conform. They seated the group in a classroom and they were asked a variety of questions about an image on which was placed in front of them which contained straight line labelled A, B and C and they were asked how long line A was, which line was longer than the other, which lines were the same length, etc.The group was told to answer each question out loud in front of the rest of the group, with the accomplices of the experiment always answering before the subjects and always giving the same answers as the others. They answered a few of the questions correctly, but then started answering incorrectly on purpose. The results of this experiment were that nearly 75 percent of the participants in the conformity experiments went along with the rest of the group at least one time even though the answer was obviously wrong.The results showed that people feel pressured go along with the majority of people because they feel pressured to fit in with the group and not stand alone against them. Health and Social Care An example of a positive role model for children to look up to and be inspired by is a doctor because they are respected by society and also they help people in need as they save the life’s of hundreds, this makes children look up to them because they see them as hard working, intelligent and respected professionals who make sick people better.Another reason a doctor is a good role model is that their professional achievement is an indication that they have finished education and worked hard to get to where they are, so that influences children to do work har d to and do well in school to get to where they want to be. They are also positive role model because they promote a healthy living and the majority of them promote anti-discrimination and these influence kids to be health and not to judge people because of their skin or background.

Bloodsucking Fiends: A Love Story Chapter 13~14

Chapter 13 To-Do List of the Fashionably Doomed When you know the future is grim, there is no need for speed. Tommy decided to walk to the financial district. He shuffled along with the hang-dog look of the cosmically fucked. He walked through Chinatown, spotted three of the Wongs buying lottery tickets at a liquor store, and headed up to the room to get his typewriter and clothes before they returned. His spirits lifted a little when he climbed down the narrow stairway for the last time, but Madame Natasha's words came back to dump on him again: â€Å"I don't see a woman in your near future.† It had been one of the reasons he had come to San Francisco – to find a girlfriend. Someone who would see him as an artist. Not like the girls back home, who saw him as a bookish freak. It was all part of the plan: live in the City, write stories, look at the bridge, ride cable cars, eat Rice-A-Roni, and have a girlfriend – someone he could tell his thoughts to, preferably after hours of godlike sex. He wasn't looking for perfection, just someone who made him feel secure enough to be insecure around. But not now. Now he was doomed. He looked up at the skyline and realized that he had navigated wrong, arriving in the financial district, several blocks from the Pyramid. He zigzagged from block to block, avoiding eye contact with the men and women in business suits, who avoided eye contact in turn by checking their watches every few steps. Sure, he thought, they can check their watches. They have a future. He arrived at the foot of the Pyramid a little breathless, his arms aching from carrying his belongings. He sat on a concrete bench at the edge of a fountain and watched people for a while. They were all so determined. They had places to go, people to see. Their hair was perfect. They smelled good. They wore nice shoes. He looked at his own worn leather sneakers. Fucked. Someone sat down next to him on the bench and he avoided looking up, thinking that it would just be another person who would make him feel inferior. He was staring at a spot on the concrete by his feet when a Boston terrier appeared on the spot and blew a jet stream of dog snot on his pant leg. â€Å"Bummer, that's rude,† the Emperor said. â€Å"Can't you see that our friend is sulking?† Tommy looked up into the face of the Emperor. â€Å"Your Highness. Hello.† The man had the wildest eyebrows Tommy had ever seen, as if two gray porcupines were perched on his brow. The Emperor tipped his crown, a fedora made of panels cut from beer cans and laced together with yellow yarn. â€Å"Did you get the job?† â€Å"Yes, they hired me that day. Thanks for the tip.† â€Å"It's honest work,† the Emperor said. â€Å"There's a certain grace in that. Not like this tragedy.† â€Å"What tragedy?† â€Å"These poor souls. These poor pathetic souls.† The Emperor gestured toward the passersby. â€Å"I don't understand,† Tommy said. â€Å"Their time has passed and they don't know what to do. They were told what they wanted and they believed it. They can only keep their dream alive by being with others like themselves who will mirror their illusions.† â€Å"They have really nice shoes,† Tommy said. â€Å"They have to look right or their peers will turn on them like starving dogs. They are the fallen gods. The new gods are producers, creators, doers. The new gods are the chinless techno-children who would rather eat white sugar and watch science-fiction films than worry about what shoes they wear. And these poor souls desperately push papers around hoping that a mystical message will appear to save them from the new, awkward, brilliant gods and their silicon-chip reality. Some of them will survive, of course, but most will fall. Uncreative thinking is done better by machines. Poor souls, you can almost hear them sweating.† Tommy looked at the well-dressed stream of business people, then at the Emperor's tattered overcoat, then at his own sneakers, then at the Emperor again. For some reason, he felt better than he had a few minutes before. â€Å"You really worry about these people, don't you?† â€Å"It is my lot.† An attractive woman in a gray suit and heels approached the Emperor and handed him a five-dollar bill. She wore a silk camisole under her jacket and Tommy could make out the top of her lace bra when she bent over. He was mesmerized. â€Å"Your Highness,† she said, â€Å"there's a Chinese chicken salad on special at the Cafe Suisse today. I think Bummer and Lazarus would love it.† Lazarus wagged his tail. Bummer yapped at the mention of his name. â€Å"Very thoughtful of you, my child. The men will enjoy it.† â€Å"Have a good day,† she said, and walked away. Tommy watched her calves as she went. Two men who were passing by, embroiled in an argument about prices and earnings, stopped their conversation and nodded to the Emperor. â€Å"Go with God,† the Emperor said. He turned back to Tommy. â€Å"Are you still looking for a domicile, or just a woman now?† â€Å"I don't understand.† â€Å"You wear your loneliness like a badge.† Tommy felt as if his ego had just taken a right to the jaw. â€Å"Actually, I met a girl and I'm going to rent us a place this afternoon.† â€Å"My mistake,† the Emperor said. â€Å"I misread you.† â€Å"No, you didn't. I'm fucked.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"A fortune-teller told me that there was no woman in my future.† â€Å"Madame Natasha?† â€Å"How did you know?† â€Å"You mustn't give too much credence to Madame Natasha's predictions. He's dying and it darkens his vision. The plague.† â€Å"I'm sorry,† Tommy said. In fact, he felt relieved, then guilty for the reason behind it. He had no right to feel sorry for himself. The Emperor had nothing except his dogs, yet his sympathy was all directed toward his fellowman. I'm scum, Tommy thought. He said, â€Å"Your Highness, I have a little money now, if you need†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The Emperor held up the bill the woman had given him. â€Å"We have all that we need, my son.† He stood and tugged on the ropes that held Bummer and Lazarus. â€Å"And I should be off before the men revolt from hunger.† â€Å"Me, too, I guess.† Tommy stood and made as if to shake hands, then bowed instead. â€Å"Thanks for the company.† The Emperor winked, spun on one heel, and started to lead his troops away, then stopped and turned back. â€Å"And, son, don't touch anything with an edge while you're in the building? Scissors, letter openers, anything.† â€Å"Why?† Tommy asked. â€Å"It's the shape of the building, a pyramid. They'd rather people not know about it, but they have a full-time employee who just goes around dulling the letter openers.† â€Å"You're kidding.† â€Å"Safety first,† the Emperor said. â€Å"Thanks.† Tommy took a deep breath and steeled himself for his assault on the Pyramid. As he walked out of the sun and under the massive concrete buttresses, he could feel a chill through his flannel shirt, as if the concrete had stored the damp cold of the night fog and was radiating it like a refrigerator coil. He was shivering by the time he reached the information desk. A guard eyed him suspiciously. â€Å"Can I help you?† â€Å"I'm looking for the Transamerica personnel department.† The guard made a face as if Tommy had been dipped in sewage. â€Å"Do you have an appointment?† â€Å"Yes.† Tommy waved Jody's papers under the guard's nose. The guard picked up a phone and was punching numbers when a second guard came up behind him and took the receiver. â€Å"He's fine,† the second guard said. â€Å"Send him up.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"He's a friend of the Emperor.† The first guard hung up the phone and said, â€Å"Twenty-first floor, sir.† He pointed to the elevators. Tommy took an elevator to the twenty-first floor, then followed the signs until he found the right department. An officious-looking older woman told him to have a seat in the reception room, she would be right with him. Then she took great pains to act as if he had been sucked off the planet. Tommy sat on a black leather sofa that sighed with his weight, chose a magazine from the black stone coffee table, and waited. During the next hour he read a household-hints column (â€Å"Coffee grounds in that cat box will fill your house with the delightful aroma of brewing espresso every time kitty heeds the call†); an article on computer junkies (â€Å"Bruce has been off the mouse for six months now, but he says he takes life one byte at a time†); and a review of the new musical Jonestown! (â€Å"Andrew Lloyd Webber's version of the Kool-Aid jingle is at once chilling and evocative. Donny Osmond is brilliant as Jim Jones.†) He borrowed some whiteout from the officious-looking woman and touched up the finish on his sneakers, then dried them under a halogen reading light that looked like a robot's arm holding the sun. When he started pulling cologne sample cards out of GQ and rubbing them on his socks, the woman told him he could go on in. He picked up his shoes and walked into the office in his stocking feet. Another officious-looking woman, who looked remarkably like the first officious-looking woman, down to the little chain on her reading glasses, had him sit down across from her while she looked at Jody's papers and ignored him. She consulted a computer screen, tapped on a few keys, then waited while the computer did something. Tommy put his shoes on and waited. She didn't look up. He cleared his throat. She tapped on the keys. He reached down, opened his suitcase, and took out his portable typewriter. She didn't look up. She tapped and looked at the screen. He opened the typewriter case, rolled a piece of paper in the machine, and tapped on a few keys. She looked up. He tapped a few more keys. â€Å"What are you doing?† she asked. Tommy tapped. He didn't look up. The woman raised her voice. â€Å"I said, what are you doing?† Tommy kept typing and looked up. â€Å"Pardon me, I was ignoring you. What did you say?† â€Å"What are you doing?† She repeated. â€Å"It's a note. Let me read it for you. ‘Couldn't anyone else see that they were all slaves of Satan? I had to cleanse the world of their evil. I am the hand of God. Why else would security have let me into the building with an assault rifle in my suitcase? I am a divine instrument. † Tommy paused and looked up. â€Å"That's all I have so far, but I'll guess I end it with an apology to my mom. What do you think?† She smiled as if hiding gas pains and handed him an envelope. â€Å"This is Jody's final paycheck. Give her our best. And you have a nice day now, young man.† â€Å"You too,† Tommy said. He gathered up his stuff and left the office whistling. Fashionable SOMA looked to Tommy an awful lot like a light industrial area: two- and three-story buildings with steel roll-up doors and steel-framed windows. The bottom floors housed ethnic restaurants, underground dance clubs, auto-repair shops, and the occasional foundry. Tommy paused outside of one to watch two long-haired men pouring bronze into a mold. Artists, Tommy thought. He had never seen a real artist, and although these guys looked more like bikers, he wanted to talk to them. He took a tentative step through the doorway. â€Å"Hi,† he said. The men were wrestling with a huge ladle, the two of them gripping the long metal handle with asbestos gloves. One looked up. â€Å"Out!† he said. Tommy said, â€Å"Okay, I can see you guys are busy. ‘Bye.† He stood on the sidewalk and checked his map. He was supposed to meet the rental agent somewhere around here. He looked up and down the street. Except for a guy passed out on the corner, the street was empty. Tommy was thinking about waking the guy up and asking him if this was, indeed, the fashionable part of SOMA, when a green Jeep pulled up beside him and skidded to a stop. The driver, a woman in her forties with wild gray hair, rolled down the window. â€Å"Mr. Flood?† She said. Tommy nodded. â€Å"I'm Alicia DeVries. Let me park and I'll show you the loft.† She backed the Jeep into a spot that seemed too short for it by six inches, running the wheels up over the curb, then she jumped out, dragging after her a purse roughly the size of Tommy's suitcase. She wore sandals, a dashiki, and multicolored Guatemalan cotton pants. There were chopsticks stuck here and there in her hair, as if she were prepared at any minute to deal with an emergency stir-fry. She looked at Tommy's suitcase. â€Å"You look like you're ready to move in today. This way.† She breezed by Tommy to a fire door beside the foundry. Tommy could smell the patchouli in her wake. She said, â€Å"This area is just like Soho was twenty years ago. You're lucky to have a shot at one of these lofts now, before they go co-op and start selling for a million dollars.† She unlocked the door and started up the steps. â€Å"This place has incredible energy,† she said, without looking back. â€Å"I'd love to live here myself, except the market's down right now and I'd have to sell my place in the Heights.† Tommy dragged his suitcase up the steps after her. â€Å"Do you paint, Mr. Flood?† â€Å"I'm a writer.† â€Å"Oh, a writer! I do a little writing myself. I'd like to write a book myself some weekend, if I can find the time. Something about female circumcision, I think. Maybe something about marriage. But what's the difference, right?† She stopped at a landing at the top of the stairs and unlocked another fire door. â€Å"Here it is.† She threw the door open and gestured for Tommy to enter. â€Å"A nice work area and a bedroom in the back. There are two sculptors that work downstairs and a painter next door. A writer would really round the building out. What's your take on female circumcision, Mr. Flood?† Tommy was still about three topics behind her, so he stood on the landing while his brain caught up. People like Alicia were the reason God made decaf. â€Å"I think everyone should have a hobby,† he said, taking a shot in the dark. Alicia jammed like an overheated machine gun. She seemed to look at him for the first time, and did not seem to like what she saw. â€Å"You are aware that we'll need a significant security deposit, if your application is accepted?† â€Å"Okay,† Tommy said. He entered the loft, leaving her standing on the landing. The loft was roughly the size of a handball court. It had an island kitchen in the middle, and windows ran along one wall from floor to ceiling. There was an old rug, a futon, and a low plastic coffee table in the open area near the kitchen. The back wall was lined with empty bookshelves, broken only by a single door to the bedroom. The bookshelves did it. Tommy wanted to live here. He could see the shelves filled with Kerouac, and Kesey, and Hammett, and Ginsberg, and Twain, and London, and Bierce, and every other writer who had lived and written in the City. One shelf would be for the books he was going to write: hardbacks in thirty languages. There would be a bust of Beethoven on that shelf. He didn't really like Beethoven, but he thought he should have a bust of him. He resisted the urge to shout, â€Å"I'll take it!† It was Jody's money. He had to check the bedroom for windows. He opened the door and went in. The room was as dark as a cave. He flipped the light switch and track lighting along one wall came on. There was an old mattress and box springs on the floor. The walls were bare brick. No windows. Through another door was a bathroom with a freestanding sink and a huge claw-foot tub that was stained with rust and paint. No windows. He was so excited, he thought he would wet himself. He ran out into the main living area where Alicia was standing with her hand on her hip, mentally shoving him into the pigeonhole of abusive barbarism she had made for him. â€Å"I'll take it,† Tommy said. â€Å"You'll have to fill out an – â€Å" â€Å"I'll give you four thousand dollars in cash, right now.† He pulled the wad of bills out of his jeans. â€Å"How many keys will you need?† Chapter 14 Two Losts Do Not Make a Found Consciousness went off like a flashbulb of pain: a dull ache in her head, sharp daggers in her knees and her chin. Jody was slumped in the shower. The water was still running – had been running on her all day. She crawled out of the shower stall on her hands and knees and pulled towels out of the rack. She sat on the bathroom floor and dried herself, blotting away the water with rough terry cloth. Her skin felt tender, almost raw. The towels were damp from fourteen hours of steam. The ceiling dripped and the walls ran with condensation. She braced herself against the sink and climbed to her feet, then opened the door and stumbled through the room to the bed. Be careful what you ask for, she thought. All the regret about waking up a little too alert, coming out of sleep like a gunshot, came back on her. She hadn't thought about falling asleep in the same way. She must have been in the shower at sunup, dropped to the shower floor, and stayed there throughout the day. She sat up on the bed and gently touched her chin. Pain shot up her jaw. She must have hit it on the soap dish when she went out. Her knees were bruised as well. Bruised? Something was wrong. She jumped to her feet and went to the dresser. She turned on the light and leaned into the mirror, then yelped. Her chin was bruised blue, with a corona of yellow. Her hair was hopelessly tangled and she now had a small bald spot where the water had worn away at her scalp. She backed away and sat back on the bed, stunned. Something was wrong, seriously wrong, beyond her injuries. It was the light. Why had she turned on the light? The night before she would have been able to see herself in the mirror by the light filtering in under the bathroom door. But it was more than that. It was a tightness in her mouth, pressure, like when she had first gotten braces as a child. She ran her tongue over her teeth and felt the points breaking through the roof of her mouth just behind her eyeteeth. She thought, I'm breaking down from lack of†¦ She couldn't even make herself think it. This will get worse. Much worse. Now she could feel the hunger, not in her stomach, but in her entire body, as if her veins were going to collapse on themselves. And there was a tension in her muscles, as if piano strings were tightening inside her body, sharpening her movements, making her feel as if she would jump through a window any second. I've got to calm down. Calm down. Calm down. Calm down. She repeated the mantra to herself as she got up and walked to the phone. It seemed to take an incredible effort to push the zero button and wait for the desk clerk to come on. â€Å"Hi, this is room two-ten. Is there a guy in the lobby waiting? Yes, that's him. Would you tell him I'll be down in a few minutes?† She put down the phone and went to the bathroom, where she turned off the shower and wiped down the mirror. She looked at herself in the mirror and fought the urge to burst into tears. This is a project, she thought. She turned her head and looked at her bald spot. It was small enough that she could cover it with a new part held by a couple of hairpins. Her bruised chin might require some explaining. She started to run her fingers though her hair to facilitate the preliminary untangle, fighting the tension in her arms that seemed to be increasing every second. A large moth buzzed into the bathroom and went for the light above the mirror. Before she knew what had happened, she snatched it out of the air and ate it. She stared at her reflection and was horrified by the red-haired stranger who had just eaten a moth. Even so, a warmth ran though her like good brandy. The bruise on her chin faded as she watched. The first thing she saw when she turned the corner at the lobby was Tommy's grin. â€Å"Good,† he said. â€Å"You're dressed for moving. I like your hair pinned up like that.† Jody smiled, and stood awkwardly in front of him, thinking she should greet him with a hug, but afraid to get too close to him. She could smell him and he smelled like food. â€Å"You found a place?† â€Å"An incredible loft, south of Market. It's even furnished.† He seemed as if he would burst with excitement. â€Å"I used all the money; I hope that's okay.† â€Å"Fine,† Jody said. She just wanted to get him alone. â€Å"Get your stuff,† he said. â€Å"I want to show it to you.† Jody nodded. â€Å"I'll be just a minute. Have the desk clerk call a cab.† She turned to leave. Tommy caught her by the arm. â€Å"Hey, are you okay?† She motioned for him to move within whisper range. â€Å"I want you so badly I can hardly stand it.† She pulled away and ran up the steps to her room. Inside she gathered what few belongings she had and checked herself in the mirror one last time. She was wearing jeans and the chambray blouse from the night before. She unbuttoned her blouse and did a straitjacket escape from her bra, then buttoned the blouse halfway up. She stuffed the bra into her day pack and locked the room for the last time. When she returned to the lobby, Tommy was waiting outside by a blue DeSoto cab. He opened the door for her, climbed in, and gave the driver the address. â€Å"You're going to love it,† he said. â€Å"I know you are.† She moved closer to him and held his arm tightly between her breasts. â€Å"I can't wait,† she said. A tiny voice in her head asked, What are you doing? What are you going to do to him? It was so faint and foreign that it might have come from someone outside on the street. Tommy pulled away from her and dug into his jeans pocket, coming out with an envelope. â€Å"Your check's in here. I didn't open it.† She took it and put it in her day pack, then moved on him again. He scooted to the door and nodded toward the driver, who was watching them in the rearview mirror. â€Å"Forget him,† Jody whispered. She licked Tommy neck and shuddered with the taste and warmth of his flesh. â€Å"I couldn't get your car out of impound. It has to be the owner.† â€Å"Doesn't matter,† she said, nuzzling into the space under his jaw. The cab stopped and the driver turned to them. â€Å"Six-ten,† he said. Jody threw a twenty over the seat, reached over Tommy and opened the door, dived out and dragged him out of the cab after her. â€Å"Where is it?† Tommy just had time to point to the door before she pushed him at it. She climbed on his back as he unlocked the door, then bolted past him and dragged him up the steps. â€Å"You're really excited about this, aren't you?† he asked. â€Å"It's great.† She stopped at the fire door at the top of the stairs. â€Å"Open it,† she commanded. Tommy unlocked the door and threw it open. â€Å"This is it!† She went through, catching the front of his shirt and pulling him in. â€Å"Look at all these bookshelves,† he said. She ripped his shirt off and kissed him hard. He pulled up for air and said, â€Å"The bedroom doesn't have any windows, just like you wanted.† â€Å"Where?† she demanded. He pointed to the open door and she pushed him through it. He fell face down on the bare mattress. She flipped him over, hooked her hands into the waist of his jeans and ripped them off him. â€Å"So you like it?† he asked. She ripped her shirt open and held him to the bed, one hand on his chest while she took off her own jeans. She climbed on him and muffled his next question with a kiss. He finally got the message and returned her kiss and tried to match her urgency, then didn't have to try at all. She pulled away from the kiss as her fangs unsheathed, then guided him into her as he moaned. Jody growled deep in her chest, pushed his head to the side and bit him on the neck. â€Å"Ouch!† Tommy shouted. She held him down and snarled into his neck. Dust from the old mattress filled the air and was stirred by the movement of their bodies. â€Å"Oh jeez!† Tommy shouted, digging his fingers into her bottom. Jody answered him with a catlike scream as she came, then fell on his chest and licked the blood that dribbled from the punctures on his neck. She twitched and shuddered while he repeated, â€Å"Oh jeez,† over and over again between gasps. After a few minutes she rolled off him and lay on the bed feeling the warm nourishment running though her. Tommy rubbed his neck. â€Å"That was great,† he said. â€Å"That was incredible. You are – â€Å" Jody rolled over. â€Å"Tommy, I have to tell you something.† â€Å"You're beautiful,† he said. Jody smiled at him. The urgency was gone now and she was feeling guilty. I could have killed him, she thought. Tommy reached over and touched her lips. â€Å"What's that on your teeth? Did you hurt yourself?† â€Å"It's blood, Tommy. It's your blood.† He felt his neck again, which was completely healed. â€Å"My blood?† â€Å"Tommy, I've never done anything like that before. I've never been that way before.† â€Å"Me either. It was great!† â€Å"I'm a vampire.† â€Å"That's okay,† Tommy said. â€Å"I knew this girl in high school who gave me a hickey that covered the whole side of my neck.† â€Å"No, Tommy. I'm really a vampire.† She looked him in the eye and did not smile or look away. She waited. He said, â€Å"Don't goof on me, okay?† â€Å"Tommy, have you ever seen anyone tear a pair of jeans like that before?† â€Å"That was my animal attraction, right?† Jody got out of bed, went to the bedroom door and closed it, shutting out the light from the living area. â€Å"Can you see anything?† â€Å"No,† he said. â€Å"Hold up a number of fingers. Don't tell me how many.† He did. â€Å"Three,† Jody said. â€Å"Try again.† He did. â€Å"Seven.† â€Å"Jeez,† he said. â€Å"Are you psychic?† She opened the door. Light spilled in. â€Å"You have an incredible body,† Tommy said. â€Å"Thanks. I need to lose five pounds.† â€Å"Let's do it again, without our shoes on this time.† â€Å"Tommy, you have to listen to me. This is important. I'm not kidding you. I am a vampire.† â€Å"C'mon, Jody, come over here. I'll take your shoes off for you.† Jody looked up at the ceiling. There were open steel beams twenty feet above. â€Å"Watch.† She jumped up and grabbed on to a beam and hung. â€Å"See?† â€Å"Jeez,† Tommy said. â€Å"Do you have a book here?† â€Å"In my suitcase.† â€Å"Go get it.† â€Å"Be careful. You could fall.† â€Å"Get the book, Tommy.† Tommy went into the living area, looking up at her as he walked under. He returned with a volume of Kerouac. â€Å"Now what? Come down from there. You're making me nervous.† â€Å"Close the door and open the book.† He closed the door and the room went dark again. Jody read a half page aloud before he opened the door again. â€Å"Jeez,† he said. She let go of the beam and dropped to the floor. Tommy backed away from her to the bed and sat down. â€Å"If you want to leave, I'll understand,† she said. â€Å"When we were making love†¦ you were cold inside.† â€Å"Look, I didn't mean to hurt you.† Tommy's eyes were wide. â€Å"You really are a vampire, aren't you?† â€Å"I'm sorry. I needed help. I needed someone.† â€Å"You really are a vampire.† It was a statement this time. â€Å"Yes, Tommy. I am.† He paused for a second to think, then said, â€Å"That's the coolest thing I've ever heard. Let's do it with our shoes off.†

Managerial Finance Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Managerial Finance - Assignment Example For example a firm is investing a sum of money in a project which promises to yield $200, $400 and $ 1000 in the next three years. Simply adding this figure would give us a wrong estimation as the money is to be received in the coming years and not today therefore we will have to discount these sums of money using a particular interest rate to know the actual worth of dollars that would be today. 2 ) Opportunity Costs are those costs that a firm foregoes in order to pursue some other investment or decision. For example a company has a plot of land that is vacant, it now has two options either to rent it and receive rent income or to use that land to construct its factories that will again earn it some benefit. Now, if the company decides to construct a manufacturing plant on that site it has to forego that rental income which otherwise it would have received if the factory was not built. Hence in finance and business we factor in that cost and include it as an expense to gauge the true outcome of our actual decision. 3) Cost of capital is the cost for a firm of raising capital either through equity or debt. A company has te decide the optimum mix of both as it will invest that money to gain higher returns therefore the lower the cost of capital the better. The cost of capital is determined by the firms target capital structure which is the weight ages in which it wants to raise equity and debt. It is the duty of the Finance Managers to manage a firms cost of capital and define an optimum kevel. 4) The firm’s optimum capital structure is the weight ages of both equity and debt for which the cost of capital is the lowest. We also know that a company cannot raise unlimited amounts of capital for that lowest cost and optimum weight age level. The WACC (Weighted Average cost if capital) changes after a particular level of capital is reached also

Strategic Management and Contemporary Level Of Competition Essay

Strategic Management and Contemporary Level Of Competition - Essay Example There are different segments of environments in which an organization operates; these include external environments like the economic, political, social, cultural, technological, global, and demographic environments. All these segments of the environment influence the pattern of conducting business in an industry. According to Brown & Eisenhardt (1998:3), "strategy is about two things: deciding where you want your business to go and figuring out how to get there". Strategic management pattern of every organization may differ from what is obtainable in another; while there may be areas of similarity, certain aspects are uniquely structured out to suit the operation of the organization in concern. The ability of an organization to successfully compete depends on how unique its strategy is. In this view Peter (2005:5), argues, "Strategic competitiveness is achieved when a firm successfully formulates and implements a value-creating strategy. When a firm implements such a strategy that o ther companies are unable to duplicate or find too costly to imitate, this firm gas a sustained, or sustainable, competitive advantage". ... try the question that decision makers for organization have to tackle is what to do What to do on how to carry out the organization operations When should it be done In order for an organization to gain competitive advantage over its rivals, it tends to come out and adopt a strategy that is different from what its competitors are familiar. This essay would compare and contrastthe sources of competitive advantage in the Aero-engine and thegrocery retail markets. Examples of organizations operating in these industries would be utilized in analyzing the subject matter. GAINING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE IN A DYNAMIC INDUSTRY Through an effective strategic management, an organization can adequately cease the opportunities abounding in the industry where it operates. It will utilize its resources most adequately in meeting the changes and challenges in the industry. Looking at the external environment, how it influences the operation of an organization, the ability of an organization to capture untapped opportunities within the industry it operates this will go to put it ahead of its rivals and give it competitive advantage. Opportunities abound for firms operating in an industry, it is only through effective strategic management framework put in place by an organization, and its ability to be innovatively different from its rivals that it would seize these opportunities, before another close rival discover it. This brings us to the issue of strategic competitiveness. According to Peter (2005:5), "strategic competitiveness is achieved when a firm successfully formulates and implements a value-creating stra tegy. When a firm implements such a strategy that other companies are unable toduplicate or find too costly to imitate, this firm has a sustained, or sustainable, competitive

Assignment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Assignment - Research Paper Example One of the most notable empires that used communication technologies effectively to handle information was the Assyrian Empire. In the first millennium BC, the Assyrian Empire expanded to an unprecedented size; the empire stretched from River Nile in Egypt to the Iranian mountains, thereby nearly enveloping the modern Middle East. The empire’s ruling elite managed to control the empire despite its massive size primarily because they used efficient communication technologies that facilitated effective handling of administrative messages and records. Constant innovations in administrative technology facilitated the development of communication systems, which facilitated economic growth. One of Assyrians’ most prominent exports was technologies of social management and control, which entailed the technologies such as coercion, information management and control of the empire’s physical assets. Assyrians typically found effective ways of managing storage, movement an d management of goods, armies, people, information and capital. In order to sustain the empire’s massive population, Assyrian administrators developed an administrative structure consisting of four intertwining components that enabled effective communication throughout the empire. These components were the temple administration, the palace, the city or town administration and the provincial administration (Black, 2001). While all components had their individual hierarchies, as well as power bases, the ultimate power typically trickled down from the king. The four structures served to create a balance in power, allowing information and decrees to flow from the king to the common folk. These structures allowed Assyrians to construct a streamlined economic and administrative system that saved on administrative costs, while also controlling a vast majority of the empire’s internal production means. Administrators at the lowest structure (the town/city administration) were primarily tasked with collection of taxes and management of tax records, labor conscriptions, as well as military call-ups. As a result of the effective hierarchical system of communication, the king continually settled deportees from other regions of the empire and parceled out such land as favors in exchange for loyalty. This developed an extremely stratified society with minimally sized aristocratic elite, thereby keeping public expenditure at a minimal. Assyrian military innovation also enabled the empire to maintain a well-organized system of material and food distribution and storage for soldiers and the entire population. Communication problems were resolved through an effective chain of posts, which facilitated speedy communication between distant and capital province. They perfected the communication technology by using horses for military purposes and typical communication aims. One of the reasons why the Roman Empire was quite strong was because of its capacity to communi cate with the masses. Communication held the society together through beliefs in similar laws and myths, which demonstrated a common bond passed down from one generation to another (Black, 2001). Emperors in the Roman Empire used inexpensive means to communicate with the masses, for instance, emperors communicated by displaying gestures,

Deepwater Horizon explosion (April 2010) -Transocean Company Essay

Deepwater Horizon explosion (April 2010) -Transocean Company - Essay Example This resulted to the loss of about five billion oil barrels through spillage but luckily, the situation was contained in 15th of July 2010. The discharge of crude oil had many negative effects such as damaging fisheries and their habitats as well as disrupting the economy (Guttry, 291). The oil spill, which is termed as the largest in the history of America, resulted to the damage of property worth forty billion US dollars. Since the damage was so big, it attracted the president’s attention where he responded by appointing a commission to inquire the causes of the spill (Guttry, 291). Reports state that even after the several response actions taken to control the impacts of explosion, the well in the Gulf of Mexico is still leaking. Although the estimated leaking rate is three million liters per day, some scientists argue that it is higher. The restriction by the government for scientists to establish the effects of the spill has raised ethical issues of government providing i nformation to the public. Ethical questions that were raised concerned the effect that the spill had on the eco system for example, the seabirds could be poisoned. In terms of legal, it was clear that the wild animals did not have any form of legal protection after the oil spill. Even though the major goal of any business is to make profit, it also has the right of making sure that its actions conform to the expectations of the society in terms of law and ethical custom (Halbert, 11). The Transocean Company should also put in place a number of safety measures that protects the environment in the event of fire or oil spill. After the explosion, company was also unable to pay dividends to the shareholders and many investors lost trust in the company during the year 2011 (Halbert, 13). The tourism business of Florida was affected negatively and the repair measures by the company could not restore the tourist attraction sceneries damaged by the oil spill (Halbert, 17). The companyâ€⠄¢s reputation was also damaged to the potential investors and to the society when they realized that the operations of the company were not inclined towards ensuring safety to its workers and the environment. After the explosion, the US president issued a drilling moratorium to regulate the drilling operations. The Energy National Board, which is located in Canada, also made it mandatory that all the drilling companies should produce their set of defined safety measures as a process of controlling oil spill damages. Moreover, the National Contingency plan (NCP) was enforced whose role is to provide the federal actions in response to an oil spill (Hagerty, 07). The response action could be the demand of the company responsible for oil spill to compensate the affected parties. Since the disaster of oil spill was one of the greatest in the US history, the event attracted a number of responses and reactions from the government, private companies, and Non-profit making organizations. As required by the government, the Transocean committed itself to pay twenty billion US dollars as a way of settling the claims resulting from the damages caused by oil spill. The major damages caused by the oil spill were on property, physical injuries and even death of the workers (Guttry 293). It is therefore evident that the drilling operations in deep water are very risky and the government as well as the industry should make safety of the workers

The heart that bleeds Latin America Now Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The heart that bleeds Latin America Now - Essay Example policy like no others in the Western Hemisphere. Interspersed are profiles of the Argentineans Evita Peron and Che Guevara and Peruvian Mario Vargas Llosa. Nearly half of the book is devoted to a series of scarcely believable tales from Mexico, where Guillermoprieto was born and returned to live in the mid-1990's. All of these essays appeared in The New Yorker and in The New York Review of Books between 1994 and 2000. In this book, Guillermoprieto is at her best in her psychological portraits of Latin America's unconventional politicos. Among them are Vargas Llosa, the Peruvian writer who lost a presidential bid; Guevara, the icon by which the Latin American left defined itself, and Vicente Fox, the Mexican rancher who dethroned a corrupt political machine to take the presidency. Guillermoprieto makes it clear why Vargas Llosa, an author of inspiring prose, failed miserably in his presidential bid. Her essay about Vargas Llosa also opens up a window into a cruel theme what Guillermoprieto calls a fundamental trait of Peruvians, but is very much a continuing problem of Latin America and those in the diaspora to the United States. These nations and their peoples are constantly immersed in conflict over their mixed blood and class. It's the deep-seated explanation for the conflicts and frustrations of Peruvian life. In her artfully handled essay on Che, it's easy to understand why Guillermoprieto, with her sympathies for the poor, was drawn to Che as a subject matter. Here she dissects three weighty tomes, published in 1997, on Che. And in doing so she quickly takes the reader into her generation's own psyche. She said Guevara was born in Latin America's hour of the hero. And so many of our leaders have been so corrupt, and the range of allowed and possibly public activity has been so narrow, and injustice has cried out so piercingly to the heavens, that only a hero can answer the call, and only a heroic mode of life could seem worthy. Guevara stood out against the inflamed horizon of his time, alone and unique. She sees Che's flaws, though. With horizon inflamed, a generation of followers were "incinerated" by their Che ideology. In a very personal passage, she details how those "children of Che" armed in radical revolution would die, including a great friend of Guillermoprieto's mother, a poet and feminist editor named Alaide Foppa. And by synthesizing details from a book by Jon Anderson, she shows how Che, this man of the people, was a machista of an elitist background who would have his sexual way with the family maids. She writes that Guevara's slogans now sound foolish. And she highlights that with work from a book by Jorge Castaneda, a political scientist who is now Mexico's foreign minister. Castaneda's Che is a man who cannot bear the natural ambivalence of the world, a world of gray where people have mixed allegiances. As the eventual head of the Central Bank, for example, Che was flummoxed by day-today realities of running a government. "Why corrupt workers by offering them more money to work harder" Given the region's history of rickety economies, the reader wonders if a Latin American could be found today

IRS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

IRS - Essay Example Taxation is one of the main ways in which the government gets money to fund its budget and offer service to the citizens. IRS is therefore a very important department of the government as it facilitates the government to collect funds from both individuals and corporations. IRS is also involved in formulating tax laws to help the government improve its tax collection methods and look in to new ways of helping the government get more finances through taxation (Malamut and Blach, 2008). Both corporations and individuals have the legal obligation of paying taxes to enable the government in its operations. There are however other institutions, individuals and corporations that have been legally exempted from paying taxes for various reasons. Since the IRS is only concerned with tax collections, it is expected that those exempted from paying taxes fall outside the legal mandate of the Internal Revenue Service. Among those exempted from paying taxes include Non Profit Organizations (NPO). These are organizations whose main objective is to serve the community through offering goods and services that help improve the living standards and the lifestyle of the people. Nonprofit Organizations are involved in activities such as sensitizing the community on health issues, enlightening the community with respect to their legal obligations, fighting discrimination among other issues. Unlike other organizations, the nonprofit organizations do not have profit making as their prime objective. Due to the good work these organizations are engaged in within the community, the law exempts them from paying taxes so as to motivate them to carry on with their good work. Despite profit not being their main objective, nonprofit organizations often report huge profits from their activities. Questions have arisen over whether these organizations ought to be taxed in such cases where they make huge profits (Malamut and Blach, 2008). A move to tax the organizations has been vehemently oppose d with most people being of the view that the profits only help the organizations improve the quality of their services. This has maintained the nonprofit sector outside the scope of the IRS. The national tax collection agency, IRS, has come under intense pressure from various sections of the country for its involvement in the affairs of nonprofit making organizations. The Internal revenue service (IRS) has recently been meddling in the management of nonprofit organizations (Chait & Taylor, 2005). The nonprofit organizations and other people see this as the IRS acting beyond its scope of work. The IRS however claims it is justified to monitor the leadership of these organizations despite them falling outside its scope. IRS has stated that its monitoring of the management affairs of nonprofit organizations is meant to ensure they comply with tax laws of the country (Hopkins, 2011). The organizations fall under the scope of the tax collection institutions since they are required by la w to adhere to observe tax regulations by strictly engaging in charitable missions within the community. The Internal Revenue Service aims at ensuring the organizations operate exclusively for charitable works. There is also great need to ensure that these organizations use their assets, including profits they earn, to help them accomplish charitable ends. By insisting on good governance, the IRS hopes to

Home monitoring Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Home monitoring - Essay Example Electronic home detention is the new trend in our criminal justice system. This is be less costly than to give free living quarters and food to suspects and convicted criminals. But the question is, will not the freed suspects violate more laws of the state when put in home monitoring (Anderson, 2002) This new trend is called electronic home detention or EHD. The procedure is to put the suspect or convicted criminal including burglary, theft, drug abuse and prison escape in the care of the home. An electronic bracelet will be clamped to the convicted felon's ankle so that a private monitoring company can easily track where the person traveled during the entire time the electronic monitoring bracelete is attached to his or her person. Many United States judges and other government bureaucrats who like the idea of cutting food and living quarter costs afforded the criminals have praised the electronic home detention justice procedure and refuse to admit that the disadvantages of the new criminal procedure outweights the advantages of such procedure. Cash-strapped cities and counties can save and earn significant amounts of money by sending lawbreakers to electronic detention rather than jail, avoiding daily incarceration costs of up to $80 per prisoner. Offenders, in turn, pay for the privilege of EHD-as much as $40 a day. Some communit Some communities in the United States that have cash flow problems feel that they can save money if the implement the electronic home detention program because incarcerating the criminals and suspects under litigation will cost the city or country an estimated $80 whereas if the criminals are put on the home monitoring program, the criminals and suspects will have to PAY the city or county $40 per day. Therefore the new trend will instead generate income for the city or county. It is on record that seven out of a total of ten United States crime violators today devote their time in the neighborhoods outside the four walls of the jail. In fact, Anderson says that "Olympia estimates that by comparing the cost of jail in Yakima ($51 per day), the savings to the city is $313,000, and if the value is based on the Olympia jail ($78 per day), the savings value would be $478,000. In addition, Olympia estimates that they will make over $120,000 on their EHD program in 2001." (Anderson, 2002) What type of offenders would be considered for this program Basically, it is the judge who decides who approves the pleadings whether to allow a convicted criminal or suspected criminal under trial will avail of the electronic home detention program. One criteria for allowing the convicted persons or suspects undergoing trial to avail of the electronic home detention program is the ability of the state to collect the $10 to $15 daily income for each person enrolled in the electronic home detention program. If the convicted felon or his relatives and friends cannot come up with the money to pay the state, then the felon or suspected felon undergoing trail will not quality for the electronic home detention program. Drug abusers are not definitely not included in this program. Only minor lawbreakers and unlicensed and drunk drivers or traffic violators are allowed to avail of this program. Another group

Tumor Immunology - The Role of Tumor-Associated Macrophages Research Paper

Tumor Immunology - The Role of Tumor-Associated Macrophages - Research Paper Example Macrophages are multipurpose cells act in response to the stimulus in diverse tumors they release various macromolecules encompassing growth factors, cytokines, chemokines, and enzymes that potentially control tumor augmentation, tumor angiogenesis, tumor invasion, and tumor metastasis. Tumor-Associated Macrophages (TAM) act upon the invasive area where TAMs sway cancer cell motility, they also act on stroma and perivascular areas where they encourage metastasis and play an imperative role in avascular and perinecrotic regions so that hypoxic TAMs accelerate angiogenesis. The present article deals with the role of TAMs in promoting tumor induction and its role as anti-tumor agent and also the role of TAMs in malignancies. It is now established that tumor cells potentially block or elude the actions of TAMs at the site of the tumor. Molecules derived from tumor cells also activate TAM elevate survival as well as the proliferation of tumor cells. On the other hand, TAMs induce tumor angiogenesis through the production of mitogens, growth factors, and enzymes. Monocyte-macrophage lineage cells get polarized activated into M1 and M2 cells. An M1 form of macrophage activation encompasses IFN-ÃŽ ³ based cytokines, GM-CSF (granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor), LPS and TNF. They are distinguished by IL-12, IL-23(both high), IL-10 (low) and profuse quantity of reactive oxygen and nitrogen intermediary and inflammatory cytokines. Whereas M2 is a macrophage activation as a result of IL-4, IL13, IC (Immune complexes), IL-10 as well as glucocorticoid hormones. M2 are involved in Th2 response and perform immunoregulatory functions and plays role in tumor progression.

Tennessee Williams Essay Example for Free

Tennessee Williams Essay The American theatre public first took notice of The Glass Menagerie by Mississippi-born Tennessee Williams when it was presented in Chicago in December 1944. Opening in New York on March 31, 1945, it ran for more that 500 performances and won both popular and critical acclaim. It is now considered one of the most delicate plays of the twentieth century.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Much of the play is drawn from the writer’s own life and perhaps because of this, he invests it with extraordinary realism and poetry. Though the lives of his characters are blighted by frustration and misery, he paints them with the softness of illusion, the patina of tenderness (Krutch, 424). And no wonder: Tom is Tennessee, Amanda is his mother, and Laura is his sister Rose. Williams calls The Glass Menagerie a memory play. Tom, the son, narrates in seven emotionally-charged scenes the events that happened to him, his mother, Amanda Wingfield, and his sister Laura before he deserted them to become a merchant sailor. Extremely unhappy as a shoe-factory worker, Tom, the poet-dreamer, frequently escapes to poetry-writing or the movies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Because Amanda loves her son, she nags him so that he would be more serious about improving himself. Amanda also notes that her delicate, sensitive, helpless Laura will never be able to cope with the realities of making a living. So Amanda asks Tom to invite an eligible bachelor to dinner for his sister. Tom invites Jim O’Connor, a fellow employee at the shoe-factory. Good-natured Jim gradually makes Laura warm up to him, but before the evening is through, he reveals that he is engaged to be married. Shortly after, Tom breaks away from the two women to join the merchant marine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All three are yearning to get out of the coffin of their lives. Tom pines for romance and adventure, which, however, cannot blow the candles of memory out. Amanda escapes from present by retreating to her memories, but for her children she decides quite realistically that the practical, not the romantic, way is the path to an easy life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An interesting feature of the play is the application of William’s theory of expressionism. Because it is a memory play, much leeway is given to â€Å"atmospheric touches and subtleties of direction. In the romantic spirit of expressionism (Young, 506), Williams contends that the truth, life, or reality is an organic thing, which the   poetic imagination can represent or suggest, in essence only those through transformation, through changing into other forms than those which were merely present in appearance. The use of symbols is inline with the expressionistic theory. For instance, the delicate glass unicorn is a symbol for the fragile loner that Laura is. The blue roses, the apartment in the tenement, the fire escape, the alleys, and the dance-hall are all symbolic. Williams experiment with more open forums, and colloquial styles also contributed to the mode of expressionism. Creating stellar roles for actors, especially women, Williams brought a passionate lyricism and a tragic Southern vision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Besides using the symbols, the author recommends that the use of magic-lantern slides to show titles or images which could stress certain values or the most important phrases. These slides are considered redundant by some critics (Tischler, 232) because the play is self-sufficient—and eloquently so.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Our unconventional or non realistic techniques are the use of the narrator and special lighting to express changes in mood. The stage is kept poetically dim, in keeping the mood of memory while shafts of light draw attention to certain areas or actors. An effective literary accent in the play is provided by the repetition of haunting tune that expresses â€Å"the surface vivacity of life and the underlying strain of immutable and inexpressible sorrow† (Bloomfield, 233).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Finally, not the least of the reasons for the powerfully moving quality of The Glass Menagerie is the dialogue. Williams has accurately recorded every nuance and beat of American speech, giving the language a poetic touch to boot. The language lives, the characters live. As the characters play out their lives before us, our hearts vibrate unfailingly to the play’s humanity and beauty or the beauty of its humanity. Everything in the play contributes to pure theatre magic, the secret of which lies deep in the heart—and the art—of Tennessee Williams. Works Cited Bloomfield, Morton and Eliot, Robert., eds. Great Plays: Sophocles to Brecht. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1966. Krutch, Joseph Wood. â€Å"Drama†. The Nation, CLX (April 14, 1945). Tishler, Nancy. Tennessee Williams: Rebellious Puritan. New York: The Citadel Press, 1961. Young, Stark. â€Å"The Glass Menagerie†. The New Rpublic, CXII (April 6, 1945).

SWOT, PEST and Porters 5 Forces Analysis of Virgin

SWOT, PEST and Porters 5 Forces Analysis of Virgin Virgin group was founded by Richard Branson. Virgin group first started with a magazine called student. This started in 70s and got huge recognition in public. Then he opened a virgin recording studio. In 80s virgin company went on to international recognition. He then started virgin Atlantic airways in 84. In the same year he started a 24 hour music channel which was a grand success. Virgin entered in all kind of business by 90s. There are different companies under virgin group like virgin mobile, virgin airways, virgin holidays, virgin trains, cars, books etc. Virgin group is the one of the top companies in UK. In rest of the countries it is giving a tough competition to other companies. Virgin has a different strategy and approach to the customers and it always succeeded in attracting the customers. Group produces different products and has entered into different fields in a very short period. Virgin has the advantage of its brand name in the market as it is a company where most of the people are wary about the company products. Richard Branson manager of the company is the brand ambassador of the company. History: 1968: Richard Bransons first magazine went on to publish. This is the first venture by the company manager. 1970: In this year Virgin mail order was born. 1971: In this year virgins first record shop was opened in Oxford Street in London. 1972: Virgin built a recording studio and composed the songs. 1984: Company built Virgin Atlantic airways where the flights ran to all beautiful places. 1985: Company started another offer to the customers like Virgin Holidays. 1988: Virgin opened Mega stores in Glasgow, Paris and then it spread to many other major cities. 1991: In this year Virgin started selling books. 1993: Virgin started radio station. It is the first national and commercial radio station in UK. 1994: In this year Virgin entered into beverages and started Virgin Vodka and Virgin Cola. 1995: Virgin launched cinemas in UK. 1996: In this year Virgin started its Internet services to the customers. 1997: Virgin entered into transportation industry and started Virgin rails. 1999: Virgin mobiles started and it changed the way of communication. 2000: In this year Virgin started nine companies and all of them were successful. 2007: Virgin entered into Indian market with its mobile. Strategy of the company: Virgins first and obvious resource is the chairman Richard Branson that made the company to top position. Richard Bransons style and charismatic manner that attracts many people towards virgin group. Secondly virgin people are the main source of the companys success. Virgin has a unique brand recognition in different businesses that is difficult to other companies to replicate. Virgin has many numbers of companies under its shadow. The management of virgin group has freedom to express their opinions regarding companys ongoing business and innovates new strategies for the company development. Virgins management is heavily depends on the market analysis and the customer requirements as they go into customer shoes and understand their needs and serve more better. Virgin has creative employees to serve the company better and it has 25000 employees all over the world. Richard Branson adopted a policy with his managers and encouraged their own creativity for initiative ideas so managers would feel more responsible and ownership and tries to make a change in the company strategy and make it to run on success and profits. Management recruited carefully only some selected individuals who has the competitive nature and good teamwork abilities and chairman Richard Branson has selected as they are of his image in characteristics. Brand Strategy: Brand name or brand strategy is a process of attracting customers to buy a new product of its brand where brand has already got a market value. Virgin has a great brand value in UK and all the products which are produced are sold under its brand. Branding allows a customer to buy repeatedly the product and it makes a loyal supplier and the customer is also satisfied. Branding less than one name means more responsible to the supplier and trustworthy to supplier to supply the best products. Selling the products under one brand doesnt need more advertisement costs and it gets good response in the beginning as the brand is familiar in the market and there are many number trusted customers to it already. There are even some threats to this brand strategy, if the product fails to attract the customers then it may put the brand into difficult position and it degrades the image of the brand. Virgin has a great brand value in the market that uses its name tag for all its products in advertising and releases into the market. Virgin has many products in various fields under its brand name like in travel and tourism it has virgin travels, vacations etc. in leisure it has games, spa etc. In social welfare and environment it has green fund, virgin earth etc. In beverages it has virgin wines, soft drinks etc. In media it has virgin radio, music channels, mobiles, broadband, telecommunications etc. With all these it has some products like books, cloths, and finance and health bank. All its products has only one brand name and they are sold on virgin name for its brand value and good reputation. In virgin it provides two types of products, they are differentiated as convenience products and no requested products which have different types of customers and demand. In convenience products books, cosmetics, mobiles are available where all these products are convenient to buy for any type of customers. These products are bought frequently, immediately and with minimum affordable costs. The second type of products is no requested products like extra terrestrial travels where people doesnt know about it or doesnt show interest in it. Virgin introduced an offer to travel space to its customers. Due to its cost and risks many were not interested to use the offer. Virgin believes in fewer prices in differentiated products where certain level of customers expects quality of products. Branson has managed to satisfy the customers with quality services and his products through out the world. Virgin brand mainly concentrated on customers like young people who like innovative, quality, fun loving products. Corporate Structure: The structure of virgin group is different than other companies as the financial information is not clear for this business. As it is a private company and it has different fields and different organizations and there are no correct accounts, so financial structure of the company and its income and business statements are not available clearly. Branson told that the group is loosely linked to each other and they are self managed under one brand name. Branson also said that virgin is a group of private companies and not public limited company so it must concentrate on benefit of shareholders, stakeholders and financiers. The advantage of this is the company targets only on the long term profits. Virgin group is mainly controlled by Richard and his trusted employees who are working for him since twenty years. In head office there are 30 people working and he has given them freedom to work and improve the companys financial structure and he is there only to look after big deals and final strategy. The main strategy of the virgin is to work in different sectors of business under one brand name. Virgin has decentralized the organizational structure and decision making allows the managers to learn about business tactics and while avoiding large deal decision to the chairman. Virgin allows small companies to put its brand name as it gets international recognition and it would help company to promote very easily. With this virgin is able to enjoy both the large scale and small scale companys profits and world wide recognition. Virgin has a centralized unit to look all its business strategies and manage all the companies under one desk at the head office. A single website www.virgin.com allows users to access all its products and services. It has a internet business strategy which has coordination between all the companies and they act according to the strategies coming from the head office. When a customer enters into virgin website he can access to all the products of virgin which are under one portal and if he uses any product then he becomes a member of virgin family and he can use other services like mobile, telecommunication, banking, transportation, internet needs, traveling, entertainment etc. In this it gains more number of customers like virgin mobile gets customers from virgin rail records, virgin travel gets records from other virgin companies and so on. In this way other mobile companies cant get contact with rail customers or travel companies cannot contact to some unrelated company customers as they are unknown to them, but in virgin it have all types of customers and it can get in contact with all customers who are under them and this would help them increase the sale of there products. Strategic Relationships: All the companies in virgin run targeting towards a five pillar empire system that Richard was eager to create. According to Richard five pillars and heart of his business are travel, leisure, mobile phones, entertainment retailing and personal finance. Virgin wants to say to all its customers by using prefix called fun, innovative, daring. It is already said that the main strategy of virgin is Sir Richard Branson. The Britain people can immediately identify the Sir Richard Branson name and his companies. This is the main psychological strategy Richard has got and he actively participates in all marketing and promotion activities. This is the reason for the expansion of virgin empire and all other companies show interest to keep a joint venture with virgin group. There is a great demand for virgin and the example for this is actually for the virgin direct affair investment was  £15 million. But the AMP limited the leading international finance group initial investment was  £450 million and it was 50-50 joint venture. All business in the virgin group sacrificed short term profits to gain long term growth and used an individual level business strategy of decision making method. Managers are given freedom to make decisions independently for the growth and feel the same as of ownership and the value that any manager would feel. The assets and finance matters are not shared between companies and if any company became too large any other company would take its place. Management: Branson has taken few candidates who are having innovative ideas and are willing to start new business with a strong desire to beat their competitor. Richard Branson has added his own style of management style and involved actively all the employees and asked for advices to further serving customers better. Employees were actively involved in behaving with there values and there performance was accountable. Human resource management was responsible to keep people to the bonuses and profit sharing where ever possible they get promotions. Analytical Tools: PEST Analysis: Political factors: Virgin rail is running under single brand as it has partnership with stagecoach. Virgin has 51% share and stagecoach has 49% share in the market. Virgin follows all the rules and regulations of the country it is working in and it pays all taxes and makes policies according to the government rules. Virgin is Britains most trusted company and it has lot of customer following to its products and has a great influence and bonding relationship with the people of this country. The political interference in virgin group is regarding financial matters as the reports are not clear due to its partnerships with many companies. Economic factors: To virgin most of the companies are running with partnerships and they are putting only to some extent of money and they expand their business. The global recession has lot of affect on its company, like closing down or losing jobs may have direct impact on its business strategy. Operation levels are increased and taking particular attention to the competitive services regarding to customers. Fluctuations in the local and international market show the direct impact on the companys business strategy and may turn it into losses. Social factors: The social responsibility of providing good quality services to its customers is its first priority. The company has a mission to give outstanding services to all its customers according to the economic conditions of the customer. Environmental concerns are increasing day by day. So company launched its first bio-diesel train earlier than all other companies in Europe. Virgin has poor punctuality services which should be taken care and satisfy the customers by addressing on time. Virgin mobile has offered different offers to its customers according to the social conditions of the countrys situation. Technological factors: Virgin is one company which always tries to update its software or its technical knowledge and serve to its customers to a maximum extent. Virgin rail has always made updates in its technology or in its quality to its customers and made the trains run punctually without any technical mistakes. Virgin group always updates in providing internet services and technologies in it as wireless technology. Company policies also change according to the trend and interest of the customers. SWOT Analysis: Strengths: Brand name: Virgin has a strong brand name in countries like UK, USA, and Australia. Name of its brand is enough to promote any product and make it grand success in the market. Products coming from virgin can survive in the market very easily and they can get good recognition and publicity without making more advertisement. Different types of distribution: Virgin has two different types of distribution units. First is to sell the products in retail stores and the second is to sell through online. Customers can use any of these services according to there comfortable levels. Both of these distribution units are maintained by virgin group. Various processes to export: Virgin has different methods of transportation facilities to export its products. It has international airports and two big seaports near to it for exporting its product. IT professionals: It has highly skilled software professionals who work with great commitment to give the best quality of service to its customers. High budget: Virgin group has enough money to invest into any kind of business and it is earning huge profits every year for its products and it is expanding to different countries every year. Weaknesses: Loose supervision: As virgin is a group of different companies and each field has its own managers, the supervision of the company is becoming hard for anyone and control goes out of hand sometimes. Communication gap: There is a lot of communication gap between each company. Only the website to approach to the company is same but the communication between different sectors of business is very weak. Bad transportation: There is a bad transportation facility and there is no punctuality in trains and other public transportation facilities where all these are affecting the company progress. Outdated machinery: Some of the virgin products use outdated machines and these cause a great trouble to the customers and employees in it. For example virgin rails still need to update its version of trains and make it faster. Opportunities: Expand to overseas: Virgin has the opportunity to expand to overseas and make its market to reach to more customers as it is a familiar product in many countries. Products like mobiles, airlines and media can be extended to any country very easily. Virgin could get better deals: Virgin has the opportunity to get more deals from more countries as it is always ready to expand its business and it is ready to make partnership with any other company for its progress. Opportunities of training: There are many opportunities for training for fresher and retraining to other individuals in the company. So that employer has the opportunity to know more about the company and on what project it is working exactly. Using high technology goods: It has the opportunity to improve itself by improving its technology and usage of new technologies in different sectors and making customer easy to understand about the services you offer. Threats: The success of virgin group mainly depends on the corporate parenting strategy which is led by Richard Branson. It is sustained through its strategies if it goes well in the market and gives competition to other companies. In the long run Branson has to put his succession ideas and strategies for the future running of business and they require implementing properly to reach the targets of the company. Virgin has to take care about its strong leadership for the future and the implementation of its company policies and strategies for the long run of the company by managing all the companies under it carefully. Porters 5 forces: In porters five forces it discuss about the five factors where the running of a company depends and they are: rivalry, supplier power, customer power, threat of substitutes, threat of new entrants. Porters Five Forces Model Rivalry: In the market if the rivalry between two companies increases then it would result to zero profit margins. Companies try to overcome this and take competitive advantage and over their rivals. Rivalry can be caused due to various reasons and their effects may decrease prices and sometimes companies need to put special offers to face the challenges. Rivalry between companies is due to the following reasons Large number of firms: More number of firms produces same product then they compete for the sales of there goods to the same customers in a limited market place and this led to competition between companies. High fixed costs: If the cost of product is high then customers switch to other companies and this would put in trouble so the companies has to put a price with a minimum profit margin. Market growth: In this companies try to grow rapidly by attracting customers and they make plans for the expansion of there business. There would be a strong rivalry during this process as all the companies try to increase their market size. Threat of substitutes: In this model threat of substitutes refer to the same products producing by other companies and making competition. In this customers would easily switch to another product. So companies have price war and look for the low margin profits to attract existing and new customers. Buying power: This refers to the power of buyers as it is mainly concerned with customers. There are some factors in this as the buyers are powerful and if the buyers are weak. Buyers are powerful when the customers are less in concentration compared to market share and he can purchase a fair share of output. Buyers are weak when the companies take over the distribution of products on their own or the producers supply distribution of input purchases. Supplier power: In this it discuss about the power of supplier. Suppliers are powerful when there are more number of customers or when there are only few suppliers to the company. Suppliers are weak when more number of suppliers is there to supply the goods and when the less number of purchasers are available in the market. Threat of new entrants: In this if any new company enters the market this would make huge competition in the market and new entrants threat to pose more danger as they try to attract the customers and in this process they give lot of offers to the customers. In this it is easy to enter when there is huge demand for any product and lot of distribution channels. It is easy to exit when there are salable assets, low exit costs and independent businesses. Future of the company: Virgin has a lot of strategies for its future and Richard Branson is in the process to implement all these strategies. Virgin is planning to enter into more different sectors of business and to expand its business to other countries. Virgin is planning to open new businesses in partnership with any company to enter into new business and to other countries. It is planning to enter developing countries and make its mark there by giving more offers to all types of customers and increase their share in the market and their brand value. The virgin group as a business head had the following points where they value these. Understanding of markets: Virgins management has a good experience in identifying the market situation. It is there expertise and business strategy which helped the company to achieve a lot of success in all business areas they entered. Brand name which overcame barriers to entry: The virgin brand name is the Britains favorite brand and it is a respectable brand in other countries. Joint ventures: virgin secret of success is joint ventures and they kept limited investment in new products and got benefits from this in market. Freedom to managers: management is not restricted and the company helps in innovation and promotes shared partnership and responsibilities. Innovation: Virgins staff has individuals who have succeeded in their careers and the group invites many people who invest in new innovations and differentiate. All these innovative ideas made virgin in top position and they have applied in there business and got huge success to their credit. For example virgin mobiles have partnership with other telecommunication groups and they gave offers such as less monthly rentals and cheaper prepaid offers in all the places they entered. In UK virgin doesnt operate its own network but it won best wireless award in UK. Conclusion: Virgin company has many ventures to launch. Virgin managed to increase their share in the market over the last 15 years. In last fifteen years there are lot of new ventures in Virgin and entered into different fields and launched its products in many countries. A strong brand name and good service to its customers makes Virgin Company to top position in future. Bibliography: Wilson and Gilligan (1998),  Strategic Marketing Management,  2nd  edition, Butterwoth Heinemann, Oxford   Applied Strategic Planning: An Introduction by Timothy N. Nolan, Leonard D. Goodstein, and Jeanette Goodstein Applied Strategic Planning: How to Develop a Plan That Really Works: A Comprehensive Guide by Leonard Goodstein, Timothy Nolan, and J. William Pfeiffer

Middle Eastern History Essay -- essays research papers

1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Statecraft and the unity of state and religion The fact that three quarters of the Koran is focused on civil procedure makes us appreciate how important establishing the state was to Muhammad. He embedded in these procedures in the Koran because he wanted no separation between religion and state. For good reason, having no split between these two facets leaves no gray area of rule that conforms to one system and not the other. He did not want the loyalties of his people to clash between their faith and their government. This achievement originated through the Koran’s integration of scriptures and civil guidelines. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Absence of Clergy The absence of clergy within the Islamic faith is attributed to three causes.  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In the early days of Islam, Muhammad would preach in the holy city of Mecca. During this time, Mecca was filled with Christians, Jews, and Pagans. The Christian and Jewish clergymen would mock Muhammad day and night; they discouraged and embarrassed him with hopes to break his will. Its safe to assume that from the start, Muhammad has a negative feel towards clergyman.  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Islamic faith is the much more self-serving than any of the other major religions. You convert yourself, marry yourself, & pray yourself. Muhammad did not feel it was essential or even necessary to institute a higher authority in the place of worship.  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Before Muhammad become The Prophet, he was very established, and greatly successful as a businessman. And his business intellect led him to the conclusion that it would be a waste of funds to setup a higher authority in the mosques. After all if he were to succeed at spreading Islamic influence into the Persian and Arabian Empires, he would need all the funds he could get.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3) Law Issues a.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Legal procedures The Islamic judicial system has somewhat a resemblance to the American judicial system. The greatest similarity is the practice that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Another likeness is the practice of Habeas Corpus. This provides that no person shall be held against his or her will without being formally charged with a crime. However, a major difference in regards to legal procedure between our two cult... ...nbsp;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Toleration of other religions and traditions Muhammad the statesman felt that it would have been ridiculous and unproductive to be abusive of other religions. After all, Muslim religion was built on Christian and Jewish faith. To attack the foundation, would be undermining the very faith of Islam. Because Islam is both a religion and a state, Muhammad felt it would be easier to run his state welcoming other religions. This principle allowed the great Muslim conquests into the Arabian and Persian territories to be so successful. If communities did not convert, they simply followed the credo of Islamic statehood and kept their religion. 9)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education Before Muhammad was a successful, lucrative businessman, he was a poor, illiterate orphan. In fact, when Muhammad first received revelations from Allah, he wasn’t educated enough to transcribe them on paper. Just as the absence of prejudice amongst genders and classes, the availability of high education to all is also a pillar in the Islam way of life. If you are of Muslim faith, the Koran states that it is a requirement to become educated.