Vice President and New Executive Vice

Case Analysis ReportFMB&T Bank I. Statement of the Problem The new Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer of FMB&TBank have no clear authority and responsibility. II. Objective There should be a clear authority and responsibility for the new IT Executivein order for her to be effective and efficient. III. Analysis of the Causes a. Relationship between IT Department and other bank business units ismixed up causing considerable confusion, friction and inefficiency. . Work request are vague and not coordinated and consolidated to reflect aclearer picture of the problem making it hard to formulate a quick solutionwhich the bank’s other business units require. c. The presence of the new IT executive was not welcomed by the unitmanagers of other business units of the bank making it harder for her tofacilitate solutions for IT problems. d. IT staff responsibilities are limited only to application works.They are notgiven the freedom to explore and apply new development s in the ITindustry. e. There is considerable influence from other regional executives todecentralize IT operations to regional branches because they feel thatresponse will be faster to meet their requirements. IV. Choices a. Define an explicit authority and responsibility of the new IT executive. Thespan of authority should include all business units involve in the use IT toensure that all will follow IT processes and procedures. . The new IT executive must formulate strict IT policies and procedureswhich have the approval of the CEO and all IT users are required to follow Failure to follow IT policies and procedure should be dealt with inaccordance with company’s existing rewards and punishment policies. c. Involve IT staffs in a more flexible working environment and give them thefreedom to take advantage on new IT innovations and apply it to thecompany’s IT system. d.Re-organize the company’s whole organizational structure to adapt intothe new requirement of IT technology rather than remain as rigid as thecurrent vertical structure. e. Decentralize the whole IT department operations to regional branches inorder that implementation will be faster. V. Selection from the Choices As a CEO, I will reorganize the whole organizational structure of the companyand include IT as a major division in the implementation of companystrategies. If a bank wanted to grow in this generation, it must be willing toadapt to technological innovations.Task the new IT executive to formulate ITpolicies and procedures that will be implemented company wide where all ITusers are required to follow. VI. Implementation IT department should be given blanket authority in terms of implementing ITstrategies of the company and this should be understood by all departmentsand divisions. The new IT executive should create a company wide IT helpdesk where allwork requests are consolidated, analyzed and collated to come up with anintelligent solution to all IT problems.This wi ll also eliminate confusion;friction and inefficiency since all information needed to create a solution arealready consolidated. The only thing that IT will do is to design a frameworksolution to any imaginable IT problems that were presented based on the IThelpdesk consolidated information. With this strategy, IT will have moreefficient control of its resources and channel saved resources in developingnew IT innovations that they can apply for the development of the company. 2 VII. Work place applicationIn our company, the IT department has full control of all IT related issues. ITdepartment has regional helpdesk to cater to all IT related work requests. TheIT helpdesk will in turn consolidate all work requests and assign qualifiedtechnical staffs that can best address the problem. For minor IT problems,the helpdesk will address it immediately by giving direct instructions to theuser. If technical intervention is required, a district IT technical staff will beimmediately dispatched to address the problem

Effects of Mass Media Essay

Media has slowly taken over each America’s life and has an incredible amount of power in the decision process of each American. On a daily basis each American listens to the radio, surfs the internet and watches television. For these same reasons, media possess a large amount influence on a decision made by an American. With all the tools and gadgets today, it is very easy to become influenced by the media. Over the past century there have been many new media developments that have impacted our society; although there have been many, the ones we will focus on are radio, television, and the internet. Radio began in the early nineteen hundreds and soon became very popular between every American. The radio was a mean of learning of news quickly and served the great purpose of entertainment. Also, in the early nineteen hundreds the word television was introduced and the first moving film was televised. This quickly grew and it began to broadcast in black and white. In the middle of the nineteen hundreds, the internet was first introduced to the American government and soon was used to provide efficient communication between government agencies. The radio, television and the internet were all created in the nineteen hundreds and as soon as they were available to the American public, they grew and developed into a large form of communication. In 1912 the radio became a common product found in each American home. Every year after, the radio grew in popularity. One of the biggest impacts to America was the use of the radio during the World War I. In the late nineteen-twenties the first easy to use kinescope tube was created but the image was very poor. In the early nineteen-thirties the first television studios and broadcasting begin to happen and it sky rocketed after that. It has grown so much into American lives that now every household has more than one television. Americans see television for entertainment, education and news purposes on a dai ly basis. In the early nineteen-ninety the first internet browser was created. The internet has impacted Americans in so many ways, to the point that it is now used more than once by every American and it is carried by most in their pockets. Without question, the media has grown tremendously and impacts each America’s life on a daily basis. Media convergences have been a huge facilitator. Media convergence is the way that one devise or tool combines different media types. One of the most common is the cell phones. In almost every phone you can take photos, videos, send text messages, view the internet, play music, check email and use it for its original designed function-to make a phone call. The next commonly used media convergence is the computer. The computer allows you to create different types of documents, presentations, monetary forms and it also allows you to browse the World Wide Web while listening to music and receiving emails. The newest media convergence is tablets. Tablets have the same function of a cell phone and a computer in a compact, lightweight, and portable device. For all the above reasons and with all of the named tools, it is very important to be properly educated about media. Learning how to access, analyze, and evaluate the media is very important when making an everyday decision because we either read something on the internet, watch the television show or hear a commercial on the radio. Not everything that we read, see or hear is accurate. In most cases, we are tricked into believing things by the bias show or commercial that we are watching or hearing. Due to false or head fakes found in the media all schools and educational institutes should provide some form of media literacy education just like math, reading and writing. This may seem a basic or common sense information, but many believe without questions what they see or hear. As the great nation that the United States is, it should properly educate its citizens about media literacy. The internet, television and radio have definitely impacted every American’s life. With the tools like a computer, cell phone or tablet it is very easy to be influenced by the media. Some of the influence coincides with each individuals beliefs and other will clash but this is something that has to be learned how to balance. In addition to personal emotion believes on a subject, a lot of the media will try to trick into believing false statements. It is every America’s duty to make sure that he or she has the proper media knowledge to be able to access it, analyze it and evaluate it before making a decision. References Lule, J. (2012). Exploring Media and Culture (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Flat World Knowledge, Inc. Besley, John C. (Summer 2008). Media Use and Human Values: Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly; ProQuest Zil, Karen. (Mar/Apr 2002). Media Literacy: Television meets the Internet; MultiMedia Schools

Analyzing professional reports Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analyzing professional reports - Essay Example In as much as the international community has been on a mission to degrade Al-Qaida’s core leadership, acts of terrorism continue to evolve. The report quickly points out how leadership losses in Pakistan, weak governance and Middle East instability play a significant role in accelerating the decentralization of the Al-Qaida movement and networks across the globe. On a different perspective, the government report states how AQ leadership tends to have trouble in the maintenance of cohesion within the group’s network. Therefore, the group became operational from core Al-Qaida and instead focused on both regional and local objectives. Finally, the government report states how the past years there has been an emergence of various aggressive Al-Qaida affiliates from Syria, Yemen, Somalia and Northwest Africa. Terrorist violence in recent years has been fueled by various sectarian motivations, which marks a trend that is worrisome especially in countries such as Lebanon, Syria and Pakistan. In these nations, the terrorism acts mostly befall the civilian populations. From the government report on acts of terrorism in 2013, the rhetorical style is a bit straightforward in that, the report has few but long sentences. The government report starts by the general description of how acts of terrorism across the globe have been on the rise. The use of this technique immediately shows how this particular report is informal not only to the United States of America citizens but also to the entire globe. Alternatively, the report knows exactly how to capture and engage the interests of the readers. This particular report is generally used as a background data from the beginning of the report when the Bureau of Counterterrorism makes in this in the particular paragraph-Al-Qaida and some of its affiliates are the main groups behind the acts of terrorism across the globe. Another statement in the report that

Law of Numbers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Law of Numbers - Essay Example [2] If a coin is tossed many times, the more times it is tossed, the likelihood of the number of "heads" in the total population will be close to 1/2. This Law of Large Numbers can be further explained with the help of a Randomly Generated Coin Toss online applet (available from http://hspm.sph.sc.edu/COURSES/J716/a01/stat.html). The coin is unbiased and it has two sides that are equally likely to come up. When the random generator is run, the applet shows the proportion of heads in the total population. In the first 10 tosses the proportion of heads is 0.272 (3 heads and 7 tails). When it is run for a longer time up to 100 tosses the proportion of heads approaches one-half and becomes 0.48 (43 heads and 47 tails). For a 1000 tosses the proportion of heads become 0.499 (502 heads and 498 tails). This figure will fluctuate around 0.5, with the fluctuations slowly getting smaller and almost reaching 0.5. [1] 1) Let's say you flipped the coin once and it landed on heads. You will expect that on alternative tosses you will get a head. In 10 coins are tossed you expect 5 to be heads since the expected percentage of successes is 50%. But in reality only three are heads. The difference between the actual and expected number of successes is 2. The actual percentage of number of heads is 20% meaning a difference between actual and expected percentage of 30%.

The Financing and management of risk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Financing and management of risk - Essay Example The company has major business activities in countries like Canada, Japan, China, UK, Mexico, Taiwan, Philippines, India, etc. Apart from coffee, Starbucks also sells ice cream, cold and hot beverages, snacks, beer, etc. The products offered by Starbucks are specific to the location of the store and are seasonal and customized to the target market segment. Starbucks employs around 149000 employees in its coffee stores and operations all over the world. Through its massive chain of coffee houses all over the world, Starbucks generated revenue of $13.29 billion in 2012 with a net income of $1.36 billion for the company. The strong performance of Starbucks’ coffee business across the world is highly dependent on its business model which has been well established by the company. The business model of Starbucks lays its success story for attracting customers into its stores for a cup of coffee day after day all over the world. The coffee selling stores of Starbucks present a status symbol for the customers of coffee. Although the coffee sold in the stores of Starbucks are priced highly, it the ambience that the stores of Starbucks offer to the customers that makes a difference. The coffee selling stores are supported by friendly and helpful staffs who address the problems, queries and grievances of customers who walk in to take coffee. The customers taking coffee are largely valued in the stores which in turn help the stores to hold their customers (Starbucks Corporation, 2013, p.1). The over business model of Starbucks which is applicable to its national as well as international presence is described below. Starbucks have a transnational model of business in which it has a universal product that is customized to fit the requirements of the local market. Starbucks follows a business model whereby the coffee and other products like beverages, beer, ice cream, snacks, etc. are sold through the coffee house chains in the international markets. Starbucks products under brand names are also sold in the grocery shops and retail market chains across the world. The coffee business of Starbucks has to be responsive to the markets and fits the taste and culture of the local people who walks in to take coffee. The strong business model of Starbucks has helped them to build international relationships and achieve their targets. Starbucks original business model was based on marketing of coffee by providing enriched customer experience in an upbeat environment inside the coffee stores. In order to cope up with the competitive market, Starbucks have now adopted advertising strategies by media like newspapers, television, offering cheaper prices, etc (Kazmi, 2010, p.21). As depicted above in the diagram for business model of Starbucks, the business model takes into consideration a range of factors that includes product strategy, customer economic, marketing of coffee, cost of capital of the business, economic sale, assessing value of the business, pro duction costs, revenue mechanism, growth of assets and competitive barriers, etc. The product strategy is framed by looking at the emerging demands of the market. Apart from offering a single product of coffee, Starbucks took into consideration

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Computer Assisted Audit Techniques - Essay Example Auditing is the process by which something is examined with a view to form an opinion. This allows users of that opinion to gain assurance that the opinion, process or the information can be trusted. The purpose of assurance services is to increase the confidence and reduce the risk of the user of those services. The main purpose of auditing is to ensure that financial statements are free from material misstatement or error. An auditor carries out two types of assurance engagement with one being the reasonable assurance engagement and the other being the limited assurance engagement. When giving out a reasonable assurance engagement, the auditor gathers sufficient appropriate evidence to support his conclusion and to make a stronger conclusion. On the contrary, a limited assurance engagement gives out a negative assurance report and the evidence gathered in such assurance engagement is only related to the specific subject matter that is being audited rather than the entire financial statement. Such assurances help the users of the financial statements to decide upon their investment in any particular company or venture. The use of computers in business information systems has fundamental effects on the nature of business transacted, procedures followed, risks occurring and measures to reduce the impact of risks. Manual processing and computer based processing of transactions are well differentiated from each other and they have their own benefits.

Blue Ocean Report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Blue Ocean Report - Essay Example BOS tools and frameworks include value curves, strategy canvas, 6-paths, 4-actions framework, purchaser utility map, purchaser experience cycle, as well as, the BOS index. BOS covers strategy implementation and strategy formulation. The BOS simulation represents computerized strategy games demonstrating BOS methodologies, concepts, and analytical tools. The aim of a simulation could be moving out of an undifferentiated product Red Ocean and attempt to create a niche marketplace to accomplish the result. The BOS denotes a marketing approach inspired by a study of numerous strategies commercial ventures have employed to remain competitive crosswise century period. The premise of the strategy is that the success of the business comes about when they transform their focal point from trouncing the competition to emerging companies that offer such exceptional value that are exclusive in the market. BOS characterizes an immense marketplace wherein every innovative exertion that offers true worth can flourish. Numerous commercial ventures have profited from this notion. The significance of the BOS hinges on it consenting to a business selling its product with no or minimal competition from other companies. The strategy is efficient for new businesses that do not have loads of finances available for advertisement and do not desire selling their products within markets where other business have in the past established solid brands (Wells & Hymes, 2012). The BOS compares the blue ocean to the red ocean. Within an established marketplace, commercial ventures constantly fight each other to win over clients and upsurge sales. This denotes an ocean packed with shacks that gash one another, consequently turning the ocean water red with their blood. A commercial venture has a capacity of shifting to another ocean that is blue and peaceful, devoid of the vicious sharks. The commercial venture realizes the necessary expenses and might offer further profits with additional investm ent and eliminate expenditures that do not boost profits even when the competitors incur finances on them. Case in point is a circus that incurred more finances hiring acrobats and eradicated performing animals that characterize a different strategy with the conventional uses of circus. Companies that use BOS do not attempt to gain their customers from conventional competitors. The focal point entails creating innovative business models that are exceptional. Even though, the company could still be within a similar industry as the competition, it centers on the manners of attracting fresh customers. Customers who favor the obsolete model could revert to the products of the competition (Niciejewska & Dimitrov, 2009). The BOS is mainly efficient when there is a saturation or a decline in the market. When video gaming companies started trading their innovative consoles, numerous competitors sold games and video gaming consoles. Majority of competition target youthful males who ordinaril y purchase the bulk of video games. The corporation created games that suited casual players who had not purchased in the past as many games. Consequently, the company increased its customer base. A BOS can incorporate the essential features from different markets to creating a solitary product with benefits over competing within the marketplaces. For instance, corporate executives could fly commercial class on a plane-jet with other

Intellectual Property Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Intellectual Property Rights - Essay Example (Drucker). Again, other eminent writers also speak about entrepreneurship, in terms of its wealth creation abilities. Through innovation, the business creates demand for its products or services, which meets customer or market acceptance and satisfaction. This market acceptance is translated into greater demand for goods, which in turn, over a period of time, results in profits for the entrepreneurs. Thus, as the noted economist, Joseph Schumpeter has said, "from a steady economy, a technical innovation by a single entrepreneur opens up new profitable avenues - therefore, more entrepreneurs are induced to innovate, thereby increasing the profits in the economy as a whole, thereby driving growth." (After Marx: Structural Change and Steady States). This process has to be strategically dealt with, since it has serious market ramifications and could affect market positioning of competitive products, and is of importance in the ultimate success or failure of the product. The legal aspects notwithstanding, it is imperative that innovation to market creates value addition to products/services and delivers aspects or improvements on contemporary products or services. This is important, since new product should justify their position in the market and should consider issues and provide solutions that may not have been addressed by other products. Nobel laureate in economics, Ronald Coase had said that the boundaries of the firm are defined by its transaction costs. It sometimes happens that abstruse information contributes to high track costs, which in turn, leads in many instances of vertically integration. (Davenport et al 2006). Question 2: What forms of protection are available for innovation through Intellectual Property Rights. The forms of protection that are available through intellectual property Rights is in terms of the fact that the patentee enjoys exclusive rights over the patented product(s) and nobody else could seek use of such products without the prior consent of the registered patentee for a period of 20 years. However, the discretion for granting of patent lies with the Patent Office, and it is quite likely that grant of the patent could be delayed , or refused, if the concerned department is of the considered opinion that it could be detrimental to competitive products or could be perceived to enhance monopolistic trends. Financial implications of Patent registry: It needs to be said that patent registration is a financially challenging one, especially in EU countries: (McGinness 2001, P.13). From the table above it is manifest that while the total costs (excluding renewals) are a whooping 49,900 in EU countries, it is just a modest 16,450 in

The American Revolution Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words - 1

The American Revolution - Research Paper Example Even though the Great Awakening was a reaction to the Enlightenment it also emphasized on individual freedom, equality and questioning spirit. It can also be seen that the enlightenment thoughts and the spirit of the great awakening also helped the Americans to form a shared common identity and culture which kept them united amidst crippling governmental policies. This paper seeks to explore the major causes of American Revolution and in doing so the paper evaluates how the effects of French and Indian war, philosophies of enlightenment and great awakening, American culture and identity, and imperial policies and taxations after 1783 have contributed towards the great rebellion. Effects of French and Indian War A probe into history clearly demonstrates that the huge financial burden that Britain suffered in spite of winning the French and Indian war was the starting point that triggered the American Revolution. The seven years’ war came to an end with the Treaty of Paris on Fe bruary 10, 1763 whereby France was forced to yield Canada to Britain in return for Guadeloupe and Martinique. Even though Britain and its allies were victorious the long war plunged Britain into great financial debt. As pointed out by Hickman, it was â€Å"in an effort to alleviate these financial burdens, the government in London began exploring various options for raising revenues† (Hickman) and this resulted in a number of colonial policies and legislations among American colonies. Thus, â€Å"the revolution was caused primarily by the mercantile policy by means of which Great Britain sought to monopolize the trade of her colonies for the benefit of the people of the home country† (Johnson/hist Commerce V1123). With this view in mind, the British parliament imposed a number of legislations and taxations on the American colonists. Some of the major acts, in this respect, consist of the Proclamation of 1763, Sugar Act of 1764, the Currency Act of 1764, the Quartering Act of 1765, the Stamp Act of 1765, Townshend Acts of 1770, the Tea Act of 1773, and the intolerable Acts of 1774. All these acts curtailed the liberty of the colonists and made their life miserable. These colonial policies not only created unrest and dissatisfaction but also caused a sense of unity and identity among the colonists under the revolutionary leaders. Effects of Philosophies of the Enlightenment and the Great Awakening The philosophies of the enlightenment and the great awakening contributed immensely to the American War of Independence. Many of the revolutionary leaders got inspired by the Enlightenment philosophical ideas of Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Montesquieu and it is from these enlightenment leaders that they imbibed â€Å"the concepts of the social contract, limited government, the consent of the governed, and separation of powers† (Kelly). The political theories and principles of the colonial leaders were strongly rooted in th e postulations of these European enlightenment leaders. This has been pointed out by Wilson and Reill when the authors observe that the intellectual strands of the Enlightenment thinkers are â€Å"merged in the works of writers such as Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Jay, Samuel Adams, Richard Price, and Joseph Priestley to create theoretical support for

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Essay Example for Free

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison Essay Tony Morrison became the prominent American writer of the second half of the 20th century mainly because of her novel â€Å"The Bluest Eye† published in 1970. The novel is narrated by a young black girl, Claudia MacTeer and the reader realizes through her perception the atmosphere in the family of her friend Pecola Breedlove. The family relations in the Pecola’s family are very hostile. The topic of racial inequality is one of the central topics. African Americans and their tragedy of the lost culture are in the center of the novel.   The novel is built on the passionate desire of Pecola to be loved by her family and her school friends. Pecola thinks that the reason of the hostile attitude towards her is her black skin and she wants to resemble the American idols like Shirley Temple. Shirley Temple is just an ideal created by the mass culture, an idol which is a part of American dream. The conventional American perception of beauty is connected with the blue eyes and white skin like those of Shirley Temple. Tony Morison studies the position of the blacks in America. She names the things which sometimes are not in public but in minds. American society is divided according to the racial principle and nobody can do anything with it.    The author states that America treats its black citizens like people of a lower grade, pariahs, â€Å"There are several levels of the pariah figure working in my writing. The black community is a pariah community. Black people are pariahs. The civilization of black people that lives apart from but in juxtaposition to other civilizations is a pariah relationship. In fact, the concept of the black in this country is almost always one of the pariahs. But a community contains pariahs within it that are very useful for the conscience of that community.†(The Bluest Eye. Review). American culture has produced a utopian image of America, called â€Å"an American Dream†. It is not bad at all; it indicates, at least the standards to be reached and the goals to be gained.   This collective image is an image of a rich country populated with the nice successful people. There is only one problem in this image. The country is rich and the society is successful, but people personifying this success are narrated with the blond hair and white skin. This is just what great American Martin Luther King said about. The racial inequity is in the very essence of the American society. Pecola identifies her personal position in the community with the position of the black community in the American society, i.e. as soon as the Blacks are pariahs in the society; she feels herself a pariah within the community. What is more, she understands the position of the black community in the American society and naively associates it with her personal position in the black community. Her dream of blue eyes is a naà ¯ve attempt to break through the concept of the faceless, i.e. it is a protest against her position of a pariah. Tony Morison intentionally uses a dream of a small girl which would never come true to underline the improbability of such a dream to resemble an American icon Shirley Temple in the same way as black community would never become an equal part of the society. The values of the society imposed on the black children are destructive. Pecola is morally suppressed by the values she accepts. These values are dominant and black children are not able to evaluate them critically. Pecola is destroyed by the cultural values she has to adopt. The white culture influences the personalities of the black people especially young ones. The Anglo Saxon standards of beauty follow the children outside the class. Movie blondes with blue eyes catch their sight from the cinema screens, billboards, newspapers and magazines. There is no place to hide from the bluest eyes. These beauties keep telling the children that if they were white with blue eyes they would achieve success. This destroys the girl’s identity. She mistakenly associates her physical appearance with the wealth and happiness. White mass culture shows white skin, blue eyes and blonde hair in association with wealth, happiness and success and a young girl realizes erroneously that her life is defined by her appearance. Pecola’s admiration of Sherley Temple is one of her personal tragic illusions. The success of the movie star Temple poisons the life of Pecola. The mass culture shows the physical beauty in the context of prosperity. This self humiliation develops the complex of inferiority of the girl. â€Å"Long hours she sat looking in the mirror, trying to discover the secret of the ugliness, the ugliness that made her ignored or despised at school, by teachers and classmates alike, She was the only member of her class who sat alone at a double desk.†( Tirell, Lynne) A utopian desire to resemble an American idol became an obsession for Pecola. â€Å"Each night, without fail, she prayed for blue eyes. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ She would see only what there was to see: the eyes of other people.†( Morrison, Toni, p.45) The Pecola’s aspiration to resemble the American idol drives the girl crazy. She looses the connections with the reality. As soon as the world does not understand her desire and does not want to give her a chance to become closer to her idol she decides to lock in herself and find a piece of mind keeping her dreams in herself without letting them out. The hate of people, ideal dream on the movie star physical appearance, the hostile atmosphere at school and in the family and the rape by her father followed by the hate of her mother made the girl crazy. But she is still dreaming of her ideal. It is not the white community that has directly destroyed Pecola, but the black community and her parents. They should have insulated her from the white communitys values and have protected her (Hinda Barlaz). The words of narrator about the destructiveness of the physical beauty and romantic love are given in the context when Pauline, pregnant black American woman was watching history of romantic love in the movie theatre. She broke her tooth then as if recapitulating the comparison of romantic love in the movie with her current position. The image of Jean Harlow from the screen destroys the Pauline’s identity as a woman, her belief in American dream and her own beauty. The broken tooth symbolizes her belief in happiness which is destroyed. Toni Morrison and a great American Martin Luther King, Pecola and Pauline, Hero of the Doctorow’s Ragtime and The Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, all of them have the common feature. They are all looking for identity as well as other best representatives of the humanity. Martin Luther King and Pecola, no matter how strange it may seem had the same dream, a dream of equality for all disregarding the color of the skin. Hero of the Doctorow’s novel and Oedipus Rex were looking for their lost identity. John Lennon joined Great American King in his dream of â€Å"a brotherhood of men† in his â€Å"Imagine†. Martin Luther King was looking for the identity of the black people of America and paid his life for it. Pecola was looking for her own identity and paid her mentality. John Lennon was looking for a â€Å"brotherhood of men† and paid his life for his search. These principles can not come from the outside; they should be in the people’s mind which is an identity. A hero of one Russian classic (Bulgakov, The Heart of the Dog) kept threatening himself, â€Å"there is a devastation in the country!!!† and he got a respond â€Å"this devastation is in your mind†. The same could be said of identity. We create the identity in our minds and then we apply it to the entire society. Bibliography I Have A Dream by Martin Luther King, Jr, Delivered on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. on August 28, 1963. Source: Martin Luther King, Jr: The Peaceful Warrior, Pocket Books, NY 1968, available at http://www.mecca.org/~crights/dream.html, retrieved 7.04.2005 Tirell, Lynne. â€Å"Storytelling and Moral Agency.† Toni Morrison’s Fiction: Contemporary Criticism. Ed. David Middleton. New York: Garland, 2000. 3-25. Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye. New York: Penguin, 1994. Toni Morrison, The Bluest Eye, Review, available at http://academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/english/melani/lit_term.html#pv Hedin, Raymond. The Structuring of Emotion in Black American Fiction. Novel 16 (1982): 35-54. Edmund A. Napieralski, Morrisons The Bluest Eye., 1994 Heldref Publications, The Explicator, Fall 1994 v53 n1 p59(4), available at http://www.cofc.edu/~farrells/Farrell/oedipus.html, retrieved 6.04.2005 Hinda A. Barlaz, A Reading Guide to Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, available at http://students.adelphi.edu/learningcenter/pdfs/tonimorrison.pdf, retrieved 6.04.2005 Trudy Mercer. Female Childhood Icons in Toni Morrisons The Bluest Eye, available at http://www.drizzle.com/~tmercer/write/morrison/bluesteye.shtml Chris Booker, The Social Status of the African American Male: 1999, available at http://www.pressroom.com/~afrimale/status99.htm Gibson, Donald B. (1989), â€Å"Text and Countertext in Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye†, Taylor, Paul C., Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism, MALCOLMS CONK AND DANTOS COLORS; OR, FOUR LOGICAL PETITIONS CONCERNING RACE, BEAUTY, AND ,  , available at http://www.lib.tjfsu.edu.cn/ymwx/essay/The%20Bluest%20Eye1.htm Bjork, Patrick B. The novels of Toni Morrison: the search for self and place within the community. NY: P. Lang,1996.

Analysis Of Strategic Communication Plan Communications Essay

Analysis Of Strategic Communication Plan Communications Essay 2008-09 was an important year for JSW STEEL LTD as companys evolution and growth was comprehensively tested their will to survive, succeed and flourish in the midst of an economic meltdown. The financial crisis that brought back the painful memories of the Great Depression of the 1930s, affected the Indian economy as well. JSW Steel was no island in this crisis. JSW Steels vision, mission and core values, policies and strategies in accordance with needs and expectations of stakeholders are developing balance and short term and long term needs of the company. In addition, plant-level policy making and strategy in mind from the external environment, internal capabilities would receive information, and performance. Involved in the process of planning a major step strategy is shown in the picture below: Major source of macro environmental analysis for the National Steel Policy, technical reports published in leading journals, seminars and workshops. The marketing department at corporate office was primarily responsible for analyzing the external and internal environment. Information about markets and market segments is obtained from customer surveys, and various other means. Means for raising and customer needs and expectations of law index list given in Table below. Information about the internal atmosphere of plant was gathered by senior officials. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, analyzing relevant business practice, and threats are analyzed and the results of exercises with company leaders and senior management are as follows: Strengths: Rich geological resource base (11 billon tonnes of iron reserves) Large consumer Base The only integrated steel plant producing flat products in southern India Low labour cost and high productivity Flexibility in adopting innovative technologies Growing skilled and technical human capital Weakness: Indian economy , high reliance on services High cost of finance High cost of energy Deficit infrastructure High Ash Coal Socio-Political Intervention Opportunities: Strong and growing Economy (@8% GDP growth/annum) Low per capita steel consumption of 47 kg/yr as compared to > 400 kg in develop countries Growth in steel exports and imports Growth in automobile sector Global manufacturing destination for steel Threats Fluctuation in steel prices Green- field steel projects by international players Expansion of capabilities through green -field and brown -field players by by existing players Input from Stakeholders for the formation of Policies and Strategies Policies and strategies of the companys construction is a systematic method for identifying input from stakeholders, and understand the needs and expectations of suppliers, employees, customers and other stakeholders. Review and analysis of requirements and expectations as to appropriate initiatives are in various stages shown in below table: Area Scope of information Inputs from People HR practices / Skill competence levels / Employee perceptions / Benchmark data / Employee development and training / Compensation and recognition systems HR meet Employees Satisfaction Survey Consultants Customers Markets Customer end user requirements, Price and commercial , Segment wise market growth / trends / expectations, New emerging markets, internal markets, Govt. regulations on imports, exports Customer Survey Customers of Competitors Product Application Group Competitive Environment Competitors activities and their plans Global competitiveness Industrial analysis of competitiveness Product Application Group Customer Services Group Corporate Communications Currents efforts on corporate communication Communication strategy and plan Top management Technology Risks, Cost of capital, Profitability analysis, Cost forecast, Excise sales tax regulations VAI, Austria Technology Control Groups JFE, Japan Corporate Communication Objectives: Due to sudden Meltdown, steel prices went down drastically and made steel buyer‘s to relax for sometime thinking it will go even low and will create worst time for steel manufacturers. Similar consequences were faced by JSW Steel Ltd and it was time for them to act and act fast and strategically. Their main goal was either to: To nurture JSW Steel Brands as an asset for the company. Being 3rd largest steel producer in India, JSW Steel Ltd was facing heat from top two companies i.e. TATA Steel and ESSAR Steel Ltd as these two big guns were dropping their Export products prices with ease as they had better market share and doubled the price of Same products that are exported in other countries by JSW STEEL. The short term strategy adopted by these two big companies was to reduced the price of the steel for short period still managing to achieve the profit compare to other steel producer and can recover as time passes. But for JSW steel it was one decision to take to decrease the production all across units in India and wait for steel prices to go up and get back into race again. To manage stakeholder perceptions to maximize business value. JSW Steel also called as â€Å"The Challengers† in steel industry in India (Annual Reports). While steel Industries were trying to balance and hold their feet together globally and in India, it was time for JSW Steel to build the strategy which will help them to bounce back and keep them in competition and can win back shareholders trust. The Eloquent drawing of the corporate strategy: They should adopt the strategy that is based on the unparallel curves and they distinguished the atmosphere of depression and emerged as the real winners: Due to high involvement of cost and financial compaction, a drastic cut back in production was on priority for Marginal cost producers of steel in India. To go domestic as rural and semi urban demand for steel was the opportunity to tap. To involve Indian fiscal systems as effective banking practices as they meant that India was doing better compared to US and European countries. The pro-active policies of the Government with its fiscal stimulus packages meant that the revival would be sooner than later in the Indian economy. The communication approach adopted by JSW Steel to achieve above defined goals is DAGMAR Model approach. The approach involves advertising planning and the exact method to select the measuring goals and to use these objectives to measure the performance. The communication task contains advertising objectives which creates awareness; impart information by developing positive attitude and implementing action. The model suggests advertising goals which builds company image and credibility, and this are can be achieved by involving and interacting with customers, dealers and stakeholders. This approach also helps in allocating the cost in the effective way by help direct marketing. So from the above defined objectives it is clear what JSW Steel has to achieve, and to achieve these goals setting of internal tangible targets will help them to measure their performance, there is also need of distinctive objectives for each group which is an inspirational, realistic and time scaled. Planning of communication Strategy by JSW Steel In a strategic role, marketing aims of JSW Steel is to transform corporate objectives and business strategy into competitive market position. So their Marketing communication Strategy should focus on the following areas: Maximising Value added products, Customisation, Import Substitution along with expanding Pan India Reach. Consistent product quality and timely deliveries enabled a long-term business relationship with its valued set of customers, both in the domestic as well as International markets. A prominent domestic supplier of Flat and Long steel products and a leading strategic exporter of coated products. Leveraging plants location advantages to increase market share strategically in Southern and Western regions. Growing focus towards rural and semi-urban domestic markets having a large demand potential. So the estimated saleable steel will be targeted 3.2428 Mt tonnes and will be sub-divided this target all across marketing and sales department in all region. Strengthening International presence to 100 countries, also increasing dealer base to over 300 numbers and to open more 50 JSW Shoppe outlets in the domestic market to get proper reach and serve the customer in the country. These marketing targets should be achieved in next 6 months following the promotional activities. Communicating Strategy for creating awareness of the demanded products in domestic market was also high on their agend. Hot rolled products: Key business drivers Substituting imports with focus on product quality, Customisation and timely deliveries. Thrust on project based orders from sectors such as Oil Gas conforming up to Grade API 5L X-70, water pipe-line projects and other infrastructure and construction projects. By virtue of its longstanding relationship, the Company emerged as a preferred supplier, leading to consistent and sustained orders, despite a downturn in the latter part of 2008-09. A prudent mix of long-and-short-term contracts to balance volumes with value. Leveraged retail market potential, compensating the volume drop from the automobile segment. Strong distribution network with close proximity and strategic focus in southern India, helped during the period of sagging demand in the latter half of 2009-10. Cold rolled products: Key business drivers Developing of well structured distribution network assuring easy flow of sales along with good reach. Approval process with Automobile majors helped to graduate the quality ladder along with other process and supply related parameters. South India being supply deficit region helped to achieve sales volumes through extended distribution network. Higher Sales in Semi-Urban and Rural areas. Extended presence by adding new dealers and opening new JSW Shoppe outlets (Branded Distribution Network). Entered into long-term contracts with suppliers for telecom and power which continue to grow at a rapid pace. Strategic foray into Pre-Engineered Building segment catering to growing demand for Industrial Construction. The Marketing communication strategy thus adopted by JSW Steel are as follows  · Push Strategy: A push strategy adopted by JSW Steel suggest heavy use of sales force and trade promotions, is best suited to situations where there is a low level of brand loyalty, as the choice is generally made at the point of purchase and the benefits are well understood by buyers. The other point was also to create good distribution channel. Targeting Segments (customer wise and product wise): JSW Steel strategy for targeting segments is to interact with customers, dealers and other distribution channels consistently. Use of sound and creative media strategy: Good use of promotional mix, methods and tools for delivering the messages by JSW Steel. Moving towards strategy implementation, following are as follows: The most important point was to reduce the cost. This involved reducing their high cost on inventory of input raw materials as soon as possible. This is only possible by employing production logically in all quarter and adopting aggressive marketing strategy in the rural segment they can quickly overcome the dull and slow period. All this meant that a space was being created in supply and demand of steel in the Indian context. Highly cost reduction was on their agenda. So use of amended techno-economics in the plant and the fall in input raw materials they could bring down the cost of production of steel by around 43% as compared to their past figures. Branching out the Product hoop: Keeping aside the cost reduction, JSW Steel should enter the long product segment strategically as there is an increased government spending in the infrastructure projects which will in turn provide them ready market to serve.In other product segment where the demand has not been affected drastically, like the flat product, they should concentrate judiciously on the value added product hoop. Tapping the rural Indian market: The essence of their strategy was to push aggressive Marketing activities in the domestic markets. Undertaking Direct marketing in to stride and meeting dealers, distributors face to face and persuading them to serve customers in rural and semi-urban areas. The benefit of this activity helps increasing JSW Steel reach in domestic and rural market. Apart from this the best part of this strategy help JSW Steel in adding 50 new dealers and distributors total numbers to 300 hundred in excess. Making availability of steel and also making steel more customers friendly, JSW Steel added more 50 JSW Shoppe outlets and opened in year 2008-09 all across India. The main intention behind this activity was to make â€Å"Pan India† presence of JSW Steel. Growth during Meltdown: The strategy adopted by JSW Steel in past yield results and showed positive effect for the company profitability in fourth quarter. They not only got rid of their excess inventories but also reinstated conventional production in all their production facilities and by February 2009 the new 2.8 MTPA project was also licensed. This growth of JSW Steel made them stand apart from the competitors in the steel sector as they recorded their crude steel production capacity at 7.8 MTPA. Thus growth in depression times motivated them in all possible way and they reached at the top tasting the profitability. From the above defined marketing strategy, JSW Steel has used â€Å"Push strategy† as they have involved promoting heavily to distribution channel, this is, to dealers, agent on the assumption that they will in turn promote heavily on the end users. The Push strategy here means promoting the steel products which is targeted to different segments were pushed through different distribution channels to reach the end users. Push strategies tend to place emphasis on direct marketing (personal selling) and sales promotion. JSWs ability to see beyond the current scenario, induce them to embark on new Blast Furnace with confidence which is also incidentally Indias biggest. It is praiseworthy for the strategy implemented by JSW Steel is really commendable as they can forecast the profitability by 60% when other steel manufactures across the world were struggling back and cutting down their production. This achievement of reflection will be not only for JSW Steels productive strategy but also for underlying intensity and bouncing back of the Indian economy Co-ordinated promotional mix for JSW STEEL The communication tools and Promotional Methods applied by JSW Steel are as follows: Co-ordinating with corporate communications department for creating awareness: The corporate communications team facilitates communication to reinforce brand-building, enhance visibility and a long-term PR policy through the following initiatives: Building JSWs brand equity Coordinating PR activities to strengthen the image Building a central team to create communication synergy Streamlining PR and promotional events Facilitating senior managements participation in global corporate, spiritual philanthropic forums and foundation-related activities. Media relations: The Company maintains cordial relations with media professionals. Its media transparency is critical for correct and factual information dissemination, building a positive brand perception. The communication activities conducted during the fiscal under review comprised the following: Press conferences: The team should organized 10 press conferences to announce quarterly results, policy issues and key business decisions in 2009-10. Quarterly results Commissioning of Indias largest blast furnace in Vijayanagar Works Visit of Al Gore to India to establish ‘The Climate Project India Establishment of Earth Care Awards Inaugural ceremony for Steel plant in West Bengal Financial communications: The Companys financial PR involved proactive two-way communications with global investors, analysts and securities professionals. Analysts meets will be organized every quarter. Analyst and Investors visits will be conducted to plant locations. CEOs media training workshop: The corporate communication team should organized media training workshop for the top management covering media management, dos and donts of media relations and inter-personal management with the media. The workshop will be attended by more than 20 top management team members. Media visits: Print and electronic media visits should be organized to all across and major branches. . Positioning platforms: The Companys communication modes comprised the following: physical (print, poster, banner, gift, giveaway, face-to-face), digital (advertising, audio/visual), web (internet/ intranet) and experiential (events, exhibitions, associate gatherings, project execution, recruitment). It instituted communication guidelines as well as focused communications and commitment to deliver the brand promise. Understanding the JSW Brand: The Companys branding strategy is to nurture the JSW brand as an asset and manage stakeholder perceptions to maximize business value. The crisscross patterns in the corporate logo represent a networked organization networking across people, technology and skills. The base represents a strong foundation and the apex points towards continuous growth. Internal communications: The Company emphasizes internal communication to help employees interact with the senior management. The Companys quarterly news journal called ‘Connect covers relevant organizational (including overseas Subsidiaries) information. Website management In a world where information is critical, the Companys website is regularly updated to disseminate time-critical stakeholder information. The corporate communication team posts news briefings, minimizing paper use. Daily news brief: The Company introduced an easy-to-access and paper saving communication mode for employees. The Daily News Brief covers all important news items published in newspapers. This strategy suggest the integrated marketing strategy triangle. (CHRIS FILL:2006) IMC STRATEGY TRIANGLE Marketing communications is concerned with conveying the messages to a set of customer, distribution channel and stakeholders. As marketing also has to manage relationships with those people who are responsible for producing and distributing the goods and services. Thus Marketing and Public Relations are very much interlinked and there is a public relation element in every aspect of marketing communications. However, PR extends beyond marketing in that it is concerned with the total communications of the organization, embracing the community as a whole, funding bodies and shareholders, political and legal interfaces, the media, the organizations employees and their trade union. The needs of PR strategy is there therefore based upon decisions in the three areas and same can be seen in JSW Steel Ltd. The extent and frequency of the communications with involved public. The degree of importance attached to the communications in terms of their ability to harm or help the organization. The effectiveness of these communications in achieving objectives. Human Resources and financial planning Intellectual capital Employees Locations 7,669 5 Recruitment Process: JSW Steel Process of recruiting fresh graduate and experienced executives is critical as they tend to get good knowledge students and having practice experience and good intership background. Experienced executives are recruited for the critical positions for which skills sets are not adequate in the existing teams. Strategy Process: Hiring of engineers and management graduates from premiere institutes is on their agenda. Hiring fresh and experience charted accountants for financial positions. This is done by sending recruiting team from HR, Technical, and Management visiting directly to reputed colleges. Company also conduct their entrance test for the shortlisted candidates for the final and interview called O.P. Jindal entrance test, also JSW Steel group lays programmes for recruiting students from campus and also sponsors various events and target alumni group of the premiere institutes. JSW website for direct application Employee referral for experienced people Personal interview. The Company outsources certain routine jobs to contractors supplementing the key functional areas. Training JSW consistently invest in training and development programmes, as they believe it is the most important asset and will provide sustainable growth to the company for long term. So they invested in growing the teams learning curve. Induction Training includes:   All new recruits for the company include a 15-day training program which provides compressed. The program includes in-depth technical and operational training at shop floor level. The practical visits to plant is followed by theory, are the activities which is commensurate in each class of the training. In addition, training for behaviour, safety and environmental aspects are given. As part of the installation program for new members of all steel making plant locations and the entire process is clarified, in addition they are provided information about the group. After training, involved appropriate locations for personal contact is made with new recruits. All team members completing the training module can easily access the uploaded module through Human Resources Portal. Overseas Training: The Company sends teams on regular basis to other reputed global steel companies so that they can enhance their skills and can deliver best for their organization. Training effectiveness is evaluated by comparing pre-training performance with the post training. The above investments and strategy adopted by JSW Steel related to Human resources and finance planning shows they are fully equipped to undertake the campaign. In past the performance of JSW also shows the same results in fulfilling the achievement and conveying right message to targeted segments. Scheduling and Implementation of communication plan by JSW Steel: JSW Steel needs schedule their promotional activities on weekly basis and also implementing other plans on weekly basis during the campaign. The following below table give an appropriate scheduling and implementation of the activities undertaken by the company in rolling out the communication plan. Integrated campaign schedule for JSW STEEL LTD TIME 1 week 2 week 3 week 4week 5week 6 week 7week ADV XX XX XX Sales XX XX XX XX PR XX XX XX XX XX XX XX Merchandising Direct Maktng XX XX XX XX XX XX XX The above table represent the schedule weeks when the promotion will take place. The above results suggest that JSW Steel concentrate more on PR and Direct Marketing to ensure the objective to spread the awareness is done in every week. Apart from this they also concentrate on the advertising of their retail outlets by moving rural- semi urban areas on alternate weeks. To overcome the logistic problems and making availability of the products during the campaign, the implementation of the distribution plan is also on weekly basis as decided between the dealers and the distributors. The objective to be served by a distribution implementation will typically cover how, when and where the company market offerings should be made available to the targeted markets. The implementation of this activity by JSW will provide means to communication plans of the company as scheduled. It is reasonable to suggest that implementation is often key determinant in the success or failure of any strategic activity. Therefore, it should be an integral part of any marketing communication plan. This view is supported by examining the history of corporate strategy. Recent times have seen a move away from corporate planning to the concept of the strategic management. The main difference is that strategic management addresses the issues of implementation. Success Vs Failure Strategy Appropriate Inappropriate SSS Good Strategy and Execution (source: Adapted from Bonoma, 1984) Evaluation and control Prior to promotion, the objective of JSW to build the brand perception and build the long-term relationships with the dealers and distributors in domestic markets was fulfilled and the level of awareness and recognition was high. The evaluation of Public relation as a main promotional tool used by JSW Steel in overcoming the problems in domestic market was achieved. Good media coverage and product placement was also achieved during and after the campaign. The graph shows the profitability of the JSW STEE LTD During Campaign and down rise of the time lapse. Methodology of evaluation and controlling the strategy at the coporate level is primarily based on Periodicity and effectiveness of the existing review mechanism Updating process from time to time Giving major emphasis on customer feedback and thrust on performance of equipments process Control is the simple way making sure what is supposed to happen actually haapens. The term itself control- often appears to have negative connotations and is seen as limiting and coercive. This similar with the case of JSW Steel Ltd, the company management should or can develop effective control systems to monitor the campaign in future. Compare to their achievement of their objective in past JSW Steel is did well in time of recession and hoping to keep the pace going on to be the consistent challenger in the steel industries. Feedback The Communication planning strategy Adopted by JSW Steel Ltd was fair enough to convey their message to their targeted segments and other counterparts. The profitability achievement during the times of market being unfavourable corporate communications of JSW Steel was clear with their objective and how to achieve their goal by using proper promotional mix and other communication tools. Looking at the future of steel industries JSW Steel will be the market leader in coming future as they tends to adapt as per market change and deliver the quality products to consumers. Reference and bibliography Books Chris Fill 5th edition (2009), marketing communication interactivity, communities and content Richard M.S. Wilson and Colin Gillian 2nd edition (1997), Strategic Marketing management: Planning, implementation and control Graeme Drummond, John Ensor, Ruth Ashford 2nd edition (2001 reprinted 2002,2003 (twice)): Planning and control Jim Blyth 3rd edition (2006), Essentials of marketing communication Patrick De Pelsmacker, Maggie Geuens, Joeri Van Den Bergh, (2005) Foundations of marketing communications (A European Perspective) Websites and databases http://www.jsw.in/ (accessed 21.11.2009) http://www.jsw.in/companies/JSWSteel_aboutus.shtml (accessed 21.11.2009) http://www.jsw.in/organization/overview.shtml (accessed 21.11.2009) http://www.jsw.in/companies/company_JSWSteel.shtml (accessed 21.11.2009) http://www.jsw.in/beyond_business/future_prospects.shtml (accessed 21.11.2009) http://www.jsw.in/investor_zone/steel_presentation_analyst.shtml (accessed 22.11.2009) http://www.jsw.in/investor_zone/financials_quarter.shtml (accessed 22.11.2009)

Same-Sex Marriages Should NOT Be Allowed Essay -- Legal Issues, Same S

Allowing same-sex marriages would change the basic definition of marriage. Marriage is an important commitment of a man and a woman who contribute to civilization. Therefore, the loss of contributions due to someone’s sexual orientation should not be rewarded with a privilege such as marriage. Same-sex marriages affect many factors such as children, the concept of marriage, and humanity. However, it is not a misdemeanor to love somebody of the same gender but it can rigorously damage many aspects of life. In addition, same-sex marriages also can affect those who are raised by them as children. It was exposed that children raised by homosexual couples did worse than the offspring of heterosexual couples in nine of thirteen intellectual and social categories. When children are adopted they do not get a choice in whether their parents are gay or straight. For this reason, their sexual orientation may be distorted due to the parents they are adopted to. Children raised in families led by same-sex parents may choose to become gay or lesbian at a higher rate than thos...

An Analysis of Geoffrey Hill’s Little Apocalypse :: Little Apocalypse

An Analysis of Geoffrey Hill’s  Little Apocalypse   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Seamus Heaney’s â€Å"The Redress of Poetry† reveals the idea that â€Å"it is the imagination [of poetry] pressing back   against the pressure of reality (1).†Ã‚   The two opposing forces of imagination and reality are active in Geoffrey Hill’s   â€Å"Little Apocalypse.†Ã‚   The poem deals with the personal religious conflict of Friedrich Hoderlin (1770-1843), a German lyric poet.   Hill focuses on Hoderlin’s struggle with his strong belief in Greek mythology and then Contemporary Protestant theology. From this reality Hill utilizes Greek and Christian imagery.   Hill’s imagination complements Hoderlin’s reality and results in an artistic retelling and vivid depiction of the German poet’ strife.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The first stanza addresses Holderlin’s relationship with Christianity, specifically his mother’s desire for him to be a pastor. His mother was very up front with her wishes and sent him to â€Å"monastery schools† at Maulbronn and the theological seminary in the University of Tubingen (Witte 1).   In relation to â€Å"Apocaplypse† Hill writes that Holderlin is â€Å"close enough to survive the sun’s primitive renewing fury (33).†Ã‚   The sun represents Christianity and though its teachings as well as its unyielding methods of indoctrination (â€Å"primitive renewing fury†) surround him at school and home, he is â€Å"close enough† to his own religious beliefs rooted in Greek mythology (Witte 1).   The â€Å"scorched vistas† suggest that Holderlin’s perspective on religion had been modified or brought into question from his parochial education.   Hill implies that Holderlin considers his classmate s as â€Å"injured† most likely in a spiritual sense but continue to be brave. Despite the injured, Hill asserts â€Å"this man [Holderlin] stands sealed against their injury.†Ã‚   The image of Holderlin standing firm greatly contrasts with that of the injured and the use of â€Å"sealed† symbolizes that he held strong to his beliefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚   The second stanza shifts to images of Greek mythology.â€Å"Hermetic radiance of great suns kept in† has a double meaning. On one hand, his religious convictions are sealed air tight and on the other Hill imagines him as Hermes the ancient god messenger. As the ancient messenger God Hill insinuates that Holderlin himself was a messenger perhaps with a religious message but confused by two different religions. The last three lines refer to the rediscovery of Holderlin’s work that has established him as â€Å"one of the outstanding lyric poets in the German language† and placed him in the ranks of the â€Å"Greatest of German poets (Witte 2).

Nicholas Ferrar :: essays research papers fc

Nicholas Ferrar was assumed to be born in 1592. I have found that his most probable birth date was in February of 1593. This is due to the usual calendar confusion: England was not at that time using the new calendar adopted in October 1582. It was 1593 according to our modern calendar, but at the time the new year in England began on the following March 25th. Nicholas Ferrar was one of the more interesting figures in English history. His family was quite wealthy and were heavily involved in the Virginia Company, which had a Royal Charter for the plantation of Virginia. People like Sir Walter Raleigh were often visitors to the family home in London. Ferrars’ niece was named Virginia, the first known use of this name. Ferrar studied at Cambridge and would have gone further with his studies but the damp air of the fens was bad for his health and he traveled to Europe, spending time in the warmer climate of Italy. On his return to England he found his family had fared badly. His brother John had become over extended financially and the Virginia Company was in danger of loosing its charter. Nicholas dedicated himself to saving the family fortune and was successful. He served for a short time as Member of Parliament, where he tried to promote the cause for the Virginia Company. His efforts were in vain for the company lost their charter anyway. Nicholas is given credit for founding a Christian community called the English Protestant Nunnery at Little Gidding in Huntingdonshire, England. After Ferrar was ordained as a deacon, he retired and started his little community. Ferrar was given help and support with his semi-religious community by John Collet, as well as Collet’s wife and fourteen children. They devoted themselves to a life of prayer, fasting and almsgiving (Matthew 6:2,5,16). The community was founded in 1626, when Nicholas was 34 years old. Banning together, they restored an abandoned church that was being used as a barn. Being of wealthy decent, Ferrar purchased the manor of Little Gidding, a village which had been discarded since the Black Death (a major outbreak of the bubonic plague in the 14th century), a few miles off the Great North Road, and probably recommended by John Williams, Bishop of Lincoln whose palace was in the nearby village of Buckden. About thirty people along with Mary Ferrar (Ferrars’ mother) moved into the manor house.

Our Fluid English Language Essay

It is generally known that as time goes on, most things tend to change, evolve and grow. This could be said about a long list of thing, including humans, music, fashion, technology and many more. But what isn’t commonly thought about is the evolution of language; more specifically the English Language. Being one of the most spoken and rapidly learned language worldwide, one might ponder the evolution of the it and how the English language came to be. Spoken today is called Modern English, but this language took hundreds of years to be developed into from its Greek, Latin, German, Russian and other European roots. To further understand the fluidity of the English language, a Catholic prayer that was once written in Anglo-Saxon or Old English is rewritten in Middle English and Early Modern English. Through these stepping stones of the English language, one could analyze the difference in letter symbols, punctuation, and pronunciation. At first glance, the Old English version seems to be in a completely different language. One would never believe that the English we speak today derived from Old English. But as one tries to decipher the words and the passage at hand, few words became certain to be derived from Old English. Although most are not Catholic and wouldn’t know this as a religious passage, the major clue was the capitalization of the first word: father. Although spelled â€Å"Faeder† in Old English, it was easy to assume that it was a prayer from prior knowledge about the Catholics reference to God as Father. Not only that, â€Å"Faeder† and â€Å"Father† have similar pronunciation and many of the same letters. Some words seem familiar through context clues such as â€Å"willa† and â€Å"will†, â€Å"becume† and â€Å"become†, and â€Å"forgyf† and â€Å"forgive†. However, there are words that are completely unfamiliar and are unused in Modern English such as â€Å"gedaeghwamlican†, â€Å"heofonum†, and â€Å"gyltendum†. This proves to show that has time goes on, words and symbols begin to change, words begin to be spoken in different sounds, and grammar starts to shift away from its original roots. From the Old English and the Middle English translations, grammar seems to change the most and is the most noticeable. Similar to how English is spoken today, the first line of the Middle English translated prayer starts off as  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Oure fadir,† which is very similar to the Modern English â€Å"Our Father.† But in the Old English version, the prayer starts as â€Å"Faeder ure.† In many languages like Spanish and Latin, verbs and possessors are generally put in front of the possessive, unlike Middle and Modern English. As seen in the Old English version, father comes before â€Å"ure† or our. This analyzation displays the roots of English and how the language evolves and eventually strays from its origin. Also seen clearly in the Middle English version of the Catholic prayer, words seem closer to the Modern English spoken today, although some symbols and spellings reveal its true age. More words become recognizable such as â€Å"kyngdom† to kingdom, and â€Å"heuene† to heaven. These words show how over time, words begin to shift and change, although it started as something else. A symbol that stays constant from Old English on to Middle English is a letter close to â€Å"p†. This symbol is pronounced a â€Å"th† sound. Although this symbol is replaced with the letter â€Å"t† and â€Å"h† in Modern English, the words such as â€Å"pi† and â€Å"pat† are equivalent to the Early Modern English words â€Å"thy† and â€Å"that†. This different usage of symbols but same sounds exemplifies the change in letter themselves, but not the sound it once came from. The Middle English truly shows the steps it took to get from Ol d English to Early Modern English. When we read the Early Modern English of this Catholic prayer, we can understand it clearly, though words that are used in the prayer are not used in our daily vocabulary and writing. Words such as thy, and art, which has a different meaning from Modern English, are not used and are rarely seen in modern writing explosions. Early Modern English has been changed and developed so dramatically that people don’t talk the way the prayer goes. The proof that shows how fluid English is by the usage of slang. Just as spelling, pronunciation and grammar of words and sentences changed from the three stepping stones of English evolution, modern English words are being condensed and meaning of words change. The evolution of the English language doesn’t stop with us. Although there are three stepping stones of the English language, in the future there is a  possibility that a New English will emerge. Just as it did over the course of hundreds of years, the English language will continue to evolve and change. Meanings will alter and spelling will change. A hundred years from now, Old English will seem to be a language in the past.

Smart Card Marketing Solutions Essay

Smart Card Marketing Solutions is a company established in 2003 that provides prepaid card services to customers seeking an alternative to credit cards and as a form of electronic records for merchants in regards to recording a customer buying behavior. Smart Card Marketing Solutions (referred to in this paper as SMKG going forward) offered four types on services: GoSmartCard, Velocity money, Velocity Merchant, and prepaid wireless. Each of the services, in addition to the audience, back ground on the market, strengths and weaknesses of the company, and marketing strategies. Types of Service and Competition Go Smart Card The GoSmartCard is a service that allows companies to use the card and incentive programs. This is offered to merchants and retailed and personal account information. The platform itself is a real-time internet based application that monitors the transaction in real-time and allow for merchants to access the information. The competition could be any company or retailer that offers gift cards. This service is offered by many retailers already. This service is already in the market and for some time now. Velocity Money The service includes two card types: Pin Debit Card, which is used by customers as one would a traditional debit card and a Master debit card, which operates like a traditional Master card. Both are attractive features but there lies a flooded market with lots of competition Velocity Merchant This service allows electronic check processing. This feature has been offered by Tele-Check for many years. The advantage to this feature is the e-commerce site that offers additional features such as private labeling on Master card and instant money transfers. Those are two attractive features. Prepaid Wireless Now prepaid wireless is a service offered, which allows the retailer does not have to pay for a product until after the sale is made. This is a very attractive feature for retailers. Access to the Market Feasibility The goal of feasibility is to is to assess the economic viability of the proposed business. The feasibility study needs to answer the question: â€Å"Does the idea make economic sense?† The study should provide a thorough analysis of the business opportunity, including a look at all the possible roadblocks that may stand in the way of the cooperative’s success. The outcome of the feasibility study will indicate whether or not to proceed with the proposed venture. If the results of the feasibility study are positive, then the cooperative can proceed to develop a business plan. (Williams, 2011) After review of the customer’s website, services offered, and over goal, the Market feasibility does not make sense. The market is saturated with competition such as Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AMEX, Rush Card, and many more. The company does not appear to have done the necessary research to determine the whether there is a need for this service in the market. In addition, this would hint to the fact a proper business plane was not completed and reviewed. Their validity of market acceptance appears to be assumed versus researched and studies. Conclusion Overall, SKMG could have done more research on the need of their services. Primary market research is one of the starting points for this customer to have been able to determine acceptance into the market. Appendix I shows the current state of their stability in the market.

Fences Research Paper

Qualities and Flaws In the play â€Å"Fences† by August Wilson, Troy Maxson can be characterized as a responsible, fearless, unfaithful husband and a controlling father. Troy has acted insensitive and uncaring to his wife, Rose, his brother, Gabriel and his son, Cory. Troy can be seen as a man with both positive qualities and flaws. Even though Troy definitely has some good qualities but a lot of what he does is bad. Troy Maxson is a man who takes responsibility for his family. He is a man who assumes the responsibilities of father, husband, and provider. One of the best quality to describe Troy Maxson would be as a family man.He is very committed to the welfare of his family and provides them with basic needs. The author writes, It's my job. It's my responsibility! You understand that? A man got to take care of his family. You live in my house†¦ sleep you behind on my bedclothes†¦ fill you belly up with my food†¦ cause you my son. You my flesh and blood. Not 'c ause I like you! Cause it's my duty to take care of you. I owe a responsibility to you! (Wilson 1128). This proves that troy is a responsible person. He feels that it is his obligation to feed and take care of his family.He has well intentions for his family Troy considers fatherhood as being an obligation where he is forced to take care of his children instead of doing it willingly. Troy Maxson can be portrayed as a fearless person. He relates a story of how he caught pneumonia and was sent to the hospital. He says that he struggled with death for three days and eventually won the wrestling contest. The author writes, Death standing there staring at me†¦ carrying that sickle in his hand. Finally he say, You want bound over for another year? See just like that†¦ You want bound over for another Year? I told him, Bound over hell!Let's settle this now! (Wilson 1112). This quote reveals that Troy possess another positive quality of being fearless. This is my favorite quote fro m Troy, this quote reveals many characteristics of Troy. Mainly, his proud approach towards death is revealed in this quote illustrating how he fears nothing, not even death itself. Troy even dares to put a title to death as Mr. Death shows how he thinks of death as just another person who he wants to fight. The main reason this is my favorite quote is because Troy is characterized as a courageous person. Troy can be described as a selfish and unfaithful husband which is his biggest flaw.He betrays his wife and goes off to have an affair with another women Alberta. When his wife finds out that he has an affair with another woman. He tells her that he had been faithful to her for eighteen years and now he wants to have his own freedom. Troy thinks he is a good husband to Rose because he provides her with food and a house. However, he is a selfish and uncaring husband because he didn't give her love and compassion. She couldn't believe Troy would betray her because she devoted her lif e to him and he stabs her in the back by having a child with his mistress.She tells Troy, â€Å"I took all my feelings; my wants and needs, my dreams †¦ and I buried them inside you† (Wilson 1146). However, Troy's betrayal forces Rose to reassess her position. And according the essay, â€Å"On Fences† by Sheri Metzger. Harry Elam states that â€Å"affirm rather than assault traditional gender limitations. † This shows how women's rights are limited. Rose substitutes her church for her husband. Rose tells Troy that â€Å"This child got a mother. But you a womanless man† (Wilson 1151). This quote shows that she is asserting her independence from her husband.Elam quoted Patricia Collins's argument that black women learn independence at church, but they also learn to subordinate their interests to the greater good of the African American community. Baseball is used as a metaphor in Troy's life. Even though Troy never played baseball professionally, he us es the sport as a metaphor in his life. Troy's confrontation with his son, Cory, is also based on the ground of baseball game. Their fight is rather symbolic as well. They are fighting with a baseball bat, which is Troy's symbolic representation of his unrealized dream to become a baseball player.Troy tells Cory, â€Å"You swung and you missed. That's strike one. Don't you strike out! â€Å"(Wilson 1152). Throughout the play a fence, Troy is portrayed as a controlling father and this is his biggest flaw. Troy’s relationship with his son is bitter and tense. This relationship involves deep protectiveness on the father’s part. Troy's failure to play baseball in the Major League due to the color of his skin makes him grossly unjust towards his family, especially toward his son Cory. He denies him from everything he likes or feels passionate about. He does not allow Cory to play in the football team.Instead, he forces Cory to start working at A& P. His tough love is show n when he refuses to let Cory play football. According to the article, † Baseball as history and myth in August Wilson's Fences† by Susan Koprince. George Giles, a first baseman for the St. Louis Stars, recalled: â€Å"The racism we faced while I was in the Negro Leagues was one of the things that eventually pushed me out of baseball†¦. I was treated like a second-class citizen in my own country by people who knew they hated me before I could even say ‘Hello'† (Craft 44).Similarly, in the play fences, Troy says, â€Å"The colored guy got to be twice as good before he get on the team. That’s why I don’t want you to get all tied up in them sports† (Wilson 1126). We can see how blacks have been discriminated in the world of sports. However, Troy fails to recognize the fact that times have changed and Cory stands a reasonable chance to represent the football team in the Major League. Cory's complaint to his father is significant,  "You ain't never done nothing but hold me back. Afraid I was gonna be better than you. All you ever did was try and make me scared of you. (Wilson 1155). This sets up a huge â€Å"fence† between Cory and his father because Cory sees Troy’s not signing the permission papers as a boulder crushing his dreams. Cory tells troy,â€Å"How come you ain’t never liked me? † (Wilson 1145). Troy says that he doesn’t have time for this kind of talk and believes that Cory has to make his own way in life as his father did. Troy says, â€Å"Ain’t nobody gonna hold his hand when he get out there in that world. † (Wilson 1143) . Even though troy has good motives for his son but he is unable to except the fact that times have changed since his younger years.As Rose states, â€Å"People change. The world is changing around you and you can’t even see it† (Wilson 1146). In Conclusion, Troy is a person with both positive qualities and flaws. H e takes care of his family by providing them food and shelter. However, I believe he has more flaws because he is a unfaithful husband who cheated on his wife. Troy never cared for Cory. He wouldn’t' let him play football, the only thing Cory wanted to do. All of these examples show that Troy is an uncaring husband and a poor father.

Promote Equality and Inclusion in Children’s and Young People’s Settings Essay

The importance of diversity in an early years setting is that children need to have their own sense of identity and have a sense of pride in themselves and their cultures. Equality This means to treat everyone fairly and equally. Children should be treated as individuals, equally and fairly. Sometimes treating children equally, you have to treat them differently. All children should be valued for their individuality and offered any support they may need. Everyone should be treated with the care, consideration and respect that they have a right to and given the same opportunities to learn and achieve as others. Inclusion This mean to include everyone and meet the individual’s needs. It is a human right for every individual. Everyone counts and differences should be valued, respected and celebrated. Inclusion involves identifying barriers that prevent people from taking part, being involved and fitting in. Knowledge is needed to understand these barriers which can only then be broken down. It is everyone’s responsibility to remove these barriers. It involves making sure that all support systems are available in order for everyone to participate fully. The importance of having equality and inclusion in a setting is so the child does not have poor self-esteem or lack of respect or confidence. The child should not feel as though they are being stereo-typed which could make the child aggressive towards others and prevent the child from interacting. The child should believe in themselves and behave in accordance with others expectations. Equality Act 2010 is the law which bans unfair treatment and helps achieve equal opportunities in the workplace and in wider society. Participation Every child matters, whether they have a different culture, race, gender or if they have a disability, all children have equality of learning and to participate to allow them to grow and meet their full potential. Discrimination Discrimination is a preconceived attitude towards members of a particular group formed only upon the basis of their membership of that group that leads to less favourable or bad treatment of that person. Discrimination could be direct or indirect. Direct discrimination is when a person is treated differently to other people when they are in the same circumstances and indirect is when discrimination is done un-intently. Potential effects may include: Causing upset Affecting an individual’s self-esteem Causing stress Individuals feeling isolated Affecting individuals’ hopes and expectations Creating tensions Leading to stereotyping Leading to labelling Producing prejudices The types of discrimination are:- Racial discrimination This is a belief that some races are superior then others based on the false idea that skin colour may make people better than others. Institutional racism This describes any kind of system of inequality based on race. It can occur in institutions such as public government bodies, private business corporations and universities. Disability discrimination Disability discrimination is about being denied equality of opportunity with their non-disabled peers because of their disabilities or impairments. Sex Discrimination People of one gender reinforce the stereotype that they are superior to the other gender. Discrimination is generally based on either prejudice or stereotypes. Prejudice means to prejudice people based on assumptions and stereotype refers to forming an instant or fixed picture of a group of people, usually based on false or incomplete information. By being discriminated can cause a lifelong effect on a child. They could feel shy and lack in confidence which can then stop them from fulfilling the full potential.

Considering Mixed Methods Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Considering Mixed Methods Research - Essay Example â€Å"Proponents of mixed research typically adhere to the compatibility thesis as well as to the philosophy of pragmatism. The compatibility thesis is the idea that quantitative and qualitative methods are compatible, that is, they can both be used in a single research study. The philosophy of pragmatism says that researchers should use the approach or mixture of approaches that works the best in a real world situation. In short, what works is what is useful and should be used, regardless of any philosophical assumptions, paradigmatic assumptions, or any other type of assumptions.† (Mixed Method and Mixed Model Research). Therefore, the mixed methods research has a major impact on the quality of research conducted in several topics in different branches of social sciences. It is important to have a definite understanding about the mixed methods research. According to Keith F Punch, â€Å"Mixed methods research is empirical research that involves the collection and analysis o f both qualitative and quantitative data†¦ A single study that combines qualitative and quantitative data is mixed methods, but the term can also refer to several studies that combine both types of data.† (Punch, 2009, p. 288). The value and appropriateness of the mixed methods research in various areas of investigation may be comprehended from the fact that this method incorporates the essential advantages of both the quantitative and qualitative methods, while eliminating the major limitations of these approaches to research. In fact, the mixed methods research is most valuable when form of data collection would not be sufficient to respond to a particular research problem. It is, therefore, essential to undertake a careful analysis of the factors that contribute to the effective performance of a mixed methods research. There have been four important

Analysis of Crisis Management Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Analysis of Crisis Management - Article Example Construction companies are an example of companies faced with high possibilities of developing crisis. This is due to the risky environment within which they operate that may result to an injury of their employees due to accidents, lawsuits that may be as a result of injured persons claiming compensation and also the possibility of laborers getting involved in boycotts due to poor salaries etc. A crisis is an event that occurs as a result of the disagreement between two or more people, or out of the conflict of interest on a subject which may result to disruption of normal activities. In businesses, a crisis can have negative effects on the financial status if they are not well handled. A crisis can occur due to natural disaster, human error or technological failure (Friedman 2003 p 85). Crisis management is the process through which a company dedicates its efforts to ensuring that threats that occur without the anticipation of the management are solved professionally and effectively. Unlike the risk assessment process which concentrates on the prevention of risks from occurring, crises management is concerned with managing threats that have already occurred (Reason 2002 p 51). It, therefore, requires understanding and experience in the field which is important in saving time and resources required in containing the threat. It involves various strategies and set guidelines which are followed when responding to threats. These guidelines include well-defined methods of solving threats that have already happened, the well-established definition of crisis into categories that would determine the response period and the communication between the various personnel involved in executing the response mechanisms This refers to the challenges that face the construction industries. These industries are faced with many risks due to the working environment that pose danger to humans.  Ã‚  

Branding & Communication Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Branding & Communication - Assignment Example There are multiple stakeholders affected by corporate branding such as investors or employees. Impacts created by corporate branding can be determined in terms of evaluation of services or products, corporate culture and identity, brand extensions, employment applications, sponsorship, etc. Brand refers to design, name or term that can differentiate one product from another. Branding concepts are widely used in advertising campaigns, business and marketing activities. This study would comprise of implications of corporate branding. These implications shall be determined in context of both consumers and companies. Corporate branding examples will be included in this study in order to analyze consequences of corporate branding strategy. This approach facilitates economies of scope and initiates rapid new product acceptance. The reason being potential buyers are more familiar with brand name. There are negative implications of corporate branding. It reduces scope for positioning of a pa rticular brand. Different products encompass unique characteristics and this in turn requires distinguished branding activities. Multiple touchpoints can be effectively incorporated by branding. Corporate branding is not confined to any specific name or mark. The touch points emphasized on by branding approach are customer service, training and employee treatment, logo, product or service quality, advertising campaign, stationary and packaging. Brand is usually considered to be an intangible asset of a company. It is most valuable asset of any organization since it enables customers to strongly associate with any corporate brand. Brands are efficiently managed by owners so as to provide value to shareholders. This study will also comprise of differences between product and corporate brand, along with their symbolic and functional attributes. Effective corporate branding strategies not only initiate high sales margins but even guarantee long term customer relationship with

History of Exxon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

History of Exxon - Essay Example The Standard Oil Company in 1899 became the holding company for all corporations listed under the trust, but was order by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1911 to separate from 33 American subsidiaries. In 1972, Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) changed its name to Exxon Corporation with other subsidiaries and affiliates, including Humble also adopting the name Exxon. Exxon had established itself in every phase of oil industry before merging with Mobil Company in 1999. Exxon dealt in oil transport via pipelines and also owns a largest fleet of tankers in relation to its peers. Exxon Mobil Corporation comes second after BP as the world largest integrated oil firm. The company runs oil and gas discovery, production, haulage as well as marketing in over 200 countries around the world (ExxonMobil, n.d). The company is also a major player in manufacturing of petrochemicals (Rienstra, Linsley & Beaumont Chamber of Commerce, 2003). In 2014 quarter 4, Exxon Mobil recorded a higher decrease in total revenue year on year by -22.22 percent, which was faster compared with its competitors’ overall decrease of -16.91 over the same period. Exxon Mobil also recorded a net margin of 7.64 percent, thus achieving higher profitability compared to its competitors, including Royal Dutch Shell, BP, and Chevron (CSIMarket,

Discuss Nurse Practice Act related to abandonment Essay

Discuss Nurse Practice Act related to abandonment - Essay Example Every state in America has its own version of NPA and there may be differences in the application and interpretation of a law for a specific Nursing Board. However, it is important to note every state does not include the patient abandonment in its version of NPA. Patient abandonment is usually safeguarded through Business and Professions Code, disciplinary actions, Common Law practices and administrative legislation prevalent is a state or country. â€Å"On the other hand, not all laws governing the practice of nursing are found in "the Act" or its' regulations. Legal obligations common to various licensed healthcare professionals will apply to nurses.† (Erickson, p. 1, 2006). There is no concrete definition of abandonment because it can take forms and shapes, which are required to be interpreted within an available legal framework. In some cases, it may occur in denial of extra shift duty or an assigned task. However, nursing is a serious obligation either it is a normal shi ft duty or an extra one. â€Å"Once a nurse has accepted a patient assignment, he or she is accountable for providing competent care to the assigned patients.† (Lewis, p. 118, 2001).

Hemmingway and O'Connor Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Hemmingway and O'Connor - Research Paper Example Her pleas not to go Florida are ignored by both her son, Bailey and the daughter in-law. Her grandson, John, asks her to stay at home whereas the granddaughter, June asserts that she would not stay behind for a million bucks. This brings out the disrespect that the children have towards their elders. Furthermore, both Bailey and his wife are not respectful towards Bailey’s mother. Bailey, for instance, does not pay attention to what his mother was telling him (O’Connor par 2). In fact, if he had been keen and attentive and had obeyed his mother pleas, he would have saved his family from the ordeal they face later towards the end of the story. Bailey as the head of the family had a responsibility to his family, to protect it and not to lead it towards harm way (Tonic par 4). The daughter-in law appears to be tongue-tied, as she does not say much throughout the story (Tonic par 3). She also had a responsibility to her family to ensure it was safe. The news of Misfits rele ase was good reason enough for her to agree with her mother-in law but instead she chose to ignore her (O’Connor par 2). As the story develops with the family now on the road, there is a depiction of a normal family with its hassles. For instance, Bailey and his wife do not seem to be in such good terms and each one of them seems lost in their own world (Tonic par 6). They do not release how noisy and out of hand their two kids get while playing games in the car. The grandmother intervenes by telling them a story to calm them down. When they stop for a barbecue, only the grandmother seems to engage in conversations with the shop owner (O’Connor par 14). Once they get back on the road, the grandmother suggests that they go visit an old plantation. Bailey refuses to give in to his mother’s suggestion; however, the children become adamant and insist that they visit the old plantation (O’Connor par 13). It is during this moment that the daughter in-law assert s that they should all stay in the car once they get there (O’Connor par 15). However, the family does not get to see the house since they get into an accident that is caused by the grandmother once she realized that the old plantation was in Tennessee and Toombsboro. It is after the accident that the family meets its demise and they are killed by Misfit (O’Connor par 25). In the short story ‘Hills like Elephants’, Hemmingway uses familial roles to set the story outline. In this story, Hemmingway uses a dialogue of a couple to narrate his story. In the conversation, the couple is having an argument on getting rid of the unborn child (Johnston par 3). The dialogue between the man and the girl as well as the body language infers the background as well as attitudes of both the girl and the man pertaining to situation in sight, and their approaches towards each other. From the inception of the narrative, the contentious character of the couple’s dialogu e designates unease and resentment. The conversation is a refinement of the differences amid stereotypical female and male relationship roles. For example, the girl draws elicits the analogy with ‘white elephants’, whereas the hyper-rational male immediately refutes it, disbanding the poetry bit into objective realism with ‘ I’ve never seen one(Hemmingway par ).’ The girl also asks his approval to order a beer. All through the story, she is distant; the man is rational. While the man tries to frame