Examples Of Utopia In The Handmaids Tale - 1246 Words

A Utopian Dystopia the Handmaids Tale Hello, and good morning today’s date is October 18 and my name is Zainab Bahia and this is my Individual Oral Presentation on The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood. When The Handmaid’s Tale was published in 1985, the world’s search for a utopia had failed, resulting in some of the most disastrous social experimentations in the history of humankind, much like Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany. Dystopia flourished and took on a new importance as technology gave rise to supervision and monitoring concerns, unheard of before the 20th century. With an increasingly disintegrated society, the quick fix that utopias promoted became more impossible, and readers began to look for warnings. The focus of todays†¦show more content†¦This symbolism rats in mazes think they are free because they can move about, when in reality, they are trapped. They are unaware that they are in a maze, they consider themselves free. Similarly, the handmaids are free to go anywhere within town that they want, as long as they stay within the boundaries or their own maze. They do not have any desire to go elsewhere, and future generations will believe this is freedom, because this is what they will have been told all their lives The next Utopian idea that will be discussed is â€Å"Citizens have no fear of the outside world†. However, within the novel it is seen that this is not the case but, that the characters are afraid of the outside world in this scene at the end of the novel and it reads â€Å"Whether this is my end or a new beginning I have no way of knowing: I have given myself over into the hands of strangers, because it can’t be helped.† (Atwood, 195). The essence of this emphasizes that the fear they have for the outside world is due to the lack of knowledge and exposure of what is to come. Whether they are in the hands of the Eyes or being watched by Mayday. Another Utopian idea to examine is â€Å"Individuality and Innovation are welcome†. It is stated within The Handmaids Tale that women are not allowed to read and write all they are to do is bare children and care for the home.Show MoreRelatedThe And The Handmaid s Tale By Margaret Atwood1260 Words   |  6 Pagesproperty in order to ensure citizens follow the government’s revolutionary and oppressive rhetoric. Hence, this paper explores the role of property in two of the most well known fundamentalist societies in literature history: Utopia by Sir Thomas More, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. Both authors acknowledge that property represents a significant threat to governments that aim to have an equal society where every citizen contributes to the well being of the nation. Thus, property is restrictedRead MoreSummary Of Feminism In The Handmaids Tale724 Words   |  3 Pagescriticizing religious conservative politics. Writer, Fiona Tolan analyzes Atwood’s work more in depth in â€Å"Feminist Utopias and Questions of Liberty: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale as Critique of â€Å"second wave feminism†. In this academic journal, Tolan argues that The Handmaid’s Tale is criticism to â€Å"second wave feminism†. She states the Aunts, Serena Joy, and Offred’s mom as examples of second wave feminist who believe transitioning into Gilead is right for women. She criticizes that this is theRead MoreThe Handmaids Tale As A Dystopian Society1207 Words   |  5 PagesIn The Handmaid’s Tale, the author, Margaret Atwood, creates a dystopian society that is under theocratic rule. From this theocracy, each individual’s freedom is, for the most part, taken away. The Handmaid’s Tale creates a dystopia by placing restrictions on the individual’s freedom, using propaganda to control its citizens, and by having citizens of Gilead live i n dehumanized ways. Furthermore, the creation of a hierarchal system in Gilead caused its citizens to lose the ability to feel empathyRead MoreHandmaids Tale-Dystopian Literarture1579 Words   |  7 PagesThe Handmaid’s Tale-Dystopian Literary Tradition Dystopia is defined as being a society characterized by human misery, as squalor, oppression, disease, and overcrowding. Dystopian is also considered to be about futuristic societies that have degraded into repressed and controlled states. Dystopian literature uses cautionary tones warning us that if we continue to live the way we do, this can be the consequence. A Dystopia is contrary of a utopia (a world where everything is perfect) and often characterizedRead MoreElements of the Authors World Present in Utopian Fiction Essay1796 Words   |  8 Pageseffort to make society realize its faults. Thomas Mores Utopia is similar to Erewhon because it makes commentary on certain social issues of his time, disguised as a story about a different culture. George Orwells 1984 and Margaret Atwoods The Handmaids Tale were also written based on the societies in which the authors lived, but these stories take place in the same society at a different time, so they serve more as cautionary tales than social commentary. Erewhon satirizes many aspectsRead MoreA Utopian world is impossible to create because nature would not allow it. Shakespeare’s play shows700 Words   |  3 Pagesconflicts to occur because imperfection is key to perfection. A Utopian society only revolves in a persons mind. A person might think of a Utopian Society to escape their situation but they do not look at the disadvantages, let us take killing, for example in a Utopian world, killing someone is illegal. If we do not kill anyone, how are we going to find food to keep ourselves alive? We have to kill. Negative aspects of humanity’s basic nature are jealousy, greed and revenge that would always interruptRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale Essay1724 Words   |  7 Pageswoman’s sole purpose for being alive is her functioning uterus. If that woman fails to bear a child she can be killed. If that woman disregards the law she can be tortured, or even terminated. In the dystopian future of Marga ret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale women’s bodies are used as political instruments. Because if the harmful pollution in the United States, a new Constitution has been made to address and correct the decline in birth rates. To do this the government has created Handmaids. Read MoreThe Handmaids Tale Feminism Essay1465 Words   |  6 PagesMargaret Atwood’s 1985 novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, is undoubtedly a staple piece when considering feminism in literature. While most works might take a firm stand on one side or the other when considering feminism, The Handmaid’s Tale approaches the subject differently; instead of establishing an ironclad position either supporting or condemning feminist ideals, Atwood’s novel showcases both ends of a spectrum concerning the advantages and disadvantages of such a movement in a democratic-turned-totalitarianRead MoreMargaret Atwood s The Handmaid s Tale Essay1309 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"Better never means better for everyone, he says. It always means worse, for some† (Atwood 211). Almost all attempts at a utopia eventually evolve into a dystopia because of the class that ends up being oppressed. In Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, this is exactly the case, and the oppressed caste is the handmaids. The United States has been transformed into The Republic of Gilead. This change was stimulated by the increase in rape and violence against women, as well as the dropping fertilityRead MoreTo What Extent Can â€Å"the Handmaid’s Tale† and â€Å"the Scarlet Letter† Be Described as Works of Dystopian Fiction?2086 Words   |  9 PagesTo What Extent Can â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† and â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† be Described as Works of Dystopian Fiction? The definition of Dystopia is an imaginary place where the inhabitants are exploited and control is maintained through oppression. Both â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† and â€Å"The Handmaid’s Tale† reflect characteristics of a dystopian novel. A dystopian novel is usually fictional and futuristic to the time in which it was written. The characters are made to worship a concept or figure as a way of control

Silent Features Of Developing A China Pakistan Economic...

Silent features of CPEC: The idea of developing a china Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) was visualized by the Chinese premier Li Keqiang during his visit to Pakistan in May 2013, found a proper shape in the present visit of the president Xi.The proposed economic corridor will connect the north-western Chinese province of Xijiang through the network of roads measuring around 3000 km (Xinhua Net). The economic corridor will link China’s underdeveloped far western region to Pakistan ‘s Gawader deep-sea port on the Arabian sea via Pok through a massive and complex networks of roads,railways,business zones, energy scheme and pipelines.(Rediff News)) Chinese Government will support and finance Chinese Companies, to build $45.6 billion worth of energy and infrastructure project is part of CPEC and $33.8billions in energy and $ 11.8billions infrastructure will be completed in 2017 and deal includes $622 million for Gwadar port. According to CPEC agreement $15.5 billion worth of coal, wind ,solar and hydro energy project will add 10,400 megawatt of energy to the national grade of Pakistan.(Reuter:21 November 2014. This project will provide Pakistan telecommunication and energy infrastructure and aim to improve intelligence sharing between both countries. China Government will also give grant to Pakistan in order to construct a new international airport in Gwadar and will be operational by December 2017.CPEC project upgrades transportation infrastructure, railway system, roads,

Business Strategy Simulation Analysis Free Essays

The actions build into my strategic plan to achieve competitive success with my strategy were to: 1. Offer a wide variety of products in order to give consumers more choices and appeal to the diverse preferences of a larger consumer base. This was to be accomplished by increasing the number of models produced at both the North American (NA) and Asia-Pacific (AP) plants for sale in the internet and wholesale segments in all four regions. We will write a custom essay sample on Business Strategy Simulation Analysis or any similar topic only for you Order Now 2. Offer attractive, high-quality products that will hold up to wear and tear in order to provide consumers with increased value. This was to be achieved by using a higher percentage of superior materials versus standard materials for production, incorporating more enhanced styling features into the products, and investing heavily in Six Sigma/TQM programs to improve the quality of the workmanship that went into the products and to reduce the number of defects. 3. Offer products at a price that is reasonable and considerably lower than that of rivals offering shoes of similar style and quality. This was to be accomplished by managing production costs and  setting a lower profit margin. To manage production costs, the majority of the products were to be produced at the AP plant and shipped to the other regions. Due to the lower production costs at the AP plant, the company would still be able to achieve the target profit margin even with the additional costs of shipping the products to the other regions. Since the costs of production in the NA plant were significantly higher, the additional costs of shipping to the other regions would not allow the company to offer the products at the lower cost. Therefore, most of the product from the NA plant were to be sold in that region to avoid the additional shipping costs. Additionally, production costs were to be managed by increasing the number of products produced per employee and reducing the number of rejects through investment in best practices training, higher base wages, and increased incentive pay to the employees for improved and increased production. The selling price for each product was to be kept the same and increase only slightly each year in order to increase and maintain a loyal customer base through consistently reasonable pricing. The actions built into my strategic plan to achieve financial success with my strategy were to: 1. Reduce production costs through improved efficiency of operations. This would be accomplished by investing heavily in Six Sigma/TQM programs in order to improve the quality of workmanship that went into every product. Better quality production reduces the likelihood that customers will end up with defective, low-quality products that could severely damage the company’s image. Additionally, by investing in best practices training for the employees and offering higher base wages and incentive pay, the plan was to increase the number of products produced per employee and reduce the number of units ultimately rejected. Increasing employee production allows the company to create more product with the same amount of resources and improving the quality of their work reduces the amount of resources wasted on rejected units. 2. Take a conservative approach in financing operations. This was to be achieved by reducing the amount of debt and not taking any unnecessary financial risks. To reduce the amount of debt, the plan was to have the company pay off loans early in order to save monthly interest expenses. To avoid taking financial risks, the company was to use financial resources to improve the capacity and performance of the existing NA and AP  plants rather than invest in new plants in other regions. The other objective of these action plans was to increase the company’s financial rating so that future financing could be obtained at reduced interest rates should the need arise to finance the construction of a new plant. †¢ Why you selected the strategy you used The reason I selected the Best-Cost Provider Strategy for Kix Footwear was two-fold. First, the competitive strategy of offering a wide variety of attractive, high-quality shoes was based on what consumers, such as myself, would like to see from a shoe manufacturer. As a middle-income consumer, I work hard to earn the money I have and my disposable income is limited. When I shop for shoes I want to have a variety of shoes to choose from that are well-made and will last without sacrificing style or having to secure a loan to purchase them. The large majority of consumers are also middle-income and I wanted to target the largest market. Therefore, I decided that my strategy would be to provide consumers more value for their money. I planned to achieve this by producing and offering a large number of models to satisfy the need for more choices and to incorporate more enhanced styling features into each model, use higher quality materials, and invest in Six Sigma/TQM programs in order to improve the attractiveness and quality of the shoes produced. My strategy to maintain reasonable prices was to invest in best practices training and offer higher base wages and incentive pay to employees in order to increase the number of pairs produced per employee and reduce the number of rejected pairs, thereby reducing the production costs per pair. Secondly, the financial strategy of reducing production costs and taking a conservative approach to financing operations was based on improving profit margins and managing risks. Therefore, my strategy to reduce production costs and improve profit margins was to invest in best practices training and offer higher base wages and incentive pay to employees in order to increase the number of pairs produced per employee and reduce the number of rejected pairs, thereby reducing the production costs per pair. With lower production costs per pair, the company would be able to retain more of the  revenue generated from sales resulting in an increased profit margin. My strategy to manage risks was to reduce the company’s debt obligations by repaying loans early and not incurring any further debt unless absolutely necessary. To avoid further debt, the strategy was to maintain a cash flow sufficient to pay expenses as they came due without having to obtain short-term financing and to increase production capacity by improving or expanding existing production facilities rather than by constructing new facilities in other regions. 1. Evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy. The effectiveness of my Best-Cost Provider Strategy to provide consumers with a wide variety of attractive, high-quality products at an affordable price by using better materials, improving efficiency, and taking a conservative approach to financing operations was fairly successful. With the exception of the first and final years, Kix Footwear was one of the top three companies in the industry. As the game began, Kix started out in 5th place overall with slight increases in Earnings Per Share (EPS) of $0.02, Return on Equity (ROE) of 1.3%, and Stock Price of $0.42/share. By the end of the second year (Year 12), the company had more moderate increases of $2.33 in EPS, 8.3% in ROE, and $56.15/share in Stock Price, putting me 3rd place overall with a +13 point change from Year 11. Kix maintained its standing in 3rd place throughout the game until the final year, occasionally sharing it with Company E. The final EPS for Kix Footwear at the end of the game (Year 18) was $9.08, an increase of $6.39 overall; ROE increased 4.2% to a final score of 19.2%; and the Stock Price in the final year was $172.67/share which was an increase of $140.67/share. While my strategy for Kix Footwear was fairly successful, I believe that the company’s performance could have been better if I had been more willing to take financial risks. My attempts to increase production capacity were not as effective as I had hoped, causing my company to lose many sales to my competitors with the foresight to build additional capacity at the onset of  the game. Additionally, I underestimated the competition’s aggressiveness in obtaining celebrity endorsements and was too risk-averse to bid high, which resulted in my initial bids to be incredibly low compared to those of my competitors. Ultimately, I was not able to obtain celebrity endorsements immediately due to my low bids, which hurt my image and cost me sales. Due to my setbacks in failing to adequately increase capacity and obtain celebrity endorsements, I lost focus on my original deliberate strategy and began implementing a reactive strategy based on mimicking the actions of the 1st and 2nd place competitors. I reduced the number of models I offered and raised my prices substantially, both of which are directly in conflict with my initial strategy. Mimicking the strategy of a rival is rarely successful and did not prove to be so in this situation. As a result of this change in strategy, the company slipped slightly in Year 14, with EPS falling from $5.08 to $4.57, ROE decreasing from 20.4% to 16.0%, and Stock Prices slipping from $96.87/share to $83.20/share. I immediately realized my error and returned to my original strategy by offering more models at lower prices. The outcome was that I was able to regain my competitive advantage the following year (Year 15) and my scores reflected this as EPS rose to $6.03, ROE to 18.7%, and Stock Prices to $105.63. C. Evaluate your ability to identify competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and strategies during the simulation. My ability to identify my competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, and strategies during the simulation were at first not as good as I had hoped they would be. My focus at the beginning of the game remained only on those companies that were ahead of me or directly below me. The other companies did not factor into my strategic decision-making and, as a result, I lost out on a vital purchase of additional capacity at the beginning of the game which set me back slightly. Additionally, because of my failure to monitor my external environment, I was taken by surprise when Company E gained ground in Year 13, coming from 6th place to being tied for 3rd place with me. I realized at that point, that it was necessary to watch all of my competitors, not just the ones that I wanted to surpass. An ambitious company can make significant  changes to their strategy and overcome rivals quickly. For a company to maintain a competitive edge, it is important to closely monitor the external environment in order to identify competitors with the ambition, capabilities, and resources necessary to pose a real threat and prepare a strategy to protect against that threat. As the game continued my ability to identify competitor strengths, weaknesses, and strategies improved. I watched the behaviors of all of the companies, not just the most successful ones, and made strategic decisions based on taking advantage of weaknesses in my competitors in order to gain their market shares and adjusting my strategy to take advantage of consumer preference trends. For example, I noted that there were a lot of sales in the wholesale segment were lost in all of the four regions by companies that were offering products for the private-label segment. I decided to avoid the private-label segment because the profit margin was less than in the internet and wholesale segments and to provide as much product as I could to those segments in order to gain the market shares of those companies supplying the private label segment. Additionally, there was more production capacity available than there was demand and this continued to be more pronounced each year. Therefore, rather than create more capacity through new construction, I decided to increase my capacity by purchasing it from other companies. With this increased capacity, I was able to better meet the demands of the wholesale and internet segments in all four regions without the monthly interest expense of a construction loan. The results were that I had fewer lost sales in the wholesale segment than those companies offering product for the private-label segment, achieved higher levels of sales revenue, and received an A+ credit rating. 1. Discuss how successful you were in predicting your competitors’ next moves. My success in predicting my competitors’ next moves was initially very good and then began to lag as the game continued. I believe that my initial success was due to the fact that every company was starting out in exactly the same position and faced with identical market conditions. Therefore, I simply predicted that my competitors, in reviewing and analyzing the same market conditions as I, would come to the same or similar conclusions and react in much the same way as I would. Regardless of the strategy each company wanted to execute, the fact remained that production costs were less in the AP plants than in the NA plants. So I predicted that most of the companies would concentrate their production in the AP region and ship to the other regions. I also assumed that most of the companies would raise their prices, a few would keep them the same, and that none were likely to lower prices. My predictions were accurate enough during the first two years that I received bonus points for being so close. As the game progressed, I was not as successful in predicting the moves of my competitors. I believe the first cause for this outcome was the fact that I was focusing only on the actions of the companies that were ahead of me of just below me rather than monitoring the entire external environment. I failed to recognize the importance of watching all of my rivals in order to identify potential threats to my market share. My predictions, therefore, were essentially my predictions for only those 3 or 4 successful competitors as a group, not the entire industry as a whole. Additionally, as the game continued, I found it difficult to find enough time to analyze each company properly given the time constraints. There was very little time between years for analysis and decision-making and, coupled with working full-time and family obligations, I only had enough time to perform a cursory review and analysis before entering my decisions in order to meet the deadlines. I believe that given more time, I would have been able to more accurately predict my competitors’ moves within the game. D. Discuss how sustainable the most dominant competitive advantage achieved by any company within your industry was. I believe that the most dominant competitive advantage achieved by any company within the industry was very sustainable. The top company within the industry, Company B, achieved competitive advantage by building capacity within the first two years and continuing to build throughout the game in all four regions; winning and maintaining celebrity endorsements year after year; and by investing significantly in advertising. This strategy was about  taking significant risks and it resulted in increased buyer demand, product differentiation, and perceived value. Company B had the capability of producing more product in all four regions than any of the other companies in the industry and enabled them to better meet the increasing demand for their product due to their successful advertising campaigns and celebrity endorsements. They were also able to eliminate all costs associated with shipping product from one region to another, which the other companies were not able to do. This company was able to maintain a 1st place standing overall throughout the game, with the exception of Year 13. By immediately increasing capacity and doing so in all four regions, Company B was able to increase production to meet increasing demand and eliminate the additional operating costs of shipping product from one region to another, keeping production costs down and increasing profit margins. The company also managed to successfully win bids for celebrity endorsements by the second year and maintain a high level of celebrity contracts throughout the game by bidding high. These celebrity endorsements, along with significant investments in advertising campaigns, allowed the company to boost consumer demand, increase product differentiation, enhance consumer perceived value, and command a higher price for their product. This company shot to the top of the industry immediately by taking advantage of market conditions through aggressive strategy and risk-taking. Once at the top, the company was able to sustain their competitive advantage by building on their strengths of increased capacity and demand. Increased capacity allowed the company to gain market shares from those companies unable to meet demand and demand for their product was created through numerous celebrity endorsements and considerable advertising. E. Compare the selected strategy to three following tests of a winning strategy: The generic competitive strategy that I selected for Kix Footwear was to provide consumers with a wide variety of attractive, high-quality products at an affordable price by using better materials, improving efficiency, and taking a conservative approach to financing operations. A winning strategy can be determined by applying three tests; The Fit Test, The Competitive Advantage Test, and The Performance Test. The Fit Test To pass The Fit Test, a company’s strategy must fit the current situation, both internally and externally. Internally, the company must be able to execute the strategy with their available resources and current capabilities. For a good external fit, the strategy must be aligned with the current market conditions. I believe that my strategy passed The Fit Test because it was a good fit internally and an adequate fit externally. Internally, my strategy was based on improving the resources available to me and building on our capabilities, such as existing facilities and current employees. My strategy consisted of investing in improvements to existing facilities in order to increase capacity and investing in enhancements to my labor force through best practices training and higher base wages and incentive pay in order to retain their valuable knowledge and experience. My strategy from an external standpoint was only adequate. As it turned out, industry demand rose much higher than I expected and my strategy to increase capacity through improving existing facilities was not enough to keep up or get ahead. As a result I lost sales to those competitors with enough courage to take risks and build additional capacity. The loss of sales due to being out of stock damaged my company’s image and affected future sales. My reactive strategy to loss of sales due to insufficient capacity was to purchase capacity from other competitors in the industry. This allowed my company the ability to better meet demand and lose fewer sales due to being out of stock. As a result, my company was able to regain the 3rd place position in the industry and remain there until the final year. †¢ The Competitive Advantage Test For a strategy to pass The Competitive Advantage Test it must be capable of  helping the company achieve a sustainable competitive advantage. To be considered sustainable, a company’s competitive advantage over rivals must be long-lasting and not just a brief period of exceptional performance. My company’s strategy throughout the game was to provide a wide variety of high quality shoes for a reasonable price, which was followed each year with the exception of Year 14. During this year, I lost focus and changed my strategy to mimic those of the companies ahead of me, resulting in considerable losses. I returned to my original strategy in Year 15 and saw significant increases, returning my company to its former position in 3rd place where it remained until the final year. The ability to remain within the top 3 companies in the industry for the bulk of the game and have steadily increasing sales revenues each year speaks to the sustainability of my company’s competitive advantage and, therefore, I believe that my strategy passed The Competitive Advantage Test.   The Performance Test The Performance Test requires that a winning strategy result in strong company performance. Indications of strong company performance are profitability and market standing. I believe my company’s strategy passed The Performance Test because it resulted in excellent profitability and good market standing. In terms of profitability, my company experienced consistent increases in net revenue each year and, with the exception of Year 14, showed a steady increase in EPS. Additionally, ROE met or exceeded investor expectations every year and unit sales in both the internet and wholesale markets increased steadily each year with the exception of the final year. In terms of market standing, my company maintained a global market share of between 8% to 10% throughout the game, met or exceeded investor expectations for image rating every year starting in Year 14, and remained one of the top 3 companies in the industry until the final year. F. Explain how effectively you applied value chain analysis during the simulation. My effectiveness in applying value chain analysis during the simulation was fairly good, but I failed to recognize the reasons for my competitor’s success in the beginning and it cost my company image points, resulting in less market share. As the game began, I analyzed what my competitors were doing to add value for their consumers and my conclusion was that they were increasing capacity so that they could provide more product in each region without the additional costs of shipping from one region to another. What I failed to realize is that, in addition to building capacity, they were also building demand for their shoes through product differentiation and increasing consumer perceived value. This was accomplished by investing heavily in advertising and placing high bids for and winning celebrity endorsement contracts. Since I was unable to secure any celebrity endorsement contracts immediately and my competitors were offering the same number of models with the same S/Q rating as my company, I tried to create more value for my customers by increasing the number of models I produced, increasing the amount of enhanced styling, and raising my product’s S/Q rating. My analysis of my competition also revealed that they had an advantage in that they were able to provide better value to consumers by producing locally in order to avoid shipping charges and costs lower. To create more value for my consumers in this activity, I purchased more capacity in the AP region because the production costs there were much lower than those in the NA region and, even with the additional costs of shipping product to the EA and LA region, I would still be able to provide my customers with high quality shoes at a reasonable price as well as achieve a healthy profit margin. G. Evaluate how effectively you addressed three important issues in order to achieve competitive and financial success for your simulation company. Model availability My effectiveness in addressing model availability in order to achieve competitive and financial success for Kix Footwear was very good. I initially kept the number of models consistent the first year (Year 10), but quickly realized that without the advantages of having celebrity endorsements I needed to offer something to consumers that would differentiate my product, provide more value to my customers, and give me a competitive edge. To achieve these objectives, I increased the number of models I produced and offered for sale as well as increased the style and quality above that of my competitors. As a result, despite not being able to obtain very many celebrity endorsements, consumer demand and sales rose enabling Kix Footwear to come from 5th place in Year 11 to 3rd place in Year 12, remaining there until the final year, and showed steady increases in sales revenue throughout the simulation. Corporate Citizenship My effectiveness in addressing corporate citizenship in order to achieve competitive and financial success for Kix Footwear was dismal at first and improving only slightly by the end of the simulation. When I began the simulation I did not pay much attention to the corporate citizenship aspects of decision –making, but due to my falling image rating and inability to obtain celebrity endorsements, I turned my attention to corporate citizenship. I invested in using recycled materials throughout the simulation, then began making small charitable donations, increasing it slightly each year. Towards the end of the simulation, in an attempt to further boost my image rating I began investing in ethics training and enforcement. While the efforts did boost my company’s image slightly, I believe I could have demonstrated better corporate citizenship and realized better competitive and financial success by increasing my attention to this area. Fiscal responsibility My effectiveness in addressing fiscal responsibility was very good during the simulation, but not excellent. I was very focused on eliminating all outstanding debt to avoid the monthly interest expenses and achieve an A+ credit rating in preparation for the possibility of needing capital in the future at a lower interest rate. While this aspect of my strategy was quite effective and I believe that my credit rating helped boost the company’s attractiveness to investors in that the credit risk was very low, my company  should have been putting the available capital to use to increase investment earnings. Rather than simply sitting on the available capital, the company should have invested it in order to increase investor’s return on equity. In that respect, I feel that I was not effective in addressing fiscal responsibility. How to cite Business Strategy Simulation Analysis, Papers

My Grandpa Van Essay Example For Students

My Grandpa Van Essay I was eight years and almost three months old. It was a chilly winter morning on December 2nd of 2005. Before I even opened my eyes, I knew the weather was so cold, I would be able to see my breath when I exhaled. The night before, I was thrilled knowing that my first art show was the next day and I had been preparing for it for almost an entire year! My mouth ached from smiling so much I knew that in 24-hours, the most important people in my life my parents, my tio Bill, and my Grandpa Van would all be at my art show to see the painting I had devoted so much time and so many paint strokes into. The morning of the art show came around like the speed of light. Before I even opened my eyelids and wiped away the goop from the crevices of my coffee brown eyes, I was forced to rush and awaken completely by an abrupt shaking movement of my warm, cozy, soulmate which I like to call my bed. I opened my eyes, as laborious as it was. Oh, and it was my mom shaking my bed like always no surprise. Or was it? I heard a sort of panic in my mom’s voice that gave me a rare, uncomfortable feeling that something wasn’t quite right. As my mom shook my bed, in a frantic voice that I could barely understand; she blurted the words through tears and worry, â€Å"Grandpa Van is dying! † I hurriedly thought to myself, how is this happening to the life of someone who spent hours in Toys â€Å"R† Us searching for everything on my birthday and Christmas lists. I couldn’t begin to fathom my life in his absence. I couldn’t get over this thought. Every minute that passed on the way to the hospital seemed as if someone was holding the hand on my watch to keep it from tiking at normal speed. That car ride was a blur of misery that I couldn’t seem to escape quickly enough. We finally arrived to Sharp Memorial Hospital; parked and marched solemnly inside knowing more sorrow was on the way. A few moments after my siblings, mom and I started speed-walking towards the entrance of the building, I began feeling the cold sensation of tears wanting to pour south out of my eyes like the way water can crash through a dam and create a waterfall. Thankfully, my will to hold the tears back was stronger than my urge to let them break free. The dam was my temporary resolve to be strong for my Grandpa Van who I knew would see me any minute, so I knew I couldn’t let the sobbing let loose well, at least not quite yet. The process of speed walking and trying to find the room he was in was like waiting for rain in a drought. Hopeless and disappointing. Then, my mom jerked her body quickly into a room on her left. My siblings and I followed frantically, and I tried to keep my best composure; Grandpa Van had never wanted me to see him die. So if I might have the chance of witnessing his death, I felt the duty of fulfilling maturity and composure to the best of my ability. I needed to be tough for Grandpa Van and my mom. I knew that even though she had already began crying uncontrollably, there was no way I could give up on being strong for either one of them. My mom started causing me thoughts; thoughts that Grandpa Van had no chance of surviving a few more weeks or days of the cancer that had spread around his body rapidly in just a matter of weeks that we found out. As much as I wanted to deny the thought, she had surely caused the hope I had of Grandpa Van possibly making it another few days, to vanish. .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 , .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .postImageUrl , .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 , .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:hover , .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:visited , .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:active { border:0!important; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:active , .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82 .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u4f43599e68d7b9e068574c0535165d82:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Compare And Contrast Hinduism And Buddhism EssayFinally, I couldn’t stand just sitting there watching my Grandpa Van die; I made my way over to one of those cold hospital chairs and sat myself on it, not considering how much I loathe the smell of death it reeked with. Nothing mattered more at the moment than being next to the person who gave me so much flashing back to my third Christmas, the day he bought me my cozy critter pillow I still sleep with today, gosh I don’t think I could sleep without it; but not only did he just give me physical possessions, but a purpose on how I should live. Though he was beyond weak, I had just felt his hand reach over to touch my arm which was resting on his bed. I got the chills because it was as if I felt an angel touch me. Right then, the dam in my eyes that had been holding in all my tears went crashing down! In my head, I could see a flash of all my memories with my Grandpa Van. All the moments he had spent playing hot wheels with me or taking me in his new car to Starbucks, had somehow all wrapped together to teach me the purpose of living. But what that purpose was, I still couldn’t identify. As he was there touching my arm, in less than a second, I felt an instant cold rush sensation in his hand. I looked over at his eyes and knew that was the moment he would close his eyes forever. It was odd because I possessed this inner peace about his death the second I knew he was gone. It was that I knew he was in a better place with more angels like himself. Tears were still sprinting down my cheeks as if they were racing. The feeling of his cold hand that was still touching my arm gave me a sense of revelation. Revelation of what that lesson was Grandpa Van taught me. It was to be just as he was selfless. He gave me, and everyone he knew, so much without wanting or taking anything in return, that I can’t even picture having to live life without knowing someone so selfless. Grandpa Van was the most inspirational role model I’ve ever known; I see it as my duty to always strive towards being nothing but selfless, just like that angel up there that I still feel close to and I know I always will. My art show had came around so fast that night, though I had almost forgotten about it. I remember standing next to my blue flower painting waiting for my Tio Bill to arrive. I looked up from my head hanging in exhaustion because of the emotional roller coaster I had experienced throughout that day. As my head was raised, right across from me was an older teenage girl who had a painting of an angel dressed in a white cloth looking down on children playing. It instantly lit a smile on my face that was difficult to remove the rest of the night. A tear of that inner peace Grandpa Van left me made its way slowly down my cheek. Looking at the painting of the angel, I then said in a low voice, â€Å"Thank you for everything Grandpa. I love you. †

Alfred Dreyfus essays

Alfred Dreyfus essays Throughout Jewish history, there have been many events that have helped evolve the Jews as a nation. The exodus from Egypt, the destruction of the Temple, the Spanish Inquisition of 1492 and the Holocaust have all had profound effects on the Jews. One event which many people may not link which an advancement of Jewish history is the Dreyfus Affair of 1894. The Dreyfus Affair acted as a sort of watershed in Jewish history as many different thoughts, feelings and emotions were emitted from the Jews as well as for the Jews. From Alfred Dreyfus as an individual to the Affair itself, this long and unfortunate experience in essence opened the doors for a Jewish homeland. Alfred Dreyfus was born on October 9, 1859 in Mulhouse, Alsace to a family of Alsatian Jews. His family roots in Mulhouse and Alsace had been established for several centuries. His father Raphael Dreyfus had set up a small cotton mill, to which he soon added a textile factory. His business prospered enough to secure his family a more-than comfortable upbringing. Raphael married Jeanne Libmann and the couple had 13 children. Only seven of those children four boys and three girls survived infancy, and these seven grew up in a comfortable, respected lifestyle. The Dreyfus family as a result of their wealth were very well respected around France. In 1870, in the midst of the France-Prussian war, the Dreyfus family was forced out of Alsace and took refuge in Carpentras. It has been said that the sight of French troops traversing Mulhouse... determined his military destiny (Bredin 12). In 1871 with the Treaty of Frankfurt, Raphael chose French citizenship for him and his children who were minors and then left Mulhouse to settle in Basel, Switzerland. In 1873, Raphael and Jeanne decided to send Alfred to boarding school in Paris, however he had a hard time adapting and soon returned home to his family. Over the next few years, Alfred t...

Anna Karenina novel essays

Anna Karenina novel essays The main theme of this story is that love is one of the most powerful things in the world. It can make people do things that they would not usually do. Love can overcome many obstacles. The people in this story are always making sacrifices in the name of love. Anna sacrifices her reputation, her family, and pretty much her entire life because she is in love with Vronsky. Anna and Vronsky gave up their social statuses just to be together. In the end Anna pretty much sacrifices her life because she knows that she will never be able to live with Vronsky and have the life with him that she really desires. Karenin was still in love with Anna and he allowed her to be with Vronsky even though he knew about her affairs. He was willing to divorce her in order for her to be happy. He loved her so much that he forgave her and Vronsky both for all that had happened. Dolly gives up a lot as well just to stay with her husband. Even though he has committed adultery in order to keep their family tog ether and to have him she remains married to him even though she was devastated. Love can get you through tough times when nothing else will work. Love was what made Levin keep on going, he loved Kitty and so he was willing to be with her no matter how she had felt about Vronsky before. This love also came into play when Kitty decided to take care Nicholas through his death. Levin loved Kitty enough to stay in Moscow with her through her pregnancy even though he hated being in the city. Vronsky lived the crazy life of a wealthy bachelor but once he met Anna he realized that he could live with one woman for a long period of time. Throughout this story no matter what kind of trouble the adults were having the love for their children was above all else. Dolly was almost on the verge of a breakdown when she found out about Oblonskys affair but she put herself back together for her childrens sake. Anna possessed a great love for her first born s...

The French Newspaper Le Monde Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The French Newspaper Le Monde - Essay Example This paper will throw light upon Le Monde and all the necessary details will be provided in this paper. "The newspaper was established in 1944-as soon as the German army had quit Paris but whileWorld War IIcontinued-on orders of the new government of GeneralCharles de Gaulleas a means of providing a respected voice for France. It was printed on the presses of the defunctLe Temps,and a prewar correspondent of that paper, Hubert Beuve-Mry, was appointed its editor and director. He insisted on, and was granted, the right to operateLe Mondeas an independent organ, with no government or private subsidies and with the right to formulate its own editorial policies. By the end of its first yearLe Monde's accuracy and independence were widely noted and it had attained a circulation in excess of 150,000 copies." (Le Monde, 15 April 2009). The newspaper has made its mark in France and the writers of the newspaper have full authority to express their views and usually they express their views that are backed up with good research. The newspaper has had to face financial problems in the past but it has been very well established and no longer faces any financial trouble. Beuve-Mery is considered to be the founder of Le Monde. He was an editor and a French Publisher who not only established Le Monde but also took the newspaper to new heights.

Alfuttaim motors Toyota Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Alfuttaim motors Toyota - Essay Example This has made it to enhance the robust development of the automotive industry of the UAE as well as contributing to its significant growth widely. Alfuttaim motors have the greatest number of its vehicles on the road as compared to other automobile manufacturers in the world. Its vehicle brands target both the middle-class economy as well as the first-economy economy (Nayak & Josh, 2012). Its vehicle brand, the Lexus, targets the first-class economy. This is because it is quite expensive and it can only be afforded by people who consider themselves as falling under the category of first-class. The sales of this Lexus brand are however minimized by the stiff competition from the German machines like the Mercedes Benz and the BMW. The majority of the sales of the Alfuttaim motors are the Toyota. This is because these types of vehicles are affordable to the middle-class in the economy. It is also notable that the middle-class makes up the largest percentage of the people in the world. It is also the biggest sale as it is accompanied by a wide variety of material handling equipment from the same manufacturer which is equally affordable to the middle-class. This has made Alfuttaim motors to be a significant exporter of cars in the developing nations as that is where most of the middle-class people reside. The target market of the Alfuttaim Motors is spread throughout the world. This is mainly due to its ability to cater for the vehicle needs of all the people whether they are low income earners or the high income earners. Its ability to offer a wide variety of motor vehicles also places it at a better position to capture a wide market base in the world. It is acknowledged that the Alfuttaim motors makes affordable vehicle brands for the low income earners so as to provide them with a rudimentary means of transport (Nayak & Josh, 2012). It also makes luxurious cars, for example the Lexus,

Sustainable Tourism Practice & Planning Assignment

Sustainable Tourism Practice & Planning - Assignment Example 67, the central bank of Mexico identified Cancun as a potential and immensely profitable site for a purpose built resort in order to cater the demands of a nearby potential market, the US. "Due to the reluctance of investors to bet on an unknown area, the Mexican government had to finance the first nine hotels." (Siegel J., 2006). And thus, the first hotel started operations in Cancun which today goes by the name of Temptation Resort. By 1975, Cancun had 1769 rooms in service; by 2008 it boasted about 150 hotels with around 27,000 rooms in service. Apart from the hotels, the basic infrastructure also developed leaps and bounds. An airport, highways, potable water, electricity, telephone lines, convention center and harbors were built to jump start the tourism industry in Cancun. Second only to New Mexico, the Cancun airport handles almost 200 flights a day. Ultimately, the city has had to cope up with the immense population boost from 30,000 in 1980 to over 600,000 today (Rhoda R. & Burton T., 2010). Thus, it is not a surprising fact that Cancun contributes majorly to the Mexican economy. But this silver cloud has a dark lining to it as well. In a city that’s bustling with over 600,000 residents and visitors, socials ills come as a package deal. Crime and poverty, drugs and gangs, political unrest and prostitution reign the back alleys of the glamorous hotel strips. The core reason for this is the asymmetry in the socio economic population of Cancun. A worker working in one of the posh hotels at the Hotel Zone actually lives in the poorest of conditions in the downtown area. Mirroring this fact, is the rate of inflation that is constantly rising. Taking an general example of a hotel worker who earns an average of 50 pesos or $5 per day finds it almost impossible to... Sustainable Tourism Practice & Planning Cancun was nothing but an uninhabited barrier island in the Yucatan peninsula. In 1967, the central bank of Mexico identified Cancun as a potential and immensely profitable site for a purpose built the resort in order to cater the demands of a nearby potential market, the US. "Due to the reluctance of investors to bet on an unknown area, the Mexican government had to finance the first nine hotels". And thus, the first hotel started operations in Cancun which today goes by the name of Temptation Resort. By 1975, Cancun had 1769 rooms in service; by 2008 it boasted about 150 hotels with around 27,000 rooms in service. Apart from the hotels, the basic infrastructure also developed leaps and bounds. An airport, highways, potable water, electricity, telephone lines, convention center and harbors were built to jump-start the tourism industry in Cancun. The second only to New Mexico, the Cancun airport handles almost 200 flights a day. It seems that the life cycle of Cancun is about to complete its 360 degree turn. It was born as a virgin island which had never felt the feet of man. It was desolate and untouched. And then man realized its true potential and turned it from a sleepy isolated piece of land into a hustling bustling elite tourist destination filled with lights, colors, technology and fun. But then there is only so much potential that one can exploit before the entire venture starts caving in on itself. That is what happened at Cancun.

HACCP Plan For Fresh Canned Mushrooms

HACCP Plan For Fresh Canned Mushrooms This project is based on the development of a generic model of a HACCP plan for fresh canned mushrooms by the usage of Canadian Food Inspection Agencys Food Safety Enhancement Program. The goal of this program is to indicate bare minimum requirements for an effective food safety management system. It is based on the principles of the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. FSEP has created 10 specific forms that can be used for the documentation of a HACCP plan. The 10 FSEP-HACCP Plan forms are: HACCP is an acronym for the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system, which is identical with food safety management. Basically it is a system which identifies, evaluates, and controls hazards which are significant for food safety. It gives confidence that food safety is being administered efficiently. The method looks for hazards, or anything that could go wrong regarding product safety, and implements controls subsequently to ensure that the product will not cause harm to the consumer. HACCP was developed originally as a microbiological safety system in the early days (1960s) of the US manned space programme, as it was vital to ensure the safety of food for astronauts. The Pillsbury Company working alongside the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) of the United States and the US Army Laboratories developed the original system (International trade centre December, 2002). PRINCIPLES OF HACCP:- There are seven discrete activities that are necessary to establish, implement and maintain a HACCP plan, and these are referred to as the seven principles in the Codex Guideline (1997). The seven principles are: Principle 1:- Conduct a hazard analysis. Identify hazards and assess the risks associated with them at each step in the commodity system. Describe possible control measures. Principle 2:- Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs) A critical control point is a step at which control can be applied and is essential to prevent or eliminate a food safety hazard, or reduce it to an acceptable level. The determination of a CCP can be facilitated by the application of a decision tree, such as the one given in Appendix IV. Principle 3:- Establish critical limits. Each control measure associated with a CCP must have an associated critical limit which separates the acceptable from the unacceptable control parameter. Principle 4:- Establish a monitoring system Monitoring is the scheduled measurement or observation at a CCP to assess whether the step is under control, i.e. within the critical limit(s) specified in Principle 3. Principle 5:- Establish a procedure for corrective action, when monitoring at a CCP indicates a deviation from an established critical limit. Principle 6:- Establish procedures for verification to confirm the effectiveness of the HACCP plan. Such procedures include auditing of the HACCP plan to review deviations and product dispositions, and random sampling and checking to validate the whole plan. Principle 7:- Establish documentation concerning all procedures and records appropriate to these principles and their application (Food and Agricuture Organization 2003) BASIC TERMINOLOGY INVOLVED IN HACCP:- Corrective Action: Detection and eradication of the causes of a problem, thus preventing their recurrence. Critical Control Point: A point, step, or procedure at which control can be applied and as a result, a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to acceptable levels. Critical Limits:- The maximum or minimum value to which a physical biological, or chemical hazard must be controlled at a critical control point to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of the identified food safety hazard. Deviation: Failure to meet a critical limit. HACCP Plan: The written document that is based upon the principles of HACCP and delineates the procedures to be followed to ensure the control of a specific process or procedure. HACCP System: The HACCP plan in operation, including the HACCP plans itself. Hazard: Any biological, chemical, or physical property that may cause a food to be unsafe for human consumption. Hazard Analysis:- The identification of any hazardous biological, chemical, or physical properties in raw materials and processing steps, and an assessment of their likely occurrence and potential to cause food to be unsafe for consumption. Preventive Measure: Physical, chemical, or other means that can be used to control an identified food health hazard. Process:- A method consisting of any number of separate, distinct, and ordered operations that are directly under control of the establishment employed in the manufacture of a specific product, or a group of two or more products wherein all CCPs, such as packaging, may be applied to one or more of those products within the group. DEVELOPMENT OF PLANT SPECIFIC HACCP PLAN:- Some preliminary steps are required before development of a plant specific HACCP plan. These includes assembling of HACCP team, describing the food and its method of distribution, identifying the intended use and the consumers of the food, developing the flow diagram that describes the process and finally verifying the flow diagram. The following steps are all a part of developing your plant-specific plan. Description of the Product: The primary step in the development of the model for your process. To help you to progress through the remainder of your model development, it will assist you in describing your product. Process Flow Diagram: After completing product description, this form should be completed. This step consists of the course of the process as the product moves from receiving to finished products shipping. It is helpful to complete this portion of your plan while actually walking through your plant and following the production steps involved in the particular product or process. Hazard Analysis: This is a crucial step in the development of a plant specific HACCP plan. This portion must take into consideration the risk or likelihood of incident, and the rigorousness of each hazard. In order to be considered, an identified hazard must be of such a nature that its prevention, elimination, or reduction to an acceptable level is essential to the production of a safe food. Hazards that are not significant or not likely to occur will not require further consideration. According to its frequency, risk, and severity, the potential significance of each hazard should be assessed. Risk is an estimate of the likely occurrence of a hazard. The estimate of risk is usually based on a combination of experience, epidemiological data, and information in the technical literature. Pathogenic microorganisms of public health significance should be identified as a biological hazard with preventive measures to preclude their growth and propagation. In your hazard analysis there are three categories of hazards to considered: chemical, biological, and physical. Each process step will be evaluated to determine if significant hazards from one or more of these categories are present. The hazards will be listed at each process step along with the specific preventive measures that can control the hazard. Identify the processing steps that present significant hazards and any preventive measures on the Hazard Analysis/Preventive Measures Form. These will be derived from the process steps on your flow diagram. Critical Control Point (CCP) Determination: Detection and explanation of the CCP for each identified hazard is the next step in plan development. For the completion of this form we need the CCP determination and the information and data you recorded on the Hazard Analysis/Preventive Measures form. HACCP Plan Development: To ensure that your process is under control and adequate to produce a safe product, this portion of the plan development will be used to delegate the specific activities, frequencies, critical limits, and corrective actions. In addition, the HACCP plan will include specification of critical limits. These limits will be specified after the identification of the CCPs for the process and will be listed in the HACCP Plan. The critical limit must, at a minimum, meet the regulatory requirement for that specific process step if one exists. An equivalent limit based on a process or technology proven to render the product unadulterated may also be used. The following will be identified or described in the HACCP plan: the establishment monitoring procedure or device to be used; the corrective action to be taken if the limit is exceeded; the individual responsible for taking corrective action; the records that will be generated and maintained for each CCP; and the estab lishment verification activities and the frequency at which they will be conducted. (United States Department of Agriculture April, 1997) MODEL PLAN FOR FRESH CANNED MUSHROOMS:- Hazard Analysis: The foremost critical step in the effective development and implementation of the plant specific HACCP plan is conducting an analysis of the physical, chemical, and biological hazards associated with a process. The information gathered for the biological, chemical, or physical hazard will aid in determining where a hazard might happen in the process, what may possibly cause the hazard, how it can be prevented, and actions to be taken if conditions which could result in a hazard occur. Information on physical hazards may be more general and may consist simply of items found in foods that are injurious to human health such as glass, metal, broken needles, etc. The evaluation of physical hazards should include the suppliers utilized and their ability to provide products, ingredients, or materials that meet the food safety requirements of the plant. Past incidents of physical contamination occurring in the plant should also be a consideration when determining the significance of a hazard and the likely occurrence of a similar or related deviation. If specific chemical hazards exist that are associated with the process, these should also be considered at this point. Contamination from chemicals used for cleaning, equipment maintenance or upkeep is also of concern (United States Department of Agriculture April, 1997). Critical Control Point Decision Tree:- (http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/documents/image/ucm054476.gif). PREPARING YOUR HACCP PLAN:- Assemble the HACCP team: Your HACCP team should be composed of a HACCP trained individual and/or other member(s) who are familiar with the product and the process as it is conducted in your plant. There is no set number of participants. This will be determined by each individual establishment. All team members should receive at least a basic introduction to HACCP. Training can be formal classroom training, correspondence, on-the-job training, information from college courses, and/or books or manuals. Product Description Form:- Form 1 Product Name(s) Canned mushrooms Important Product Characteristics (aw, pH, Salt, Preservatives,) pH 4.6 to 6.5 (low-acid) aw >0.85 (high moisture) How it is to be used Normally heated before serving or sometimes served unheated (salads, appetizers, etc) and can also be used for dressing Pizza etc. Packaging Hermetically sealed metal container Shelf Life Exactly Two years plus from the date of purchase, at normal retail shelf temperatures Where it will be sold Retail outlets, institutions, food service, and general public Labeling Instructions As per the ingredients added. Special Distribution Control No physical damage, excess humidity or temperature extremes Date: Approved by: (Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2009) List of Product Ingredient and Incoming Material:- This form is only needed if there is more than one ingredient. Form 2 Raw Material Mushrooms Packaging Materials Cans Ends Dry Ingredients Salt Ascorbic acid Citric acid Other Water Date: Approved by: (Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2009) Process Flow Diagram:- Plant Schematic:- A plant schematic should be prepared for the products or process groups covered by the HACCP plan. Plant schematic provides a basis for calculating prospective regions of cross-contamination. Plant schematic shall be clear, accurate and sufficiently detailed. Plant schematic shall at least include: the flow of raw products, ingredients and finished products, flow of packaging materials, employee traffic pattern throughout the establishment including change rooms, washrooms and lunchrooms, flow of the waste, inedible products and other non-food products that could cause cross-contamination and finally the hand/boot washing and sanitizing installations. The overall evaluation of potential areas of cross-contamination at the establishment should include any other plant schematic from other HACCP plans. The HACCP team shall verify the accuracy and completeness of the plant schematic by on-site checking. (Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2009). Biological Hazard Identification:- Form 5 Biological Hazards List all Biological Hazards related to Ingredients, Incoming Material, Processing, Product Flow, etc. Identified Biological Hazards (Bacteria, Parasites, Viruses) Incoming Materials Mushrooms: Could contain C. botulinum or other pathogenic bacteria, yeasts and moulds Could contain heat-stable staphylococcal enterotoxin from improper grower handling Empty cans/ends Cans could arrive with serious double seam, side seam, metal plate defects or physical damage which could result in leakage causing post-process contamination Ends could arrive with compound skips, metal plate defects, or damage, which could result in leakage causing post-process contamination Dry ingredients Could contain bacterial spores Could contain filth from insects, animals or the environment Water Could contain pathogens Process Steps Receiving Empty cans/ends received from suppliers without valid contract specifications could have serious defects or damage Dry ingredients received from suppliers without valid contract specifications could be contaminated with bacterial spores or filth from insects, animals or the environment Mushrooms (Raw) Storing Improper storage temperature humidity could result in an increased bacterial load Could be contaminated with filth from insects, animals or the environment Empty Cans/Ends Storing Physical damage could cause the formation of poor double seams, which could result in post process contamination with pathogenic bacteria Could be contaminated with filth from insects, animals or the environment Dry Ingredients Storing Could be contaminated with filth from insects, animals or the environment Depalletizing Using incorrect cans or damaged cans could result in leakage and subsequent post-process contamination with pathogenic bacteria Blanching Improper cleaning of blancher could result in the growth of thermophilic bacteria in mushroom accumulations Inadequate removal of gases could cause stressed double seams and leakage, which could result in post-process contamination with pathogenic bacteria Can conveying Physical damage could cause the formation of poor double seams, which could result in post process contamination with pathogenic bacteria Slicing/Dicing (If required) Slice thickness/clumping and percent fines could affect the heat penetration, which could result in underprocessing Filling Mushroom compaction during filling may result in underprocessing Weighing Cans not properly rejected for overweight could result in overfilled cans being underprocessed Water Filling Inadequate temperature could result in low initial temperature (IT) End Feeding/Closing/Inspecting Ends with damaged curls, compound skips or other serious defects could result in leakage and contamination with pathogenic bacteria Improperly formed double seams could result in leakage and contamination with pathogenic bacteria Thermal Processing (Still Steam Retorts) Non-validated process or vent schedule could result in underprocessing and survival of pathogenic bacteria Improper product flow procedures in retort area could result in retort baskets missing the retort allowing the survival and growth of pathogenic bacteria Excessive time lapse between closing and retorting could result in excessive build up of bacteria, some of which could survive the thermal process Lack of adherence to time, temperature and other critical factors of the scheduled process or vent schedule could result in inadequate heat treatment allowing the survival of pathogenic bacteria Cooling Insufficient bactericide in cooling water could result in contamination of product during vacuum creation in cans Excess bactericide in cooling water could eventually result in corrosion and subsequent leakage and contamination of product Insufficient contact time between the bactericide and water could result in contamination of product during vacuum creation in cans Insufficient cooling could result in thermophilic spoilage Excessive cooling could result in post-process contamination due to leakage of corroded cans Conveying/Drying Contaminated water from wet unclean post-process can handling equipment and general handling could contaminate product Container Integrity Evaluating/Labelling Failure to statistically sample and/or dud detect lots and reject and evaluate containers with no/low vacuum or serious defects could result in defective product going to market Physical damage to cans could result in leakage and contamination of product Storing Physical damage to cans could result in leakage and contamination of product High temperatures could result in growth of thermophilic bacteria Shipping Physical damage to cans could result in leakage and contamination of product Date: Approved by: (Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2009) Chemical Hazard Identification:- Form 6 Chemical Hazards List all Chemical Hazards Related to Ingredients, Incoming Material, Processing, Product Flow, etc. Identified Chemical Hazards Incoming Materials Mushrooms Could contain agricultural chemicals residues Empty cans/ends Could be contaminated with cleaning chemicals and lubricants Water Could be contaminated with dissolved heavy metals or toxic organic chemicals Process Steps Receiving Empty cans/ends received from suppliers without valid contract specifications could contain cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants Empty Cans/Ends Storing Improper storage of cleaning compounds and other chemicals could lead to empty can/end contamination Dry Ingredients Storing Improper storage of cleaning compounds and other chemicals could lead to dry ingredient contamination Blanching Excessive cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants could cause product contamination Mushroom Conveying/Inspecting Excessive cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants could cause product contamination Slicing/Dicing (If required) Excessive cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants could cause product contamination Filling Excessive cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants could cause product contamination End Feeding/Closing/Inspecting Excessive cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants could cause product contamination Date: Approved by: (Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2009) Physical Hazard Identification- Form 7 Physical Hazards with Controls List all Physical Hazards Related to Ingredients, Incoming Material, Processing, Product Flow, etc. Identified Physical Hazards Incoming Materials Mushrooms Could be contaminated with hazardous extraneous material, eg. glass, metal, plastic, stones and wood (slivers and fragments) Empty cans/ends Could contain hazardous extraneous material Dry ingredients Could be contaminated with hazardous extraneous material Process Steps Receiving Cans received from suppliers without valid contract specifications could contain hazardous extraneous material Dry ingredients received from suppliers without valid contract specifications could contain hazardous extraneous material Raw Mushroom Storing Inadequate protection against hazardous extraneous material could result in contamination of raw mushrooms Dry Ingredients Storing Inadequate protection against hazardous extraneous material could result in contamination of the food ingredients Can Conveying Inappropriate design and protection against hazardous extraneous material could result in contamination of the final food product Mushroom Conveying/Inspecting Inappropriate design and protection against hazardous extraneous material could result in contamination of the mushrooms Slicing/Dicing (If required) Product could become contaminated with metal fragments from plant equipment Foreign-Object Removing Inadequate monitoring and cleaning of foreign object remover could allow foreign objects to contaminate the product Filling Cans of filled mushrooms could become contaminated with metal fragments from filling equipment End Feeding/Closing/Inspecting Cans of filled mushrooms could become contaminated with metal fragments from closing machine during and after jam ups Date: Approved by: (Canadian Food Inspection Agency 2009) Critical Control Point Determination:- Form 8 Category and Identified Hazard Determine if fully controlled by Prerequisite Program(s) If YES, indicate Prerequisite Program and proceed to next identified hazard. If NO, proceed to question 1 (Q1) Q1. Could a control measure(s) be used by the operator at any process step? If NO = not a CCP + identification on how this hazard will be controlled before and after the process + proceed to the next identified hazard If YES = description + next question (Q2) Q2. Is it likely that contamination with the identified hazard could occur in excess of the acceptable level or could increase to an unacceptable level? If NO = not a CCP + proceed to the next identified hazard If YES = next question (Q3) Q3. Is this process step specifically designed to eliminate/reduce the likely occurrence of the identified hazard to an acceptable level? If NO = next question (Q4) If YES = CCP + go to last column Q4. Will a subsequent step eliminate the identified hazard or reduce likely occurrence to an acceptable level? If NO = CCP + go to last column If YES = not a CCP + identify subsequent step + proceed to the next identified hazard CCP Number + proceed to next identified hazard Process Step/Incoming Material: Mushrooms as delivered Biological Pathogens Yes Heat treatment Yes N/A Yes Thermal Processing Biological Heat stable toxins No Upstream programs (farms) Chemical Agricultural chemicals No Upstream programs (farms) Physical Hazardous extraneous material Yes Visual inspection Plant equipment No Process Step/Incoming Material: Empty cans/ends as delivered Biological Post process contamination from serious can defects and damage Yes Contract specifications Visual and can tear-down inspection Yes N/A Yes Receiving Biological Post process contamination from compound skips, plate defects and end damage Yes Contract specifications Visual end inspection Yes N/A Yes Receiving Chemical Cleaning chemical contaminants and lubricants Yes Contract specifications Yes N/A Yes Receiving Physical Hazardous extraneous material Yes Contract specifications Yes N/A Yes Receiving Process Step/Incoming Material: Dry ingredients as delivered Biological Bacterial spores Yes Contract specifications Yes N/A Yes Receiving Biological Filth Yes Contract specifications Yes N/A Yes Receiving Physical Hazardous extraneous material Yes Contract specifications Yes N/A Yes Receiving Process Step/Incoming Material: Water at intake Biological Pathogens Prerequisite programs Chemical Heavy metals other toxic chemicals Prerequisite programs Process Step Process Step/Incoming Material: Receiving Biological Empty cans/ends received from suppliers without contract specifications may contain serious defects, or damage Yes Contract specifications Yes Yes CCP-1 Biological Dry ingredients received from suppliers without contract specifications may contain bacterial spores or filth Yes Contract specifications Yes Yes CCP-1 Chemical Empty cans/ends received from suppliers without contract specifications may contain chemical residues or lubricants Yes Contract specifications Yes Yes CCP-1 Physical Empty cans/ends and dry ingredients received from suppliers without contract specifications may contain hazardous extraneous material Yes Contract specifications Yes Yes CCP-1 Process Step/Incoming Material: Mushrooms Refrigerated storing Biological Increased bacterial load Prerequisite programs Biological Filth Prerequisite Program Physical Hazardous extraneous material Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Cans/Ends Storing Biological Post process contamination due to cans/ends damaged during storage Prerequisite programs Biological Filth Prerequisite programs Chemical Cleaning chemical contamination Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Dry Ingredients Storing Biological Filth Prerequisite programs Chemical Cleaning chemical contamination Prerequisite programs Physical Hazardous extraneous material from storeroom Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Can Depalletizing Biological Post-process contamination due to incorrect or damaged cans Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Blanching Biological Growth of thermophiles Prerequisite programs Biological Inadequate removal of gases Prerequisite programs Chemical Cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Can Conveying Biological Post-process contamination due to damaged cans Prerequisite programs Physical Hazardous extraneous material from plant environment Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Mushroom / Conveying / Inspecting Chemical Cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants Prerequisite programs Physical Hazardous extraneous material Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Slicing/Dicing (If required) Biological Improper slice thickness / clumping, and percent fines could result in under-processing Prerequisite programs Chemical Cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants Prerequisite programs Physical Metal fragments from equipment Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Foreign Object Removing Physical Failure to remove foreign objects Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Filling Biological Mushroom compaction during filling resulting in under processing Prerequisite programs Chemical Cleaning chemical residues and/or lubricants Prerequisite programs Physical Metal fragments from equipment Prerequisite programs Process Step/Incoming Material: Weighing Biological Product heavier than maximum fill weight in scheduled process could result in under-processing Yes Weighing Yes Yes CCP-2 Process Step/Incoming Material: Water filling Biological Inadequate temperature resulting in low it Yes Take it just prior to thermal process Yes No Yes Thermal Processing Process Step/Incoming Material: End Feeding/Closing/ Inspecting Biological Post-process contamination due to damaged ends, compound ski

Experiencing The Polio Epidemic :: Disease History Historical Essays

Experiencing The Polio Epidemic It was in the middle of September; the height of summer and the temperature was somewhere in the high eighties, and under normal circumstances there would be a long line of people, especially kids waiting to dive into the huge indoor pool at the Mission Beach Plunge. However, these were not ordinary times, the only people anywhere near the pool were there to forlornly gaze at the crystal clear water and wonder what deadly monster might be lurking in its depth. It was in the middle of the summer of 1952, and it was in the middle of the polio epidemic that would strike more than 60,000 people and kill more than 3,000 of them in the United States alone.1 As a young boy I did not know what caused the paralyzing epidemic, in fact I am sure the adults did not know the cause either. But, we had been told to stay away from swimming pools and drinking fountains because it seemed that anyone who did not heed the warning was sure to come down with the deadly disease. At school and in stores there were posters of children and young adults on crutches with heavy metal braces wrapped around their lower legs. Next to these posters, an organization called the March of Dimes placed a clear plastic canister for people to put money in for finding a cure for the deadly illness. Fear and guilt seemed to hang in the atmosphere, because although no one knew what caused the virus, everyone seemed to feel it was something they did that caused them to get sick. Parents especially, felt guilty because they were overwhelmed with the unknown, and the thought of one of their children becoming paralyzed or worse, dying, always led to almost daily admonitions to stay away from the drinking fountains and away from pools where groups of strangers swam. There seemed to be a general consensus that the disease was water borne. Waking up with flu like symptoms such as a mild upper respiratory infection, diarrhea, fever, sore throat or just generally not feeling well, would cause instant concern. My brothers and sisters and I inherited our father's sinus problems and allergies and we regularly had some type of symptom of an oncoming cold or flu. Even knowing we had hereditary respiratory problems, my mother would fall into a deep silence of concern whenever we showed signs of not feeling well.

“Glory and Hope” by Nelson Mandela Analysis Essay

Nelson Mandela gave a speech at his inauguration as president of the Democratic Republic of South Africa on May 10, 1994. His speech is named â€Å"Glory and Hope†, which hints at the content of it. In â€Å"Glory and Hope†, Nelson Mandela expresses his gratitude towards those who had aided them thus far and reminds everybody of the hardships they suffered, their successes, and their goals for the future. Mandela also tries to communicate the message that cooperation had brought them hope and to their glory and hopes to continue to do so. He conveys his appreciation and message through his word choice, tone, sentence structure, and use of rhetorical devices. Nelson Mandela’s word choice helps him convey his gratitude towards the audience and message that they must continue to work together to build and better society. He begins by addressing his audience with â€Å"Your Majesties, Your Highnesses, Distinguished Guests, Comrades and Friends†. His audience c omprised kings, queens, important government officials, and so on. However, through his word choice, Mandela is able to bring a sense of belonging and togetherness, regardless of their race, age, gender, and position. He uses words like â€Å"compatriots†, â€Å"we†, and â€Å"us†, making the audience feel and realize that they are all human beings and therefore equals in such a sense. Mandela uses tone and sentence structure to communicate his main message and express how thankful he is. His tone is appreciative, formal, hopeful, and passionate. Mandela constantly expresses his thanks to those who aided them. Near the end of the speech, he is also hopeful and passionate about their newfound freedom, equality, and democratic government. Mandela says â€Å"We are both humbled and elevated by the honour and privilege that you, the people of South Africa, have bestowed on us, as the first President of a united, democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa, to lead our country of the valley of darkness.† While Mandela’s tone is appreciative, hopeful, and passionate, he is also able to keep his speech formal. In addition to tone, Mandela’s sentence structure contributes to both tone and conveying his message. He uses lengthy sentences with occasional short and clipped sentences to emphasize a certain point. Mandela says â€Å"The time for the healing of wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come. The time to build is upon us.†

Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Example

Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Example Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Vertical Integration at Sony Essay Vertical Integration Back in 2002, Sony geared themselves toward a vertical strategy as reported by Rob Weisenthal, VP and CFO of Sony Corp. of America, â€Å"Under the USA umbrella, we undertook a number of vertical initiatives for each operating division. These have already produced significant operational streamlining and financial performance improvements. † As discussed in his release, Weisenthal talked about Sony Pictures Entertainment and their strategy to restructure television operations, where core programming competencies were focused on. Film and television digitalization efforts have been expanded and have engineered a significant reduction in their corporate overhead. In addition, he mentionted that Sony Music has made long strides in manufacturing consolidation, overhead reduction and the huddling of international offices. Between the two sectors of operation Sony has saved an average of $125 million by integrating its operations in a vertical fasion. In addition to these vertical initiatives, under the Project USA umbrella, Sony has begun a set of horizontal initiatives across the operating companies that will result in the creation of several shared platforms. Each of our divisions will share in the scale economics for all common services. These platforms include (2002): Logistics: The logistics platform will enable integrated supply chain management. All operating divisions are working towards greater consolidation of manufacturing, distribution, and transportation operations. Purchasing: The purchasing platform will increase buying power through joint purchasing contracts. This initiative has already resulted in significant savings in expenses related to travel, part-time personnel, usage of external consultants and legal fees. Media-Buying: With respect to media buying, Sony consolidated media planning and spending dollars of U. S. and Canadian operations for Electronics, Music, and Pictures divisions with Universal-McCann. Savings amounted to $20 million in this fiscal year alone (2002-2003). IT Infrastructure: And finally, Sony is the midst of consolidating our IT infrastructure (including Data centers, voice and data networks, and Web infrastructure) to increase the operating efficiency and utilization of our systems. Project USA will be largely completed by the end of this fiscal year (2003), both the vertical initiatives and the creation of these shared service platforms. The project is on course to lead us to meaningful margin enhancement and increased operating efficiencies across our divisions. Overall, we anticipate over $400 million of annualized savings from the overall project including the initiatives at Electronics. We began generating savings this past fiscal year and it will take three years for the full impact to kick in,† Weisenthal reported. Surprisingly, after extensive research it was found that, more currently, Sony is taking small steps to flatten out their supply chain with a horizontally integrating strategy. According to an article titled, Sonys semi biz to pivot from vertical to horizontal, written by Yoshiko Hara at Electronics Supply Manufacturing, Sony Corporation â€Å"is steering its semiconductor business from vertically integrated operation to ‘fab-lite’ operation that would involve outsourcing production of the Cell processor. This move is a significant turnaround from Sonys previous strategy to develop and manufacture core chips internally. Well invest in semiconductors on an asset-lite policy, which puts much weight on the investment efficiency, said Yutaka Nakagawa, executive deputy president of Sony in charge of the semiconductor business. Well focus more on the competitive areas. It seems that this tactical approach is meant for the short run, and lacks the vision needed for long term sustainability. Sony used to plan, design, manufacture and implement processors in its own game machines, including the PlayStation line; Sony used to have great success with its game processors due to its vertical structure but now the future is uncertain. Future Vertical Integration According to the article, Sonys semi biz to pivot from vertical to horizontal, Sony plans to keep its research and development teams running strong, but will outsource key manufacturing processes. Even if outsourced, game processors will continue to be one of Sonys main semiconductor products. The company intends to boost all the investment on Cell processor from the game business. Sony has invested a total of 460 billion yen (about $3. 8 billion) on semiconductors over a three-year period. Of this amount, 200 billion yen ($1. 7 billion) was spent on the Cell processor. In the coming three-year mid-term period beginning next April, We are considering decreasing investment in semiconductors greatly, Nakagawa said. Under the new policy, Sony intends to focus on three areas- imagers, game LSIs and system-on-chip LSIs for audio/video devices. Sony has about 60 percent market share in the imager market and is now reinforcing CMOS sensors as well. One hundred and fifty engineers were shifted to the imager section from audio/video sections to boost development. In the audio/video area, system-on-chip LSIs for TVs and Blu-ray Disc next-generation DVD products will be reinforced, but non-profitable chips such as GPS-integrated chips will be discontinued. Sonys semiconductor sales are expected to increase by 57 percent from 490 billion yen ($4. 1 billion) to 770 billion yen ($6. billion) next fiscal year, ending March, owing to the demand from game consoles and sales of imagers. About 70 percent of its sales are for its own products and 30 percent of the sales come from the merchant market. Sonys semiconductor business had been losing money before turning to the black (positive) in the October through December period of 2007. Nakagawa intends to keep the business in the black and moving forward while providing the highest level s of quality products and customer service. Sources sony. com/SCA/speeches/020509_wiesenthal. shtml http://my-esm. com/sclogistics/showArticle. jhtml? articleID=197006317

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0 essays Technology and Television: Child Obesity The children of today are becoming more obese, for the fact that they are obtaining laziness. They are spending more time in front of the television then they are getting their daily exercise. Their growing bodies need exercise to lose baby fat before it gets to be a serious problem. The growth of technology has formed a major impact on the obesity of todays children. This technology has substituted normal childhood play exercises with computer games that take less physical effort. Because of technology in today's society the problem with child obesity has become tremendously intensified. First, what is child obesity? The term child obesity means a child is a person between birth and puberty and obese is extremely fat: corpulent(The American Heritage Dictionary 265,856). This disease is caused due to a lack of exercise and over-eating by a child. Child obesity can cause many medical problems for a child that suffers from such a disease. Obesty is a widespread disease that is growing incredibly worse as technology increases. Furthermore, it is obvious that the lack of exercise has a major part to do with child obesity; scientists blame the television for a substitute to outdoor sports. Kids are spending more time watch television than they are doing physical activities. The findings strongly support the notion that the most important lifestyle factor in childhood obesity is television watching(Monmaney). The television brings the childs imagination to life, giving them entertainment to do without the running and exercising of outdoor sports. The more television a child watches the more obese the child will get. Next, the problem is getting so out of hand that the government is going to have to start getting involved. Satcher and Shirley Watkins, the undersecretary of agriculture for food, nutrition and consumer services said that, "'...

Two-Criteria, Two-Alternative Decision Template Essay

Two-Criteria, Two-Alternative Decision Template - Essay Example It will feature originality of growing organics, herbs and flowers that would attract the large population of Bedrock as people are getting to be health conscious. It has an assurance of flow of customers because of location. The flow of customers generates new needs and new markets. Thus, it creates competences to arrive at ideas to promote its products and services. There is no competition in the farmhouse location and French cooking is a new dining experience Traffic is not much a problem. The extra 15 minute drive to the farmhouse compensates the time between beating downtown traffic. The local critic can become a word of mouth in advertising the place and could be a possible source of capital. [$1,200 x 5 years = $72,000 vs. $600 x 5 years =$36,000] =$36,000. The savings on lease could be devoted to development of the landscape, garden, and open door dining. It will also be a good place for family gathering and children. Besides, option to buy is a good proposition. Option B is recommended because of the originality of ideas that is designed to meet customer demands. It also answers your requirement for a modest capital, a steady flow of customers, and for a quick income. On Option A – the growth potential in downtown area is limited because of the stiff competition that saturates the area. There are other restaurants offering French cuisine which is the attraction of Flintstone restaurant. Because it is in downtown, customers have many choices and establishing a new restaurant in the area needs more attractions to develop interest of customers. It has to do a lot of advertising and promotion to create awareness of people passing by. Cost of operations in downturn area is a big challenge as it is more expensive. Lease in downturn is higher that is complemented by higher cost of supplies and labor. Option A is not a good selection

Interpreting archaeological data from Paleoindian to Archaic sites Assignment

Interpreting archaeological data from Paleoindian to Archaic sites - Assignment Example The evidences for such activities include animal skeletons especially the extinct ones, bone tools, and stone tools. In addition, there are traces of marmot bones and ground squirrel bones amongst others. Therefore, these are evidences that link the community in question to the aforementioned activities. Yes, the range of activities tells us something about how long people lived at the site. For instance, the fact that the community ate deer and other extinct animals is a clear indication on how long they lived in this particular environment. Besides, the length of their stay could be deduced from the kind of tools they used and the bones obtained. There is the mention of the carbonized seeds and gathered plants and how they stayed to the next available summer or fall, which may give a rough idea that the people in question stayed therefore during that period after which they left for other places where the plants were found. There is very little difference between the two sites. One conspicuous evidence is the fact that whereas the community that lived in site A were hunters and gatherers, the community that live in site B were only hunters since there are no evidences pointing towards

The Emerald Forest Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

The Emerald Forest - Essay Example This cleaning of forests angered the tribes living in the forests known as the Invisible people and The Fierce People (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The story gets its real essence when one-day Markhem takes his family for a tour of the forest and his son Tommy gets abducted by the Invisible people (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The invisible people are environmental friendly people, who are very close to nature considering it as their friend and living happily in their forest in their own community unless Markhem comes to destroy their peace and take away their home (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). They kidnap his son because they assume that Westerners or termites as they call them are the destroyers of the world, but the child is innocent and so should not live with these murderers. Tommy is adopted by the chief of the tribe Wanadi who loves and brings him up as his son. Markhem searches a lot for Tommy but does not find him until after ten years when Tommy rescues hi m while fleeing for his life from the Fierce People (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). Markhem asks Tommy to return to him and his world but Tommy refuses and says that now his world is this forest and his people are his tribe. Markhem even asks their chief Wanadi, who is the authority of the Invisible People to convince Tommy to return but Wanadi says that â€Å"If I tell a man to do what he does not want to do, I may no longer be the chief.† Meaning that even being the authority there he has no right to force people to do something they don’t want to do.... The chief does not give any command or order to his people, not even his son to follow, rather he understands that it is the basic right of every human being to follow his will and wish (â€Å"Proyect†). However in the modern western world, lives of humans are ruled by orders and commandments given sometimes by their parents, sometimes by teachers, later by their employees, and overall by the governments, policemen etc (â€Å"Proyect†). It was not just that there was a wide gap between the authority structures of these two societies but their entire life style, culture, norms, traditions etc all were opposite. The people of the traditional societies still use artillery, spears and arrows to fight and they walk to cover long distances (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). The use of technology is very limited or almost nonexistent in their lives as they are closer to nature and lives together. In contrast to them, modern western society uses technology to a large extent (à ¢â‚¬Å"The Emerald Forest†). There are modern methods of fighting like machine guns and bombs, aero planes, railways cars etc to travel to far away distances in just hours, large machines are used for construction and to cut off forests. This advancement in technology has both its benefits and costs (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). With technology comes the easiness to do things and time gets saved in travelling. As Wanadi says to Markhem â€Å"When I was a boy, the edges of the world was very far away, but it comes closer each year.† However with benefits comes the cost too. As more vehicles are produced, so have the pollution from air, land and water increased as well (â€Å"The Emerald Forest†). This pollution is destroying our respiratory system by going inside us