Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Morals - Essay Example Besides, the associations can safeguard a reasonable workplace by taking into concern the part of morals in the current business setting. Presentation Ethics is mainly depicted as a way of thinking of study which is especially worried about the evaluation of human conduct. The part of morals includes the finding out about deciding the right just as the wrong exercises which happen in the work environment (Singer, 1993). In this unique situation, it very well may be expressed that it is very significant especially for the business associations to oversee morals in a particular working environment so as to increase wide assortment of advantages. The advantages incorporate developing solid yield just as collaboration, supporting the development of the representatives and successfully sorting out just as dealing with the qualities connected with quality, decent variety and vital arranging the board (Guha, 2008). In this paper, a current moral issue which is looked by Apple Inc. related w ith one of its providers for example Foxconn will be taken into concern. Additionally, a point by point examination about the rise of the moral issue alongside figuring a viable arrangement so as to manage the issue will likewise be portrayed in the conversation. A Brief Overview of Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American based worldwide business association which plans just as sells expansive arrangement of purchaser hardware, PCs and PC programming. The different normalized results of the organization incorporate iPod, iTunes, iPad and iPhone among others (Apple Inc., 2012). The organization gives a lot of consideration and fundamentally centers after structuring its items in such a manner along these lines, that there lays a base effect upon nature (Apple Inc., 2012). Additionally, the organization stays a lot of resolved to protect the most elevated benchmark of social duty by conveying safe working air and rewarding the working faculty with equivalent poise just as regard (Apple I nc., 2012). Investigation of Current Ethical Issue It has been seen that Apple confronted a moral issue related with one of its key providers named Foxconn while creating the important results of the organization. As indicated by the examination made by Fair Labor Association (FLA), Foxconn has been engaged with barely any moral issues which incorporate the working hours of the representatives, wellbeing just as security, pay and specialist reconciliation alongside modern relations. The report of the examination which is directed by FLA has uncovered that Foxconn has neglected to consent to the ‘Workplace Code of Conduct’ just as work law which wins in China. From the point of view of the moral issue relating with the working hours of the representatives, FLA has distinguished that the standard measure of working hours of the workers every week at the processing plants of Foxconn outperformed the standard rules of FLA. This specific issue was seen in each industrial fac ility of Foxconn (Scribd Inc., 2012). The chief causes behind the expanded pace of the working hours which outperformed the legitimate rules

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Problems and Aspirations of Youth Essay Example for Free

Issues and Aspirations of Youth Essay Presentation: Giving hands a shot contemporary composition and afterward ruling over hearts of millions isn't that simple as has been demonstrated by one of the conspicuous authors of the day †Chetan Bhagat. Not many creators have figured out how to connect with such a wide crowd as Chetan Bhagat. There is innovation of substance in his compositions and when he composes individuals feel as though it is their story. He is a marvel that has influenced everyone, contacted everybody’s life. Indian Publishing will currently be separated into pre and post Chetan Bhagat. He has made those sorts of tourist spots. Chetan Bhagat ventures his readers’ perspective in his works. As per him,† A writer’s first occupation is to evoke an emotional response, and not to satisfy elitist circles,† He does it via thinking about his perusers and tuning in to them,† It can’t be only the language, as it is essentially the basic language of the individuals. It is progressively about what is being said and imparted that strikes a chord.† Chetan firmly accepts that the language ought to be conversational a famous fiction must be an exchange with the individuals in the city. CHETAN BHAGAT:- A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH Chetan Bhagat (conceived on 22 April,1974) is a contemporary Indian writer who has composed four books to be specific :- â€Å" Five Point Someone-What not to do at IIT†, â€Å" One Night @ The Call Center†, â€Å"The 3 Mistakes of My Life† and â€Å"2 States: The Story of My Marriage†, individually. He experienced childhood in Delhi in a Punjabi family in a dubious home condition where his folks used to battle a ton. His dad, a military official, was exacting and he wasn’t permitted to sit in front of the TV or movies. Along these lines, Chetan and his sibling used to make up film stories and maybe that’s where this respect of composing all jumped up. Bhagat went to Army Public School (1978-1991), Dhaula Kuan, New Delhi. He contemplated Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi (1991-1995), and afterward learned at the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmadabad (1995-1997), where he was named â€Å"The B est Outgoing Student† He went gaga for his IIM Ahmadabad cohort Anusha and they in the long run got hitched. His epic â€Å"2 States: The Story of My Marriage†, is an anecdotal variant of his romantic tale. Subsequent to moving on from IIT and IIM, he joined Peregrine, a monetary help organization in Hong-Kong. It shut down in a half year yet Chetan remained on in Hong-Kong for a long time, moving to Goldman Sachs. It was to show disdain toward his supervisor that he began composing his first novel. Most likely it was an extraordinary second for Bhagat however he was in a bank and disappointed. His supervisor was terrible. So to deliver retribution on him. He began writing in office. CHETAN BHAGAT’S WRITING STYLE AND CHARACTERS The key to Chetan Bhagat’s achievement is he writes in normal English and it is consoling for youngsters to realize somebody comprehends what they are experiencing. As such, Bhagat’s composing style will in general be straightforward with direct stories and clear narrating. His heroes will in general be named after symbols of Hindu god Vishnu, as Hari, Shyam, Govind or Krishna. Every one of his books have a number in the title (for example ‘five’ in the first, ‘one’ in the second, ‘three in the third and ‘two’ in the fourth book.) At the point when gotten some information about this, Bhagat answered that he is an investor and he can’t get numbers off of his mind. Bhagat, 35, is the first to concede that he is no Arundhati Roy, the Indian Booker Prize winning writer and says he realizes pundits feel his books are shallow. However, Bhagat, who appreciates a hero like ubiquity among his perusers, matured for the most part 13 to 30, said he has a definitive riposteâ€â€Å"My books sell.† Bhagat says that he composes for ‘ordinary youthful people’ who feel choked by their parents’ want for them to become specialists, legal advisors, or architects. As indicated by Bhagat-Indian adolescents live under tension cooker conditions to succeed. There is merciless rivalry to win puts in India’s world class colleges with adolescents constrained to score exceptionally from essential to secondary school. Access to top colleges regularly requires 90% in addition to midpoints and most youngsters have afterschool coaching to achieve such stamps. A paragon of this way of thinking can be found in his novel â€Å" One Night @ The Call Center†, where the legend, who picks up the calls from dumbfounded Americans about their cooking apparatuses, remarks,† Every cousin of mine is turning into a specialist or engineer,†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.You can say I am the odd one out of my family.† Bhagat accepts that India will in general have a scholastic and social upset to forestall youngsters essentially spewing what they realize without deduction. He needs to pass on this message across to the Indian youth-regardless of whether they don’t get stratospheric marks, they are as yet qualified for a cheerful life; and it’s not the apocalypse in the event that they come up short. He by and large discussions about youngsters’ stresses, their nerves and every one of those things which engross them, by methods for his works. His composing subjects incorporate parental scholastic weight alongside pre-marriage sex, drinking and different points no-no in socially preservationist India. CHETAN BHAGAT’S NOVELS 1. FIVE POINT SOMEONE-WHAT NOT TO DO AT IIT! â€Å"Five Point Someone†¦.† was his first book which received a windy, amusing tone to investigate the lives of test abused understudies who pack to get into the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and afterward oppose the crippling climate of scholastic rivalry. It includes delicate medications, hitting the bottle hard, and an issue between an understudy and his professor’s girl. Honestly, the tale of â€Å"Five Point Someone†¦Ã¢â‚¬  rotates around three studentsHari, Ryan and Alok who originate from three unique foundations. The book is about their years in IIT Delhi and how they adapt to the weight of studies, family and connections. The book was generally welcomed by people in general, particularly among the more youthful age, and presented to Bhagat an enormous after. It was adjusted into a play by the venue bunch ‘Madras Players’ and furthermore by ‘Evam’. This book was adjusted into a film called ‘3 Idiots’, however Bhagat has expressed that he was not engaged with the scriptwriting in at any rate, and was associated with a debate with the executive and the maker of the film over attributing his commitment to the content. Coordinated by Raj Kumar Hirani, and featuring Aamir Khan, R. Madhvan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor, and Boman Irani in vital jobs, it was discharged on 25 December, 2009. About seven days after the arrival of the film, ‘3 Idiots’, Chetan Bhagat guaranteed for the credit for the story and this credit push turned into a national issue. On January 1, 2010, Star News channel got Chetan Bhagat, Aamir khan and Abhijat Joshi-the purported content author, changed to one another at their particular places through Star News journalists. During this program, Chetan Bhagat asserted that before the arrival of the film ‘3 Idiots’, neither one of the hes had been demonstrated the review of the film nor given any interest in the content composition. Around then he was informed that the adjustment of ‘Five Point Someone†¦.’ to ‘3 Idiots’, was only a few percent or at the most only five percent and rest of the plot was unique, however when the film discharged and hit the Box Office as the greatest hit of the time, Chetan felt terrible, in light of the fact that the story was not only five percent from his book rather it was seventy to eighty percent of his book. He saved mum for seven days however when his fans and perusers continued asking him for what good reason he didn’t make any move or show any response against the creators, by then of time Bhagat looked for the safe house of the media and came into the lime-light with his credit guarantee. Then again Aamir khan in one of his meetings clarified that there was no likeness between the film and ‘Five Point Someone†¦.’ and furthermore as Aamir had not perused Bhagat’s epic, Bhagat disallowed him to experience ‘Five Point Someone’, saying that both the film and the novel were very not the same as one another in story just as plot. Also, presently after the arrival of the film, seeing it to be a success Chetan Bhagat is guaranteeing for credit? It is very off-base on his part since he needs to grab the credit of Abhijat Joshi-the genuine content author of ‘3 Idiots’, who took a shot at the story alongside Raj Kumar Hirani †the executive. Aamir additionally questioned Chetan Bhagat saying that Raju Hirani had coordinated ‘Munna Bhai MBBS’ and its spin-off ‘Lage Raho Munna Bhai’, so Chetan Bhagat would guarantee that these two motion pictures were likewise his manifestations! Aamir marked Chetan B hagat as exposure hungry essayist. Chetan Bhagat shielded himself by saying that the maker Vidhu Vinod Chopra had disclosed to him that there was not really any similitude between the film and the novel separated from the five percent of free motivation. He included that he depended upon Vidhu and said so to Aamir disallowing him experiencing ‘Five Point Someone’. It was simply after the arrival of ‘3 Idiots’ that Chetan Bhagat understood that he had been hoodwinked as Vidhu kept him in dull by lying and that was the reason he asserted for credit. He said that according to contract marked among him and Vidhu, he had been guaranteed full equity by showing his name among the principle star-cast, however his name was given towards the end among assistants’ names in the moving cast. This truly squeezed him. At one event during the advancement of the film ‘3 Idiots’, collaborating with the media people

Sunday, August 9, 2020

Fall 2011 Applicant Facts Post #3 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

Fall 2011 Applicant Facts Post #3 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog Okay, so this is not an earth shattering post in terms of truly meaningful information about the application process or the class we are considering, but every once in a while it is nice to go off the board a little.   I did something similar last year and thought about it again this year because once again I find myself in a similar situation. Last year around the same time a friend was about to welcome a new baby into the world and he and his wife were trying to decide on a name.   They were thus running names by friends, taking suggestions, and doing research.   Not that you asked, but the name decided upon back then was Max. Once again this year I find that someone I know is having a baby and finding a name came up again.   Thus I give you the top 10 first names of applicants this year . . . ladies first. Top 10 Female Names 1.   Sarah 2.   Elizabeth 3.   Tie:   Emily, Maria 4. Jessica 5. Rebecca 6. Tie:   Jennifer, Lauren 7. Tie:   Alexandra, Danielle, Yang 8. Tie:   Laura, Samantha 9. Tie: Ashley, Jing 10. Tie:   Julia, Michelle Top 10 Male Names 1. David 2. Michael 3. Benjamin 4. Tie:   Alexander, Christopher 5. John 6. Daniel 7. Robert 8. James 9:   Tie: Joseph, Matthew 10. Tie:   Bryan, Jacob, William

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Essay on America After World War One - 588 Words

During the 1920s, tension arose between a new generation, with liberal and progressive ideas, and a more traditional peer group, who favored conventional values and sentimentalism. This social tension was caused by technological advancements, a revolution in society in the period of and directly following World War I, a revolution of morals and rapid urbanization. The new generation expressed themselves through the music of the times, greater sexual promiscuity, use of technology and advertising, whereas the elder generation manifested intolerance and resistance. World War I is known as the first quot;modernquot; war, because a new kind of warfare was utilized, new technologies were operated, planes fought in combat, and women played a†¦show more content†¦These newcomers were a significant part of the disharmony that existed between the old and the new in the 1920s, because they presented diversity to a people who were striving become more provincial and who wanted to preserve quot;Americanism.quot; It was these groups that the Ku Klux Klan fought to restore power to the quot;everyday, not highly cultured, not overly intellectualized, but entirely unspoiled and not de-Americanized, average citizen of the old stock.quot; They yearned for a return to the life that once existed, but was drastically changed through industry, manufacturing, and urbanization. In not being able to accept the fact that agrarianism was falling second to industry, groups of the quot;old stock,quot; such as the Ku Klux Klan, in not accepting any new values augmented the tension that existed through their intolerance and persecution of the quot;liberals.quot; The newer generation, on the other hand, manifested their quot;roarquot; of the twenties by a different way of dress, in listening to jazz and creating new manias such as the Charleston. These liberals also accepted the technology of the times by purchasing cars and were affected by sensationalist advertising for quot;toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous hot-water-heaters--.quot; The older generation viewed them as sexually indiscriminate, and this was trueShow MoreRelatedThe Change in the Role of Women in America After World War One535 Words   |  3 PagesThe Change in the Role of Women in America After World War One Before World war 1, the womens place was in the home. Her job was to clean and look after the house, take care of the children and have a meal prepared for the Husband when he came home from work. They were not considered able to work outside the home. Women had a lower status than men in society. They were not even able to vote. During the first world war the women had to take over a lot of the mens jobs asRead MoreThe End Of The Great War1518 Words   |  7 PagesIt is the Second World War, which had the greater impact on America’s place in the world and elevated the country to have a status of Superpower. However this would not have been the case without the consequences of the First World War and America’s reluctance to drop its policy of isolationism as a result of this. James Cronin comments, â€Å"the ending of the Great War was the occasion for perhaps the grandest vision, though it’s implementation would largely fail†¦World War II offered another chanceRead MoreAmerica s World War I1725 Words   |  7 PagesBefore World War I, America had been primarily an isolationist nation with little dealings with the world. As time went on America took more of a role in world affairs. With World War II and the post war, America took its place as one of the most dominant nations in the world. Post war, America’s economy led the world and helped rebuild war ravaged nations. Government efficiency in the economy and increased production led America to emerge as one of the biggest economic powerhouses in the world. BeforeRead MoreTaking a Look at the Cold War786 Words   |  3 PagesThe Cold War The Cold War was a time after World War II, so from 1945 to 1991, where the USA (United States of America) and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) had very different views on what the new world should be like. The Cold War drew international interest for decades. Many major conflicts occurred. The conflicts consisted of the Vietnam War, the Korean War and many others. For most people though, the Cold War was about the creation and the use of weapons of mass destruction,Read MoreTeam America: World Police1682 Words   |  7 PagesIn the aftermath of World War II, every nation of the world emerged mentally and, in some cases, physically altered. The physical affects of the Second World War spanning from Pearl Harbor to the battleground that made up most of Western Europe to Nagasaki and Hiroshima are visual pictures engrained in the minds of all, past and present, but the American ideology that these destructive images helped to give rise to would directly shape American domestic and foreign policy for approximately the nextRead MoreWorld War Ii and America944 Words   |  4 PagesThe world’s greatest war, World War II began in 1939 and lasted for almost six years. It was between two military alliances. On the axis powers were Japan, Germany and the Kingdom of Italy. While the allies were lead by United Kingdom, China, Soviet Union and The United States of America. America was not directly involved in the war in the early stages. The necessity increased after the fall of France, the Pearl Harbor incident but mainly when Hitler declared war on U.S. This led to America’s directRead MoreThe End Of The Second World War1705 Words   |  7 PagesExplain why you agree or disagree with the view that by the end of the Second World War the US had developed into a superpower. In the USA after World War 1 ended in 1918 there was a new hope and optimism which was an inevitable reaction to war as people look for a better life. The first world war created a surge of energy and ambition in the nation more so than in any other nation in the world. This new found energy was created by the industrial power increased from government encouragement as wellRead MoreThe War Was Going On America1606 Words   |  7 Pagesnationalism began a war in Europe between the Allies (Britain, Russia, Italy, and France) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria). This war would later be known as the First World War and only lasted four years, yet it destroyed Europe’s economy and ravished its terrain. While the war was going on America claimed a neutral stance. Mostly for the fact that many Americas were isolationist and did not care what was going on in the other side of the world. The UnitedRead MoreThe American Dream Of The Usa A fter World War I1537 Words   |  7 PagesIn the USA after World War 1 ended in 1918 there was a new hope and optimism which was an inevitable reaction to war as people look for a better life. The first world war created a surge of energy and ambition in the nation more so than in any other nation in the world. This new found energy was created by the industrial power increased from government encouragement as well as the introduction of mass production which gave cheaper consumer goods and so helped lead into the American dream. The AmericanRead MoreAmerica, An Ever Changing World Superpower1504 Words   |  7 PagesAmerica, an Ever-Changing World Superpower America has been viewed in a wide variety of ways on the global stage. From the Progressive Era to containment, the view of the United States as a world power has changed dramatically. The country went through a large process of adopting an isolationist policy during the Progressive Era. This isolationist view was also present pre and post-World War I. After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, America took a bold stance and using its industrial power pushed itself

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Logistics and Sieges of Alexander the Great Essays

Alexander the Great inherited one of the most powerful armies in the ancient world from his father Philip. The army used a unique spear phalanx that was virtually unheard of outside of Macedonia, and the army was well trained and supported. Additionally Philip felt the use of siege weaponry was of great importance and invested in engineers to aid him. Philip even used siege weaponry on the field in battle some times. Philip set the stage for his son to dominate the known world, and even gave him a road map for conquering Asia minor, but an army and siege weapons are only a portion of an armies success. Especially when planning a long protracted campaign far from home. Alexander’s conquest of Asia was heavily influenced by two very†¦show more content†¦Only enough carts and animals to carry the siege equipment, tents, rations, and other equipment required by the army were used. All additional rations would have to have been carried via Alexander’s fleet. Memnon wanted to pursue a policy of scorched earth and then bring the war to Greece to prevent Alexander from being able to wage war abroad, and if the other Persian generals had followed his advice Alexander would have most likely had to return to Macedonia and never been able to accomplish anything outside of Greece. Due to the Persians vanity they decided to instead attack Alexander directly without razing the countryside and were defeated leading to Alexander gaining the foothold he needed in Asia. A likely scenario would put a seven day limit on the amount of rations the army carried with it in a temperate climate and a two day limit in desert regions where the army could not forage for additional food, water, and fodder. No matter how many pack animals an army used the maximum amount of rations that could be carried would be twenty five days due to the feed required by all of the animals. Another problem with adding additional animals to the supply train is the sheer number of animals required to carry everything. Should the Macedonian army use enough animals to carry the maximum twenty five day amount of rations the number of animals would have stretched over thirty miles and with anShow MoreRelatedEssay on Alexander the Great: The Campaign of Gaugamela614 Words   |  3 Pages The combination of Logistics and Tactics permitted to Alexander III the Great to be successful during the campaign of Gaugamela. Prior to the battle, Alexander the Great decided to take the same r oute Darius took on his way to Issus. He knew that if he wanted to march toward Babylon, he couldnt go through the lower valley of Mesopotamia as there was not sufficient supplies available for his army and the daily temperature in summer is 49 º C.(tactic) He figured out that if Darius larger army andRead MoreThe During The Middle Ages2108 Words   |  9 Pagesit under control. Rome alike it’s predecessors the Greeks were leaders in tactical and technological advances capable of great feats. However the Romans possessed something the Greeks hadn’t: the ability to adapt other weapons, improve them, then implement them into their legions and use them effectively. The Romans were able to strategize through any situation and had great maneuverability and flexibility on the battlefield compared to other countries. Roman legions acted in an modular systemRead MoreThe Similarities And Differences Between The Greeks And Romans Essay1406 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"would defend her frontiers,† Romans demanded a steady supply of soldiers thus gaining a â€Å"nearly inexhaustible reserves of fighting men.† According to Julius Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic War, he and the Romans placed great emphasis on the strategies of â€Å"logistics, decisiveness, confidence†¦innovation, patriotism, discipline and fortune.† The Romans also had a strategy of collecting â€Å"intelligence from the enemy from captives, dissenters, and deserters.† Secondly, despite similaritiesRead MoreKey Factors That Led to Union Victory in the Civil War Essay2107 Words   |  9 Pagesknow it today could be quite a different place to live. Throughout the early parts of the century the North had heavily concentrated on industrial improvement while the South had mostly concentrated on agricultural means. This proved to be of great significance, as the two sides would find themselves in a high cost and high demand war. During the onset of the war the North contained 80% of total U.S. industry (Rivera pg.1), and many of these production facilities were quickly and easily transformedRead MoreContemporary Issues in Management Accounting211377 Words   |  846 Pages Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting This page intentionally left blank Contemporary Issues in Management Accounting Edited by ALNOOR BHIMANI 1 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne MexicoRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesand industrial depression from the late 1860s to the 1890s, as well as the social tensions and political rivalries that generated and were in turn fed by imperialist expansionism, one cannot begin to comprehend the causes and consequences of the Great War that began in 1914. That conflict determined the contours of the twentieth century in myriad ways. On the one hand, the war set in motion transformative processes that were clearly major departures from those that defined the nineteenth-centuryRead MoreMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pagesdiscussions, and even debates. In the gentle environment of the classroom, students can hone their analytical skills and also their persuasive skills—not selling products but selling their ideas—and defend them against critical scrutiny. This is great practice for the arena of business to come. NEW TO THIS EDITION In contrast to the early editions, which examined only notable mistakes, and based on your favorable comments about recent editions, I have again included some well-known successesRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagestouching the equipment! Tom Peters counseled managers that, due to the chaotic pace of change, â€Å"If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.† And the late Peter Drucker characterized the current environment this way: â€Å"We are in one of those great historical periods that occur every 200 or 300 years when people don’t understand the world anymore, and the past is not sufficient to explain the future.† Almost no one would argue that â€Å"permanent white water† best characterizes our current environment

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

The Barnhouse Effect Free Essays

string(75) " tried to roll sevens again, but got only the usual assortment of numbers\." Let me begin by saying that I don’t know any more about where Professor Arthur Barnhouse is hiding than anyone else does. Save for one short, enigmatic message left in my mailbox on Christmas Eve, I have not heard from him since his disappearance a year and a half ago. What’s more, readers of this article will be disappointed if they expect to learn how they can bring about the so-called â€Å"Barnhouse Effect. We will write a custom essay sample on The Barnhouse Effect or any similar topic only for you Order Now † If I were able and willing to give away that secret, I would certainly be something more important than a psychology instructor. I have been urged to write this report because I did research under the professor’s direction and because I was the first to learn of his astonishing discovery. But while I was his student I was never entrusted with knowledge of how the mental forces could be released and directed. He was unwilling to trust anyone with that information. I would like to point out that the term â€Å"Barnhouse Effect† is a creation of the popular press, and was never used by Professor Barnhouse. The name he chose for the phenomenon was â€Å"dynamopsychism,† or force of the mind. I cannot believe that there is a civilized person yet to be convinced that such a force exists, what with its destructive effects on display in every national capital. I think humanity has always had an inkling that this sort of force does exist. It has been common knowledge that some people are luckier than others with inanimate objects like dice. What Professor Barnhouse did was to show that such â€Å"luck† was a measurable force, which in his case could be enormous. By my calculations, the professor was about fifty-five times more powerful than a Nagasaki-type atomic bomb at the time he went into hiding. Read aslo  The Professor is a Dropout. He was not bluffing when, on the eve of â€Å"Operation Brainstorm,† he told General Honus Barker: â€Å"Sitting here at the dinner table, I’m pretty sure I can flatten anything on earth—from Joe Louis to the Great Wall of China. † There is an understandable tendency to look upon Professor Barnhouse as a supernatural visitation. The First Church of Barnhouse in Los Angeles has a congregation numbering in the thousands. He is godlike in neither appearance nor intellect. The man who disarms the world is single, shorter than the average American male, stout, and averse to exercise. His I. Q. is 143, which is good but certainly not sensational. He is quite mortal, about to celebrate his fortieth birthday, and in good health. If he is alone now, the isolation won’t bother him too much. He was quiet and shy when I knew him, and seemed to find more companionship in books and music than in his associations at the college. Neither he nor his powers fall outside the sphere of Nature. His dynamopsychic radiations are subject to many known physical laws that apply in the field of radio. Hardly a person has not now heard the snarl of â€Å"Barnhouse static† on his home receiver. The radiations are affected by sunspots and variations in the ionosphere. However, they differ from ordinary broadcast waves, in several important ways. Their total energy can be brought to bear on any single point the professor chooses, and that energy is undiminished by distance. As a weapon, then, dynamopsychism has an impressive advantage over bacteria and atomic bombs, beyond the fact that it costs nothing to use: it enables the professor to single out critical individuals and objects instead of slaughtering whole populations in the process of maintaining international equilibrium. As General Honus Barker told the House Military Affairs Committee: â€Å"Until someone finds Barnhouse, there is no defense against the Barnhouse Effect. † Efforts to â€Å"jam† or block the radiations have failed. Premier Slezak could have saved himself the fantastic expense of his â€Å"Barnhouseproof’ shelter. Despite the shelter’s twelve-foot-thick lead armor, the premier has been floored twice while in it. There is talk of screening the population for men potentially as powerful dynamopsychically as the professor. Senator Warren Foust demanded funds for this purpose last month, with the passionate declaration: â€Å"He who rules the Barnhouse Effect rules the world! † Commissar Kropotnik said much the same thing, so another costly armaments race, with a new twist, has begun. This race at least has its comical aspects. The world’s best gamblers are being coddled by governments like so many nuclear physicists. There may be several hundred persons with dynamopsychic talent on earth, myself included. But, without knowledge of the professor’s technique, they can never be anything but dice-table despots. With the secret, it would probably take them ten years to become dangerous weapons. It took the professor that long. He who rules the Barnhouse Effect is Barnhouse and will be for some time. Popularly, the â€Å"Age of Barnhouse† is said to have begun a year and a half ago, on the day of Operation Brainstorm. That was when dynamopsychism became significant politically. Actually, the phenomenon was discovered in May, 1942, shortly after the professor turned down a direct commission in the Army and enlisted as an artillery private. Like X-rays and vulcanized rubber, dynamopsychism was discovered by accident. From time to time Private Barnhouse was invited to take part in games of chance by his barrack mates. He knew nothing about the games, and usually begged off. But one evening, out of social grace, he agreed to shoot craps. It was either terrible or wonderful that he played, depending upon whether or not you like the world as it now is. â€Å"Shoot sevens, Pop,† someone said. So â€Å"Pop† shot sevens—ten in a row to bankrupt the barracks. He retired to his bunk and, as a mathematical exercise, calculated the odds against his feat on the back of a laundry slip. His chances of doing it, he found, were one in almost ten million! Bewildered, he borrowed a pair of dice from the man in the bunk next to his. He tried to roll sevens again, but got only the usual assortment of numbers. You read "The Barnhouse Effect" in category "Essay examples" He lay back for a moment, then resumed his toying with the dice. He rolled ten more sevens in a row. He might have dismissed the phenomenon with a low whistle. But the professor instead mulled over the circumstances surrounding his two lucky streaks. There was one single factor in common: on both occasions, the same thought train had flashed through his mind just before he threw the dice. It was that thought train which aligned the professor’s brain cells into what has since become the most powerful weapon on earth. The soldier in the next bunk gave dynamopsychism its first token of respect. In an understatement certain to bring wry smiles to the faces of the world’s dejected demagogues, the soldier said, â€Å"You’re hotter’n a two-dollar pistol, Pop. † Professor Barnhouse was all of that. The dice that did his bidding weighed but a few grams, so the forces involved were minute; but the unmistakable fact that there were such forces was earth-shaking. Professional caution kept him from revealing his discovery immediately. He wanted more facts and a body of theory to go with them. Later, when the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, it was fear that made him hold his peace. At no time were his experiments, as Premier Slezak called them, â€Å"a bourgeois plot to shackle the true democracies of the world. † The professor didn’t know where they were leading. In time, he came to recognize another startling feature of dynamopsychism: its strength increased with use. Within six months, he was able to govern dice thrown by men the length of a barracks distant. By the time of his discharge in 1945, he could knock bricks loose from chimneys three miles away. Charges that Professor Barnhouse could have won the last war in a minute, but did not care to do so, are perfectly senseless. When the war ended, he had the range and power of a 37-millimeter cannon, perhaps—certainly no more. His dynamopsychic powers graduated from the small-arms class only after his discharge and return to Wyandotte College. I enrolled in the Wyandotte Graduate School two years after the professor had rejoined the faculty. By chance, he was assigned as my thesis adviser. I was unhappy about the assignment, for the professor was, in the eyes of both colleagues and students, a somewhat ridiculous figure. He missed classes or had lapses of memory during lectures. When I arrived, in fact, his shortcomings had passed from the ridiculous to the intolerable. â€Å"We’re assigning you to Barnhouse as a sort of temporary thing,† the dean of social studies told me. He looked apologetic and perplexed. â€Å"Brilliant man, Barnhouse, I guess. Difficult to know since his return, perhaps, but his work before the war brought a great deal of credit to our little school. When I reported to the professor’s laboratory for the first time, what I saw was more distressing than the gossip. Every surface in the room was covered with dust; books and apparatus had not been disturbed for months. The professor sat napping at his desk when I entered. The only signs of recent activity were three overflowing ashtrays, a pair of scissors, and a morning paper w ith several items clipped from its front page. As he raised his head to look at me, I saw that his eyes were clouded with fatigue. â€Å"Hi,† he said, â€Å"just can’t seem to get my sleeping done at night. He lighted a cigarette, his hands trembling slightly. â€Å"You the young man I’m supposed to help with a thesis? † â€Å"Yes, sir,† I said. In minutes he converted my misgivings to alarm. â€Å"You an overseas veteran? † he asked. â€Å"Yes, sir. † â€Å"Not much left over there, is there? † He frowned. â€Å"Enjoy the last war? † â€Å"No, sir. † â€Å"Look like another war to you? † â€Å"Kind of, sir. † â€Å"What can be done about it? † I shrugged. â€Å"Looks pretty hopeless. † He peered at me intently. â€Å"Know anything about international law, the U. N. , and all that? † â€Å"Only what I pick up from the papers. â€Å"Same here,† he sighed. He showed me a f at scrapbook packed with newspaper clippings. â€Å"Never used to pay any attention to international politics. Now I study them the way I used to study rats in mazes. Everybody tells me the same thing—’Looks hopeless. ‘ † â€Å"Nothing short of a miracle—† I began. â€Å"Believe in magic? † he asked sharply. The professor fished two dice from his vest pocket. â€Å"I will try to roll twos,† he said. He rolled twos three times in a row. â€Å"One chance in about 47,000 of that happening. There’s a miracle for you. He beamed for an instant, then brought the interview to an end, remarking that he had a class which had begun ten minutes ago. He was not quick to take me into his confidence, and he said no more about his trick with the dice. I assumed they were loaded, and forgot about them. He set me the task of watching male rats cross electrified metal strips to get to food or female rats—an experiment that had been done to everyone’s satisfaction in the nineteen-thirties. As though the pointlessness of my work were not bad enough, the professor annoyed me further with irrelevant questions. His favorites were: â€Å"Think we should have dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima? † and â€Å"Think every new piece of scientific information is a good thing for humanity? † However, I did not feel put upon for long. â€Å"Give those poor animals a holiday,† he said one morning, after I had been with him only a month. â€Å"I wish you’d help me look into a more interesting problem—namely, my sanity. † I returned the rats to their cages. â€Å"What you must do is simple,† he said, speaking softly. â€Å"Watch the inkwell on my desk. If you see nothing happen to it, say so, and I’ll go quietly—relieved, I might add—to the nearest sanitarium. I nodded uncertainly. He locked the laboratory door and drew the blinds, so that we were in twilight for a moment. â€Å"I’m odd, I know,† he said. â€Å"It’s fear of myself that’s made me odd. † â€Å"I’ve found you somewhat eccentric, perhaps, but certainly not—† â€Å"If nothing happens to that inkwell, ‘crazy as a bedbug’ is the only description of me that will do,† he interrupted, turning on the overhead lights. His eyes narrowed. â€Å"To give you an idea of how crazy, I’ll tell you what’s been running through my mind when I should have been sleeping. I think maybe I can save the world. I think maybe I can make every nation a have nation, and do away with war for good. I think maybe I can clear roads through jungles, irrigate deserts, build dams overnight. † â€Å"Yes, sir. † â€Å"Watch the inkwell! † Dutifully and fearfully I watched. A high-pitched humming seemed to come from the inkwell; then it began to vibrate alarmingly, and finally to bound about the top of the desk, making two noisy circuits. It stopped, hummed again, glowed red, then popped in splinters with a blue-green flash. Perhaps my hair stood on end. The professor laughed gently. â€Å"Magnets? † I managed to say at last. Wish to heaven it were magnets,† he murmured. It was then that he told me of dynamopsychism. He knew only that there was such a force; he could not explain it. â€Å"It’s me and me alone—and it’s awful. † â€Å"I’d say it was amazing and wonderful! † I cried. â€Å"If all I could do was make inkwells dance, I’d be tickled silly with the whole business. † He shrugged disconsolately. â€Å"But I’m no toy, my boy. If you like, we can drive around the neighborhood, and I’ll show you what I mean. † He told me about pulverized boulders, shattered oaks, and abandoned farm buildings demolished within a fifty-mile radius of the campus. Did every bit of it sitting right here, just thinking—not even thinking hard. † He scratched his head nervously. â€Å"I have never dared to concentrate as hard as I can for fear of the damage I might do. I’m to the point where a mere whim is a blockbuster. † There was a depressing pause. â€Å"Up until a few days ago, I’ve thought it best to keep my secret for fear of what use it might be put to,† he continued. â€Å"Now I realize that I haven’t any more right to it than a man has a right to own an atomic bomb. † He fumbled through a heap of papers. â€Å"This says about a ll that needs to be said, I think. He handed me a draft of a letter to the Secretary of State. Dear Sir: I have discovered a new force which costs nothing to use, and which is probably more important than atomic energy. I should like to see it used most effectively in the cause of peace, and am, therefore, requesting your advice as to how this might best be done. Yours truly, A. Barnhouse. â€Å"I have no idea what will happen next,† said the professor. There followed three months of perpetual nightmare, wherein the nation’s political and military great came at all hours to watch the professor’s tricks. We were quartered in an old mansion near Charlottesville, Virginia, to which we had been whisked five days after the letter was mailed. Surrounded by barbed wire and twenty guards, we were labeled â€Å"Project Wishing Well,† and were classified as Top Secret. For companionship we had General Honus Barker and the State Department’s William K. Cuthrell. For the professor’s talk of peace-through-plenty they had indulgent smiles and much discourse on practical measures and realistic thinking. So treated, the professor, who had at first been almost meek, rogressed in a matter of weeks toward stubbornness. He had agreed to reveal the thought train by means of which he aligned his mind into a dynamopsychic transmitter. But, under Cuthrell’s and Barker’s nagging to do so, he began to hedge. At first he declared that the information could be passed on simply by word of mouth. Later he said that it would have to be written up in a long report. Finally, at di nner one night, just after General Barker had read the secret orders for Operation Brainstorm, the professor announced, â€Å"The report may take as long as five years to write. He looked fiercely at the general. â€Å"Maybe twenty. † The dismay occasioned by this flat announcement was offset somewhat by the exciting anticipation of Operation Brainstorm. The general was in a holiday mood. â€Å"The target ships are on their way to the Caroline Islands at this very moment,† he declared ecstatically. â€Å"One hundred and twenty of them! At the same time, ten V-2s are being readied for firing in New Mexico, and fifty radio-controlled jet bombers are being equipped for a mock attack on the Aleutians. Just think of it! † Happily he reviewed his orders. At exactly 1100 hours next Wednesday, I will give you the order to concentrate; and you, professor, will think as hard as you can about sinking the target ships, destroying the V-2s before they hit the ground, and kn ocking down bombers before they reach the Aleutians! Think you can handle it? † The professor turned gray and closed his eyes. â€Å"As I told you before, my friend, I don’t know what I can do. † He added bitterly, â€Å"As for this Operation Brainstorm, I was never consulted about it, and it strikes me as childish and in insanely expensive. General Barker bridled. â€Å"Sir,† he said, â€Å"your field is psychology, and I wouldn’t presume to give you advice in that field. Mine is national defense. I have had thirty years of experience and success, Professor, and I’ll ask you not to criticize my judgment. † The professor appealed to Mr. Cuthrell. â€Å"Look,† he pleaded, â€Å"isn’t it war and military matters we’re all trying to get rid of? Wouldn’t it be a whole lot more significant and lots cheaper for me to try moving cloud masses into drought areas, and things like that? I admit I know next to nothing about international politics, but it seems reasonable to suppose that nobody would want to fight wars if there were enough of everything to go around. Mr. Cuthrell, I’d like to try running generators where there isn’t any coal or water power, irrigating deserts, and so on. Why, you could figure out what each country needs to make the most of its resources, and I could give it to them without costing American taxpayers a penny. † â€Å"Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom,† said the general heavily. Mr. Cuthrell threw the general a look of mild distaste. Unfortunately, the general is right in his own way,† he said. â€Å"I wish to heaven the world were ready for ideals like yours, but it simply isn’t. We aren’t surrounded by brothers, but by enemies. It isn’t a lack of food or resources that has us on the brink of war—it’s a struggle for power. Who’s going to be in charge of the world, our kind of people or theirs? † The professor nodded in reluctant agreement and arose from the table. â€Å"I beg your pardon, gentlemen. You are, after all, better qualified to judge what is best for the country. I’ll do whatever you say. He turned to me. â€Å"Don’t forget to wind the restricted clock and put the confidential cat out,† he said gloomily, and ascended the stairs to his bedroom. For reasons of national security, Operation Brainstorm was carried on without the knowledge of the American citizenry which was paying the bill. The observers, technicians, and military men involved in the activity knew that a test was under way—a test of what, they had no idea. Only thirty-seven key men, myself included, knew what was afoot. In Virginia, the day for Operation Brainstorm was unseasonably cool. Inside, a log fire crackled in the fireplace, and the flames were reflected in the polished metal cabinets that lined the living room. All that remained of the room’s lovely old furniture was a Victorian love seat, set squarely in the center of the floor, facing three television receivers. One long bench had been brought in for the ten of us privileged to watch. The television screens showed, from left to right, the stretch of desert which was the rocket target, the guinea-pig fleet, and a section of the Aleutian sky through which the radio-controlled bomber formation would roar. Ninety minutes before H-hour the radios announced that the rockets were ready, that the observation ships had backed away to what was thought to be a safe distance, and that the bombers were on their way. The small Virginia audience lined up on the bench in order of rank, smoked a great deal, and said little. Professor Barnhouse was in his bedroom. General Barker bustled about the house like a woman preparing Thanksgiving dinner for twenty. At ten minutes before H-hour the general came in, shepherding the professor before him. The professor was comfortably attired in sneakers, gray flannels, a blue sweater, and a white shirt open at the neck. The two of them sat side by side on the love seat. The general was rigid and perspiring; the professor was cheerful. He looked at each of the screens, lighted a cigarette and settled back. â€Å"Bombers sighted! † cried the Aleutian observers. â€Å"Rockets away! † barked the New Mexico radio operator. All of us looked quickly at the big electric clock over the mantel, while the professor, a half-smile on his face, continued to watch the television sets. In hollow tones, the general counted away the seconds remaining. Five . . . four . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . Concentrate! † Professor Barnhouse closed his eyes, pursed his lips, and stroked his temples. He held the position for a minute. The television images were scrambled, and the radio signals were drowned in the din of Barnhouse static. The professor sighed, opened his eyes, and smile d confidently. â€Å"Did you give it everything you had? † asked the general dubiously. â€Å"I was wide open,† the professor replied. The television images pulled themselves together, and mingled cries of amazement came over the radios tuned to the observers. The Aleutian sky was streaked with the smoke trails of bombers screaming down in flames. Simultaneously, there appeared high over the rocket target a cluster of white puffs, followed by faint thunder. General Barker shook his head happily. â€Å"By George! † he crowed. â€Å"Well, sir, by George, by George, by George! † â€Å"Look! † shouted the admiral seated next to me. â€Å"The fleet-it wasn’t touched! † â€Å"The guns seem to be drooping,† said Mr. Cuthrell. We left the bench and clustered about the television set to examine the damage more closely. What Mr. Cuthrell had said was true. The ships’ guns curved downward, their muzzles resting on the steel decks. We in Virginia were making such a hullabaloo that it was impossible to hear the radio reports. We were so engrossed, in fact, that we didn’t miss the professor until two short snarls of Barnhouse static shocked us into sudden silence. The radios went dead. We looked around apprehensively. The professor was gone. A harassed guard threw open the front door from the outside to yell that the professor had escaped. He brandished his pistol in the direction of the gates, which hung open, limp and twisted. In the distance, a speeding government station wagon topped a ridge and dropped from sight into the valley beyond. The air was filled with choking smoke, for every vehicle on the grounds was ablaze. Pursuit was impossible. â€Å"What in God’s name got into him? † bellowed the general. Mr. Cuthrell, who had rushed out onto the front porch, now slouched back into the room, reading a penciled note as he came. He thrust the note into my hands. â€Å"The good man left this billet-doux under the door knocker. Perhaps our young friend here will be kind enough to read it to you gentlemen, while I take a restful walk through the woods. â€Å"Gentlemen,† I read aloud, ‘as the first superweapon with a conscience, I am removing myself from your national defense stockpile. Setting a new precedent in the behavior of ordnance, I have humane reasons for going off. A. Barnhouse. † Since that day, of course, the professor has been systematically destroying the worldâ €™s armaments, until there is now little with which to equip an army other than rocks and sharp sticks. His activities haven’t exactly resulted in peace, but have, rather, precipitated a bloodless and entertaining sort of war that might be called the â€Å"War of the Tattletales. Every nation is flooded with enemy agents whose sole mission is to locate military equipment, which is promptly wrecked when it is brought to the professor’s attention in the press. Just as every day brings news of more armaments pulverized by dynamopsychism, so has it brought rumors of the professor’s whereabouts. During last week alone, three publications carried articles proving variously that he was hiding in an Inca ruin in the Andes, in the sewers of Paris, and in the unexplored lower chambers of Carlsbad Caverns. Knowing the man, I am inclined to regard such hiding places as unnecessarily romantic and uncomfortable. While there are numerous persons eager to kill him, there must be millions who would care for him and hide him. I like to think that he is in the home of such a person. One thing is certain: at this writing, Professor Barnhouse is not dead. Barnhouse static jammed broadcasts not ten minutes ago. In the eighteen months since his disappearance, he has been reported dead some half-dozen times. Each report has stemmed from the death of an unidentified man resembling the professor, during a period free of the static. The first three reports were followed at once by renewed talk of rearmament and recourse to war. The saber-rattlers have learned how imprudent premature celebrations of the professor’s demise can be. Many a stouthearted patriot has found himself prone in the tangled bunting and timbers of a smashed reviewing stand, seconds after having announced that the arch-tyranny of Barnhouse was at an end. But those who would make war if they could, in every country in the world, wait in sullen silence for what must come—the passing of Professor Barnhouse. To ask how much longer the professor will live is to ask how much longer we must wait for the blessings of another world war. He is of short-lived stock: his mother lived to be fifty-three, his father to be forty-nine; and the life-spans of his grandparents on both sides were of the same order. He might be expected to live, then, for perhaps fifteen years more, if he can remain hidden from his enemies. When one considers the number and vigor of these enemies, however, fifteen years seems an extraordinary length of time, which might better be revised to fifteen days, hours, or minutes. The professor knows that he cannot live much longer. I say this because of the message left in my mailbox on Christmas Eve. Unsigned, typewritten on a soiled scrap of paper, the note consisted of ten sentences. The first nine of these, each a bewildering tangle of psychological jargon and references to obscure texts, made no sense to me at first reading. The tenth, unlike the rest, was simply constructed and contained no large words—but its irrational content made it the most puzzling and bizarre sentence of all. I nearly threw the note away, thinking it a colleague’s warped notion of a practical joke. For some reason, though, I added it to the clutter on top of my desk, which included, among other mementos, the professor’s dice. It took me several weeks to realize that the message really meant something, that the first nine sentences, when unsnarled, could be taken as instructions. The tenth still told me nothing. It was only last night that I discovered how it fitted in with the rest. The sentence appeared in my thoughts last night, while I was toying absently with the professor’s dice. I promised to have this report on its way to the publishers today. In view of what has happened, I am obliged to break that promise, or release the report incomplete. The delay will not be a long one, for one of the few blessings accorded a bachelor like myself is the ability to move quickly from one abode to another, or from one way of life to another. What property I want to take with me can be packed in a few hours. Fortunately, I am not without substantial private means, which may take as long as a week to realize in liquid and anonymous form. When this is done, I shall mail the report. I have just returned from a visit to my doctor, who tells me my health is excellent. I am young, and, with any luck at all, I shall live to a ripe old age indeed, for my family on both sides is noted for longevity. Briefly, I propose to vanish. Sooner or later, Professor Barnhouse must die. But long before then I shall be ready. So, to the saber-rattlers of today and even, I hope, of tomorrow—I say: Be advised. Barnhouse will die. But not the Barnhouse Effect. Last night, I tried once more to follow the oblique instructions on the scrap of paper. I took the professor’s dice, and then, with the last, nightmarish sentence flitting through my mind, I rolled fifty consecutive sevens. How to cite The Barnhouse Effect, Essay examples

Saturday, May 2, 2020

American Voters free essay sample

This paper asks the question why more Americans do not vote. This paper looks at what makes a democracy successful and how elections represent the epitome of a democracy. It asks if America is failing as a democracy due to relative low voting participation amongst its population and questions what can be done to improve or change this phenomena. From the paper: One of the most important questions for any democratic country is how to increase voter participation in the process, since a country may be said to be a democracy only to the extent that people participate in the process of selecting leaders. By this measure the United States remains only partially successful as a democracy. Although there was higher voter turnout this year than in many elections (about half of registered voters), there remain both a large number of people who never register to vote at all and a large number of those who are registered who never (or rarely) vote. We will write a custom essay sample on American Voters or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page

Sunday, March 22, 2020

L.L. Bean Item forecasting case study Essay Example

L.L. Bean Item forecasting case study Paper Harvard Business School 9-893-003 Rev. September 7, 1993 L. L. Bean, Inc. Item Forecasting and Inventory Management When you order an item from an L. L. Bean catalog and were out of stock, Im the guy to blame. And if we end up liquidating a bunch of womens wool cashmere blazers, its my fault. No one understands how tough it is. Mark Fasold, Vice President† Inventory Management, was describing the challenge of item forecasting at L. L. Bean. Forecasting demand at the aggregate level is a piece of cake†if were running short of expectations, we Just dip deeper into our customer list and send out some more atalogs. But we have to decide how many chamois shirts and how many chino trousers to buy, and if were too high on one and too low on the other, its no solace to know that we were exactly right on the average. Top management understands this in principle, but they are understandably disturbed that errors at the item level are so large. In a catalog business like ours, you really capture demand. Thats the good news. The bad news is, you learn what a lousy Job youre doing trying to match demand with supply. Its not like that in a department store, say, where a customer ay come in looking for a dress shirt and lets the display of available shirts generate the demand for a particular item. Or if a customer has some particular item in mind but its not available, he or she may Just walk out of the store. In a department store you never know the real demand or the consequences of understocking. But in our business every sale is generated by a customer demanding a particular item, either by mail or by phone. If we havent got it, and the customer cancels the order, we know it. Rol Fessenden, Manager†Inventory Systems, added: We know that forecast errors are inevitable. Competition, the economy, weather are all factors. But demand at the item level is also affected by customer behavior, which is very hard to predict, or even to explain in retrospect. Every so often some item takes off and becomes a runaway, far exceeding our demand forecasts. Once in a while we can detect the trend early on and, with a cooperative vendor, get more product manufactured in a hurry and chase demand; most of the time, however, the runaways leave us Just turning customers away. We will write a custom essay sample on L.L. Bean Item forecasting case study specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on L.L. Bean Item forecasting case study specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on L.L. Bean Item forecasting case study specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer And for every runaway, theres a dog item that sells way below expectations and that you couldnt even give away to customers. Annual costs of lost sales and backorders were conservatively estimated to be $11 million; costs associated with having too much of the wrong inventory were an additional $10 million. This case was prepared by Professor Arthur Schleifer, Jr. as the basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective handling of an administrative situation. Copyright 1992 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College. To order copies or request permission to reproduce materials, call 1-800-545-7685, write Harvard Business School Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, or go to ttp://www. hbsp. harvard. edu. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, used in a spreadsheet, or transmitted in any form or by any means†electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise†without the permission of Harvard Business School. 893-003 L. L. Bean Background In 1912 Leon Leonwood Bean invented the Maine Hunting Shoe (a combination of lightweight leather uppers and rubber bottoms). He obtained a list of nonresident Maine hunting license holders, prepared a descriptive mail-order circular, set up hop in his brothers basement in Freeport, Maine, and started a nationwide mail- order business. The inauguration of the U. S. Post Offices domestic parcel post service in that year provided a means of delivering orders to customers. When L. L. Bean died in 1967, at the age of 94, sales had reached $4. 75 million, his company employed 200 people, and an annual catalog was distributed to a mailing list of 600,000 people. L. L. s Golden Rule had been Sell good merchandise at a reasonable profit, treat your customers like human beings, and theyll always come back for more. When Leon Gorman, L. L. s grandson, succeeded him as president in 1967, he sought to expand and modernize the business without deviating from his grandfathers Golden Rule. By 1991, L. L. Bean, Inc. as a major cataloger, manufacturer, and retailer in the outdoor sporting specialty field: Catalog sales in 1990 were $528 million, with an additional $71 million in sales from the companys 50,000 square-foot retail store in Freeport. Twenty-two different catalogs (often referred to as books by company employees)†114 million pieces in all†were mailed that year. There were six million active customers. The mail-order business had been giving way to tele phone orders after the company installed nationwide 800 service in 1986. By 1991, 80% of all orders came in by telephone. Major direct- mail competitors included Lands End, Eddie Bauer, Talbots, and Orvis. A 1991 Consumer Reports survey on customer satisfaction with mail-order companies found L. L. Bean heading the list for overall satisfaction in every category for which they offered merchandise. In explaining why L. L. Bean had not expanded its retail operations beyond the one store in Freeport, Leon Gorman contrasted the direct- arketing (catalog) and retail businesses. The two approaches require very different kinds of management. Mail-order marketers are very analytic, quantitatively oriented. Retailers have to be creative, promotional, pizzazzy, merchandise-oriented. Its tough to assemble one management team that can handle both functions. 1 Product Lines L. L. Beans product line was classified hierarchically (see Exhibit 1). At the highest level of aggregation were Merchandise Groups: mens and womens accessories, mens and womens apparel, mens and womens footwear, camping equipment, etc. Within each Group were Demand Centers; for instance, womens apparel had as Demand Centers knit shirts, sweaters, pants, skirts, Jackets and pullovers, etc. Each Demand Center was further broken down into Item Sequences; for example, womens sweaters consisted of Midnight Mesa Handknit Cardigans, Indian Point Pullovers, Lambswool Turtlenecks, and about twenty other products. Item Sequences were further broken down into individual items, distinguished primarily by color; it was at this item level that forecasts had to be issued and, ultimately, purchase commitments had to be made. About 6,000 items appeared in one or another of the catalogs that were issued in the course of a year. 1 L. L. Bean, Inc. Corporate Strategy, Harvard Business School Case (581-159), 1981. 21tems were further broken down by size into stock-keeping units, or SWs. This was done by applying standard size-distribution breakdowns. Although an inappropriate distribution could lead to excessive inventory of some sizes and stockouts of others, management concern was directed to the item level, since there was no evidence of a better system than assuming that the distribut ion of demand by size would behave in the uture as it had in the past, and would be indistinguishable from one item to another. Items were also classified into three seasonal categories (spring, fall, and all year), and into two additional categories (new or never out) that described whether the item was a recent or more permanent member of the companys offerings, and consequently characterized the amount of historical demand data available for the item. The Bean Catalogs The major catalogs†spring, summer, fall, and Christmas†each came out in several versions. A full catalog, running from 116 to 152 pages, went to Beans regular ustomers. A smaller prospect catalog was circulated to potential customers; it contained primarily a subset of items from the full catalog. (Bean identified such prospect customers in a variety of ways, for example, through the purchase of mailing lists, or by recording recipients of gifts from other Bean customers. ) In addition, a number of specialty catalogs†Spring Weekend, Summer Camp, Fly Fishing, etc. † presented items that were unique to that catalog, as well as some items found in the major catalogs. There was some overlap in circulation: the best ustomers received almost all the catalogs, and those customers known, through past purchasing behavior, to be interested in various specialties might receive an appropriate specialty catalog in addition to the seasonal full catalogs. Item Forecasting Each catalog had a gestation period of about nine months, and its creation involved merchandising, design, product, and inventory specialists. For example, the initial conceptualization for the Fall, 1991 season began in October, 1990. Preliminary forecasts of total sales for each catalog were made in December. Product managers eveloped preliminary item forecasts by book in the December, 1990 to March, 1991 time frame. Layout and pagination of the books began in January, 1991. Initial commitments to vendors were made in January and February. In the subsequent months, as the catalogs took shape, item forecasts were repeatedly revised and finally frozen by May 1. By early July a black-and-white version of the layout was available internally. At this point, the product managers handed off their product line to the inventory managers. The completed Fall 1991 catalogs were in the hands of customers around August 1 . As the catalog generated demand, inventory managers decided on additional commitments to vendors, scheduled replenishments, handled backorders, etc. This catalog remained active through January, 1992; inventory left over at that time might be liquidated, marked down and sold through special L. L. Bean promotions, or carried over to the next year. Scott Sklar was a buyer for mens shirts. He described the forecasting process as follows: Four or five of us†my inventory buyer, some product people, and I†meet to forecast shirt sales by book. We start by ranking various items in terms of expected ollar sales. Then we actually assign dollars in accordance with the ranking. Theres discussion, arguments, complaints. People invent rules of thumb. I say invent, because there arent any good rules of thumb. We set this up on an Excel spreadsheet. We look at the book forecast and make adjustments accordingly. We look at the total of forecasted shirt sales and check it for reality. Does it feel good? Does it make sense? We do it book by book, item by item, and thats how we get an item level forecast. Of course, when we add a new item, we have to make a Judgment: will this item enerate incremental demand, and if not, from what items is it going to steal demand? And then those items need to be adjusted accordingly. 3 Barbara Hamaluk, a buyer for mens knit shirts, observed that the sum of the item forecasts for a catalog was often at variance with the dollar target for that book. Usually this roll-up comes in on the high side, so you try to reduce forecasts on certain items. Or you can Just say, if were too high by 10%, well Just slash everything across the board by 10%. We really ought to have an intermediate level of forecasts t the Demand Center level, reconcile item forecasts with Demand Center forecasts, and the latter with the book forecast. Production Commitments The typical producti on lead time for most domestic orders was eight to twelve weeks. (Of course, deliveries against a commitment could be scheduled to conform to the anticipated pattern of in-season demand. With some vendors who cooperated with L. L. Beans Quick Response initiative, it was possible, after observing some early- season demand, to place a second order, which would be delivered in sufficient time to meet late-season demand. However, with many domestic and most offshore vendors, lead times were sufficiently long so that it was impractical to place a second commitment order in the course of the season. (In the remainder of this case, then, discussion will be limited to these one-shot commitments. The commitments were generally not equal in size to the forecasts, but were determined in two steps as follows: First, historical forecast errors (expressed as AIF ratios the ratio of actual demand to forecast demand) were computed for each item in the previous year, and the frequency distribution o f these errors was compiled cross items. 3 The frequency distribution of past forecast errors was then used as a probability distribution for the as yet unrealized future forecast errors. For example, if 50% of the forecast errors for new items in the past year had been between 0. and 1. 6, then it would be assumed that with probability 0. 5, the forecast error for any new item in the current year also would fall between 0. 7 and 1. 6. So in such a case, if the frozen forecast for a particular item were 1,000 units, it was then assumed that with probability 0. 5, actual demand for that item would end up being between 700 nd 1,600 units. Next, each items commitment quantity was determined by balancing the individual items contribution margin if demanded against its liquidation cost (or value) if not demanded. Suppose, for example, that an item cost Bean $1 5, would regularly sell for $30, and could be sold at liquidation for $10. The gain for selling a marginal unit would be $30 15 = $15; the loss for failing to sell the marginal unit would be the cost less the liquidation value, i. e. $15 10 = $5. Accordingly, the optimal order size should be the 0. 75 fractile of the items probability distribution of demand. Suppose the 0. 75 fractile of the distribution of forecast errors was 1. 3, and the frozen forecast for that item was for 1,000 units. Then the 0. 75 fractile of the demand distribution would be 1,000 x 1. = 1,300, and Bean would make a commitment for 1,300 units. Rol Fessenden expressed concern that the methodology treated the errors associated with all never out items as equally representative of the forecast errors that might be anticipated for the forecast demand of any never out item (and similarly for new items). mioud think that the error distribution for some of our buyers might be ighter than for other buyers, or that the distribution for womens sweaters might have more dispersion than the distribution for mens footwear, but we cant find any real differences. Also, Im not entirely convinced that we go about estimating contribution margin and liquidation cost correctly. Mark Fasold was worried about the wide dispersion in forecast errors, both for never outs and new items. He was also concerned about the implications of the methodology: If the cost 3This was done separately for new items and for never outs; not surprisingly, the historical error istribution of never outs had less dispersion than that of new items. No other way of segmenting items had revealed significantly different distributions of forecast errors. 4 associated with understocking exceeds the cost of overstocking, which is the usual case here, we end up committing to more than the frozen forecast. And for new items, about which we obviously know very little, the excess over the frozen forecast is even greater than for never outs. The buyers are understandably upset when we commit to more than they forecast; they perceive us as going way out on a limb for new items. Exhibit 1 5

Friday, March 6, 2020

Field Marshal John French in World War I

Field Marshal John French in World War I John French - Early Life Career: Born September 28, 1852 at Ripple Vale, Kent, John French was son of Commander John Tracy William French and his wife Margaret. The son of a naval officer, French intended to follow in his fathers footsteps and sought training at Portsmouth after attending Harrow School. Appointed a midshipman in 1866, French soon found himself assigned to HMS Warrior. While aboard, he developed a debilitating fear of heights which forced him to abandon his naval career in 1869. After serving in the Suffolk Artillery Militia, French transferred to the British Army in February 1874. Initially serving with the 8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars, he moved through a variety of cavalry regiments and achieved the rank of major in 1883. John French - In Africa: In 1884, French took part in the Sudan Expedition which moved up the Nile River with the goal of relieving Major General Charles Gordons forces which were besieged at Khartoum. En route, he saw action at Abu Klea on January 17, 1885. Though the campaign proved a failure, French was promoted to lieutenant colonel the following month. Returning to Britain, he received command of the 19th Hussars in 1888 before moving into various high-level staff posts. During the late 1890s, French led the 2nd Cavalry Brigade at Canterbury before assuming command of the 1st Cavalry Brigade at Aldershot. John French - Second Boer War: Returning to Africa in late 1899, French took command of the Cavalry Division in South Africa. He was thus in place when the Second Boer War commenced that October. After defeating General Johannes Kock at Elandslaagte on October 21, French took part in the larger relief of Kimberley. In February 1900, his horsemen played a key role in the triumph at Paardeberg. Promoted to the permanent rank of major general on October 2, French was also knighted. A trust subordinate of Lord Kitchener, the Commander-in-Chief in South Africa, he later served as Commander of Johannesburg and Cape Colony. With the end of the conflict in 1902, French was elevated to lieutenant general and appointed to the Order of St. Michael and St. George in recognition of his contributions. John French - Trusted General: Returning to Aldershot, French assumed command of 1st Army Corps in September 1902. Three years later he became the overall commander at Aldershot. Promoted to general in February 1907, he became Inspector-General of the Army that December. One of the British Armys stars, French received the honorary appointment of Aide-de-Camp General to the King on June 19, 1911. This was followed by an appointment as Chief of the Imperial General Staff the following March. Made field marshal in June 1913, he resigned his position on the Imperial General Staff in April 1914 after a disagreement with Prime Minister H. H. Asquiths government regarding the Curragh Mutiny. Though he resumed his post as Inspector-General of the Army on August 1, Frenchs tenure proved brief due to the outbreak of World War I. John French - To the Continent: With the British entry into the conflict, French was appointed to command the newly-formed British Expeditionary Force. Consisting of two corps and a cavalry division, the BEF began preparations to deploy to the Continent. As planning moved forward, French clashed with Kitchener, then serving as Secretary of State for War, over where the BEF should be placed. While Kitchener advocated a position near Amiens from which it could mount a counterattack against the Germans, French preferred Belgium where it would be supported by the Belgium Army and their fortresses. Backed by the Cabinet, French won the debate and began moving his men across the Channel. Reaching the front, the British commanders temper and prickly disposition soon led to difficulties in dealing with his French allies, namely General Charles Lanrezac who commanded the French Fifth Army on his right. Establishing a position at Mons, the BEF entered action on August 23 when it was attacked by the German First Army. Though mounting a tenacious defense, the BEF was forced to retreat as Kitchener had anticipated when advocating the Amiens position. As French fell back, he issued a confusing series of orders which were ignored by Lieutenant General Sir Horace Smith-Dorriens II Corps which fought a bloody defensive battle at Le Cateau on August 26. As the retreat continued, French began to lose confidence and became indecisive. Shaken by the high losses sustained, he became increasingly concerned about his mens welfare rather than aiding the French. John French - The Marne to Digging In: As French began contemplating withdrawing to the coast, Kitchener arrived on September 2 for an emergency meeting. Though angered by Kitcheners interference, the discussion convinced him to keep the BEF at the front and to take part in French Commander-in-Chief General Joseph Joffres counteroffensive along the Marne. Attacking during the First Battle of the Marne, Allied forces were able to halt the German advance. In the weeks after the battle, both sides began the Race to the Sea in an effort to outflank the other. Reaching Ypres, French and the BEF fought the bloody First Battle of Ypres in October and November. Holding the town, it became a point of contention for the rest of the war. As the front stabilized, both sides began constructing elaborate trench systems. In an effort to break the deadlock, French opened the Battle of Neuve Chapelle in March 1915. Though some ground was gained, casualties were high and no breakthrough was attained. Following the setback, French blamed the failure on a lack of artillery shells which initiated the Shell Crisis of 1915. The following month, the Germans began the Second Battle of Ypres which saw them take and inflict substantial losses but fail to capture the town. In May, French returned to the offensive but was bloodily repulsed at Aubers Ridge. Reinforced, the BEF attacked again in September when it began the Battle of Loos. Little was gained in three weeks of fighting and French received criticism for his handling of British reserves during the battle. John French - Later Career: Having clashed repeatedly with Kitchener and having lost the confidence of the Cabinet, French was relieved in December 1915 and replaced by General Sir Douglas Haig. Appointed to command the Home Forces, he was elevated to Viscount French of Ypres in January 1916. In this new position, he oversaw the suppression of the 1916 Easter Rising in Ireland. Two years later, in May 1918, the Cabinet made French British Viceroy, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, and Supreme Commander of the British Army in Ireland. Fighting with various nationalist groups, he sought to destroy Sinn Fà ©in. As a result of these actions, he was the target of a failed assassination attempt in December 1919. Resigning his post on April 30, 1921, French moved into retirement. Made Earl of Ypres in June 1922, French also received a retirement grant of  £50,000 in recognition of his services. Contracting cancer of the bladder, he died on May 22, 1925, while at Deal Castle. Following a funeral, French was buried at St. Mary the Virgin Churchyard in Ripple,Kent. Selected Sources First World War: Field Marshal John FrenchTrenches on the Web: Field Marshal John French

Tuesday, February 18, 2020

Monopolies in Todays Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Monopolies in Todays Market - Essay Example Atimes, monopolies exist as a result of government backings in which case the monopolies provide goods, products or services which the government considers essential to the well being of the people. The absence of supply curve in the monopolized market causes inefficient allocation of society's resources. Therefore there is that tendency for a monopolist to charge high prices and probably making higher profits compared with firms in perfect competition. The objective of this paper is to unravel the role of monopolies in today's market and the implications of technology and systems on the monopolies. The rest of this paper examines different types of monopoly, its revenue, monopoly and price discriminations, and implications of technology and systems. (a) Pure Monopoly: This is a type of monopoly that exists in a particular region or city in which its products have no close substitutes. This makes it possible for the monopolist to charge extra prices because their products are necessities. (b) Natural Monopoly: A monopoly that exists because of economies of scale it enjoys in which large scale production brings lower average cost. Even though a competitor arises in the industry lower prices the monopolist would charge is capable of sending the competitor off the market. (c) Efficiency Monopoly: When government does not legalize monopoly, a monopoly may exist largely due to its ability to satisfy the customers in which case competition is inadvertently rule out. (d) Legal Monopoly: This form of monopoly has government backing such that laws are enacted to simply rule out competition. Wikipedia says "when such a monopoly is granted to a private party, it is a government granted monopoly; when it is operated by government itself, it is government monopoly or state monopoly". Monopoly Revenue Basically, a monopolist faces downward sloping demand curve which is also the firm's average revenue curve. As the monopolist sells a single price for its products, average revenue per product is the same as the price. For the monopolist to increase its sales it charges lower unit price for its products. At price P1 the monopolist only manages to sell Q1 quantity of the product; in order to increase its sales it reduces the price from P1 to P2 and as such sales is increased from Q1 to Q2 which he now gains in figure 1 below. Given the above scenario, the differential of the total revenue in relation to quantity gives marginal revenue which shows that the additional revenue large enough to offset the reduction in price. Figure 1: Showing Monopolist's gain brought about by price reduction. However, the monopolist maximizes profit where marginal revenue equals marginal cost. The reason is the since marginal cost is always greater than zero the monopolist will operate at profit because marginal revenue will be positive and where demand is elastic. If the monopolist stops production where marginal cost is less than marginal revenue, he will be leaving his profit untapped while quantity in which marginal revenue is greater than marginal cost the firm will be operating at losses. Profit maximizing price is determined by drawing a line where marginal co

Monday, February 3, 2020

Commercial uses of GPS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Commercial uses of GPS - Assignment Example GPS-enabled transporters can be activated when removed from selected machines and provide location updates for recovery. Apart from machines, humans can insert GPS devices in their body for tracking, in case they operate in insecure areas, or are wealthy enough to afford one. A satellite-linked GPS receiver can provide accurate navigational data on the location of a victim and aid in a rescue mission. In shipping, GPS has diverse valuable applications in navigation and service delivery. It is applicable if a company pairs a GPS tracker with a radio transponder for tracking purposes. It can ease their operations significantly, for instance, identification of problems in the course of transportation. The resultant up-to-the-minute update on a movement of products is helpful for companies, as it can help transportation trucks avoid traffic or accident routes. In addition, it is useful in commercial transportation, for instance, one can determine the distance and time a bus or train takes to arrive at its destination. In the contemporary society, companies use GPS in their advertisement and marketing strategies. GPS receivers in portable services such as cell phones enable location-based service delivery in terms of marketing. The GPS device offers estimated geographical location when one connects to a network using a GPS enabled device. In addition, social networking companies such as Twitter have taken up the trend, and offer services to ‘nearby’ consumers. Personalization of service delivery promotes efficiency because it connects virtual presence to real-world nearness. In addition, GPS is widely applicable in survey work and real estate processes. It saves hours of survey work because it enables verification of property location and property size online.  

Sunday, January 26, 2020

Social Integration in UAE Essay

Social Integration in UAE Essay Section: 1 Social Integration Essay The process of social integration of a complex consisting of several dimensions involving the participation in work and production, and real consumption, is looking forward to the many, and to participate in caring for the public and social practice, and much of the social interactions.  On this basis, the individual is socially integrated if he takes part in the core activities of the society in which they live. The core activities are intended to be able to purchase goods and services, to participate in activities of economic and social value, to participate in decision-making process at the local level or national origin, and integration with family, friends and communities.  Social integration concept created by each society and every group for the purposes of individuals and groups from the situation of disagreement and conflict to the situation of living together. It also reflects the social integration of the form of access to political and legal systems necessary to make these rights a reality. There is a deep awareness in the UAE that the only guarantee of sustained development is continuous investment in education, health and social services, with the provision of meaningful employment for all.[1] (Social development, 2009), but as everybody knows that money doesnt last forever and they should think of looking for something else that they can use from their children or their boys and girls that they spent a huge amount on giving them the best life they ever thought of it or dreamt of in order to pay them some of what they have done to them. The UAE population increased by a staggering 74.8 per cent between 1995 and 2005, the date of the last census. This is one of the highest population growth rates in the world. Estimated by the Ministry of the Economy (MoE) at 4.488 million in 2007, the population is expected to increase by 6.12 per cent to reach 4.76 million at the end of 2008 and by 6.31 per cent to 5.06 million at the end of 2009. [2](Population, 2009), with that increase people will have communities of their own whether they were expats or locals that will discriminate their own people, so the UAE should unit them and dont discriminate them in order to raise their way of life. It is generally accepted that there is a need for additional policies to guarantee a more significant representation of UAE nationals in the labor force.[3] (Labor, 2009) these guarantees will protect the UAE nationals in the labor force because of the increase of the expatriates labor force and to protect UAE nationals because they have a right to be prior than the other nationalities. There always should be awareness about driving in the country because for the last decades there are so many casualties whether they were men, women or even kids and if it is remained without waking the people up then even statistics wont be able to calculate them 2009) these guarantees will protect the UAE nationals in the labor force because of the increase of the expatriates labor force and to protect UAE nationals because they have a right to be prior than the other nationalities. There always should be awareness about driving in the country because for the last decades there are so many casualties whether they were men, women or even kids and if it is remained without waking the people up then even statistics wont be able to calculate them. Reference Page [1] http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2009/page205 [2] http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2009/page206 [3] http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2009/page212

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Challenges Faced by Modern Managers of Organisations and Their Solutions

| |challenges faced by modern managers of organizations and their solutions | Lack of capital Lack of capital is often the most critical challenge that a successful manager or leader faces as its very success creates this and it quickly becomes a vicious circle. Without very diligent cash flow management and/or raising of more capital, including debt, the business often is constrained by capital as it grows. Often the profit in one operating cycle is insufficient to fund the extra working capital required for the next operating cycle. Many capable managers cannot overcome the obstacles in their businesses cash flow cycle and cannot understand why bankers and other lenders often cannot provide the financing as the manager often does not have the security to support the debt. The solution is often easier than most entrepreneurs realize. It often starts with a plan to see what your cash needs are and when your cash needs arise. Then one is in a position to manage it and focus on the cash management techniques most likely to be successful in his/her business. Lack of management skills Lack of management skills is a problem that is very difficult to deal with in most small and medium enterprises as the size of the senior management team is necessarily limited. These areas of weakness could be in finance, human resources, marketing or any area where the current management does not have the expertise, or the time to deal with the issues. It can be solved by determining the weak areas and then developing a plan for dealing with those challenges. Solutions can be as simple as assigning the responsibility to an existing manager with a requirement to watch for the obvious pitfalls, to hiring a person part-time or a consultant. †¢ Lack of focus †¢ Ignoring risks in their assessment of alternatives and opportunities †¢ Lack of a plan †¢ Failure to plan for issues absorbing the majority of your time Scope changes – Insufficient team skills – To quote a colleague, â€Å"Availability is not a skill. † †¢ Vision and goals are not well-defined Ineffective communication 1. Regular promotion – Regular promotion in a fixed interval keeping in view consumer taste and preference is a biggest problem. It not only needs an innovative mind and lot of advertisement money but has become a difficult task to cater the needs of so many different type of consumers like some are health con scious and needs low fat diet or low sodium diet while other prefers combo offers . Most of them also want that half plate and even quarter plate must be introduce in the menu . So when these promotional offer are launched only the expectations of few consumers are met. 2. Availability of substitute at cheaper price- Another problem is the availability of substitute fast food at cheaper price for instance A fast food shop in a Food court has to compete its competitor who may perhaps has a different food menu to offer but his rates are cheep and people my often switch to buy that cheaper product. For instance a steemed sweet corn corner outlet selles a cup of sweet corn say Rs 20 and it is near by a soup corner outlet and the cost of a soup is less than a cup of sweet corn sy Rs 10. There are chances that most of the people who may have come to have a sweet corn may change their food coice and have a soup in double quantity.

Friday, January 10, 2020

Why Marjane Satrapi Graphic Form

Why Marjane Satrapi chose to tell her story Persepolis in the graphic form The graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi was written in the graphic medium to appeal to a wider audience. Literary critic, Manuela Constantino, proposes that â€Å"the combination of a visual representation and a child’s point of view makes the story easily accessible and therefore attracts a wide range of readers. † (Constantino, 2008: 2) Another plausible reason for Satrapi's choice to do the novel in this medium is the apparent popularity graphic novels enjoyed at the point of the memoir’s publication.Writing the novel graphically, brings the Middle Eastern novel closer to its Western readers. As Constantino wrote; Satrapi emphasizes â€Å"the universal qualities of her child narrator and the details of her experiences that would be familiar to her Western readers. † (Constantino, 2008: 2) Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi in the graphic form deems effective because it is writ ten in a form that is recognizable to her target readers, written in somewhat a ‘universal’ language. Satrapi chose to tell her story in the graphic form to better connect with her readers. It is apparent that Satrapi’s targeted audience are mainly Western Christians.Over forty percent of the world’s population who practice a religion are Christians. The religious stature of the main characters made the novel accessible to its non Muslim readers. Being able to observe Christians in a predominantly Islamic country, opens a window to a life Satrapi's readers could only dare to imagine. A world where u are told what to believe and what to think. It is therefore logical to target the sensitive majority of the population to educate about the Iranian political struggle and to get her story across. The novel in itself is about driving away the West from the conservative Iranian nation.Driving away the things her targeted readers consider their norm. Westerners an d others around the world try to â€Å"seek insight into a country and a nation that have been deemed â€Å"evil† and an imminent threat to Western society. † (Malek, 2006: 10) To aid the West in its quest to â€Å"seek insight† into the nation of Iran, Satrapi wrote the novel in a medium that is very closely related to and very familiar in the Western culture. As demonstrated in: â€Å"†¦ They found records and videocassettes at their place, a deck of cards, a chess set. In other words, everything that’s banned. The scene leads the reader to feel unwanted and driven off alongside Marji, an Iranian who embraces the reader’s culture as demonstrated in page one hundred and twenty six , from her Iranian world. The reader and Marji form a special bond – they become a unit. This common ground builds a stronger connection between Marji and the reader leading the audience to feel a stronger form of empathy towards the child, as they are now p art of the cultural issue.Satrapi also chose to relate socio-political issues, conflict and loss to Arabic writing; as demonstrated in page eighty seven, in the panel where in two women are arguing. Satrapi, 2003) Their banter is written in a language unfamiliar to her targeted readers leading the reader to classify fighting and arguments as foreign and that the very presence of these women and their conflict is alienating. Another instance is when Pardisse reads her letter to her dead father, a letter written in the same foreign writing – grief is then related to this alien language. (Satrapi, 2003: 86) And on page one hundred and thirty two, in the panel where The Guardians of the Revolution (women’s branch) were introduced, one will observe the same unreadable writing resembling Arabic on their vehicle. Satrapi, 2003) Her use of all these subtle details in the graphic aspect of the novel adds to the effectiveness of the medium in that it forces the reader to lose al l sense of familiarity with the antagonistic characters. The visual aspect of this novel aided in Satrapi’s depiction of Marji as someone who embraces the western culture, the reader's culture, with the familiar images of Nike sneakers, jeans, jean jackets, and chocolates, as well as Kim Wilde and Iron Maiden songs. (Satrapi, 2003: 126) This brings another dimension to the relationship between Marji and her readers.Writing the novel in graphic form brings the Middle Eastern graphic novel closer to its Western neighbours because it is in a medium that is recognizable in the West. In addition, Satrapi’s depiction of Muslim leaders as â€Å"uneducated, primitive, and narrow-minded brutes† strengthens her connection with her Western readers whose perception of Muslim extremists might indeed be quite similar to the one crafted in the autobiography. (Constantino, 2008: 4) The novel Persepolis is effective because it was written to please a specific type of community.I t uses language and cultural barriers in the illustrations and text to further separate the reader from the antagonists. â€Å"Satrapi’s Persepolis appeared, significantly, at a time when memoirs have been experiencing a great surge of popularity. † (Malek, 2006: 8) The time of the publication of the memoir deemed critical to its success. It was published around the time where graphic novels were coined â€Å"the most important narrative mode of our contemporary culture. † (Miller, 2000: 421) It shared the lime light with other graphic novels, the likes of Craig Thompson’s â€Å"Blankets† and Joe Sacco’s â€Å"The Fixer†. Time, 2003) Satrapi chose the perfect time to debut her graphic memoir as she was able to ride ‘the literary high’ comics were experiencing at that point in time. A probable reason why Satrapi chose to tell her story in the graphic medium is the effectiveness and popularity of graphic novels at the point of the novel’s publication. Writing the novel in graphic form and through the eyes of a child allows the issue to be digested with fewer objections by the reader. The novel written through the eyes of a child makes it easier for the reader to comprehend the situation.It gives the story a comedic approach to a devastating period in Iranian history. â€Å"Readers of all ages can identify with the child, feel for her, and learn with her about the complexities of national and international politics. †(Constantino, 2003: 4) The connection shared between Marji and the reader strengthens their bond and heightens the effectiveness of the story. It is a medium closely related to fun. Writing the novel in graphic form ‘dumbs down’ the brutality of the whole situation. A frame on page fifty two illustrates Ahmadi’s gruesome fate in prison: chopped into several pieces. Satrapi, 2003) Another panel depicting the same kind of ‘turned down' brutality is a s cene on page seventy six where a woman is being stabbed on the leg. These otherwise gruesome scenes can be better understood because the reader can look at it, take it as it is, and envy the child’s innocence and simplistic thought process. Constantino adds: â€Å"The text is easily accessible and seemingly transparent. It makes many people feel that they are educating themselves while they are being entertained.† Although the text might seem, in a way due to its graphic medium, juvenile, its purpose is to educate and tell an ‘untold story. Some might argue that depicting critical situations such as the Islamic Revolution in a form of graphic medium takes away the severity of the circumstances however; it can definitely be counter argued by the undeniable phrase ‘it’s so simple it works. ’ The visual element allows her to include the offstage action as part of the main narrative flow. Instead of having to impart information as separate inciden ts, where its impact is reduced by removing it from the context of the story, we see things as they happen, increasing the emotional mpact of the moment. The directness of her work allows her to do two things excellently: to distinguish between individuals easily with just small strokes of the pen and make her depiction of horrors, death, torture, and anguish, emotionally realistic without being graphic or gruesome. Persepolis was written in the graphic form to create a stronger connection with the material and its readers. Persepolis is a powerful story about a person’s struggle for self identity.The different occurrences in Marji’s life that define her for who she is was written in the graphic medium to make it easier for her audience to connect with her as people in search of who they are. Writing the novel in graphic form offers a sense of familiarity with Satrapi’s targeted Western audience. It brings the unfamiliar Iranian world, issues and their tradition s closer to the West’s classification of ‘normal’. It uses religion (specifically Christianity) in illustration and text to even deepen the connection between Marji and her audience. It forms a common ground, a sense of belonging to the same movement.It is also plausible that one of the reasons why the novel was written in the graphic form was to ride the growing popularity of comics at that particular point in time. Publishing the graphic novel to a community who openly accept comics as a form of sophisticated literature presented an opportunity for the novel to succeed. And lastly, it was written in graphic text to make it easier for the reader to comprehend the situation as these instances don’t usually happen to her targeted Western audience. It makes watching people die a little bit more bearable as it is depicted in a way that a child might perceive death.Satrapi choosing to tell her story in the form of a graphic novel not only shows us how far that medium has come as a means of expression, but allows us a glimpse into a world that few of us know anything about.Word Count: 1707 Citation Arnold, Andrew. â€Å"The Best and Worst: 2003. † Time. November 13 2010. Website. ;lt; http://www. time. com/time/bestandworst/2003/comics. html;gt; Malek, Amy. â€Å"Memoir as Iranian Exile Cultural Production: A Case Study of Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis Series. † Iranian Studies: Journal of the International Society for Iranian Studies 39. 3 (2006): 353-380. MLA International Bibliography. EBSCO. Web. 15 Nov. 2010. Print. Manuela Costantino. â€Å"Marji: Popular Commix Heroine Breathing Life into the Writing of History. † Canadian Review of American Studies 38. 3 (2008): 429-447. Project MUSE. Cameron Library, Edmonton, AB. 17 Aug. 2010. Website. ;lt;http://muse. jhu. edu/;gt; Nancy Miller, â€Å"But Enough About Me, What Do You Think of My Memoir? † Yale Journal of Criticism 13, no. 2 (2000): 421. Print. Satrapi , Marjane. Persepolis. New York: Pantheon Books. 2003. Print â€Å"World Religions. † The World Almanac and Book of Facts  ©2010. 2010. Print.