Overweight, Underweight, and Obesity Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Overweight, Underweight, and Obesity - Assignment Example To begin with, people should consider eating foods that have low concentration of fats. When a person has high fat intake there is a high possibility that they will have heart related complications. The fat settles on the outer lining of the heart, which leaves little room for the heart’s activities. With limited space of expansion, the heart does not function accordingly. As such, the person will have difficulties especially when the heart does not give the body enough blood supply due to limited space. This is closely connected to obesity where the body needs massive supply of blood. Similarly, the fat in the body builds the lining of arteries and veins. This leaves little room for blood flow in the body. This leads to high pressure in the blood vessels which later leads to hypertension (Sizer and Whitney, 2012). Therefore, reduction of fat consumptions helps the body to function accordingly. When a person needs to reduce the fat in the body, they are advised to work out eve ryday for a minimum of 15 minutes. Similarly, it has been discovered that the growth of cancer cells can be minimized by healthy eating. These foods help increase the immunity of the body to any attacks, for example garlic. It is known that people who maintain healthy eating habits have lesser chances of attacks from hypertension, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Therefore, it is prudent to observe healthy eating habits and exercise on a daily

Traditional patriarchal society Essay Example for Free

Traditional patriarchal society Essay Discuss the validity of Rachel Claytons view that Much Ado About Nothing has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of a traditional patriarchal society. In Rachel Claytons essay Who is Hero? she suggests Shakespeare has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of traditional patriarchal society. She suggests that a feminist would find Heros acceptance of Claudio after he disgraced her frustrating. But she suggests when looking at Heros actions again considering the society at the time that her actions are more understandable. Elizabethan society was patriarchal and religious. Women were possessions, owned by fathers or husbands. They had to be compliant; a disobedient wife or child made a man appear incompetent. Whereas men were allowed to behave promiscuously before they were married and even during, women were not. If they were found guilty of this they would never be able to marry and their reputation would be shattered. The savage bull may, but if ever the sensible Benedick bear it, pluck off the horns and set them in my forehead, and let me be vilely painted, and in such great letters as they write Here is a good horse to hire let them signify under my sign Here you may see Benedick, the married man'. When a man could not control his wife they were known as cuckolds by other men, which traditionally had horns on their heads. When Benedick uses this imagery, he is suggesting any woman he marries is likely to cheat on him. This shows that men are insecure about themselves; they assume women would be unfaithful because they never get to know them before they are married. Benedick is paranoid about this, and so he uses his scorn of marriage and women as a defence mechanism to protect himself. It is clear that Shakespeare criticises the existing customs and advocates that a courtship in which couples communicate would be a far more preferable way, and which would prevent the mistakes of Claudio. 1 Beatrice also shows this, as when the slander of Hero has taken place, Beatrice asks Benedick to kill Claudio for her. When he refuses, Beatrice gives her view of men, Claudio in particular. She says that if she were a man she would eat his heart in the market place. She is showing that men are weak and cowardly, whereas women, who are portrayed as the weaker sex, are much stronger and braver than men, but she is also showing a stereotypical view of men, showing a lack of understanding because lovers did not get to know each other. If a woman did not get married, it was believed she would go to hell, because marriage was a sacrament and supposedly brought you closer to God. In this way the church is also an aspect of patriarchal society, used to control women and make them do what men desire of them. In fact, the Church was one of the most influential figures of authority, which is shown later, when friar defends Hero. Rachel Clayton says, In consideration of seventeenth-century marriage, romance and emotional capability were not high on the list of priorities for well-placed young women; generally only low-born women had the freedom to marry for love. When considering this, Heros actions are more understandable, even though the slanderous allegations made against her were untrue, her reputation may still have been tarnished, damaging her chances of marriage. If she did not marry Claudio, she may never be able to marry, and so she marries him for her own sake as much as his. A modern audience would find Heros lack of choice frustrating, but to the contemporary audience this would be the norm in society. In a recent interpretation, Hero rejects Claudio, which is a much more satisfying ending to a modern audience. However, these values did not apply to the lower classes, as although Hero is slandered when it is believed she has been unfaithful and is not virtuous, when it is discovered it is in fact Margaret who was with Borachio, she is not punished and her reputation is not tarnished, showing that society treated women differently according to class. Can the world buy such a jewel? Yea, and a case to put it into. Although Claudio refers to Hero as a jewel, he is also referring to buying her, she is a possession to be bought and sold. The metaphor jewel implies this, as although it is a precious beautiful object, it can be owned by an individual and a price put on it. In the same scene, Claudio asks Hath Leonato any son? so implying he has purely selfish reasons for wanting to marry Hero. This also suggests his earlier romantic speech is merely a pretence, and his true motivation for the match is money and status. Hero is the possession of her father, and this is shown when Beatrice, Antonio, Leonato and Hero are discussing the fact they think Don Pedro is going to propose to Hero. Leonato tells Hero if he does You know your answer. The use of the imperative shows Hero does not have a choice. The Watch, although portrayed as foolish, undermine the upper class society as they work out who is to blame for the slander of Hero, whereas the upper class characters believe the lies. The upper class characters are perceived as more intelligent, but the watch find out the truth because they overhear Borachio bragging Thou shouldst rather ask if it were possible any villainy should be so rich. For when rich villains have need of poor ones, poor ones may make what price they will. He believes that chiefly by my (Borachios) villainy he has bettered members of the upper class society. He is unaware that he is about to be found out by a lower class than him. A Marxist reading would say that many characters, especially the women, are controlled by hierarchical society. This is also shown in Don Pedro, who believes his high status in society gives him the right to mock other characters, especially women. This is shown when plotting the match between Benedick and Beatrice Don Pedro tells Hero I will teach you, assuming Hero would not be able to trick her own friend. This also shows how men in society viewed the women as inferior and insignificant, and he is patronising her. The word patronising and patriarchal both stem from the Greek word pater, meaning father. The theme of noting, overhearing, appears throughout the play, as many of the deceptions are carried out due to people misunderstanding overheard conversations. The title Much Ado About Nothing, is multi-layered, as it could be interpreted as a commotion over nothing, but in the time of Shakespeare it could be read as noting, a commotion over noting. Whereas the higher society misinterpret the conversations they overhear, the lower class make no mistake and it is due to their noting and persistence the deceit was uncovered, which also portrays the faults in the patriarchal society. A third interpretation of the title also looks at the word nothing, which can also be read as no-thing, which was a slang term for female genitalia. This interpretation looks at how the Ado concerns mans fight to control female virginity. When Hero is around the women in the play, she wittily converses about the plot to trick Beatrice, saying Why you speak truth, I never yet say a man, how wise, how noble, young, how rarely featured, but she would spell him backward showing her playful nature and her ability to bond with other women and leave behind the formality. This shows that humanised by the worries and wit she discloses to her friends, Hero embodies the enormous pressure upon women to conform to the male ideal (York Notes); it seems her duty is to demonstrate responsibility and restraint, but her silent nature around men is not who Hero really is, but whom she pretends to be in order to gain a husband. This shows that the male members of society suppressed women, and that this submissive silent quality was attractive to men. Heros name is also interesting. Many have suggested that it can also be read as her-o, o being a metaphor for a woman and her virginity. This seems to fit with the plot of the play, as the slander is because Claudio believes Hero is not innocent, she knows the heat of a luxurious bed. He also says Hero itself can blot out Heros virtue. If this is read as Her-o itself can blot out Heros virtue Claudio is saying her virginity will show she is not faithful and honourable, as he believes she has lost it. However, it is also intended to propose a connection between Hero and the so-called heroes of the play. The men of the play have just returned from fighting in the war, and therefore are war heroes. However the craven behaviour shown by the men, Claudios slander of Hero before even checking to determine its truth, and Benedicks reluctance to challenge Claudio for the crimes he has committed, make the audience question who the real hero of the play is, whether it really is Hero, who spends her entire life submitting to the behaviours she believes men desire, and even when she is slandered still forgives and marries Claudio. Hero has no choice in this, therefore Shakespeare has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of a patriarchal society. The slander of Hero is a cowardly, insecure act. When Claudio says Are our eyes our own? , he is showing his own insecurities, he does not know Hero well enough to marry her, and if he did he might not be so insecure and might know she would not be unfaithful to him. Jackie Shead says Shakespeare intends irony, then, when Claudio asks at the wedding party Are our eyes our own? as if the reply, like Heros guilt, is self-evident. She also says Claudio is constantly borrowing the eyes of others; Hero has been the perfect woman all her life, wealthy, beautiful, respected and most of all obedient. She deliberately becomes the silent women to conform to the male ideal and to slander her because of the words of a villain is a cowardly act. This shows that although society looked upon the courtship of Hero and Claudio to be the correct way of finding a partner, they did not know each other well enough, suggesting that the socially acceptable thing to do is not always the best way, therefore undermining the society of the time. In a recent performance at the National Theatre in London, the only women in the scene of Heros slander are Hero and Beatrice, to illustrate how dominated the society was by men. In my opinion, Shakespeare was ahead of his time when he wrote Much Ado About Nothing. He seemed to be able to see through the common beliefs that members of the upper class society were more intelligent and superior to members of the lower class society, as shown in the perceptive nature of The Watch and the way the upper class characters are fooled so easily, and also the belief that women were of a lower status to men and were possessions of men. The comedy in the play is satire, used to highlight the faults in the patriarchal society. As a feminist, I agree with Clayton that Heros acceptance of Claudio after he had disgraced her is frustrating. I also agree with Claytons view that Much Ado About Nothing has laid bare the faults and deficiencies of a traditional patriarchal society. Shakespeare uses many techniques to mock the upper class characters; especially the way women were treated. One of his motivations for this may have been the fact that the monarch was female at the time Shakespeare was writing. Queen Elizabeth was Shakespeares greatest patron, and if his plays appealed to her she would go to see them, which would also encourage others to go. However, the very last line of the play is given to Benedick, who has the last word in his merry war with Beatrice, giving him the upper hand and kissing her to stop her mouth, which shows Shakespeare could not break entirely away from the restraints of patriarchal society. Bibliography: Berry, Mary, ed, Much Ado About Nothing, Cambridge, Sch.Shakespeare (1993) Clayton, Rachel, Who is hero? The English Review September 2002 Shead, Jackie, Are Our Eyes Our Own? The English Review September 2004 Stuart, Ross, ed. Much Ado About Nothing York Notes Advanced, York Press London, 2001 http://www. sparknotes. com/shakespeare/muchado http://www. megaessays. com/viewpaper/28333. html 1 How does Shakespeare dramatically present power and authority between men and women in Much Ado About Nothing? http://www. megaessays. com/viewpaper/28333. html

Love And Rejection: Breaking Up :: essays research papers

Love and Rejection: Breaking Up Some felt they were a modern day Romeo and Juliet. The reality, however, is that they were a heartbreaking example of what can go wrong with adolescents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Christian Dalvia, 14 and Maryling Flores, 13 were sweethearts who were forbidden by Flores' mother to see each other. In early November, 1995, the young couple met one last time. Standing at the edge of a Florida canal, they joined hands and jumped 15 feet into the cold, murky water to their deaths.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Their deaths may sound romantic, even heroic to other teenagers when, in actuality, it's just plain stupid. There were probably many other reasons for their deaths, but ultimately, the thought of not being together tortured to the point of wanting to take their own lives. This is a very extreme example of what can go wrong with teenage heartbreak. One minute they're inseperable - sharing their most intimate thoughts and details - the next minute they are faces across a crowded room or polite acquaintances at best. These are the consequences that come along with a breakup.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We teens hear about love all around us, in music and movies, on TV, in stories. We hear that love will make us happy. We hear that single people are lonely. We are told that if we are not part of a couple, we are not complete. We all want to be part of this thing called ‘love'.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Okay, we get a boyfriend or girlfriend, now everything should be perfect. But, it's not perfect, because life never is. It is easy to become disappointed. Feelings can change. One person may decide to say good-bye. When that happens, the one left behind will feel rejected.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rejection means choosing between one thing and another. The one who feels rejected thinks as if they are not good enough. It hurts. When the person you love decides to leave you, it is even more painful. Does rejection mean failure? No. The end of a relationship means that the boyfriend or girlfriend decided that s/he wanted a change. The reasons for this are within the ex - not within the rejected person. No one is a less valuable person because their boyfriend or girlfriend's feelings have changed. What To Expect   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are nine stages of rejection that almost all â€Å"dumpees† must go through. The pain may be awful, but each stage is part of the healing process. The stages may not follow in an exact order, but they will all be experienced. The Denial Phase: â€Å"This can't be happening.† During this stage, people may find themselves waiting for the phone to ring and not believing that the

Word Meaning in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying Essay -- Faulkner’s As I Lay

Word Meaning in Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying Throughout Faulkner’s novel, As I Lay Dying, a prominent difference between the characters Anse and Addie appears in his/her contrasting depiction of word meaning. According to the mother, Addie, words are bad and do not signify their designated meaning. In comparison, her husband, Anse, continually stresses and believes in his spoken promise or word to bury Addie in Jefferson. Incidentally, the juxtaposition between the two character’s theories of word meaning emphasizes an alternative comical view toward the burial of Addie. Her burial is sacred to the family due to the promise of the father’s word and yet based on Addie’s meaningless attempt at revenge toward her husband. Addie’s depiction of words is very negative. She continually affirms, â€Å"words are no good; that words dont ever fit even what they are trying to say at† (171). Apparently, she doesn’t hold any truth in words and sees them as spaces of void. She states, â€Å"I knew that that word was like the others: just a shape to fill a lack; that when the right time came, you wouldn’...

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner INTRODUCTION

No two writers go about things in exactly the same way. We al are inspired and motivated in different ways; we have our own reasons why some characters stay with us while others disappear into a backlog of neglected files. Personal y, I've never figured out why some of my characters take on strong lives of their own, but I'm always happy when they do. Those characters are the most effortless to write, and so their stories are usual y the ones that get finished. Bree is one of those characters, and she's the chief reason why this story is now in your hands, rather than lost in the maze of forgotten folders inside my computer. (The two other reasons are named Diego and Fred.) I started thinking about Bree while I was editing Eclipse. Editing, not writing – when I was writing the first draft of Eclipse, I had first-person-perspective blinders on; anything that Bel a couldn't see or hear or feel or taste or touch was irrelevant. That story was her experience only. The next step in the editing process was to step away from Bel a and see how the story flowed. My editor, Rebecca Davis, was a huge part of that process, and she had a lot of questions for me about the things Bel a didn't know and how we could make the right parts of that story clearer. Because Bree is the only newborn Bel a sees, Bree's was the perspective that I first gravitated toward as I considered what was going on behind the scenes. I started thinking about living in the basement with the newborns and hunting traditional vampire-style. I imagined the world as Bree understood it. And it was easy to do that. From the start Bree was very clear as a character, and some of her friends also sprang to life effortlessly. This is the way it usual y works for me: I try to write a short synopsis of what is happening in some other part of the story, and I end up jotting down dialogue. In this case, instead of a synopsis, I found myself writing a day in Bree's life. Writing Bree was the first time I'd stepped into the shoes of a narrator who was a â€Å"real† vampire – a hunter, a monster. I got to look through her red eyes at us humans; suddenly we were pathetic and weak, easy prey, of no importance whatsoever except as a tasty snack. I felt what it was like to be alone while surrounded by enemies, always on guard, never sure of anything except that her life was always in danger. I got to submerge myself in a total y different breed of vampires: newborns. The newborn life was something I hadn't ever gotten to explore – even when Bel a final y became a vampire. Bel a was never a newborn like Bree was a newborn. It was exciting and dark and, ultimately, tragic. The closer I got to the inevitable end, the more I wished I'd concluded Eclipse just slightly differently. I wonder how you wil feel about Bree. She's such a smal, seemingly trivial character in Eclipse. She lives for only five minutes of Bel a's perspective. And yet her story is so important to an understanding of the novel. When you read the Eclipse scene in which Bel a stares at Bree, assessing her as a possible future, did you ever think about what has brought Bree to that point in time? As Bree glares back, did you wonder what Bel a and the Cul ens look like to her? Probably not. But even if you did, I'l bet you never guessed her secrets. I hope you end up caring about Bree as much as I do, though that's kind of a cruel wish. You know this: it doesn't end wel for her. But at least you wil know the whole story. And that no perspective is ever real y trivial. Enjoy, Stephenie

Beware of Three Syntax Sins when Writing Business Proposals

Beware of Three Syntax Sins when Writing Business Proposals Sometimes the writing voice that speaks with confidence in your mind can trick you. Internally, you sound powerful, in control, and impressive. On paper, however, it can be a very different story. Poor syntax takes the confident writing voices in our heads and garbles it into an ineffective, hesitant sounding mush. We might not realize it because, frankly, we are used to seeing poor syntax in business writing. So the weak, timid-voiced writing passes through our proofreading radar unnoticed. Beware of the following three deadly sins of poor syntax when writing business proposals. If you eliminate these problems, your proposal will shine with confidence. 1. Refine Your Clarity Don't write with passivity. The passive voice likes to place the center of your sentence's action the subject that's doing the verb at the end of the sentence: i.e. "The sales numbers were calculated by John," which should be "John calculated the sales numbers." Here's a quick fix: if you scan your proposal for any use of the word "by," you will catch many of your passive sentences. The passive voice does have its uses, however. Its mild, cool-headed rhythm can be useful for conveying a business-like tone. But do not use it in excess. Strip your sentences of adverbs those little words we like to sprinkle into sentences to amplify our verbs and adjectives. It's amazing how clean, crisp, and powerful a sentence becomes when you strip the adverbs from it. Good novelists discovered this trick ages ago. However, you don't need a long list of adverbs to do this syntax cleanse. Just scan your manuscript for the most common offenders: the word "very" and any word that ends with "-ly" and remove it from the proposal. Your sentences will drop their excess weight and fly. Example: Before adverbs removed: Our CEO very happily confirmed that the incredibly effective new product line has attracted amazingly quick responses from very influential investors in a highly competitive market. After adverbs removed: Our CEO confirmed that the effective new product line has attracted immediate responses from influential investors in a competitive market. Of course, adverbs do have their purpose. Sometimes they help with tone and the rhythm of a sentence. But use them judiciously. 2. Drop the Jargon Using jargon creates a sense of insecurity. It's also annoying and distracting. What is jargon, exactly? It's the language of the business cultures we inhabit. Have you ever been asked what the primarytakeaway was from the meeting, instead of, "What did you take away from that meeting?" That's a classic example of jargon turning verbs into nouns. But jargon also turns nouns into verbs called "verbing." About Educationpublishing an article about verbing, and it used a dialogue from a Calvin and Hobbes cartoon to make its point: Calvin: I like to verb words. Hobbes: What? Calvin: I take nouns and adjectives and use them as verbs. Remember when "access" was a thing? Now it's something you do. It got verbed. . . . Verbing weirds language. Hobbes: Maybe we can eventually make language a complete impediment to understanding. That's exactly what jargon does; it turns language into a barrier for understanding. The solution is simple: look for unconventional language or insider's terms specific to your work culture and replace them with plain, clear language. Jargon steals some of the professional sheen from your proposal. And, your proposal will be misunderstood if the client doesn't speak the same jargon. 3. Use Correct Terms: Avoid Lazy Proofreading Triple-proof your text to ensure you used the correct terms specific to your client's work. Incorrect terms, even if from human error, make you appear ignorant. Your reader will not trust you if you're misusing technical language and terminology. Do the extra work of checking your sources and brushing up on the proper terminology for the subject. Sometimes simple writing fatigue causes these errors. Try to avoid rush jobs that depend on late night proofreading. If you know the job will require an all night work session, try to schedule time the next day to do more proofreading when you have fresh eyes. When you are very familiar with a document, it's always best to let a day lapse before you proofread. Your eye becomes so accustomed to the document that it becomes very easy to miss an error. Our onlinebusiness proposal writing course will help you avoid these three deadly sins of bad syntax and fill your proposals with a powerful, effective, and confident voice.

Recrystalization Lab Report Essay Example

Recrystalization Lab Report Essay Example Recrystalization Lab Report Paper Recrystalization Lab Report Paper An exothermic reaction started immediately with concomitant orientation of a brown precipitate of crude actinide. Ml of water and a magnetic stirring bar were added to stir the reaction mixture and the flask was heated on a magnetic stirring hot plate until all of the solid and oil were dissolved. The temperature of the reaction mixture at this point was close to ICC, the boiling point of water. A few millimeters of hot solution was removed from the flask with a disposable pipette and placed in a test tube. The test tube was set aside to cool and produce crystals. The color and melting point of the in batch of crystals were used to assess the effectiveness of activated carbon treatment of the main batch to remove the colored impurities (vide infra). The temperature of the main batch of the reaction mixture in the Erlenmeyer flask was brought down to 70-ICC, and approximately a pinch of activated carbon were added to the solution. The reaction mixture was carefully brought to boiling with efficient stirring, to prevent bumping over of the reaction mixture. The hot solution was filtered through a double layer of fluted filter paper arranged in a conical glass funnel, previous heated over a boiling water bath. To complete crystallization, the filtrate was cooled in an ice bath. The crystals were collected by suction filtration. The collected product was spread over a filter paper to dry until the next class period. Dried actinide showed melting point, 112-ICC, yield 2. Grams. The crystals from the mini batch that was not treated with charcoal were collected by suction filtration using a Hirsch funnel. These crystals had brown color and showed melting range of 106-ICC, yield 0. Egg. Percent Yield Calculations: Weight of aniline = 2. 0 g Molecular weight of aniline= 93 Molecular weight of actinide = 135 Theoretical Yield Actual Yield = 2. 03 g + 0. 01 g = 2. 04 g % Yield 100 70. 3% Yield Results and Discussion: In this experiment, aniline (liquid) was reacted with acetic anhydride (liquid) in water at room temperature to give an impure, tan colored solid. The solid was crystallized from water with the use of charcoal to give white flakes of actinide, melting point 112-ICC, actual yield 2. 4 grams. When charcoal was not used urine crystallization, the crystals remained an off-white color. The melting point of the mini batch of brown/tan crystals was 106-ICC. The overall reaction between aniline l, and acetic anhydride, II leading to the formation of actinide is shown below in the first equation. The mechanism of the reaction between the two reactants to produce the actinide is show n in the second equation. In equation 2, the curved arrows represent the flow of electrons during bond formation and bond cleavage. Observations: a. Reactants aniline and acetic anhydride were both insoluble in water, the action medium; however, when the reaction was swirled by hand, an exothermic reaction took place within minutes which produced the solid actinide. B. Acetic anhydride is a high energy molecule. C. Both aniline and water can react with acetic anhydride, but aniline reacts with acetic anhydride at a much faster rate to produce actinide. D. Charcoal was very effective in removing colored impurities from the impure batch of actinide. Questions: 1. The major purpose of crystallization is to purify a solid. . Water is nonflammable and nontoxic. . Used to remove small amounts of colored impurities. Activated carbon absorbs the polar compounds. 4. Because if we add more solvent, then we can vaporize it off. 5. Because because many organic compounds are not soluble in water because it is hydrophobic. These compounds are soluble in ethanol because of ethanols functional groups. The chemist can then add more water to the s olution because the organic compound is soluble in the ethanol. 6. We do not use Benzene and water because they do not dissolve with each other. Like dissolves like.

Caryl Churchill Essays - Caryl Churchill, Postmodern Theatre

Caryl Churchill Essays - Caryl Churchill, Postmodern Theatre Caryl Churchill Caryl Churchill is one of England's most premier females, modern playwrights. She has strived throughout her career as theatrical personality to make the world question roles, stereotypes and issues that are dealt with everyday, such as violence and political and sexual oppression. Not only has she been a strong force on the stage, but has also had strong influences with radio and television. Overall, this woman can simply be summarized to be a fascinating personality. Especially in a time where women did not have the same rights as women nowadays, we can safely infer that her feats represent her determination as a playwright as well as an actor. Churchill was born in London on September 3, 1938. She lived in England until the age of ten when her family moved to Canada. There she attended Trafalgar School in Montreal until 1955. At this time she moved back to England to attend Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University. This is the key place where her career began. While studying English at Oxford she took an interest in theater. Actually, she wrote her first three plays while at the university. When her career in theater and performance started at Oxford she had begun the first phase in her career. She was very focused on sounds and voice. In fact, her first three plays, Downstairs (1958), You've No Need to be Frightened (1959), and Having a Wonderful Time (1959) were all extremely focused on sound. This fact might have been propelled by her career as a radio playwright. For the next ten years she concentrated her energy mainly on radio plays, starting off with The Ants, which she herself, thought of it as a TV play, but my agent Margaret Ramsey sensibly sent it to radio. During the time of her writing for theater and her sounds phase, she was looking outward, investigating new places for her to take her art. She wrote a few stage plays during her radio phase, but none were produced. She re-wrote some of her radio plays and, this time, eight of them were produced between the years of 1962 and 1973. She then slowly made here transition from her radio career into acting and writing television plays. She became very unsatisfied with it very quickly, commenting that Televisionattracts me very much lessIt has the attraction of large audiences and being the ordinary peoples' medium and not being the sort of effete cultural thing that no one ever pays any attention to anyway. But as an actual medium, as a physical thing that happens, I don't find it anything as exciting as acting on a stage. Gradually, Churchill's reputation would become comparable to that of the Royal Court, a rather well-known producing company. She became the first female resident dramatist, and later helped with the Young Writer's Group program. During her time at the Royal Court she wrote many plays, still focusing a great deal on sound and voice. At the same time that she held her position of resident dramatist for the Royal Court, she also worked at other theatres and with other groups. She founded the Theatre Writers Group, now known as the Theatre Writers Union, and had works produced by Joint Stock Theatre Group and Monstrous Regiment. From then on in her career, Caryl Churchill would both write as well as act in many plays challenging society in many different ways such as racial discrimination, sexual discrimination, and more. These plays challenge not only the thoughts and practices of the past and of her present, but also that the reputations of history be regarded as sealed records not amenable to change in the present. In other words, she was trying to say that anything done in the past cannot be changed in any way, because the damage has already been done. The next move that Churchill made in her career was to attack the ideas of gender in her society. In her plays, Churchill somehow manages to cross-gender the characters of the play, creating humorous scenes. One critic exclaimed, By mismatching the performers with their stage roles, Churchill underscores the artificiality and conventionality of the characters' sex roles. A clever theatrical idea thus serves a dramatic purpose, and

The Role Of Managers In Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

The Role Of Managers In Organization - Essay Example With this ‘living’ group, and the material things like capital, machines, infrastructure etc the managers will embark on an organization. But, in most cases, the managers will normally take over or manage an existing organization and its employees. The methodology used to analyze the topic thesis how motivation, excellence and importantly retention levels can be optimized by developing an optimal incentive program for the managers and the employees involves analysis of close to 6 sources, including books, journals and websites. Using these sources and the common concepts about leadership, motivation, recruitment, training and importantly retention, this research or research part of the paper will be done. The method of research for this study will mainly come from the secondary sources, specifically for the enterprise. That is, as the paper discusses the how motivation and retention levels can be optimized by developing an optimal incentive program, without reference to any particular organization, additional information to explain its strategies and structure has to be sourced from secondary sources. The information from secondary sources can be maximally correlated to do the paper and explain the problem statement. That is, the role of the incentive programs for increasing the motivational levels can be firstly analyzed and then that optimum motivation will translate into high retention levels for the organization.

What is the significance of the end of the Cold War for US Foreign Essay

What is the significance of the end of the Cold War for US Foreign Policy - Essay Example inevitably should address different situations all over the world on a regular basis. Thus, the given essay aims to represent both positive and negative aspects of the appeared transformation of international regime for the United States. In the context of advantages, the paper determines the stability of American internal processes in the new circumstances as a basis for its claims on hegemony and strengths in both realist and liberal terms. At the same time, it acknowledges the dangers of prevalence of numerous not dual powerful interests and American economic weakness, which limit its current prominence. In short, it turns evident that the end of the Cold War encourages the US foreign policy to simply accustom already existing principles to the new international conditions. On the one hand, the beginning of Cold War period evoked the completely new agenda setting for the USA; in this context, the rapid collapse of the USSR meant only the elimination of real threat not the end of the already launched processes. For instance, the Grand Strategy of NSC-68 seems not sustainable in the contemporary security matters due to its age. Notwithstanding this, the ground idea of the organized security policy is still valid and determining the U.S. foreign policy1. Moreover, the lying principle of containment policy to â€Å"lay chiefly in preventing the coming together of potentially hostile states†2 sounds reasonable and up-to-date even in the new circumstances. Because of this, it is possible to state that USA has a long-term experience of managing the world in order to maintain its complexity and separateness. Therefore, the post-Cold War appearance of the U.S. foreign policy does not require the new approach but simply encourages to modify already existi ng strategies in the new international system. In fact, the elimination of one of the members in a pair international dominance rivalry creates an opportunity for the winner in this race to turn into

Describe the key stages of budgetary process, (b) Critically evaluate, Essay

Describe the key stages of budgetary process, (b) Critically evaluate, referring to the research findings the social significance of budgeting in modern organisations - Essay Example Budgeting process can be done for several reasons in an organization like planning, communication, coordination, motivation, performance evaluation and controlling process. Budgets can be of various types like short term budgets which are done for a month, a quarter or for a year. Operational control budgets are mainly done for a specific operation and the duration of this type of budget is a week or maximum a month. The most long term budget is known as capital budget which is done by the company for a period of more than one year and it can be extended to ten years and it determines that whether a company should proceed for a long term investment or not . Budgets can also be differentiated as sales budget which estimates the amount of future sales revenue and create a target for sales, production budget which estimates the number of output that should be produced to meet they sales target. Marketing budgets help to estimate the amount which is necessary for advertising and promotio nal activities to place the product in the market (Collier, 2002, pp. 207-208). Budgets are mainly based on the standard costing method for a certain level of production and sales. It should be prepared by an experienced accountant. A budget should describe the objective of the budget and the steps that are involved in the process of budget. There are several steps involved in the budgeting process which area s follows- Communication about the guidelines and policies with those people who making the budget is very important because e many decisions that may affect the budget year have been considered previously in the long term planning process which is the starting point for the annual budget. Thus the top level managers need to communicate the effect of the policy to the people who are responsible for the preparation of the budget of current year. The effect of the policy

Jewish resistance people Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jewish resistance people - Research Paper Example Moreover, some Jews went into hiding in order to escape the brutalities of war. Passive resistance was also shown in the form of spiritual resistance, religious resistance as well as cultural resistance by the Jews (Henry and Lang, 2014). Others also got Visas from foreign states as were deported to other safe places. These were some of the forms of resistance that the Jews exhibited towards the war. However, following the plights experienced by the Jews, there were several individuals who helped them. Some of these include the individuals as well as organizations. However, amongst the individuals, both men and women contributed commensurately. Some of the individuals who helped the Jews include Feng-Shan Ho, Hugh O’Flaherty, Giorgio Perlasca and Chiune Sugihara (Tec, 2013). Both Ho and Chiune Sugihara issued transit visas to the Jews to help them leave the country. Giorgio issued fake passports that helped Jews travel to neutral countries. Hugh was a preacher who concealed approximately 4000 Jewish escapees. Others include Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, Frank Foley, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Dimitar Peshev as well as Raoul Wallenberg (Henry and Lang, 2014). Raoul issued fake passports as well as housed thousands of Jews. Dimitar prevented Bulgarian government from deporting Jews from Bulgaria to Germany to be victims of Holocaust. Both Frank and Mendes also offered thousands of visas to aide in deportation of the Jews. Georg Ferdinand on the other hand convinced Prime Minister of Sweden to allow the Jews to be deported to Sweden. The female individuals who helped the Jews include Irena Sendler, Klara Baic, Anna Igumnova, Jeanne Daman as well as Johanna Eck. Others include Suzanne Spaak, Sofka Skipwith Elisabeta Strul and Maria Agnese Tribbioli (Longerich, 2010). The other ladies who helped the Jews include Luvidga Pukas, Lois Gunden, Caecilia Loots, as well as Antonina Gordey. Sofia Kritikou, Bronislava

Cooperative Learning in Elementary Education Research Paper

Cooperative Learning in Elementary Education - Research Paper Example This will help to ease up students who might find it difficult to interact for fear of being judged. The follow-up activity will concern organizing the students into small groups. Each group has the responsibility of accomplishing a particular task. The next step in introducing cooperative learning will be assigning roles and responsibilities of each member of the group. This activity helps in the organization of work and contributes positively to timely and effective learning (Tomlinson, 2004). The positions of some of the members of the group can be the ‘starter’, ‘taskmaster/encourager’, ‘reader’, ‘praiser’, ‘researcher’, or recorder. The starter is the person who initiates the processes or supervises the uses of materials. The encourager is responsible for motivating other members of the group to contribute positively. The reader can make sure everyone in the group has identical information and understand the goals of the task. . The praiser is responsible for reinforcement of contribution from others. The researcher obtains additional information needed by the group while the recorder puts down the proceedings on paper. The responsibilities are not necessaril y restricted to any one person. The above is an example of how cooperative learning can be implemented in an elementary classroom. However, the age of the students demands constant check up by the teacher to ensure that the learning process is on the right

Jewish resistance people Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Jewish resistance people - Research Paper Example Moreover, some Jews went into hiding in order to escape the brutalities of war. Passive resistance was also shown in the form of spiritual resistance, religious resistance as well as cultural resistance by the Jews (Henry and Lang, 2014). Others also got Visas from foreign states as were deported to other safe places. These were some of the forms of resistance that the Jews exhibited towards the war. However, following the plights experienced by the Jews, there were several individuals who helped them. Some of these include the individuals as well as organizations. However, amongst the individuals, both men and women contributed commensurately. Some of the individuals who helped the Jews include Feng-Shan Ho, Hugh O’Flaherty, Giorgio Perlasca and Chiune Sugihara (Tec, 2013). Both Ho and Chiune Sugihara issued transit visas to the Jews to help them leave the country. Giorgio issued fake passports that helped Jews travel to neutral countries. Hugh was a preacher who concealed approximately 4000 Jewish escapees. Others include Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz, Frank Foley, Aristides de Sousa Mendes, Dimitar Peshev as well as Raoul Wallenberg (Henry and Lang, 2014). Raoul issued fake passports as well as housed thousands of Jews. Dimitar prevented Bulgarian government from deporting Jews from Bulgaria to Germany to be victims of Holocaust. Both Frank and Mendes also offered thousands of visas to aide in deportation of the Jews. Georg Ferdinand on the other hand convinced Prime Minister of Sweden to allow the Jews to be deported to Sweden. The female individuals who helped the Jews include Irena Sendler, Klara Baic, Anna Igumnova, Jeanne Daman as well as Johanna Eck. Others include Suzanne Spaak, Sofka Skipwith Elisabeta Strul and Maria Agnese Tribbioli (Longerich, 2010). The other ladies who helped the Jews include Luvidga Pukas, Lois Gunden, Caecilia Loots, as well as Antonina Gordey. Sofia Kritikou, Bronislava

Color Revolutions and Democracy promotion Research Paper

Color Revolutions and Democracy promotion - Research Paper Example The term â€Å"color revolutions† is largely used in describing as a single phenomenon various non-violent protests that have succeeded in ousting or overthrowing totalitarian regimes during the twenty-first century’s first decade (Finkel and Brudny, 2013). This phenomenon has involved thousands of people who wear colored symbols, take to the streets, as well as show their discontent with the incumbent regime. At the same time, the opposition is legitimized by the same crowds and therefore being able to negotiate political or regime change with the authorities. The term, geographically, has tended to encompass only post-communist states in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. However, there is evidence that such movements have also been started in the Middle East (Beachain and Polese, 2010). This paper will discuss the color revolutions in Georgia, Serbia, and Ukraine and the process of democracy promotion afterwards by focusing on the influence of outside forces . The Republic of Georgia was one of the fifteen former Soviet Union republics to start a transition towards a state based on democracy and market economy, in 1991, following the disintegration of the Soviet Union coupled with the abolition of both the Comecon and the Warsaw Pact (Stewart, 2012). The color revolution in Georgia was symbolized by the Georgian Revolution of Roses often translated as â€Å"Rose Revolution†. This revolution is seen through five factors: external forces, the people, the civil society, the opposition, and the character of the regime. Ever since Georgia declared itself independent in 1991 under the leadership of Zviad Gamsakhurdia, it was a country in transition from totalitarianism towards free market economy and democracy (MacKinnon, 2008). Political theorists argue that enhancement of democracy is done by individuals embedded in certain

Balance Sheet and Public Sector Reform Essay Example for Free

Balance Sheet and Public Sector Reform Essay Financial control 1.1 Assess the relationship(s) between a financial system or function and other systems or functions in an organisation Answer: Information and records are of critical importance to the functioning and controlling of systems in general, including organisational systems. Given the central importance of information and records to systems operation, including public sector organisations and the societies they exist to govern, we should not be surprised to learn that public sector reform efforts that overlook the information component often fail to meet their immediate objectives and the longer-term goal of establishing a framework for good governance. Efforts to improve the management of public sector records in many countries have been hampered by a gap between the National Archives and the government’s record-creating departments. The result has been that most of the records in the custody of the Archives are over forty years old, while the records in government departments remain unmanaged. Some National Archives have inspecting powers, but there are few professionals trained to manage current records. Moreover, there are rarely systems in place to ensure that semi-current and non-current records are transferred to secure accommodation or appropriately destroyed. The introduction of computerized systems, often a key part of public sector reform projects, is compounding existing record-keeping problems. These computerized systems are using information that may be seriously flawed and based on collapsed paper-based systems. It is because effective management of records is so crucial to achieving public sector reform objectives, which lead to good governance, that restructuring must encompass the management of records. Restructuring of records and archives management processes must be seen as an integral part of the restructuring of core government processes to ensure the success of public sector reform efforts. 1.2 Describe the systems of accounts and financial statements used to control a financial system Answer: Financial statements are the primary means of communicating financial information to parties outside the business organization. The four basic financial statements: Balance Sheet Income Statement Statement of Cash Flows Statement of Retained Earnings ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS In small enterprises there can be different kinds of accounting systems such as external, internal and tax accounting. Annex 3 summarises data per Member State concerning accounting system requirements for small enterprises. On the basis of this data, the following descriptions of accounting systems are given: Internal accounting Internal accounting, also called management accounting is based on the enterprise’s internal accounting procedures and recorded accounting information. Internal accounting is intended for managers within organizations, to provide them with the economic basis to make informed business decisions that would allow them to be better equipped in their management and control functions. For example, managers may want to be able to assess the contribution or the profitability of different products or services that they supply by comparing the revenues and costs that they generate. Unlike external accounting information, internal accounting is usually confidential and it is accessible only to the management. In most cases, small enterprises do not use internal accounting at all due to their size. Internal accounting is normally not governed by national legislation. However, in some Member States internal accounting is compulsory even for small enterprises. External accounting External accounting, also called financial accounting is concerned with the preparation of financial statements for decision makers, such as the owners, suppliers, banks, governments and its agencies, customers and other stakeholders outside the enterprise. External accounting makes use of the accounting information from the internal accounting system. In the preparation of the external accounting, the small enterprise may be governed by local 1.3 Analyse financial information contained in a set of accounts or financial statements Answer: The two main sources of data for financial analysis are a companys balance sheet and income statement. The balance sheet outlines the financial and physical resources that a company has available for business activities in the future. It is important to note, however, that the balance sheet only lists these resources, and makes no judgment about how well they will be used by management. For this reason, the balance sheet is more useful in analysing a companys current financial position than its expected performance. The main elements of the balance sheet are assets and liabilities. Assets generally include both current assets (cash or equivalents that will be converted to cash within one year, such as accounts receivable, inventory, and prepaid expenses) and noncurrent assets (assets that are held for more than one year and are used in running the business, including fixed assets like property, plant, and equipment; long-term investments; and intangible assets like patents, copyrights, and goodwill). Both the total amount of assets and the makeup of asset accounts are of interest to financial analysts. The balance sheet also includes two categories of liabilities, current liabilities (debts that will come due within one year, such as accounts payable, short-term loans, and taxes) and long-term debts (debts that are due more than one year from the date of the stateme nt).Liabilities are important to financial analysts because businesses have same obligation to pay their bills regularly as individuals, while business income tends to be less certain. Long-term liabilities are less important to analysts, since they lack the urgency of short-term debts, though their presence does indicate that a company is strong enough to be allowed to borrow money. The balance sheet also commonly includes stock-holders equity accounts, which detail the permanent capital of the business. The total equity usually consists of two parts: the money that has been invested by shareholders, and the money that has been retained from profits and reinvested in the business. In general the more equity that is held by a business, the better the ability of the business to borrow additional funds. In contrast to the balance sheet, the income statement provides information about a companys performance over a certain period of time. Although it does not reveal much about the companys current financial condition, it does provide indications of its future viability. The main elements of the income statement are revenues earned; expenses incurred, and net profit or loss. Revenues consist mainly of sales, though financial analysts may also note the inclusion of royalties, interest, and extraordinary items. Likewise, operating expenses usually consist primarily of the cost of goods sold, but can also include some unusual items. Net income is the bottom line of the income statement. This figure is the main indicator of a companys accomplishments over the statement period. Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/financial-analysis#ixzz1uKymsDuW 2.1 As a manager you need to fully understand your role in the budgetary process. It is the most basic financial planning and control tool. Every manager needs to know what costs are associated with their department, and how in relation are they doing to that budget. You might achieve your departmental goals, but if you go over budget in order to achieve those goals, you create financial problems for the company and jeopardize your own job performance review. In most cases, part of your performance appraisal will be based on whether or not you were within budget for the year. Budgets need to be realistic. You can’t just say at a whim you need 20 new people, just as upper management can’t say you have only $10 for a years’ worth of training classes. Budgets are used to investigate variances, whether you went over or under budget, and address the reasons for the variances. You need to always look at ways to control those variances by controlling costs. By being on top of your budget, you might be able to make changes before it’s too late and you end up having to reduce staff or eliminate a branch of your department. There are basically two types of budgets, a capital expenditure budget and operating budget: 1. Capital expenditure (also known as â€Å"Capex†) relates to costs associated with plant and equipment. This is equipment that generally lasts for more than a year such as a copy machine. 2. Operating budget, which is related to the normal day-to-day operations and expenditures such as payroll, supplies, and miscellaneous. There are two types of budgets within an operating budget, sales budgets and expense budgets:  · Sales budget is associated with comparison and variance of the actual revenue brought with the projected revenue.  · Expense budget applies to all areas incurring operating expenses, including the sales department. This is the budget we will focus on. CASH BUDGET FOR 90 DAYS Beginning cash balance $ 320,000 Add: Estimated collections on accounts receivable750,000 Estimated cash sales 250,000 $1,320,000 Deduct: Estimated payments on accounts payable $ 800,000 Estimated cash expenses 150,000 Contractual payments on long-term debt 150,000 Quarterly dividend 50,000 $1,150,000 Estimated ending cash balance $ 170,000 2.2 Budgetary Control is defined as the establishment of budgets, relating the responsibilities of executives to the requirements of a policy, and the continuous comparison of actual with budgeted results either to secure by individual action the objective of that policy or to provide a base for its revision. 2. Salient features: a. Objectives: Determining the objectives to be achieved, over the budget period, and the policy (ies) that might be adopted for the achievement of these ends. b. Activities: Determining the variety of activities that should be undertaken for achievement of the objectives. c. Plans: Drawing up a plan or a scheme of operation in respect of each class of activity, in physical as well as monetary terms for the full budget period and its parts. d. Performance Evaluation: Laying out a system of comparison of actual performance by each person section or department with the relevant budget and determination of causes for the discrepancies, if any. e. Control Action: Ensuring that when the plans are not achieved, corrective actions are taken; And when corrective actions are not possible, ensuring that the plans are revised and objective achieved. Budgetary Control is an integral part of management. It consists in comparisons between the results of actual performance and budgeted performance. Central to this kind of comparison is Standard Costing and Variance Analysis. The purpose of this article is to clarify simply to the leaner, reader, and others peoples who related with accounts, budgets, costing department. 01. Variance Analysis: In a well-run organization the comparison between actual and budget is used as the basis for deciding the appropriate action. This document sets out how the analysis is used to highest effect. The procedure is actually part of the normal control process. Any variation from expected performance, in terms of budgets, where income or expenditure did not occur as expected. Variance analysis is the act of determining the drivers for those variations. Variances are noted and accounted for. A decision can be made to reduce expenses or reallocate resources. This technique greatly reduces the need for comprehensive review cycles. 2.3 Budget and Budgetary control, both at management and operational level looks at the future and lays down what has to be achieved. Control verifies whether or not the plans are understood, and puts into effect corrective measures where deviation or underperformance is occurring. This article Techniques of Budgetary Control examines how budget and budgetary control can impact on the performance of the organizations Techniques: Budgetary Control is an integral part of management. It consists in comparisons between the results of actual performance and budgeted performance. Central to this kind of comparison is Standard Costing and Variance Analysis. The purpose of this article is to clarify simply to the leaner, reader, and others peoples who related with accounts, budgets, costing department. What variance analysis is all about, avoiding pure technicalities and the terminology of accountants? Notice is confined to costs and cost variances in this article. A similar dealing of revenue and revenue variances would also be compulsory to acquire a proper perspective. Following explained The Budgetary Control Techniques 01. Variance Analysis: In a well-run organization the comparison between actual and budget is used as the basis for deciding the appropriate action. This document sets out how the analysis is used to highest effect. The procedure is actually part of the normal control process. Any variation from expected performance, in terms of budgets, where income or expenditure did not occur as expected. Variance analysis is the act of determining the drivers for those variations. Variances are noted and accounted for. A decision can be made to reduce expenses or reallocate resources. This technique greatly reduces the need for comprehensive review cycles.

Steeple Analysis Of UK Supermarket

Steeple Analysis Of UK Supermarket The UK supermarket industry is the fastest growing sector of the UK economy that has made a great contribution to its economic development. Currently, the supermarket industry employs more than 1.1 million people and contributes more than 8% to the UK GDP (Euromonitor International, 2010). In every business environment, macro analysis is important to identify the factors that can hamper operations of organisations progress in the industry. STEEPLE (Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political, Legal and Ethical) analysis is amongst the most effective tools that are used to monitor changes taking place in the environment of the business (Brown, 2007; Griffith Harmgart, 2008); the analysis is done to identify all important factors that can have a significant impact on any organisation operating in the UK supermarket industry. Li (2008) and Vasquez-Nicholson (2011) emphasized that Morrison PLC is a dominant brand in the UK supermarket industry as it derives its competitive edge by doing STEEPLE analysis frequently. It has successfully achieved its target market size by exploiting all strengths and availing opportunities present in its external environment. STEEPLE Analysis of UK Supermarket Every market is significantly impacted by both micro and macro environmental factors, but macro environmental factors have more influence on operational activities of a business (Jarett, 2012). Each factor of STEEPLE analysis with its relation to the UK supermarket industry is discussed below: Social Analysis The current trends of consumers in the UK market depict that they are moving from one stop shopping to a bulk buying mode as there are various social changes happening in the country. Supermarkets have availability of various non-food items which are usually on sale in the market. There have been demographic changes because there is an increase in old people, the number of female workers is increasing, and there is a significant reduction in homemade meals (Davis and Relly, 2009). There is more emphasis on the private label share of every business mix, efficiency in supply chain, and improvements in operational activities so that the overall cost of business is reduced. Most of the retail giants in UK are now shifting to local suppliers for their purchases and stock requirements (Vasquez-Nicholson, 2011; Waterman, 2007). In addition, consumers demand of products and services has changed because of their social conditioning along with their beliefs and attitudes (Lyan, 2007). Technological Analysis Technological developments have enhanced the service level of supermarkets in UK as they have benefitted both consumers and companies. With the help of technological gadgets, products are available quickly, personalized services are offered to customers and shopping has become convenient (Akter, 2012). The major systems that have enhanced UK supermarkets functioning are Electronic Point of Sale, Efficient Consumer Response, Electronic scanners and Electronic Funds Transfer System; these systems have assisted in efficient distribution and merchandizing activities so that requirements of each company are effectively communicated on time to the supplier (Grugulis, Bozkurt and Clegg, 2010). Environmental Analysis All organisations have to show that they engage in environment friendly activities; there is increased pressure on various managers and companies for acknowledging their social responsibility and they are required to behave in a beneficial way for the society (Smith, 2004). In the UK supermarket industry, the main issue at hand is that food retailers have to demonstrate that they conduct their operations in ways that are beneficial for the society as a whole and that is why every leading supermarket has taken initiatives to show their Corporate Social Responsibility promise. Even the UK government has launched a strategy for consumption in a sustainable manner and made mandatory changes in production methods to cut down waste, reduce resource consumption that produces harmful gases or particles which can cause pollution, and minimize damage to the environment (Trail, 2006). Economic Analysis The main factors to be studied in economic analysis are demands, costs, prices, profits, inflation, unemployment, interest rates and fluctuation in exchange rates along with various micro economic factors such as labour availability, product market, competitive structure and nature of competition. Considering the UK economys performance in 2012, its GDP growth rate is 1%, CPI rate is 2.2 %, unemployment rate is 7.9% and the current balance of payments is account deficit of GBP 2.8 billion (Trading Economics, 2012). Micro Economic Analysis Since international businesses of these supermarkets are growing, they are likely to get affected by reduction in the demand of UK food market and there is an increased exposure to risk of market concentration. There is immense pressure on existing companies to make sure that every factor is well studied so that all resources are effectively utilized. The Product Market All supermarkets have been developed with providing one stop buying facility and they have provided a wide range of options to the customers. Nowadays, people are looking for healthy and nutritious food so that they remain fit and healthy; the demand of organic foods has increased and customers are looking for easy access to these food items. The supermarkets are now placing these food items in their outlets to respond to their customer demands. The Labour Market As the number of supermarkets is increasing in UK, there is a huge requirement for workforce that can provide services to customers with perfection. Since skills required for performing necessary tasks are of a lower level, people with minimum education can easily find a job in this market. The labour availability is high as people have many jobs available in this field. Also, the demand of products is increasing, so supermarkets have added huge variations in each category. Competitive Structure In UK, the supermarket industry is believed to be an oligopoly market, which is highly competitive; there are four main firms in this industry, i.e. Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury and Morrison, which have more than 75% of the overall market share (Jarett, 2012). The pricing is almost the same, so customers are able to buy the products they need within their affordable range. Nature of Competition The nature of competition is getting intensified: the number of competitors is increasing because other companies are entering this field, such as Waitrose, Marks Spencer and many more (Seely, 2012). Political and Legal Analysis The political parties in UK are taking aggressive steps to protect the small shops and stores in the country so that their business does not close down; they have imposed many restrictions on the supermarkets so that a fair and competitive environment is created in the grocery industry. The Office of Fair Trading and the Competition Commission are the two main bodies that ensure that supermarkets do not create monopoly and offer fair prices to the customers. Recently, the government has relaxed UK Sunday Trading Laws for benefits of the employees and introduced a new style of food labelling so that shoppers in the supermarket can make healthy choices. Since obesity is the primary issue in the UK population, there is a growing trend of organic and healthy food and various initiatives are being taken by the government to create awareness of eating healthy and nutritious food. The government has also passed the laws for reducing the usage of single carrier plastic bags so that the environment is protected from any kind of pollution. Ethic Analysis In the UK supermarket industry, each company has to ensure that its business operations are conducted in accordance with the ethical standards. The sector is assumed by law to be observing ethical behaviour and conduct business practices in accordance with corporate governance. Every organisation has to ensure that it conducts its practices with integrity, transparency, accountability and honesty (Nicholls and Opal, 2005). Linkage of STEEPLE Analysis with Morrison PLC STEEPLE analysis plays an important role in identifying all important factors that are impacting Morrison PLC, but the most important factors are social, economic and legal ones. The social factors are of utmost importance because every company exists to serve its customers; it is important to understand their changing trends so that products and services are modified accordingly. Likewise, analysis of economic factors gives an idea of economic condition along with spending power of customers; with the help of these factors, it can decide on its operational activities and further expansion plans. Since legislation is a mandatory part of every business environment, Morrison will have to ensure that it follows all rules and regulations to ensure compliance with the legislative framework; in case any rule is broken, a heavy penalty will be charged, which can be costly for the company. Hence, these three factors are the most important areas of concern for Morrison PLC. Importance of Human Resource Management in Supermarkets HRM is an integral part of every business organisation, and it is important for them to have a highly skilled and motivated workforce that will assist them in achieving their desired goals and move successfully ahead in the industry (Torrington, Hall and Taylor, 2008). Following are the two examples of importance of HRM in the UK supermarket industry: Tesco Tesco is among the largest supermarkets of UK that employs more than 326,000 people and has been earning a consistent stream of revenue in the last couple of years (Euromonitor International, 2010). The company has done a competitive analysis to improve the ways in which interaction is done with customers. In order to enhance its position in the supermarket industry of UK, it has used concepts of welfare management, continuous improvement and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) along with well designed HRM strategies. The employees are treated as champions and are even rewarded for their extraordinary achievements; they are involved in decision making process as well. All of these interactive initiatives enhanced employees satisfaction level, motivation and productivity along with acceptance to change and have high morale for work. In order to ensure that Tesco provides a favourable working environment to its employees, it has properly implemented all important laws that will ensure employees are given their rights. For instance, they are given competent compensation packages, working environment is conducive, preventive measures are taken to provide healthy and a safe environment, and equal job opportunities and various other benefits are given (Freeman, 2009). In order to ensure that everyone is given the best employment opportunities, it is important for Tesco to conduct market analysis on an ongoing basis. It seeks help from marketing agencies that evaluate environment and ensure that they design competent compensation packages. By focusing on efficient development of its workforce, Tesco has been able to gain a competitive edge in the market. The satisfaction surveys of employees have shown that they are satisfied with their working environment and they will remain loyal to the company forever. With the help of a participative management culture, Tesco has been able to identify its weak areas and has successfully made the required changes so that overall performance of the company improves (Grugulis, Bozkurt and Clegg, 2010). Sainsburys When Sainsburys noticed that its sales were declining and it was unable to achieve its target market share, it decided to do its competitive analysis, which meant doing both internal and external analysis. The main problem highlighted in the analysis was that it lacked a competent and loyal workforce and there was misalignment between the organisation strategy and the companys overall strategy. There was a lot of miscommunication in the organisation as employees had lack of clarity about their jobs and how they were supposed to make contribution in the company. Overall, its HR department was not functioning smoothly as the right workforce was not employed at that time (Fox and Vorley 2004; Li, 2008). The foremost thing that was required was to change the culture of the organisation and it was made possible by receiving top management support. The code of conduct along with HR policies and regulations were distributed to employees so that they were aware of new rules and regulations that they had to abide by; job descriptions were changed to match demands of every position. Sainsburys even did a market survey to identify HR structures of its competitors and also compensation packages that should be offered to employees. After planning of HRM, it was implemented properly and monitored at small intervals to check its progress; six months later, Sainsburys observed an upward trend in its sales figures, along with an improved satisfaction level of employees. The company made changes in its recruitment and selection, training and developments, compensation and benefits and performance appraisal processes so that everything in HRM was well-integrated. Conclusion In order to be competitive in todays supermarket industry, companies have to make sure that they do analysis of their internal and external environments on an ongoing basis so that they have the latest information about things that are happening in their surroundings. Although STEEPLE analysis is important for identifying the factors which have a tendency of influencing the working environment of supermarkets, equally important are their workforces as they are the ones who are in direct interaction with customers. The main factor affecting the supermarket industry of UK is the workforce as it is important for the supermarkets to employ people who are well-skilled and efficient in helping the companies in achieving their corporate objectives. Since the number of employees in this sector is increasing, there are more chances that the employment level increases and spending power of people is enhanced. Another important factor that needs to be addressed is the growing concern for a healthy lifestyle and food; the consumers are now shifting to organic food. Therefore, the supermarkets have to ensure that they have a specific range of products that are demanded by customers, so that they can ensure that they maintain their position in the market.

The Canterbury Tales Essay -- Literary Analysis, Geoffrey Chaucer

Through The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer is able to ironically portray the life friars lived throughout the 14th century. Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1345 and lived in London. (Strohm par 1). He grew up being trained as a civil servant and diplomat. Around 1366 Chaucer married Queen Philippa of Spain (Encyclopedia of World Biography 483). Through being appointed to Parliament, he traveled to many different countries on diplomatic missions and was influenced by the contrasting types of writing (Strohm par 3). These experiences helped Chaucer to gain knowledge about diverse types of people and English writing, which influenced the way he wrote The Canterbury Tales (par 1). When Chaucer wrote, he often mocked and satirized people he saw on their fashion and etiquette, which had a large part in the way he wrote about certain pilgrims in his novel (par 2). Between the years of 1387 and 1400, Chaucer devoted most of his time to writing one of his most famous pieces, The Canterbu ry Tales. This tale is about thirty pilgrims on a journey to the Shrine of Thomas Beckett at Canterbury (par 7). Each pilgrim is expected to tell four stories; two story for the journey to the shrine and another two for the journey back home. The host is the pilgrim that decides upon the best told story. Whoever relates the best tale receives a meal at Bailey’s Inn. Unfortunately, Chaucer died around 1400 before being able to complete each of the pilgrims’ stories (Strohm par 3). In the Prologue to The Canterbury Tales, Chaucer introduces the Friar as someone who, although is meant to live by God’s deeds and the church, is controlled by his own greed. The tale which the Friar later narrates is appropriate because throughout the story it is evident that... ...that they are both lecherous. This is exemplified through the summoner in the Friar’s prologue. In â€Å"The Friar’s Tale,† the Friar states: He was a thief, a summoner, and a pimp. And he had wenches in his retinue, / . . . / He and these wenches made a gang at it Then he would fetch forth a fictitious writ, Summon them both before the Chapter-bench. (Coghill 295) This description of the summoner overall states how the summoner commits the sin of having sexual intercourse with many women. When the summoner is caught by some men, he blackmails them into letting him go free of charge. The Friar is like the summoner because just as the friar repels the vows of his church, the Friar does as well. Overall, it is evident through â€Å"The Friar’s Tale† that both the summoner and Friar are alike in more ways than one. This is shown through their greed, and habits of lying.

Individually Unified :: essays papers

Individually Unified We are Americans! We can customize our cars, homes, and even our lives. How did we become such individualists? During the late 1500’s, the Chinese government had several chances of becoming a vast world power and instilling their sense of loyalty and unity as a country. Since China believed that they were a self-sufficient entity, they were content to leave things as they were and saw no point in exploring the unknown. The Europeans on the other hand were forced to explore new worlds due to the lack of trading ability and natural resources. Thanks to Christopher Columbus and others that followed, their exploration and conquering of the New World made it possible for Europeans to expand and populate. However, the new findings also made it possible to spread their selfish nature and greedy culture that is passed off today as people being â€Å"individuals†. In 1492 Christopher Columbus started on his voyage to find what he thought would be a faster route to the West Indies, but in actuality stumbled upon small islands that we now call the Bahamas. When he left on his voyage, his intent was to find and take the riches that the West Indies had to offer but to his disappointment these things that were intended to pay for his voyage did not exist. â€Å"Clearly, Columbus had reason to worry that his voyage would be viewed as a failure. He had not found the gold mines he sought or the Asian cities described by Marco Polo. He thought he had discovered many spices, though only the chili peppers were new.† (Worlds of History, p.19) When Columbus realized that he had not found the riches he was expected to bring home to the Spanish king and queen, he knew that it was very important to make sure that he portrayed his journey in a pleasing light when he wrote to them (as to not make himself look like a failure). When reading the first hand account of Columbus’s voyage, it is in many ways hard to believe that what Columbus was saying was actually the truth. In no way did he talk about his voyage in a negative manner. He talks about how the Indians treated him and his crews like kings. Instead of making himself look like a failure, I feel that he made himself and the Europeans in general look like very greedy people.

Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Mary, The Mother of Jesus By Angelus Djugash Virgin Mary Jesus is God. Jesus was born to Mary. Mary is the mother of God. St. Luke introduces Mary when the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a virgin betrothed to a man Joseph (Lk: 1:26-27). The virgin’s name was Mary. Virgin means that one does not know human love, but only the love of God. It means that one has no other thought but for the Lord. It means to remain children in the flesh and angels in the heart. It means that one has no eyes but to look at God, and ears to listen to Him, and a mouth to praise Him, hands to offer oneself as a victim, feet to follow Him fast, and a heart and a life to be given to Him. (1) Mary is the Virgin. She is the Only One. She is the perfect One. The Complete One. Conceived as such. Generated as such. Remained such. Crowned such. Eternally such. She is the Virgin. She is the acme of intangibility, of purity, of grace that is lost in the Abyss from which it emerged: in God: most perfect Intangibility, Purity, Grace. 2) Mary, Seat of Wisdom God created Heaven and Earth. Jesus, Son of God is the author of Wisdom. Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus. Thus Mary becomes the mother of Wisdom. King Solomon prophesied Mary in a figurative style by the word wisdom. We read in Proverb â€Å" God possessed me (Mary) at the beginning of His works, from the beginning, before the Creation. From everlasting I was firmly set, in the beginning, before earth came into being, the deep did not yet exist, I was already conceived† in the minds of God. 3) â€Å"For in Mary there is a spirit that is intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle, mobile, clear, unpolluted, distinct, invulnerable, loving the good, keen, irresistible, beneficent, humane, steadfast, sure, free from anxiety, all-powerful, overseeing all, and penetrating through all spirits that are intelligent and pure and most subtle. For she is a breath of the power of God, and a pure emanation of the glory of the Almighty; therefore nothing defiled gains entrance into her. For she is a reflection of eternal light, a spotless mirror of the working of God, and an image of His goodness. Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night. She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well. (4) Though she is but one, she can do all things, and while remaining in herself, she renews all things; in every generation she passes into holy souls and makes them friends of God, and prophets. For she is more beautiful than the sun, and excels every constellation of the stars. Compared with the light she is found to be superior, for it is succeeded by the night. She reaches mightily from one end of the earth to the other, and she orders all things well. (4) Mary, the seat of Wisdom, would remember what was said, â€Å"When He marked out the foundations of the earth, I was beside him, like a master workman; and I was daily His delight, rejoicing before Him always, rejoicing in His inhabited world and delighting in the sons of men. † (3) Immaculate Mary God created Adam in His own image. (5) Therefore, Adam was the only man created by God ‘Immaculate’. The Lord God formed the woman Eve out from the rib of Adam. (6) They lived in grace at the Garden of Eden. In eternity God knew that they would err and disobey. He had the plan to redeem the first parents and their generations. For that He had to born as a human being. He chose His mother an eternal Virgin and Immaculate. The most Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved immune from all stain of original sin. (7) It was granted from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God. The Father blessed Mary more than any other created person ‘in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places’. He chose her ‘in Christ before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless before Him in love’. (8) She is ‘redeemed, in a more exalted fashion, by reason of the merits of her son, Jesus’. In the year 1858 when Our Blessed Lady appeared to St. Bernadette in Lourdes on March 25th, She said to her, â€Å"I Am The Immaculate Conception (Que Soy Era Immaculate Councepcion)†. She has been Our Immaculate Mother. She will ever be so until we climb up in the ladder of purity imitating her. (1) Chapter 6 – The poem of the Man-God, Page 39, Vol. 1 (2) Chapter 5 – The poem of the Man-God, Page 32, Vol. 1 (3) Proverb – 8:22-31 (4) Wisdom – 7:22-30 & 8:1 (5) Genesis – 1:27 (6) Genesis – 2:22 (7) Catechism of the Catholic Church – 491 (8) Catechism of the Catholic Church – 492

IKEA India Entry Strategy Essay

IKEA originated in 1943 by a 17 year old Ingvar Kamprad using his entrepreneurial skills selling items out of a catalog and continued to expand where his stores is located in more than 30 countries currently. IKEA sells furniture and other household products at a very low price so that everyone can afford them. IKEA is always looking to save money on their packaging, costs, and any other opportunity they get to save money. As a team we thought it would be most beneficial for IKEA to enter into India specifically Mumbai, India. India is one of the most emerging countries and gives IKEA a great opportunity. As a team we feel IKEA should implement interior designers that help people decide which furniture properly fits in their house hold. The interior designer will be extremely knowledgeable and accommodating when helping people decorate their homes. India is an emerging country with one of the largest democracies in the world. India has one of the largest populations in the World which is a great opportunity for IKEA. One problem with the huge population is the wide array of income ranging from the very wealthy all the way down to the lower class who may work for as little as a dollar a day. The furniture industry in India only consists of .05% of its GDP which is another reason IKEA has a great opportunity to be successful in India. India has a large opportunity for FDI (foreign direct investment) because of the current economic conditions and the rapid growth rate of the country in terms of GPD and other economic indicators. IKEA in India will maintain the original Swedish logo and plans to target people in India in the lower middle class and above. It is estimated that there are between 30 and 300 million people that would fit into IKEA’s target market. IKEA plans to start as one store in Mumbai and expand depending on sales and revenue. IKEA will need to have managers who are experienced help with the opening procedure to ensure that everything is done right. It is essential for IKEA to hire Indian managers and retail  workers as they will be able to make a connection to the guests that foreigners might not be able to make. People of India understand how life works, what people want, and how they do business. IKEA will need to cover all aspects of business in terms of employment from sales people all the way up to top management and everything in between. IKEA must promote and market their opening properly so that people are aware of the store location and what it has to offer. Advertising and promotion is very important for them and utilizing social media could be a large attribute to their marketing campaign. IKEA is going to issue common stock and other aspects of business to ensure that they can afford the transition into India. There are many challenges that IKEA may face in this process, but through careful analysis and marketing research they can overcome any adversity that may come their way. COMPANY OVERVIEW: IKEA was established in 1943 where 17 year old Ingvar Kamprad started a local catalog selling household goods with money that his father had given him. Kamprad ran a very successful business and decided to open selling furniture at a low price. Kamprad established a name for himself becoming very reliable, dependable, and offering a good product at a low price. In 1965, one of the biggest stores was opened where people of Sweden lined up outside the doors waiting for the store to open. Kamprad ran a very successful business expanding globally and penetrated the market in the United States in Pennsylvania in 1985. IKEA is considered to be one of the World’s top furniture retailers generating more than $12 million in profit in 2002. IKEA sells furniture and other miscellaneous products at a very low price allowing numerous people to purchase their products. IKEA sets an initial benchmark in regards to the pricing and then cut the prices by more than 20-50% to ensure guests of all social classes can purchase there items. IKEA understands that only allowing the upper class to purchase their product eliminates a large amount of potential customers. IKEA also tries to attract to college students who are  on a tight budget, but need to purchase furniture for dorm rooms or apartments. IKEA’s mission statement is: â€Å"The IKEA Concept is based on offering a wide range of well designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them. Rather than selling expensive home furnishings that only a few can buy, the IKEA Concept makes it possible to serve the many by providing low-priced products that contribute to helping more people live a better life at home.† IKEA will continue to sell their products at a low price as long as people continue to assemble their own products. A huge difference between IKEA and other leading furniture retailers is that IKEA does not assemble products for their customers which keep their costs low. IKEA is very price conscious and always trying to keep costs down. An example of keeping costs low is the flat boxes they use for their products which minimize shipment costs and also production costs. IKEA managers have been trained to make employees aware of exceeding costs that are harmful to the company such as shutting lights or computers off that are not in use. IKEA currently operates in 42 different countries all over the world, selling products at low affordable prices for everyone. When IKEA began going international they ran into some problems as they did not do marketing research to learn about what the customer wants. An example is in Philadelphia, USA where customers complained about furniture not fitting with the American lifestyle. IKEA scrambled to gather information to regain their position in the international market. IKEA learned a lot of lessons about entering internationally realizing there are many changes that need to occur to succeed internationally. After this mishap in the United States, IKEA developed a marketing research team which has led to their success in the other countries around the world that they entered. IKEA maps there stores out properly to ensure that people spend money while there. They often have furniture at the beginning of the store with a pathway leading customers throughout the store to see everything. If a  customer wants to purchase a particular item they write down the code and give it to the workers in the warehouse. At the end of the journey throughout the store customers also will be given the opportunity to purchase smaller items such as pens, pencils, paper, and other miscellaneous products affiliated with furniture or household goods. This is a beneficial marketing and strategic planning for IKEA to maximize their profits by the layout of their stores. INDIA – COUNTRY ANALYSIS India is the world’s largest democracy and is the second most populous country. It is one of the most diverse nations with numerous cultures, religions and languages. It is taking long strides with a progressive pace in terms of highly improved rate of literacy, health and life expectancy and majority of its citizens have been less affected by poverty, when compared to the past. In the past decade, India has turned out to be a major player in the economic arena. For a while now, it has been growing at a rate of around 8% and is the second fastest growing nation, second only to China. A great amount of credit for this growth is attributed to the policies adopted by the Indian government and the youth, which forms a huge part of the population. With this growth, India is on the brink of a makeshift. It has become a major market for many companies and has paved way for huge corporations to set up their businesses and invest heavily. PESTLE ANALYSIS In business, PESTLE analysis is very important. Originally designed as a business environmental scan, PESTLE analysis is an analysis of the external macro-environment in which a business operates. These are factors which are beyond the control or influence of a business, however are important to be aware of when doing product development, business or strategy planning. PESTLE stands for: P- Political E- Economical S- Social T- Technological L- Legal E-Environmental For businesses to be set up, let us look at the PESTLE analysis of India. POLITICAL India is the biggest democracy in the world. It is a federal republic. The political situation in the India is more or less stable. Most of its democratic history, the federal Government of India has been led by the (INC) Indian National Congress. State politics has been dominated by several national parties including the INC. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Communist Party of India (CPI), and various regional parties are the other major players on the Indian political scene. In the 2009 Indian elections, the INC won the biggest number of Lok Sabha seats and formed a government with an alliance called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), supported by various left-wing parties and members opposed to the BJP. Ideological inclination of political parties, influence of party forums, civil society etc. creates a political environment that promotes stability. In India, many political factors affect the business environment. For example, Bangalore established itself as the most impo rtant IT centre of India mainly because of political support. The major factors that affect the political environment are:- Taxation policy India has a well developed tax structure with a three-tier federal structure, comprising the Union Government, the State Governments and the Urban &Rural Local Bodies. The power to levy taxes and duties are distributed among the three tiers of Governments, in accordance with the provisions of the Indian Constitution. The main taxes/duties that the Union Government is empowered to levy are Income Tax, Customs duties, Central Excise and Sales Tax and Service Tax. The principal taxes levied by the State Governments are Sales, Stamp Duty, State Excise, Land Revenue, and Duty on Entertainment and Tax on Professions & Callings. The Local Bodies are empowered to levy tax on properties, Octroi Tax on Markets and Tax/User Charges for utilities like water supply, drainage, etc. Privatization Privatization reduces the political interface in the management of enterprises, leading to improved efficiency and productivity. India has adopted privatization in a big way. Most of the publicly owned enterprises have now been privatized. For example, a great part of the Indian Railways has been privatized which has improved the quality of service to a great extent. Deregulation After the reforms of 1991, the Indian government adopted a policy of deregulation. It has loosened its control on most industries which has helped the industries grow. ECONOMIC In order to solve economic problems, the government took several steps including control by the State of certain industries, central planning and reduced importance of the private sector. The main objectives of India’s development plans were: Initiate rapid economic growth to raise the standard of living, reduce unemployment and poverty Become self-reliant and set up a strong industrial base with emphasis on heavy and basic industries Reduce inequalities of income and wealth Adopt a socialist pattern of development – based on equality and prevent exploitation of man by man As a part of economic reforms, the Government of India announced a new industrial policy in July 1991. The broad features of this policy as follows: The Government reduced the number of industries under compulsory licensing to six. Disinvestment was carried out in case of many public sector industrial enterprises. Policy towards foreign capital was liberalized. The share of foreign equity participation was increased and in many activities 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) was permitted. Automatic permission was now granted for technology agreements with foreign companies. Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was setup to promote and channelize foreign investment in India. The economic factors in India are improving continuously. India has the third highest GDP in terms of purchasing power parity. Foreign direct investment in India rose 13 percent to $50.81 billion in the first 11 months of 2011 from a year earlier. India is a very attractive destination for investing as can be seen below. The Indian Economy is also witnessing a boom in the Retail sector. Almost 60  percent of the consumers are willing to try out new products and services. Around 44 percent of Indians are willing to invest in the stock market as the disposable incomes are going beyond the level of savings. The attitudes and thinking of consumers has also changed compared to the previous year because of a reduction in the dependence on male member or shopper. According to a survey, Indian consumers are willing to spend more on home improvements (38%) and leisure holidays (37%). The Total retail market of India is Rs. 19.48 Lakh Crore of which Rs.0.126 lakh crore is organized. The organized market is growing at a rate of 28% and is expected to touch Rs. 0.206 lakh crore in 2011-12. The organized retail market share to total GDP is 2.1% and to that of private consumption is 3.4%. Organized retail share to total retail market is 6.5%, which is estimated to touch 8.1% in 2012-13. SOCIAL Changes in social trends can impact the demand for a firm’s products and the availability and willingness of individuals to work. In India, for example, the population has been ageing. This has increased the costs for firms who are committed to pension payments for their employees because their staff is living longer. It also means some firms have started to recruit older employees to tap into this growing labor pool. It describes the characteristics of the society in which the organization exists. Literacy rate, customs, values, beliefs, lifestyle, demographic features and mobility of population are part o the social environment. It is important for managers to notice the direction in which the society is moving and formulate progressive policies according to the changing social scenario India is the second most populous nation in the world with an approximate population of over 1.1billion people. This population is divided in the following age structure: 0-14 years – 31.8%, 15-64 years – 63.1% and65 years and above – 5.1%. TECHNOLOGICAL New technologies create new products and new processes. MP3 players, computer games, online gambling and high definition TVs are all new markets created  by technological advances. Online shopping, bar coding and computer aided design are all improvements to the way business is done. Technology can reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovation. These developments can benefit consumers as well as the organizations providing the products. India, in the past decade, has witnessed a technological growth unparalleled. With the advent of Information Technology, India has become the most favored destination for IT projects. This has helped in creating employment and raised the standard of living of many. Most of the government projects are now been carried out in consultation with private partners who bring in high-end technology. For example, the Bandra-Worli Sea Link project in Mumbai was done in collaboration with a Chinese firm which helped the project technically. LEGAL These are related to the legal environment in which firms operate. In recent years in the India there have been many significant legal changes that have affected firms’ behavior. The introduction of discrimination and disability discrimination legislation, an increase in the minimum wage and greater requirements for firms to recycle are examples of relatively recent laws that affect an organization’s actions. Legal changes can affect a firm’s costs and demand. This consists of legislation that is passed by the parliament and state legislatures. Examples of such legislation specifically aimed at business operations including the Trade mark Act 1969, Essential Commodities Act 1955, Standards of Weights and Measures Act 1969 and Consumer Protection Act 196. ENVIRONMENTAL Environmental factors include the weather and climate change. Changes in temperature can impact many industries including farming, tourism and insurance. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming and with greater environmental awareness, this external factor is becoming a significant issue for firms to consider. The growing desire to protect the  environment is having an impact on many industries such as the travel and transportation industries (for example, more taxes being placed on air travel) and the general move towards more environmentally friendly products and processes is affecting demand patterns and creating business opportunities. India has also realized the importance of these necessities and the government has laid down several norms for companies which they must adhere to if they need to run their businesses. INDIAN FURNITURE INDUSTRY INDUSTRY OVERVIEW The furniture industry in India is considered as a â€Å"non-organized† sector as it represents a small percentage (about 0.5%) of contribution to the formation of GDP. Moreover, the production is increasing every year. The furniture industry is categorized into various categories amongst which handicraft production is the major category which accounts for about 85% of the total furniture production in India. The wooden furniture is the major part of this non-organized sector, which caters mainly to home furniture demand. Demand for household furniture is easily affected by economic conditions such as disposable income, interest rates, employment level and income growth. The total size of the Indian furniture industry is estimated at around INR 900 billion. Eighty five percent of this falls into the unorganized sector. The furniture market is growing by 12-15 per cent per annum. In fact, around 300,000 workers are held by the furniture industry. FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS THE BARRIERS TO NEW ENTRANTS Barriers to entry explain the different criteria that could act possible barriers for companies to venture into new markets. For the Indian furniture market, the following could be the barriers: †¢ Cost of capital requirements The capital required to set up a furniture business could be pretty heavy and companies would have look for investors in order to meet the heavy capital requirements. †¢ Experiences and knowledge Since furniture business, in term of manufacturers and retailers, is considered as a shopping good which needs more time in selection so reputation is significant for the companies. Consistent with Imported furniture in India are booming, design becomes the first criteria in selecting furniture. This is influenced heavily by reputation and strong relation with customers and suppliers. How to begin and maintain the relationship along the value chain will help ensure survival in the furniture business. Developing relationships require knowledge and experiences which can be acquired and collected during operating in the market. This implies that this factor favors the companies already in the market. †¢ Legislation The legal aspect is not much of relevance for India furniture industry in terms of an impediment. Rather, it provides the opportunities of lower tariffs for the new comers. THE BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS In India the bargaining power of customers in furniture market is high. Most of the time in furniture buying process is spent in looking and shopping products and once consumers decide what to buy, they will buy from retail or wholesale stores. Furthermore, designed furniture increasingly becomes to the furniture trend in Indian market. Product design is mostly in hand of retailers or wholesalers since they meet the need of consumers who come to  their shop therefore they know styles in the current trend. Porter suggests that retailers power become significant greater over manufacturers when they are able to influence consumer’s purchasing decisions. In case of India furniture market, the ability of retailers to shape future market significantly increases the power of the buyers. THE BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS The power of suppliers is in the same direction as the power of buyers in the sense that it can squeeze profitability out of the industry. Suppliers can use bargaining power over participants in an industry by raising prices or reducing the quality of goods or services. In Indian furniture industry the bargaining power of customers in furniture market is low. The modern design furniture rapidly becomes a furniture trend. Manufacturers produce furniture in various styles given by interior designers or retailers. This can lower the supplier power. THE THREAT OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES The stronger the substitution in the industry less profitable the industry is. Wooden furniture is the main product in Indian furniture industry. The potential substitution of tropical wood products is the obvious non-wood products. Aluminum or plastic products may be a substitute for wood products. The threat of the substitute aluminum is gradually high since the demand for aluminum product is gradually growing with the current prospects of Indian economic development in the coming decades. To compare with wood the advantage of aluminum is mainly its durability, high flexibility, easy maintenance and no rust. RIVALRY AMONG EXISTING COMPETITORS Rivalry among existing firms can be fierce. For a company to improve its competitive position, knowledge of its industry situation and its rivals is essential. The more the rivalry is intense, the less that industry is profitable. †¢ Number of rivals The competitive environment in India furniture industry seems to be low in the terms of intensity since there are not many companies in the industry. However, foreign competitors through foreign investment play an important role in the industry because of the growing trend of imported furniture. †¢ The industry growth Porter argues that slow industry growth leads to increasing competition since firms in the industry are inevitable to seek their expansion. From empirical findings, we found out that furniture market in India is growing positively every year. This implies that competition in the industry is not likely to be severe †¢ Product differentiation In an industry, product differentiation plays a significant role in protecting from competitors as customers have preferences and loyalty to particular sellers according to Porter. In Indian furniture industry, design makes product differentiated and design rapidly becomes trend. This means competition in this industry tends to be weak as a lot of design options are available which can generate product differentiation to meet the customer’s specific needs. INDIA – A GREAT PLACE TO INVEST India has a very stable political environment which has been suitable for foreign investors and its policies over the last few years have been successful to attract FDI in various sectors This shows that India is a fruitful market for companies planning to invest and enter this market. India is an important member of WTO which urges it to abide by its rules and regulations. India has the second largest population in the world which makes it a huge economy as it also has a rapid and stable economic growth  with low inflation rate and strong rupee value. India also has a cheap labor as compared to other developing countries. These indicators clearly signify India as a suitable place for the investors to invest. We have noticed that imported furniture is flooding in the market and growing up rapidly every year. The government policy of allowing 100% FDI in single brand retail is an added motive and enhances opportunities for foreign players in entering into Indian market. The ability of retailers to shape future market is increasing, however, buyer’s bargaining power is exerted very little as it doesn’t appear to be one single buyer who purchases large volumes of furniture and supplier’s bargaining power is also low as most of products are in hand of retailers in view of product design. Competitive situation in Indian furniture industry is not too intense due to the high growth of the industry and a small number of companies in the industry. 3. IKEA IN INDIA From the previous part, PESTLE and Five-Force analysis shows the great opportunity for the furniture industry in India. This time, with strong global presence and reputation itself, IKEA should really enter India for further profitability, by the large population and supportive business environment. This part we will explain the IKEA project organized in India by site selection and company strategy. IKEA entering India seems to be a quite promising idea, and as a team we have thought of another aspect that could prove to be quite profitable for IKEA. We feel that hiring interior designers to visit people’s homes or apartment building and help them with the process could generate more sales. An experienced interior designer who is knowledgeable can help sell products and also make recommendations for the customers. Many customers who don’t have a good sense of fashion can be left clueless when trying to shop for furniture or other household accessories. The interior designer will have a catalog with them when they make the initial visit, browsing with the customer. The customer has to pay a flat rate for the interior designer and then what ever they want to purchase. By allocating an interior designer IKEA could make more money because sales people have a tendency to push  products on people and create more sales for the company. 3.1 SITE SELECTION According to the India government (2012), India consists of 28 states and 7 Union territories. Each state has a unique demography, history and culture, value and language (India government, 2012). Using this information it is important that the first store implemented into India is essential for further success. Similar to China, India established the Special Economic Zones Acts (SEZs) in 2005 (Rawat, Bhushan and Surepally, 2011). The authors also point out that in investing there, a company will be given a variety of friendly business conditions e.g. incentives and tax exemptions. Supporting by Dohrmann (2008), SEZs will support business and will particularly enhance the competitiveness of export-oriented activities. IKEA might not be a direct exporter, but we see future potential that IKEA could establish the regional factory in India with the centre location connecting Asia and Europe and other branches. There are a number of states that have been part of SEZs, e.g. Andhra Pradesh, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu etc. (SEZ India 2012). Our first location or destination for India is the Western part specifically Mumbai, one of India’s most intensive business hubs and residents, locates (Figure X). We plan to settle a store in suburbs which is near Mumbai, possibly between Pune and Mumbai. The reason why we select this district is its favorable business environments which possibly encourage IKEA’s performance immensely. This derived from the advantages of land value, SEZs preferential treatments and Mumbai economy. Land value Real estate and land value are one of main priorities in establishing a new store. Although IKEA might have plenty of capital, we need to ensure the investment will be made in order to continue to be lucrative and profitable.  According to The Economic Times (2011), _’Property prices in the Delhi NCR region have escalated between 10-45% in the last one year.’,_ whereas Mumbai, on the contrary, the land value is subjected to fall 30% and even more as the developer was forced to sell the estate (Thakur, 2011). Therefore, IKEA had better started from less-costly area and when the firm keep progressing well, settling around New Delhi or Kalkatta can really be considered. SEZs Since Maharashtas has become SEZs, it attracts MNEs and foreign investors for certain. Rawat, Bhushan and Surepally (2011) exemplify that Duty free was allowed for import procurement of products and materials for development, operation and maintenance. Also, the company will benefit from many types of tax exemptions, for example, an exemption from export income 50 or 100% (under conditions), from Central Sales Tax, service tax and state sales tax. Therefore, under SEZs Act, it is not only support cost-effective strategy for IKEA but also lead to future investment of the company in the region, for instance, establish the manufacturing site or regional assemble activity. c. Mumbai’s developing economy and increasing population gives IKEA incentive to start business there. Mumbai is renowned as India’s major financial and commercial capitol as generates 6.16% of national GDP (The Financial Express, 2008). Other emerging companies located in Mumbai will establish competition, but also ensure that business continues to grow. Furthermore, it was ranked among the fastest cities in India for business start-up (MMRDA, 2009) which would allow our company to continuously grow. Regarding Demographic data, Mumbai is the largest city in regards to population. According to the 2011 census, the population of Mumbai city was more than 12 million (Figure Xb), (national population, 1.21 billion) and it has been increasing over time (BBC, 2011). Besides, in comparing to other major cities i.e. Delhi, Kolkatta and Chennai, Mumbai represented the  greatest growth over three decades (Figure Xc).