Computron Inc. Case

Q1: How far does Zimmermann have to cut the price to have a chance? The cost of a 1000X computer for the European market usually consists of the cost to manufacture ($768’000), the overheads, a markup of 33 1/3% ($256’000) that includes the profit, research and development and selling expenses; in addition to these components, there are transportation and installation costs ($67’200) and finally the import duty ($153’600). Computron Inc. has previously assembled and manufactured its products in the US and shipped ready goods to Europe, thus having to raise the original US price in order to cover the expenses of the last component of the price, the import duty. Given that the company has made a strategic decision to build a factory in Frankfurt that would cover the assembling and manufacturing services for the European market, that consists of 15 countries, and given that the opening of this newly constructed facility is the 15th of September 2006; it is valid to assume that the manufacturing and assembly of the 1000X computer for Koning & Cie, AG, if the order is made, would take place at the local facility in Germany, rather than in the US. This factor eliminates the expenses related to import duty ($ 153’600) as well as significantly reduces the transportation costs. Moreover, knowing that the company’s policy has never permitted reducing the markup percentage in the European market and that Koning’s vice president in charge of purchasing is not in favor of purchasing any equipment that has a price of more than 20% higher than the lowest bid; subtracting the import duty from the original price of ($1’244’800) would b the first step in reducing the initial price to $1’091’200. The value is 4. 1% higher then $1’046’400, what would be the exact ‘maximum price’ mentioned by Koning’s official. If we do not take into consideration the potential for cost reduction from reduced transportation costs in order to make up for the loss in ‘before tax profit’ from 17% to 6% in the last year compared with the one before, the price should stay at $1’091’200. However, if the financial situation permits a further reduction in price, the price should be lowered to $1’046’400, which is exactly 20% higher then the lowest bid of competition ($872’000). This value should be final, because if Zimmermann will be tempted to further reduce the price in order to get the order, there is a very high risk of loosing on the image of ‘superior product’. Koning has made orders from Computron before and therefore they are well aware of the flexibility, accuracy and overall high quality of its products. Submitting the bid of $1’046’400, exactly 20% more then the lowest bid, would show compliance with the customer’s budget and thus will give a certain favorability to Computron, strengthening the already existing customer relationship with Koning and ensuring future contracts for products and services. Q2: What is gained by bidding low? According to a reliable trade source, Koning has a total of four different offers other than Computron. These are the four main competitors, three of which together with Computron itself, own 80% of the sales in the German Market. Since the original price, which Compuron is willing to offer, is 43% higher than the lowest bid, there’s a big chance Computron loses the sale. The fact that Koning is an already acquired customer of Computron is a major strength in terms of winning the sale. If Computron offers the lowest bid, Koning will definitely consider their bid. It is simpler for Konig’s to deal with a company they had purchased from already. Koning have experienced that Computron’s products are ‘flexible, accurate and of a high quality’ from their previous purchases. Bidding lower then the benchmark of a lowest bidder plus 20%, could possibly ensure getting the order, as well potentially maximizing the market share of Computron in the long-run. Furthermore, reasonable price is an important factor for Koning in acquiring this particular product and thus bidding low could be a favorable factor in this particular situation if we do not take into account the fact that Computron is already a market leader, so aiming to maximize their market share should not be of particular focus. The focus should be mainly on maximizing the levels of trust and loyalty with the customers. Q3: What is lost by bidding low? Zimmermann has calculated a price of $ 1,244,800 with respect to: markup costs, factory cost, 17. 5% of import duty and transportation & installation costs. The markup cost in European market was fixed for Computron at 33 1/3%. Considering the fact that sale in 2005-06 was 6% comparing to the 17% the year before, the company aims to increase the sales and profit for their current year. Meaning, Computron would preferably ncrease markup cost in order to increase profitability & sales. Although to have a higher possibility of making the sale to Koning, they have to reduce the price and recalculate their costs by much less than 43% of the lowest bid. This leads to Computron having to decrease markup cost, or eliminate other cost from the final offer to Konig’s. The reduction of markup cost will leave the company facing cash loss comparing to the amount the y’re paying for selling & administrative expenses, and the price their offering. Computron are investing 8% of the total markup cost in R&D. Research & Development has an effect on Computrons position in the German Market, whereas they have highest percentage of digital process control computer sales. Although, the company will have to invest less in R&D in order to prevent profit loss for reducing their price bid to Koning. Computron will go behind again in sales by offering low price, as it would be one of the biggest sales of the year, Computron would definitely increase their profit if they succeed making the sale with their desired price. Having to reduce the price will put Computron behind in their aim of increasing profitability. Furthermore, the lowest bid is 872,000, it’s too low for Computron regarding their transportation cost, and markup costs. It’s not an option for them to lower their price to that price. Even if they manage to reduce their costs enough to reach a similar price, it will affect Computrons quality image. As mentioned, they have a good reputation of quality and flexibility. Finally, if Computron reduce their price, it’ll be harder for them to have higher bids later in Germany, and especially with Koning, which have good experience with Computron. Q4: What is gained by bidding high? Computron’s position in the market and relationship with Koning seems strong. The price Computron ‘s offering represents the cost being implemented to provide high quality product that exceeds the customer needs. By insisting on bidding at the â€Å"normal† price, the company is actually setting a standard on their product price and the input on its enactment. As mentioned, Computron is aiming to increase their profit on sales for the current year. Bidding high in the Koning’s sale will prove the company stabilizes quality and performance. Koning will have no doubts of the price reduction, where elimination of cost could be related to the performance of the machine, especially if the price is drastically reduced. Computron is affirming their quality by sticking to their highest bid, although competitors are offering 43% lower prices. ’ Furthermore, by insuring the image of their superior product quality, supported by Koning’s opinion on their past machines, will add up to Computron reputation, and stronger market position. If the idea of quality and performance was introduced to Koning’s properly, and the fact that they provide them with after sale service, could convince the Koning’s to choose Computron over the competitors. If Computron wins the sale, they’d reach their goal of increasing profit on sales. Selling to Koning with a high bid and their quality will only provide the company with a stronger brand image and customer loyalty and respect. Considering their past experience and the prove of new good investment by purchasing Computron’s 1000X. Q5: That is happening in the market? It is predicted that the market will grow by 25% in the next several years. The market is valued at 16,000,000 dollars per year, of which Koning is a major part of, which leads to the conclusion that whoever seals deal, is likely to continue selling to Koning in the future. There worth of new business to come about in the period 2005-2006 is estimated to be worth 5,200,000 dollars, which includes; Koenig & Cie AG Frankfurt Plant$ 1,200,000 Dusseldorf Plant$ 1,000,000 Mannheim Plant$ 600,000 Central German power commission$ 1,760,000. Deutsche Autowerke $ 640,000 $ 5,200,000 The European market is in fact not so active, as Koenig happens to be the only major purchaser in the continent. Furthermore Computron hasn’t been receiving any major orders from big companies for their products; so far it has only been small businesses demanding Computron’s computers. It seems all the big purchasers already have what they need, and are only interested in post-sales servicing/maintenance/updates. The submission deadline for Koenig is 1st, August, 2006. Q6: What is the competition doing? Ruhr Machinenfabrik AG are developing a computer specifically for Koning’s bid, and their pricing is substantially lower than that of Computron’s 1000X. This is partly because they have an import duty advantage; as they are based in Germany, they need not to have this additional cost. This consequently allows for a 17?% price differential. This reiterates the aggressive nature of the firm. Up until now, they only engaged in the sale of general-purpose computers. However, their drive to increasing their market share is the likely explanation for such an aggressive reaction. Elektronische Datenverarbeitungsanlagen AG is seen as a long-range threat to Computron. They produce their product of a similar quality to that of Computron 1000X. In order to secure their position they sold their first computer at a break-even cost, and ever since then they have been selling below Computron’s price (by a differential of Computron’s import duty subject). Digitex produce a product of only a fair quality compared to Computron’s 1000X however uses a price cutting tactics/ sells at low cost (sometimes 50% below Computron’s). All the production is done in Germany. Their inferior quality has hindered their competitive capabilities. The rest of the competition is unlikely to cause any threat according to Zimmermann’s point of view. Q7: What is Koning’s thinking about the situation? Koning’s invitation for bids was basically for the reason of wanting to pay a reasonable price along with high dependability of the machine. Since the machines are going to be used for five years training, these requirements would best suit what its being used for. Koning wants to probably reduce the cost of machines used in training. It would be a good investment for the company to have five years training computers and still use it after for other duties, although the low price could be aimed to abandon the machine after. Requiring a machine specified for training wouldn’t’ have the same specifications in the computers needed for the on-line process control. Clearly the case showed the differentiation between having a flexible accurate machine, or a machine that is highly dependent for training purposes. Koning looking at the situation from a perspective which he wants o gain the best opportunity on having the lowest price for a training machine, even if the quality wasn’t as good as accurate machines needed. Koning already bought three machines from Computron, and are satisfied with the results of the machines performance and quality, and seems to match the requirements needed for their plants. The company is most probably now aiming to invest less in the machines they want to purchase, whi ch means having less concerns with the machine quality performance, as its not being used directly on their process. Q8: What is Zimmermann’s position as manager of the European sales? Zimmermann is in a rather sticky situation because it is imperative that he seals the sale with Koenig who is their most important customer and satisfies the buyer’s demands. However at the same time he must comply with Computron’s pricing guidelines. The pricing guidelines reinforce the customer perception of a high quality, superior and reliable product (diligence element). Furthermore a reduction in price in this case, will lead all future purchasers to believe that from now on, Computron’s products are cheaper and will automatically (wrongfully) anticipate lower prices from Computron in the future. There is no turning back. This situation is further accentuated with the factory construction in Germany. If the deal is not sealed, it is likely that that factory will remain idle for several months due to lack of business. This will have a devastating impact on their brand image. Lastly, and most importantly, they biggest strain placed on Zimmermann is from the competition. There are several competitors who have different advantages ranging from technological factors to pricing advantages. All want to make a sale just as bad. Zimmermann is going to have to address all of these, if he’s to seal the deal. Q9: What should Zimermann do? * Price reduction $1’046’400 (85. 4% of the original price) * Offer the price reduction + inform Koning & Cie, AG of the local manufacturing and assembly facility local support (opening 16. 09. 06) * Focus on absolute necessity of getting the order long-term business relationship & added credibility * Should NOT reduce the mark-up for European market (other customers will expect similar conditions with future orders) * Emphasize on Koning’s familiarity with the standards of Computron’s products affirm the quality

Race, Class, & Gender

Danielle Karkkainen Prof. Shaleen Seward SOC. 301, Race/Class/Gender Writing Assignment December 4, 2012 â€Å"I am an American,† says over 308,745,538 people in the United States this year (â€Å"2010 Census Data. â€Å") These people originate from everywhere; America is a â€Å"melting pot† of culture, and that can unfortunately cause social inequalities to arise through the Matrix of Domination, a theory that mirrors the intersectionality of race, class, and gender, as coauthor of Race, Class, & Gender, an Anthology Patricia Hill Collins claims (Andersen, and Collins xi-xiii. These two terms give label to the commonplace phenomena of race, class, and gender work within a system of social relationships. The understanding of people from other cultures has grown in many ways over the history of the United States. America is starting to realize that the ethnocentric, or judging of others culture through the values of their own, is no longer an acceptable way to approa ch others. There is still a long way to go to more firmly develop a country with a general appreciation of diversity and inclusive thought.Knowledge is the power that will keep populations in peaceful, cultural awareness and harmonious equality. Anderson and Collins share many views of American life and morality through the different cultural perspectives of its citizens (and noncitizens. ) These articles prove that race, class, and gender all play separate, dynamic roles in the interrelated origins of discrimination. In the article, The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success, the realization that black women have historically been raised to consciously be more aggressively determined to succeed as they had the least amount of power in the education system.The conflict between young, black females and school officials usually ended up in a positive social change because the understanding that their race, class, and gender is constantly pinned up against them (Lewis, Mueller, and et al 187-193. ) In our patriarchal society, women lack power. In addition to that, these women are African American, which creates more issues in fighting against discrimination from those who have more power, such as a potential employer. Speaking of employment, black women in America generally come from a lower-class background, which works against them in gaining power to change their status in life.The people with power in America are generally the ones who don't have issues obtaining wealth or status. This social construct has perpetuated many centuries, and today, it is seen most clearly by the white, educated males who are educated to become those with the power, that is, the white-collar employers and employees. On the flip-side of this case, minorities are educated in technical schools often, those with blue-collar or lower status jobs. For this, America has adopted laws like Affirmative Action as a protective measure to eliminate discrimination issues in the workplac e.Some people think this law is unnecessary as â€Å"America means equality for all† however, this color-blind approach keeps those with the white privilege in ignorance (Gallagher 91-95. ) Inclusive thinking is necessary from a young age to create a more accepting atmosphere and society within the United States. To teach these concepts, the hidden agenda initiated from toddler-age on, which keeps the powerless under the thumb of the powerful must be eliminated. Understanding and accepting differences will be the easiest and most valuable, long-lasting way to boost the position of the powerless, i. . the minorities of America. Only when an equal percentage of minorities and Caucasian people obtain degrees and sufficient income will equality be a tangible possibility. American educational facilities have adopted the â€Å"Black History Month† as a role model for inclusion, however, why a single minority of a population have a single month of history created to what seem s like a pacification of the lack of recognition of the importance of African Americans in America since the country's birth. The hidden curriculum keeps social constructions of discrimination alive in our schools.We have a long way to go, as author Jeanne Theoharis proves in her article, â€Å"I Hate It When People Treat Me Like a Fxxx-up† the students of color in one school (as well, assumed in other schools) received unequal treatment, services, and materials because school officials believed the students did not care about their education. However, the minority students kept a journal of how important their education was and the tolerance of the unfair treatment toward the minorities was exposed and corrected (Theoharis 409. The idea that minorities, particularly African American, do not care about their education or are a â€Å"problem population† because of their race, and the typical disadvantages that come along with that is primitive. From the days of Harriet Tubman and slavery, to the powerful resolution of Rosa Parks, to the incredible civil rights acts in the 1960's, to the most wealthy woman in America being African American, black people have changed their face and the face of our history throughout time. African Americans have a type of double consciousness created by society.The majority (white people,) have created a belief shared amongst much of the black population on some kind of level. This perspective is that of an acceptance of a secondary race and not as worthy as Caucasians. The other perspective that may be what powers the young, black female in particular as aforementioned is that of strength and faith. The African American community has always had a strong connection with one another, yet excluded from the mainstream of America. In the days of slavery, the seeds of this double consciousness were planted in the African American culture.Upon rowing on overcrowded ships, ill with plague, and maliciously beaten by the whit e man, Blacks began to see themselves as white people did- property. This was the lowest point in African American history, and many black people rose as a type of â€Å"Over-Man† in order to save their people's culture and lives. Harriet Tubman saved hundreds of different African Americans from slavery by hiding them in an underground tunnel to the more free North, which was the first step in abolishing slavery by the African American population.Many years after slavery of African Americans ended, Jim Crow laws still segregated the minority group from the rest of society. Jim Crow laws were not necessarily legal, nor written, but they were implied, and explicitly enforced. These laws kept the less powerful African Americans away from and in service to white Americans. In the 1940's and 1950's, America's law of the land was â€Å"Separate but Equal,† meaning there were separate areas for facilities, separate lines for tickets, restricted seating, etc. This was further obvious through the lack of proper education for African Americans.If Jim Crow laws were broken, African Americans were severely punished. This could have mean hate beatings, lynching, or imprisonment. Representation of African Americans was entirely lacking and causing a rising tension between the rivaling African Americans and white Americans. With rising violence and aggression, leaders such as Malcolm X and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. arose with two separate types of action calls for African Americans. Muslim activist Malcolm X proposed progression at any cost.Linked with the Black Panthers, a lower-class black activist group, violence was encouraged if peace did not reap reward and cost this leader his life. This caused many riots, resulting in police brutality and discrimination towards people of color. The Hammurabi-like code â€Å"an eye for an eye† approach does not work when attempting for understanding and acceptance. For this, Martin Luther King proposed a so lution to the racial discrimination to end. This was to keep a steady, calm head and proceed with absolute resolution to positive social change and peaceful rioting.This approach seemed to work better, although only with complete determination and self-control. After many marches, protests, and exchanges, as well as Dr. King's assassination, the power of black Americans was starting to be recognized by the world. The Equal Employment Opportunity Committee was created in 1967 to assist minorities receive the jobs they deserve, reviewing and protecting applicants from employer discrimination. This created over 4,000 injuries in ensuing riots and a revived call to action for equal treatment of minorities (â€Å"Jackson Sun. ) This was the result of yet another attempt at equality for all American citizens. However, this attempt joined forces with the Affirmative Action law President John F. Kennedy created in order to stop racism bleeding into the employment world. Giving black Americ ans more power, the social class of African Americans rose for a decade before hitting a bump in the progression of African American historical timeline when crack cocaine hit the streets along with the influx of HIV/AIDS. African Americans were amongst the hardest hit by these two pandemics.Bringing African American morality down, and degrading back to the poverty lifestyle, gangs boomed, creating a family unit and source of income for many urban African Americans. In the 1990's, gang violence skyrocketed. In direct opposition, so did police brutality, particularly of African Americans. The teachings of gang members grew exponentially through the powerful words of American rap by gangsters like Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, who both grew up in the slums of opposing American coasts and shared the horrific life occurrences they witnessed or took part in.Not only did these artists glamorize the thug lifestyle, but the women in the music videos of these artists created a further degr adation of females as sexual objects, not humans to be respected. Tupac addressed these issues with his poetry: â€Å"I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself Is life worth living should I blast myself? I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm black My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch Cops give a damn about a negro Pull the trigger kill a ***** he's a hero Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares One less hungry mouth on the welfareFirst ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers Give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other It's time to fight back that's what Huey said† (Changes. ) This is an explicit example of the war-like lifestyle African Americans maintained in the streets of urban centers. Police officers and government officials were discriminating against African Americans more than any other minority. The consistent oppression of black people lead by police roused many riots. Perhaps the most well-known of all instigators of civil rights call to actions is the infamous 1992 Rodney King beating.Four police officers beat Rodney King, a mad guilty of a DUI until he had broken 11 facial bones, among other injuries (â€Å"Rodney King. â€Å") Americans were outraged by the unnecessary brutal treatment of this man and deemed it an extreme example of police discrimination. This tension between African Americans and police officers created 53 deaths, 2,383 injuries, more than 7,000 fires, damage to 3,100 businesses, and nearly $1 billion in financial losses (â€Å"Rodney King. â€Å") Finally, African Americans were making their case for equality known.The United States has just re-elected Democrat, Barack Obama for a second term in office. This man is half African American, half Caucasian. It is almost unfathomable that we finally have a man of color in the Oval Office upon seeing the constant failures of activists who desire to see equality for all. These â€Å"failures† are not what they seem, as collectively, they catapulted African Americans to a much more comfortable position in the United States. Just because our President is half black does not mean the fight for African American equality is over.Unfortunately, there are still plenty of hate crimes heard in the headlines are the country to this day. African Americans are gaining status in society now that there are much more firm laws in place deterring employers, instructors, or officials to discriminate based on race, class, gender, or orientation. In the near future, the minorities of America will no longer be considered the minority as our global as well as country-wide population is ever-changing and increasingly becoming more well-rounded.Hopefully, this will assist in eliminating the hate crimes, prejudice, and discrimination against those who do not have the luxury of inherently obtaining the white privilege. Understanding that race, class, and gender all works for and against us constantly due to social constr uct will create a more positive awareness of the importance equality and the beauty of each individual's unique qualities, experiences, and characters. Race, class, and gender still remains unequal amongst American individuals, so teaching positive social change and appreciation of a multicultural society will always remain a necessity.Works Cited Andersen, Margaret, and Patricia Collins. Race, Class, & Gender. 8th ed. . Belmont: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010. xi-xiii. Print. Gallagher, Charles. â€Å"Color-Blind Privilege. † Trans. Array Race, Class, & Gender. Margaret Anderson and Patricia Collins. 8th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth & Cengage Learning, 2010. 91-95. Print. Lewis, R. L, Jennifer Mueller, et al. â€Å"The Culture of Black Femininity and School Success. † Trans. Array Race, Class, & Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Collins. 8th ed.Belmont: Wadsworth & Cengage Learning, 2010. 187-193. Print. â€Å"National Civil Rights Timeline. † Jackson Sun [Jac kson] 2003, n. pag. Web. 2 Dec. 2012. . â€Å"Rodney King. † 2012. . Shakur, Tupac, writ. Changes. 1998. Song. 1 Dec 2012. Theoharis, Jeanne. â€Å"I Hate It When People Treat Me Like a F&up. † Trans. Array Race, Class, & Gender. Margaret Andersen and Patricia Collins. 8th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth & Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. United States. U. S. Census Bureau. 2010 Census Data. Washington, D. C. : , 2012. Web. .

Internal combustion engine Essay

Electric cars should be used instead of cars that run with gasoline because electric cars do not harm the environment, are quieter, quicker, does not require gasoline and include a significant reduction to air pollution. Firstly, electric cars have a lot of benefits. One of them is that they are quiet, quick and smooth, making most regular cars look clunky and outdated. What surprises people the most is the torque (axle-twisting power) offered by the electric cars. Step on the accelerator and power is delivered immediately to the wheels, providing a thrilling driving experience. Secondly, after a while with an electric car you will forget that gas stations existed. Imagine never going to a gas station and spending all that money for fuel. All you have to do is pull your vehicle in your drive way or garage and plug it in to the charging inlet. It is very convenient to just wake up the next morning and have a fully charged vehicle that can go up to 100 miles. In addition they are cheaper to operate. Almost everywhere in the world, electricity is very cheap. So when you compare an electric vehicle to a regular car, the cost per mile to fuel an electric vehicle is approximately one-third to one-quarter the cost of gasoline (on a cost per mile basis). Nevertheless, owning a car is associated with the responsibility of maintaining it. Regular cars require frequent maintenance but this is not the case in electric cars. These cars do not suffer same level of stress as traditional engines acquire and do not require frequent oil changes and other regular maintenance. On the other hand, electric cars have a lot of disadvantages too. First of all the limited range of the electric cars is probably the biggest disadvantage. Most affordable electric cars only have about 80 to 100 miles of range. Which is not enough if you are for instance going on a long road trip. People who have electric cars need to properly plan, assuring that they will not go over the limited range. Not to mention, they also have a long refueling time. It is not like going to a gas station and adding a couple of hundred miles of range in five or ten minutes. To recharge a completely empty electric car would take about 10 hours depending on the voltage. With 120 volts (which is the current voltage in every house) it will take ten hours. With 240 volts it takes about four to five hours to fully charge the electric vehicle. Also, you would have to have the right place to charge your electric vehicle. You cannot go more than the car’s limit but you the right place to charge it. For instance people who are living in apartments cannot own electric cars because they do not have a garage to charge their vehicle. Big electric car companies have charging stations where you can get your vehicle fully charged in 1-2 hours but there are not a lot like gas stations. Furthermore the higher cost is probably what keeps people away from electric vehicles. The current electric cars are priced between 30. 000 and 40. 000 dollars. While you can buy, for instance the Honda Fit, Ford Focus etc. for less than 20,000 dollars. Last but not least, electric cars are costly to maintain and repair if there is a big problem with the car. Since electric cars are in a class of their own, owners may wind up paying more on repairs and maintenance because not every mechanic is trained to repair and maintain electric cars. In conclusion, when considering the pros and cons of electric cars, it is clear that there are some major advantages and disadvantages of owning an electric car. At the end, if these cars help people save a tremendous amount of money and help the environment, the pros of owning an electric car will outweigh all of the cons.

If Max Weber was living today, how would he analyzed the current Assignment

If Max Weber was living today, how would he analyzed the current fiscal situation from a public policy prospective - Assignment Example The main intention of coming up with this act was to prevent the emergence of a sovereign default which could have emanated from the 2011 US debt ceiling crisis. The main objective of this committee was for purposes of developing a deficit reduction plan over a 10 year period (Vanderveen, 2013). Any recommendations that the committee gave was subject to a simple vote of majority in the legislature. This is without an amendment. The main purpose of introducing these extraordinary provisions was for purposes of limiting a partisan gridlock amongst the members of the congress. The main aim of the 2011 Budget Control Act was to reduce at least 1.5 trillion dollars of the US debts over the next 10 years. This paper analysis the public policy views of Max Weber in regard to the current fiscal situation of the United States. Max Weber is an important scholar who has written extensively on bureaucracy (Edwards, 2007). This paper therefore analyzes the bureaucratic believes of Max Weber in re lation to the current fiscal situation of the United States. One of the major ideas that Weber and Weber (2012) believed is the notion of people acting as a basis of social inquiry. Weber believed that sociologists need to connect with social actors with the main intention of understanding a given problem and situation. The fiscal situation in United States is a social as well as an economic issue (Vanderveen, 2013). To understand the reasons why the US has a huge debt deficit, the government had to create the joint select committee on debt deficit. This institution was answerable to the congress, and it had to provide recommendations on how to solve the current US fiscal situation. This institution is a social actor, and it acted as an organization responsible for conducting social inquiry. The committee had a mandate until 23rd of November 2011. The mandate was to looks for methods and means

Contracts, Trademarks, and European E-Commerce Law Case Study

Contracts, Trademarks, and European E-Commerce Law - Case Study Example Alfred uses written standard terms of business which include the term â€Å"All soft Ltd is not liable for the results of using this software†. The software costs Ј50, with a postage and packing charge of Ј5 if sent via DVD. Brian lives in another EU country (not the UK). He goes to Alfred’s website with the intention of downloading a copy of Alfred’s latest computer program for use in his own small business. He clicks on a â€Å"Download Now† button, inputs his address and credit card details, and is presented with Alfred’s contract terms as a ‘Click Wrap agreement. Brian scrolls down through the agreement without reading it, clicks an ‘I accept button at the bottom of the screen, and downloads the software. He then begins using it. assy lives in the UK. She goes to Alfred’s website with the intention of buying a copy of Alfred’s latest computer program on DVD, for her own personal use. She clicks on an â€Å"Order Now† button, inputs her address and credit card details, clicks a button that says Submit, and places her order. When the software arrives on DVD five days later, Cassy puts the DVD into her computer and is presented with Alfred’s contract terms as a ‘Click Wrap agreement. Cassy scrolls down through the agreement and notices the term â€Å"To the extent allowed by law, All soft Ltd is not liable for the results of using this software†. Cassy clicks an ‘I accept button at the bottom of the screen, and is then able to begin using the software. Alfred’s software is vulnerable to a new computer virus which infects Brian’s and Cassy’s computers and causes them to crash repeatedly. In consequence, Brian suffers an economic loss of Ј10, 000 due to the interruption in his business. Cassy suffers an economic loss of Ј100, which is the cost of taking her computer to a local servicer to get the virus removed and Alfred’s software uninstalled. Both Brian and Cassy contact Alfred, demanding to be compensated for the losses they have incurred.

Pain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Pain - Essay Example the site, intensity, and direction of the cause of the pain, allowing physicians and nurses to more adequately assess the disease process, and take the steps necessary to relieve the patient’s pain. Geriatric patients undergo pain, and which may pose particular challenges in nursing care. The physical, psychological, and social impact of geriatric pain will be highlighted in this study, and the particular issues of pain assessment and management will be explained as related to nursing care.   There is no single definition of pain, as pain can manifest itself in many ways to different patients. Pain may occur in varying levels of severity, and in various parts of the physical anatomy. Many times, pain may also have mental components that must be assessed. Pain often causes distress, and alleviation of patient distress is a primary goal. Measurement of pain and implementing interventions to relieve not only the pain, but also the source of the pain, is an integral part of the caretaker’s role (Glasper, McEwing and Richardson 2009). The aim of this discussion is to provide a definition of pain that is applicable to the care setting, in which consideration is given to the elements of pain that are subjective and complex. Pain is to be evaluated as a multidimensional experience with psychological, physical, emotional, cultural and spiritual ramifications that are each significant and must be considered in order to provide high quality nursing care to patient’s e xperiences diverse types and levels of pain. A balanced approach to nursing considers the entire scope of pain when assessing a patient or providing treatment.   Almost all nurses will need to interact with geriatric patients at some point in their career. In fact, according to the American Journal of Nursing, contemporary nurses will care for more patients in the age range 65 and older than any other type of patient (â€Å"Nursing Care of Older Adults†). In order to achieve an understanding of

Evaluate the current uses of 3D printing. Discuss the potential future Essay

Evaluate the current uses of 3D printing. Discuss the potential future of 3D printing based on current issues identified in the literature - Essay Example 3D technologies include building images layer by layer using powder and raw materials such as resins, plastics and super alloys rather than multi-coloured ink as in conventional printers (Berman 2012, p. 155). 3D printing presents many future possibilities, albeit some clearly not for the foreseeable future, including the manufacturing of final objects closer to consumers or even by the consumers themselves, with significant implications for both the society and economy. On the other hand, there are also issues ranging from social to practical, legal and economic aspects. This paper will evaluate the current uses of 3D printing and discuss its potential future based on the issues associated with them. 3D printing has evolved since the first functional 3D printer was created in 1984. The 3D printing or additive manufacturing process is a form of rapid-prototyping that fabricates three-dimensional objects using the technology of ink-jet printing. The process joins materials from three-dimensional model data to make or ‘print’ objects, usually placing layer upon layer unlike subtractive manufacturing that include cutting and moulding raw materials into objects (Stahl 2013, p. 3). Further, it mainly uses systems of 3D scanning and computer-aided design (CAD) models for production. Objects printed using the 3D technology are fabricated after successive layers of materials are solidified, fused or deposited on top of each other, whereby each layer corresponds to the objects’ cross-sectional shapes. FDM (fused deposition modeling) and SLS (selective laser sintering) are currently the most common 3D printing technologies. Technological developments have made the conce pt more accessible and affordable, widening the range of current and potential users beyond the previous rapid prototyping systems that fundamentally targeted engineering and industrial applications. According to Stephens, Orch & Ramos (2013, p. 334), 3D printing may better be understood by viewing what

Direct and Internet Marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Direct and Internet Marketing - Research Paper Example From appearing first in 1952 in annual report of GE (Annual Report, New York: General Electric Company, 1952) marketing concept has acquired the most important aspect for any organization. An organization that has a market orientation focuses its efforts on. The ever changing situation of the market i.e. of buyers, suppliers, customers, employees or technological could change the equilibrium of any organization. Organizations normally adjust to these changes by changing their overall all-round policies and strategies. The market-led approach has three components: Consumer orientation, Competitor orientation and Inter-functional co-ordination (See Appendix). The result is today's "Customers era", in which firms seek continuously to satisfy the high expectations of customers. An important outgrowth of this focus on the customer is the recent attention placed on customers relationship management (CRM), the process of identifying prospective buyers, understanding them intimately and developing favorable long term perceptions of the organization and its offering so that buyers will choose them in the market place (Srivastava, Shervani and Fahey, 1999). This process requires the involvement and commitment of managers and employees throughout the organization and a growing application of information, communication and Internet technology. Now reaching perspective buyers either, directly or indirectly is a prerequisite for successful marketing. To reach out to the customers organizations use different channels through which goods and services from the producer/providers flows to buyers either through intermediaries or without them. To communicate with customers, a company can use one or more of five promotional alternatives: advertising, personal selling, public relations, sales promotions and direct marketing. The first three alternatives are often use mass selling because they are used with groups of perspective buyers. In contrast, personal selling uses customized interaction between a seller and a perspective buyer. Personal selling activities include face-to-face, telephone and interactive electronic communications. Direct marketing also uses messages customized for specific customers. Direct marketing uses direct co mmunication with consumers to generate a response in the form of an order, a request for further information, or a visit to a retail outlet (Economic impact: U.S. Direct marketing today, New York: Direct marketing Association, 1998). The communication can take many forms including face to face selling, direct mail, catalogs, telephone, oscillations, direct response advertising (on television and radio and in print), and online (Internet) marketing. It has an advantage of being customized to match the needs to specific target markets. Messages can be developed and adopted quickly to facilitate one to one relationship with customers. Direct marketing have certain disadvantage First direct marketing requires a comprehensive and up to date data base with information about target market. Developing and maintaining the database can be expensive and time consuming.

External and Internal Environmental Analysis Essay - 4

External and Internal Environmental Analysis - Essay Example The world certainly operates in an era where the need to come up with efficient and reliable technology is of primary importance. Thus, Apple has no choice, but to go for innovation in order to meet the requirement of the society that constantly of in great demand for new innovative technologies. Considering that every nation has to protect its economic status, employing government policy is the usual trend. Thus, it is remarkable that Apple has to abide by the rules and regulations of every nation where there is a high need for its product offerings. On the other hand, as Porter suggested, in an industry, there must be five forces, which include, new entrants, substitute products, bargaining power of suppliers, bargaining power of buyers, and rivalry among existing firms (Porter, 2003). Apple has to face the competition. That is the reality. At present, there are small scale new entrants and new brands in the industry that try to compete with Apple’s product offerings. There are also various substitute products around, which could be the great result of rivalry among existing firms. As a result, this increases the bargaining power of suppliers, because of the ongoing competition. In addition, provided that there are many firms out there like Apple which are competing in almost the same segment, the source of raw materials may substantially be a primary factor for profitability and sustainable competitive advantage. As a result, the bargaining power of suppliers is higher due to constant and high demand for raw materials. Apple’s marketing strategy is like no other, for it is the first and exemplary in its industry. Even in its marketing approach, the firm has substantially established an innovative marketing strategy and business model that make it a cut above the other in its industry. As a result, Apple ensures its production

Communicators of the Sea Essay Example for Free

Communicators of the Sea Essay

Cross Culture Affects The Global Fast Foods

Cross Culture Affects The Global Fast Foods Michel Camdessus, former managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that: Globalization is simply the continuation of the trend toward greater international economic integration that has been under way for the last fifty years. The difference is that todays markets are larger, more complex, and more closely integrated than ever before. And now capital moves at a speed and in volumes that would have been inconceivable a few decades ago. (Walker, Walker, Schmitz, 2003, p.2). One could surely argue that, globalisation as defined by our contemporary experience, is a continuation of a historical evolution that has been underway for at least the past five hundred years, with European colonialisation and imperialism leading to a dynamic between parochial tribalism and global commerce that frames the modern state of affairs- a dialectical dynamic that Benjamin Barber (1996) fittingly calls Jihad vs. McWorld. As stated by Elmer (2003), Stepping out and fitting in around the world is what multinationals brand of companies are doing to conquer new markets and to be sustainable on the long run. The challenge of crossing the border to step out and fit in each and every culture worldwide (Elmer, 2003), and be both a global and a local company is the effort of Fast Food brands like KFC, McDonalds and Nandos. Downs (1993) stated that One of the greatest stumbling blocks to understanding other peoples within or without a particular culture is the tendency to judge others behavior by our own standards. As per Criag Storti (1989. P. 32-34): The more we retreat from the culture and the people the less we learn about them; the less we know about them the more uncomfortable we feel among them; the more uncomfortable we fell among them the more inclined we are to withdraw. Therefore to survive a multinational has to learn about the people of the country they are operating in. Hofstede (1991), Trompenaars (1993), Czinkota and Ronkainen (1993) all agreed that culture is based on languages, economy, religion, policies, social institutions, class, values, status, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education, which subsequently influences managerial values. The ability of Hofstedes framework to capture more than the individualism-collectivism dimension of culture contributed to its popularity (Sivakuma and Nakata, 2001). According to Hofstede (1980), the uncertainty avoidance dimension deals with the national cultures ability to tolerate ambiguity. Individuals in these high uncertainty avoidance cultures tend to be rigid and dogmatic. They are threatened by unknown situations. Life is perceived to have many risks, and the resultant stress needs to be lessened. So the cultures may rely upon such mechanisms as rules, customs, laws, and religion in pursuit of security. 1.2 Problem Definition With the effect of globalization, it has been noted that many multinational fast food brands are establishing in the Mauritius. After nearly 30 years that KFC implemented itself in Mauritius, we now have an influx of different famous brands of fast foods. Another phenomenon leading to this increase of fast food on the market is the opening of retail outlets like Bagatelle and Cascavelle. Mauritius is known for its history of different ethnic groups and with a diversity of food culture, the question arising is how these companies are able to gain share of the market and how they have adapted themselves to the Mauritian culture. 1.3 The industry understudy This study will be conducted for the Fast Food industry with reference to the following multinational brands: KFC, McDonalds and Nandos. This will enable us to analyse how they are operating and how the importation of American and Portuguese food culture are adapting to our famous Mauritian cuisine:Bryani, Dal puri, Gateaux Piment, Mine Bouille and other typical Mauritian food. 1.4 Aim of research The aim of this research is to investigate how these multinationals are facing the cross cultural barriers and how they have been able to overcome them. 1.5 Objective of Research To identify cross cultural barriers existing in the Mauritian Market and the fast food sector. To analyse how cross culture barriers affects the Marketing strategies of Fast Food Companies To analyse the impact of cross culture on the brand equity of these Multinationals To analyse the impact of the anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory faced by Fast Food Multinational on the Market. To evaluate how Mauritians has accepted these Multinationals in their culture. 1.6 Research Structure and hypotheses Companies who extend their business abroad have to face a challenge of cross-cultural communication. Bennis and Nanus (1985) refer to Erez (1992) and claim that communication is the only approach by which group members can cooperate with each other toward the goal of organization. In line with this a possible hypothesis is as follows: HYPOTHESIS 1 Ho: Cross cultural barriers have no impact on fast food multinational marketing strategies H1: cross cultural barriers have impact on fast food multinational marketing strategies Steenkamp et al. (2003) found that perceived brand globalness was positively related to perceived quality and prestige. Another hypothesis can be: HYPOTHESIS 2 H3: Cross cultural barriers have no impact on brand equity of fast food multinational marketing strategies H4: Cross cultural barriers have impact on brand equity of fast food multinational marketing strategies Hofstede (1991, p. 116) points out that uncertainty avoidance should not be confused with risk avoidance even more than reducing risk, uncertainty avoidance leads to a reduction of ambiguity. One of hypothesis will show this from the study HYPOTHESIS 3 H5: The anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory have no impact on Fast foods Multinationals on the Market. H6: The anxiety and uncertainty avoidance theory have impact on Fast foods Multinationals on the Market. Levitt (1983, p. 87) argues that well-managed companies have moved from emphasis on customizing items to offering globally standardized products that are advanced, functional, reliable and low priced. The following hypothesis will try to this point. HYPOTHESIS 4 H7: Mauritian has adopted these Multinational Fast Foods. H8: Mauritian has not adopted these Multinational Fast Foods. 1.7 Structure of the Study The dissertation will comprise of different chapters as outlined below. Chapter 1: Introduction defines the background of the research and outlines the aim and research objectives. It also gives an overview of the structure of the study to be carried out. Chapter 2: Literature Review -presents a detailed account of relevant materials in relation to the subject matter including theories and principles relating to cross-cultural barriers, also in relation to the food and fast foods multinationals. It also emphasizes on Individualism versus collectivism and uncertainty avoidance in relation to Hofstedes cultural framework. Chapter 3: Situation Analysis It provides a brief of the Mauritian Fast food Multinationals and the problem they have encounter to be present on the Market Chapter 4: Methodology defines the basic methods used to carry out this study along with the procedures that are used to analyse and prepare the collected data. It also identifies the problems and limitations during the research. Chapter 5: Analysis Findings Presents an analysis of the data collected together with a discussion. Chapter 6: Recommendations Conclusion provides recommendations to provide a smoother adjustment for the Fast Food Multinationals in view with cross cultural issues. Chapter 2 Literature review Since the very beginning of human history, food has assembled peoples in the way that no any other things have been able to do. No matter whether it was the ancient agora or todays modern day supermarket or restaurant, the market of food has always played a central role in humans lives, communities, communication, and culture (Huddleston et al., 2009; DeJesus and Tian, 2004). Culture is often defined as a system of values as well as a determinant of consumer behavior. Members of a particular culture transform their experiences with their physical and social environments to an abstract level of belief about what is desirable and what is not (Lillis and Tian 2010). Such encoded beliefs, called values, act as a general guide for everyday behaviors, including those pertaining to buying and consumption. Cultural values differ among nations along Hofstedes four dimensions of national character (Emery and Tian, 2003; Hofstede, 1984; Tian, 2002). The growing amount of international business has increased the need to understand consumer behavior from a cross-cultural perspective (Mooij, 2004; Senguder, 2001; Sunderland and Denny, 2007; Tian 2002 a). With the globalisation of markets, marketing research has assumed a truly international character and this trend is likely to continue (Malhotra et al., 1994). Todays Consumers have greater knowledge of the value of various competing offerings. Effective communications may be the most important competitive advantage that firms have to meet diverse consumer needs on a global basis. According to Edmondson (2000), two-thirds of all industries either already operate globally or are in the process of doing so, McDonaldss earns over 62% of its income outside the U.S. For cross-cultural acceptance, Altering and adjusting the marketing mix determinants are essential and vital to suit local tastes, meet special needs and consumers non-identical requirements (Czinkota and Ronnenken, 1995). Growing internationalization of tastes and buying patterns has made the development of global and regional brands more feasible (Doyle, 1994). 2.1 Fast Food Industry and Food culture The fast food revolution essentially had its origins in the US in the mid 1950s and this style of catering has continued to grow there and to spread to most of the rest of the world in the decades since then (Jones et al, 2002, p.41). Schlosser (2001) has suggested that within the US the impact of this revolution has been seen to be particularly pervasive. He argues, for example, that during a relatively brief period of time the fast food industry has helped to transform not only the American diet but also our landscapes, economy, workforce and popular culture. More generally fast food can be seen as a powerful symbol of globalisation and of post-modern society and few countries of the world seem immune to its apparent attractions. McDonaldss, for example, claim to serve 45 million customers every day in 30,000 restaurants in 121 countries around the world (Jones et al, 2002, p.41). Fast food have been defined by Bender and Bender (1995) as a general term used for a limited menu of foods that lend themselves to production-line techniques; suppliers tend to specialize in products such as hamburgers, pizzas, chicken, or sandwiches. Fast food is one which gained acceptance of Indian palate after the multinational fast food players adapted the basic Indian food requirements with vegetarian meals and selected non-vegetarian options excluding beef and pork totally from their menu (Goyal, and Singh, 2007). Carmouche and Kelly (1995) suggested a list of factors that shape the food consumption behavior: social class, gender, age, culture, race, and religion (also considered a cultural factor). Food is one important factor that influences the choice to visit a particular place and affects tourists attitudes, decisions, and behavior (Henderson 2009; Hjalanger and Corigliano 2000). Ample evidence has been found that religion can influence consumer attitude and behavior in general and food purchasing decisions and eating habits in particular (Bonne and Verbeke 2008b). In many societies, religion plays one of the most influential roles in shaping food choices and consumption behavior: the types of food that can be consumed, who should prepare and cook the food at what times, and how and when to eat it. However, different religions have different rules and teachings about food consumption behavior. Followers of religions also differ in observance of these rules: some follow the rules strictly, while others behave with more flexibility, and few may not care at all. Hence, in order to investigate the relationship between food consumption behavior and religion, it is important to give ample consideration to this religious diversity both within and among the followers of each religion. (Maedeh Bon, Mazhar Hussain, 2010) All restaurants of KFC, an American fast-food chain, in France are Halal certified and KFC also serves such food in eight of its British restaurants on a trial basis (The Economist 2009). 2.2 Culture and Cross Culture 2.2.1 Definition of Culture According to Ferraro (1994), the only requirement for culture is to be human is that the people in the world belong to a culture. Marzheuser (1995) stated that culture consists primarily of the symbols and stories people use to communicate their history and values. For Hall (1976), culture is a word which stands for the sum of earned behavior, patterns, attitudes and material things. Culture has been defined as the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another (Hofstede, 1980). Beyond individual differences, human dispositions and behaviors are influenced by the norms, beliefs and values of their cultural environment (Triandis, 1989). Furthermore, cultural values shape not only ones behavior, but also ones perceptions of the self and of the social environment (Triandis, 1989). Much insight has been gained from the GLOBE research project (House et al., 2004), where culture was measured both as values of the respondents and in terms of their perceptions of how people deal with collective challenges within their culture. 2.2.2 Cross Culture Okazaki et al (2011) defined global consumer culture positioning as: a brand is associated with a widely understood and recognized set of symbols believed to constitute emerging global consumer cultures. As Simon and Dolan (1997) illustrate; McDonaldss has been very successful with package offers in the USA and in Germany, where a hamburger and fries offered together with a beverage. While Local consumer culture positioning is defined as a strategy that associates the brand with local cultural meanings, reflects the local cultures norms and identities, is portrayed as consumed by local people in the national culture, and/or is depicted as locally produced for local people (e.g., McDonaldss chicken teriyaki ads in Japan). In contrast, foreign consumer culture positioning positions the brand as symbolic of a specific foreign consumer culture (e.g. KFC slogan Finger-lickin good was translated as Eat your fingers off in China). Beyond individual differences, human dispositions and behaviors are influenced by the norms, beliefs and values of their cultural environment (Triandis, 1989). Furthermore, cultural values shape not only ones behavior, but also ones perceptions of the self and of the social environment (Triandis, 1989). Cultural differences have significant impact on our intercultural communication. They are the source of misunderstanding, misinterpretation, anxiety, and uncertainty, which ultimately result in miscommunication (Stephan and Stephan, (2002); Gudykunst (2002); Gudykunst and Lee, (2002). Generally, culture is conceptualised as a shared way of life collectively developed and shared by a group of people and transmitted from generation to generation (Tubbs and Moss, 1994). Culture embodies many complex elements such as beliefs, values, language, political systems, and tools which together give a group its code or characteristics (Griffin (2000); Tubbs and Moss (1994). This code is not impos ed by one individual or an external body. Rather, it is socially constructed (by members that make up the group) and historically transmitted (Philipsen, (1992) and Griffin (2000)). Intercultural communication is thus the exchange of information between well-defined groups of people with significantly different cultures (Barnett and Lee (2002). The process is quite complex in the sense that this exchange of information takes place in a context which is a fusion of significantly different systems. The process also requires conscious attempts by each party at reducing uncertainty about the future behaviour of the other party through an increase in understanding of the other group (Barnett and Lee (2002); Gudykunst, (2002)). For Gudykunst and Lee (2002) and Griffin, (2000) Cultural variability (the extent to which cultures differ) is key to any conceptualisation of intercultural communication. Various studies have examined cultural variability at the level of power distribution (or power distance), uncertainty avoidance, gender roles, face negotiation, individualism-collectivism, and others. Mazneski (1994) opines that cross-cultural awareness facilitates to perform a set task successfully. Berthon (1993) views culture as the results of the human actions and shows the link between the ideas of mental programming and the consequence of behaviour derived from this. Therefore, cross-verging across culture has different aspects such as attitude, communication, conflict and negotiation, performance and compensation, which explain the ethical issues and how to appraise them. Bond and Forgas (1984) concluded that different perceptions, attitudes and biases in different cultures ultimately mould the ethical monochromes across-culture, have a distinct presence ubiquitously. In that light, McFarlin and Sweeney (1998) observe that once you perceive and interpret the behaviour of another person, you often must communicate your feelings or reactions to what took place which is an extension of the ethical base to appraise performance and preference. Ambos and Schlegelmilch (2008) argu e that one culture may support certain type (or types) of organizations rather than other types, and culture differences will eventually influence on the performance of company. International marketers have long realized that products and services frequently must be adapted to the varying needs and preferences of consumers in different countries (Cateora and Graham 2002). As McDonaldss adapted its products in India and has made changes to its menu to cater to local tastes elsewhere in the world. In 1996 McDonaldss launches its first restaurants in India and to respect local custom the menu there did not include beef. Instead, there was a novel item the Maharaja Mac, made with mutton but served in the McDonaldss sesame-seed bun (Rugimbana and Nwankwo, (2003). The goal of marketing management is to create positive identity impressions in the local consumers minds, even if this entails some alteration to the companys global identity expressions. As reported in The Economist (2001), in the fast-food industry, menu offerings are influenced by the prevailing cultural values Maharaja Macs at McDonaldss India, Teriyaki McBurgers at McDonaldss Japan, and Kosher and non-Kosher restaurants in McDonaldss Israel and advertising, outdoor signage, and in-store ephemera need to be in the native language. Restaurant architecture frequently incorporates native motifs and global trade characters can take on a local flavor. A Starbucks in Shanghai has a Ming Dynasty faà §ade and the entrances of some Chinese KFC restaurants are guarded by full-size, fiberglass models of Colonel Sanders who, in his Asian reincarnation, looks a little portly like a Buddha. According to former CEO, Jack Greenberg, localization has contributed to McDonaldss worldwide success (Foreign Policy 2001), although some analysts warn that decentralization has become so pervasive that it threatens to undermine the main pillars of the brand service, quality and cleanliness (The Economist 2001). 2.3 Cross Culture Barriers Hofstede (1991), Trompenaars (1993), and Czinkota and Ronkainen (1993) all agreed that culture is based on languages, economy, religion, policies, social institutions, class, values, status, attitudes, manners, customs, material items, aesthetics and education, which subsequently influences managerial values. Witkowski and Wolfinbarger (2002) found that the relationship between the different components of service quality reliability, empathy, responsiveness, assurance, and tangibles and perceptions of overall service quality varied across both cultures and across service settings. 2.3.1 Language Language is the key to the heart of a culture, so related are language and culture that language holds the power to maintain national or cultural identity. Victor (1992) noted that there are at least 2, 796 languages spoken on planet earth. According to Rubin (1992), language is a set of characters or elements and rules for their use in relation to one another and as described by Nanda and Warms (1998) language does more than just reflect culture: it is the way in which an individual is introduce to the order of the physical and social environment. As the definition of Dawson (1967), language lies at the root of culture, and that culture and language are inseparable aspects of the same process. According to Edwards (1985), language is important in ethnic and nationalist sentiment because of its power and visible symbolism (reason why the Mauritian government as implemented Mauritian Creoles in schools). For Bolch (1996) language and culture are so firmly intertwined that optional cro ss-cultural international business cannot be attained without substantial foreign-language capabilities. Reasonable cultural awareness without foreign-language capabilities is common, especially among English speaking business people, but such a lack of skills set very definite limits on the efficacy of cross-cultural performance. Intercultural communication gained prominence after efforts by anthropologists and linguists like Hall and Lado to link language, culture, and communication (Kramsch, 2001). 2.3.2 Norms, Roles, Beliefs and Values Norms are culturally defined rules for determining acceptable and appropriate behaviour (Tubbs and Moss, 1994). They include those that govern social situations and conversational routines such as greetings, making requests, and expressing various emotions. Roles are also sources of cultural variability. Roles are sets of norms applicable to specific groups of people in society. As culture relates to norms, values and customs of people it generates behavioural differentiation. Culture as a set of norms, rules and customs, as a result people from different cultures have differences in their norms and customs. Culture is a pattern of spiritual, emotional, mental and physical realities, all of which interact in the life of society and individuals. It involves the way we think, dress and speak, the words we use, our beliefs, the food we eat, the style of our clothes and our homes, the relationship between relatives, our music and our art, and much more. Higher education levels expose ind ividuals to different cultural perspectives and make them less likely to follow local behavioral norms and more global as consumers (Keillor et al., 2001). Cultural syndromes are cognitive structures that help one organize and interpret the world by focusing attention on certain patterns or themes in the subjective elements of the environment, such as values, norms, beliefs, and assumptions (Triandis, 1994a) 2.3.3 Status Homer and Kahle (1988), the value attitude behavior hierarchy would support the contention that cultural values do correlate with attitudes. Orientation toward status is another cultural dimension identified as affecting human behavior and refers to how people are judged in society (Trompanaars Hampdon-Turner, 1997). Achievement is a cultural orientation where people are accorded status based on how well they perform their functions (e.g., subject matter expertise) and on what they have accomplished. Ascription is a cultural orientation where status is attributed based on who or what a person is (i.e., based on age, gender, or social connections). 2.4. High context-communication and low context communication. High context or Low context communication theory is one of the most important theories in cross-cultural research, which can be viewed as a culture based on the messages that people within the culture prefer to use (Richardson and Smith, 2007). It properly links management style and staff behaviour to discuss the issue of cross-cultural management in communication. According to Richardson and Smith (2007) refer to Hall (1976) and argue that cultures cannot be easily classified into High Context or Low Context, but to some extent, some cultures tend to be at the higher end while others are at the lower end of the continuum. In a high-context culture, people interdepend on each other. Information is widely shared through the word with potential meaning. In a low-context cutlure, people tend to be individualized, kind of alienated and fragmented, people do not involve with each other too much. High context communication tends to engage an indirect way to express while low context commun ication prefers direct information exchange (Kim, Pan and Park, 1998, Richardson and Smith, 2007). In a low-context culture, people coming from other culture can easily match these machinations, but in a high-context culture, these high-context machinations cannot be easily matched by people coming from low-context culture (Holden, 2002). The characteristic of high-context communication is economical, fast, efficient, and satisfying, however, programming is time-consumed (Kim, Pan and Park, 1998). Contrarily, low-context massages are more context-free than high-context communication, information about the character and background and values of the participants are less influencing on people to make deals, however, the reliance to make deal is upon the explicit communication. In high context cultures communication involves messages in which most of the information is already in the person, while very little is in the coded, explicit, transmitted part of the message While low context the mass of the information is vested i n explicit code (Hall Hall, 1990). Cultural dimensions such as uncertainty avoidance, high-low context, field dependence-independence, and analytic-holistic reasoning are all cultural dimensions that may impact the leaders search (Salas e t al., 2004). 2.5 Hofstede cultural dimension Framework The human relations theme contains cultural dimensions that address how members of cultures react, interact, and develop relationships with others. Specifically, this theme includes dimensions that describe the identification of in- versus out-groups and corresponding expectations (Hofstede, 1980), preferences for individualistic tendencies versus group consensus and corresponding behavioral consequences (Trompenaars Hampden-Turner, 1998), and the maintenance of the status quo (Schwartz, 1999). The power relations theme contains cultural dimensions that revolve around peoples beliefs, values, and subsequent behaviors resulting from perceptions of power. Cultural dimensions within this theme guide rules and regulations regarding peoples reaction to power as well as the perception, acceptance, and adherence of power being distributed unequally (Hofstede, 1980). Hofstedes classification was originally related to work values rather than consumer behavior and other micro phenomena; it mi ght be less relevant in more culture specific studies on more micro phenomena in consumer behaviors (Yau et al. 1999). However, his work appears to be heavily relied upon because of its extensiveness across cultures and its intuitive appeal. While the first four themes deal primarily with direct social interactions, the next several themes pertain to differences in cultures orientation to more inanimate objects (i.e., rules, times, nature). Dimensions, which pertain to a cultures orientation to rules, include those that describe the adherence to, application of, and comfort with rules for members of a certain culture. Specifically, this theme refers to attitudes and preferences for ambiguity, rules guiding actions, and the amount of rules that govern behaviour for a particular society (Hofstede, 1980). National cultures also have different preferences with regard to perception of time and how those perceptions guide behavior. The time orientation theme refers to dimensions that explain how time perceptions of members relate to rewards, how time is viewed, and whether or not members pay attention to time (Hofstede, 2001; Hall Hall, 1990). The following provides a brief outline of the six dimensions of national cultures (Hofstede, 2001; Hofstede et al., 2010). (1) Power distance refers to the extent to which a society accepts the fact that power in institutions and organizations is distributed unequally. It is shown as much by the behavioural values of superiors, who display their power and exercise it, as by the behavioural values of subordinates who wait for their superiors to show their status and power, and are uncomfortable if they do not personally experience it. (2) Uncertainty avoidance refers to the extent to which members of a society feel uncomfortable in ambiguous and uncertain situations and take actions to avoid them. The dimension of uncertainty avoidance measures the extent to which people in a society tend to feel threatened by uncertain, ambiguous or unde ¬Ã‚ ned situations. Where uncertainty avoidance is high, organizations promote stable careers, produce rules and procedures, etc. Nevertheless societies in which uncertainty avoidance is strong are also characterized by a higher level of anxiety and aggressiveness that creates, among other things, a strong inner urge to work hard (Hofstede, 1980a). (3) Individualism versus collectivism refers to the extent to which individuals are supposed to look after themselves or remain integrated into groups. Hofstede (2001) defines it as the collective programming of the mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from another. According to this definition, national culture is a set of collective beliefs and values that distinguish people of one nation from those of another. (4) Masculinity versus femininity refers to the distribution of emotional roles between the genders. It contrasts tough masculine with tender feminine societies. A society is masculine when the dominant values favour assertiveness, earning money, showing off possessions and caring little for others. Conversely, feminine societies favour nurturing roles, interdependence between people and caring for others (who are seen as worth caring for, because they are temporarily weak). The masculinity/femininity dimension has been so called because, on average, men tended to score high on one extreme and women on the other, across societies. (5) Long-term versus short-term orientation refers to the extent to which a culture programs its members to accept delayed satisfaction of their material, social and emotional needs. Long-term orientation is future-focused and has long-term goals whereas short-term orientations focus on respect for tradition and are oriented toward the past and the present. Long Term Orientation stands for the fostering of virtues oriented towards future rewards, in particular, perseverance and thrift. Its opposite pole, Short Term O

Jim Morrison Essay -- Religion, Culture, Elvis

I preface this paper by a consideration of why Jim Morrison can be discussed within the discourse of religious studies. I suggest four possibilities. The first is the place of religion in late modernity; that is, as individualized, subjectivated and deinstitutionalized. These factors contribute to the circumstances under which Morrison may be understood in religious terms because of the conditions they create. Religion may be deinstitutionalized (Luckmann 1967; Bibby 1990), but people are still religious (Chaves 1994). This enables religion to exist in other ways; one way is through dead celebrity. In an article entitled â€Å"Is Elvis a God? Cult, Culture, Questions of Method,† John Frow (1998, 208-209), after discussing the apparent failure of the secularization thesis,1 remarks, â€Å" . . . religious sentiment . . . has migrated into many strange and unexpected places, from New Age trinketry to manga movies to the cult of the famous dead . . . we need to take religion ser iously in all its dimensions because of its centrality in the modern world.† Further, religion as individualized and subjectivated (Hervieu-Là ©ger 2000) allows people to create their own systems of meaning and transcendence. Dead celebrity, using Morrison as an exemplar, is one system. The second possibility follows from the first. Regarding the changing nature of religion in the 1960s, religious studies scholar, Gail Hamner (2003, 447), wrote that â€Å"popular culture became subject to deification or at least spiritualization.† Although this paper does not intend to provide an account of the process by which some celebrities were sacralized in the twentieth century, it should be noted that literature on the subject does exist. A seminal work, in this regard, is The Work o... ... supplemented by relevant scholarly literature and popular biographies of Morrison. It is with these four possibilities, religion in late modernity, scholarship on religion and celebrity, the way we think of, and define religion, and Riddell (2008), that I consider Jim Morrison and religion. There is a paucity of academic literature on Jim Morrison, yet a reasonable amount of popular literature, which I am engaging in my evaluation. Scholarship on dead celebrity fandom has progressed in the last decade; however, in 1998, John Frow (1998, 200) claimed that â€Å"we lack almost completely the tools to make sense of [the process by which dead celebrities are sacralized].† My hope is that by outlining the role of Morrison in self-propagating his own myth, combined with a posthumous documentation of this process, I will contribute to literature on dead celebrity fandom.

Hamlet again :: essays research papers

Scene i: The play opens in the dead of night on the walls of Elsinore Castle. Gloom, uncertainty and anxiety hang over the kingdom of Denmark, the first words spoken coming as the sentinel's challenge, "Who's there?" In short order we learn from the guard of the night watch that the long-time King of Denmark, "Old Hamlet" or "Ur-Hamlet," died mysteriously just two months earlier, that his brother, Claudius, has taken the throne, and that Claudius has married the dead king's wife, Queen Gertrude. The members of the watch, including Prince Hamlet's loyal friend Horatio, are further alarmed over the recent appearance of a ghost who resembles Hamlet's late father, and they plan to tell Hamlet about this disturbing apparition. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene i) Scene ii: The play now shifts to the royal court of King Claudius and his new wife, Queen Gertrude, as we first see Hamlet's uncle dealing capably with affairs of state. In this, he is advised by his chief counselor, Polonius, and the King has a cordial exchange with his minister's son, Laertes. Hamlet, however, remains in the background, a surly figure muttering resentful asides. Claudius rejects Hamlet's request to return to college at Wittenberg, and urges him to cease his "unmanly" mourning for his father. When the royal entourage departs, Hamlet speaks a soliloquy about his resentments toward his stepfather, his mother, and their incestuous marriage. Horatio and his cohorts arrive and tell the prince about the ghost they have seen. Hamlet vows to observe it himself. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene ii) Scene iii:The scene is comprised of an exchange among Polonius, his son Laertes and his daughter, Ophelia. The young maiden Ophelia reveals to her father and brother that Prince Hamlet is "madly" in love with her. Both Polonius and Laertes strongly warn her about any romance with a prince of the realm, particularly one who seems to be mentally unbalanced. (Jump to the text of Act I, Scene iii) Scenes iv-v: Back at the walls of the castle, the Ghost of Hamlet's father speaks to his son directly and urges him to follow him to a one-on-one encounter. Hamlet has misgivings, but he obeys and the ghost then confirms that he is, in fact, the dead King. He also discloses that he was the victim of a murder, that Claudius poured poison into his ear while he was asleep.

Ted Hughes Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow Essay -- Crow Fr

Social Issues and Creation Stories in Ted Hughes' Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow      Ã‚  Ã‚   There are many mythological stories that exist in this age.   Within these different myths, there are many answers to how our world was created.   Yet, one must become open-minded to other myths that do not necessarily discuss creation; Crow: From the Life and Songs of the Crow can be seen to fall into this category.   This collection of Ted Hughes' poetry is intertwined with social issues and creation stories.   Throughout this collection, the poems not only involve Classical and Christian related ideas they also include several twentieth century advancements.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The myths that Hughes creates have the central character as the crow.   In the book Myth in the Poetry of Ted Hughes, Hirschberg gives a brief statement of how crows are viewed in different mythologies, "In folk mythology the crow is an animal figure predominantly associated with the twin motifs of death and guilt, a stark figure who embodies boldness, intelligence, adaptability to change and a twisted vitality" (126).   This description is widely evident throughout Ted Hughes' collection.   Crow goes through many phases and meditations.   Among the topics found in Crow   are views of religion, human actions, and destruction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Throughout Crow, there are many references to Christianity.   Yet, in each poem that includes this topic, the original stories are altered to give a new style of myth.   "A Childish Prank" is one of the poems that Hughes begins altering the original biblical references.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "A Childish Prank" is a poem about a malicious trick that Crow plays on Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden.   This poem is about Adam and Eve l... ...en though we hear ideas from different sources, we must still make our own interpretations. Crow is a great mythology that has unique parallels with society and human struggles.   A mythology is meant to relate to people, and give them warnings and answers.   Through looking at the religious, emotional, and destructive implications in the collection, we see that it is a mythology; thus, if we are open-minded enough to study and accept other mythologies, why not accept the life, songs, and philosophy of Crow as well? Works Cited Hirschberg, Stuart.   Myth in the Poetry of Ted Hughes:  A guide to the poems .   Totowa, New Jersey: Barnes and Noble, 1981. Hughes, Ted.   Crow:   From the Life and Songs of the Crow.   New York:   Harper and Row, 1971. Scigaj, Leonard M.   The Poetry of Ted Hughes:   Form and Imagination.   Iowa City, Iowa: U of Iowa P, 1986.

School Counseling

Which is the most difficult part being a school counselor? After I read the ASCA Model on page 9 of textbook, I knew the leadership, advocacy, teaming and collaboration and systemic change are all what school counselors should focus on. I also learned that school counseling is a profession that focuses on the relations and interactions between students and their school environment with the purpose of reducing the barriers in order to help students to success. In my opinion, the team-member and collaborator is the most challenging for a school counselor in an urban school setting.Because as an effective team-member and collaborator, school counselor work with teachers, administrators and other school personnel to make sure that each student succeeds. However, sometimes working with other school setting educators is not very easy. For example, some teachers do not like to follow the advices from counselors, they believe that their ways are perfect. Hence, they do not want to hear the v oice from counselors. I understand everybody has different ideas, but I also believe that our students will get benefits if we can work together as a team.We share our opinions and hear everyone’s advice. Because our goals are same, we all hope each student succeeds. Even though the coloration is challenging and difficult, we still need to do it with our efforts. What the elements for school counseling as a profession? Threatened by who? From the framework for a school counseling program, there are four elements of school counseling of a profession, foundation, delivery system, management system, and accountability. On the page 9 of the textbook, foundation includes beliefs and philosophy, mission statement, ASCA national standards.Delivery system includes school guidance curriculum, individual student planning, responsive services and system support. Management system includes agreements, advisory council, use of date, use of time and calendars. The last one, accountability includes results reports, school counselor performance standards and program audit. I think school counseling profession may be threatened by other educators, like teachers, principals and other administrators. Sometimes school counselors cannot get enough support for a new idea, some changes cannot get approval by high level administrators or supervisors.From the supporting articles, we have to get more effective data to prove our idea is right. Being a counselor, we must do more research in order to get sufficient evidence if we want to persuade teachers or other educators to accept our changes or new ideas. Because counselors are not in the classroom, no direct relationship with students likes teachers. Hence, our advice or new idea is not easy to be accepted by teachers. For dealing with these difficulties, the most effective way is research! Using data to speak! Compare the traditional and contemporary model?The most recognizable models for school counseling focused on the â₠¬Å" three Cs† of school counseling: counseling, consultation, and coordination. These three elements are all what traditional model has. However, as school counseling system was improved and developed in today’s world. The contemporary model still includes counseling and coordination as well as leadership, advocacy, collaboration and teaming, and assessment and use of data. From the ASCA National Model, the skills of leadership, advocacy, and collaboration and teaming are emphasized as very important and essential elements of being a school counselor.And it also needs efforts to improve systemic change. Comparing with the contemporary model of school counseling, the traditional model just has three basic elements. For the contemporary model, more positions and skills were involved for school counselors. School counselors spend more time to develop and maintain relationships with students, teachers, parents, administrators, and community resource educators. As the change s from traditional model to contemporary model, leadership becomes an important role in our school counseling.According to Philiips, leadership involves influencing others to create a shared commitment to a common purpose. Then, the other new model element advocacy is also effective, advocates in schools work to reduce barriers that lead to achievement gaps between poor and minority students and their more advantaged peers. Our end goals are all making students to be successful. After that, collaboration and teaming part is difficult but necessary. It is an essential process for promoting systemic change. As our last week discussion, we all noticed the power of assessment and use of data.We need to do effective research in order to support our new ideas and changes. Without doubts, data use is also a bright improvement of being one of the new elements for school counseling. After knowing the differences between traditional and contemporary model, we can see that school counseling sy stem is really on the right track to move. More useful skills came out in order to promoting student achievement. For Comprehensive School Counseling Progams, Describe, compare, and contrast the Missouri Model and the ASCA Model. Are these models relevant and/or realistic for school counselors in urban schools?After reading the chapter four, it is good to know a new model of school counseling program. The comprehensive guidance program model is also known as the Missouri model in 1917. In this model, it includes self-knowledge and interpersonal skills, life roles, settings, and events, and life career planning. It also offers three elements and four components. The elements include the content of the program, the organizational framework, and resources. Four components include guidance curriculum, individual planning, responsive services, and system support.We have already familiar with the ASCA model. For the ASCA National model, the framework has four elements. (foundation, delive ry system, management system and accountability). It also has four themes. (leadership, advocacy, teaming and collaboration and systemic change) ASCA National Model is conducted in collaboration with key partners, monitors student progress, is driven by data, seeks improvement, and shares successes with stakeholders. For the Missouri Model, it presents a complete framework that can be adapted for each school.Being a school counselor, these developments are indeed good for our students. Especially, the life career development can help student’s development awareness and acceptance of themselves and others, also help students develop and incorporate practices that lead to effective learning, responsible daily living, finally help students understand and use a decision-making process in determining their life goals. As we know, the purpose of both Missouri Model and ASCA National Model is providing a framework for counselors to promote academic achievement, career planning, and personal social development.Theoretically, these models are good in urban schools from above aspects. However, the reality is different. For an example, we all know systemic change and collaboration are not easy to do. Even though these models give us many valuable instructions to help our students, sometimes we still have many difficulties from various realities. the roles of the â€Å"resource broker† and explain the â€Å"School Change Feedback Process (SCFP)? After reading the article by Colbert and Kulikowich, I learned a new term: resource broker and a new process: School Change Feedback Process (SCFP).The role of resource broker is offered to help counselors with data-driven programs. A resource broker is a school professional who functions as an active force to identify, provide access to, and ensure the utilization of resources that enhance student development. (Colbert, R. D. , & Kulikowich, J. M. (2006)) As a resource broker, it includes teacher efficacy in progra m assessments when data show inequities in student access to rigorous academic classes. Hence, the resource broker indeed plays an important role in school counseling.After that, regarding to a role for school counselors in education reform, the research produced the emergence of a new method called the School Change Feedback Process (SCFP). It has four steps in the SCFP process: 1. Obtain teacher efficacy beliefs. 2. Share teachers' efficacy beliefs with the principal and teachers. 3. Incorporate teachers' beliefs into the ongoing education reform or school improvement plan implementation with continuous feedback. 4. Obtain teachers' beliefs again, and repeat the cycle.In this process, three basic counselor responsibilities includes identify resources, gain access to resources and ensure the utilization of resources. According to ASCA, â€Å"School counselors must show that each activity implemented as part of the school counseling program is developed from a careful analysis of s tudent needs, achievement and related data†. Hence, we should use data to monitor student’s progress. Being a school counselor, we should use database to disaggregate data related to achievement, attendance, discipline, and so forth to develop action plans.In additional, school counselors also work with principals and teachers. So, using SCFP is a good way to corporate with them. As we all know, getting the efficacy from teacher is very important. Hence, resource broker helps counselors with data, then using SCFP to get feedback in a contemporary urban school setting. concept of â€Å"behavioral momentum,† as discussed in Lee's article. Explain how this concept, and those of high-p and low-p tasks, might be relevant to school counselors?The term behavioral momentum is described as â€Å" the dynamics of behavior in changing environments†. Nevin indicated that behavior possesses a momentum much more like physical objects. The high-p request intervention is based on the theory of behavioral momentum. A high-probability request sequence is an intervention that practitioners can use to make it more likely that a nonpreferred behavior will occur. For this intervention, many requests with a high probability of compliance is delivered just prior to a request with a low probability of compliance.In this article, it gave us an example to understand, â€Å"a teacher may ask a student to take out a pencil (high-p request), write his or her name on a piece of paper (high-p request), and write the date at the top of the paper (high-p request), immediately prior to asking the student to begin math seatwork, a low-p activity†. The responses generated by the high-p requests carries over and increases compliance to the request that had previously resulted in noncompliance. The effects of high-p request sequences have been examined.From this example, we can clearly know what is high-p and what is low-p. In our counseling program, we can use thi s method to help our students in academic work. It indeed has many advantages to help students to succeed. Teachers can spend more time on direct instruction, as opposed to managing student behavior. Then, decreasing the work of students who are already behind academically may have a negative effect on skill development. After that, teachers can use these tasks to make transitions more efficient and to increase proficiency at performing those same high-p tasks.

Human development Essay

Human development entails all means to widen man’s preferences so he could sustain a healthy lifestyle, enjoy human rights, experience the normal way of living, and discover ways to become useful for the service of others and for his own esteem. Similarly, he can enjoy living a contented life enjoying the privilege of having political, cultural, communal, and economical liberties. Human development has its own justification. If at some point one’s development is questioned or criticized or discriminated against, so long as one does not interfere with other people’s lives nor deprive them of their own happiness, one owes nobody an explanation for what he does, for who he is and how he has become. In order to pull off this human development, he may seek some channels to build up his entire being. Socialization can be one of those channels wherein such channel will give them a sense of being in the right place and eventually develop and become the right person they wanted to be. Socialization can never be done it is composed of only one person. You have to meet people who may share the same the interests, cultures, norms, ideals, talents, or other similar stuff that you can relate to. To develop fully as individual, one must discover his or her potentials and share them to others. Of course, socializing entails hardships in managing time and adjusting to a group of people. But then, if you love the group you are in or are interested of improving yourself, all these problems could not possibly overshadow your development as a human being. Man’s socialization skills therefore are essential in his development as a person. If he uses his socialization skills to the fullest, he may become unaware of the extent that his socialization skills would take him if developed. If he learns to discover and harness such, he will undoubtedly provide himself with a huge room to completely grow as a human being.

Don’t Call Me Ishmael Essay

Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself. Don’t call me Ishmael Essay: Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely  important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself. Don’t call me Ishmael Essay: Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself. Don’t call me Ishmael Essay: Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make  myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself. Don’t call me Ishmael Essay: Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself. Don’t call me Ishmael Essay: Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that  being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself. vDon’t call me Ishmael Essay: Throughout Michael Gerard Bauer’s Don’t call me Ishmael, the author frequently displays the contrasts between the two characters Ishmael Leseur and James Scobie. The two characters help each other find themselves throughout the book. They teach many valuable lessons and prove to us that being yourself rules over all. Firstly, both Scobie and Leseur have lessons they can teach to all. However, I have extracted my most meaningful quotes and sayings from the book. Sayings that teach the most valuable lessons and show deeper meaning in the characters. For instance, on page 20-21, Ishmael states â€Å"Essentially, the most important thing I learnt last year was to make myself as small target as possible.† I believe this has a strong message behind it, I interpret it as saying if you don’t do anything noticeable, then life will be easy. This however is not true. Rather than hiding from everything and trying your hardest to be invisible, we should learn to embrace life and the challenges that come with it. This is an extremely important life lesson that many people ignore. Another quote from earlier on in the book (page 69) Ishmael states â€Å"when Barry Bagsley threatened you, you backed down. That’s just the way it was† I interpreted the message in this to be that although it may seem impossible and scary, it’s sometimes better to stand up for yourself.