Addressing Industry Dependency Essay

Regal Entertainment Groups is the parent company of Regal Cinemas, which is made up of Regal Cinemas, the United Artists Theaters, and the Edwards Theater. It runs the largest theater circuit in the U.S., and uses the multiplex cinema model in metropolitan and metropolitan growth areas. The movie theater industry is highly competitive, both within the film entertainment industry (as with Netflix and pirated films) and with substitute goods, such as live performances, restaurants, and sporting events. In addition, industry competitors have an extremely low level differentiation from one another, which is partially due to the reactive nature of the industry. It is also due to the considerable dependency on major film production companies. Regal’s dependency on the film production companies for profitable films and film advertising contributes to its lack of differentiation from its major competitors, which hinders its profitability potential in a market of ambivalent consumers. See more:  The Story of an Hour Literary Analysis Essay This report recommends that Regal pursue both an active advertisement campaign team to deliver the message of Regal’s value directly to the consumer (a practice not traditionally observed in the movie theater industry) to create brand recognition, and forge partnerships and agreements with live performance venues, utilizing Regal’s existing digital technology. By doing so, Regal could increase its profit margins, decrease its  dependency on quantity and quality of mainstream film companies, create greater value to consumers and stakeholders, and provide new entertainment possibilities and community experiences that have not been available on this scale before. Position Company Overview Regal Entertainment Group was created out of a consolidation of the Regal Cinemas, the United Artists Theaters, and the Edwards Theaters in 2002 (â€Å"Regal Entertainment Group Company History†). Regal Cinemas are primarily a line of multiplex, first-run theaters in urban, metropolitan, and suburban growth areas. It currently operates the largest theater circuit in the United States, with 520 theaters, averaging 12.6 screens per location, with a total of 6,558 screens. (Form 10-K 4) It is currently one of the ‘big three’ competitors in this industry. Mission, Vision, and Values Regal Entertainment does not currently have a mission or vision statement. It would be advisable to create such statements in order to improve investor and employee understanding of what Regal hopes to be, and better focus its efforts and attempts to solve current and future problems (Yuthas 9-10). However, their business strategies listed on the Regal Investor Relations webpage provide some insight into the company’s values. The four strategies listed are maximizing stockholder value, pursuing selective growth opportunities, pursuing premium experiences opportunities, and pursuing strategic acquisitions and partnerships. Combining these strategies with their metropolitan multiplex approach, their business landscape shows a drive to expand, using economies of scale to create value for the viewer, as well as their partners and suppliers. Their activities will better reflect their values, and will be discussed in greater length in this report, under the Current Activities sectio n. Key Stakeholders Regal’s key stakeholders include the usual categories: stockholders, suppliers, employees, and business partners. Regal’s main suppliers are their food and beverage suppliers and the major movie production companies that Regal depends on for their first-run films. The food and beverage  suppliers include beverage companies like the Coca-Cola Company, and confectionary companies like Tootsie Roll Industries, Cadbury Schweppes, and the American Licorice Company. Regal’s sheer size makes it a desirable client, and the economies of scale benefit both parties. Partners of note include AMC, one of its major competitors, with whom Regal jointly owns Open Road Films, a film distribution company. This will be discussed in more detail under the Current Activities section. AMC could conceivably take over if Regal were to go under, but splitting the cost and the risk of a new venture is a benefit to AMC. Regal also maintains an investment in National CineMedia (NCM), as does AMC and Cinemark (Form 10-K 74). NCM is an advertising service that acts through cinemas to reach the consumer. While this allows for more advertising within Regal Cinemas, Regal currently does not advertise itself outside of its theaters and website. NCM and Regal have a mutually beneficial relationship, in which Regal’s geographic expanse and numbers of theaters give NCM greater exposure, while Regal benefits from the money from the advertisers. However, Regal does little outside advertising for its cinemas. Regal Entertainment Group created the Regal Foundation, which is a non-profit charitable organization â€Å"committed to [improving] the quality of life in the communities in which [Regal operates] by providing funds and other resources to aid the initiatives of national and local charitable entities (â€Å"Community Affairs†)†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Some of it beneficiaries include the Will Rogers Institute, and their partners include the Boys & Girls Club of America, the American Red Cross, and the Make-A-Wish Foundation (â€Å"Community Affairs†). All of these stakeholders rely on Regal’s profitability to continue successfully, in order to maintain their charitable support. Current Financial State Regal reports a total of 211 million cinema viewers in at the end of the fiscal year December 2011, and recently reported dividends of $0.21,declared for Class A and B common share. These dividends have been distributed for the past four quarters (Form 10-K 97). Regal anticipates continued dividends in the foreseeable future, but note that dividends are considered quarterly and are only paid when their Board of Directions approves them. From May of 2002 to the end of December of 2011, Regal has returned $3.3 billion in cash dividends to their stockholders (Form 10-K 5). The movie theater industry  as a whole has a fairly low profit margin to dip into, and Regal has the same approximate costs and revenues as its competitors (Mintel – Leading Companies). Regal’s 2011 10-K states a net income of $40 million dollars, and cash and cash equivalents of $253 million, with $174 million in accounts payable (54); Regal appears confident in its ability to met its obligations. Current Activities In 2003, a year after its consolidation, Regal removed video games showing â€Å"graphic depictions of sexual behavior or nudity,† â€Å"graphically violent character deaths† or â€Å"human-like characters suffering bloodshed and/or dismemberment.† It also removed games depicting â€Å"violence toward law enforcement officers or other figures of authority or the ‘glorification of illegal activity (Earnest).’† A potential reason for this decision may be Regal’s major shareholder, Philip Anschutz, who is heavily involved in Conservative and fundamentalist Christian politics, and actively supports Christian and family-friendly cinema (Haber). The aim appears to be to gear the public areas of the theaters towards a more family-friendly approach, although this has had no effect on the MPAA film ratings that the theaters would normally show. This may be relevant to any changes they wish to make to the business in the future. Regal appears to be fairly reactive to market changes rather than being proactive. They, as have their competitors, turned a great deal of attention to digital, 3-D, and IMAX technologies (â€Å"Market Size and Trends†). Regal has been investing a considerable amount of time and effort into IMAX technology, as well as their own version of IMAX, called RPX (Regal Premium Experience), which emphasizes improved uncompressed surround sound. Another trend that Regal has followed is creating a dining experience in-theatre with its subsidiary, Cinebarre. There are 28 locations that are experimenting with various menu items, pricing strategies, and serving styles, such as the traditional restaurant versus being able to order directly from the audience seating. A few locations have beer and wine availability, and a total of 5 are testing the direct-to-seating Cinebarre method (Form 10-K 14). One of the major audience draws to the multiplex structure is the all-encompassing experience that involves â€Å"the consumption of the space as well as the visual consumption of the movie† (Hubbard). Open Road Films is jointly owned by Regal and AMC.  According to Regal’s 2011 Annual Report, they believe that â€Å"Open Road Films has a unique opportunity to fill a gap in the marketplace created by the major studios’ big-budget franchise film strategy by marketing smaller budget films in a cost-effective manner which [Regal] believe[s] will drive additional patrons to [sic] theaters and generate a return on [sic] capital investment† (12). They are approximating that they will eventually be distributing eight to ten films per year, effectively filling any dead space left by the major film production companies. Industry Overview Key Players and Market Share The major competitors that Regal currently contends with are Cinemark and AMC. Both of these companies have overseas markets, which Regal does not. Both also prefer geographical locations similar to those preferred by Regal. This is to be expected, as the multiplex structure is most profitable in such metropolitan and growing suburban areas that these first-run, multiplex theatres prefer to locate themselves in. Regal currently holds 21% of the market share, with AMC and Cinemark holding 20% and 18% respectively (â€Å" Leading Companies†). Current Practices Currently Cinemark and AMC are pursuing trial runs in improved and expanded concession ventures, which appear to be successful, judging by their continued implementation (â€Å"Leading Companies†). AMC and Cinemark currently have a potential advantage over Regal in their foreign markets. Not only have they expanded the number of people who will see first-run Hollywood films, but they have good relationships with foreign movie production companies and currently show their films in other countries. As previously mentioned, the industry and major competitors have made the move to digital, 3-D and IMAX technologies. Sense Industry Challenges and Causes Piracy and Alternative Goods The industry’s battle with pirated films is well known, costing the entertainment business as a whole roughly $20.6 billion (Plumer). It also  competes with such legitimate entertainment businesses as DVD rental services, Pay-per-View, cable television, and similar entertainments. Not only this, but since most of the movie theaters are in areas of high population, there are multitudes of other activities to compete with, such as live theater, restaurants, sports bars, pubs, concerts, and sporting events, to name a few. Fewer Total Annual Viewers It is no surprise that the current recession has had a significant impact on consumer’s spending habits. A night at the movies is an affordable luxury, but a third of the total respondents reported going to movies less in 2009, and again in 2011, than the previous year. Although there was a small increase in total revenue in 2010, it declined by 1.2% in 2011, with the lowest number of tickets sold since 1995 (â€Å"Segment Performance: Box Office Admissions†). The most profitable age group (18-34) are attending live performances more often than in the past, and as unemployment continues, their numbers are decreasing at the box office, although they still are going more frequently than any other age group (â€Å"Family Entertainment on a Budget†). Ambivalent Audiences Not only is the number of attendees declining, but consumers do not have a strong brand loyalty to their cinemas. A Mintel report showed that the major criterion for selecting a movie theater was the proximity to home (66% of respondents of all ages cited this as an important factor in their decision), the availability of the desired time (53%), and how comfortable the seats were (56%) (â€Å"Consumer Trends†). The brand of the cinema appears completely irrelevant for the average consumer. Branding has considerable value for any industry, yet movie theaters do not appear to have made a lasting connection with the average consumer. Reliance on Film Production Companies The industry depends heavily on the film production companies. Movie theaters depend on good relationships with the firms to get a contract, and must pay a premium for the use of big-name productions. The pricing has improved since the transition to digital, but to equip thousands of screens with the most profitable movies is still expensive. There are been accounts from the  film companies that because releasing to DVD is more profitable for the studio, there may be fewer films released and theater running times may decrease farther (Szalai). The movie theater industry historically has a low profit margin, and having empty theaters will only decrease it further. Regal Challenges and Causes Market Saturation There are a limited number of profitable places to create the multiplex experience that Regal specializes in. In light of the prevalence of competing first-run theaters that also occupy the same profitable locations, it seems that Regal is running out of places to go within the U.S. Its films are primarily first-run big-name productions, which are the biggest draw to the box office, but since the other major competitors specialize in showing these films as well, this is only a minor point in Regal’s favor. Regal could conceivably open theaters in more remote locations, but while big-name films are popular everywhere, they are also the most costly to rent (Morgan). Opening in less densely populated areas could mean higher costs than revenues, if the attending numbers aren’t high enough. Another option could be expanding Regal Cinemas overseas, but expanding overseas is a highly risky and costly venture. It should also be noted that AMC and Cinemark have already established themselves in the most convenient overseas locations (namely Central and Latin America), and have been closing theaters in recent years (â€Å"Leading Companies†), indicating Regal may have a difficult time finding a marketing foothold. Fewer Total Annual Viewers Despite the optimistic announcement of Regal’s 2011 attending numbers, movie theater attendance for the industry has been declining (â€Å"Family Entertainment†), and Regal’s viewership went down by 5.5% (â€Å"Segment Performance: Box Office Admission†). The economy has had a significant impact on the buying power of Regal’s main audience: middle to upper-middle class families and young adults (18-25). These are currently becoming more price-sensitive groups, and movie prices are nearly the highest they’ve ever been (Morgan). While Regal cannot turn the economy into a bull market, it could create some consumer incentives to attend Regal Cinemas. They have a customer rewards program; restructuring the rewards program to create a  better value may help incentivize an increasingly price-sensitive market. Some have suggested a return to staggered pricing, which fluctuates depending on the movie title and show time, typically having higher prices for popular movies at peak viewing hours (Zeitchik). However, pricing rarely regresses, and if Regal is the only movie theater to attempt it, consumers may resist and direct their attentions to movie theaters with more familiar pricing. Viewers are turning towards other methods of movie entertainment, such as Netflix and On Demand (Form 10-K 7), as they are more affordable and convenient. As mentioned in the industry challenges, the key age group18-34 are attending more live performances than before, indicating some experience value that Regal is not providing them. Regal must find a way to remain competitive and to market greater value to these consumers to coax them out of their homes and away from live venues. Dependency on Film Production Companies As noted in the Industry Challenges, Regal is dependent on the major film production companies. Because of the film production companies’ release times, theater business is seasonal, peaking during the summer months and during the holidays. This is occasionally broken up by a fluke film release, but this is again the choice of the film production company. Not only is Regal dependent on the timing of the releases, but also on the quality and draw of the films. Regal notes in its 2011 Annual Report that the decline in viewers during 2010 may have been due to the poor product offerings those years (Form 10-K 37). If the film production companies do decide to reduce the number of films produced and reduce the run times of these films in favor of earlier DVD production, Regal stands to lose profitability in the future. The production companies take a significant portion of ticket sales, anywhere from 35% to 100% for a specified amount of time, on a film-by-film basis (Morgan). More popular movies will have a larger percentage taken from their ticket sales for a longer period of time. This effectively decimates Regal’s earnings. Most theater-viewers see the film within the first six weeks of its opening, and the highest volume is within the first two to three weeks, when the production companies are taking their cut. Also, the younger, profitable age groups tend to go during the first few weeks, and older viewers, who are notoriously more price-sensitive, tend to wait until  the crowds die out. Having a shorter timespan to show the films, knowing that the best part of those profits will be going to the production companies, and having fewer films to pack the multiplex seats: it is clear these issues will create profit gaps for Regal if left unaddressed. Regal’s Open Road Films venture is perhaps an attempt to alleviate the stress from that dependency, but it is not a full solution to the problem. ORF is a distribution company. While Regal must enjoy some income and savings from its involvement, they are not (and are not legally able to) actively creating their own films to guarantee quantity and quality of films. However, its first films distributed met with success, with Killer Elite starring Clive Owen and Robert De Niro, and The Grey starring Liam Neeson. It is a good addition to the company, but it is not enough to fully address Regal’s dependence. Lack of Differentiation From Competitors First-run movie multiplex theaters are the most profitable in the motion picture theater industry. However, there is very little differentiation between major movie theaters. They all show the same big-name films, they provide the same concessions, they have very similar prices, and their layouts and locations are similar. The industry shift to digital and IMAX technology is also widespread, so it despite Regal’s investment in it, it does not create a sustainable advantage. As discussed earlier in this report, consumers are fairly ambivalent about which cinema they attend to see a particular movie, which is understandable, considering the striking similarities of major movie facilities. Again, the two highest deciding factors in a consumer’s cinema selection are the cinema’s proximity and the availability of the desired viewing time. Movie theaters depend on movie production companies to advertise their films, and do not create significant advertising outside of their facilities and website, with the exception of local newspapers (Segment Performance: Advertising). The production companies do not advertise specific theaters, and so Regal must depend on its location and available viewing time to entice audience members. Since there is little to make Regal stand out from the crowd this way, creating an active marketing campaign designed to show advertisements outside of the newspapers and company website could be a divisive next step to better differentiate itself from other theaters. Problem Statement Upon the given information of the industry and business environment and challenges: Regal’s lack of differentiation from its competitors and its dependency on film production companies is negatively impacting its profitability. Uncover Problem Focus and Potential Solutions In creating the fishbone diagram (Appendix A), I present the problem as a two-pronged issue that stems from dependency and lack of differentiation. I chose to present it this way because both problems are intertwined, and can be solved by similar means. Dependency on Film Production Companies Again, film companies claim a large percentage of the ticket sales for the first few weeks. After that period, Regal gets the majority of the ticket sales. However, the profitable market groups (tweens, families, and the 18-25 age range) tend to see movies in the first few weeks, which means Regal is left with fewer tickets, and thus lower total profits. Regal could attempt to renegotiate with film production companies regarding the percentage of ticket sales, in an effort to buffer against the lessened and shortened theater runs that the production companies are currently discussing. Regal could increase production with Open Road Films, or extend negotiation to other film distributors to include indie films. Using Open Roads Films not only fills a void and generates some cash flow that is significantly less garnered than Regal typical ticket sales, it also creates the potential to gain revenue from the showings of Regal’s film creation at other cinemas. In creating fresh relationships with outside artists, Regal could create a more beneficial set of terms than it currently has with the mainstream film production companies, and would be creating greater exposure for fledgling or small-time artists. Another option may be to create a whole new cinematic experience with Cinecasting. Cinecasting is digital, sometimes live, streaming of a remote event. In Santa Rosa, California, a small local theater was able to use a local movie theater’s digital projection system to show a live Broadway run of The Importance of Being Earnest, performed by the Roundabout Theater Company, which had been  nominated for three Tony Awards. They charged a premium for tickets, which were not available until one hour before curtains. They sold out every show and created a huge demand that led to an on-going, mutually beneficial relationship between the theater and the local movie theater company (Fuller). Cinecasting is slowly catching on, but no major cinema chain has done much with it. Cinecasting could be applied to theater performances around the world, concerts, major sporting events, and potentially minor sporting events such as Friday Night Fights. It would make the special events seem larger than life, and make the smaller events seem special. Lack of Differentiation The ORF and Cinecasting solution mentioned previously would also attack the problem of lack of differentiation directly. If Regal could get exclusive agreements with various entertainment providers before its competitors follow in its footsteps, they could potentially create a sustainable advantage for some time. Regal is in the process of creating a premium adult dining experience, as shown by their investment in Cinebarre and menu expansion, and ventures into wine and beer provision. Because Regal will be charging higher ticker prices for these experiences, there is more of a call to add something extra-special to the experience. Regal locations in metropolitan and urban areas could invite local artists and business to entertain in the theater during times when the theater is in low use, usually late at night. Other theaters are making the same push with their menu expansion as they did with digital, 3-D, and IMAX technologies. Not only would Regal be creating additional value for the customer, but gaining community bonds and goodwill. These connections are extremely valuable to a company (Grewal and Levy 190). However, simply taking the small step of actively advertising the Regal experience to the public would be a beginning to making Regal stand out from its competitors, and increase profits (Pitelos 39). Movie theaters, as previously mentioned, rely on the film production companies to advertise the movies to drum up interest, but this does not specifically help audiences select a particular theater. The advertising campaign would have several parts to it. There could be one for the traditional movie-going experience, but with an emphasis on the superior Regal experience. In the event that Regal does begin to differentiate its  offerings beyond blockbuster films, the advertisements might show what entertainments are available on a regular basis, or simply to show the variety of experiences it is capable of bringing to the consumer, thus getting the attention and creating consumer interest. Another advertising effort might be to create advertisements that are more specific to the region s they are in. This would help to integrate Regal into the community further, as a way of showing that they are a part of the community and are paying attention. For example, T-Mobile ran an ad on a Manhattan billboard, proclaiming that their service connection moved faster than new families moving to Park Slope. It was almost immediately reposted and written about on a dozen New York City blogs, written by New Yorkers, who love making fun of other New Yorkers (Arak). The humor is highly selective, but it was successfully implemented, creating the feeling of an in-joke with their consumers and their region. Making the significant changes necessary to alleviate the problems of dependency and differentiation could additionally address some of the other problems discussed previously, such as creating interest in ambivalent consumers and offset market saturation. By expanding potential cash inflow ventures outside the major production companies and forming those alternative options, Regal would be addressing saturation and ambivalence through the differentiation projects, and so those will not be the main problems addressed in the remainder of the paper. Potential Stakeholder Effects The majority of Regal’s stakeholders would most likely benefit from these changes. If the changes are successfully implemented and Regal’s profit margin rises, the majority of its stakeholders stand to benefit, including stockholders, charitable organizations, and employees. Regal would be following its normal business strategies that rest on its current strengths, so it wouldn’t depart from the company’s culture and â€Å"mission†. In creating strategic alliances and partnerships with additional entertainment groups, Regal would be fulfilling its goal to create greater worth to its stockholders and following its current business strategy. Breaking from the dependency on the film production companies should not cause a great gap in Regal’s usual operations. Regal’s bread and butter is first-run films, so those will continue to take precedence in the theaters, so the changes  should not damage Regal’s relationships with the major production companies. The changes would be intended to supplement those films once the hype dies away and audiences are looking for new entertainment between peak film release times, rather than replacing blockbusters.

Particular population or society Essay

While people consider themselves unique individuals in terms of their personality, habits, opinions, attitudes personal quirks, there are many habits, beliefs and attitudes that are common to most people, especially those living a society. The culmination of language, religious beliefs, music, food preference, works habits, etc. of a particular population or society is known as its culture (Ember and Ember, 1993, p. 6). Culture is unique for every society or social group that sometimes what some would consider taboo like eating dog meat is actually part of another society’s customs. In theory, everyone should be open to other society’s culture but in reality, that does not happen often. An individual who gauges others culture is said to be an ethnocentric (p. 159). The attitude is termed ethnocentrism . This denotes that the person has difficulty criticizing his/ her own customs and traditions precisely because his/her vision is limited to his/her owns. Ethnocentrism does not only affect the individual’s view on other persons but influences the society as well. Watching a foreign film is one way to measure if one is open to other cultural experiences. I Not Stupid is a Singaporean film tackling the intertwined lives of three primary school classmates: Terry, Kok Pin and Boon Hock (Leong, Yin and Neo, 2002). It offers a glimpse of many facets of Singaporean culture: the education system that looks down on students in the bottom (the three are in EM3, which ranks lowest), the Chinese self-loathing (in a class, one character says she wants to be Caucasian when she grows up so she does not have to speak Chinese), the high regard for English (one mother speaks English to her children, another one stresses that in order to succeed in Singapore, one must be a master at English and Math), and Caucasian (a Caucasian was hired as director even though it was clearly evident that the local staff are more knowledgeable, equipped and deserving of the position; there is even a scene when the Singaporean boss approves the Caucasian’s concept even though it was the same concept presented by the locals, which he vehemently rejected), and the over obedience Singaporeans are known for (2002). The Singaporeans’ affair with Ba gua, or Chinese Pork Barbecue as well as their reliance on gods and goddesses to grant their favors is also shown in the film. Such rituals, as evinced in the film, may be common in Singapore but a North American, especially an ethnocentric, may find it peculiar or even distasteful. It must also be stressed that Singapore has a close relation with China so some of China’s cultural beliefs and customs are integrated into Singapore. The film is sprinkled in Chinese, English and Singlish, short for Singaporean English. Colonial mentality may be picked up from the film, judging the characters’ high regard for Westerners. The existence of Singlish is also a sign that Singaporeans, albeit already successful and one of the most economically driven countries in Asia, still feel the need to level on some ways with the Western countries, which this writer finds interesting. Imagine, in North America, there are students eager to learn other languages while in Singapore and other countries where there are other main languages aside from English, they already have the advantage of learning another language easily. Again, this is ethnocentrism at work. Another glaring cultural element that is shown in the film is Singaporean’s deference to power. Terry, one of the main characters, cannot stands on his own and always follows his mother. This is supposedly a jibe at Singaporeans’ compliant nature. If a similar event happened in North American, the kid is likely to fight back. But then again, this is Singapore and as said by one character, â€Å"It is difficult to catch fish in Singapore, because fish in Singapore are like Singaporeans, they’ll never open their mouths† (Leong, Yin and Neo, 2002). Ethnocentric thinking causes people to misunderstand other society’s culture and at the same it keeps them for understanding their own. The film I not Stupid is a satirical comedy carping on some of the country’s modern culture. Perhaps the producers are also ethnocentric but regardless of it, the film provides a peek at Singapore’s norms and values, which in essence is simply the country’s way of life. References Ember, C. and Ember, M. (1993). Anthropology 7th ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Leong, D. and Yin, C. P. (Producers), and Neo, J. (Director). (2002). I not stupid [VCD]. Singapore: United International Pictures.

Challenges Faced by the UK Construction Industry Today Essay

Challenges Faced by the UK Construction Industry Today - Essay Example From the report it is clear that buildings in UK have been accounting for a substantial amount of energy compared to the total electricity consumption, and the entire emission of the carbon dioxide from various building. This has developed challenge replacing or renovating buildings in order to reduce the environmental impacts in a way that neutralizes the carbon emissions, thereby achieving respectable financial returns on investment. There are efforts for reducing consumption of fossil fuels in buildings in order to achieve the objective of neutrality, and this will be achieved through seeking new approaches in designing and renovating buildings.This discussion highlights that  the other challenge relates to the pressure exerted on the construction industry by inflation, whereby pressure has been building over the emerging markets and other mature economies. There is a substantial domestic demand experienced in the construction industry, which is calling for expansionary monetary policy, and increase in cost of commodities. This results to an inflation risk prevailing in the year, though the central bank has commenced to increase the rates in order to prevent asset bubbles. Therefore, a likelihood of remaining as a target in UK because of pressure exerted on the commodities used is in the construction industry while an increase in tax has resulted to an increase in the wages due to expectation of further increase in inflation. (Langdon, 2011, 3). Nevertheless, there are policies that have been undertaken in the Back of England concerning the quantitative reduction of interest rates during the year leading to implications for inflation, which targets integrity (Jones, 2011, 1). In this case, the risk associated with inflation has been depicted three key factors such as potentiality in the rise of food inflation, persistent rise in prices of asset and a substantial increase in the global commodity prices. Shrinking workforce The construction industry in UK has faced a loss in the vital knowledge associated to the inability to replace specific skills, which have made a significant contribution to eh industry. On the other hand, the utility industry has achieved an age of utility workers since numerous of the workers who are experience are about to retire (Hughes, 2011, 1). Moreover, there is an aging workforce as a significant concern in the construction industry, and this is contributing substantially to the shrinkage of the workforce. There are expectations of an increase of average annual rate in construction industry leading to subsequent raise in rate of employment opportunities. However, the deteriorated workforce contributes to a problem related to utilities of the construction industry, whereby the utilities that are projected can lose stability (Lynagh, 2010, 1).

Wk 5 BA541 Asign Mass Customization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wk 5 BA541 Asign Mass Customization - Essay Example A good thing about mass customization is that it gives a company the competitive edge because the company does not just create any product, but those that customers need based on the company’s research. Another advantage of this strategy is that it promotes innovativeness on the part of the manufacturer and results to customer satisfaction for the consumer. (Babiarz, P., Piotrowski, M., et. al., 2008) Another benefit that mass customization brings is cost-reduction since companies, aware of what products or services are needed, are able to streamline processes. (Peppers, D. & Rogers, M, 2011). As mentioned earlier, there are also drawbacks in using mass customization as a strategy to build lasting customer relationships. One of these is that there is no standard per se in mass customization. (Peppers, D. & Rogers, M, 2011) For example, in some methods, customers can choose to change the color or style of a product once they have it. For others, it is different. As a result, some companies may lose their competitive edge because the method they chose may not give them information on what the customers want. For instance, companies who create interactive dress-up games for children may not know what colors or styles are designed by the consumers. Another disadvantage of mass customization is that, unlike in mass production, there is no inventory of finished goods so the customer may have to wait. (Zipkin, P., 2001) Because mass customization is dissimilar to mass production wherein the products are based on customer information, the company can project the quantity to be made. As a result, if there is an unexpected need, the quantity will not be enough. There have been several companies that successfully managed to shift to mass customization and received the loyalty of their customers. One of these that come to mind is Lutron Electronics Company. Specializing in lighting systems, Lutron listened to its customers and came up with a

Students Self-Evaluation In Ball Games Thesis Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 19000 words

Students Self-Evaluation In Ball Games - Thesis Example The research used positivistic approach and quantitative survey method using a close ended email questionnaire to collect information from 1458 students from secondary schools across Norway. The research used SPSS and descriptive analysis method to arrive at the research findings. It was found that female students’ tend to rate their performance on the lower side while majority of boys rate themselves as above average. Grades on physical education were found to have a negative relationship with the self-rated performance on ball games, implying that there is a need to realign student’s perceptions about standards of appraisal used by schools. Activity level (as measured by amount of time spent on activities like dance, walking, and any other exercise) was found to positively impact on performance of students. Parental education, measured by the education of mothers, was also found to positively affect performance. It was also found that students from an immigrant backgr ound did not rate themselves as good on the ball games and the findings imply a lack of cohesion or cultural fit that may be alienating the socio-culturally diverse students from participating in tea sports. The research therefore provides unique insights about factors impacting on participation and performance on ball games; which could lead to useful inputs for improving the morale and interest of Norway students to participate in physical education.... nts’ education level 2.6 Self-perception 2.7 Immigrant background 2.7 Conclusions Chapter 3: Research Methodology 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research Approach 3.3 Research Methods 3.4 Research Design 3.5 Research Validity and Reliability 3.6 Ethical Considerations 3.7 Conclusions Chapter 4: Findings 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Research Findings 4.2.1 Performance on Ball Games and Gender 4.2.1.1 Performance on Volleyball and Gender 4.2.1.2 Performance on Basketball and Gender 4.2.1.3 Performance on Floorball and Gender 4.2.1.4 Performance on Handball and Gender 4.2.1.5 Performance on Football and Gender 4.2.2 Performance on Ball Games and Grades 4.2.2.1 Performance on Volleyball and Grades 4.2.2.2 Performance on Basketball and Grades 4.2.2.3 Performance on Floorball and Grades 4.2.2.4 Performance on Handball and Grades 4.2.2.5 Performance on Football and Grades 4.2.3 Performance on Ball Games and Activity Level 4.2.3.1 Performance on Volleyball and Activity Level 4.2.3.2 Performance on Bask etball and Activity Level 4.2.3.3 Performance on Floorball and Activity Level 4.2.3.4 Performance on Handball and Activity Level 4.2.3.5 Performance on Football and Activity Level 4.2.4 Performance on Ball Games and Parental Education 4.2.4.1 Performance on Volleyball and Parental Education 4.2.4.1 Performance on Basketball and Parental Education 4.2.4.2 Performance on Floorball and Parental Education 4.2.4.3 Performance on Handball and Parental Education 4.2.4.4 Performance on Football and Parental Education 4.2.5 Performance on Ball Games and Self-Esteem 4.2.5.1 Performance on Volleyball and Self-Esteem 4.2.5.2 Performance on Basketball and Self-Esteem 4.2.5.3 Performance on Floorball and Self-Esteem 4.2.5.4 Performance on Handball and Self-Esteem 4.2.5.5 Performance on Football and

Chinese and Japanese Buddhist Calligraphy Essay

Chinese and Japanese Buddhist Calligraphy - Essay Example Geographical features, cultural traditions, and religious beliefs have influenced art in in Asian countries. Calligraphy or the art of writing characters, one of the most ubiquitous forms of art, was practiced and revered in the Chinese cultural sphere. However, it later got spread across other Asian countries like Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam, influencing the sensibilities and styles of different calligraphies. The art of calligraphy encompasses a sense of aesthetic richness that is estimated to have spanned over four millennia. It originated from a region of diverse cultures, traditions, and beliefs, contributing much to the writing art of Asian countries, particularly China and Japan. Building on the tradition of calligraphy, Japanese and Chinese arts developed a distinct style that sets it apart from the Western art and paintings. Both Japanese and Chinese Calligraphy originated and developed primarily from the ancient writing system of China. The discussion compares and con trasts the origins, forms, and inscriptions of Japanese Buddhist Calligraphy and Chinese Buddhist Calligraphy. Thesis: The similarities in Japanese and Chinese Buddhist Calligraphy are primarily based on the Chinese writing system from which they both originated. However, the differences that developed between the calligraphy styles can be attributed to the symbols, inscriptions, language, and the manner in which it is composed.

John Stuart Mill's view of the Iraqi War Term Paper

John Stuart Mill's view of the Iraqi War - Term Paper Example This essay discusses that thus, in case America intended to depose tyrannical regime of Hussein, the opponents can decrease their moral estimation of the American government. Moreover, in case of intervention had no underlying principles of humanitarian intervention, then there is a need to criticize coalition and make them pay for their errors and it is no way to discard a humanitarian basis of war.The intent of war was to liberate people from the suppressing of the tyranny. Finally, America copes with that goal and tyrant was removed. Iraqi people had a chance to see perspectives of freedom, an open way to liberty. This intent was underlined by the members of Coalition and Hussein had to pay for his erroneous and inhumane behavior and committing crimes against humanity. To set freedom and liberty principles is the most important task of the government. In case a nation is suppressed and is willing to freedom, there is a need to fight against suppression for independent thinking, fr eedom of choice and liberty. As far as we can see, Mill’s doctrine is profound and it is taken by proponents of American intervention to Iraq as the one supporting their humanitarian intervention and at the same time, opponents refer to Mill’s doctrine, as to the one, which criticizes American intervention to Iraq. Actually, different things in the world can be interpreted in different manners. It is an important philosophical skill to interpret different phenomena from negative and positive prospects.... Nevertheless, Mill’s consideration is relevant to the modern context and there is no need for a severe criticism, but rather for the appraisal and analysis of current political situations, military conflicts or wars in the world. Contemporaries would definitely concentrate their attention on Mill’s restriction between the liberties of individuals and social groups. The philosophical questions about the relevance and domination of different social values fit to the discussion about American politics during the war in Iraq (Schauer, 2005). Mill made an emphasis on moral abstraction from societal norms and doctrines and he enabled his readers to think. Modern generation can definitely borrow many Mill’s ideas and apply them not only for the discussions about wars, but also use them in their daily lives, because global thinking leads to better daily actions. In his work On Liberty  Mill wanted to defend a freedom of an individual. The mechanisms of behavioral templ ates creation and transformation of norms of morality are described by Mill. The set moral values are not bad, because they are bad, but because they are established and usually imposed on citizens. In other words, the main argument of Mill considered neglect of the â€Å"despotism of custom† (Mill, Chapter 3). Utilitarian ideas of Mill were reflected in his philosophy. He gives a broad consideration to the individual’s benefits for the society. He is much focused on liberties of an individual, but he claims that an individual should be useful for the society. Every individual should work hard in order to reach happiness in the society, because happiness in the society leads to a moral end.

Reducing Incidences of Child Obesity Research Proposal

Reducing Incidences of Child Obesity - Research Proposal Example The imbalance leads to such weight differences and redefines the way children will develop later in life. Genetic factors also form a huge part of the obesity trends. Many children are seen to be susceptible to obesity-conducive genes, which makes it easier to develop such weight problems if the parents do not offer a chance to capitalize on retaining a healthy lifestyle always. Â  The important thing is to generate new understanding of what obesity is all about. The case involving the utility of the resources available for the sake of intervening in the very early years as a way of preventing the obesity from taking shape and allowing the society to move from a rational way of dealing with the issue to an emotional one. Many of the parents fear that keeping their children from the junk they are used to may be a way of keeping them away from themselves (Rippe, 2013). This means that they do not offer them any guidance that could provide them with a chance of dealing with the issue when it is still in its early stages (Gorard, 2013). Evidence from difference sources highlights the impact that lifestyle choices could have in tracking obesity and allowing adults to lose weight and keep fit, as well as allow the children to choose better lifestyles. The purpose of introducing the changes from a tender age is the fact that they are easily receptive at this age ( Rippe, 2013). Preventing its occurrence is essential as a way of managing the weight issues amongst the children. Â  Obesity amongst children has in many developed countries reached epidemic levels. This means that so many children are falling into this trap when they are much younger than they should be. At least 25% of the children in the US alone are in the overweight category with 11% of these falling into the obese category (Ahima, 2013).

There are varying views as to the role of a Human Resource Function Essay

There are varying views as to the role of a Human Resource Function and its practitioners. Explore what these roles are and analyse how they can add value and enhance organisational effectiveness - Essay Example long with internationalisation, wider adoption, as well as execution of pioneering technological advancements and prevalence of extreme business market competition among others. It is strongly believed that the different functions of HRM predominantly plays an imperative role in supporting the organisations belonging to this modern day context in the dimensions of raising greater value to the customers and improvising their operational effectiveness (Aswathappa, 2005). In this similar context, the different functions of HR are managing the activities performed by the personnel of an organisation in an effective manner, motivating people and integrating the organisational objectives with the requirements of the personnel engaged in realizing the organisational objectives (Amos & et. al., 2009). Apart from these, the other vital functions of HRM entail utilising the available resources efficiently, making decisions as per the requirement and retaining the potential people among others (Randhawa, 2007). With this concern, the essay intends to discuss about the varied theoretical models of HRM in order to determine its functions that add value and enhance organisational effectiveness by a considerable extent. The models would be then compared with others in order to acquire a brief understanding about the above stated subject matter. Critics have certainly argued that the field of HRM lacks in establishing a logical theoretical framework, which restricts in determining the actual roles played by varied HR functions towards the attainment of long-term as well as short-term objectives of an organisation. However, it is witnessed that there exists certain HRM based theoretical models that provide a better understanding about the effectiveness of diverse HR functions, which lay a significant impact on the overall performance of an organisation in a long run (Wright & McMahan, 1993). In this similar context, the different theoretical models relating to the field of HRM

Business plan for SBA music in developing new services Assignment

Business plan for SBA music in developing new services - Assignment Example SBA Music is operating in an environment mainly influenced by two associations which represent the Record Companies in Australia – ARIA, which licenses the right to copy music, and PPCA which licenses the right to play recorded music in public (SAB). Their initiative to push tariffs up is likely to impact negatively on other musical suppliers and this is likely to affect the B2B music market within Australia. For SAB there are various factors that affect its operations such as social demographic as well as economic. Their products are tailored to appeal to a wide range of audiences and through improved technological advances the organisation can capitalise on both computer and mobile software. It is a force to reckon with especially with its highly organised programming team which is always on top when it comes to supporting local artists. The market for SBA Music is diverse and very wide according to information obtained from the website. The target market ranges from the you ng to the older generations and they produce and mix music to be played in various outlets including the retail shops, bars, restaurants, hotels and even hair saloons. These are also distribution channels and products should be tailored to appeal to different target groups on the basis of age.

Gender Stereotyping In The Media Essay Example for Free

Gender Stereotyping In The Media Essay It has been strongly evident that the media has played a large role in gender stereotyping for decades. Since the very beginning of film, movies and television shows have depicted men and especially women as lower or lesser beings. This â€Å"tradition† of sexism has of course, decreased since the 50’s but still lingers on in many of today’s television programs. In the early 50’s, with television shows such as â€Å"I Dream of Jeanie† and â€Å"I Love Lucy, women were portrayed quite openly as being the server to their husbands, the men. They were considered to be lower than men or in other words of less importance. Many of the shows from this era showed a substantial amount of gender stereotyping. For example, the women were to do what they were told, they were the only ones who cooked and cleaned, and they were the primary caregiver for the children. Of course, things have changed since the 50’s. Women have proven to be powerful and just as competent as men, thus, making it harder for television shows to portray them as lesser individuals. However, although the gender stereotyping has decreased, it is certainly still evident in the media. There are several television shows being broadcasted today that do, in fact, show some form of gender stereotyping, particularly towards women. However, it is less out in the open and blunt than it use to be in the early 50’s and 60’s. One must read between the lines and pay attention to notice the stereotypic behavior being portrayed. While this behavior may be subtle, it does, in fact still exist. There is a very well known show on MTV known as â€Å"The Real World,† which comes on every Wednesday. It is a reality based show which places seven strangers into one house for several weeks where they are to live together for the duration of the program. As many of us know, reality shows are not what they appear to be. The directors and producers of such shows have the ability to crop and edit which specific clips of the film that they want to be premiered. Inevitably, they are able to portray the individuals on their show in any way that they want. For example, they may choose to only show clips of certain individuals where they are crying, fighting, or as â€Å"The Real World† often does, being promiscuous. This is a vital key in how this show can stereotype a specific gender. In episode three of the new and current season of â€Å"The Real World,† it can be concluded that women are overall depicted as foolish, whiney, selfish, rude, childish, and promiscuous. The men of the serious, however, are showed in a softer, lighter side. They are portrayed as caring individuals who would rather stay away from most of the women and stray from any drama or arguments going on inside of the house. In one segment of the show, two of the women of the house are running around the house screaming and yelling, playing a game which appears to be cowboys and Indians. The next scene shows the men of the house calmly sitting outside having adult conversations. This is clearly in effort to make the females look childish. In another segment of the show, the women are basically all fighting with one another while the men sit quietly in the background. One of the females sarcastically asks another cast member if it is fun living with a bunch of girls. The other cast member quickly responds with a no. It should be understood that not everything that the women in the house on this show have done have been childish or in anyway degrading. It is impossible to fit everything that has been recorded of these people when producing the show. So, everything that viewers are allowed to see has been carefully selected for various reasons such as higher ratings. The more dramatic events that happen, the more likely it will be for the show to attract audiences. However, why is it that there are no dramatic sequences shown where the men are degrading themselves? In conclusion, gender stereotyping in the media, although lessened since the 50’s, does still exist on television programs today. Whether women are portrayed as inferior to men or simply more ignorant or immature, the fact is that gender stereotyping is an all too sad reality in the world that we live in today. Perhaps one day we can come to an understanding that all men AND women and created equally. Works Cited www. mtv. com www. realworld. com www. people. unt. edu/jw0109/misc/stereotype. htm

Social Reactions To Interracial Relationships

Social Reactions To Interracial Relationships The United States Supreme Court In 1967 ruled that Virginias anti-miscegenation laws were not in accord with the principles set forth in the constitution of the state and put a stop to all of the legal restrictions that were in place against marriages amongst mixed race (Erin, 2005). Since that time there has been a remarkable increase in the number of marriages amongst mix race in the United States (Lewis and Yancey, 1997), and the figures of interracial couples has also become twice as much every decade since 1960 (Killian, 2002). Statistics show that currently there are about 3 million interracial marriages, which make up 5% of all marriages in the United States, and another 2.5 million mix race couples that are dating (Hibbler and Shinew, 2002). Interracial marriages can include the combination of White, Blacks, Asians, Hispanics, and any other group. However, when people talk about interracial relationships, the first things that mostly come to their mind is relationships amongst black and white (Vernellia, 1998). The rate of growth of interracial marriages is increasing by the day. In particular, the kind of interracial intermingling involving Blacks and Whites has been constantly changing. Immediately after Emancipation, the figures of black and white interracial relationships increased, got to its peak in 1900, and subsequently decrease till 1940. However, this form of union is still the least common type of mix race union (Davidson, 1992), even though the Black and White intermarriages has been on the increase since the 90s (Tucker and Mitchell-Kernan, 1990). There are a lot of reasons for the sharp increase in the figures of the different form of interracial marriages. One of the reasons is the Supreme Court decision in 1967 that made anti- miscegenation laws unconstitutional (Kalmijn, 1993). The close in the gap narrowed down between Blacks and Whites education, occupation and income (Kalmijn, 1993). Also, data from National Center for Health Statistics indicates the decrease in Whites prejudice against Blacks (Kalmijn, 1993). Further more, the increase in interracial marriage can be linked to the progress made by the Civil Rights movement, the increase in opportunities afforded Black people, and the increase in social contact between the races (Davidson, 1992). This research aim at reviewing the historical background of interracial relationship both interracial dating and marriage, and also factors attributed to relationships amongst mix race. This research also focuses on the opinions of the youth to interracial relationship in the 21th century. In general, the main aim of this piece is to examine interracial relationships, whether marriage or casual dating and the attitude of the youths towards it, taking foreign pre- masters students at ICRGU from different regions as samples. The reason for the study of different forms of relationships is because some individual rather prefer to go into a causal date, than going into a serious relationships that might lead to marriage. But this research will not only look at attitude towards interracial relationships from perspective of preference. It will look at possible points of meeting a person from another region or origin, and what might probably propel someone into such relationship base on pers onalities and compatibility. The research questions are as follows: What are the attitudes of the youths towards relationship amongst mix race in the 21th century? How popular is relationships amongst mix race. Factors affecting relationships amongst mix race. LITERATURE REVIEW This section of review on the interracial relationships will basically focus on three major tittles, which are The characters of those going into interracial relationships Theories why people marry outside of their race taking blacks and whites form of union as study sample. Social reactions to interracial relationship. To start with, characteristics of those in interracial relationships, in terms of marriage, research shows that people who interracially marry tend to be younger, likelihood of being married before, live in developed environment like cities or town, or are older in age from their spouse compared to people who married within their own race (Erin, 2005). Research founds that male and female within a particular racial group to an extent have different tendency to get married to someone outside their racial group (Erin, 2005). For instance, Black male have high records of interracial compared to black females. Also, Japanese and Native American woman have much higher numbers of interracial marriages compared to their male counterparts (Erin, 2005). In the U.S interracial marriages currently are highest in the west and lowest in the southern region. However, Hawaii breaks the normal trends of interracial marriages. Hawaii has a unique racial makeup in that no single racial group makes up more than 25% of the population and nearly 40% of all marriages interracial (Solberry, 1994). Therefore, it is significant to note that interracial couples tend to often move to more hospitable areas of the country (Tucker and Mitchellkernan, 1990). Further more, many theories have been established to explain the reasons behind people getting married to race other than their race, and success of such marriage to stand test of time. Structural theory states that marriages among mix race is more frequent in areas where community structure have been kept in place to support and authorize interracial marriages, and also community were there is increase in awareness of peoples personal decision to go into such a union. Recent attention given to interracial marriage in the media and in popular literature along with more people living and working in more integrated environments has lead to an increased acceptance of heterogeneous relationships (Hibbler and Shinew, 2002). Another predominant theory on reason people chose to marry outside of their race is the social exchange theory. Using Black-White interracial marriage for instance, social exchange theory states that when White women marry Black men, who usually are of higher economic status, they exchange the prestige of their skin color for the Black husbands higher economic status (Davidson, 1992; Kalmijn, 1993; Lewis and Yancey, 1997). However, Black women have been found to marry down in both interracial and same race unions, which seem to prove that Black-White interracial marriage is more complex than just an exchange of status (Foeman and Nance, 1999). An additional theory, which attempts to account for the union of interracial relationships, is the racial motivation theory (Kouri and Lasswell, 1993). The racial motivation theory states that many interracial marriages take place because of racial differences, not in spite of them (Kouri and Lasswell, 1993). From this view, it can be said that curiosity about differences in race, increases sexual interest or attraction to someone not of same race. This theory also says that those who intermarry may be acting in rebellion against social norms of racial endogamy and using the marriage as a way to state their independence (Kouri and Lasswell, 1993). Finally, there has been a change in the societal view of interracial marriages. Many studies have shown that there is less pressure in society today to have racially homogeneous relationships than in the past (Lewis Yancey, 1997). Never the less there are still some discriminations in some form of interracial union. Using the union of Black and White for instance, recent studies still suggest that the Black-White interracial union, especially the Black male-White female union, is still the most negatively viewed relationship type (Norment, 1994). There have been many researches on the history of discrimination against Black-White Interracial union. Today, the relationship between Blacks and Whites is seen as different from that of other minorities. When one speaks of race relations in America, the majority of people immediately think of the struggles between Black and White people (Killian, 2002; Wright et. al, 2003). Despite the dramatic increase in Black-White marriages, they are still the least favorable form of interracial marriage in America (Wade, 1991), and they are still considered to be a taboo subject by some (Harris and Kalbfleisch, 2000). According to survey carried out among Blacks and White marriage, in the study of 270 interracial couples, it was found that nearly half reported that marrying someone not from their race makes marriage difficult, while about two thirds reported that at least one of the parent objected to their marriage (Fears and Deane, 2001). Although there is increase in the tolerance of interracial couples, there are still powerful forces in society that make Black-White interracial marriage hard and unappealing (Dainton, 1999). Many Black-White interracial couples report that they face discrimination from members of their own particular race; European Americans view them as being too Black and African Americans view them as being not Black enough (Orbe, 1999). Another source of discrimination for those in interracial marriages is often the family. The majority of people in interracial marriages have said that they have had to face one or both parents express serious concern to outright disapproval of their choice to marry interracially. Most of the time , this disapproval are always expressed verbally, and in the case where couple goes on with the marriage, some certain members of the family not in support of the union might refuse to attend any important event organized by the couples, such as wedding, holiday celebrations, family reunion or even family visitation. In some extreme cases, members of interracial marriages have reported having lost all contact for years at a time with once close members of their families (Luke and Carrington, 2000). But, one part of the twos couples tend to be more acceptant than the other. Studies have also found that acceptance of interracial marriages is increasing at a rapid rate and an increasing number of interracial couples are reporting that their families have openly accepted their interracial relationship, and they feel comfortable speaking about their relationship in public (Fears Deane, 2001, Rosenblatt et. al., 1995). However, attitudes towards interracial relationships have been found to vary based on race, age, and gender. In a study of Black and White people between the ages of 21 and 40, it was reported that men have more positive attitudes towards interracial relationships compared to women, and also those that are younger have more favorable views on interracial relationships (Datzman and Gardner 2000). It was also found that the families of the Black partner in interracial relationships tend to be more accepting and supportive than the families of the White partner (Hibbler and Shinew, 2002). In another study eighty-six percent of Black respondents said that their families would welcome a White person into their family compared to only 55% of White respondents who said their families would welcome a Black person into their family (Fears Deane, 2001). This research however is not just about interracial relationships among blacks and white, the review is to build up facts associated with interracial relationship considering researches already done on different topics on interracial relationships which can help answer some of the research questions. This research aims at cutting across all forms of interracial relationships, and types of relationships, whether causal dating or marriages and associated factors that influences the opinion of people towards going into it. Also, it aims at finding the opinion of the youth towards interracial relationships in the 21th century. METHOLOGY The research targeted at getting the opinions and attitudes of the youths towards interracial relationships, whether just casual dating or marriages. Considering the limitation both time and resources, the research were conducted among international students of ICRGU who are from different parts of the world, namely, China, Nigeria and Kazakhstan. The final sample of students consist of 4 Chinese (1 males, 3 females), 3 Nigerians (2 males, 1 female), and 3 Kazakhstanis (1 male, 2 females), all between the age of 20-35. None of the participant is married. Interviews were conducted on each of the participants to explore their attitudes toward interracial relationships. Qualitative data were collected by the means of follow-up interviews with the respondents who participated in the survey. The interviews with the respondents were semi- structured interview, including general questions as well as sets of questions for individuals who either have family members or friends, or know someone who was is into interracially relationship. Generally, all the questions aimed at getting disposition towards interracial relationships, and also general opinion towards interracial relationships. DISCUSSION Over the decades now, many studies have been made on interracial relationships and so far shown many controversies. The study on interracial relationships is a wide study, but very interesting study. This research however focused on the opinion of the youths towards interracial relationships, and has been proven that there is increase in the awareness of youth towards interracial relationships, unlike in the past. The table 1 shows the numbers of participants both male and female who took part in the survey, and their opinion on whether they can go into a relationship with someone not of their race. About 60% agreed they can go into interracial relationships, while about 20% disagree not to going into interracial relationships. 20% percent others would want to, but are restricted because of some factors like family acceptance or their culture. Table 2, shows the participants general opinion towards interracial marriages, and from the table, there is a trend of acceptance in some region compared to other regions. Fig 2.1 and 2.2 shows the percentages of both male and females opinions towards interracial marriages. Figure2.1 shows individual dispositions towards interracial marriage and about 60% sounded positive of getting married to someone outside their race, and about 40% wouldnt want to get married to someone not from their race. Figure 2.2 shows the general opinion on interracial marriages, and about 90% feels nothing is wrong in going into interracial marriages, while about 10% feels interracial marriages isnt ideal. Even with challenges faced in interracial relationship, its still something one can rule out from happening. According to Mr. John, he feels with high speed travel and communication technology in this age of globalization interracial marriages will always happen irrespective of the family, cultural believes, or societal opinion. But he feels to preserve culture, interracial marriage is not ideal. Miss Ama also feels marriage has nothing to do with culture or believes. She feels as long as there is love and the both parties understand themselves, marrying each other shouldnt be a problem. She also didnt rule out difficulties that might come with the marriage such as language barriers but she said if the 2 parties are strong enough to overcome the challenges that will make them strong. Generally, from the research, it was observed most believe interracial relationships have to do with the personal decisions and feeling. According to Miss Beauty, she feels going into interracial relationship is a personal thing. She also said as long as there is respect and happiness, there is nothing wrong about interracial relationships. To add to this, Miss Ama said feeling is a thing of the mind irrespective of color, culture or religion , you dont expect it, it just happens. When happens and you feel the person is the right choice for you, you just go for it. One of the limitations in this research is the time frame. The time frame to complete this research isnt long enough to get more samples for analyzing the topic in context. The research was restricted to little numbers of participants and limited questions to elaborate more on the factors affecting opinions so as to have enough time to execute the aim of the research. However, with previous review on related research, the aim of the research was accomplished. Another limitation was the numbers of different regions availably. In the pre masters class of ICRGU where the survey was carried out, presently have students mainly from 3 countries namely, Nigeria, China, and Kazakhstan. The effect of this is that, there were limitations to cultural behaviors and believes considering the topic was generally on opinion of the youths in the 21th century, and just 3 countries were available for the survey. CONCLUSION An interracial relationship is where there is marriage, sexual or romantic relations between individuals of different races. In the past, interracial marriages were in fact taboo in some parts of the world, but with globalization there has been a change in ideology about interracial relationship. From the result of the survey, it suggests that there is increase in the awareness of interracial relationships. It also suggests there is an increase in the acceptance of going into a relationship with someone of different race. However, there are still some believes that interracial relationships, especially marriage if encourage, could lead to cultures being eradicated, in this light very few persons wont support such union so as to preserve culture. The finding in the studies also shows that about 90% of the participants feel there is nothing wrong in going into interracial relationships, as long as both parties love each other and have reasons to want to go into such relations, and also can solve their differences. There are some attitudes common to the participants of this survey which are, All participants are in their 20s and are all international students of ICRGU who are from different countries, and might want to try something new. They have been opportune to meet with other students from other countries. Considering might be the first time most of them have the opportunity to meet different people with different culture, color, background and country. They believe as long as the 2 parties are willing to pass the huddles, there is nothing wrong in interracial relationships Lastly, they feel relationship is the thing of the heart. It has nothing to do with color, culture or country. As long as the two parties can cope with their differences. There are a lot of controversies on interracial relationships because believes of every individuals varies. But according to this research, it can be said to some extent that interracial relationships is somehow accepted and there is increase in awareness. In light of the increasing rates of interracial relationship and the opinion of people towards it, there is still a great deal of research that needs to be done on this topic. One of the researches needs to discuss more on the success of interracial marriages.

Strategic Business Management And Planning For Amazon

Strategic Business Management And Planning For Amazon 1. INTRODUCTION Strategic management can be defined as the set of decisions and actions that result in the formulation and implementation of plans designed to achieve a companys objective(Pearce, J.A and Robinson, R.B., Strategic management: formulation, implementation and control, McGraw-Hill ) This essay is based on the study of Amazon.com. I started by talking about the E-commerce and a brief history of Amazon. Then I moved on to the strategic thinking of the founder of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, and the strategies he used to make Amazon so successful and the strategy implementation. To analyse the company I used PESTLE and SWOT analysis. Financial ratios are used to analyse the companys financial position and financial performance. Finally I conclude the essay by giving my suggestions about the companys future. The material is taken from different journals, articles and books and all the material is properly referenced. 2. AMAZON.COM (AN E-COMMERCE GIANT) E-commerce is extremely competitive and dynamic market. Firm in this market is constantly changing and challenges. He and his strategy in order to investigate the change of life and has to compete with rivals. important factor is customer service and satisfaction. Amazon is the first company who started online book retailing service. The name has become synonymous with e-commerce and is one of the few Internet brands recognised the world over(The Economist 2000). Amazons superior customer service is one of the secrets behind its success; I would argue it also has a first mover advantage. First movers or pioneering firms enjoy higher market share derived from substantial and enduring sales advantage. (Robinson,1988) and (Lambkin,1988). The Amazon.com model is very simple and beguilingly attractive (Fortune,1997). According to the Amazon model: expensive inventory and brick and mortar warehouse are not needed by the new age retailer and all that is needed is a website to present a face to greet customers and takes their orders. Other parties handle the capital-intensive aspects of stocking inventory. Why Amazon.com I will continue to amazon.com because it is a little different and various people are not aware of this, he worked as a search engine as well. Would you like to listen to Britney Spears? (After all, one has to!) and type you are looking for new albums.Based only type of research can take account of the Amazon to work almost 100% of the time. Amazon Books, CDs, DVDs and video works well because it is what we call a uniquely identified. users can easily find a unique item identified, because they know what they want. BUSINESS STRATEGIC PLANING ( MODELS, CONCEPTS AND TOOLS) Strategic planning is to create a vision for the future management and direction to life. He has acted in accordance with the mission statement that focuses on the umbrella business organizations. This is an effective procedure to determine its short-term results with long-term goals. Strategic planning answers three big questions: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Where are we now? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Where are we in the future? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ What should be the focus now, so that it is more likely that we would be where we want to be in the future? This is a simple process with the incredible power of your organization and to bridge the gap between long-term vision and day-to-day tactical switch gap. What to answer three basic questions that the teams develop action plans for their first step in that direction now! Now it is the daily, weekly, monthly, and during this quarter. Design team processes are as valuable as the plan. (Some states have become even more important.) Single-manager will try to implement your company time and tried to run away and sit down to create a vision, mission, strategy and goals. such plans are generally very good, all very intuitive and smart CEO. As an alternative, the Director-General may hire a planning consultant. The hard truth is that the best plan is one that would indeed be implemented. This is why the plan, the team always beat the team plan. If youre in the middle of the short-term crisis, as all out to promote a new product out the door youll have to wait until every member of the planning team will be suspended for two days. On the other hand, if you are a long-term crisis for months planning meeting is a great opportunity to make a few steps back, and the choice of situations. Maybe the only way out of crisis mode to invest in changing the status quo, improving infrastructure, developing new markets, new products, creating a competitive strategy that will replace the team above their heads, to set the legacy products, markets, customers and employees share. Strategic planning is not about predicting the future, read the crystal ball, or call psychic hotline. Strategic planning is to ask what future actions will be developed in the future they want. If you will be in five years? à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Not where you think you will. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ There is no place that you would predict. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Where do you want to be. JEFF BEZOS STRATEGIC THINKING Schuler and Jackson, 1987 classify business strategy into three types: cost reduction, innovation and quality enhancement (source: Schuler and Jackson,1987). I agree with Jackson and Schà ¼ler (1987), when Bezos was innovative and use it as a strategy. But it does not only focus on innovation and growth, and expand your knowledge not only helps to a large market share but also to compete with rivals, as well as a major player in an alliance..As according to Porter and Fuller : By strategic alliance firms gain the benefits of economies of scale, access to scarce knowledge and skills and spread the risks of research and innovation. (Porter and Fuller,1986) At one place during his interview, Jeff Bezos says, Our vision is that we want to be the worlds most customer -centric company and a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online. (Hof and Robert D, 1999) and we are not a book company, we are not a music company, we are not a video company we are not an auctions company: we are customer company (Hof and Robert D, 1999). As the online marketing and sales, insurance transactions are very curious as to why customers want to buy online. Jeff Bezos attention to the safety and security of customer transactions increased confidence and self belief. Customers personal information, including name, address and credit card information is encrypted, which is impossible to read and can be safely travel over the Internet, resulting in increased customer facilities. Bezos believes the sign, taking into account the interests of business success. This is why it is named after the Amazon river in the world to become the worlds largest online bookstore, and we see this day. This is not surprising given the fact that the company spends approximately 40 per cent of its revenue on brand building (Margolis, 1999) due to its firm belief that customers first and foremost look for trusted brands when they deal online (Hof and Hemelstein, 1999). Competitive Advantage Competitive advantage is a factor, or combination of factors that the organization is more successful than other organizations in a competitive environment, and can not be easily copied by its competitors. Strategy Process of Amazon.Com In the search for sources of sustainable competitive advantage, JEFF BEZOS has realized that business performance depends not only on the formulation and successful implementation of a given strategy but also on the process by which competitive positions are created or maintained. (i) Innovation: The main strategy used by Jeff bezos is customer-focused innovation. As Pearson and Robinson (2000) argue that some firms find it profitable to make innovation their grand strategy. (Pearson and Robinson 2000).Thats why he had great focus on continuous innovation, by introducing new technologies to enhance customer experience. Because customers expects continuous change and new products and services. Bezos believed in innovation as a key to success and to compete with competitors. According to (Pearson and Robinson,2000) most growth oriented firms appreciate the need to be innovative (Pearson and Robinson 2000). According to Bob de Wit and Ronley (1998) innovation requires brooding, tinkering, experimentation, testing and patience, as new ideas grow and take shape (Bob de Wit and Ronley,1998). Rigid and continuous innovation in the electronic commerce has been Amazons heritage. (ii) Diversification: Another strategy Jeff Bezos used for the Amazon is diversification. He used both product diversification and business diversification. From time to time he introduced new products in order to meet customers needs and demands. Thats the reason today Amazon has millions of customers who visit the website and satisfy their needs. According to Pearson and Robinson (2000) firms seeks balance in their portfolios between current business with cyclical sales and acquired business with counter cyclical sales between high-cash/ low opportunity and low-cash/high opportunity businesses or between debt-free and highly leveraged business (Pearson and Robinson 2000). I agree with Pearson and Robinson (2000), since Bezos had seen opportunity and growth in new businesses e-g, toys, jewellery, games and health and beauty etc. Bezos is seen quite successful in the business diversification, which obvious from his popularity of current business position. As Johnson and Scholes (1993) argue that firms whi ch diversify by building on their core business do better than those who diversify in an unrelated way (Johnson and Scholes,1993). (iii) Human resource strategy: Human resource plays important role in the success of a business. As Pearson and Robinson (2000) states that a firms ability to attract and hold capable employees is essential to its success (Pearson and Robinson,2000). Bezos had great focus on strengthening of management team and for this he appointed many senior managers and directors from time to time. Since business strategy and HR strategy has a significant effect on the organizations performance, so in order to achieve high performance, their must be linkage between these two strategies. Bezos is seen quite successful in doing this. (iv) Acquisitions: Another strategy Bezos used for the growth of the business is acquisitions. According to Pearson and Robinson (2000) the acquisitions of one or more similar firms eliminate competitors and provide the acquiring firm with access to new markets (Pearson and Robinson 2000). I do agree with Pearson and Robinson as Bezos acquired many firms to support expansion into the European market place. Bezos acquired many other dot COM companies providing different services to its customers. I can argue Bezos this strategic thinking helped him to reduce competitors and maked Amazon no 1 in the world. (v) Joint ventures Jeff Bezos also used joint ventures for the expansion and growth of his business. According to Bartlett et al (2004) multinationals used joint ventures extensively as a way not only to navigate through bureaucratic processes but also to learn about new markets (Bartlett et al,2004). Amazon had joint ventures with key Internet players, which provide a huge customer base and an opportunity to grow in the new markets. Bartlett et al (2004) argue that executives look for growth in the big emerging markets, they tend quite naturally to focus on the size of the opportunity and the challenges that lie ahead (Bartlett et al 2004). I think Bezos had joint ventures because he saw an opportunity for growth. 5. STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION The successful implementation of strategies will require invariably require some degree of change in the organizations resource profile (Johnson and Scholes,1993). Jeff Bezos used innovation and continuous growth as main strategies in his business, which he achieved through continuous technology improvement and expansion in the form of acquisitions and joint ventures. It is seen that many strategies fail because of lack of management interest. It is vital that in order to implement a successful strategy, necessary resources should be allocated to it, also the internal and external factors play major role in the success of strategy. It arent what you do, its the way that you do it- thats what gets results (Anon, 2003). Jeff Bezos is quite successful in implementing the strategies at right time as the timing of a strategy is vital, if one is to get in before a rival aiming for a market advantage with a similar idea (Anon, 2003). Amazon , the biggest online retailer in the world, is working harder to bolster its European Union presence through expanding its distribution network and reaching into new markets, the Financial Times reported. (Source: (CORPORATE IT UPDATE via COMTEX) 4 January 2011) Because of its strategic position in the region, it is much attracted by multinationals from all over the world including United States, and Germany etc. Lastyear, Amazon added 11 distribution centres to its network and Goldman Sachs analysts say that all but two were located outside the US. According to their research, there were three European, five Chinese and one Japanese opening in 2010. Amazon added an Italian website to the ones it operates in France, Germany and the UK, and acquired Spain-based Buyvip for nearly USD100m (EUR75m). Amazon is currently boosting staff numbers in Luxembourg, where its European headquarters are based. The group is looking for experts in logistics and shipping to ensure the smooth progress of the expansion and raise the efficiency of the distribution network. Technological Factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ the biggest online shopping site and e-commerce one of the most widely known on the Internet. Jeff Bezos founded in 1995, it had 11 employees by years end. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Within four years, has more than 1,600 employees and four million customers. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ 1990, Amazon has more than four million names of CDs, videotapes, DVDs and games for free. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ It is still a new business lines, including toys, electronics, software, electrical appliances and home improvement products, online auctions and services to increase data center à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ (Amazon Elastic Computer Cloud) datacenter services from Amazon Web Services Amazon.com company developers. The server is running Windows Server, OpenSolaris, and various Linux operating systems and database applications and Web servers. Amazon programming interface (API), applications can be increased or decreased ability to process the request (the flexible in the title) Amazon.com à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Recent Key Inc. April 7, 2010 Amazon launches beta version of new Internet services March 18, 2010 Amazon.com s Kindle launch in March March 12, 2010 Dr. Oswald, a product released to the pharmacy musclecar February 25, 2010 Amazon launched a new generation of e-book reader Kindle February 23, 2010 Microsoft, Amazon.com patent cross-license, sale Legal Factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ The right questions to be appointed as Amazon.com, the e-tailor. (Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London Friday, March 21, 2003). There are conflicts in the HP iPAQ Pocket PC cost. demand that the site took hours and when they return, low prices have been removed and replaced with the truth. Environmental Factors à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ In the Amazon, we are always looking for ways to reduce our environment. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Buying online is generally more environmentally friendly than traditional retailing. Is Amazon.com a model for the future of retailing? E-commerce was invented by Benjamin Franklin in 1744, but they Mailorder time. The only difference between the catalog Franklin (who sold books) and Amazon. Amazon using the computer and wrote a letter to Franklin. I remember when I first e-commerce, whatever. All I hear is no one intends to kill the store to go shopping .. no one to go to the center of it only. Sit at home and for what. Wrong. Shopping is a social activity, is a big difference between sitting at home clicking around with your friends and get the center of a cappuccino, get your nails and evaluating dressed funny. Or in the case, go to the tool department of Sears and cigar humidor shop. Amazon and other e-retailers in place. The best way is to compare a number of objects in a very short period of time. What you can find things online that are available on the spot. But the future of retailing? No AMAZONS FUTURE (Nature, Scope and Need) We see that though Amazon has a strong position in the market, but still there are weaknesses and threats that it is facing. Surviving as well as establishing and maintaining a competitive position in the online market place requires a constant strategic re-orientation and organizational evolution (EfthymiosConstantinides, 2004). According to Riolli-saltzman and Luthane-commerce companies can be successful if they combine future orientation with organizational adaptability and flexibility (Riolli-saltzman and Luthan,2000), Amazon needs to have constant change in business strategy as Kippenberger argued strategy formulation is determined by time or circumstances therefore there is no one best way to form strategy. (Kippenberger,1998) Since online consumers are concern about the trust, so Amazon need to offer other communication channels e-g telephone, post etc. Customers trust can be build in this way. One cant say that it will become the Wal-mart of the Internet. Because its overall aim is to provide low cost products and services to customers and good relation with its suppliers, while Wal-mart true strength has been its ability to squeeze suppliers (Economist,2000) and also there is huge difference between the profitability of Amazon and Wal-mart. Amazon needs to implement new marketing strategies that will help to increase customers base, awareness of product and services and strengthen the brand name. A continuous innovation through creating specialized software would be helpful to business. Since human resource play an important role in the success of a business, so to motivate and retain employees, some sort of reward system not just for executives but for ordinary employees is also needed to be introduced and also the ability to attract and hire the qualified personnel. There will always be a threat of competition, but if Bezos keep growing by making alliances and investments, this not only can drive the competitors out but will also help to maintain its position in the market. Finally to me Amazons business model seems the right model and its future is bright. CONCLUSION From SWOT AND PESTEL analysis we see that Amazon.com has great advantage and strong position over its competitors. There are many opportunities to grow but also there is a need of a good business strategy to follow. The economic condition of Amazon.com is getting better after becoming the part of the European Union and the business is growing in the world. To me the future of Amazon looks bright and many development opportunities are available to it.

First Ladies :: essays research papers

There were four women that i enjoyed reading. One was Nacy Regan. She was born on July 6,1923(some reasources say 1921) in New York City. She as a former film and stage actrss who became First Lady of the United States when husband, Ronald Regan, become President in 1980. She was First Lady from 1981 until 1989. She did campaigns such as Drug-Free Youth and Adopt Grandparent Program. Lady Bird Johnson was another I was interrested in. Born Claudia Alta Taylor in Texas on December 22, 1912. She got her name "Lady Bird" when she was a child. Her mother died when she was only five. Her father, aunt and family servents help raised her. She went on to college to study arts and journalism at University of Texas. Lady Bird is a devoted partner to her husbands political career. Betty Ford was known said to be the "all american wife" but most peopld just saw her as a First Lady. Elizabeth Bloomer was born on April 8, 1918 in Chicago, Ill. Betty described her childhood to be full of friends, dates and social outtings. In 1942 she married Bill Warren, whom she had known since she was in grade school Three years into their marrige she realized that they were incompatible. She wanted to start a family and home; he was on the road a lot. She wanted a divorce. Before sho could tell him what she felt he went into a diabetic coma, and was unable to walk. So Betty took care of the household and visited Bill in the hospital. In 1947 he recovered and she filed for divorce. Later that year she met Gerald Ford and they dated for a year then they got married in late Oct. then two weeks later was elected to the House Of Representatives. Betty soon became an alcoholic when he was in office and went into rehap.

Soulless Humanity in George Orwells Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) :: Nineteen Eighty-Four 1984 Essays

Soulless Humanity in 1984    The year 1984 has since passed but George Orwell's prophetic vision of the future could still happen.   1984   portrays a society that has lost all trace of individuality, love, and critical thought.   George Orwell's "Negative Utopia" depicts the despair of the future of humans and also serves as a warning about fascism.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Orwell's sets the mood of the book as one of hopelessness for the future of humans.   He contrasts this mood with a popular philosophy: belief in the progress of humanity and the ability of people to institute peace and justice in the world.   These contrasting views set up the premise for the life of Winston Smith, who is one man caught in a society devoted to conformity.   Orwell's warning to this is that if people cannot change the way things are going, our society will lose their human qualities.   They will become soulless machines and not have a clue as to their new world they created.   This is the world in which Winston Smith is caught in.   He is different from the others and in a civilization which does not approve of individuality, Winston is targeted by the government from the beginning.   Being different in this populace only means rebellion and that exactly is what Winston sets out to do.   Winston believes that although he must conform on t he outside, that no one can take his individual thought away.   Winston's individuality is the only hope for human nature for he questions the most basic principles of the regime, a thoughcrime.   One doctrine Winston questions is the concept of freedom-    "How could you have a slogan like 'freedom is slavery' when the concept of freedom has been abolished?"    Winston goes on to say there will be an end to thought.   "Orthodoxy means not thinking..."   "Orthodoxy is unconscienceness."   Ã‚  Ã‚   The belief that humanity is progressing while they are really losing their individuality is actually halting human progress.   Every aspect of life is changing for the worse while people believe humans are advancing.   One example is Newspeak.   As Syme put it, "You don't grasp the beauty of the destruction of words."   The destruction of words is seen as progress while in actuality, it is another step in destroying individuals and creating a hopeless future.   Once this happens, Orwell warns, all hope is lost.   Ã‚  Ã‚   Currently, Winston lives in a world filled with the ravishes of war.

Nick Carraway in Great Gatsby Essay -- essays research papers

NICK CARRAWAY has a special place in The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald. He is not just one character among several; it is through his eyes and ears that the story takes place. In this novel, Nick goes to some length to establish his credibility, indeed his moral integrity, in telling this story about this "great" man called Gatsby. He begins with a reflection on his own upbringing, quoting his father's words about Nick's "advantages,† which we could assume were material but, he soon makes clear, were spiritual or moral advantages. Nick wants his reader to know that his upbringing gave him the moral fiber with which to withstand and pass judgment on an amoral world, such as the one he had observed the previous summer. He says, rather pompously, that as a consequence of such an upbringing, he is "inclined to reserve all judgments" about other people, but then goes on to say that such "tolerance . . . has a limit.† This is the first sign the narrator gives the reader to show he will give an even-handed insight to the story that is about to unfold. Later the reader learns he neither reserves all judgments nor does his tolerance reach its limit. Nick is very partial in his way of telling the story about several characters. He admits early into the story that he makes an exception of judging Gatsby, for whom he is prepared to suspend both the moral code of his upbringing and the limit of intolerance, because Gatsby had an "extraordinary gift for hope, a romantic readiness.† This inspired him to a level of friendship and loyalty that Nick seems unprepared to extend towards others in the novel. Nick overlooks the moral implications of Gatsby's bootlegging, his association with speakeasies, and with Meyer Wolfsheim, the man rumored to have fixed the World Series in 1919. Yet, he is contemptuous of Jordan Baker for cheating in a mere golf game. While he says that he is prepared to forgive this sort of behavior in a woman: "It made no difference to me. Dishonesty in a woman is a thing you never blame too deeply - I was casually sorry, and then I forgot," it seems that he cannot accept her for being "incurably dishonest" and then reflects that his one "cardinal virtue" is that he is "one of the few honest people" he has ever known. When it comes to judging women - or perhaps only pote... ...e said, even through his appalling sentimentality, I was reminded of something - an elusive rhythm, a fragment of lost words, that I had heard somewhere a long time ago . . ." These are Nick's words. Whose "appalling sentimentality" is operating here? Has Nick reported any of Gatsby's words - which comprise so little of the novel - to suggest that he would even begin to put his love for Daisy in these "sentimental" terms? Is not this excess of sentiment in fact Nick's sentiment for Gatsby or perhaps Nick's attempt at displaying those "rather literary" days he had in college? Or both? The reader should consider the distance that Fitzgerald has created between his presence in the story and Nick's and their implications. Fitzgerald has created a most interesting character in Nick because he is very much a fallible storyteller. When an author unsettles an accepted convention in the art of storytelling by creating a narrator like Nick, it draws attention to the story as fiction, as artifice. Ironically, in doing this, he has created in Nick a figure who more closely resembles an average human being and thus has heightened the realism of the novel