All Quiet on the Western Front3 essays

All Quiet on the Western Front3 essays All Quiet on the Western Front is a thought-provoking work of fiction by Erich Maria Remarque. This novel is the testament of Paul Bumer, a German boy convinced to enlist in the German Army and his subsequent experiences in World War I. After enlisting with the rest of his class, Paul learns to live a life of war. Initially he, like his classmates, was full of enthusiasm. Over a period of several years, however, Paul comes to see the world differently. He witnesses the suffering and horrors of war. In the trenches of the front line, he learns how war ruins and destroys the mind. In the beginning Paul belonged to a group of eight friends within his company; he is the last to survive. After suffering through their pain, Paul is wounded as well, and sees the suffering of those in the hospital. As he learns the nature of war, he is deeply saddened, especially for his own generation. The generations older than his had lives they left before the war, and will return to if they survive. The generations younger than his own will never know the war, and will live their lives peaceably. His generation has known nothing of life but death, and those who survive the war will be ruined men. Even as he realizes this tragedy, Pau l himself becomes a ruined man, and in the moving ending he is shot down. Remarque has mastered language and bent it to his will; he was very successful in presenting his ideas. He has represented well the conflict of a young man living and eventually dying in a desperate situation. As a result of Remarques mastery of language, the book packs a good deal of power. One example of this is the final paragraph: He had fallen forward and lay on the earth as though sleeping. Turning him over one saw that he could not have suffered long; his face had an expression of calm, as though almost glad the end had come. In addition to his lingual artistic abilities, Remarque also has a rather differ...

Benito Mussolinis Rise and Fall to Power Essays - Italian Fascism

Benito Mussolinis Rise and Fall to Power Essays - Italian Fascism Benito Mussolinis Rise and Fall to Power History Benito Mussolinis Rise and Fall to Power Benito Mussolini had a large impact on World War II. He wasnt always a powerful dictator though. At first he was a school teacher and a socialist journalist. He later married Rachele Guide and had 5 children. He was the editor of the Avanti, which was a socialist party newspaper in Milan. Benito Mussolini founded the Fasci di Combattimento on March of 1919. This was a nationalistic, anti liberal, and anti socialist movement. This movement attracted mainly the lower middle class.1 Fascism was spreading across Europe. Mussolini was winning sympathy from King Victor Emmanuel III. Mussolini then threatened to march on Rome. This persuaded King Victor Emmanuel III to invite Mussolini to join a coalition, which strongly helped him gain more power. Benito Mussolini brought Austria on Germany's side by a formal alliance. In 1937, he accepted a German alliance. The name of this alliance was the Anti Comntern Pact. On April 13, 1937 Benito Mussolini annexed Albania. He then told the British ambassador that not even the bribe of France and North Africa would keep him neutral.2 The British ambassador was appalled and dismayed. On May 28, 1937, Mussolini strongly gave thought to declaring war. He then attacked the Riviera across the Maritime. On September 13, 1937 he opened an offensive into British-garrisoned Egypt from Libya.3 On October 4, 1937, while the offensive still seemed to promise success, Benito Mussolini met Adolf Hitler at the Brenner Pass, on their joint frontier. The two of them discussed how the war in the Mediterranean, Britains principal foothold outside its island base, might be turned to her decisive disadvantage. Hitler suggested to Mussolini that Spain might be coaxed on the axis side, thus giving Germany free use of the British Rock of Gibraltar, by offering Franco part of French North Africa, and that France might be persuaded to accept that concession by compensation with parts of British West Africa.4 Mussolini seemed enthusiastic and very understandable why this was the case, since this scheme included the gaining of Tunis, Corsica, and Nice (annexed by Napoleon III in 1860) from France. Hitler then hurried home to his house in Berlin to arrange visits to Franco and Petan. Back in the capital Hitler created a letter to Stalin inviting Molotov, the Soviet Foreign Minister, to visit early, when Germany and the U.S.S.R. might then agree among themselves how to profit from Britain not having a defense. A week later, on October 20, he left in his command train, Amerika, to meet Petan and Franco. The meeting with Franco took place on October 23 at Hendaye on the Franco-Spanish frontier.5 It had become quite famous in the history of World War Two for Hitlers furious parting shot that he would rather have three or four teeth extracted from than go through that again. Franco, who was greatly supported by his Prime Minister, Serrano Suner, stonewalled throughout the hours towards negotiation with Franco. When his train left at two in the morning, Hitler had not advanced an inch towards co-belligerency with Franco. Petan met Hitler on October 24, and proved to be equally unresponsive. Petan convinced Hitler that they had a meeting of minds. Petan had only agreed to a promise to consult his government, Hitler decided to make a bigger deal out of it and believed that they were united in a productive hostility to Britain. Hitler now had the outlines, despite Francos struggle, of a larger coalition war to present to Molotov at his next visit. When Hitler was waiting for the Soviet Foreign minister to come, he was distracted by the weird behavior of Mussolini, who then chose to mount an attack from Albania (occupied by the Italian army in April 1939) into Greece.6 Mussolini said that he was motivated by the fear that the British would establish positions in Greece if he did not. He had good strategic reasons for wishing to deny them naval and air bases any closer to his own along the Adriatic that those who already possessed in Egypt and Malta. He attacked Greece in October, 1937.7 Mussolini's participation in the Battle of France aroused the derision of neutrals and enemies. He was determined to win in Greece his share of the laurels which had fallen in a not proportionate number to the Wehrmacht. The failure of Mussolini's invasion of Greece greatly upset Hitler as he waited Molotovs arrival. This not only messed up his scheme to change the Balkans into a satellite zone by peaceful diplomacy; it was also

Case study Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Case study - Assignment Example Some basic product lines sold by TerraCycle include picture frames and line of clocks. Material which is conventionally considered non-recyclable like vinyl records is used to introduce new products. Bags also form an important product line which is pretty long. Bike pouches made from energy bar wrappers form an important constituent of this line. At this stage of the company’s growth, product line extension would make more sense for TerraCycle to stay ahead of the game and gain a competitive edge over rival organic manufacturers. The current products are topnotch and very reliable, but more variety is needed to fuel the business and address needs of a diverse line of customers. It should be remembered that the present day business environment is fiercely competitive. How well do TerraCycle’s bottles perform the four packaging functions discussed in this chapter? Compare TerraCycle’s products to Miracle-Gro’s (www.scotts.com). Do you think TerraCycle’s package design distinguishes their products well enough from those of the industry giant, or are they similar enough to cause customer confusion? TerraCycle does not distinguish its products well enough from those of the industry giant, the Scotts. This is why the Scotts had to sue TerraCycle for copying their labels and advertisement techniques. TerraCycle finally reached a settlement with its rival company and agreed to modify its packaging. Though the package design is not similar enough to cause customer confusion, it nevertheless hurts the

Financial Management Principles And Applications Essay

Financial Management Principles And Applications - Essay Example Long-term liability requires the payment of interest in pre-agreed periods which requires Beta to have enough liquidity to cover immediate payment of interest when it becomes due. Capital from shareholders can also be considered. This is advantageous since Beta will not be required to pay any dividends. However, issuing new shares require the company to undergo certain processes which can delay acquisition. After analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing different financing schemes, it is recommended that Beta raises fund through long-term debt. This is in consideration of the above discussion in addition to the fact that it already has a quite high level of funds from shareholders. b. An organization's trading profit and loss account showing the revenues or funds generated the entity compared to the costs and expenses incurred in its operation. In most companies, it starts with the revenue generated where the expenses are subtracted. The last line shows its net profit for the fiscal period or for listed ones, the return to its stockholders. This financial statement is often the most popular one as it is used by creditors, stockholders, and even ordinary consumers. Entities considering to provide financing for the company also often gauged profitability and ability to pay based on profit and loss account. The balance sheet shows an entity's resources and how they are financed. The organization's assets and liabilities are often listed based on their liquidity, that is, on their capacity to be converted to cash easily. Balance sheets are often scrutinized by creditors and stockholders, the major sources of financing for the company. Balance sheets provide information about the company's level of leverage which informs stockholders and creditors about their share in the company's resources and the riskiness of investing in the company.

Porters Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Porters Model - Essay Example In fact, Porters theories base on the economic situation in the eighties. This period was characterized by strong competition, cyclical developments and relatively stable market structures. Porter's models focus on the analysis of the actual situation (customers, suppliers, competitors etc) and on predictable developments (new entrants, substitutes etc). Competitive advantages develop from strengthening the own position within this Five-Forces-Framework. Hence, these models cannot explain or analyze today's dynamic In fact, digitalization, globalization and deregulation have become powerful forces during the last years, but Porter's models rarely take them into consideration. Today's markets are highly influenced by technological progress, especially in information technology. Therefore, it is not advisable - if not to say impossible - to develop a strategy solely on the basis of Porters models. Shapiro and Varian explain in their book "Information Rules"that the economical laws that apply to products and services cannot be simply transferred to the new category information good. Production, marketing etc are different for products and services and, hence, are different for information too ". Moreover, the latest shift from dot-com-hype to dot-com-crashes has given evidence that the basic laws of economics are viable for the new economy or information economy too. Even in the eighties, it was not advisable to build a strategy on nothing but Porters models. Every strategy should base on a careful analysis of all internal and external factors and on their potential future development. This is no new insight. Michael E. Porter is an economist. His Five Forces model is based on microeconomics. It just describes them in a more understandable way. Porter talks about the attractiveness of an Industry that is influenced by the shape of five forces. In economics, the constellation of factors determines issues like profit maximization or supernormal profits. Porter's Model and Micro economics Porters Five Forces Areas of Microeconomics Bargaining Power of Suppliers Supply and demand theory, cost and production theory, price elasticity Bargaining Power of Customers Supply and demand theory, customer behavior, price elasticity Rivalry between Existing Players Market structures, number of players, market size and growth rates Threat of Substitutes Substitution effects Threat of New Entrants Market entry barriers Source: Primary Michael Porters models do not have the influence they used to have any more as the economic model has changed to Internet economy in the past decade. Now with the emergence of Global companies and Dot Com companies, considering only the economic perspective for a nation's advantage or corporate strategies or the growth and development of industrial clusters is not sufficient. New economic laws came up and other drivers started to transform markets. Drivers transforming Markets beyond Porter's Model: Digitalization: As power of information technology grows, all players in a market will have access to far more information. Thus, totally new business models will emerge in which even players from outside the industry are able to vastly change the basis of competition in a market. The rise of electronic shopping malls, operated for instance by telecom operators

MSD Construction Business Plan Analysis

MSD Construction Business Plan Analysis The analysis of MSD business plan Introduction The paper is about MSD Construction Company own by an Omani citizen Mr Mujahid Al-Zadjali.it specialized in providing services including concrete fabrication, utilizing framework, concrete placement and excavation. It focuses on commercial as well as residential clients. It aims to become the leading contractor by providing high quality services with affordable prices. This paper is about analyzing of the business plan for MSD. It will evaluate whether the plan is suitable for the firm to achieve their long-term goals. This assignment will be organized as follows. First, it will highlight the owner-personal quality and the skills he possessed. Then, the organizational structure and management skills and duties will be evaluated. Later on, the company product-market will be discussed. It also will discuss about its market and pricing strategy. Next, it will focus on competitive environment and their strategies. Then, the financial performance of MSD will be analyzed. After the analysis of financial statements, the paper will analyze the SWOT of the company. In conclusion, there will be a brief summary about the case and recommendation for MSD to improve their business plan. 1.0 Personal Quality of the owner manager Mr. Mujahid AL-Zadjali is capable to run his own construction business as he has 5 years experience in the field. In addition, he possesses a variety of skills that are required in running this type of the organization, such as marketing, time management and cost control skills. In addition, these will help assists him to solve the crises in future. The business plan had not mentioned whether he has IT skills which are important for all business. Based on the business plan, the owner is willing to hold liable for all debts and obligation related to company. He also established long-term planning for the organization. These all indicate that he is self-motivated and emotionally strong to face all the business risks. Also, it means that the owner definitely desires to growth his business. The objectives of the entrepreneur are to develop infrastructure for long-term planning and to achieve regular profit yearly. Furthermore, it aims to provide quality services at affordable cost to its customers. Another objective of the company is to provide health and safety work environment to its employees. The owner of the firm has adopted leadership style based on responsible and mutual respects between the staff. This is one of the ideal characters for this construction company as there are many technical works have to be performed by specialized employee. 2.0 The Management Team The business already had management team which consists of two administrative assistant and general manager. However, there are not sufficient numbers of management in the team. It should include human resource manager to accomplish the safety requirement on the job and high quality of services. The company should also appoint stock manager to manage in-coming and out-going materials for the constructions. In addition MSD did not appoint proper manger for preparation of the financial statements as it kept in position the administrative assistant with marketing and public relation background. It should hire manager that is specialized in accounting and finance. According to the management team that mentioned in the business plan have adequate mix of outside experience. For example, Ms. Jaya is an administrative assistant has excellent organizational and managing office crisis skills with 25 years of experience in accounts payable and receivable. Except for Mr. Varma which has seven years experience in marketing and public relation but which is not adequate for accounting job. The company set a goal to build an infrastructure for organizational structure but seems it does not applied yet proper organizational chart. It did not mention a detailed organizational structure and who should report to whom. It should clearly set up structure with staff position and duties. The business plan has not mentioned if there is any delegation of authority between staff. They have to plan a proper delegation strategy and to inform staff about it in order to be aware of the responsibilities that are transferred to them. There are no monitoring procedures to check the performance of the employees. The company had to have performance measurement to evaluate how the staffs perform in their duties. The organization philosophy is based on job responsibility and mutual respect between staff. The staff should follow this organization culture to achieve the companys common goals and objectives. MSD consider its employees as it provides health and safety work environment within the concrete industry. Moreover, it trains its employees adequately on the industry work. Although these are satisfying staff, there is probability of cost increasing of the company especially overhead expenses. 3.0 Product-Market Offering The construction company had set target market by supplying its services to both commercial and individual customers. It provides road construction and dirt work for commercial customers. It also provides house slabs and driveways for residential houses. Moreover, it provides concrete fabrication services for both residential as well as commercial customers. The business plan although highlight the services that provided to clients, it did not mention the types of services that are preferred by the clients. It should have a detailed investigation of customers needs to satisfy their requirements. MSD adding-value in their products through provides certain benefits to its clients including solid foundation, long lasting and safety and high quality products with cost-effective prices. Therefore, the clients can enjoy living at their house and feel safety. According to the statistics in business plan the demand of single-family units has been increased by 12% and 1.5% for multi-family units in 2001. This indicates that there is market space for MSD products and services. However, the statistics are out of date and the company should rely only on the recent data. The firm has knowledge of the industry and competitors as it knows that the market is in growth position and the competitors strength and weaknesses, such as Julfar and Bahwan Company. These all will assist firm in having resistance against any reaction by the competitors. The products and services of the firm are well-constructed and durable with high quality but at reasonable price. Therefore, it leads to low maintenance requirements. In addition, it ensures that their products are saved and approved by Muscat Municipality and Ministry of Electronic and Water Resources before providing to customers. This indicates that the company has shown the value of their products for prospect customers. Bahwan and Julfar are well known brand with many years experience in construction services. They have an exemplary skill in customer relation management which enables them to retain their clients. Besides that, they have marketing skills and database resources that create obstacles to MSD to become market leader. Construction Company is trying to stay close to customers by gathering all its services in head office (AL-Khuwair) and it provides 24 hours call centre as a facility for customers if they face or to complain about any problems. In tight economy and high competition, MSD planned to design a unique strategy to keep the cost at reasonable level with high quality of products. It also verifies calls in accordance to their circumstances and then transfers these particular calls to proper department. It can be cost leadership firstly by attempt to gain more market share than its competitors. Then, the cost will be automatically reduced by distributing fixed cost in wide range of products. 4.0 Competitive Environment Based on business plan there are no indicators of whether some of elements will affects the construction industry, such as economic stability and customer needs. MSD firm had collected only some information regarding to its competitors. This include as follows: * Operating method. The competitors using high quality services with reasonable price. These prices will gradually decrease up to the current market price without reducing in quality. * Market strategies. In order to retain their clients, they hired customer relation management for this purpose. On other hand, MSD did not find information related to competitors including size and profitability. It should get some statistical data about the competitors profit, their market shares, number of employees, number of branched and so on. The entrepreneur did not identify of the future marketing mix strategy of the competitors. It also did not investigate of whether the rivals have planned to develop new products for the future. The companys objective if the competitors develop new products or provide new services. It might be the latest one to possess these products or services and these possessions might already reach at their maturity level. MSD should at least try to gets some information about the competitors (through analysis current market strategy of the rivals to predict its future plan) in order to find proper reaction against its competitors to keep their objectives achievable. The company did not have a unique resources that makes it difference from the competitors to attract clients. It should have something that allows them to be differentiating from other. For instance: providing free maintenance after sales. 5.0 Financial Performance * Financial Statements figures The analysts found certain errors in the MSD financial plan. In its projected income statement the amount of retained profit that desired by MSD is same as the break even. Therefore, the firm should make more profit to achieve its target. Moreover, the retained profit for the year 2007 was wrongly calculated. The amount after deducting provision for tax and legal reserve should be R.O 21,000 instead of R.O 42,600. This error affected the rate of some ratios like net profit and ROE. In projected balance sheet of the firm two issues were found. First, the fixed assets were relatively low. The companys fixed assets balance should be higher due to heavy machinery and building that it possessed. If we assumed that most of its fixed assets is in form of leasing, it did not mention in the F.S. secondly, in 2008 the F.A was significantly low compare to previous years. About the projected cash flow, there is one mistake has deducted. The advance pre-payment have to be ‘nil instead of negative balance of R.O 5,000 as it is constant every year. The business plan also includes the calculation of ratios. In calculation of interest cover, MSD did not mention the amount of interest or the amount of loan that will enable it to calculate the interest. There is a financial charge in income statement but it represents beside interest other items, such as transaction fees and cost of credit. Thus, it will mislead all the stakeholders who depend on the statements. * Financial ratios analysis However, the analysis of the ratios was based on the given statement except for 2007 where it calculated after the amendment of net profit. a) Performance ratio: Return on shareholders funds. 2006 2007 2008 22.5% 14% 29% The profit available to owner had been decreased in 2007 by 8.5% but it increased again in 2008 15%. This is because the profit after tax decreased in 2007 and then increased again in the following year. According to the plan the net profit is fluctuated every year. This indicates that company does not have adequate plan for uncertainty. Return on capital employed 2006 2007 2008 25% 33.33% 35% ROCE had been increased continuously every year. It is because the profit before interest and tax increased yearly. This mean the company situation is continually improving and willing to pay its debts. However, long term debt had not taken into account as it was not available in projected balance sheet. This lead to inaccurate identifies the percentage of profit available to pay its debts. b) Profitability ratio: Gross margin 2006 2007 2008 34.84 33.48% 33.33% The projected income statement shows that gross profit has been slightly decreased from 2006 to 2007. This is due to the increasing in cost of sales and the revenue did not increase at the same level while it remained almost same in 2008. MSD should investigate the reason of such decreases as it may affect he net profit in future Net profit margin 2006 2007 2008 17.42% 18.52% 19.40% Although the gross profit had been decreased, it can be noticed that the net profit is increasing every year. The reason for increasing is operating expenses has been increased at acceptable level which let retained profit to reflect the increasing in sales revenue. The total expenses were increased from 2006 to 2007 by 1.13% (27,000/24,000) whereby retained profit had increased by 1.58% (42,600/27,000) for same period. c) Asset efficiency ratio: Debtor turnover 2006 2007 2008 177 days 143 days 155 days The debtor collection period has decreased in 2007 by 34 days and it increased again in 2008 by 12 days. However, it is still considering high. (Further explanation in III) Creditors turnover 2006 2007 2008 74 days 88 days 76 days Average payment period to MSDs suppliers is 79 days whereby average collection period is 158 days. Company might face problem in cash flow because it pays to supplier before receiving from customers. It should make sure that the money collected earlier than the payments although customers may not like it otherwise the firm will suffer to pay to its suppliers. If this situation is continued, the suppliers may not renew the contract or may ask the firm to pay on delivery. d) Liquidity ratio: Current ratio 2006 2007 2008 5.36:1 4.18:1 4.78:1 The current ratio of the firm has been decreased in 2007 and 2008 compare to 2006 but it is still at acceptable level. This is probably because the current liabilities in 2006 are less than in 2007 and 2008. MSD attempted to ensure that its current ration did not fall below 4:1. Quick ratio 2006 2007 2008 3.79:1 2.76:1 3.27:1 Again, the current liabilities in 2006 are more than in next two years. It was noticed that the inventory was less in 2006 than the inventory in following years. MSD should ensure their inventory level should not increase further otherwise it might face difficulties in cash flow. e) Gearing ratio Interest cover 2006 2007 2008 21 times 26 time 29 times The interest coverage of less than three times is considering low. It can be seen that the interest cover is increasing every year from 21 times in 2006 to 29 times in 2008 which is good news to company. The reason behind this increasing is the profit before interest and tax is greater in 2007 and 2008 than in 2006 regardless of increasing in total expenses. * Sensitivity analysis The following table will help to calculate the sensitivity to profit. 2006 2007 2008 R.O000 R.O000 R.O000 Sales 155 230 300 Less: Material cost (101) (153) (200) Less: Labor cost (8) (9) (10) Contribution 46 68 90 Less: Fixed cost (16) (18) (20) Net profit 30 50 70 I) Calculation of sensitivity Since the plan had not given clear figures for calculating sensitivity of the project, we had assumed the following: * Cost of sales had been taken as a material cost. * Staff salaries as a labor cost. * Other expenses had used as fixed cost. 2006 2007 2008 Profit to sales 19% 22% 23% Profit to material 30% 33% 35% Profit to labor 375% 555% 700% Profit to fixed cost 187% 278% 350% It had found that sales were the lowest percentage among the others. Therefore, it was more sensitivity to profit. It means that the sales will affect the profit more than other element if it decrease or increase. II) Calculation of BEP Profit to BEP (in value) = sales*(F.C/contribution) 2006 2007 2008 R.O54,000 R.O61,000 R.O67,000 The company had to sell an average of R.O54000, R.O61000 and R.O67000 in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively in order to cover all of its expenses. III) Margin of safety 2006 2007 2008 65% 73% 78% The company can allow its sales to decrease by 35%, 27% and 22% in 2006, 2007 and 2008 respectively without incurring any losses. 6.0 SWOT analysis of MSD construction * Strength: MSD provides quality construction services by providing an honest, fair working relationship with residential and commercial clients, subcontractors and sales people. Since the biggest concern within the concrete work industry is the health and safety of its employees as well as the customers. Also, it developed a comprehensive infrastructure designed, long term planning with a safety policy and secure company. They did good analysis about the strength and weaknesses of their competitors. The company management has different facilities which enhance them to perform better such as, experience and qualification in different areas in the market started from the owner. The ability of company to provide superior quality services at highly competitive and guaranteed price. * Weaknesses: There is no clear organizational structure of the company. They dont have a famous brand name yet. Also, they focus only in few department and duties. Moreover they did wrong calculation in different areas like in concrete work and in single-family housing construction. In order to overcome these weaknesses, MSD should create additional departments, such as IT and human resource department. Furthermore, it should hire financial analyst to analyze market accurately. * Opportunity: The owner and his management team are highly experienced and qualified in construction work. The growth in population, demand increase in construction and increase in government projects will help them to survive. Also, competitors have high overhead expenses, bad contractual terms with its key suppliers that often delay particular project and because of that they are losing some of their strategic partnership with significant firms. * Threats: MSD faced strong competitors with strong capital and shares, which they already in the market and they have high construction services and distribution quality at very competitive price. The competitors have exemplary skills in customer relationship management and leading marketing skills with efficient database management. In pricing strategy the competitors seems to be the expert in the field by offered reasonable price with high quality for a year and then slowly moves it down to compete with current price in the market. Government regulation to apply omanization which could lead to high cost and the labors May not have a good experience. MSD can merge with other construction company to get extra capital for competing with competitors. It can build its own IT department to process the data efficiency. It should have proper procedures for recruitment so it can minimize after employment cost. Conclusion and Recommendation This paper had analyzed the appropriateness of MSD business plan. There were some issues against the plan that is necessarily to succeed the business. Some of importance investigation had not carried on, such as competitors strategy. On other hand, there were some incomplete statements and improper collection of market statistic. Moreover, the firm F.S had included errors that would affect its financial goals. In addition, the company did not have PEST and Porters five forces analysis of the industry. These missing statements will lead to business failure. If it is plan to propose their business plan to the any of financial instruments to seeking loan there is potential of rejecting this proposal. Recommendation MSD should review some of its plan, such as market statistic and attempt to get more accurate data. Beside the correction of data, it should also collect significant data like competitive market shares, profit and the size. In addition, it should collect information about competitors Porters five forces. It had found that some of the management holds inappropriate position in accordance to their qualification and experience. The firm should review this and try to appoint right person for the right job. It should also hire some additional managers in management team, such as human resource manger and stock manger to implement the companys strategies.

Rent: The Musical Essay -- Rent Musicals Descriptive narrative Essays

Rent. To most people it is associated with an apartment, house, or another object. This word rarely conjures pleasant memories, but more often annoyance and stress. However, when someone mentions rent to me, my mind races to some of the most memorable experiences in my life. When I hear the word Rent, I immediately see an eclectic Broadway production, overflowing with talent, adventure, and magic. I picture scantly clad actresses, strutting across the stage. I envision stunning duets and thought-provoking lyrics. That single word transports me to a different time and place. In order to adequately depict my feelings, I must start at the beginning. In the fall of 1996, I embarked on my maiden NYC voyage. Armed with a camera, city guide, and my little sister, I headed for New York to discover myself. As I began this adventure, I had no idea how it would end. When I landed at JFK I was a little girl, trying to have some fun, but by the time I boarded the plane to head home my world had changed. We began with the typical touristy attractions; the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Soho, Central Park, and shopping. We had been planning this trip for months and had poured over every detail. From the time the plane landed, we were living by a minute-to-minute schedule. This was a well organized trip and The Great White Way was not on the agenda. Or so we thought. Our second to last day in New York started like all the others. Breakfast. Shopping. Sites. Back to the hotel. However, upon returning to our rooms, my stepmother (who was escorting us on this journey) handed me three tickets. Across the top of them, it read: The Nederlander Theatre presents Jonathan Larson’s RENT. I was completely stunned and my ey... ... my sister and I returned to New York. Once again we made the trek to the Nederlander. We took our seats and relished the memories. While the cast was different, the affect was similar. It opened our eyes and renewed our appreciation for those that are different than us. I feel in love with it all over again. Even though I had seen the show in Indianapolis and Chicago, there was something about sitting in that theater that made it special. RENT is only a musical. It was written by a man that was passionate for life. Jonathan Larson took his dream and made it a reality for everyone that sits in the audience. That passion is the reason it remains one of the most influential productions in Broadway history. If it weren’t for his dream and devotion, it would not be what it is today. That passion is what changed my life and the lives of thousands of others.

Winterkill

Wintertime In wintertime the story starts of depressing and explaining how the narrator and Harley Reeves have both been laid off from their jobs. Then he goes to the bar and notices a girl who is there and his friend Troy Just has to pick up on her and uses a corny pickup line. Troy Is In a wheel chair due too smoke Jumper's Injury, The lady at the bar was named Nolan. As the conversation carried on and got a little more personal troy invited Nolan to go fishing with him and his friend. Nolan agreed to go fishing and then get dinner.They made their way out to the river and Less and Nolan began to talk about how cold It was and that led to Nolan telling him to warm her up. Just before they were going to warm each other up they heard a weird noise and It was Troy struggling while fishing for some reason. It turns out that troy has snagged a big fish and the tension slowly pulled him out of the chair and he was slowly being dragged on his chest down by the water. Troy was saying that h e caught the big one and he needed help.Troy pleaded with Less to help him catch the fish because he did not want to let it go. So Troy and Less struggled and pulled on the line as hard as they could for what seemed like minutes and they could not get it to budge. Less kept going farther out In the water until he got to where the line was snagged and he realized that It wasn't even a fish and Troy had gotten his line caught on a dead deer. This did not make Troy happy at all because he always thought fishing was his thing and he just got tricked by a dead animal that shouldn't have even been in the water.They all ended up going inside and having the chicken with wine and talked on throughout the night. Snagging the deer was a confidence killer for Troy. After that he watched Harley Reeves and his mother dance to end the night, he enjoyed seeing her happy. â€Å"And I thought about the matter of trust. That I would always lie if it would save someone an unhappiness. That was easy. A nd that I would rather a person mistrust me than dislike me†¦ † (pig. 169) I could relate to this quote because I understood what It meant. But I did not agree with it. Retry much this salsa that they would rather beat around the bush and lie instead of be straight up with a person and just tell hem the truth no matter what it is or what affect it will have on the person. I believe in being very blunt with people and It can never turn into a negative thing if you are honest Instead of passive and always trying to say the next thing to please someone. Movie Essay The first time I saw Friday Night Lights, I was impressed by the movie and also as a fellow athlete that was playing football at the time.Friday Night Lights is a movie that takes place in Texas at a high school called Permian in Odessa, Texas and it was indented to show the true intensity and stress of being a Texas high school football player and the pressure that is on them to succeed and not only win the state title but to earn a scholarship to play at a division 1 athlete. Instantly I understood and respected the passion that was portrayed by the actors. Not only was It socially correct, the director did not skip out on showing the work that goes in before the 1 OFF field.I appreciated the detail and excitement that was created during their Journey to the state championship and everything that happens in-between. A lot of people have said that Friday Night Lights is an extreme portrayal of a sports movie. As an athlete that has played multiple sports for 10+ years it could not be more accurate. The intensity and seriousness of high school football in Odessa Texas was a well kept secret to the majority of the public and this movie shed light on a lifestyle that most high school kids never knew existed.This movie shows the true passion of anyone who loves a sport and is willing to go through anything or anyone and sacrifice their body to achieve their ultimate goal and that is to win a ch ampionship. I think this is a movie that every athlete should watch no matter what their sport is because it portrays athletes that have heart, drive, commitment and a never ending passion for the sport that they love.This movie took place in the late ass and speaking from a sports point of view not much has changed. The main character of the movie is the star running back Booby Miles. He is a god gifted athlete who has an ego as big as his linemen. Throughout the Movie Booby's cockiness grows but with good reason because he has earned himself the title of the umber one running back in the state and is the motor that pushes his team's offense into the end zone every game.The only down fall for Booby Miles and the Permian Panthers is that they are severely undersized but are gifted with speed. I understood how this would affect the movie and the team because any athlete's goal while playing the sport is to become as big and strong as possible and sometimes it is a lot easier said tha n done but it is something you constantly work at and stress about. The social life of the teenagers in the movie was not shied away from. The Director wanted to give the viewer the full picture.Many times throughout this movie there will be scenes where these high school athletes are being confronted by people in the community asking for their autographs and being told that they are their wives favorite players. A lot of pressure is put on these young kids by the community while out in public and they are reminded all the time that the season will be a waste if they do not win the state championship and they are constantly reminded that they are severely undersized compared to the boys on the there side of Texas.I never experienced pressure this big from the community but I can relate because it seemed like every time I would have my baseball gear on from my high school or some football apparel I was always asked the same tired question â€Å"you guys going to get it done this yea r† or â€Å"those are some big boys with Del scholarships you think you can hang† these questions always added fuel to my fire that I kept deep down in my stomach because we were always portrayed as an underdog like Permian no matter how much we won.I did not mind that role but sometimes I think there was some recognition that was deserved but never received. Friday Night Lights was a great portrayal of how much an athlete will sacrifice Just to win a championship. Friday Night Lights showed the true hard work and dedication that it takes to be one of the best teams. When Booby Miles gets injured and cannot play for the rest of the season it made me realize that you should never take a play or game for granted because all it takes is 1 play for your whole career to be ended and oh can lose everything you have worked for your whole life.The roller coaster story I never thought of it as unrealistic one time during the move and that is rare because a lot of sports movies a re predictable and not realistic portrayals of an athlete's life. My whole life has consisted of playing sports and being an athlete and there are a lot of misconceptions and thoughts that every athlete's talent is god given. That is why Friday Night Lights is such a good movie to get the true perspective because it is based on a true story and actual events.Nothing is sugar coated nor is it over traumatized. Friday Night Lights does not have that story book ending where the underdog team puts in all the hard work and beats the best team. In the movie the Permian Panthers lose in the state championship. This was the most realistic part of the movie because it doesn't always end with you on top no matter how much work and heart you put into things. Minus the depressing ending Friday Night Lights is a attention grabbing story that will keep you guessing all the way until the end.

Holey Soles Essay

This case analysis will focus on the issues surround the lifestyle product company Holey Soles. Psychologist Ann Rosenberg founded the company in September 2002. She initially operated in her garage and backyard, until she recruited Joyce Groote (now current CEO of Holey Soles) and expanded the company into other parts of North America. Holey Soles focuses on creating innovative footwear made from their trademarked technology SmartCel and SoleTek, which is an injection-molded foam technology. As of July 2007, sales had grown at 300% in each of the last two years and the company was ranked number four in the 2006 Profit magazine ranking of Canada’s Emerging Growth Companies. However as they continue to operate, they find themselves getting pushed back by their number one competitor, Crocs. By mid-2007, Crocs sales were 33 times the sales of Holey Soles. Holey Soles has a revenue target of $40 million by 2009, and to achieve this target, they will need to focus on the issues surrounding their company and hindering its growth. We have decided that the core issue surround the company is how to reach the goal of $40 million. They need to address the possible alternatives of either expanding into other products besides footwear, implementing a more aggressive marketing strategy, changing their 2-year goals completely, or maintaining the status quo. These alternatives will depend on the assessment of the time frame, cost, and current and potential competition. Upon analyzing all situations and alternatives, we have decided that the best solution for Holey Soles would be to expand the company by creating other product lines made form their trademarked technology. Only through this method will they be able to generate enough revenue to meet their $40 million goal. Issues The issues surrounding Holey Soles include the inability to have a high market share due to dominance from Crocs, how to reach the goal of $40 million revenue, and deciding upon expansion. We think the core issue is how to reach the goal of $40 million. Decision Criteria 1.Time frame of implementation: They only have 2 years to make reach their intended goal of $40 million. Considering the high target number, 2 years is a very short time frame, and therefore is an important decision criterion. Sourcing from China to other parts of the world also takes a long time, so it factors in how much product can actually be made in the time frame given. 2.Cost of expansion: To reach a goal of $40 million, an expansion of the company would have to take place. This poses the problem of where capital is going to come from. 3.Current competition: Their number one competitor is Crocs. During the 2-year period to reach a goal of $40 million, Crocs will still be selling at the rate they have been, and may also be working towards goals of expansion. 4.Threat of potential competition: In the 2 year time frame given, what’s to say that new competitors will not enter the market? As the clog fad continues, more companies are producing similar products as Holey Soles . Even though most of them aside from Crocs have a poorer design with lower quality materials, the possibility of a company suddenly entering with a whole new technology is always possible. Alternatives & Assessments 1.Expand by increasing a more diverse range of products sold. By relying on selling the clogs alone, they will never be able to reach their goal of $40 million, nor be able to overtake Crocs since Crocs has taken so much more of the market share already. With their trademarked foam-injection technologies SmartCel and SoleTek, they should put those towards creating newer and more innovative lifestyle products aside from footwear. They already started with the beach bag, so it proves that it is possible to create other products. They already have an advantage due to their company being defined as products that are â€Å"lifestyle† centered, rather than simply a â€Å"footwear manufacturer†.

The Modern KKK essays

The Modern KKK essays Although the modern Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, is not the same group that terrorized African - Americans in the late 1800s and early 1900s, they still have the same basic goals and ideas. There are many local and regional KKK groups such as the Oregon Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and the New Order Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is the national and largest organization, but the only one seeking a political agenda. They are the group that claims they are keeping alive the spirit and ideas of the original Klansmen. The Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, or the KKKK, was formed in Louisiana in 1956. They have had many national directors, or Grand Wizards that led the group. The first Grand Wizard of the KKKK was former Louisiana State representative David Duke. Another notable Grand Dragon was Tom Metzger, who now heads a White supremacy group called the White Aryan Resistance. Today, the Grand Dragon of the KKKK is Pastor Thomas Robb. The KKKK claims that they are not racist, but rather they are "racialist." This means that they do not necessarily hate any one particular race based on skin color, but they love the White race and have "White pride." Most of their ideas are centered on this concept. Therefore, the first and foremost thing that the KKKK stands for is the White Race. They say that the White Race is the "irreplaceable hub of our Nation, our Christian faith, and the high levels of Western culture and technology" ("Intro to the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan"). The KKKK believes that the only way to achieve their goals is to have a United States with all White people living in it, and there should be absolutely no integration. Another thing that the KKKK stands for is "America first." This means that they think the interests of the United States should be put before those of any other nation. It is basically a policy of protectionism because the KKKK also does not want any foreign influen...

Annotated Bibliography For The Topic Affect Of Fast Food Restaurant

For The Topic Affect Of Fast Food Restaurant - Annotated Bibliography Example Angell, Sonia Y., et al. "Change in trans fatty acid content of fast-food purchases associated with New York City's restaurant regulation: A pre–post study." Annals of internal medicine 157.2 (2012): 81-86. The article evaluates the connection between the consumption of fast food and metabolic syndrome and its components in young people in adolescence stage and children. The article finds out that there is no major connection between fast food consumption and other components of metabolic syndrome. However, fast food consumption can lead to metabolic syndrome, abdominal obesity, and hypertriglyceridemia. The article is critical for this research as it explains the effect of fast food restaurants such as abdominal obesity among others. The investigation shows the influence of visual information cues and fat content on the choice of food in fast food restaurants. The study examines the connection between fast-food restaurants that are near schools and obesity students who study in California schools. The study reveals that students' exposure to fast food can affect adolescents regarding eating patterns and weight. The study shows that there is a need for policy intervention to limit the nearness of fast-food restaurants to schools. The article is relevant to this research since it reveals the effect of fast food on the weight of primary and secondary students. The article makes a connection between the consumption of fast food items and their effect on health. It reveals that fast food may lead to negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes. The article is very relevant to the research as it looks at the effect of the various contents of fast food on human beings.

The Importance of Vehicle Safety in the Contemporary Period Research Paper

The Importance of Vehicle Safety in the Contemporary Period - Research Paper Example Drunk driving is forbidden in most of the countries across the world owing to its immense potential to cause harm not only to the drunk driver but also to the other drivers and passers-by. When an individual is drunk, he/she loses the consciousness level that is required to drive prudently. Overcome with emotions and sleepiness, the individual takes sharp turns and drives at a very fast speed. Many people tend to drive after drinking thinking that they are too trained to be caught in an accident. A vast majority of the drunk drivers are quite expert at driving, but when the individual is not fully conscious, the driving skill becomes a secondary factor. What the driver primarily requires is control over the senses. A drunk driver does not even realize when he/she sped up more than necessary, and in the very moment, was caught in the accident. Wearing a seat belt seems a formality to a lot of drivers and many consider it too simple a protective measure to be efficient, though it is a fundamental necessity of driving. The seat belt is a shock absorber. It holds the driver back and keeps the head from smashing against the front mirror or the steering in the instant when the car suddenly strikes against something or is caught in an accident. Whenever a car suddenly stops, the lower part of the body stops with it while the upper part keeps moving at the same speed due to inertia. Thus, drivers that do not wear the seat belt get their heads crashed while the lower part of the body remains intact. But since the head is wounded, it means the brain is wounded. The human brain is amongst the most sensitive body organs and is of prime importance since it controls the body functions. Any damage to the brain cannot be sustained by the body. This is the reason why a vast majority of the drivers getting wounds in the head died at the sp ot. Thus, wearing a safety belt while driving is a must.