Split at the Root by Adrienne Rich Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Split at the Root by Adrienne Rich - Essay Example The author also traces a large amount of influence on her identity stemming from the shadows of her father. These influences not only affected her social persona but also her literary persona as well. Rich claims that her mother was gentile in comparison to her father and that she has her â€Å"Jewishness from him and not from my gentile mother†. The author sees the influence of her father as pervasive and even overwhelming at times in terms of his influence on her identity. Given the backdrop of the Second World War and the years leading up to it, the author is seen beginning to reflect on life as a growing adult. Her father can be seen as a person caught in limbo. On the one hand he is Jewish but he rejects his Jewish roots in order to claim greater breathing space in life. The author claims that her father does not complain of any anti Semitic attitudes diverted towards him. Moreover he rejects institutionalized religion and this can be seen when he asks Rich to read from T homas Paine’s The Age of Reason after she comes back from church. He explains that this would provide her with â€Å"a balanced view of these things, a choice†. ... â€Å"†pushy† Jews of New York, the â€Å"loud, hysterical† refugees from Eastern Europe, the â€Å"overdressed† Jews of the urban South† all contributed to the author’s image of distancing herself from a Jewish identity. Her visit to the immigrant old woman proves that the author just wanted to keep her distance from being Jewish. When asked by the old woman if the author was Jewish, the author immediately replied in negative and this reaction can be seen as more or less of an impulse than a calculated move. The influence of Rich’s father can be seen as acting prominently in this event. His disassociation from his Jewish identity can be seen as an overwhelming influence on the author’s life and identity. However the influence of the author’s mother can be seen as very prominent too. The author’s mother can be seen as exerting Christian values and identity onto the author. For example when the author is filling out h er forms for admission to college her mother stresses that she should list her Christian sect rather than answering as none to the question of religion. Furthermore the author relates that her mother used to take her to church which can also be seen as a method to indoctrinate Christian values in children. In her later life, the author visits a synagogue for the first time in Baltimore which signifies that her Jewish identity had been severed at the expense of her Christian identity. Moreover the author was influenced by her mother to display a very â€Å"gentile† social behavior. Rich was told to dress as simply as possible and to be as well spoken as possible by her mother to display the â€Å"good breeding† instilled in her. She also relates that there was much talk of â€Å"ancestry† and â€Å"background† in the â€Å"southern talk of the family†

A Look at Gender Difference in Social Interaction

A Look at Gender Difference in Social Interaction Ethnography: A Look at Gender Difference in Social Interaction An ethnographic approach was chosen for this study because it has the potential to provide a descriptive, interpretive, evaluative and authentic vision of society (Hammersley Atkinson, 1995). The observation was done by myself. I went to the Marketplace Mall in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on March 4th. I stayed from one o’clock to three o’clock in the afternoon. I sat on a bench close to the food court, and observed people who were age 18 and up. I observed the ways in which males and females were different when it came to social interaction. Literature Review The article â€Å"Gender and relationships: Influences on agentic and communal behaviors† talked about agency and communion. According to the article, agency is the striving for mastery or power, and communion is the striving for intimacy and connectedness (Suh, 2004). According to measures of masculine and feminine sex roles, men make decisions easily, don’t give up easily, and are competitive, outspoken, and outgoing. Females like kids, and are warm, emotional, considerate, tactful, gentle, and helpful. Gender differences appear primarily in group or social contexts. Stereotypic beliefs are that women are communal and men are agentic (Suh, 2004). Women do domestic work more than men, have fewer hours in paid employment, and are said to have occupations of lower status. Men are more agentic with male friends, than women are with female friends. Women are more communal with female friends, than men are with male friends (Suh, 2004). This relates to my observation in the way my hypothesis was formed. I used stereotypes, and labels that men and women already have, as a knowledge base for what I might observe. The article, â€Å"Putting Gender into Context: An Interactive Model of Gender-Related Behavior,† stated that the enactment of gender takes place within social interaction (Deaux, 1987). This enactment takes place due to self-verification and self-presentation. They are naturally interwoven together. Because people monitor behavior internally and externally, they are concerned with self-presentation and self-verification simultaneously (Deaux, 1987). When I was doing my observation, I did notice people monitoring their behavior, or their child’s behavior. I focused more on who each person was interacting with, instead of how they were interacting. In Deborah Tannen’s article, â€Å"You Just Don’t Understand: Women and Men in Conversation,† she made a good point about the history of women and talking. In history, women were punished for talking too much. In Colonial America, they were held underwater, or even gagged. Women were believed to talk too much; however, studies find that men talk more in meetings, groups, and classrooms (Tannen, 1991). Men feel good with public speaking, while women feel good with speaking in private. Women’s language of conversation is a way to establish connections, negotiating, and maintain relationships. Men talk as a means to preserve independence, negotiate and maintain status. â€Å"Home is where there is the silent man and talkative woman† (Tannen, 1991). That’s the distinction between public and private speaking. My observation contradicted this article. More women were interacting and communicating than men. However, I was interested in the historica l aspect of the stereotypes we have today, and this gave a little hint as to what kinds of things happened to women, who spoke out of turn back in the colonial time period. An interesting topic that arose from my observation was the use of mobile phones. In â€Å"Community and social interaction in the wireless city: Wi-Fi use in public and semi-public spaces,† Hampton talked about how a few studies have addressed how wireless internet use in public spaces influences social life. Recent years have seen growth in availability of wireless internet access in public places (Hampton, 2008). Mobile phones make community instantly accessible, and social ties are reachable anywhere at any time. Hampton made the point that mobile phones create a private sphere of interaction in public spaces. When people engage with mobile phones, they create a private cocoon that reduces the likelihood of public encounters (Hampton, 2008). To get a picture of what this means, while I was observing, a middle aged male was sitting at a table alone, but he was talking on his phone to someone. One could tell he was absorbed in the conversation because he did not take notice of any one that walked by him, and he stayed sitting there for about 45 minutes after I had sat down and started my observation. Hypothesis The hypothesis I formed before the observation at the mall was, â€Å"Middle aged females will be more social with the same gender, than older or young females. Young males will be more social with the opposite gender, than middle aged or older males.† I created this hypothesis on the basis of past experiences when shopping with my mother, and my friends. There always seemed to be more females of middle age than any other age group. At the mall, there would always seem to be many more young males than any age group. I also used basic stereotypes that everyone hears growing up. Such stereotypes include, â€Å"women are supposed to be submissive and do as they are told,† and, â€Å"men are always in charge.† I do not personally believe in these; however, I did use them as a basis for my hypothesis. Methodology Over spring break I went home to Davie County, North Carolina. It is a rural town with a small shopping mall. Not many people actually go to the mall, because Walmart is just down the street. I chose to go to the Market Place Mall, instead of Walmart, and sit at the food court. I got there at one in the afternoon, on Tuesday, March 4th. Not a lot of people were there. I sat down on a bench beside the food court, and I took notes on my phone, so I would not draw attention to myself. I figured I would have attention if I had a notebook in front of me. I watched everyone that walked by me, because no one was sitting in the food court. When the people would walk by, I would record their age range, gender, and whether they were alone or with someone, and what gender those someone’s were. I would also record if they were interacting together. I stayed for two hours just sitting there on the bench, collecting data. When I finished at the shopping mall, I went home and wrote down ever ything I had on my notes in my phone. Then i drew up a spreadsheet in excel, and put in all of the information I collected. It helped me organize, and get precise calculations. Field Notes Summary In total, I observed 152 people over the two hour time period. There were 50 males and 102 females. 68 were middle aged adults. Out if the 68, 24 were men. 15 of the men were alone, 4 were with the same gender and 5 were with females. Also, out of the 68 middle aged adults, 44 were women. 13 of them were alone, 26 were with the same gender, and 5 were with males. Out of the 152 people I observed, 40 were older adults. 14 were men. 9 of them were alone, 2 were with the same gender, and 3 were with females. 26 out of the 40 were women. 16 of the older women were alone, 6 were with the same gender, and 4 were with males. Out of the 152 people, 42 were young adults. 13 were men. 5 of them were alone, 3 were with the same gender, and 5 were with females. There were 29 young women. 7 of them were alone, 16 were with the same gender, and 6 were with males. I also observed two teenagers there. They were the only teenagers I noticed being there. A little less than half of the people I observed were alone. To be exact, 65, out of the 152 people, were alone. Phone use was not a wide spread action I saw people doing, if they were alone. I only saw 8, out of the 65 people, on their phones. When it comes to social interaction, over half of the people observed were partaking in some sort of communication with each other. 87, out of the 152 people, were interacting. I saw 50 females talking with each other, and I saw 9 males talking with each other. There were 28 people partaking in interaction with the opposite gender. That includes two sets, of a male and female, holding hands. Conclusion on Hypothesis Restating my hypothesis, middle aged females will be more social with the same gender than older females, and young males will be social with the opposite gender than middle aged or older males. My hypothesis was completely right. The first part of my hypothesis was that middle aged females were more social with the same gender then older females were. The data I collected about the 152 people I observed showed that 59% of middle aged females were social with the same gender, while only 23% of older females were social with the same gender. The second part of my hypothesis was that young males were more social with the opposite gender than any other age group of males. The data I collected for the 152 people I observed showed that 38% of young males were social with the opposite gender, while only 20% of middle aged males were social with the opposite gender, and 21% of older males were social with the opposite gender. What I found most interesting was the difference between men and women’s social interaction, in general. Judith Hall published an observational study on nonverbal gender differences and discussed the cultural reasons as to those differences. In her study, she noted women as smiling and laughing more, as well as having a better understanding of others’ nonverbal cues. She believed that women were encouraged to be more emotionally expressive in their language, thus better developed in nonverbal communication. Men, on the other hand, were taught to be less expressive, to suppress their emotions, and thus be less nonverbally active in communication and more sporadic in their use of nonverbal cues. This builds on what I found in my observation. There were more women that I observed, but in total, there were more men who were alone. Actually, over half the men I observed, 29 out of 50, were alone, while 36 of the 102 females, I observed, were alone. That’s only 35 % co mpared to the 56% of men. What I Learned What I learned focused on men and women. With women, I learned that they interact more with females, than males, at the mall. I also learned that more middle age women go to the Market Place Mall than any other age group, according to my observation. With men, I learned that they interact more with females, then males, at the mall. I also learned that most men come alone to the mall, according to my observation. References Deaux, K., Major, B. (January 01, 1987). Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender-related behavior. Psychological Review, 94, 3, 369-389 Hammersley, M. Atkinson, P. (1995). Ethnography: principles in practice. 2nd Ed. London: Routledge. Hampton, K., Gupta, N. (November, 13, 2008). Community and social interaction in the wireless city: Wi-Fi use in public and semi-public spaces. New Media Society, 10, 6, 831-850 Igarashi, T., Takai, J., Yoshida, T. (January 01, 2005). Gender differences in social network development via mobile phone text messages: A longitudinal study. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22, 5, 691-713. Knapp, M., Hall, J., Horgan, T. (2013). Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction (8 ed.). Cengage Learning. Suh, E. J., Moskowitz, D. S., Fournier, M. A., Zuroff, D. C. (2004). Gender and relationships: Influences on agentic and communal behaviors. Personal Relationships, 11(1), 41-60 Tannen, D. (1991). You just dont understand: Women and men in conversation (p. 113). London: Virago.

Free College Essays - The Virtue of Truth in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter :: Scarlet Letter essays

The Scarlet Letter - The Virtue of Truth The virtue of truth and the evil of secret sin are clearly illustrated in the novel, The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The three main characters in this novel display their own honesty and sins. Hester Prynne exhibits the essence of truth and pride when she bravely faces the humiliation of the scaffold. In chapter 17, when Hester apologizes to Dimmesdale about concealing Chillingworth’s identity, she says, â€Å"In all things else, I have striven to be true! Truth was the one virtue which I might have held, and did hold fast, through all extremity†¦A lie is never good, even though death threaten on the other side (pg. 202)!† It is Hester’s pride, which sustains her from the beginning of the novel to the end, when she dies, still sporting the scarlet A on her bosom. Hester’s sin is the sin which gives the book its title and around which the action of the book resolves. Adultery, which was prohibited by the Seventh Amendment, was usually punished by death. A woman in the crowd stated, â€Å"At the very least, they should have put the brand of a hot iron on Hester Prynne’s forhead†¦She may cover it (the scarlet letter) with a brooch, or such like heathenish adornment, and so walk the streets as brave as ever (pg. 53)!† Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale shows truth by his occupation. People living in Boston, Massachusetts looked up to and respected Dimmesdale because he was a minister. One of his sins was his inability to publicly acknowledge that he committed adultery with Hester and that he is the father of Pearl, Hester’s daughter. However, adultery was not his biggest sin. His biggest sin is hypocrisy. In chapter ten, he speaks of the concealment of his sins, he says, â€Å"It may be that they are kept silent by the very constistution of their nature. Or-can we not suppose it-guilty as they may be, retaining, nevertheless, a zeal for God’s glory and man’s welfare†¦no evil of the past be redeemed by better service (pg. 137).† While trying to conceal his sins, they take over his conscience and literally confess themselves during his acts of madness. The third main character, Roger Chillingworth, is a pretty innocent man in the beginning of this book. He comes to America to be reunited with his wife, Hester, but soon comes to find out that she has committed adultery.

Capital Budgeting Decision Process

Capital Budgeting Decision Process 1. Introduction The maximization of shareholder wealth can be achieved through dividend policy and increasing share price of the mark value. In order to derive more profits, our company shall invest potential investments which always cover a number of years. Those investments involve substantial initial outlay at the outset and the process. The management is responsible to participate in the process of planning, analyzing, evaluating, selecting and making decisions to allocate the limited resource to those investments. This is called capital budgeting decision process.Budgeting acts as an important managerial tool in practice. It is budget for the major capital investment such as purchase of land and building, plant and machine, investing new product or market. In modern competing environment, the company shall go ahead to make those investments in order to survive and profitability. A good evidence is Apple which globally introduced iPhone and acte d as a leading market position. Denzil & Antony (2007) stated that â€Å"Those decisions shall take account of the amount, timing and associated risk of expected company cash flow†.Therefore, Capital budgeting decision process is within the prospective of financial management. 2. The Aims of Financial Management Finance management generally embraces financial decision, investment decision and dividend decision. Its aims can be varied from different company, the main aims are expanding a new market, budgeting control, maximizing profit and maximizing shareholder wealth. Keown, et all stated that â€Å"The fundamental goal of a business is o create value for the company’s owners (this is, its shareholders)†.However, the management may focus on profit maximization that will benefit him because he is the agent on behalf of the shareholder resulting in devoicing ownership and management from the company. It leads to conflict with the shareholder’s interest and may detriment the shareholder’s wealth. In order to balance those conflicts, the management shall efficiently allocate limited resource and must consider its investment strategies with its financing policies at the best interest of the shareholder. The present value of future cash flows is a better measure of the wealth of shareholder value.Cash inflows are derived from financing activities such as debt and/or equity. If those funds are used for investment decision, it implies that there will be less contribution to shareholders as a mean of dividends. Efficient and effective allocations of the funds are principle responsibility of the management. This can be achieved through making an optimal capital budgeting decision process so as to create value for shareholders. 3. Academic literature on models of the investment process The company may face many potential investments in which it has to make choices to invest.It is necessary to evaluate potential investments in order to make better decisions. Every new investment is subject to risk and uncertainty. It always takes a long period of time to report future benefit. It will severely affect the cash flow of the company. The company therefore must manage the cash flow efficiently and effectively. Some techniques are introduced to decide whether to invest potential investment. John Graham & Harvey (2000) conducted a survey of 392 CFOs found that CFOs always use Net Present Value (NPV) and Internal Rate of Return (IRR), percentage respectively is 74. and 75. 7; Payback period (PB) is also popular 56. 7 percent while Profitability Index (PI) seldom use only 11. 9 percent . Alkaraan & Northcott (2006) also obtained a similar result from survey that UK manufacturing companies applied appraisal techniques. Accounting rate of return (ARR) and PB are commonly used techniques. It is important to be aware of their merits and drawbacks. ARR is an accounting ratio which is also known as Return on investment. It is ac cepted for potential investment (usually less than one year assessment) if ARR is more than or equal to hurdle rate.It is easy to understand and calculate, but it ignores cash. PB measures the number of years required so that the estimated returns can cover the initial outlay. It is also easy and simple to use, but it takes no account of cash flow after payback period. Both methods take no consideration of time value of money. To overcome those problems resulted from ARR and PB so as to make optimal decisions, the project appraisal process needs to consider the time value of money. Expected future cash flow of potential investments shall be discounted and added together to derive a lump sum of the present value sing a given discount rate. Three types of discounted cash flow are NPV, IRR and PI. NPV is the difference between sum of present value and initial outlay for the proposed investment. A positive NPV indicates that the proposed investment is accepted and vice versa. NPV takes account of the time value of money and all relevant cash flows over the life of the project. However, it is difficult to understand and rely on to provide an available appropriate discount rate. IRR is the discount rate at which NPV is zero. If IRR is greater than the cost of capital, then the potential investment is recommendable.IRR is easy to understand and it excludes the drawbacks of ARR and PB that both ignore the time value of money. However, IRR often gives an unrealistic rate of return unless the calculated IRR is a reasonable rate for reinvestment of future cash flows. PI is the sum of the NPV and the original investment divided by the initial outlay. PI is useful under capital rationing since it demonstrates that the best return can be achieved from the available funds. NPV and IRR are commonly used to measure potential investment today.Michael (2004) suggested that â€Å"Theory would suggest that the DCF methods are superior to the traditional techniques and that NPV is superior to IRR†. Therefore, potential investments can be best chosen to add value to the company. 4. A best practice design for the decision process Dayanada, Don. (2002) showed that â€Å"capital budgeting is a multi-faceted activity†. A best design for the decision process shall include seven stages. Arnold, G. (2008) specified that â€Å"There is a great deal more to successful investment programme than simply project appraisal†.Firstly, the company must has clear objectives and identify profitable investments project to sustain long term development of the company. Baker, H. Kent, et al. (2011) also suggested that the first stage is identification. The company has a motivation to achieve those objectives. The management translates them to specific directions and policies by using strategic planning after the company establishes objectives. Secondly, the company can develop and classify potential investments according to strategic planning. Thirdly, there ar e many potential investments in any company.It needs to be screened at this stage because potential investments are without being examined in depth in the previous stages. It can eliminate unsound and less profitable investments before the next step to evaluate the potential investments. Fourthly, it is the project appraisal stage that evaluates whether those potential investments contribute additional value to the company or not. Fifthly, it requires to present various reports and sets up a level of authorization for proposed projects. Sixthly, it conducts on the implementing stage to control capital expenditure, when to implement and who to be responsible.Finally, it is the monitoring and evaluating stage that is called the post-completion audit. It compares between the actual cash flows and other forecasted cost and benefit to improve the proposed investment or inducement for further investment. 5. Key stage of the decision process The key stage is project appraisal at the fourth stage from the above decision process. Dayanada, Don. (2002) pointed out that â€Å"project analysis is critically important for the firm†. Potential investments will be considered the initial outlay and expected future cash flow associated with risk and uncertainty.At this stage, it involves the application of many techniques, such as forecast, risk analysis, time value of money, discount rate and inflation, etc. Facing many problems of potential investments, the management should be familiar with those techniques. What is the relevant cash flow for the potential investment? Karanovic, et al (2010) pointed out that â€Å"In capital budgeting process one of most important things is discount rate determination†. It will affect the decision-making using different discount rate. Shall the company choose the highest NPV or the highest IRR when the mutually exclusive potential investments?James & John (2008) stated that â€Å"different investment projects often have diffe rent degrees of risk†. If the proposed investment is more risky, the higher return is required. However, is higher return reasonable? If undertaking it, what will happen? Clive Emmanuel, et al (2010) stated that â€Å"Once taken, capital investments are largely irreversible and significant financial sums are at risk†. Hence, it may require using different appraisal techniques for the same investment, for example, using PB and/or PI technique to assist the analysis of NPV.When making decision to select potential investment, the management shall consider how to allocate the available funds to those investments efficiently at the same time. Therefore, the fund is a key issue to determine how many potential investments are undertaken. The management must concern about the liquidity of the company immediately after accepting potential investments. Improper acceptance or rejection of any proposed investment may significantly affect the long-term success of the company. 6. Con clusionThe capital budgeting decision process is one of the investment decisions which form the fundamental part of financial management. Inappropriate investment decisions can endanger the survival of the company and cause difficulties in obtaining additional financing from stakeholders. To make optimal capital budgeting decision process, investment proposals shall be analyzed under risk, uncertainty and inflation. After making decisions, the company shall separately consider how the funds generate in the best way. A sound capital budgeting decision process is beneficial to achieve the aims of financial management.The efficiency of financial management is a good-measurement to achieve the objective of the company. 7. Recommendations Since our company has a clear objective to maximize the shareholder wealth, it can be achieved through making potential investments to invest. Identifying potential investments is crucial to the prospect of the company. It requires expertise and managem ent to execute the capital budgeting decision process. An independent capital budgeting committee shall be assigned to monitor the capital budgeting decision process.Since capital budgeting decision process is more dynamic, after implementing it, Cotter, et al (2003) suggested that â€Å"real options should be included in a capital budgeting analysis†. A good capital development system and management information system will be well on the way to achieve the objective of financial management successfully. Reference List Alkaraan, F. , & Northcott, D. (2006). Strategic capital investment decision-making: A role for emergent analysis tools? : A study of practice in large UK manufacturing companies. The British Accounting Review, 38(2), 149-173.Available through: ABI/INFORM Complete database [Accessed 31 March 2012]. Arnold, G. (2008). Corporate Financial Management. 4th edition. FT/Prentice Hall. Baker, H. Kent, et al. (2011). Capital budgeting valuation : financial analysis for today's investment projects. Hoboken, N. J. : John Wiley & Sons. Clive Emmanuel, Elaine Harris, Samuel Komakech. (2010). Towards a better understanding of capital investment decisions. Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. 6 Iss: 4 pp. 477 – 504. Available through: EMERALD database [Accessed 31 March 2012]. Cotter, J. F. , Marcum, B. & Martin, D. R. (2003). A cure for outdated capital budgeting techniques. The Journal of Corporate Accounting & Finance, 14(3), 71-80. Available through: ABI/INFORM Complete database [Accessed 25 March 2012]. Denzil Watson and Antony Head. (2007). Corporate Finance Principles & Practice. 4th edition. FT/Prentice Hall. Don Dayanada, et al. (2002), Capital budgeting : financial appraisal of investment projects. Cambridge University Press. Graham, John Robert, & Harvey, C. R. (2000). The theory and practice of corporate finance: Evidence from the field. Rochester, Rochester: doi:10. 139/ssrn. 220251. Available through: ABI/INFORM Comp lete database [Accessed 20 March 2012] James C. Van Horne & John M. Wachowicz, Jr. (2008). Fundamentals of Financial Management. 13th edition. FT/Prentice Hall. Karanovic, G. , Baresa, S. , & Bogdan, S. (2010). Techniques for managing projects risk in capital budgeting process. UTMS Journal of Economics, 1(2), 55-66. Available through: ABI/INFORM Complete database [Accessed 22 March 2012] Keown, John D. , Martin, J. , William Petty. (2011). Foundations of Finance : the logic and practice of financial management. 7th edition. Prentice Hall.

Mexican Mafia

The gang I decided to do research on was the Mexican Mafia. The gang originated in the California Department of Corrections in the late 1950’s, and is considered to be one of the oldest and most powerful gangs in the entire United States. Gang members can often be identified by having the number thirteen tattooed on their bodies somewhere or by having something resembling the number. The reason behind using the number thirteen is because it marks the 13th letter of the alphabet, the letter M. The gang is well known for the worst crimes that can be committed while in Prison. Those crimes include extortion, drug trafficking, and murder.The largest population of this gang seems to reside in California and Texas while the gang is responsible for 10% of San Antonio’s homicide rate. The Mexican Mafia’s Constitution was described in a 2005 trial. The gang’s sole purpose is to make money by any means through criminal activity. The Constitution basically stated tha t the Mexican Mafia is a criminal organization that engages in criminal activity for the benefit of the Mexikanemi. This includes murder, gambling, drug dealing, and pretty much anything imaginable. This gang is very brutal but yet simple when it comes to punishment for gang members, which is almost always death.The members of the Mexican Mafia are often called upon to test their loyalty to the gang. Usually the test will be one of two options of either theft or murder. The consequence for failing to uphold their loyalty by completing this task or any task for the mafia also usually results in death. According the Mexican Mafia’s Constitution members may be punished or killed if they commit any of four simple infractions. These infractions include becoming an informant, showing any signs of homosexuality, acts of cowardice, or showing disrespect towards any of the gang’s members.

The Right to Online Music Sharing essays

The Right to Online Music Sharing essays Its 10 PM at night, and youre downloading a hit song from one of your new favorite bands. If certain companies and industry heads get there way, this will soon be impossible. As the Internet has grown in the past five years into a source for vast amounts of information and knowledge, the people have changed it, molded it for their own wants and needs. It is because of this that it is possible to get music for free from programs such as Kazaa, Imesh, or the most popular and controversial one, Napster. The principle leader of this, the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) is extremely against this, and for no reason, for it is impossible to stop all forms of it. Its obviously not hurting everyone, especially seeing music stars are already making millions of dollars. Therefore, they should stop pursuing this never-ending battle, for they will never prevail. First of all, there are so many different search engines to use to find music. Its almost everyday that a new program is uploaded to the Internet and downloaded by thousands, even millions of users. Every time a program or site is shutdown for distributing such software, another one is created and brought to users that have access all over the world. The RIAA isnt having any success shutting others down, for they spend too much money and time on only one of them, Napster (Bootleggers). Janis Ian said, The Internet, and downloading, are here to stay... Anyone who thinks otherwise should prepare themselves to end up on the slagheap of history. (Ian) I believe that because of such trouble these Recording Companies are going through, they are making people think of how greedy the Recording Industry is. Consumers will possibly think, why should I continue to assist them by buying CDs? Some artists believe that if they choose to make songs available to the public, that they will be m ore like...

Gucci Group Essays

Gucci Group Essays Gucci Group Essay Gucci Group Essay Executive Summary Gucci Group is a luxury goods retailer focusing on improving their market share while producing high quality fashionable items. Initially, Gucci’s poor business strategy and internal family conflict directly resulted in decreased sales and net income. When Investcorp took control of the company, Gucci regained their success through quality management and acquisitions. Gucci’s product line now includes a large range of products. We would like to continue Gucci’s success and believe that the next major business decision for Gucci is how to manage the new acquisitions. We recommend that Gucci cease further acquisitions of companies to its portfolio and should not challenge the status quo by making big management changes at the group of companies that it has acquired. This will help sustain growth in different segments and maintain an existing customer base. Introduction Gucci Group’s iconic red and green stripe, as well as their G logo, has been associated with luxury, elegance and glamour since 1923. Once a family owned leather goods store, Gucci has expanded worldwide and increased its product mix to include other luxury goods such as purses and shoes. Gucci’s business operations lacked experienced leadership since family members controlled business decisions. The market for luxury goods had become fiercely competitive and Gucci’s lack of business strategy had caused them to lose market share to their close competitors, Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, Hermes and Prada. Gucci financial status had fallen while their competitors had increased their sales and operating margins (Exhibit 4). In 1993, Investcorp bought the remaining shares of the Gucci family and placed the necessary management personnel to help turn around Gucci’s struggling business. : Through a series of acquisitions and business line decisions, Domenico De Sole, President, and Tom Ford, Creative Director, help re-invent Gucci’s brand line and established a firm financial foothold for the company. Gucci acquired three major companies: Yves Saint Laurent Couture, YSL Beaute, and Sergio Rossi to create four divisions of Gucci Group while also generating $3 billions in cash. In the early 1990’s, Gucci’s core customer was a matured, conservative, wealthy woman but the company decided to change their business line to capture the market on the younger, more ashion conscious individual. Identification and Justification of Key Strategic Issue Gucci, as previously mentioned, has evolved from a family business into a global corporation. Along this evolution, Gucci has encountered many challenges. One of the key challenges faced by Gucci is preventing a buyout from one of it’s main competitors, Moet Hennessy-Louis Vuitton, Hermes. In order to prev ent being acquired, Gucci has taken the path to acquiring other companies, and this is the key strategic issue that is challenging them moving forward. Do they continue this path of acquisitions with the capital they have on hand or not. Another key strategic issue that had adversely affected Gucci in the past was streamlining their supply chain and distribution operations. This is related to their key strategic strategy of acquisition. As they acquire companies, they will face the same challenges they have had in the past. Identification and Evaluation of Alternatives Below are the strategic recommendations regarding the future position of the Gucci Group and its new acquisitions. All of these alternatives are mutually exclusive business strategies, and we have evaluated each alternative’s pros and cons should Gucci choose to implement it. Alternative 1: Keep separate management structure and freeze new acquisitions. As of 2000, each of Gucci Group’s new divisions – Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent Couture, YSL Beaute, and Sergio Rossi – had its own management structure. A president or CEO of each of the divisions reported to Domenico De Sole. Our strategic recommendation is to continue managing the newly acquired brands independently while holding off on further acquisitions for now. Pros: Having separate management that ultimately reports to De Sole allows the new divisions to maintain the integrity of each brand and avoid brand dilution, while keeping the overall control of the company in the hands of one man who has proven to be a positive influence on the company. We can also leverage the strength and popularity of the Gucci brand to gain distribution for the smaller names, much like how LVMH leveraged Louis Vuitton’s popularity. By holding off of new acquisitions, Gucci can learn to handle the four brands they currently have before adding extra brands. Cons: Four brands with their own management structure may prove to be difficult for De Sole to wrangle, as the managers could bring their own management styles that may not mesh well with De Sole’s style. With the current hold on acquisitions, Gucci may miss out on opportunities to acquire strong brands. Alternative 2: Increase acquisitions in a number of diverse companies. Most luxury brands have been family-owned or -controlled and, consequently, were single-brand firms for the most part. However, mergers and acquisitions have been growing in the industry, with LVMH leading the way. Our strategic recommendation is to follow LVMH’s lead and acquire a multitude of diverse companies to build the Gucci portfolio. Pros: Family ownership of the Gucci Group had dissolved with the drama and tragedy that plagued the Gucci family, so moving away from the ‘family-owned, single-brand’ system seems like it would strengthen and stabilize the company. Depending on the acquisitions the company makes, Gucci Group could potentially become a lifestyle brand for luxury customers to go to for a diverse set of needs. Cons: If the Gucci name becomes associated with lower quality companies through poorly chosen acquisitions, the Gucci brand could be in jeopardy. Becoming a multi-brand company may take away the focus and attention that each brand, including Gucci, needs to continue being successful. Moreover, acquiring multiple companies now before Gucci management is comfortable with the acquisitions it has already made may be too much too fast for the company. Alte rnative 3: Extend Gucci brand through diffusion lines. Extending the brand through diffusion is another strategic recommendation that would help Gucci increase sales. Pros: With Gucci diffusion lines, the company could target different market segments while maintaining their core business. Extension lines have been successful for competitors such as Emporio Armani and their diffusion line of Armani Exchange. Gucci would be able to attract a new clientele while increasing their customer base. Cons: Diffusion lines may weaken the Gucci brand strength overall due to different quality levels. A new line would also incur large initial capital investment and advertising.

Social Media Branding Guidelines How to Make Your Brand Memorable

Social Media Branding Guidelines How to Make Your Brand Memorable Have you ever noticed that sometimes brands will look and sound different on social media than they do on their blog or website? Social media can sometimes be an afterthought that is tacked on to a company’s strategy long after their original brand guidelines have been built. Instead, brands should have forward-thinking social media guidelines that help create a cohesive voice and experience across all of their social channels. In this post, you’re going to: Learn how to build out actionable social media branding guidelines.  With our downloadable social media branding kit, you’ll be able to put the advice from this blog straight into use by creating actionable guidelines that will show you step-by-step how to create a more memorable social media presence. Learn to cohesively combine your social media presence with your overarching brand guidelines.  You may already have your brand guidelines established, but how well do they really transfer over to your social media profiles?Often times, social media becomes an afterthought tacked on to a marketing strategy at the last minute. You’ll learn how to move those overarching guidelines seamlessly onto your social media profiles so that everything from your website to your Twitter profile creates the same experience for your customers. See examples of how brands are creating familiar experiences across their entire online presence.  Learn from the best and make it yours. We’ll show you examples of how brands are making the most of their social media profiles by creating great, cohesive profiles. How to Build Social Media Branding Guidelines That Will Make Your Brand MemorableDownload Your Social Media  Brand Style Guide  + Voice And Tone Templates Before you continue reading this post, download our social media branding kit. This kit has two different pieces that will allow you to flesh out your social media branding guidelines: Social Media Image Style Guide to keep your visual content on-point and on-brand every time you post. Voice and Tone Brainstorming Document to ensure every post captures the voice of your brand. Pretty slick, huh? Getting Started: Move Your Brand Voice And Tone Over To Your Social Media Channels Aren’t voice and tone the same thing? Not exactly. Your social media voice refers to what you sound like on your social media sites. Are you funny or sarcastic? Witty or professional? Your tone, on the other hand, refers to how you say things. For example, if I were to say I need an email sent, it doesn’t mean much; however, if I were to yell that same phrase, it would trigger a much different response because my tone changed. Recommended Reading: The Best Social Media Copywriting Guide to Be A Social Work Ninja Everything Good Comes In Threes, Right? For the first part of this brainstorming process, I want you to think about three adjectives that could describe your business. Think about a popular brand like Under Armour. What three words would you use to describe that brand? Athletic, powerful, and dynamic are what I think of. For example, take a look at one of their recent Instagram posts. This campaign was directed at their audience reminding them that women can be so much more than a pretty face. The photo is incredibly dynamic, displaying the power of the woman in the photograph. Pretty capable of conquering this. #ImPretty Create your own statement like this. Hit link in bio. A post shared by Under Armour (@underarmour) on Mar 15, 2017 at 7:38am PDT In case you are really stumped, here is a list of descriptive adjectives to help you get started: In your brainstorming document that you downloaded earlier is a spot where you can record all of those adjectives in one place. Once you pick a set of three, hold on to them, you’ll need them later. Develop Your Voice The second part of your brainstorming session is to think about how your brand sounds across the different points your customer accesses your company. How do you sound on your website? How about your blog? If you have a set of brand guidelines that your company operates by, I would pull those out. More often than not, a company will define their voice and tone within their branding guide. In that section, a general definition should appear of what the brand should sound like as a whole. If you don’t have brand guidelines developed, look at your website and blog. What do you sound like? Are you funny? Witty? Serious? Seeing how you already talk with your audience can help you develop your voice for social media. For example, MailChimp has published their content style guidelines online, which contains a short paragraph describing what the voice of MailChimp  should sound like. MailChimp continues that development and begins to describe how that voice is going to come across online.  They are: Fun but not silly Confident but not cocky Helpful but not overbearing These defining characteristics help MailChimp figure out exactly what their voice is and what it isn’t. Now you’re going to do the same thing on your brainstorming worksheet. Write down ten â€Å"We are this but not that† statements that will help your company achieve your defined voice. Your voice is fun but not what? You are not rude but instead, you are ... what? Fill in that worksheet with all the do’s and don’t you think your company voice will need. Develop Your Tone The next step in your social media branding process is to create your social media tone. How do you want to come across to your followers? Sarcastic like Wendy’s? Introducing Wendy’s new Strawberry Mango Salad. Because you probably don’t have a private garden with all kinds of fresh ingredients. pic.twitter.com/ZaH3pamfkO - Wendy's (@Wendys) June 6, 2017 Feel-good like Disney? Or professional like Microsoft? Follow along with our #MicrosoftEvent in Shanghai starting at 11AM GMT Tuesday, May 23 by clicking the link in our bio. A post shared by Microsoft (@microsoft) on May 22, 2017 at 2:16pm PDT There are unlimited options, which means that you’ll have a more cohesive presence and experience if the voice on all your channels are on the same page. The best thing to think about when you’re creating your tone is â€Å"how do you want your audience to read your social media messages†? Let’s continue looking at MailChimp. They break down their tone by saying that they are informal, meaning they're not afraid to share a joke every once in a while, but they should always be clear in their social media posts. So how do you create your tone in your social media branding guidelines? First answer the following questions, on a scratch paper or in your brainstorming document. How do we want our audience to read our social media messages? What is the tone of our typical message? What is the tone of our more infrequent messages? Are we going to include slang or popular jargon? What are the feelings we want our customers to have when they read our posts? After you’ve answered these questions you can begin to fill in the pre-set paragraph in your voice and tone brainstorming document. Feel free to edit, add or remove text as needed. We’ve also included a short example for a fictional company to help you get started. Before we continue on to the next step, it is important to mention a key factor when it comes to social media tone. The tone of your social messages is going to vary much more than voice. Your tone can change at a moments notice, whether you’re responding to an angry customer or a national disaster. Keep this in mind when you create your social guidelines document. Define Your Voice and Tone This is the last part of your voice and tone brainstorming exercise. Now that you know what your voice and tone sound like, it’s time to define them in one short, all-encompassing sentence. For example, MailChimp’s voice is defined by saying that it is human, friendly, and straightforward. Your sentence could contain the three adjectives you came up with earlier or summarize what you think are the most vital goals of your company. It’s all up to you. That’s all you need to do to transfer your original voice and tone guidelines to your social media accounts. That wasn’t too bad, was it? Let’s move on to images and videos. Social Media Branding Guidelines How to Make Your Brand Memorable Have you ever noticed that sometimes brands will look and sound different on social media than they do on their blog or website? Social media can sometimes be an afterthought that is tacked on to a company’s strategy long after their original brand guidelines have been built. Instead, brands should have forward-thinking social media guidelines that help create a cohesive voice and experience across all of their social channels. In this post, you’re going to: Learn how to build out actionable social media branding guidelines.  With our downloadable social media branding kit, you’ll be able to put the advice from this blog straight into use by creating actionable guidelines that will show you step-by-step how to create a more memorable social media presence. Learn to cohesively combine your social media presence with your overarching brand guidelines.  You may already have your brand guidelines established, but how well do they really transfer over to your social media profiles?Often times, social media becomes an afterthought tacked on to a marketing strategy at the last minute. You’ll learn how to move those overarching guidelines seamlessly onto your social media profiles so that everything from your website to your Twitter profile creates the same experience for your customers. See examples of how brands are creating familiar experiences across their entire online presence.  Learn from the best and make it yours. We’ll show you examples of how brands are making the most of their social media profiles by creating great, cohesive profiles. How to Build Social Media Branding Guidelines That Will Make Your Brand MemorableDownload Your Social Media  Brand Style Guide  + Voice And Tone Templates Before you continue reading this post, download our social media branding kit. This kit has two different pieces that will allow you to flesh out your social media branding guidelines: Social Media Image Style Guide to keep your visual content on-point and on-brand every time you post. Voice and Tone Brainstorming Document to ensure every post captures the voice of your brand. Pretty slick, huh? Getting Started: Move Your Brand Voice And Tone Over To Your Social Media Channels Aren’t voice and tone the same thing? Not exactly. Your social media voice refers to what you sound like on your social media sites. Are you funny or sarcastic? Witty or professional? Your tone, on the other hand, refers to how you say things. For example, if I were to say I need an email sent, it doesn’t mean much; however, if I were to yell that same phrase, it would trigger a much different response because my tone changed. Recommended Reading: The Best Social Media Copywriting Guide to Be A Social Work Ninja Everything Good Comes In Threes, Right? For the first part of this brainstorming process, I want you to think about three adjectives that could describe your business. Think about a popular brand like Under Armour. What three words would you use to describe that brand? Athletic, powerful, and dynamic are what I think of. For example, take a look at one of their recent Instagram posts. This campaign was directed at their audience reminding them that women can be so much more than a pretty face. The photo is incredibly dynamic, displaying the power of the woman in the photograph. Pretty capable of conquering this. #ImPretty Create your own statement like this. Hit link in bio. A post shared by Under Armour (@underarmour) on Mar 15, 2017 at 7:38am PDT In case you are really stumped, here is a list of descriptive adjectives to help you get started: In your brainstorming document that you downloaded earlier is a spot where you can record all of those adjectives in one place. Once you pick a set of three, hold on to them, you’ll need them later. Develop Your Voice The second part of your brainstorming session is to think about how your brand sounds across the different points your customer accesses your company. How do you sound on your website? How about your blog? If you have a set of brand guidelines that your company operates by, I would pull those out. More often than not, a company will define their voice and tone within their branding guide. In that section, a general definition should appear of what the brand should sound like as a whole. If you don’t have brand guidelines developed, look at your website and blog. What do you sound like? Are you funny? Witty? Serious? Seeing how you already talk with your audience can help you develop your voice for social media. For example, MailChimp has published their content style guidelines online, which contains a short paragraph describing what the voice of MailChimp  should sound like. MailChimp continues that development and begins to describe how that voice is going to come across online.  They are: Fun but not silly Confident but not cocky Helpful but not overbearing These defining characteristics help MailChimp figure out exactly what their voice is and what it isn’t. Now you’re going to do the same thing on your brainstorming worksheet. Write down ten â€Å"We are this but not that† statements that will help your company achieve your defined voice. Your voice is fun but not what? You are not rude but instead, you are ... what? Fill in that worksheet with all the do’s and don’t you think your company voice will need. Develop Your Tone The next step in your social media branding process is to create your social media tone. How do you want to come across to your followers? Sarcastic like Wendy’s? Introducing Wendy’s new Strawberry Mango Salad. Because you probably don’t have a private garden with all kinds of fresh ingredients. pic.twitter.com/ZaH3pamfkO - Wendy's (@Wendys) June 6, 2017 Feel-good like Disney? Or professional like Microsoft? Follow along with our #MicrosoftEvent in Shanghai starting at 11AM GMT Tuesday, May 23 by clicking the link in our bio. A post shared by Microsoft (@microsoft) on May 22, 2017 at 2:16pm PDT There are unlimited options, which means that you’ll have a more cohesive presence and experience if the voice on all your channels are on the same page. The best thing to think about when you’re creating your tone is â€Å"how do you want your audience to read your social media messages†? Let’s continue looking at MailChimp. They break down their tone by saying that they are informal, meaning they're not afraid to share a joke every once in a while, but they should always be clear in their social media posts. So how do you create your tone in your social media branding guidelines? First answer the following questions, on a scratch paper or in your brainstorming document. How do we want our audience to read our social media messages? What is the tone of our typical message? What is the tone of our more infrequent messages? Are we going to include slang or popular jargon? What are the feelings we want our customers to have when they read our posts? After you’ve answered these questions you can begin to fill in the pre-set paragraph in your voice and tone brainstorming document. Feel free to edit, add or remove text as needed. We’ve also included a short example for a fictional company to help you get started. Before we continue on to the next step, it is important to mention a key factor when it comes to social media tone. The tone of your social messages is going to vary much more than voice. Your tone can change at a moments notice, whether you’re responding to an angry customer or a national disaster. Keep this in mind when you create your social guidelines document. Define Your Voice and Tone This is the last part of your voice and tone brainstorming exercise. Now that you know what your voice and tone sound like, it’s time to define them in one short, all-encompassing sentence. For example, MailChimp’s voice is defined by saying that it is human, friendly, and straightforward. Your sentence could contain the three adjectives you came up with earlier or summarize what you think are the most vital goals of your company. It’s all up to you. That’s all you need to do to transfer your original voice and tone guidelines to your social media accounts. That wasn’t too bad, was it? Let’s move on to images and videos. Social Media Branding Guidelines How to Make Your Brand Memorable Have you ever noticed that sometimes brands will look and sound different on social media than they do on their blog or website? Social media can sometimes be an afterthought that is tacked on to a company’s strategy long after their original brand guidelines have been built. Instead, brands should have forward-thinking social media guidelines that help create a cohesive voice and experience across all of their social channels. In this post, you’re going to: Learn how to build out actionable social media branding guidelines.  With our downloadable social media branding kit, you’ll be able to put the advice from this blog straight into use by creating actionable guidelines that will show you step-by-step how to create a more memorable social media presence. Learn to cohesively combine your social media presence with your overarching brand guidelines.  You may already have your brand guidelines established, but how well do they really transfer over to your social media profiles?Often times, social media becomes an afterthought tacked on to a marketing strategy at the last minute. You’ll learn how to move those overarching guidelines seamlessly onto your social media profiles so that everything from your website to your Twitter profile creates the same experience for your customers. See examples of how brands are creating familiar experiences across their entire online presence.  Learn from the best and make it yours. We’ll show you examples of how brands are making the most of their social media profiles by creating great, cohesive profiles. How to Build Social Media Branding Guidelines That Will Make Your Brand MemorableDownload Your Social Media  Brand Style Guide  + Voice And Tone Templates Before you continue reading this post, download our social media branding kit. This kit has two different pieces that will allow you to flesh out your social media branding guidelines: Social Media Image Style Guide to keep your visual content on-point and on-brand every time you post. Voice and Tone Brainstorming Document to ensure every post captures the voice of your brand. Pretty slick, huh? Getting Started: Move Your Brand Voice And Tone Over To Your Social Media Channels Aren’t voice and tone the same thing? Not exactly. Your social media voice refers to what you sound like on your social media sites. Are you funny or sarcastic? Witty or professional? Your tone, on the other hand, refers to how you say things. For example, if I were to say I need an email sent, it doesn’t mean much; however, if I were to yell that same phrase, it would trigger a much different response because my tone changed. Recommended Reading: The Best Social Media Copywriting Guide to Be A Social Work Ninja Everything Good Comes In Threes, Right? For the first part of this brainstorming process, I want you to think about three adjectives that could describe your business. Think about a popular brand like Under Armour. What three words would you use to describe that brand? Athletic, powerful, and dynamic are what I think of. For example, take a look at one of their recent Instagram posts. This campaign was directed at their audience reminding them that women can be so much more than a pretty face. The photo is incredibly dynamic, displaying the power of the woman in the photograph. Pretty capable of conquering this. #ImPretty Create your own statement like this. Hit link in bio. A post shared by Under Armour (@underarmour) on Mar 15, 2017 at 7:38am PDT In case you are really stumped, here is a list of descriptive adjectives to help you get started: In your brainstorming document that you downloaded earlier is a spot where you can record all of those adjectives in one place. Once you pick a set of three, hold on to them, you’ll need them later. Develop Your Voice The second part of your brainstorming session is to think about how your brand sounds across the different points your customer accesses your company. How do you sound on your website? How about your blog? If you have a set of brand guidelines that your company operates by, I would pull those out. More often than not, a company will define their voice and tone within their branding guide. In that section, a general definition should appear of what the brand should sound like as a whole. If you don’t have brand guidelines developed, look at your website and blog. What do you sound like? Are you funny? Witty? Serious? Seeing how you already talk with your audience can help you develop your voice for social media. For example, MailChimp has published their content style guidelines online, which contains a short paragraph describing what the voice of MailChimp  should sound like. MailChimp continues that development and begins to describe how that voice is going to come across online.  They are: Fun but not silly Confident but not cocky Helpful but not overbearing These defining characteristics help MailChimp figure out exactly what their voice is and what it isn’t. Now you’re going to do the same thing on your brainstorming worksheet. Write down ten â€Å"We are this but not that† statements that will help your company achieve your defined voice. Your voice is fun but not what? You are not rude but instead, you are ... what? Fill in that worksheet with all the do’s and don’t you think your company voice will need. Develop Your Tone The next step in your social media branding process is to create your social media tone. How do you want to come across to your followers? Sarcastic like Wendy’s? Introducing Wendy’s new Strawberry Mango Salad. Because you probably don’t have a private garden with all kinds of fresh ingredients. pic.twitter.com/ZaH3pamfkO - Wendy's (@Wendys) June 6, 2017 Feel-good like Disney? Or professional like Microsoft? Follow along with our #MicrosoftEvent in Shanghai starting at 11AM GMT Tuesday, May 23 by clicking the link in our bio. A post shared by Microsoft (@microsoft) on May 22, 2017 at 2:16pm PDT There are unlimited options, which means that you’ll have a more cohesive presence and experience if the voice on all your channels are on the same page. The best thing to think about when you’re creating your tone is â€Å"how do you want your audience to read your social media messages†? Let’s continue looking at MailChimp. They break down their tone by saying that they are informal, meaning they're not afraid to share a joke every once in a while, but they should always be clear in their social media posts. So how do you create your tone in your social media branding guidelines? First answer the following questions, on a scratch paper or in your brainstorming document. How do we want our audience to read our social media messages? What is the tone of our typical message? What is the tone of our more infrequent messages? Are we going to include slang or popular jargon? What are the feelings we want our customers to have when they read our posts? After you’ve answered these questions you can begin to fill in the pre-set paragraph in your voice and tone brainstorming document. Feel free to edit, add or remove text as needed. We’ve also included a short example for a fictional company to help you get started. Before we continue on to the next step, it is important to mention a key factor when it comes to social media tone. The tone of your social messages is going to vary much more than voice. Your tone can change at a moments notice, whether you’re responding to an angry customer or a national disaster. Keep this in mind when you create your social guidelines document. Define Your Voice and Tone This is the last part of your voice and tone brainstorming exercise. Now that you know what your voice and tone sound like, it’s time to define them in one short, all-encompassing sentence. For example, MailChimp’s voice is defined by saying that it is human, friendly, and straightforward. Your sentence could contain the three adjectives you came up with earlier or summarize what you think are the most vital goals of your company. It’s all up to you. That’s all you need to do to transfer your original voice and tone guidelines to your social media accounts. That wasn’t too bad, was it? Let’s move on to images and videos.

The Destruction and Purification of Fire Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Destruction and Purification of Fire - Essay Example A specific identity which is associated with religious symbolism and belief is that of purification, evil and good through both creation and destruction. When looking at media items, there is a direct correlation with the symbolism of religion and the association with items to identify the symbolism that is a part of it (Cooper, 1987, 66). A current symbolism and identity associated with evil is with the ideology of fire and destruction which is a part of the association with the symbol. The fire that is seen in the media directly correlates to the ideas of fire and the symbols which this holds for various traditions. The symbol which is associated with religious symbolism is fire. According to Cooper, fire is identified as a powerful force because of the destructive force which tears apart and causes loss for those in society and may also lead to purification or enlightenment. From one perspective, it is known to generate or create life, specifically when looking at it from the pers pective of the sun. The sun is able to give energy and strength to those who are in society while creating an alternative understanding of enlightenment, spiritual forces and transcendence when in a given situation. One is able to reach a sense of illumination when working with fire and the ability to have this symbol as a main component. The burning of fire is furthered with the understanding that it can purify and give life to those in a given situation. However, fire is also known as a destructive force and relates to evil which can take away or create a bar to those ignorant and not enlightened. In various traditions, fire has come to mean a concept which burns away ignorance and leads toward the truth of the spirit (Cooper, 1987, 66). How the Symbol Functions The concept of fire that is in the media is depicted as one which is a destructive force and can’t be replaced. The symbol is first seen with the fire that is caused to a barn or other region. A report that reflects this is of a fire which has destroyed a barn, leaving irreplaceable damage from a building that was used to store hay and farm equipment. The association is one which is first defined by the damage in money that is incorporated into the building then followed by information about a fire which occurred years earlier. In the same building, the fire killed 70 cows and caused even more severe damage to the barn and the area in which it was created. In this report, there is also an association with a thunderstorm that the owner was listening to when finding the fire, specifically which links together to the fire and the situation of what was occurring (Record, 2010). The association with fire and the symbolism which is created is first based around the idea of damage that is irreplaceable and which will cost thousands of dollars in repair. The wording and the connotation behind this is one which leads to the barn being damaged and not being reversed. The symbolism is one which then equa tes to the purification of the building by causing the loss and not allowing it to be saved. This is combined with the damage and irreplaceable loss that is noted from 2006, specifically which has the same connotation of being purified from the spot. The recreation of the same fire indicates that there is a deeper meaning to the fire burning the barn and the irreplaceable damage, specifically which identifies a sense of irreplaceable loss to the barn. The concept of purification and loss is furthered with the idea of the thunderstorm corresponding with the fire, both which are identified as a sense of purification and clearing of the area which the fire occurred. The concept of p

Live Proformence Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Live Proformence - Essay Example The performance can be judged as excellent basing on the positive remarks and the great admiration drawn from the audience. Some of the issues that connect to the value of the Ragbirds performance thrill on account of its capacity to address the diverse needs of the audience through balance and energetic delivery of sound and instruments. The performance was long and large-scale, although this aspect did not seem to subtract from its quality and the style of performance. Parts of the symphony appeared decidedly sophisticated given the fact that they combined traditional styles with the modern influences without losing the aspect of sophistication that is usually assigned to symphonies. I have always regarded symphonies with high esteem because of the manner in which they combine various sounds and effects to build meaning and impact on people in particularly impressive ways. In this particular symphony, I was particularly moved by the expert use of preludes, postludes, and interludes to develop meaning in ways that showed the maturity of the performance and the many possibilities of style that were reflected within the performance. One of the most noticeable positive qualities of this symphony was the emotional range and the scale in which it was rendered. I found it particularly tranquil and calming, in the sense that it connected appropriately with the aesthetic tastes of the audience. At some point, I thought that the impact was something totally personal and brought out by my own sensitivities to musical aesthetics. However, as the symphony launched into the different emotional zones, I could feel large sections of the audience deeply connected, with extremely high levels of concentration. In my opinion, the months of January and February are often languid and melancholic, due to the aftermath of the high Christmas season in December. The presentation of any symphony must target, as one of its goals, the purpose of determining the aesthetic tastes of the au dience in ways that connect effectively with the demands of the occasion. The audience was a mixture of ages. There were young children accompanied by their parents or guardians. There were also some couples either married or dating while many other people appeared single and seemed to connect very well with the performance and the situation nevertheless. At first, the younger children appeared to be somewhat disconnected from the details of the symphony, but gradually built interest as the soothing aspect of the harmonics began to take effect. The composition was appropriately matched with the length of the performance in a way that captured the diverse tastes of the audience. In a significant way, the symphony represented the coming of age of the various aspects of composition that connected the influences of tradition and modernity in a seamless continuum. On the 18th of January, I attended a second concert by the Big Boss Blues Band, which was performed in Bell’s Brewery. The group hails from Michigan and performs in electrifying live performances that kept the tempo and pace of the jolly mood in the auditorium. Much of their performance ranged from various songs and genres that reflected the level of flexibility by which this group generally performs. I was very pleased with the kind of energy that they presented on stage and the manner in which they mixed the different songs in a very harmonious way.

BUS303 MODULE 4 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

BUS303 MODULE 4 - Coursework Example straight forward, and does not give a good idea of the historical background and reason of introducing STP and what role it has played in company’s growth and achievements. In addition to this, point of educating employees about customer relation is not justified properly as customers vary with each other and it is not possible to learn to deal with all of them, just by attending a program. It requires experience and meeting and talking with customers practically. Another thing that can be criticized is the audience which is addressed in the presentation. It is largely focused on the impact and benefits of STP on general employees of the company. Its overall impact on the company and performances of managers and executives are not dealt in detail. If STP is eliminated, than managing strategy and tactics will be changed, which can bring either good or bad results to the sales and reputation of the company. This futuristic aspect of eliminating STP was left untouched. Using examples of companies and organizations, to portray the importance of such trainings, could have made the presentation more lively and captivating. It would have also helped in magnifying the need of sales training programs in a sport goods company. Moreover, the argument that it will push employees from being customer oriented to sales oriented cannot be justified as these programs are also focused on increasing company sales and thinking solutions which can earn more profit for the company. Recommendations of using less company resources in conducting such programs and implementing the technology of online learning to educate new hires about company’s structure and objective could have been included in the presentation. Baldwin, D. (2012). Creating an Environment for Innovation. Retrieved December 26, 2012, from Centre for Simplified Strategic Planning: http://www.cssp.com/CD0902/CreatingInnovativeEnvironment/default.php National Sales Center. (2011). The Overlooked Benefits Of Sales

Enterprise in action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Enterprise in action - Essay Example The specific process needs to be developed in a series of phases, aiming to limit the chances of failures. However, in extremely turbulent market conditions, like the current ones, it is quite difficult for business opportunities to be identified and developed. The use of the effectual approach in the decision making process could help to manage such projects more effectively. Current paper presents the phases of the identification and the development of a business opportunity. Suggestions are made regarding the processes through which a business opportunity can be identified and developed. Appropriately literature has been also used for explaining the requirements and the challenges of the particular process. It is concluded that the use of appropriate techniques for identifying and developing the particular business opportunity can reduce the risks involved. However, it is necessary that all phases of the process are continuously monitored so that the chances for major losses to be eliminated. 2. Describing and processing the opportunity In order to identify and develop a business opportunity it is necessary to follow certain processes. These processes are analytically described below. At a first level, it is necessary to choose the approach on which the processes will be based. The effectual approach of decision-making has been chosen under the terms that the future conditions of the market involved cannot be precisely defined in advance – taking into consideration the strong market turbulences because of the global recession. Each of the phases of the processes is justified using relevant literature; additional literature is analytically presented in a separate section. 2.1 Effectual approach The effectual approach of the decision making process is based on the proposition that since certain elements of the future are known, there are measures that can be taken for controlling it, even if its precise characteristics are not known. In the terms of the business environment, the above approach means that the future performance of business plans can be guaranteed – at an important level - by taking measures which are appropriate in terms of the common market conditions. The above approach is not based on the perspective that the exact future conditions of the market can be known, a perspective accepted in the causal approach of decision making. For this reason, the effectual approach has been chosen as most appropriate for checking a business opportunity, since this approach has the following benefits: a) it does not require accurate decisions but just effective plans; emphasis is given on the construction of the business projects and not on the development of a series of decisions; this fact can help to save time in realizing the projects, b) it does not require precise goals or stable market environment; this fact is an advantage of the effectual approach taking into consideration the turbulences in the global market, c) i t does not require extensive market research, a fact that could also save time/ resources in the completion of the business project involved(Doke et al. 2007). The principles and the rules of the effectual approach have been critically examined in order to decide on their use in the identification/ development of a business opportunity. The effectual principles that have been proved more effective in the identific

Ethics in Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics in Public Administration - Essay Example Consequently, if it happened that the firefighters took any wood from the alder tree that they had cut down in Oregon, then the case would have dealt on employees liaising with their supervisor to illegally possess public property for personal gain. According to the information given, it is clear that a retired officer from the firefight department decided to blow the whistle. As such, the Fire Chief should have asked the rest of the firefighters to collect the wood from his place and those that they might have illegally taken to their own places for personal use and present it to the relevant authorities because they have a duty to adhere to ethics laws. Of importance to note that, it is much easier for the firefighters to adhere to ethics laws when their supervisor Fire Chief demonstrates the principle. Additionally, there should be continuous adherence to ethic laws at the work place, having learnt from this unfortunate situation of breach of ethic laws (Geuras & Garofalo, 2010). It is for undoubted reasons that the City Manager or Mayor should have the mandate of ensuring that the ethic laws are adhered to by every individual in the public administration. Basically, the City Manager should create public awareness through media both print and electronic. Moreover, there should be forums on how best the public officers should serve the public, as well as, the rights of the public in service delivery. It is crucial to comprehend that, there must be stringent measures for those who attempt to breach laws. In relation to this case, the City Manager should lay down the laws that have been breached by the fire fighters to facilitate their fines and/or punishment. In cases where the firefighters report directly to the City Managers, implementation of the punishment should proceed. It is obvious that even after the wood was discovered in Fire Chief home, he continued to insist that it was a

Womens Crisis Services of Waterloo Region Organization Essay

Womens Crisis Services of Waterloo Region Organization - Essay Example This paper illustrates that Haven and Anselma were functioning independently up until 2001 when they merged to form the present Women’s Crisis Services of Waterloo Region (WCSWR). This also resulted in the integration of the board of directors and the creation of the post of the executive director who has the responsibility of managing the two facilities. The adoption of a dragonfly as its logo reflects the organizations’ literal shift from violence against women and children. The tagline â€Å"Moving beyond violence† is an enhancement of the message that achievement of equality is determined by human courage and initiative to propagate human values and leave violence against women in the past. Among its services is the residential program that serves women above the age of 16 either with or without children. These women include those who are being abused intimately or experiencing problems in a domestic relationship. The organization also has the outreach and ed ucation services that work closely with the process of transitioning women to independence, and also those seeking assistance from their current abusive situations. The education program functions to provide the community and professionals with the required information on healthy relationships. Therefore, they are guided by the fact that there should be synergistic efforts towards achieving a better world without violence against women with a mission of providing shelter, education and public sensitization to all the abused women and children. Therefore, it has grown to become the subsequent vision that any form of aggression against women and children will not be tolerated by society. The organization’s central contributions lie in the empowerment of women against this vice in the advent of calls for equality among males and females. This organization is also playing a fundamental part in refining the community regarding the costs of domestic violence and the benefits of avo iding it. It is also playing a significant role in creating conflict resolutions and ways to avoid the emergence of these conflicts. In another word, it means that the organization is working on the creation, sustainability and dissemination of peace in homes hence alleviating this problem of violence that is directed by men towards women.

Ethics in Public Administration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics in Public Administration - Essay Example Consequently, if it happened that the firefighters took any wood from the alder tree that they had cut down in Oregon, then the case would have dealt on employees liaising with their supervisor to illegally possess public property for personal gain. According to the information given, it is clear that a retired officer from the firefight department decided to blow the whistle. As such, the Fire Chief should have asked the rest of the firefighters to collect the wood from his place and those that they might have illegally taken to their own places for personal use and present it to the relevant authorities because they have a duty to adhere to ethics laws. Of importance to note that, it is much easier for the firefighters to adhere to ethics laws when their supervisor Fire Chief demonstrates the principle. Additionally, there should be continuous adherence to ethic laws at the work place, having learnt from this unfortunate situation of breach of ethic laws (Geuras & Garofalo, 2010). It is for undoubted reasons that the City Manager or Mayor should have the mandate of ensuring that the ethic laws are adhered to by every individual in the public administration. Basically, the City Manager should create public awareness through media both print and electronic. Moreover, there should be forums on how best the public officers should serve the public, as well as, the rights of the public in service delivery. It is crucial to comprehend that, there must be stringent measures for those who attempt to breach laws. In relation to this case, the City Manager should lay down the laws that have been breached by the fire fighters to facilitate their fines and/or punishment. In cases where the firefighters report directly to the City Managers, implementation of the punishment should proceed. It is obvious that even after the wood was discovered in Fire Chief home, he continued to insist that it was a

Comparison Buying a Home vs. Renting an Apartment Research Paper

Comparison Buying a Home vs. Renting an Apartment - Research Paper Example Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good or property owned by another person or company (Answers, 2009). Renting agreement are very popular in the United States because they are a cheaper way to obtain a home or apartment. A person that rents does not have to pay any property taxes since they are not the owners of the home. Lease agreements for apartments or homes typically are signed for a time span of one year. A person that rents an apartment benefits in others such as having great flexibility. If a person does not like the place, they can move out into another rented apartment after the term of the lease expires. Another advantage of renting is that a person does not have to have good credit in order to qualify for the lease. Credit scores and standing are rarely a part of the renting agreement process. We are living in some tough economic times. The unemployment rate in the United States has reached a whopping 9.5% (Bls, 2009). When people lose their jobs sometimes it is hard to pay a mortgage. A person that leases can maneuver better during hard economic times. A person that leases has the option of leaving the place and moving in with relatives until they get back on their feet. A rental agreement is short term commitment, thus it gives a person more flexibility as far as being able to relocate easier. Despite the many advantages of leasing, there are also major cons associated with renting. A person that pays rent is always giving money to someone else without the benefit of getting any financial rewards in return. When a person rents they are basically paying another bill, thus renting could be categorized as a type of expense. Buying a home is a completely different proposition. Â  

Coal As An Alternative Energy Source Environmental Sciences Essay

Coal As An Alternative Energy Source Environmental Sciences Essay The dictionary meaning of alternative is offering a choice of second possibility in other words it is something like replacement. In our case coal is good alternative source of energy as it can replace most of the energy sources that are in existence. Alternative source of energy is a huge term that refers to any source of usable energy intended to replace fuel sources without the undesired consequences of the replaced fuels. The term depicts or reflects a set of energy technologies and fields which are alternate of each other and so on. As such, the list of energy sources excluded is an indication of what problems that the alternative technologies are facing. Controversies regarding dominant sources of energy and their alternatives have a long history because as the time is changing the needs and sources are also varying day by day. Today the nature of what were regarded alternative energy sources has changed considerably over time and it has become controversial issue because of the variety of energy choices so defining some energy types as alternative is highly controversial. As a whole , alternative energy is that which is produced without the undesirable consequences of the burning of fossil fuels, such as high carbon dioxide emissions, which is considered to be the major contributing factor of global warming according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Sometimes, this less comprehensive meaning of alternative energy excludes nuclear energy It is almost fixed that coal will have a future as a good alternative energy source. We have enough reserves of coal that can last for at least 200 years but only rate of consumption will be in our control. However, coal reserves are spread more equitably around the world than oil reserves; the united States have the largest reserves all over the world. Also it has a good future because it is very inexpensive as other possible energy sources. Coal is inexpensive to extract and to use to produce electricity. However, some factors make the future of coal appear to drop. There are some technical limitations present when using coal as an energy source. For example, it cannot be used for transport purposes unless it is used in electric vehicles. There are also some ecological issues to contend with. The need for an energy alternative has most nations looking in all directions, and one of those is coal as an energy source. Many experts see coal as viable alternative source of energy. It is not known as the cleanest means of producing energy, but it is a cheaper alternative. The future of coal as an energy source is yet unknown, but there are many predictions for how it may be implemented. For countries with rising oil prices, it is predictable that coal may become a cheaper source of energy. It is also predicted that the total primary coal energy consumption should remain about the same for another two decades, and then slowly begin to increase. There are some problems with the cleanliness of coal, which causes a vast amount of pollution, but treating the combustion fumes can solve these problems. However, coal is still a great producer of CO2, and with most nations trying to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this could scupper any plans of using it as an alternative energy source. Coal is a notorious pollutant containing sulphur which gives off sulphur dioxide when it is burned. Once it is in the atmosphere, sulphur dioxide becomes sulphur acid, which are an irritant to the lungs and a main component to acid rain. Coal also has many other disadvantages that put its future as an alternative energy source in doubt. Burning coal produces CO2, which is a  well known  greenhouse gas that is very harmful to the environment. There is no solution to the CO2 that comes from burning coal, so this may cause it to go to the back of the line as a possible alternative energy source. Therefore, countries that  are trying  to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, would not seek to increase coal consumption, because it would defeat their purposes. On the other hand, countries that are not concerned with greenhouse gases will only increase their coal consumption in the coming years. Coal is not the perfect alternative energy source, but it is a possibility. Technological research is developing rapidly all over the world and there are many research programs in action today, including, research on the gasification of coal to produce hydrogen for fuel cells, and the capture and confinement of CO2. The future of coal as an alternative energy source is unclear, and there are some countries that are willing to settle more than others.  The future of coal as an  energy source may be dependent on a countrys needs or requirements  and, even more so, their concerns. Environmental Impacts of the Use of Coal Because coal contains more carbon per unit of energy than other fossil fuels, it will produce more carbon dioxide per unit of electric power production than petroleum or natural gas. Electrical utilities, being the largest consumers of coal, are the largest sources of CO2 emissions from coal The only practical way to prevent CO2 levels from going far into the dangerous range, with disastrous effects for humanity and other inhabitants of the planet, is to phase out use of coal except at power plants where the CO2 is captured and sequestered If CO2 emissions from coal-fired power plants continue to rise at rates projected by the U.S. energy information administration, it will be impossible for the United States to achieve the steep economy-wide emissions reductions it needs to have a reasonable chance of avoiding the worst effects of climate change Transporting coal from where it is mined to where it will be burned also produces significant quantities of air pollution and other environmental harms. Diesel-burning trucks, trains, and barges that transport coal release NOx, SOx, PM, VOCs (volatile organic chemicals), CO, and CO2 into the earths atmosphere The Legacy of Coal Mining Nearly 150 years and some 13 billion tons of coal later, its strikingly obvious that the great wealth of natural resources in West Virginia has been anything but a blessing. Rather than bringing riches, it has brought poverty, sickness, environmental devastation and despair. Much of the surface mining more accurately mountaintop removal slices off several hundred feet of the mountaintops, uncovering entire seams of coal. Mining causes widespread deforestation, soil erosion, water shortages and pollution, smoldering coal fires and the emission of greenhouse gases. Massive excavation operations strip land bare, lower water tables, generate huge waste mountains and blanket surrounding communities with dust particles and debris. Despite coal being the most abundant and cheapest of the carbon based sources of energy, and despite the coal industry earning the benefits of clean coal, the fact that the role of coal in energy production is now confined to electrical generation gives hope that the negative environmental legacy of coal can be reduced. Alternative sources of energy, such as hydro, nuclear and wind power are ideally suited to generate electricity. Application and future prospective Coal as an alternative to wood Coal gasification as an alternative to petroleum Coal is not the perfect alternative energy source, but it is a possibility. Technological research is developing rapidly all over the world and there are many research programs in action today, including, research on the gasification of coal to produce hydrogen for fuel cells, and the capture and confinement of CO2. The future of coal as an alternative energy source is unclear, and there are some countries that are willing to settle more than others.  The future of coal as an  energy source may be dependent on a countrys needs or requirements  and, even more so, their concerns. The world reserves of coal are large enough to last two hundred years, but only at their current rate of consumption. However, coal reserves are spread more equitably around the world than oil reserves,  with the United States  having the largest  reserves. It also has a promising future because it is not as expensive as other possible energy sources. Coal  is inexpensive to extract and to use to produce electricity. However, some factors make the future of coal appear to be bleak. There are some technical limitations present when using coal as an energy source. For example, it cannot be used for transport purposes unless it is used in electric vehicles and the most important thing is that trees will nowhere to be seen in next thirty to forty years so in conclusion we cant have any access to the coal energy. America and other nations face an unprecedented transportation fuel crisis. Petroleum fuel, a life blood of our economy for almost 100 years, is entering a sustained period of supply shortage due to huge demand increases from growing economies in Asia and elsewhere. This new demand is here to stay and likely to intensify, causing more price increases, price volatility, political manipulation of oil supplies, and global instability as competition for dwindling supplies intensifies. This is already impacting our energy, economic, and homeland security. Government, commercial, and finance leaders around the world are now taking action. Since one solution is unlikely, a suite of new technologies and energy sources will be needed to address the challenge. One of those solutions is carbon-to-liquids technology, which the U.S. Department of Energy projects could supply 10% of the nations transportation fuel in just 20 years. As new fuels and technologies like this are developed and deployed, the challenge we must meet is that they be more sustainable and less of a burden on the environment than current technologies.

Strategic Manufacturing Management Questions and Answers :: Strategic Manufacturing Management Essays

Question 1: Hayes and Wheelright (1984) and Mintzberg (1987) spoke of strategy as a pattern of decisions. What do they mean by this? (5 Marks) Strategy is the pattern of decisions determining the organization’s objectives, purposes, or goals. It outlines the principal policies and plans for achieving those goals, and clearly defines the range of businesses the organization has to pursue. Strategy as a pattern of decisions also highlights the nature of human and economic organization it intends to be, and the nature of the economic and noneconomic contribution it intends to make towards its stakeholders, mainly, the shareholders, customers, employees, and communities[1]. Mintzberg (1987), characterizing ten ‘schools of thought’ in his consideration of strategy, has defined strategy as a pattern, a plan, a ploy, a position, and a perspective[2]. He has further classified different strategy making processes, specifying that a â€Å"realised strategy† is â€Å"emergent† and â€Å"deliberate† as shown in Figure 1-1. Moreover, Mintzberg discusses the difference between strategic thinking and strategic planning, highlighting that planning involves analysis and thinking involves synthesis, and the outcome of strategic thinking is an integrated perspective[3]. For strategies to be ploys or plans, they need to follow a specific stream of actions. Plans or ploys are â€Å"intended strategy† which are realized through patterns, as pointed out by Mintzberg. Figure 1-1 "Deliberate" and "emergent" strategy forming "realized" strategy[2] According to Hayes and Wheelright (1984) an implementation of strategy requires a structured integrative pattern of mutually supported decisions made over a period of time. Five characteristics that make up strategy are time, concentration of effort, impact, pattern of decision, and pervasiveness as stated by Hayes and Wheelwright. They also point out that effective operation strategies need to be consistent and contribute to competitive advantage. Consistency should prevail between operations strategy and business strategy, between operations strategy and the other functional strategies, and within different decision areas of operations strategy. In order to be able to positively contribute towards competitive advantage, the strategy should enable operations to set priorities right to enhance competitive advantage, clearly state the operations strategy for the rest of the organization to easily comprehend, accentuate opportunities where operations can complement business strategy, a nd ensure operating capabilities that may be required in the future. Hayes and Wheelwright (1984) have categorized different types of organizations based on their attitude towards operations in a four stage model. The four stages, as shown in table below are, Internally Neutral, Externally Neutral, Internally Supportive, and Externally Supportive, in the order[2].