The Return: Nightfall Chapter 25

Matt lunged at Damon in a rush that clearly demonstrated the skills that had gotten him a college football scholarship. He accelerated from utter stillness to a blur of motion, trying to tackle Damon, to bring him down. â€Å"Run,† he shouted, at the same instant.†Run!† Elena stood still, trying to come up with Plan A after this disaster. She had been forced to watch Stefan's humiliation at Damon's hands at the boardinghouse, but she didn't think she could stand to see this. But when she looked again, Matt was standing about a dozen yards from Damon, white-faced and grim, but alive and on his feet. He was preparing to rush Damon again. And Elena†¦couldn't run. She knew that it would probably be the best thing – Damon might punish Matt briefly but most of his attention would be turned to hunting her down. But she couldn't be sure. And she couldn't be sure that the punishment wouldn't kill Matt, or that he would be able to get away before Damon found her and had leisure time to think of him again. No, notthis Damon, pitiless and remorseless as he was. There must be some way – she could almost feel wheels spinning in her own head. And then she saw it. No, not that†¦ But what else was there to do? Matt was, indeed, rushing Damon again, and this time as he went for him, lithe and unstoppable and fast as a darting snake, she saw what Damon did. He simply sidestepped at the last moment, just when Matt was about to ram him with a shoulder. Matt's momentum kept him going, but Damon simply turned in place and faced him again. Then he picked up his damned pine branch. It was broken at the end where Matt had trampled it. Damon frowned at the stick, then shrugged, lifting it – and then both he and Matt stopped frozen. Something came sailing in from the sidelines to settle on the ground between them. It lay there, stirring in the breeze. It was a maroon and navy Pendleton shirt. Both of the boys turned slowly toward Elena, who was wearing a white lacy camisole. She shivered slightly and wrapped her arms around herself. It seemed unusually cold for this time of evening. Very slowly, Damon lowered the pine branch. â€Å"Saved by yourinamorata ,† he said to Matt. â€Å"I know what that means and it's not true,† Matt said. â€Å"She's my friend, not my girlfriend.† Damon just smiled distantly. Elena could feel his eyes on her bare arms. â€Å"So†¦on to the next step,† he said. Elena wasn't surprised. Heartsick but not surprised. Neither was she surprised to see, when Damon turned to look from her to Matt and back, a flash of red. It seemed to be reflected on the inside of his sunglasses. â€Å"Now,† he said to Elena. â€Å"I think we'll put you over there on that rock, sort of half reclining. But first – another kiss.† He looked back at Matt. â€Å"Get with the program, Matt; you're wasting time. First, maybe you kiss her hair, then she throws her head back and you kiss her neck, while she puts her arms around your shoulders†¦.† Matt,thought Elena. Damon had saidMatt . It had slipped out so easily, so innocently. Suddenly her entire brain, and her body, too, seemed to be vibrating as if to a single note of music, seemed to be flooded by an icy shower-bath. And what the note was saying was not shocking, because it was something that somehow, at a subliminal level, she already knew†¦. That's not Damon. This wasn't the person she had known for – was it really only nine or ten months? She had seen him when she was a human girl, and she had defied him and desired him in equal measure – and he had seemed to love her best when she was defying him. She had seen him when she was a vampire and had been drawn to him with all her being, and he had cared for her as if she were a child. She had seen him when she was a spirit, and from the afterlife she had learned a great deal. He was a womanizer, he could be callous, he drifted through his victims' lives like a chimera, like a catalyst, changing other people while he himself remained unchanging and unchanged. He mystified humans, confused them, used them – leaving them bewildered, because he had the charm of the devil. And never once had she seen him break his word. She had a rock-bottom feeling that this wasn't something that was a decision, it was so much a part of Damon, lodged so deep in his subconscious, that even he couldn't do anything to change it. He couldn't break his word. He'd starve first. Damon was still talking to Matt, giving him orders. â€Å"†¦and then take off her†¦Ã¢â‚¬  So what about his word to be her bodyguard, to keep her from harm? He was talking to her now. â€Å"So you know when to throw your head back? After he – â€Å" â€Å"Who are you?† â€Å"What?† â€Å"You heard me.Who are you? If you had really seen Stefan off and promised him to take care of me, none of this would have happened. Oh, you might be messing with Matt, but not in front of me. You're not – Damon's not stupid. He knows what a bodyguard is. He knows that watching Matt in pain hurts me as well. You're not Damon. Who†¦are†¦you?† Matt's strength and fast-as-a-rattlesnake speed hadn't done any good. Maybe a different approach would work. As Elena spoke, she had been very slowly reaching up to Damon's face. Now, with one motion, she pulled his sunglasses off. Eyes red as fresh new blood shone out at her. â€Å"What have you done?†she whispered. â€Å"What have you done to Damon?† Matt was out of the range of her voice but had been inching around, trying to get her attention. She wished fervently that Matt would just make a run for it himself. Here, he was just another way for this creature to blackmail her. Without seeming to move quickly, the Damon-thing reached down and snatched the sunglasses from her hand. It was too fast for her to resist. Then he seized her wrist in a painful grip. â€Å"This would be a lot easier on both of you if you'd cooperate,† he said casually. â€Å"You don't seem to realize what might happen if you make me angry.† His grip was forcing her down, forcing her to kneel. Elena decided not to let it. But unfortunately her body didn't want to cooperate; it sent urgent messages of pain to her mind, of agony, of burning, searing agony. She had thought that she could ignore it, could stand to let him break her wrist. She was wrong. At some point something in her brain blacked out completely, and the next thing she knew she was on her knees with a wrist that felt three times the right size and burned fiercely. â€Å"Human weakness,† Damon said scornfully. â€Å"It will get you every time†¦. You should know better than to disobey me, by now.† Not Damon,Elena thought, so vehemently that she was surprised the imposter didn't hear her. â€Å"All right,† Damon's voice continued above her as cheerfully as if he'd simply given her a suggestion. â€Å"You go sit on that rock, leaning backward, and Matt, if you'll just come over here, facing her.† The tone was of polite command, but Matt ignored it and was beside her already, looking at the finger marks on Elena's wrist as if he didn't believe them. â€Å"Matt stands up, Elena sits, or the opposite one gets the full treatment. Have fun, kiddies.† Damon had the palm-camera out again. Matt consulted Elena with his eyes. She looked at the imposter and said, enunciating carefully, â€Å"Go to hell, whoever you are.† â€Å"Been there, done that, bought the brimstone,† the not-Damon creature rattled off. He gave Matt a smile that was both luminescent and terrifying. Then he waggled the pine branch. Matt ignored it. He waited, his face stoic, for the pain to hit. Elena struggled up to stand by him. Side by side, they could defy Damon. Who seemed for a moment to be out of his mind. â€Å"You're trying to pretend you're not afraid of me. But you will be. If you had any sense, you would be now.† Belligerently, he took a step toward Elena.†Why aren't you afraid of me?† â€Å"Whoever you are, you're just an oversized bully. You've hurt Matt. You've hurt me. I'm sure you can kill us. But we're not afraid of bullies.† â€Å"You will be afraid.† Now Damon's voice had dropped to a menacing whisper. â€Å"Just wait.† Even as something was ringing in Elena's ears, telling her to listen to those last words, to make a connection – who did that sound like? – the pain hit. Her knees were knocked out by it. But she wasn't just kneeling now. She was trying to roll into a ball, trying to curl around the agony. All rational thought was swept from her head. She sensed Matt beside her, trying to hold her, but she could no more communicate with him than she could fly. She shuddered and fell to her side, as if having a seizure. Her entire universe was pain, and she only heard voices as if they came from far away. â€Å"Stop it!† Matt sounded frantic.†Stop it! Are you crazy? That'sElena , for God's sake! Do you want to kill her ?† And then the not-Damon-thing advising him mildly, â€Å"I wouldn't try that again,† but the only sound Matt made was a scream of primal rage. â€Å"Caroline!† Bonnie was raging, pacing back and forth in Stefan's room while Meredith did something else with the computer. â€Å"Howdare she?† â€Å"She doesn't dare try to attack Stefan or Elena outright – there's the oath,† Meredith said. â€Å"So she's thought this up to get at all of us.† â€Å"But Matt – â€Å" â€Å"Oh, Matt's handy,† Meredith said grimly. â€Å"And unfortunately there's the matter of the physical evidence on both of them.† â€Å"What do you mean? Matt doesn't – â€Å" â€Å"The scratches, my dear,† put in Mrs. Flowers, looking sad, â€Å"from your razor-toothed bug. The poultice I put on will have healed them so that they'll look like a girl's fingernail scratches – about now. And the mark it left on your neck†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Mrs. Flowers coughed delicately. â€Å"It looks like what in my day was called a  ¡Ã‚ ®love bite.' Perhaps a sign of a tryst that ended in force? Not that your friend would ever do anything like that.† â€Å"And remember how Caroline looked when we saw her, Bonnie?† Meredith said dryly. â€Å"Not the crawling around – I'll bet anything she's walking just fine now. But her face. She had a black eye coming in and a swollen cheek. Perfect for the time frame.† Bonnie felt as if everyone was two steps ahead of her. â€Å"Whattime frame?† â€Å"The night the bug attacked Matt. It was the morning after that that the sheriff called and talked to him. Matt admitted that his mother hadn't seen him all night, and that Neighborhood Watch guy saw Matt drive up to his house and, basically, pass out.† â€Å"That was from the bug poison. He'd just been fighting the malach!† â€Å"We know that. But they'll say he'd just come back from attacking Caroline. Caroline's mother will hardly be fit to testify – you saw how she was. So who's to say that Matt wasn't over at Caroline's? Especially if he was planning assault.† â€Å"We are! We can vouch for him – † Bonnie suddenly stumbled to a halt. â€Å"No, I guess it was after he left that this was supposed to have happened. But, no, this is all wrong!† She took up pacing again. â€Å"I saw one of those bugs up close and it was exactly the way Matt described†¦.† â€Å"And what's left of it now? Nothing. Besides, they'll say that you would sayanything for him.† Bonnie couldn't stand just walking aimlessly around anymore. She had to get to Matt, had to warn him – if they could even find him or Elena. â€Å"I thoughtyou were the one who couldn't wait a minute to find them,† she said accusingly to Meredith. â€Å"I know; I was. But I had to look something up – and besides I wanted one more try at that page only vampires are supposed to read. TheShi no Shi one. But I've tweaked the screen in all the ways I can think of, and if there's something written here, I certainly can't find it.† â€Å"Best not to waste more time on it, then,† Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"Come get into your jacket, my dear. Shall we take the Yellow Wheeler or not?† For just a moment Bonnie had a wild vision of a horse-drawn vehicle, a sort of Cinderella carriage but not pumpkin-shaped. Then she remembered seeing Mrs. Flowers' ancient Model T – painted yellow – parked inside what must be the old stables that belonged to the boardinghouse. â€Å"We did better when we were on foot than weor Matt did in a car,† said Meredith, giving the computer monitor controls a final vicious click. â€Å"We're more mobile than – oh, my God!I did it! â€Å" â€Å"Did what?† â€Å"The website. Come look at this.† Both Bonnie and Mrs. Flowers came over to the computer. The screen was bright green with thin, faint, dark green writing. â€Å"Howdid you do it?† Bonnie demanded as Meredith bent to get a notebook and pen to copy down what they saw. â€Å"I don't know. I just tweaked the color settings one last time – I'd already tried it for Power Saver, Low Battery, High Resolution, High Contrast, and every combination I could think of.† They stared at the words. Tired of that lapis lazuli? Want to take a vacation in Hawaii? Sick of that same old liquid cuisine? Come and visit Shi no Shi. After that came an ad for the â€Å"Death of Death,† a place where vampires could be cured of their cursed state and become human again. And then there was an address. Just a city road, no mention of what state, or, for that matter, what city. But it was a Clue. â€Å"Stefan didn't mention a road address,† Bonnie said. â€Å"Maybe he didn't want to scare Elena,† Meredith said grimly. â€Å"Or maybe, when he looked at the page, the address wasn't there.† Bonnie shivered. â€Å"Shi no Shi – I don't like the sound of it. And don't laugh at me,† she added to Meredith defensively. â€Å"Remember what Stefan said about trusting my intuition?† â€Å"Nobody's laughing, Bonnie. We need to get to Elena and Matt. What does your intuition tell you about that?† â€Å"It says that we're going to get into trouble, and that Matt and Elena are in trouble already.† â€Å"Funny, because that's just what my judgment tells me.† â€Å"Are we ready, now?† Mrs. Flowers handed out flashlights. Meredith tried hers and found it had a strong, steady beam. â€Å"Let's do it,† she said, automatically flipping off Stefan's lamp again. Bonnie and Mrs. Flowers followed her down the stairs, out of the house, and onto the street they had run from not so long ago. Bonnie's pulse was racing, her ears ready for the slightestwhipwhip sound. But except for the beams of their flashlights, the Old Wood was completely dark and eerily silent. Not even the sound of birdsong broke the moonless night. They plunged in, and in minutes they were lost. Matt woke up on his side and for a moment didn't know where he was. Outdoors. Ground. Picnic? Hiking? Fell asleep? And then he tried to move and agony flared like a geyser of flame, and he remembered everything. That bastard , torturing Elena, he thought. Torturing Elena. It didn't go together, not withDamon . What was it Elena had been saying to him at the end that had made him so angry? The thought nagged at him, but it was just another unanswered question, like Stefan's note in Elena's diary. Matt realized that he could move, if very slowly. He looked around, moving his head by careful increments until he saw Elena, lying near him like a broken doll. He hurt and he was desperately thirsty. She would feel the same way. The first thing was to get her to a hospital; the kind of muscular contractions brought on by that degree of pain could break an arm or even a leg. They were certainly strong enough to cause a sprain or dislocation. Not to mention Damon spraining her wrist. That was what the practical, sensible part of him was thinking. But the question that kept going around in his mind still made him reel in complete astonishment. Hehurt Elena? The way he hurt me? I don't believe it. I knew he was sick, twisted, but I never heard of him hurting the girls. And never, never Elena.Never . But me – if he treats me the way he treats Stefan, he'll kill me. I don't have a vampire's resilience. I have to get Elena out of this before he kills me. I can't leave her alone with him. Instinctively, somehow, he knew that Damon was still around. This was confirmed when he heard some little noise, turned his head too fast, and found himself staring at a blurred and wobbling black boot. The blur and wobble were the result of turning too quickly, but as quickly as he'd turned, he'd suddenly felt his face pressed into the dirt and pine needles on the ground of the clearing. By The Boot. It was on his neck, grinding his face into the dirt now. Matt made a wordless sound of pure fury and grabbed at the leg above the boot with both hands, trying to get a purchase and throw Damon off. But while he could grasp the smooth leather of the boot, moving it in any direction was impossible. It was as if the vampire in the boot could turn himself to iron. Matt could feel the tendons in his throat stand out, his face turn red, and his muscles bunch under his shirt as he made a violent effort to heave Damon off. At last, exhausted, chest heaving, he lay still. In that very same instant, The Boot was lifted. Exactly, he realized, at the moment when he was too tired to lift his head himself. He made a supreme effort and lifted it a few inches. And The Boot caught him under the chin and lifted his face a little higher. â€Å"What a pity,† Damon said with infuriating contempt. â€Å"You humans are so weak. It's no fun to play with you at all.† â€Å"Stefan†¦will come back,† Matt got out, looking up at Damon from where he was unintentionally groveling on the ground. â€Å"Stefan will kill you.† â€Å"Guess what?† Damon said conversationally. â€Å"Your face is all messed up on one side – scratches, you know. You've got sort of a Phantom of the Opera thing going on.† â€Å"If he doesn't, I will. I don't know how, but I will. I swear it.† â€Å"Careful what you promise.† Just as Matt got his arm working enough to prop him up – exactly then, to the millisecond – Damon reached out and grabbed him painfully by a handful of hair, yanking his head up. â€Å"Stefan,† Damon said, looking straight down into Matt's face and forcing Matt to look up at him, no matter how Matt tried to turn his face away, â€Å"was only powerful for a few days because he was drinking the blood of a very powerful spirit who hadn't yet adapted to Earth yet. But look at her now.† He twisted his grip on Matt's hair again, more painfully. â€Å"Some spirit. Lying there in the dirt. Now the Power is back where it should be. Do you understand?Do you – boy?† Matt just stared at Elena. â€Å"How could you do that?† he whispered finally. â€Å"An object lesson in what it means to defy me. And surely you wouldn't want me to be sexist and leave her out?† Damontched . â€Å"You have to keep up with the times.† Matt said nothing. He had to get Elena out of this. â€Å"Worrying about the girl? She's just playing possum now. Hoping I'll ignore her and concentrate on you.† â€Å"You're a liar.† â€Å"So I'll concentrate on you. Speaking of keeping up with the times, you know – except for the scratches and things, you're a fine-looking young man.† At first the words meant nothing to Matt. When he understood them, Matt could feel his blood freeze in his body. â€Å"As a vampire, I can give you an informed and honest opinion. And as a vampire, I'm getting very thirsty. There's you. And then there's the girl who's still pretending to be asleep. I'm sure you can see what I'm getting at.† I believe in you, Elena, Matt thought. He's a liar, and he'll always be a liar. â€Å"Take my blood,† he said wearily. â€Å"Are you sure?† Now Damon sounded solicitous. â€Å"If you resist, the pain is horrible.† â€Å"Just get it over with.† â€Å"Whatever you like.† Damon knelt fluidly on one knee, at the same time twisting his grip on Matt's hair, making Matt wince. The new grip dragged Matt's upper body across Damon's knee, so that his head was thrown back, his neck arched and exposed. In fact Matt had never felt so exposed, so helpless, so vulnerable in his life. â€Å"You can always change your mind,† Damon taunted him. Matt shut his eyes, stubbornly saying nothing. At the last moment, though, as Damon bent with fangs exposed, Matt's fingers almost involuntarily, almost as if it were something his body was doingapart from his mind, clenched themselves into a fist and he suddenly, unpredictably, brought the fist swinging up to deal a violent blow to Damon's temple. But – serpent-quick – Damon reached up and caught the blow almost nonchalantly in an open hand, and held Matt's fingers in a crushing grip – just as razor-sharp fangs opened a vein in Matt's throat and an open mouth fastened on his exposed throat, sucking and drinking the blood that sprayed upward. Elena – awake but unable to move from where she had fallen, unable to make a sound or turn her head – was forced to listen to the entire exchange, forced to hear Matt's groan as his blood was taken against his will, as he resisted to the last. And then she thought of something that, as dizzy and frightened as she was, almost made her pass out in fear.

Public Pension Replacement Rates

A social security is a program funded through the taxation of individuals pay. The taxes are deposited into various trust funds depending on the contract. Social security can not sustain all the promised benefits in future if it entirely relies on the current tax rates. This therefore implies that reforms are indispensible. This is due to the calamities that may follow the raising of taxes or a cut on benefits. Replacement income for prior earningsIncome replacement is a pledge by the employer to continue paying an employee’s salary for a given period of time incase he becomes disabled or till the employee becomes eligible to coverage from the social security. The employee in this case is faced with the peril of the employer not honoring the pledge whereas in the agreement the employer is saved the expenses that cold be incurred through the purchase of insurance policies (FirstEnergy Corp, 2010). The salary coverage goes on for a few months but the limit is six months.Causes o f Variance-Between Us and Greece Replacement Income Greece operates various schemes that have a rate of 105% on its gross replacement and 115%on its net replacement. The schemes in operations constitute of main and auxiliary social security programs. The different professions operate varying schemes and the biggest is the Insurance Institute (IKA). Most of the schemes in operation in Greece are absent in the USA. Greece adapted the euro as a national currency in 2001 as its national currency.Due to this, Greece was at liberty to borrow money at a lower interest rate. This money was also made available to its citizens and corporations, whom they borrowed at very low interest rates. The money obtained by the Greek government was use to repay debts and finance its budget. This expenditure made it possible to have a high supply of money in the economy. The US and Greece differ in terms on how their political institution are run. This is in terms of electoral levels and the government.In the US there is the issue of the majority rules while in Greece there is proportional representation. This therefore means that the people involved in making decisions do vary both in number and power. This has an impact on how the income replacement is structured and the guidelines in operations. The structure, size and redistribution of US and Greece differ greatly. Role of Greece’s Public Pension Replacement Rates on Its Debt Burden Currently Greece is being faced with a debt crisis (IMF, 2002).It is understood that very high amounts of debts were accumulated by the Greek government before the crisis struck of liquidity in the capital market. In the recent past these capital markets have become more illiquid thus making Greece to be faced with the possibility of defaulting (FirstEnergy Corp, 2010)). In responding to this problem, the Greece prime minister has emphasized repeatedly on the importance of long term reforms on the structure of Greece economy. Among these refor ms is the reform on the pension scheme.The pension scheme in operation in Greece is one of the most generous schemes in known in Europe. Evasion of contribution to the social security program is a rampant thing and the government has promised to take tremendous actions against the evaders. This will ensure that the contribution rises thus providing the government with money at its disposal to pay some of the debts it owes. The government is also contemplating on the issue of increasing the retirement age of persons from the age of 61years to 63 years.Opposing some of the mode used to calculate the pension scheme in application of five years of worked by some civil service schemes, the calculations will entirely rely on a lifetime. This will in return provide some cash to be used in offsetting debts owed by the government. A crack down on the social security programs and carrying out reforms will prevent misappropriation of funds by corrupt officials (IMF, 2002). References FirstEner gy Corp (2010). Declares Unchanged Common Stock Dividend. Mergers & Acquisitions Business pg. 271. IMF. (2002). Greece, selected issues. International Monetary Fund. 58

Pizza Hut Marketing Research Report Essay

Executive summary This marketing research report is about the strategy of Pizza Hut for entering a new market. This research includes the preferences of the customers for going to any fast-food restaurant and particularly to our. We collected primary data from people for our research. While we were making our questionnaire we focused mainly on questions that showed the preference of the fast-food customers. Especially when we talk about food quality, price, services, interior, etc†¦ We got the questionnaires filled by 28 people from our population. They found the questionnaire nice and easy and we really could analyze their answers. The population for our research consists of students of The IUC College and people from all over the country. We made the connection through some websites. This analysis helped us to come out with new ideas about the future sales and profitability and  what our brand needs to maintain its image. Introduction Pizza hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza including pasta, salad, breadsticks, garlic bread and buffalo wings. Pizza Hut is a subsidiary of the world’s largest restaurant company Yum! Brands.Inc. As of 2012, there were more than 6,000 Pizza Hut restaurants in the United States, and more than 5,139 store locations in 94 other countries and territories around the world. Pizza Hut was founded in 1958 by brothers Dan and Frank Carney in their hometown of Wichita, Kansas. They borrowed $600 from their mother to start a business with partner John Bender. They chose the name â€Å"Pizza Hut† since the sign they purchased only had enough space for nine characters and spaces. In the early 1960s Pizza Hut grew on the strength of aggressive marketing of the pizza restaurant idea. The first Pizza Hut franchise was opened in Canada. This was followed by the establishment of the International Pizza Hut Franchise Holders Association. In 1977 Pizza Hut merged with PepsiCo, becoming a division of the global soft drink and food conglomerate. Sales that year reached $436 million, and a new $10 million dollar headquarters office opened in Wichita. The brand has been rewarded as the best restaurant chain internationally. In 1986, Pizza Huts started its Home Delivery service. In 2007, Pizza Hut offered online ordering at all of their 65,000 locations. In 2008, Pizza Hut introduced Total Mobile Access- the ability for customers to order by text messaging or using their web enabled cell phones. Research Our major marketing strategy has always been to satisfy the customer by offering the best, including cleanliness, hospitality, accuracy, maintenance, product quality and speed. Our brand has always been friendly and familiar. We have always done our positioning by keeping in view two basic factors: Quality and frequency. Our brand uses low price meal and expensive for high end. We collected primary data from people for our research. While we were making our questionnaire we focused mainly on  questions that showed the preference of the fast-food customers. Especially when we talk about food quality, price, services, interior, etc†¦ We got the questionnaires filled by 28 people from our population. They found the questionnaire nice and easy and we really could analyze their answers. The population for our research were students of The IUC College and people from all over the country. We made the connection through some websites. We found out that most of the people are really aware of our brand and they have even visited our restaurants. 10 out of 28 people have never heard of our brand and products. We asked all the people who have visited our restaurant, are they satisfied with the service and the ingredients in the food. All of them were undoubtedly agree that the service in the restaurant is extremely good and all of the ingredients are high quality. We became aware of the information that the majority of the fast-food restaurant customers are the people between the ages of 18 and 30. Nowadays the majority of young people can’t cook and they are really impatient for food. Some of them don’t have resources.desire and time for cooking. So the fast food restaurants are really the best choice for people between these ages. Furthermore, we found out that our potential customers are incredibly price sensitive. 16 out of 28 people preferred to give 5 to 10 leva for our services than 3 to 5 leva. This helped us to understand that our customers are willing to pay more if the service responds to their money but not too much. After our detailed analysis we concluded that quality is the most important factor which can affect our potential customers. People really prefer to eat in a fast-food restaurant which has normal prices, good service and nice interior. People have gotten tired of going to the same places like Mcdonalds and Subway. They want something new, fresh and with fast home delivery. 4 P’s Product: Salads, Pizza, Pasta, Beverage, Deserts Price: 5 to 10 leva Promotion: TV ads for now Place: We should place our restaurants in the Mall or somewhere in the centre of Sofia and Varna Conclusion From our research we conclude that we definitely should focus on consumer satisfaction. This is possible if we have control over the quality of the food, service and control over prices. We have to make sure that we can create a friendly physical environment. Our restaurant must become like a second home for our consumers. And we think that our potential consumers in Bulgaria would be very pleased with our services. Recommendations We should do some strong TV advertising. We should open branches in more cities, such as Varna, Burgas, Veliko Tarnovo We should have at least one restaurant in the mall. The competition will be extremely big but with our brand image and variety of food and beverages we think we could easily achieve successful market share. References http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/ http://www.marketingteacher.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Pizza_Hut

Wintel Case Study Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Wintel Case Study - Term Paper Example Secondly, the market segment for Intel is Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). We are informed that the microprocessor accounts for 20 – 40% of the total manufacturing costs of a PC(Yoffie, Casadesus-Masanell & Mattu, 2004). This should ordinarily make the manufacturers price sensitive, however Intel’s threat to integrate forwards prevents them from adopting that practice. In fact the converse happens because Intel is the market leader in chips production. Intel has strong relationships with a few OEMs whom it can selectively give its new microprocessors at a premium price. The premium price ensures that Intel sustains its profitability. On the value-chain structure we see Intel to be at the base. Here the business realized that improving the performance of sophistication of its microprocessors was not enough to grow its business. Intel therefore established Intel Architecture Lab (IAL) to tackle PC platform problems so as to increase the demand for its chips (Yoffie, Casadesus-Masanell & Mattu, 2004). This assures Intel of a growing market and more profits. The organization has also partnered with Independent Hardware Vendors (IHVs) and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) where it outsources pieces of technology to ensure that its products are delivered timely and in adequate supply. The guarantee on timely delivery and adequate supply sustains the Intel brand image, which consequently gives the company a basis for pricing its products at a premium. With regards to revenue generation and margins, Intel obtains a majority of its profits from the sale of microprocessors. The firm’s ability to control demand through selective selling, investments in software development and complementary relationship with Microsoft are all geared towards increasing the market and profits from Intel’s powerful microprocessors. As a sole-source manufacturer, Intel has asserted its position within the PC value network as a powerful supplier. The market had few,

Sappho of Lesbos Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sappho of Lesbos - Essay Example Sappho’s poetry exhibits an intense relationship with the Greek Goddess of Love Aphrodite. Indeed, Sappho was involved in a thiasos, a cult organized to worship the goddess Aphrodite with poems and songs. In the poems Sappho’s relationship with goddess can be seen at times to reflect intense devotion, and at other times Sappho implores the goddess to grant her wishes or end her torment. In a poem titled ‘To Aphrodite of the Flowers at Knossos’ Sappho calls for the goddess to leave Krete and come and join her. In the final stanza she refers to the goddess deferentially as â€Å"Queen Aphrodite† and asks her to exultantly â€Å"pour heavenly nectar into gold cups.† This poem demonstrates Sappho’s thematic concern with Aphrodite as a celestial entity to be adored. In ‘Hymn to Aphrodite’ Sappho envisions the goddess as an entity towards which she pleas for help with a reluctant lover. In this poem Aphrodite responds, â€Å"â⠂¬â„¢Whom,’ thou criest, "dost wish that sweet Persuasion / Now win over and lead to thy love, my Sappho?† Like many other poems, this one shows the relationship between the goddess and poet to be intimate and developed. Throughout Sappho’s poetic oeuvre we witness her conflicted relationship with the effects of romantic love. While a large amount of Sappho’s poetry concerns love, she characterizes it as equally emitting anguish and salvation. In a fragment titled ‘The Blast of Love’ she writes, â€Å"Like a mountain whirlwind / punishing the oak trees / love shattered my heart.† Fragments like this which lament the throes of love, can be contrasted with other work where she revels and languishes in the powerful emotion. In a fragment called ‘To Eros’ she writes simply, â€Å"You burn me† While direct and simple, the sentiment characterizes Sappho’s conflicted nature with love. Even a quick perusal of

The Question is in the Instruction part Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Question is in the Instruction part - Essay Example This shows that despite the complete strangeness of a new and alien activity which initially seems incompatible to the inherent nature of Mole, the willingness to try it proves to be beneficial to him. Mole takes a splash into the water due to his excitement but he does not give up the idea of boating as incompatible to him. He perseveres and overcomes the incompatibility of his first encounter with boating. Grahame explains the different behaviors of the animals as belonging to the quaint culture called the animal-etiquette and not as incompatible elements thrown together. (Grahame 2004, p.10, 12). The narrative attributes certain behaviors to the unique animal culture when it says; 'The Rat hummed a tune, and the Mole recollected that animal-etiquette forbade any sort of comment on the sudden disappearance of one's friends at any moment, for any reason or no reason whatever.' (Grahame 2004, p.12). This mirrors the human society that is comprised of people from all walks of life. They are so different as to seem incompatible but yet co-exist in an interweaved mesh that allows for divergence and privacy. Grahame has put together a diverse set of characters that seem incompatible but they are consistent with the diversity that is present in the human population. The animals are the allegories that parallel humans. Grahame uses the setting of the River Bank and Wild Wood because it allows a diverse environment in which he can have a variety of animals and Silvey says; 'Not only is it a nostalgic evocation of the English countryside and a way of life that he felt was under threat, but in the characters of Rat and Mole we can detect aspects of himself.' (Silvey 1995, p. 87). Silvey also says that Grahame depicts human characters in the guise of animals. The rat and mole experience life in much the same way as humans. They enjoy comradeship, boating and a picnic. They exhibit some human traits. The rat is kind to the mole and forgives him for making a complete fool of himself in the water. Furthermore, he promises to teach the mole to row and swim. (Grahame 2004, p. 13). By putting toget her a group of seemingly incompatible characters, Grahame shows how friendships form, bond and cement to make life better in the community. On the other hand, Grahame shows that friendships enrich life. The underlying message is that if animals can form enduring bonds, humans should do much better. Dancygier says that Grahame uses frame metonymy, or the substitution of the name of an attribute for the name of the thing itself. (Dancygier 2005, p. 1). This camouflaging of elements give the impression that incompatible elements are thrown together. 'We are like the Rat in our book-initial quotation from The Wind in the Willows: give us a grammatical "door-scraper," and we can see a whole house, the entire experimental frame within which we understand what door-scrapers are for.' (Dancygier 2005, p. 25 ). This "door-scraper" is a symbol that draws together the seemingly incompatible elements to give an overall picture of what's going on. Rat and Mole find the door-scraper in the snowing woods. Grahame does not let Rat

Disadvantages of Performance-related Pay outweigh its Advantages Essay

Disadvantages of Performance-related Pay outweigh its Advantages - Essay Example Critics have analyzed performance-related pay differently, as many of the writers in various articles indicate that performance-related pay is a fruitful payment method due to which, there is more competition for positive working and people are more motivated towards effective task performance. On the other hand, there are also writers that have written articles negating the effectiveness of performance-related pay. According to the writers that are against the adoption of method of payment on the basis of basis, the payments are given to only those employees that are able to be close to the administration or management and that the pay is not given to them because of their effective working but on the basis of favouritism. Performance-related pay can have a positive as well as negative impact in various workplace environments. This paper discusses that performance related pay has many advantages but the disadvantages associated to it are overwhelming and devalue this mode of payment. The various forms of performance related pay are described after which, some authorial opinions are analyzed in terms of performance related pay and its effects. The advantages and disadvantages of performance related pay are analyzed and it is discussed that disadvantages outweigh advantages of performance related pay. In the end, the topic is concluded.

The Ethical Behavior and Decision Making Within An Organization Essay

The Ethical Behavior and Decision Making Within An Organization - Essay Example In my earlier submission, I evinced allegiance to the utilitarian ethics as per which those actions are decisions are considered to be ethical that accrue maximal benefit to the maximum number of people, while allowing for the optimal and efficient utilization of resources. However, over this semester I realized that as my innate understanding of ethics evolved and matured, I concluded that no ethical dogma or principle happens to be a one size fit all dictums. The utilitarian ethics which profess to be sacrosanct in one particular situation may turn out to be problematic in some another mass situation. For instance, during Nazi Germany, the Jews were persecuted and killed because the regime of the time strongly believed that such actions intended to bring happiness to the majority of the Germans. However, in retrospect, nobody harbors the doubt that such actions were not only evil but a viable source of shame for the entire humanity. Such examples forced me to think as to what does it mean by being ethical? Is there a single ethical dogma that fits and suits all the situations? After much brain raking, I came to the conclusion that my idea of ethics stood to be more in consonance with the theory of situational ethics. Eventually what is right and what is wrong, what is ethical and what is unethical depends upon the nature of a particular situation. There exists nothing as universal ethics and each situation has its own ethical norms imminent to it. What is considered to be ethically right may be totally incongruent and inapplicable in a particular situation? Hence, while taking ethical decisions, a leader needs to be amply flexible and open-minded. This does not mean that such an approach must be pliable and open to manipulation. Yet, the ultimate ethical credentials of a leader ought to be dependent on one’s ability to opt for the nobler hypothesis amongst the available choices. For instance, if as a manager I fire an employee because one’s serv ices are not in tandem with the organizational expectations, it would be ethical. However, if I fire an employee because he has not been able to muster his best, as he has a wife suffering from cancer and he needs to take care of his two kids at home, it would be unethical. The nobler choice in this situation will be to extend the options and possibilities to that employee, which allows him to serve the organization while taking care of his domestic responsibilities. I also need to mention that the ethical values to which I owed allegiance to earlier, which are integrity, honesty, charity, and responsibility still stand to be more or less the same. However, the way I perceive and understand these values have indeed achieved much maturity and human consideration. For instance, the value of integrity requires an employee to safeguard organizational information and secrets. Yet, if the imperative of integrity makes a person to safeguard such organizational information, the withholding of which amounts to cheating the customers and shareholders, then safeguarding such information will be totally contrary to the value of integrity. The same stands to be true for the other three values.

Marks and Spencer Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4250 words

Marks and Spencer - Case Study Example The other products that are sold by the company include; flowers, hampers and drinks such as wine. The company offers financial services to its customers like providing account cards, personal loans, unit trusts managements, life assurance schemes as well as pension policies to its customers. The company is subdivided into three divisions and they are United Kingdom's retail, International retail and the financial services division (Megone, and Robinson, 2002). In the United Kingdom's retail division, the management sells different kinds of merchandise .This division is sub divided into business units' that include; women's wear, men's wear, children's wear, beauty items, home furnishings as well as food items. The International retail business is categorized into three geographical areas such as; Europe, North America and the Far East. The European international retail business is further on divided into Continental Europe, Republic of Ireland and European franchise businesses. In North America, the group operates two types of businesses such as Brooks Brothers and Kings Supermarkets. The Far East consists of 10 stores that store the products of the company that are later on sold to the customers. The financial services offered by the company to its customers include; account cards, personal loans, unit trusts as well as life assurance and pension policies. The suitable organizational structure for this company is that of the matrix organizational structure. This structure involves arranging its activities according to the employees function and products. The structure can combine the best functions and product structures within an organization. Functional organizations are organized according to the technological disciplines. A functional manager is normally appointed so as to allocate the resources within the organization in the appropriate way .The coordination of activities can be undertaken through following the laid down procedures, detailed specifications, and ensuring that meetings are held on a regular basis. Products that require specialized knowledge consists of functional organized structures. On the other hand, a product manager is charged with the responsibility of coordinating the product creation activities through liaising with the functional representatives of the organization. The major tasks of the product manager are to collect information, solve conflicts and enhance the facilitation of objectives of the organization are achieved within a stipulated period of time. The employees are expected to accomplish their tasks as required so as to exploit their potentials as well as be in a position to increase the sales returns of the company. They are also expected to understand the factors that have been hindering them from accomplishing the tasks that have been assigned to them. The importance of this kind of structure is that the management of the company can be in a better position to focus on the market segment thus be in a position to meet the needs of the customers with ease. There is also an element of competition between the divisions as they try to achieve the objectives that have been set for them to meet within a stipulated period of time.The divisions within the organization can be controlled with ease since they act on different profit centers of the organization. Marks and Spencer Company sells different kinds of products to the customers thus the product manag

The topic is media ethical issues but it has to be by exploring the Essay

The topic is media ethical issues but it has to be by exploring the ethical issues involved by an example giving (see instructi - Essay Example This paper explores the ethical issues involved in the case study and highlights arguments for and against the parents’ request to the photographer’s wife to stop circulating the photograph of their deceased child in light of the teological and the deontological theory of ethics. Ethical Issues Involved In light of the teological theory of ethics Positive outcome Circulation of the photograph is creating awareness in the public regarding the negative ways in which the chemical industry is affecting the health and safety of children. As a result of this increased awareness, chemical industries face increased pressure both from the government agencies and the society at large to change its practices for the better so that they are environment friendly and not a threat to the health of the children. Therefore, the photographer’s wife should continue the circulation of the photograph. The farther it reaches, the more beneficial it gets. Negative outcome Circulation o f the photograph might be a cause of pain and suffering for the parents as it reminds them of their dead daughter. Therefore, it is unethical for the photographer’s wife to continue circulating the photograph. ... s Although the girl was affected by mercury pollution created by the chemical industry in Japan, yet the chemical industries of the whole world are suffering as a result of use of the photograph as an iconic image against the pollution created by the wrongful advancements of the chemical industries. Many chemical industries may be subject to criticism and scrutiny and undue investigation and accountability unnecessarily when they did not play a role in the child’s disease or death. This imparts the need for the photographer’s wife to ensure that the photograph is used for specific purposes only to indicate the effects of chemical pollution in Japan rather than letting the photograph go viral. However, since she has already failed in that and the geographical limitations have not been respected in this case, it is unethical for her not to control the circulation of the photograph since she is the one who holds copyright of the photograph. Arguments for the parents reques t Change of circumstances with time Argument supporting the parents’ request is that circumstances have changed since the time the photograph was taken. When the parents had signed the release of the photograph, the child was alive. They might have thought that release of the photograph would create awareness among the public about the adverse impact of the chemical industry’s environment unfriendly practices on the health and safety of children. However, since the child is now dead, it might be a very painful experience for the parents to be constantly reminded about their child, her death, or the cause of her death whenever they come across the photograph. Religious concerns of the parents Another argument in favor of the parents’ request is that they might have religious reasons for raising

A Book Summary of the Goal Essay Example for Free

A Book Summary of the Goal Essay The story started off by relaying the current situation of Mr. Alex Rogo and the dire state of his metal working plant, UniCo. Being the plant manager and head honcho, Mr. Rogo was the represented all the problems the plant was experiencing. The business was down and not profiting at all due to efficiency and process related problems. The business was not producing the necessary inventory levels to sustain the business. It already had too many issues, which had to be fixed soon especially since Mr. Peach, who is Mr. Alex Rogo’s boss, blew his top over another urgent yet delayed order. Mr. Peach gave Mr. Rogo the ultimatum that if the plant operations would not shape up and improve within the next three months, he will shut the plant down. If the first chapter talked about the Mr. Rogo’s state of affairs at work, the second chapter talked about his personal life. Mr. Rogo was dissatisfied about his life. He was not at all too happy about the fact if he was thirty-eight years old and still where he was when he started. His family was also not happy, most especially his wife. He moved his family from the city six months ago to live in his hometown because he was determined to fix the problems UniCo was facing. His wife was very unhappy with this move because it was hard for them to adjust especially since they were used to the city life. In this chapter, issues about the delayed order in chapter one continued to resurface. It is with this reason Mr. Rogo called for a general meeting in the third chapter. Immediate changes needed to be done in order to avoid the issues they’ve been experiencing for a long time. This had to be communicated to his staff in order for them to help him with the situation. Mr. Rogo relayed the grim circumstance UniCo was facing and pointed out all the items that were not working for the company. To move forward, he gave directions on how to manage the scenario by stating the objectives that needed to be addressed within the next three months. It was in this chapter Mr. Rogo finds out that it may not only be UniCo that will perish but the holding company where Mr. Peach is a part of. As the meeting goes on in the fourth chapter, Mr. Rogo goes back in time and reminisces about a discussion he had with his old professor, Jonah, who also was a physicist. During that meeting, Jonah openly talked about the problems Mr. Rogo’s company was facing. Johan had made mention of all the possible issues that could happen with UniCo, which includes spiraling high inventory levels and delivery issues, where the company will be unable to meet deadlines for shipment. Johan hypothesized that in order for Mr. Rogo to fix his situation, he must define what his goal should be. Everything should always start with the definition of a goal. In order to figure out what the goal is, Mr. Rogo must apply the Theory of Constraints in order to successfully implement effective management. The Theory of Constraints includes knowing all the constraints that is hindering the company from experiencing efficient productivity. Once the constraints are identified, Mr. Rogo will be able to take measurable next to address these issues. The staff meeting continued to the fifth chapter, where Mr. Rogo leaves the meeting to be alone. He needed to sort out his thoughts and figure out what his ultimate goal should be. He wanted to figure out the goal he should have in order for him to be able to fix the predicament his company is facing. Deep in thought, while having pizza and beer, he begins to realize that it would be money, income, profitability that would inch him towards turning around his company and making it a successful business. Having a clear direction on where to go, Mr. Rogo sits with the group in the sixth chapter. It was in this chapter, they checked on the financial statements of the company. After evaluating the financial statements, the group was able to pinpoint that the return of investment is very low while the operating and investment expenses greatly needed improvement. In order for this improvement to take place, the company must increase profit to ensure increased return of investment and sufficient cash flow. To achieve this, Mr. Rogo ponders in the seventh chapter on how he will be able to make changes. Based on the initial evaluation his Finance group advised him, he will need to find a way to make sure he would be able to increases the monies that would flow within the company without increasing costs. He then decides to look for Jonah to learn more about how he can save the company especially since Jonah seemed to know so much about UniCo. In the eighth chapter, Mr. Rogo was able to talk to Jonah. It was in this chapter wherein Jonah educated him about three important concepts he must understand before he tries to implement new changes within the company. These three concepts include throughput, operational expenses and inventory levels. Jonah defined throughput as the rate of which a process is able to produce sales revenue from sales volume. He defined inventory to be the monetary asset within the system that needs to be sold in order for cash to pour in. Jonah also defined operational expense as the money spent to turn raw materials and all other resources into throughput. In the ninth chapter, Mr. Rogo discovered that robots and machines that were being used within the company are not efficient assets. Instead of the machines being able to solve cost reduction programs and bring down costs, it was doing quite the opposite bring bringing costs up. With this in mind, he gives his first direction by using these machines in other areas of the plant. In the tenth chapter, Mr. Rogo discussed the concepts he has learned from Jonah with Bob, Lou and Stacey, who represents Accounting, Inventory Control and Production Division. They discussed line-by-line how these concepts worked within the company and how it affected their profitability. The problem about the cost inefficiency of machine arose again, which made it even more urgent for them to discover how they can lower their costs without affecting other efficiencies within the plant. Since he was running out of ideas, Mr. Rogo decided to go to New York to have another talk with Jonah. Mr. Rogo arrived in New York in the eleventh chapter. It was in this chapter where he started telling Jonah about his dire situation at the plant. Jonah advised Mr. Rogo that he should not maintain a balanced plant. A balanced plant means that capacity is only enough for the demand of the market. If this is the case, then the company would be much closer to being bankrupt. Before they had ended the conversation, Jonah advised Mr. Rogo to look into the relationship of dependent events with statistical fluctuations and how these two things would affect his company. As soon as Mr. Rogo got back to his hometown in Chapter Twelve, he continued to face problems at home. His wife questioned his devotion to their family versus his devotion to the company. Because of the extra workload on this plate, his relationship with his life partner had suffered. It was a very grueling situation he was in. He had problems not only at work but at home as well. In the thirteenth chapter, Mr. Rogo goes on a camping trip and thought of what Jonah mentioned to him in their last meeting. It was during this trip that he understood the relationship of dependent events with statistical fluctuations. He was able to get this realization while he was hiking. The realization became clearer to Mr. Rogo in the next chapter. He now understood what Jonah was trying to point out. If importance would not be given to throughput, operational expenses and inventory levels, and if a balance plant will be maintained, inventory levels will decrease and operational expenditures will increase. In the fifteenth chapter, Mr. Rogo decided to do an experiment to test his realization. He assisted the lowest kids of the pack by carrying the kid’s backpack. Since the kid could walk faster, it did not delay the group. In effect, the group became faster and efficiency had been achieved. It was a good weekend for Mr. Rogo because his mind was open as all the realizations poured to his head. However, when he and his children got home in the sixteenth chapter, they found out that his wife—the mother of his children, had packed all her bags and left them without leaving word where she would go. She left because she was already angry with Mr. Rogo. As man and wife, they had an agreement that they were going to spend time together during that weekend; however, it didn’t push through because he had to go with his children on the camping trip. In the next chapter, Mr. Rogo relayed his realizations to his staff. During the cascade, it seemed as if his staff was not taking him seriously. They acted uninterested and bored until a new problem surfaced. There was another overdue order, which had not been delivered, which had to be met right away. In Chapter Eighteen, Mr. Rogo again talked to Jonah, who in turn briefed him about the difference of bottlenecks with non-bottlenecks. A bottleneck according to Jonah is when capacity meets demand or when capacity is less than the demand, while a non-bottleneck is the opposite, wherein capacity is more than demand. Jonah subtly suggested to Mr. Rogo that he should first fix the bottlenecks. In next chapter, as Jonah visited the plant, he pointed out to Mr. Rogo that he should improve capacity in the bottlenecks by using the machines more effectively. If machines would be used more efficiently, Mr. Rogo will be able to maintain correct inventory levels and will be able to decrease operational expenses. Jonah and Mr. Rogo went around the plant evaluating these machines, stopping at one area at a time, to evaluate the cost and efficiency of each machine. In Chapter Twenty, Mr. Rogo started working on what he and Jonah discussed. He had to make the bottlenecks efficient to the whole production process of the plant. He did this by first giving directions that the bottlenecks should only be used for overdue orders. In terms of ranking, production in bottlenecks should prioritize the most overdue orders to the most little overdue orders. It was also in this chapter wherein Mr. Rogo was able to talk to his wife about the problems they were going through. She had been residing in her parent’s home since she left Mr. Rogo’s house. In spite of being able to talk to her, she did not go back home with him. In Chapter Twenty, Mr. Rogo went back to work and focused his efforts on knowing how he can continually improve the process within the company. Since a system has been placed with regards to priority orders for bottlenecks, Mr. Rogo directed that to guide the workers about this change, there should be some sort of communication relaying the different areas of the bottlenecks. Mr. Rogo proposed and implemented the use of red and green tags to distinguish the bottleneck areas. The next chapter showed the success of this initiative. Mr. Rogo had received twelve orders and these were successfully delivered on time. Mr. Rogo, happy with how everything was turning well, pushed his production manager to continue what they started by evaluating more old machines and bottlenecks. Even if Mr. Rogo had tasted success, he still found that this was not enough. He still wanted to do more to change and improve the company. He wanted to make sure that the company would have constant returns in the long run. Another problem arose in the Twenty-Third Chapter, wherein delays in two bottlenecks were experienced. These bottlenecks transpired because the workers would not stay in place during the whole time. In order to maximize the workers, they were given directions to stay busy and move from one area to another. In order to solve this problem, Mr. Rogo directed that there would be a dedicated worker—foreman, who will watch over each bottleneck area. This was a good move in Rogo’s end because one of his foremen was able to bring a good idea to the table, which helped increase efficiency by another ten percent. The foreman also suggested that they should mix and match orders based on priority. With the changes implemented and the new system in place, Mr. Rogo found out in Chapter Twenty-Four that there were more bottlenecks that what they had expected, which continued to pose as problems. At the last same, there was decreasing inventory, which should not be happening. This puzzled Jonah, who agreed to go back to the plant to evaluate this phenomenon. In Chapter Twenty-Five, Jonah pointed out to Mr. Rogo that there were no bottlenecks in actuality. It only seemed that way because there was no balance between the bottlenecks and non-bottlenecks. Because of this evaluation, direction to modify the tags had been given by Mr. Rogo. In Chapter Twenty-Six, another suggestion was given to improve efficiency. According to one of his staff, they could do this by creating a schedule with the bottlenecks. Even Jonah agreed that this would enable the bottlenecks to keep busy and run efficiently without causing setbacks on costs and time. Another meeting with Mr. Peaches transpired in the twenty-seventh chapter. This was the day Mr. Rogo had been waiting for. Mr. Rogo reported the improvements and negotiated for the company to continue running. The meeting was concluded with the agreement Mr. Peaches would not close down the plant if Mr. Rogo will be able to improve margins by another fifteen percent. In Chapter Twenty-Eight, Mr. Rogo anxiously spoke to Jonah once again. Jonah informs him in this chapter that he will be unavailable in the next few weeks. Mr. Rogo asks Jonah how he should reach the objective Mr. Peaches had challenged him to achieve. Jonah, his old professor, suggested that he lessen the batch production size by fifty percent. This would be beneficial to the company because this implementation would ensure lesser lead times and would reduce the costs by fifty percent as well. In Chapter Twenty-Nine, Mr. Rogo became successful by doing what Jonah advised. He was able to deliver one thousand products by cutting the batch sizes and shipping 25% each week. The customer was so happy that he made a personal appearance at the plant. The customer even went to the extent of shaking hands with everybody visible in the plan, and to top it all, he handed UniCo a contract for ten thousand orders. In effect, this was ninety percent more orders than the initial one. Because of this achievement, Mr. Rogo got promoted to hold Mr. Peaches position in Chapter Thirty-One. However, with bigger responsibilities, there are bigger problems especially since he will be managing not only one plant but three plants. Again, Mr. Rogo had to consult with Jonah once again. In Chapter Thirty-Two, Mr. Rogo finally got to converse with his wife over dinner. It was during dinner both husband and wife talked about the situation at work and how Mr. Rogo was faring. At the end of the conversation, the couple decided that the best way to go about the problem in Mr. Rogo’s office is to call Jonah once again to ask for help. Mr. Rogo should seek advice from Jonah on how he can influence other people to use the same process UniCo has been using to turn around the business. In the next chapter, Mr. Rogo brought together his staff to discuss what is needed in order to solve Division’s problems and issues. At the meeting, he was puzzled why his production manager didn’t want to take part of this new project. Mr. Rogo was happy though that his accountant, who was supposed to retire soon, would still be able to help him. He needed his staff to successfully achieve his new objectives. In Chapter Thirty-Four, Mr. Rogo continued to be anxious about the next steps he will take. It was in this chapter that he shows importance to the people that were under him since he started his mission in turning UniCo around. He started implementing a daily meeting with them to evaluate all the issues that needed to be fixed. He needed all of them since it was going to be a grueling undertaking to handle his new workload. He needed all the help he could get. In the second meeting in Chapter Thirty-Five, the topic revolved around the periodic table of elements, which inspired them since the scientists started on scratch and was able to produce the table of periodic elements in an orderly fashion. They realized that they must all understand how order can be placed within the Division. It was in Chapter Thirty-Six wherein they were able to identify how they can implement order. They would be able to do this by first identifying all the bottlenecks. Once they know the issues, they would be able to turn into opportunities. Aside from knowing the issues, they must know the issues under the main issues. Knowing all of this will enable them to evaluate the bottlenecks as efficiently as possible. The last step they identified was going back to repeat step one if something goes haywire with a bottleneck. This process was further revised or somehow reworded in Chapter Thirty-Seven. It was in this chapter that they found out the bottlenecks have been producing excess orders just to keep the machines busy. Because they were able to point this out, they were able to improve capacity by twenty percent. In Chapter Thirty-Eight, Mr. Rogo found out how he can further improve sales volume and profitability of his division. He came out with the idea to sell the Division’s products in Europe at a cheaper gross selling price. If they would be able to achieve this, they would earn additional income from a new market. In Chapter Thirty-Nine, Mr. Rogo is faced with another problem. The additional orders they have accepted were causing more trouble than good as it created more bottlenecks. He sat down with his staff once again and evaluated how they could fix it. They decided that they would increase the inventory levels and mandate sales not to commit to shipping orders in the next four weeks. This would cause a strain between Production and the Sales Group, however, they had to implement it to ensure balance within the company. In the last chapter, Mr. Rogo no longer needs Jonah to ask him questions, as he is now able to ask his own questions. As he poses the questions to himself, he realizes that he has finally answered Jonah’s main question. Wanting change, knowing what to change and the steps to achieve that change is key to successful management of a business. Reference: Goldratt, E. M. , Cox, J. (1994). The Goal A Process of Ongoing Improvement. New York: North River Press.

Mosquito Trapper Using Sugar and Yeast Essay Example for Free

Mosquito Trapper Using Sugar and Yeast Essay I. Problem (Question) How to prevent mosquito bites and sickness like Dengue that we can get from mosquitoes? How can we prevent spread of mosquitoes in our house without buying with high-priced electric mosquito killer lamps, insect killer racket or any other device that is too pricy for killing insects and mosquitoes? II. Title Mosquito Trapper Using Sugar And Yeast III. Introduction Our group observed that many people especially children are prone in getting sickness from mosquitoes and may suffer sickness like Dengue and Malaria that may lead to death. Our group also observed that we can create a mosquito trapper and also a mosquito killer using recycled and improvised materials. In this, we can save more money and it is safer to use than mosquito killer lamps, insect killer racket, mosquito coil, mosquito sprays and other mosquito or insect killers that are not safe with children. Our idea of a mosquito trapper using sugar and yeast may be dirty and unpleasant to see in our front yards, but as mentioned, it is safe and is cheap. It is also easy to create it and we can save more of our money instead of buying electric mosquito or insect killer devices. IV. Materials Water, Brown sugar, Yeast, 2-liter or 1.5 liter bottle, Scissors, Tape, Black cover (optional) V. Procedure Cut the bottle in half. Mix brown sugar with hot water and cool it down. Pour it in the bottom half of the bottle and add the yeast (do not mix it). Place the funnel part, upside down, into the other half of the bottle and tape it together if desired. We can also wrap the bottle with something black (mosquitoes are also attracted or drawn to the color black), leaving the top uncovered and place it outside in an area away from your normal gathering area.

Influences of Organisational Culture on Social Care

Influences of Organisational Culture on Social Care Explain How Different Aspects of Organisational Culture, Including Communication and Leadership, Influence Service Provision in Social Care Organisational culture, a theoretical model of business practice, may also used to understand the systems and behaviour of other organisations, in particular the application of organisational culture theory to the understanding of social work practice. This model of business attempts to understand the positive and negative development of an organisation, through conscious and unconscious processes, and how these elements assist or limit the people within the organisation. Applying the principles of organisational culture theory to an environment which is essentially client-focussed is not straightforward, but provides social care theorists with both a way to understand barriers and limitations within the system, and the way that the principles of the organisation is applied to service provision; it may also offer a key to implementing practice reforms and changing the structure of social service organisation from within. By interpreting the social care system through this business mo del, it is possible to avoid the limitations which hinder better practice within social work. As this essay is based upon the terminology of Organisational Culture Theory, it is necessary to begin with a brief introduction to the theory, highlighting its concerns, and considering how this term relates to current understanding of organisational models. After this explanation, the essay will then consider each of the most important terms within organisational culture theory, including leadership, communication, and motivation. These terms will then be used to describe the aspects of organisational culture as they affect the provision of services within social care. A conclusion will discuss the relevance of organisational culture theory to social work, finishing with the consideration of how this business model is being used to alter the way in which social services are practiced, and the values which are utilised by social care. Organisational culture, the â€Å"set of beliefs, values and meanings that are shared by members of an organization† (Austin and Claassen, 2008, 349), is most often understood to refer to the practices and behaviours of a business organization. The term â€Å"Organisational culture† is not easily defined, despite its frequent usage, and theorists have therefore tended to outline the term according to their own interests. Attempts to clarify the meaning of ‘organisational culture† began in 1954: â€Å"The culture of industrial groupsfrom class origins, occupational and technical sources, the atmosphere of the factory which forms their background and finally from the specific experiences of the small informal group† (J. Brown, quoted in Anderson-Wallace and Blantern, page 3). This term highlights the importance of social bonding in creation of an organisational culture, which serves to unite a company around a common world view. Andrew Brown is one of m any authors who have noted that the same organisation can have different organisational cultures in different countries, reflecting a difference in the social cultures of those companies: â€Å"These differences are most striking when they were detected in the subsidiary companies of the same multinational organisation, because they seemed to suggest that national cultural differences may help shape organisational design and behaviour at a local level† (Brown, 1995, page 2). Later, organisational culture would be more extensively defined by both Brown and Edgar Schein: these two works will be the basis of the remainder of this essay. It is important to note the essential elements of organisational culture theory: that this culture consists of social and localised beliefs about the operation of the business; these beliefs, or mythology, may bind a company together to the extent that it becomes isolated from outside ‘reality’: Brown uses the example of Philips Elec tronics: â€Å"Philips’ cultural inclination to define truth and reality according to its technological bias has led critics to charge that it is complacent, lethargic, inward-looking and risk adverse† (Brown, page 29). He also notes that critics considered the internal culture a definite factor in the economic failure of the business. Brown’s work is a general guide to organisational culture, and offers three main sources of culture within a business: â€Å"The societal or national culture within which an organisation is physically situated† – which might be one reason why multinationals operating in many countries often have a number of organisational cultures; â€Å"The vision, management style and personality of an organisation’s founder or other dominant leader† – leadership and the mythology of prominent leaders being an important influence on the culture of a business; and â€Å"the type of business an organisation conducts and the nature of its business environment† – one would not expect social care to develop the same organisational culture as a company such as Shell or Cadburys (two businesses mentioned by Brown). Schein’s work describes similar factors in a rather more abstract manner. He uses the terms ‘artifacts’, ‘expressed values’, and ‘basic assumptions’ to describe organisational culture. Schein sees artifacts as including all the tangible aspects of a culture – language, surroundings, technology and â€Å"The visible behavior of the group and the organizational processes into which such behavior is made routine† (Schein, 1992, page 17). These are the aspects most observable to outside researcher, although Schein notes that â€Å"It is especially dangerous to try to infer the deeper assumptions from artifacts alone because one’s interpretations will inevitably be projections of one’s own feelings and reactions† (Schein, page 18). Espoused values may help the researcher to better understand the culture; some of these values later become assumptions: â€Å"Only values that are susceptible to physical or soci al validation and that continue to work reliablywill become transferred into assumptions† (Schein, page 20). Consciously espoused values may provide a clue to the basic assumptions of a group; alternatively, they may not: â€Å"One must discriminate carefully between those that are congruent with underlying assumptions and those that are, in effect, either rationalizations or only aspirations† (Schein, page 21). Basic Assumptions are, in essence, what lies beneath; these assumptions are those held subconsciously by an organisation: â€Å"If a basic assumption is strongly held in a group, members will find behavior based on any other premise inconceivable[they] actually guide behaviortell group members how to perceive, think about, and feel about things† (Schein, page 22). With this understanding of basic organisational culture theory, it is now possible to consider in greater detail a number of subjects which are influenced by this culture: motivation, leadership, and communication. Motivation: Business theory is greatly concerned with the motivation of employees, and a strong organisational culture is considered essential to this. â€Å"Most organisations make strenuous attempts to motivate their employeesan appropriate and cohesive culture can offer employees a focus of identification and loyalty† (Brown, page 90). A positive organisational culture has a beneficial effect upon the motivation of the workforce, encouraging staff retention, high performance, and the intake of recent graduates; employees may also experience a better quality of life, or at least working life, avoiding stress-related illness. By contrast, a negative culture may result in loss of motivation, high staff turnaround, workers entering employment with fewer skills or qualifications, and low performance. Leadership: Leadership, particularly charismatic leaders and company founders, have a profound impact upon the organisational culture of a business. Founders, of course, by creating the business, â€Å"usually have a major impact on how the group initially defines and solves its external adaptation and internal integration problemsFounderstypically have strong assumptions about the nature of the world, the role that organizations play in that world, the nature of human nature and relationships [and] how truth is arrived at† (Schein, page 213). The creation of the company is usually the beginning of its organisational culture and basic assumptions; and while the espoused values may change, the unconscious basic assumptions may extend back to the foundation of the business. Founders and later leaders are often charismatic, and their decisions may not be challenged directly: â€Å"The emerging culture will then reflect not only the leader’s assumptions but the complex int ernal accommodations created by subordinates† (Schein, 230). The charismatic leader’s personal style will also lead to the development of a mythology. These stories are vitally important in the maintenance of an organisational culture. Communication: The effective communication of ideas is essential in organisations, and often progress can be hampered through poor communication; Schein describes the development of production engineering: â€Å"Without it, engineering often designs things that cannot be built or are too expensiveEngineering is likely to perceive production as lazy and unimaginative, while production perceives engineering to be unrealistic† (Schein, 258). Organisational culture can affect communication, for example in hospitals, where â€Å"Most were discovered to suffer from a dearth of worthwhile formal communication channels† (Brown, 281). An organisational culture which avoids communicating new ideas will undoubtedly make profound mistakes and fail to co-operate. It is possible to see these aspects in the influence of organisational culture upon social care, and particularly how the provision of care is directly affected by leadership, communication, and motivational ideas. As Anderson-Wallace and Blantern explain, the perception of the recipient of care has a basic assumption (unchallenged), as its base: â€Å"One cultural artefact is an emphasis on an assessment of the individual client within their wider social environment. This is underpinned by the espoused value of the importance of a dialogue between practitioner and client. The underlying assumption is of the independent nature of the client in active negotiation with the practitioner.† (Anderson-Wallace and Blantern, page 8.) The basic assumption also reveals that the emphasis is upon the client, rather than upon the care worker. In such circumstances, it would not be surprising to see care workers being de-motivated; active participation is limited to the client, lessening th e need for effective communication, and also the possibility of blaming the client for errors; against this latter lays the practice of holding social services responsible for all errors in service provision. Motivation is a major problem in social service, revealed through high turnover, poor quality of working life, and work-related illnesses such as stress: â€Å"stress is more common amongst social workers than either the general population or health care workers, due to the sensitivity and responsiveness to the difficult problems presented by clients which their work requires† (Ramon and Morris, 2004, page 7). As noted above, lack of motivation provision within organisational culture not only results in all the complications described here, but is also connected to low job performance. Here, the organisational culture influences service provision in a negative manner, by creating a culture of de-motivation, where the care worker feels impotent: â€Å"The statements indicate the relationships between experiencing stress, level of control, autonomy and flexibility within their job or role† (Ramon and Morris, page 8). There are also conflicting social cultures within the w ider environment which contribute to this absence of motivation: the western world generally emphasises self-help and chastises those who are dependent upon government assistance: â€Å"A further layer was poor morale, associated with an inquiry on child protection (a feature shared with a number of similar departments), and the experience of a culture which tended to view stress as reflecting individual weakness† (Ramon and Morris, 7, but also visible in the wider media). There is in fact very little evidence for leadership as part of organisational culture within the social services, although some research has suggested that leadership culture within social care may be negative: â€Å"This vindication of the pessimistic view of the team leaders group highlights the defensiveness of some senior managers of social services departments who view constructive criticism as an affront† (Ramon and Morris, 19). The account of leadership culture within the social care department suggests an organisation that emphasises leadership above productivity and worker satisfaction – other parts of the essay note staff complaining about impolite and inconsiderate leadership styles. Despite an espoused value of worker importance, the basic assumption appears to be that leadership is most valued, and criticism by lower staff members is not acceptable. Poor communication culture lies at the heart of social care training. Ramon and Morris note â€Å"Improved communication between management and staff† as one of the goals of their research (Ramon and Morris, page 10), suggesting at the very least that the organisation culture of the social services is one of negligence towards communications, other sections of their essay suggest that communication is exceedingly poor â€Å"Poor communication and consultation within the organisational culture was identified as the major cause for stress,. As noted above, this can seriously affect performance, in this instance service provision† (Ramon and Morris, 19). In the following example, the necessary NVQ was preceded by a questionnaire upon the values of the workers involved; these reveal quite different values from those of the NVQ modules – an emphasis upon personal quality of life offered by the workers is altered to education on health care and understanding of residen t’s social issues. â€Å"Almost without exception, role development was identified as impor ­tant; most viewed this to be within the care sector at a higher grade or entering nurse training. Significantly, male staff perceived their role pro ­gression to be to that of care home manager or owner† (Winter and Meehan, 2004, page 6) While most of the workers described personal lives as more important or as important as work, and valued honesty and equal opportunities for staff, instead, emphasis was placed upon NVQs with modules such as â€Å"Fostering people’s equality, diversity and rights†, where the focus was upon the residents’ needs rather than staff equality. Training within the NVQ did not cater for male staff’s ambitions, or for personal quality of life. Here we can see Social Care with a series Espoused Values (care and motivation of staff; better staff retention; valuing employees) which contradict the actions of the area, with it s emphasis upon residential equality and the gaining of IT skills, suggesting that the Basic Assumptions do not match – the basic assumptions might be â€Å"care of the residents is more important than staff satisfaction† and â€Å"IT training will improve motivation and help retention†, or even â€Å"training will improve the care given†. It is worth noting that, while 92% of staff thought the NVQ training would improve motivation, only 50% thought it would improve staff retention – one of the stated aims of the training. Emphasis upon training therefore appears to bear little correlation to workers’ performance; it also does not appear to have improved the motivation or turnover of care staff. The purpose of this essay has been to consider how organisational culture influences the provision of services within social care. One thing that has become clear from this research is that the organisational culture of social services relies heavily upon charismatic leadership to develop the stated values of the department. However, the culture also places limitations upon staff criticisms of leaders, meaning that desirable change may be limited or even prevented: for instance, Michelle Johnson and Michael Austin have suggested that the organization culture of local social services contained barriers to the creation of evidence-based practice, including the fact that there was â€Å"Little history, culture or expectation that evidence is routinely and systematically used to underpin practice† (Austin and Johnson, 87). This problem is undoubtedly one of leadership culture preventing better evidence-based practice from being developed. A secondary problem is that of communicati ons – as Ramon and Morris noted, official communication was resented, being seen as an imposition from above (page 19), and there was limited value placed within the culture for cross-company consultation. These details may seem to relate only to staff members, but clearly they have a role in the outcome of service provision to clients or residents. The lack of motivation experienced by staff members, including stress and feelings of impotence, impact the service they offer to clients, particularly when the unconscious assumption is that these clients are both ‘independent’ of the care provider, and under the control of that same provider. Leadership issues prevent the adequate solving of problems – the basic assumptions of the group meaning that challenges to senior management are dismissed, or regarded as an affront to the leadership. This assumption has prevented the adoption of beneficial policies within the workplace, and has probably limited schemes which would also have aided service provision. Communication between departments within the social services has been justly criticised in the past, and it is clear that a problematic relationship with senior manage ment is also indicative of problems in communication, data being rejected by staff members if it appears to come from management. All of these actions reveal the unconscious assumptions of social workers, both towards colleagues and towards their clients. The application of organisational culture theory to social care offers an opportunity to better understand the role that basic assumptions and values take in the provision of services to clients. Attempts to create a more evidence-based practice have emphasised the importance of a corresponding change in the culture of social work, offering an alternative to the problematic assumptions which can be found in the current organisation’s culture and practice. Works Cited Anderson-Wallace, Murray, and Chris Blantern (2005) â€Å"Working with Culture† in Organisational Development in Healthcare Peck, Edward (ed) Radcliffe Publishing, 2005. Austin, Michael J, and Jennette Claassen (2008) â€Å"Impact of organizational culture: implications for introducing evidence-based practice† Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work Volume 5 no 1-2 (2008) pp. 321-359 Austin, Michael J, and Michelle Johnson (2006) â€Å"Evidence-based practice in the Social Services: Implications for Organizational Change† Administration in Social Work Volume 30, no 3 (2006) pp 75-104 Brown, Andrew (1998) Organisational Culture Essex, Pearson Education Ltd Schein, Edgar H (1992) Organisational Culture and Leadership San Francisco, Jossey-Bass Publishers. Ramon, Shulamit and Lana Morris (2004) â€Å"Responding to perceived stress in a social services department: applying a participative strategy† retrieved 13/09/2008 from http://www.britsoc.co.uk/user_doc/Morris.pdf Winter, Jane, and Lyn Meehan (2004) â€Å"The value of integrated workforce planning across the local health and social care economy: a case study† Clinical Governance Bulletin Volume 5, no. 2 Jul 2004 pp 6-8

Television and Media - Black Entertainment Television :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

The Road of Black Entertainment Television The media is all around us, influencing most of our thoughts and buying habits. Most of the media bases its shows towards many diverse demographics as to bring in the most viewers to watch commercials between the show content. But some of the channels are demographic specific advertising directly to a single group in hopes of banking the entire future of a network on that single group. One channel has been extremely successful in this risky business venture, BET. BET stands for "Black Entertainment Television". If not all, then at least 75% of all commercials are made up of an all black cast. Many of these commercials follow the same exact script as others with an all white or mixed cast. Companies are doing a very smart thing in doing this duel advertising for all other networks and channels and BET. Historically and culturally, the majority of blacks support black businesses. The slight perception that a company is black friendly will earn that company several millions of dollars more in profits. Denny's long had the national perception to blacks across the nation as being racist when it came to being seated, the time to get an order placed after being seated, and the time to get the order after it was placed. Several civil rights leaders urged all blacks to boycott Denny's. After Denny's claimed that it was never and had never practiced racist tactics, Denny's produced a new commercial, one that featured an all black cast and it was run on BET. There haven't been any more complaints since. BET had probably played a large part of dissuading the racist views that were perceived during the time before the commercial had aired. BET also markets some shows directly to the black audience, especially their main target, the black male middle-middle class to the low-middle class. "Comic View" is a nightly stand-up comedy show that features black comics. Sometimes there is another minority on stage (Asian, Hispanic, etc.) but the majority of the time there are black comics on stage.

Descriptive Essay - The Football Practice Field -- Descriptive Essay, D

The Beauty of the Football Practice Field Imagine a small town with green trees and windy roads slowly fading into the "dobes" of the desert that surround its southern border. Along with the desert is a vast mountain range that snuggles against its northern and eastern borders. The heart of this small town is its high school, which resides on the outer edge of the town where the green stops and the dry "dobes" begin. The school is completely surrounded by dry plains that stretch as far as you can see except for a small oasis of green grass. This small oasis of grass is known to many as the practice field. To those who are merely passing by, it looks like a dying piece of land that has been forgotten. What they don't know is the reason behind its dreadful appearance. The abuse it takes is from the pounding of hard spikes and heavy bodies that fall on it day in and day out. These, along with the pungent pools of water, have contributed to the field's downfall. Although it is a great sight seeing a patch of green amongst such dry plains and rolling "dobes", the most exciting v...

Generation and Culture in Doce cuentos peregrinos Essay -- Garcia Marq

  Ã‚  Ã‚   An enormous sea serpent nailed by the neck to the door frame is also nailed at the beginning of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "El verano felà ­z de la Seà ±ora Forbes" from his novel "Doce cuentos peregrinos." This short story is an eloquent representation of the unconscious state of mind of dominance in which the result of previous concepts of life and costumes achieved are just vague figures trying to make up a non-abstract drawing that represent power. Generations and cultures are being confronted, characteristic of a dense ambient in which two different manners of applying the rules of society provoke an ironic reaction of rebellion that apply to a macrocosm. The title means "Miss Forbes's summer of happiness." The time of the year, the island surrounded by the dark blue sea, together with Miss Forbes's summer, narrate the environment in which the story is developed. The house is very small, and this helps to increase the tension that prevails from the start of the stor y to the end. There is a lot of repression. Many of the things are overwhelmed with rightness to agree with the normal kind of person that is used to live in an open society free of all kinds of discrepancies and orthodox methods of life. "Negra y fosforecente" (189) is the first impression that the story gives to the reader. This anticipates the darkness and at the same time vivid aspect that the story is going to have by describing the sea serpent on the door. The intense terror of seeing the "animal crucificado" (189) turns to a bigger matter that is entitled as the beginning of the long journey of hell that society is living in. The younger kid thinks that the moray "Tenà ­a ojos de gente" (191). He was still frightened; he saw the antecedents and consequenc... ...en once the rebellion took place. A courageous society takes all responsibility from its back whenever a major level goes down. As Garcia Marquez suggests, this determines a stabilized level of power where distinctions are to be created again to be taken to a macrocosm, and prove that rules, even in the highest level of hierarchy may be mistaken or not proper to the generation or culture that the society is living in.    Works Cited and Consulted Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Doce cuentos peregrinos. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1992. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Strange Pilgrims: Twelve stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Trans. Edith Grossman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993. Molinario, Nina L. Foucault, feminism and power: Reading Esther Tusquets. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press; London; Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1991. Generation and Culture in Doce cuentos peregrinos Essay -- Garcia Marq   Ã‚  Ã‚   An enormous sea serpent nailed by the neck to the door frame is also nailed at the beginning of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "El verano felà ­z de la Seà ±ora Forbes" from his novel "Doce cuentos peregrinos." This short story is an eloquent representation of the unconscious state of mind of dominance in which the result of previous concepts of life and costumes achieved are just vague figures trying to make up a non-abstract drawing that represent power. Generations and cultures are being confronted, characteristic of a dense ambient in which two different manners of applying the rules of society provoke an ironic reaction of rebellion that apply to a macrocosm. The title means "Miss Forbes's summer of happiness." The time of the year, the island surrounded by the dark blue sea, together with Miss Forbes's summer, narrate the environment in which the story is developed. The house is very small, and this helps to increase the tension that prevails from the start of the stor y to the end. There is a lot of repression. Many of the things are overwhelmed with rightness to agree with the normal kind of person that is used to live in an open society free of all kinds of discrepancies and orthodox methods of life. "Negra y fosforecente" (189) is the first impression that the story gives to the reader. This anticipates the darkness and at the same time vivid aspect that the story is going to have by describing the sea serpent on the door. The intense terror of seeing the "animal crucificado" (189) turns to a bigger matter that is entitled as the beginning of the long journey of hell that society is living in. The younger kid thinks that the moray "Tenà ­a ojos de gente" (191). He was still frightened; he saw the antecedents and consequenc... ...en once the rebellion took place. A courageous society takes all responsibility from its back whenever a major level goes down. As Garcia Marquez suggests, this determines a stabilized level of power where distinctions are to be created again to be taken to a macrocosm, and prove that rules, even in the highest level of hierarchy may be mistaken or not proper to the generation or culture that the society is living in.    Works Cited and Consulted Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Doce cuentos peregrinos. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1992. Garcia Marquez, Gabriel. Strange Pilgrims: Twelve stories by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Trans. Edith Grossman. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993. Molinario, Nina L. Foucault, feminism and power: Reading Esther Tusquets. Lewisburg: Bucknell University Press; London; Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1991.