Chastity essays

Chastity essays The video watched in class touched on some of my personal concerns as a human. I agree with almost everything discussed in the video. It was entertaining to listen to the perspectives of this couple. Fortunately, they succeeded and did change some of my opinions. Some points sounded very off the wall. Many things the man brought up sounded like a lie. Like when he talked about STDs all of the statistics sounded much too exaggerated. I have heard many statistics in this area and this one just sounded out of proportion. Also, they made going out on the weekends with friends sound wrong to do. I feel that that is a huge part of teenage life and without experimenting with your boundaries it would be hard to know who you are. It is necessary to know your boundaries as an individual whether it is sexual because this sets an establishment in your brain. It is up to the individual to do what they want sexually. But for me personally, my boundaries are set at a very reasonable place because I am a Catholic. Other points sounded reasonable. Although this video was a little overdone, it still influenced my opinions in a positive way. I used to not think so much about how far I go with girls, but now I have more respect for the girls I encounter. I feel I have put more value on the worth of my virginity. I also believe that many kids in our society today have no value on how far they go. This video is good for them because it scares the audience into doing anything sexual. I feel there are many problems in todays society, one of which is pornography. I am ashamed of the women who use their body for others entertainment. This just probably kills their self worth. Another problem is with girls these days that are so innocent and yet so susceptible to guys to give up their body. It is these girls that I feel this video is important for. They just place no worth on themselves and this just creates problems to all mayhem fro...

5 Cases of Excessive Commas

5 Cases of Excessive Commas 5 Cases of Excessive Commas 5 Cases of Excessive Commas By Mark Nichol The rules about commas can seem so complicated and contradictory that writers can (almost) be forgiven for tossing in an extra one or two. Here are several examples of overly generous deployment of commas. 1. â€Å"If a killer asteroid was, indeed, incoming, a spacecraft could, in theory, be launched to nudge the asteroid out of Earth’s way, changing its speed and the point of intersection.† This thirty-word sentence is littered with six commas one for every five words five of them appearing before the halfway point. By simply bending the rule about bracketing interjections with commas a rule that advocates of open punctuation flout routinely anyway the number is reduced by two, rendering the sentence more free flowing: â€Å"If a killer asteroid was indeed incoming, a spacecraft could, in theory, be launched to nudge the asteroid out of Earth’s way, changing its speed and the point of intersection.† One more comma can be eliminated by relocating the parenthetical phrase â€Å"in theory† to an earlier position in the sentence, so that the comma after incoming does double duty: â€Å"If a killer asteroid was indeed incoming, in theory, a spacecraft could be launched to nudge the asteroid out of Earth’s way, changing its speed and the point of intersection.† 2. â€Å"The metaphor, ‘The world is a machine,’ began to replace the metaphor, ‘The world is a living organism.’† In this sentence, the comma preceding each instance of metaphor implies that that metaphor is the only one not just in the sentence, but anywhere. (But two metaphors are expressed here, and innumerable others exist.) Metaphor, appearing in apposition to the two brief quotations, should not be set off from them: â€Å"The metaphor ‘The world is a machine’ began to replace the metaphor ‘The world is a living organism.’† 3. â€Å"The event is part of a catchy, public health message about the importance of emergency preparedness.† Catchy and â€Å"public health† are not coordinate adjectives. The point is not that the message is catchy and public health; it’s that the public health message is catchy. Therefore, no comma is necessary: â€Å"The event is part of a catchy public health message about the importance of emergency preparedness.† If, by contrast, the sentence read, for example, â€Å"The event is part of a catchy, quirky message about the importance of emergency preparedness,† note that because catchy and quirky are parallel they are coordinate adjectives a comma should separate them. 4. â€Å"The report was completed in December, 2012.† A comma is necessary between a month and a year only if a date is specified (â€Å"The report was completed on December 1, 2012†): â€Å"The report was completed in December 2012.† (The same rule applies when the name of a season appears in place of the name of a month: â€Å"The report was completed in fall 2012.†) 5. â€Å"Jones traveled by boxcar from California to New York with fellow fledgling artist, John Smith, sketching the American landscape along the way.† Commas are necessary with this type of apposition only if the epithet is preceded by an article (â€Å"Jones traveled by boxcar from California to New York with a fellow fledgling artist, John Smith, sketching the American landscape along the way†): â€Å"Jones traveled by boxcar from California to New York with fellow fledgling artist John Smith sketching the American landscape along the way.† Unfortunately, this type of error has gone viral its ubiquity is mistaken for propriety and is seemingly ineradicable. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" 8 Types of Parenthetical Phrases7 Sound Techniques for Effective Writing

Islam Faith and History By Mahmoud M.Ayoub Assignment

Islam Faith and History By Mahmoud M.Ayoub - Assignment Example The haay is where a man or woman belongs to and not the ‘family.’ Thus, child-rearing, indoctrination to culture, and gender roles are the responsibility of the tribe. This is due partly to survival since most societies lived a nomadic lifestyle. Thus, it is crucial that families band together for mutual interests. The role of men is crucial because they are seen as the provider and protector. Women on the other hand are deemed as liability or the weak link because the tribes’ honor hinges on the honor of its girls and women. And because there is a high-value placed on female honor, it is a necessity to employ force protection. This is done one, by infanticide. The tribe would burry one or several of its female infants alive. And second, provides protection against capture and forced concubinage. Ergo, women are not just burdens but are liabilities to the tribe as well. Another way to which women are ensured of protection is through marriage. Marriage in pre-Islamic society has two types—Sadiqah and Ba’l. Sadiqah marriages are based on female kinship. As such, the man could either pay a Sadaq which is given to the bride during the time of marriage or a mahr which is a negotiated gift between the man and the bride’s tribe that would be given to her parents or closest relative. Once the bride price is settled, the woman has to consent on the marriage before it could take effect. There are two types of Sadiqah marriages: the mut’an or temporary marriage which is undertaken solely for the purpose of desire or pleasure and bina which is a permanent union. In bina, the bride remains under the protection of her tribe and the husband would only come for conjugal visits but is free from the liability of taking care of his wife and children. As such children of Sadiqah unions are the responsibility of the mother’s tribe. The ba’l marriage on the other hand is based on

Stock Valuation and Behavioral Finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Stock Valuation and Behavioral Finance - Essay Example Following formula is used to estimate the price of the stock using dividend growth model: Growth of the stock is calculated using the dividends paid by Shell since 2008 and it is shown in the appendix 1. Discount rate is calculated using the CAPM equation which is as follows: Rf = 4% Rm = 0.59% B = 0.078 So, using the above equations Re is found to be 3.9997% So, the price of the stock using the values identified is 84.86 The current price of shares of Shell is 2,246.5 however the estimated price is 84.86 which is well below. Price to Earnings (P/E) Ratio is the other technique used to estimate the price (Gitman, 2003). Price to earnings ratio is the market price of the company with the earnings per share. The higher value of P/E ratio shows that the investors are paying more for per unit of income they are getting from the share and it can be said that the stock is more expensive (McLaney, 2009). To estimate the price, earnings per share is taken from the annual report of Shell. Pri ce 2,246.50 EPS 4.98 P/E Ratio 451.104 So the price is 2,246.50 and PE is 451.1. However, if the estimated price is considered to calculate the PE ratio then it is 17.04 P/E ratio of the company is very high and it indicates that the shares of Shell are very expensive. However important reasons for this would be that Shell is an important player in the market and investors are eyeing stocks of Shell for investment purpose, so with higher demand the price of Shell’s stock is high. Part 2 – Individual Investors and Sophisticated Investors There are different techniques and valuation methods that investors use to estimate the price of the stock and then make their investment decision. Not all the techniques would give the same kind of results; however these techniques are helpful in giving a signal or a hint to the investors. Investors have different aspects and factors to consider while making the investment decision. Investors have different socio-economic background, q ualification, believe, emotions. Moreover, differences in race and age of investors also influence the investment decision and therefore the decision of one investor could differ from other investor and this has been the main role of behavior finance i.e. to define and discuss why people are not only concerned about the market decisions but they have their own perception and opinion and judgment as well while making the investment decision. Behavior finance has been defined as the study of how people understand and take actions on the financial information they have in making investment decisions (Simon, 1987). Every investor would like to earn higher return on his investment however he or she needs to define his or her risk tolerance level, goals of the investment and other factors that could influence the decision. Different investment and stock valuation techniques are used by investors and it is up to the investor to choose which technique he or she would like to use to make the investment decisions. Some would prefer using PE ratio whereas others would like to use PEG ratio. Some would fancy going for Gordon Growth Model whereas others would like to analyse the previous price and identify the ‘hi and low prices’ and believe that the stock price would go in the same way as in the last few years. Even after using different techniq

Strip Searches in Schools Essay Example for Free

Strip Searches in Schools Essay The Fourth Amendment is an essential part of the United States Constitution. It grants all United States citizens the right to not have illegal searches and seizures brought against them. With this being said, the most recent debate of the Fourth Amendment has occurred in the United States Public School Systems. Many kids and adults feel that students should have the same rights under the Constitution when attending school as they do when they are out. However, many school officials believe that to keep schools safe, it is essential to bend the rules a little bit. This paper will discuss the debate that is raging in schools, look at recent cases involving the Fourth Amendment and schools, and give my personal view on the Fourth Amendment in schools. The debate that is currently raging in public schools, is whether or not kids in public schools, can be strip searched or not. This has many parents up in arms, because they feel like this violates their children’s safety, as well as, their Fourth Amendment rights. The issue of the Fourth Amendment in schools was never really an issue, until the shooting at Columbine High School in April of 1999. This massacre really put an emphasis on security in schools. With this being said, many schools started to gear towards random locker searches and back pack searches. They never took it to the extreme of strip searches. However, with the recent school shooting at Virginia Tech and with the most recent massacre in Aurora, Colorado, many schools have stepped up their security even more. School officials are scared of having a massacre at their school. So by being over protective, they believe they can prevent one from happening. The debate has begun to surface and be more recognized because parents believe that strip searches are too far. When it comes to their children, most parents are very protective and do not want their children violated in any way. With this introduction of strip searches into public schools, many parents believe the schools, as well as, the school officials, have taken it too far and believe this is a direct violation of their children’s Fourth Amendment rights. However, as we have discussed in class, when a parent drops their child off at school, the school assumes parenting rights of the child for that amount of time. This idea is known as Parens Patriae, or â€Å"taking the role of the parent†. School officials argue that this idea gives them the right to search the kids as intrusively as needed, if they believe it will help protect other students and staff. People against this, such as Dennis D. Parker, say, â€Å"The disastrous effects of overly intrusive searches in schools are only underscored by the availability of alternatives, which are more effective in creating safe environments and encouraging participation and learning by all students in schools† (Parker, 2010). Some parents however, do not mind all of the searches. They believe that it is keeping their children safe at school and that strip searches only happen on rare occasions. Many people are not raising an uproar over back-packs or lockers being searched. They are only fighting against the strip searches. The idea that their children are being â€Å"violated† has them scared. This idea can also be attributed to the recent spike in awareness of child sex-offenders. The media coverage of child sex-offenders in schools, churches, and other places, has the public scared. Many parents do not want their children being molested or raped by a school official. When parents hear the word â€Å"strip† they automatically think the worst. They do not want their child to become a victim of something heinous, such as sexual abuse. This debate has grown fierce. It has sparked many court cases that challenge public schools and whether or not they violate children’s Fourth Amendment rights by conducting strip searches. The most recent and well known case in the media is, Safford Unified School District No. 1 v. Redding. This court case spread across the nation like wildfire and eventually made it to the Supreme Court for review. The facts of the case are that a young 13 year old girl named Savana Redding, was forced to strip down to her bra and underwear and pull both undergarments away from her body. The school officials forced Redding to do this in an attempt to find prescription-strength ibuprofen, which is against school rules to possess and is treated as an illegal drug. The officials strip searched Redding because another student had stated that Redding had this â€Å"drug†. The officials did not find any drugs within her locker or back-pack and stated that they believed Redding was hiding the drugs on her person. The officials believed this constituted a strip search, because the school had a zero-tolerance policy for any type of drugs or violence, and in an effort to protect their students they had Redding searched. Many parents were outraged by what happened to Savana Redding, because they believed it could happen to their children as well. Redding along with her mother and the ACLU sued the school officials for violating her Fourth Amendment rights. This case reached national attention and finally reached the Supreme Court. After reaching the Supreme Court, the two sides battled and Redding was the victor. According to Laura Jarrett, â€Å"In a decision written by Justice Souter,5 the majority applied the T. L. O. standard to hold that the strip search in Savana Redding’s case violated the Fourth Amendment because it was unreasonable in its scope† (Jarrett, 2010). This case however, did not set precedent. Schools are allowed to strip search children as long as it is within a reasonable scope. This means that if a child is suspected of having a weapon of some sort, he/she may be strip searched in order to find it. However, in Savana Redding’s case, a few simple pills of ibuprofen, did not satisfy the reasonableness of a strip search, and thus violated Redding’s Fourth Amendment rights. This case has opened many people’s eyes to how much power our school officials actually wield. This puts many parents in a tough spot, because they do not want their children to be harmed or taken advantage of by school officials, but they want their children to be safe at school. More cases will be brought to court that deal with the issue of the Fourth Amendment in schools. My reaction to all of this is one that is filled with mixed emotions. As a student in college and as someone that grew up through these changes in the school system, I have seen the first hand effects of these new zero-tolerance policies. I grew up a military kid and moved from school to school every year. I attended four high schools and each one had a different policy and a new set of rules to follow. The first high school I attended forced us to wear uniforms, to eliminate gangs within our school and promote a â€Å"community of learning†. My first high school had metal detectors at the front doors and every kid had to walk through them. We had six school police officers that closely monitored all of the students. This measure of security was not fun to go through every day. It was very intimidating and time consuming, because there was only so many metal detectors. I do not believe these metal detectors, or police officers, helped keep our school any safer than they would have been without them. All these devices did, was intimidate you when you walked into a so-called â€Å"learning environment†. According to Parker, â€Å"Recognition that not all disciplinary policies are fair or effective and a requirement that any policies be reasonable represent a necessary first step for students who have not fared well historically in the education system† (Parker, 2010). My first high school obviously had not recognized that. My first high school, almost seemed like a jail. We wore uniforms, walked through metal detectors, police constantly watched us in the halls. According to Jessica R. Feierman and Riya S. Shah, â€Å"Confinement to a detention center or other juvenile institution places children outside the view of their families, friends, and the public, and subjects them to what Kenneth Wooden has called a deliberate â€Å"politics of secrecy,† hiding the conditions in juvenile institutions from the public eye† (Feierman and Shah, 2012). I believe not only was my first high school like this, but I also believe that more and more schools are trying to turn into institutions that monitor kids, instead of teach them. Children respond to relationships, not to intimidation. Along with this, I am conflicted, because I know that there is a need to keep our children safe in school. The world has proven to be a dangerous place, filled with dangerous people. The massacres at Columbine, Virginia Tech, Aurora, and others have shown us that we need protection. But I do not believe we need strip searches in schools. According to Diana R. Donahoe, â€Å"Studies have found children who have been subject to a strip search can be greatly traumatized by the experience† (Donahoe, 2012). We have enough problems with teachers having sex with their students, and even some molesting their students. By inserting this power into our schools, this will open up more lawsuits and could even lead to people losing their jobs if something was done improperly. According to Nicole L. Bracy, â€Å"Over the past several decades, public schools in the United States have been increasingly transformed into high security environments, complete with surveillance technologies, security forces, and harsh punishments† (Bracy, 2012). We teach our kids that school is fun and a great place to learn. However, when they grow up and get to school, they realize that school is really a moderate form of prison or jail. In our madness to protect our children, we have really just imprisoned them and taken away from the learning environment. Our schools have become too powerful. With the continued addition of power to our schools, we will have no control over what they can and cannot do. The Fourth Amendment is a vital part of our Constitution and we must protect it, whether that be in everyday life or in schools. This paper has discussed the debate that is raging in schools, looked at recent cases involving the Fourth Amendment and schools, and has given my personal view on the Fourth Amendment in schools. Without the Fourth Amendment protecting us, we are subject to illegal searches and seizures. Students deserve to be protected and not subject to strip searches in school. This issue is far from over and must be brought to the attention of the public, so we can stop the schools from gaining anymore power.

Report on Sonys Case Study

Report on Sonys Case Study Major Question: Outline evaluate Sonys strategic position at the end of the case study, including its management change. What strategic changes (if any) would you now recommend to Sonys management? Minor Question: Analyse Sonys resources, Capabilities Competencies as depicted in the case, explain why it has grown successfully in the competitive consumer electronics industry. As an atypical Japanese Corporation, Comment in the role played by Sonys corporate Culture? Introduction. This report is based on Sony Corporation. The report below is structured focusing on the issues provided as question for the Case study in the seminar group. There is a brief History Culture followed by the SWOT Analysis Financial Analysis, followed by the management change at Sony. Finally there are a few recommendation followed up with conclusion references. This case study was Robin John, from London South Bank University. 2. Acknowledgement We as a team would like to thank Robin John Dr. Leslie Gadman for their support and providing excellent knowledge about the topic, the case study and presentation feedback which has enabled us to deliver this report in acceptable form. 3. HISTORY CULTURE. The Sony Corporation is now a $ 124 billion (2009) Company with approximately 180,500 employees (2008). Sony was formed in 1946 by Masaru Ibuka Akio Morita. It was initially know as Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo; in English language Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Company. The name Sony was chosen as a strategy which would help them to Globalise as the Co-Founder Morita had the vision to see early that there was a world rather than pure Japanese market for their Innovations. The first Sony-branded product, the TR-55 transistor radio, appeared in 1955 but the company name didnt change to Sony until January 1958. The current Sony Corporation has a unique culture which is firmly rooted in its history especially in relationship to its two founders, Ibuka and Morita. They both were geniuses above their business talents. Both gave insights and visions in what the company should make and how it should be made. Ibuka, especially, gave constant advice and suggestions to the engineers involved in projects from the earlier on transistor radios to Walkmans. This created the umbrella strategy in which Sony operates under, where the top management gives the general direction in which the lower engineers actively learns, develops and improves on the vision/idea. Therefore, although there is a planned direction, the actual product development through launching is emergent with great flexibility. Although the research and development section of Sony differs greatly from other companies with its great flexibility, Sony, in its essence is still a traditional Japanese company in many ways. There is life-time employment, with strong norms and values which in turn create strategies through their actions. Status is given (the crystal award) instead of bonuses (not significant amount) for superior achievement. There is also the strong seniority system such as the mentor and apprentice relationship that is typical of a Japanese firm. All this can be classified as the cultural school in which strategy formation is of collective behaviour. Collective vision and stress on human resource, which is typical of many Japanese, can be clearly seen in the mission statement Management Policies. Sony Corp has retained good things of Japanese Culture hasnt been reluctant to adopt culture which is not atypical Japanese in nature, which has resulted in building these huge electronic giant sustain it for more than five decades, looks for a future which is very bright. 4. SONYS CAPABILITIES, COMPETENCIES RESOURCES Sony Corporation is considered one of the worlds most successful companies, operating in the electronics, games, music, films and financial services industry (Hanson et al, 2001). Sony is known for creating products that stimulate the senses and refresh the spirit (Sony, 2007). Effectively managing a combination of its resources, capabilities and core competencies, has allowed Sony to create a strong sustainable competitive advantage. Assessment of Sony Corporations Resources and Capabilities Sony Corporation is committed on its efforts to continuously develop original technology that generates a high appeal to the general public due to its quality and cost effectiveness. Over the years, Sony Corporation has been able to build a substantial base meant to boost the companys designing and manufacturing capabilities. This enables the company to bring to markets truly original and more importantly mobile devices that are reasonably priced. The research and development team of Sony Corporation also plays a crucial role in the achievement of this feat. The company also believes that making a positive impact in the society through their quality products is the very essence of being a manufacturer. Sony Corporations Competitive Advantage Economies of Scale and Scope in manufacturing and research and development arising from its numerous facilities situated in Japan, the United States and other countries worldwide. Unique Quality Technology owing to heavy emphasis on research Sony Corporations commitment to research development activities has always been one of its top strategies to remain competitive in the market. Differentiated Products Through the production and marketing of differentiated products originating from their research and development activities, Sony Corporation is able to create its own firm-specific advantages. The continuous pursuit of research and development processes enables Sony Corporation to produce a steady stream of originally differentiated products which makes it difficult for competitors to find substitutes. Because of this differentiated approach, Sony Corporation is able to market their products worldwide, which enables them in turn to maximize the returns on research and development expenditures. Sony Corporations competitive advantages could be sustained provided the company would continue to focus on its core competencies. However, the company also has to be aware of the latest technological. Sony Corporations Resources: Resources refer to factors that a company owns controls and uses for the purpose of creating value (Hill et al, 2007). Sonys numerous tangible and intangible resources help to determine its distinctive competency, thus leading to maintaining a competitive advantage. When identifying Sonys resources, both its tangible and intangible assets are included. Tangible resources include assets that are financial in nature, or have physical properties (Hill et al, 2007). In 2007, Sony recorded a sales and operating cash flow of $70,303 million, an increase of 10.5 percent from 2006 (Sony United, 2007), as part of its financial resources. Land, buildings, machinery, and equipment are also part of Sonys tangible resources, and are worth approximately $14 million (Sony United, 2007). Intangible resources include those non-physical assets that the company uses to produce goods or provide services, or expects to generate future productive benefits (Hill et al, 2007). The Sony brand is considered one of the worlds most recognisable and trusted brands and was ranked 21st in the Business Week/Interbred list of the Worlds 100 Most Valuable Brands with an estimated value of US$14 billion (Singh et al, 2005). The Sony brand is associated with superior quality, innovation and style (Sony United, 2007), in the minds of its customers. 5. Sonys SWOT Analysis. Opportunities Development of new technology Growing trend customer base (Focus on BRIC Nations) Target consistent profitability in core hardware businesses (TV, game and digital imaging) Diversify in game producing for its hardware. Listen to Voice of Customer. Easy to use products. Threats New substitute products emerging Price competition. Economic pressure. Losing the dominance in key product categories.(TV, P.S, D.I) Due to poor financial performance could have less money for RD. Strength Strong sales marketing capabilities Business location or product exclusivity High quality product Excellent customer service Cost advantage (Discount) Good distribution network Weakness Weak financial performance (Low Profitability Low ROCE) Lacking a customer viewpoint Products with many feature but difficult to use. Lack of hit products Development of similar products Patent problem in the whole Industry. Particular 1997 Millions of Yen 2009 Millions of Yen Total Electronically Business 3,930,292 (69.4%) 5,032,920 (65.1%) Music 570,119 (10.1%) 50,541 (0.6%) Picture 438,551(7.7%) 717,513 (9.3%) Insurance 227,920(4%) 523,307 (6.8%) Games 408,335(7.2%) 984,855 (12.7%) Others 87,917(1.6%) 471,398 (5.5%) Total Revenue 5,658,253 7,729,993 (+136.62%) 6. Comparing Sales Revenue by Business Area for 1997 2009. FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE. Particular 2008 2009 Sales 8,871,414 7,729,993 (-12.87%) R D Expenses 520,568 497,297 (-4.47%) Employees 180,500 171,300 (-5.1%) Profit Margin 4.2% -1.3% R D to Sales 5.9% 6.4% Current Ratio 1.25 time 0.95 time Gearing Ratio 21.04% 22.27% Return on Equity 16.4% -5.9% Roce 6.65% -2.13% 6.2 FINANCIAL ANALYSIS. Sonys financial condition is good but needs to be better for a matured Company like Sony which is in existence since 1946 more than 6 decades. It is acceptable but should be a top priority for the Management to make it better. Below mentioned are few observations: Majority of its earning in electronic Industry. Earning from music has reduced considerably could be because of piracy issues or Late M.Js bad public city. The best diversified product is gaming, so should look to diversify more in this area. (Game MFG.) Major problem with SONY is its low profitability. Gearing ratio is 22.27% which is good as has a scope for future borrowing if required. RD has just reduced by 4% ROCE Return for share holders are major concern for SONY. 7. Style of leadership and management The leadership style of Akio Morita the co-founder of Sony Corporation included the ability to imagine, design, implement and develop new products, marketing, brand management strategies and human resources skill as well. Akio Morita resigned from the post of the Chairman, during which he positioned Sony as the worlds most successful consumer electronics company. Sony was ranked 37 on the Fortune 500 global list. Under Moritas leadership, Sony developed many new products and technologies. One of the other key success factors of Sony was Moritas people skills and his trust in his employees. Sony continued its tradition of offering innovative products after Moritas death in 1999. Sony has been a modern Japanese company as they have promoted young Idei to President of Sony when he was 57 years small according to Japanese standard. It was under his leadership that they have recovered from the 1995 crisis have posted the highest ever profit. Idei also launched Transformation 60 which was not of a much success. The main purposes of Transformation 60 were: Reduce cost by 300 Billion Yen. Decrease workforce by 20000. Achieve profit margin of 10% march 06. By the early 21st century, Sony was facing several problems due to the slowdown in the global economy, but then they recovered well under the leadership of Sir Howard Stringer who was made the CEO Chairman of the Sony Corporation. A Non Japanese to senior management position was not a typical Japanese culture but has given them the desired result. So as a whole Sony Corporation has always been under a good senior management for all the years. 8. RECOMMENDATION Building of Strategy: Sony as a much international company with major branches in Europe and the United States and stocks listed in 23 stock exchanges, the Japanese cultural school strategy is not sufficient. Becoming a mature company, the strategy should also change to more profit orientated. There should also be greater emphasis on market share, especially in Japan where Sonys market is shrinking. Strategy should be aimed at greater control and communication between manager and workers, especially the engineers in the RD Department. Diversification: One direction which is possible is concentrating more on electronic know how in non-consumer business. Currently, the buyer has much more choosing power and competition is fierce. The competitors are also able to copy the product in a much shorter time. To create larger profit margins, Sony should concentrate on the business sector and industries, supplying high technology equipment and parts. This would make full use of the RD Department. Although the Sony name is often related to expensive, high-profit end of the market, the organization should also expand its product range by offering lower priced, simpler featured products that would compete head on with others. With the lower priced line, Sony can also increase its market shares in both overseas and Japanese markets. Alliance and Cooperation: Sony should try to become a leader instead of a maverick. The difference is great, the leader, besides a great innovator, should also be a great coordinator. Internally, the different RD groups should cooperate more. The product line should also be made more compatible with one another, i.e. no more secret projects. Products should be made with higher added value and longer life rather than making frequent model changes. This is also a shift from a manufacturer-orientated mentality to a consumer-orientated mentality, which is a way to save natural resources. The brand-line compatibility also builds brand loyalty for consumers. Cost Cutting: Cost cutting is important because RD plays an integral part in the success of Sony and cannot be cut drastically although it gobbles up 10% of sales. Therefore, the only way to improve profit margins is to cut cost. Sony is not fully making use of other lower cost areas in the world, especially Asian countries such as Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines etc. By setting up factories in these countries, Sony can take advantage of their cheap labour and also get a head start in their budding consumer markets. Products should be refined instead of reinvented so that there would be less set up cost and greater automation could be achieved. This could also be seen as a long term strategy. Integration of production, design and marketing: In many ways, designing and developing of a product is separate from the production and marketing. RD should listen more to what the consumer needs and then innovate instead of always creating new product for markets. With great freedom, the designing team should also take on greater responsibility in making the product fit to the current production pattern and marketing aims. They should also be made more responsible to the profit and loss of the particular product. Empowering these three separate groups creates conflict, but it also brings these separate efficient groups together achieving synergy. Implementation: Internally, strategy should be reviewed beginning with renewing the corporate goals. It should integrate together both the Japanese work ethic and its western counterparts. This is possible, because Sony is a multinational corporation with employees and customers in many different countries. This involves writing the importance of profits and its responsibility to shareholders in the statement. Integration of the company, the designing, production and marketing should be encouraged, with increased communication between each group and the management acting as liaison and guidance. The management should be providing the organization with specific goals and strategies for the short and long term. These changes are intended to balance business Vs engineering. Setting up alliances with fellow electronic manufacturers / competitor is crucial to mutual benefit so should be pursued as soon as possible. 9. Conclusion. The reputed brand name is one the Sonys strength, but on the other hand, many competitors start to see Sony as their target and main competitor, which will inflict various threats against Sony. Sony also needs to concentrates on improving itself.   They collect Voice of Customer (VOC), which directly reflect the responses, expectations or suggestions from end-users. It could be observed that Sony is positively dealing with its competitors, through learning from failure and looking for room to further improve. Such strategy helps minimize the probabilities that their customers would turn to other competitors. It aims at retaining its present customers and keeping their Number 1 market position. Sony made full efforts to support the environment from 1989. Sony is using blue ocean strategy on the business. Toward this end, Sony has sponsored many package redesign projects and committed to considering the environment, not only to create environmentally-friendly design but also to reduce material use. Due to this heartfelt customer service, high-quality, reliable products that Sonys customers can use with confidence. At the end of this case study Sony is not in a very strong strategic position but it is also not in a very bad strategic position. The position of Sony is in between. The conclusion is that change is needed in Sony. However, even with strategically and structure change, the Sony spirit of Technovation(technological Innovation) should remain intact because that is what made Sony grow and would make it stay strong.

Pan’s Labyrinth Setting

Setting is one of the vital elements of fiction. A work can only be fully approached if it is first based on its setting, which guides the development of the work. For â€Å"Pan’s labyrinth†, an outstanding cinema work rich in symbols, details and meaning, it is even more essential for us to take the underlying context into serious consideration The external setting of this work consisted of 3 element: time, place and social environment. In 2006, the movie was filmed in a Scots Pine forest situated in the Guadarrama mountain range, Central Spain by the talented Mexican director Guillermo del Toro.The idea for Pan's Labyrinth came from Guillermo del Toro's notebooks, which he says are filled with â€Å"doodles, ideas, drawings and plot bits† which had been kept for twenty years. There are a lot of social factors affecting Del Toro. Firstly, his mind and work are characterised by a strong connection to fairy tales and horror, also he described his political positio n as â€Å"a little too liberal†. Del Toro got the idea of the mythological faun (Pan) from childhood experiences with â€Å"lucid dreaming†: after he waked up, a faun would gradually step out from behind the grandfather's clock.The faun became a mysterious, semi-suspicious relic who gave both the impression of trustworthiness and many signs that warn someone to never confide in him at all. Moreover, by exploring the figure of the god Pan and the symbol of the labyrinth, he tried to â€Å"mix those compelling factors and play with them†. Secondly, â€Å"Pan's Labyrinth† continues a tide of fine movies of Del Toro, illustrating a period after Francisco Franco has come into power. He pointed out that the villains in most of his films are united by the common attribute of authoritarianism.Most people make the villains ugly and nasty but Del Toro realizes that one of the dangers of fascism is that it's very attractive. To him, perfection actually lies in full y loving the defect. Killing somebody can be because of he broke a law, or broke an idea: patriotism, liberty, democracy†¦ In short, the idea behind the act is valued more than the act itself. The Internal Setting of â€Å"Pan’s labyrinth† is related to the 2 parallel storylines: Ofelia's fantasy world against the colorless right angles of the fascist world. For the reality – the facist world, it takes place aroundMay–June 1944, five years after the Spanish Civil War, when Spain was under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco. The world war II is about to end. The story happens in a mill on the border of Spain. When the war is raging across the world, women are subordinate to men. The Falangists is winning over the rebels and the rebels have to hide in the forest. It is really a time of suspicion and paranoia: rebel supporters are brutally killed. For the fantasy world, it is seen that the story is closely connected to an old and abandon ed labyrinth and the Underworld Kingdom existing a long time ago.Ofelia, the main character, is a young girl who loves fairy tales. She travels with her pregnant mother Carmen to meet Captain Vidal, her new brutal, facism and cold-blood stepfather and father of Carmen's unborn child. The story is then gradually revealed within the (internal) setting, making viewers immersing completely in appalling scenes with its deep meaning implied. ? A work’s setting has important role as it is the world in which the characters appear, act and expose their emotions. It can be used to evoke a mood or atmosphere that will prepare the reader for what is to come in.In many cases, setting contributes to the overall meaning of a story or affects the characters. It would be a shortcoming if we analyzed a literature work without interpreting its setting and meaning behind, especially for â€Å"Pan’s labyrinth†. In the realistic story, the decisive colors drawing the view of story is old-newspaper yellow and dark grey, which implies the atmosphere of sadness and lurking danger. Not much of Spain outside the mill is referred in the story but the war between political groups here can represent the overall country’s condition.The influence of military is strong and almost encroaching on the natural order of Spain. However, the fascist seem not to belong to this place. They wear steely blue gray uniform, which is unnatural in the forest, while the rebels wear earthy browns connecting to soul of mountain. The fascists' headquarters is lying in a small mill, and surrounded by trees and forest, the rebels' habitat. It states the implication: despite the power of military, the fascists are still the small pocket of dry land in the midst of rising communism, one day they will face to the failure.To further the point on the mill's lack of femininity, it is an indication to us audience that this is not right place for Ofelia. The box shape of it exists only for fun ction, efficiency and work and there is no room to growth and discovery. That this place is not for a child reflects the fact fascism does not fit in Spain. In the parallel story, the fantasy world appears in front of audiences with devastated views. It loses the princess Moanna like Spain is seeking freedom. The Labyrinth is the only place that Ofelia can fully realize her imagination. Moreover, it also reflects reality out there.The structure of Labyrinth is the same as the circulation of destiny. Ofelia comes to the dream world, reunites with the parents, while the rebel defeats the fascist after so much sacrifice, blood and tears. â€Å"Pan’s labyrinth† (internal) setting partly reveals a sorrowful and tragic fairytale. As previously mentioned, the story happened when Spain was under the authoritarian dictatorship of Francisco Franco, in a mill surrounded by mountain and forest and rainy frequently. The film’s darkness overshadows the light, therefore most v iewers can imagine the sorrow from that dreary framework without seeing any minutes of the film.Unlike in other fairy tales where the writers omit events or elements that are deemed too harsh, in Pan’s labyrinth they do not overestimate the violent conflict between the rebel and German army which is leaded by a brutal person Capital Vidal; or the loneliness of the girl between two world, reality and fantasy. To some extent, both of them can reveal a tragic ending. Besides the internal setting, the external setting also discloses some values of the film but in artistic aspect. The author, Guillermo del Toro, has strong obsession of fairy tale and horror.That why he can create details, characters especially fairy ones which contain many symbolic values and compel the audiences to thinking a lot. As a consequence, each time we watch the film, we can always find something new. If we ask why a writer chooses to include certain details in a work, then we are likely to make connecti ons that relate the details to some larger purpose, such as the story's meaning. By analyzing clearly the setting of †Pan's Labyrinth†, viewers, as well as critics, can draw lessons from what Del Toro conveyed

Compared Writing Styles of Rowlandson, Bradford, and Byrd

The writing styles of Rowlandson and Bradford are very similar, while Byrd's writing style is different from the other two. Rowlandson's journal is a narraritive of her captivity, and Bradfords journal is a narrative of his journey to and arrival at his destination in the New World. Byrd's journal was was written as a satire, to essentially make fun of Rowlandson and Bradford's religious views. Mary Rowlandson kept the journal of her captivity to inform future generations of her experiences while being held captive and used as a slave by the Indians whom kidnapped her and her children. Rowlandon's main purpose in this passage is to show how her experiences revealed Gods purpose. Throughout the passagee Rowlandson makes reference to how God helped her through this difficult time. She was very stong in her religion and her views on her faith in God. In the passage Rowlandson expressses her gratefulness that her belief in God kept her from committing suicide. â€Å"I cannot but take notice of the wondrful mercy of God to me in those afflictions, in sending me a Bible. The above quote is one of the many times she makes regerence to how appreciative she is of God in her tine of trouble. As Rowlandon writes, she uses multiple strategies throughout her passage. On one many being allegory. Rowlandon uses allegories by placing biblical quotations to give symbolic meaning to her experiences. William Bradford's writing techniques and purpose are very similar to that of Rowlandson. Bradford writes about his voyage to the New World and experiences that take place once they reached land. Just like Rowlandon, Bradfords writing is to inform future generations of his experiences in the New World. Bradford give account of his voyage to the New World on the Mayflower, landding in the New world, and the hardships that he battled throughout it all. Bradford, much like Rowlandon, talked about how grateful he was for God to provide fot him and bring hin through his trials,. â€Å"But it pleased God before they came half seas over†¦. † In many instances, such as the above, Bradford gave God credit, and was very appreciative of it. William Byrd, unlike Bradford and Rowlandon, did not write a captivity nattatiive, but instead just kept an account of events. He did not give God credit for everything, but instead, used satire to make fun of Rowlandon and Bradford. Byrd was not saying that God meant nothing and he did not believe in him, but he did not constantly credit him with everything. As it is implied, Rowlandson and Bradford have very similar writing techniques, while Byrd had a different style than the other two.

Ampicillin Resistance essays

Ampicillin Resistance essays The purpose of this lab experiment was to see if a person could use a plasmid (R plasmid) vector containing certain fragments of foreign DNA for ampicillin resistance to be used to transform E. coli (Escherichia coli) cells to give the E. coli cells ampicillin resistance. Ampicillin resistance is needed in order for the E. coli to have the ability to survive in an ampicillin environment. Plasmid is a small ring of DNA that carries accessory genes separate from those of bacterial chromosome. Ampicillin is an antibiotic that is derived from penicillin that prevents bacterial growth by interfering with cell wall synthesis. E. coli is a commensal bacterium inhabiting the human colon that is widely used in biology, both as a simple model of cell biochemical function and as a host for molecular cloning experiments. In nature genes can be transferred between bacteria in different ways like transformation, conjugation, and transduction. One-way is bacterial transformation, it is when tr ansfer of genetic information into a cell by the direct uptake of the DNA. Then the DNA is used to transform the cells from the original DNA to take a certain trait. How ever these bacteria can take up DNA only during the period at the end of logarithmic growth. Conjugation is performed between to bacterial cells of different mating types and genetic information is exchanged between the two through pili. Transduction is conducted between two bacteria cells, but this process requires the presence of a virus that acts as a vector in the process. One could hypothesize that plasmid would be able to successfully be incorporated in the E. coli cell. One would be able to see this by both agar plates without ampicillin and also the agar plate with ampicillin and plasmid would have bacteria growth. However the agar plate with ampicillin, but no plasmid will have no bacteria growth. One could hypothesize this because if the plasmid were incorporated into the ...

Corporate Communication Problems Solutions Essays

Corporate Communication Problems Solutions Essays Corporate Communication Problems Solutions Paper Corporate Communication Problems Solutions Paper Furthermore, with the easy access to social media tools such as Backbone and Twitter; people are owe having the power of mass communication at their fingertips making them able to share a message with thousands of people at no time, absolutely without any efforts. Prom the above general introduction, it can be realized that we live in an over communicated world with tons of irrelevant messages floating around diverting our focus and attention to areas that may not have any importance to us. The challenge may not be noticed in the personal life but is surely a trouble when it comes to corporate environment. Time is money. (Franklin), this was a tenement once said by a famous politician who lived back in the 18th century, but it still is very much valid today and defiantly maybe much more expensive than Franklin himself thought it would be. Every business exists to make profit by doubling, tripling or quadrupling their dollars and one of the main earning keys is keeping the firms cost under control hence fully utilizing employees time and ensuring the highest levels of efficiency. The above may not be the right message a business owner would wish to deliver to his employees, but would faintly want to implement an effective and productive work environment where every employee knows, understands and lives the firms strategy and mission statement. This is only achieved when a proper combination channel is in place within an organization which many companies in the corporate world strive to have or implement. Communication problems in corporate are many, but to start with will refer to a statement by a famous Irish dramatist who lived is the last century: The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. (Shaw) The above statement enlightens us to a major communication problem ever the initiator simply thinks that his message is delivered, understood or even auctioned by the recipients which could lead to issues no one have anticipated. Such illusions could be turned into reality simply if the initiator is making sure to request an acknowledgment from the receiver. On the other side, as identified by Arnold Anderson, language barriers can sometime occur in a multinational environment Which may become another communication problem. Although a diverse workplace has several benefits for he business, such as verity to Of solutions to company issues and insight to international markets, but considering that organization is made of people from different countries, cultures and ethics will add up to the language barrier and slow communication or create miss understanding that will eventually make communication ineffective. In such cases, the best solution is to assure that an official business language i. . English, is fluently spoken by all employees and a cultural training and communication policy is taught to new joiners of the organization. Furthermore, With the born Of the digital environment, most -? if not all- work related documents and communications are now e-mail based Which has many benefits such as documenting every conversation, easiness to contact any person, no distance barrier and instant however Every Rose Has Its 1988) One Of the biggest challenges that came to exist with e-mail communication is the habit of avoiding face-to-face talks. Many employees are used to get stuck to their seats for 8 hours a day and all they do is send mails back and forth. This causes huge lack of collaboration between different units and people resulting to lack of teamwork hence lower productivity in the organization, This problem may grow from a few peoples habits to a general organization culture issue thus it has to be addressed intensely. There is no quick solution to such issue, but one of good initiatives I saw in our company was Face day. This people department in our company started to encourage all employees to use face mail instead of e-mails every Wednesday.

Social Animals Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Social Animals - Essay Example As the research discusses the social conflict theory is thus applicable not only on individual or group level but it is applicable in the political scenario also. The base of the conflict is the power and the money, which one person or group has obtained and other has not. It is true that the power is gained by the individual with the help of money. Many writers, poets have written on the never ending topic of social inequality. The inequality will never be eradicated totally from the world until it does not leave the human mind.Thi paper stresses that exploitation of the lower class is the phenomenon which has been going on since ancient time. There has always been a wide gap between the rich and the poor class. The gap became wider at the advent of industrialization. Exploitation is the major purpose of the powerful class and for attaining this purpose, two methods are used. First method is the brute force and the second method is economics. If we study the entire human history we can realize that the class conflict is one of the major issues in the entire history of human beings.  To discuss on the social conflict theory of Marx, a recent news story has been taken into consideration. The news is about the exploitation of a female senior citizen from lower class. If observed it carefully Marx’s theory of conflict can be explained by using this event. The news can be analyzed on different levels.

Connection between Neighborhood Crime and academic performance Annotated Bibliography

Connection between Neighborhood Crime and academic performance - Annotated Bibliography Example Bowen, N. K., & Bowen, G. L. (1999). Effects of crime and violence in neighborhoods and schools on the school behavior and performance of adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 14(3), 319-342. doi: 10.1177/0743558499143003 This study examined the relationship between neighborhood and school violence and adolescents' behavior and academic performance. Specifically, the authors wanted to discover how violence affects student's attendance, behavior, and grades. Data on students' self-reported exposure to neighborhood and school violence was gathered from a sample of middle and high school students who completed the National School Success Profile (SSP). The SSP revealed reports of high exposure to environmental danger among African-Americans, males, high school students, school lunch recipients, and urban students. The study found that both neighborhood and school danger predicted attendance and behavior. Neighborhood danger, however, was more predictive of school outcomes than do school danger. This study contributed in the early identification of adolescents living in dangerous school and neighborhood environments. The authors suggested taking an ecological approach in assessing school environments to e ncourage excellent academic performance among adolescent students. Ceballo, R., McLoyd, V. C., & Toyokawa, T. (2004). The influence of neighborhood quality on adolescents’ educational values and school effort. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19(6), 716-739. ... Specifically, associations were found between neighborhood quality and educational values of African-American females. In addition, the study yielded gender-specific results when the model was tested separately for males and females. Dearing, E. (2004). The developmental implications of restrictive and supportive parenting across neighborhoods and ethnicities: Exceptions are the rule. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 25(5), 555-575. doi:10.1016/j.appdev.2004.08.007   This study explored the effect of neighborhood crime and income on the relationship between parenting style and child behavior. Restrictive and supportive parenting styles are said to influence a child's emotional well-being and academic performance. Using a longitudinal design, elementary school-age children of African-American, European-American, and Latino-American descent were studied. Positive associations were found between restrictive parenting style and depression, and between supportive parenting s tyle and academic performance. Negative association, meanwhile, was found between restrictive parenting style and academic performance. In riskier neighborhoods, the negative effect of restrictive style in European-American children was exacerbated. On the other hand, both restrictive and supportive styles were found to be  a protective factor among African-American children in riskier neighborhoods. The results for Latino-American children were generally similar with those of African-American. The author concluded that parenting styles and neighborhood context influenced children's development. Eamon, M. K. (2005). Social-demographic, school, neighborhood, and parenting influences on the academic achievement of Latino