Monday, September 30, 2019

Compare How Cultural Differences and Foreign Business Environments Affect Multinational Corporations

M2-Compare how cultural differences and foreign business environments affect multinational corporations In this report I will be stating the differences of how Tesco function in South Korea compared to how they function in the United Kingdom. Tesco have to adapt to the local culture, traditions and tastes and have to recreate an environment in which shoppers will feel at home. Tesco’s local adaption strategy in South Korea involves selling products and services based not on the UK experience, but on Korean customer demand.Tesco in South Korea provides live octopus, pet iguanas, fish chopped up alive sushi-style, and dental services as a way of their adaption strategy to appeal to South Korean’s culture. Hofstede’s Uncertainty Avoidance (UA) theory, states deals with the degree to which members of a particular society feel uncomfortable with uncertainty. The theory relates to the fact that the future can never be known. Countries that exhibit strong UA , such as S outh Korea, maintain strict codes of belief and behaviour. They are intolerant of unorthodox ideas.By adopting the approach Tesco have chosen, they are allowing for a society such as South Korea’s to be more welcoming to the arrival of the company, which in turn invites a greater scope of custom. Tesco was helped in developing this approach by entering the market through a joint venture with Samsung, a powerful brand name in its own right and one of the leading conglomerates in South Korea. This will help build the recognition for Tesco in South Korea and build a relationship with new customers. As per the Hofstede theory referred to earlier, Samsung represents safety and security within the South Korean market.Therefore, UA is likely to be severely reduced when partnered with such an established brand within the target community. The localised approach means a lot more fresh food than in the UK to recreate a market atmosphere, as well as fast food outlets, coffee shops and t oddler play areas. However, the Tesco home stores in South Korea have been located as ‘culture centres’ where mothers and customers can take classes; learn new skills and have access to the internet cafe. This is because Tesco are aware that the majority of South Korean mothers prefer to look after their children rather than work.Having this available will attract more customers and help be more suitable for South Korean customers. Overall the Tesco in South Korea’s aim is to create value to build and retain store feminism and collectivism. Tesco in South Korea generally sell products that will appeal to South Korean customers, which will include branded products and live animals including fish and octopus. As South Koreans are recognised as not having a great deal of time to shop due to heavy workloads, they employ a scan system.This allows customers to scan products off posters on their phones, so they can get the products delivered to them by the time they are home from work. The posters mainly appear in train stations, as this will get the most usage via people travelling to and from work. Tesco use many strategies to adapt to the culture they are working in, which will encourage more customers to shop from their and beat their local competitors. However, Tesco in the UK provide many different products to appeal to different ethnicities and cultures including their own branded food.Tesco operates differently in both South Korea and the UK as both countries are very different. However they have the same aim, which is to create value, to build loyalty among their customers. Tesco in South Korea has a very different infrastructure compared with the UK, as in South Korea they offer the scan system. This is very different to the UK because they have many Tesco supermarkets; many being 24 hours where customers can go to buy their products. They do also offer online shopping, where they can place their order online and get it delivered.Also in the UK they have self-scanner which has become very popular and other big branded supermarkets are now using. This is where customers scan their products and make the payment by themselves. To conclude, after conducting research on how Tesco functions in both South Korea and the UK, there are many more differences than similarities. Due to the different cultures, Tesco have to adapt their shop to reach the needs of the customer, so their strategies are very different in each country. Tesco is a successful company and due to the changes they make to adapt to different cultures it has made them a well-known international brand.D2-Evaluate the impact of cultural differences on international business performance in the market In this report I will be evaluating the impact of cultural differences on international business performance in the market. This includes evaluating the strategies Tesco use in both South Korea and the UK, which are very different. If Tesco did not adapt their str ategies in different countries they wouldn’t fit in with their cultures, therefore people will be less likely to shop there. Tesco need to provide certain foods that will appeal to the country they are in.For example, Tesco in South Korea have branded products, and a lot of meat including octopus and sushi-like fish. Tesco in the UK provide products for wide range of cultures and offer many branded foods including Tesco’s own. If Tesco did not adapt to different cultures they could lose out on business and potential customers might go to their local competitors. This may also give Tesco a bad reputation for their supermarket, and their recognition as a company could be negative. Going into a new market can be difficult due to the local competitors and getting people to change where they currently shop.If Tesco did not come up with such unique ideas in South Korea, they wouldn’t get the customers they do today, and they would struggle to make enough money to keep a Tesco running there. However, due to such unique ideas that local competitors do not offer, they are a very well-known international brand. In the UK Tesco have three other main supermarkets that they have to compete with; Asda, Morrison’s, and Sainsbury’s. Surrounded by such strong competitors, Tesco are always thinking of new strategies to gain more recognition and greater market share than their rivals.Tesco offer a Clubcard; which is where customers can collect points from the products they purchase. These Clubcard points will allow customers to get money off future shops, and receive vouchers after saving up a certain amount. In South Korea Tesco have established their way of life and learnt to adapt their strategies to appeal in South Korea. Tesco have had to undertake much research, in order to find out more about South Korea. It is regarded as the second hardest working country in the world, which means that many people do not have time to go food shopping.T esco have thought of a solution which is for customers to shop at Tesco, and get their food delivered to them. If Tesco did not offer such a unique strategy it would be hard to get people to change where they get their food from. However, this appeals to many people in South Korea, and therefore Tesco have become a very successful company. In South Korea, Tesco has defined research to establish that mothers prefer to look after their children rather than working, and so they have adapted their Tesco to ‘culture centres’, which gives the opportunity for mothers to bring their children in-store, and have access to the internet cafe.They also have the opportunity to take classes and learn new skills. This strategy shows the quality of how well Tesco have learnt to adapt to different cultures, as they know most of their customers will be mothers, thus giving more appeal to the target audience. Time would suggest that the business model adopted by Tesco, has been largely suc cessful. The first Tesco store in South Korea opened in 1999, and they have since gone on to open a further 457, with 59 opened in 2011/12 alone. They are presently the second largest retailer in all of South Korea, just behind the Shinsegae Group.These figures point to a highly successful campaign in Asia; proving that they were right to undertake a project based on reducing UA. (ref Wikipedia) Over the years, many different companies have been unsuccessful in trying to launch their various brands in certain countries. Most of these failures have been the result of poor product naming, but they still give an insight into the importance of research, and implementing strategies that conform with normal ways of life in those countries. For example, American Motors tried to market its car, the â€Å"Matador,† in Puerto Rico based on an image of strength and courage.However, in Puerto Rico the word, literally translated, means â€Å"killer. † The inappropriate name is link ed to the car’s lack of popularity because of the many hazardous roads in the country, and the correlation with death made by consumers. (ref www. worldpress. com) To conclude, after evaluating the strategies Tesco produce in both South Korea and the UK, it is clear that Tesco are an adaptable business that can appeal to different cultures. Without changing their strategies they wouldn’t be such a successful well-known international brand.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Giver Totalitarian Society

Issues facing parties and the United States after World War II included the Cold War and the Civil Rights Movement. Republicans attracted conservatives and white Southerners from the Democratic coalition with their resistance to New Deal and Great Society liberalism and the Republicans' use of the Southern strategy. African Americans, who traditionally supported the Republican Party, began supporting Democrats following the ascent of the Franklin Roosevelt administration, the New Deal, and the Civil Rights movement.The Democratic Party's main base of support shifted to the Northeast, marking a dramatic reversal of history. Bill Clinton was elected to the presidency in 1992, governing as a New Democrat. The Democratic Party lost control of Congress in the election of 1994 to the Republican Party. Re-elected in 1996, Clinton was the first Democratic President since Franklin Roosevelt to be elected to two terms. Following twelve years of Republican rule, the Democratic Party regained ma jority control of both the House and the Senate in the 2006 elections.Some of the party's key issues in the early 21st century in their last national platform have included the methods of how to combat terrorism, homeland security, expanding access to health care, labor rights, environmentalism, and the preservation of liberal government programs. [10] In the 2010 elections, the Democratic Party lost control of the House, but kept a small majority in the Senate (reduced from the 111th Congress). It also lost its majority in state legislatures and state governorships.The Democratic Party traces its origins to the inspiration of Democratic-Republican Party, founded by Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and other influential opponents of the Federalists in 1792. That party also inspired the Whigs and modern Republicans. Organizationally, the modern Democratic Party truly arose in the 1830s, with the election of Andrew Jackson. Since the division of the Republican Party in the election of 1912, it has gradually positioned itself to the left of the Republican Party on economic and social issues.Until the period following the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—which was championed by a Democratic president but faced lower Democratic than Republican support in Congress—the Democratic Party was primarily a coalition of two parties divided by region. Southern Democrats were typically given high conservative ratings by the American Conservative Union while northern Democrats were typically given very liberal ratings. Southern Democrats were a core bloc of the bipartisan conservative coalition which lasted through the Reagan-era.The economically activist philosophy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, which has strongly influenced American liberalism, has shaped much of the party's economic agenda since 1932, and served to tie the two regional factions of the party together until the late 1960s. In fact, Roosevelt's New Deal coalition usually controlled the nationa l government until the 1970s. [11] Based on a series of polls conducted in 2010, Gallup found that 31% of Americans identified as Democrats, 29% as Republicans, and 38% as Independents. 12] A similar series of polls conducted in 2011 found the percentage of Democrats to be the same at 31%, while a two percentile-point rise in the number of Independents, to an all-time high of 40%, appeared to stem from an equal drop in the number of those Americans identifying themselves as Republicans from the previous poll, to 27%. [13] A Pew Research Center survey of registered voters released August 2010 stated that 47% identified as Democrats or leaned towards the party; the same poll found that 43% of registered voters identified as Republicans or leaned towards the Republican party. [14]

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Stock Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Stock Analysis - Research Paper Example The earnings per share (EPS) of the company are 5.08 and the company’s internal growth rate is expected to be 14.994%. The company’s sales and revenues are expected to grow at 5.00% and 7.80% respectively. Target is the second largest retailer in United States following Walmart. For the year ending 2012, the company has reported a net profit of US$ 2.93 billion from total sales of US$ 69.865 billion. The company’s operating profit for the year ending 2012 was over US$ 4.56 billion. The total assets and equity of the company as on Jan 2013 are US$ 46.63 billion and US$ 15.82 billion respectively. The company’s stocks are currently trading at $69.59 as on June 13, 2013. For the previous fiscal, the company paid dividends at rate 0.36. The EPS of the company are 4.26 which is less than that of Walmart. The company’s sales and revenues are expected to grow at 4.90% and 2.40% respectively. Kroger is the second largest retailer of United States in terms o f revenues. For the year ending 2012, the company has reported a net profit of US$ 602 million from total sales of US$ 90.35 billion. The company’s operating profit for the year ending 2012 was over US$ 1.27 billion. The total assets and equity of the company as on Jan 2013 are US$ 23.47 billion and US$ 3.98 billion respectively. The company’s stocks are currently trading at $ 35.06 as on June 13, 2013. ... Liquidity Ratios          Current Ratio 0.89 0.88 0.83 Quick Ratio 0.21 0.2 0.2 B. Efficiency Ratios          Days Sales Outstanding 3.99 4.5 4.94 Days Inventory 40.22 41.95 43.76 Payables Period 37.05 38.21 38.67 Cash Conversion Cycle 7.16 8.24 10.03 Receivables Turnover 91.38 81.07 73.85 Inventory Turnover 9.08 8.7 8.34 Fixed Assets Turnover 4.01 4.06 4.1 C. Profitability Ratios          Tax Rate % 32.2 32.56 31.01 Net Margin % 3.89 3.51 3.62 Asset Turnover (Average) 2.4 2.39 2.37 Return on Assets % 9.33 8.39 8.57 Financial Leverage (Average) 2.64 2.71 2.66 Return on Equity % 23.53 22.45 23.02 Return on Invested Capital % 12.92 11.63 12.1 TARGET RATIOS 2011 2012 2013 A. Liquidity Ratios          Current Ratio 1.71 1.15 1.17 Quick Ratio 0.78 0.47 0.06 B. Efficiency Ratios          Days Sales Outstanding 35.53 31.56 14.76 Days Inventory 57.88 58.61 56.58 Payables Period 51.46 50.94 49.75 Cash Conversion Cycle 41.95 39.23 21.58 Receivables Turnover 10.27 11.57 24.73 Inventory Turnover 6.31 6.23 6.45 Fixed Assets Turnover 2.65 2.56 2.45 C. Profitability Ratios          Tax Rate % 35.04 34.27 34.93 Net Margin % 4.33 4.19 4.09 Asset Turnover (Average) 1.53 1.55 1.55 Return on Assets % 6.62 6.48 6.33 Financial Leverage (Average) 2.82 2.95 2.91 Return on Equity % 18.94 18.71 18.52 Return on Invested Capital % 7.66 7.42 7.53 KROGER RATIOS 2011 2012 2013 A. Liquidity Ratios          Current Ratio 0.94 0.8 0.72 Quick Ratio 0.21 0.21 0.2 B. Efficiency Ratios          Days Sales Outstanding 3.89 3.62 3.77 Days Inventory 28.17 25.73 24.36 Payables Period 23.17 21.84 21.02 Cash Conversion Cycle 8.89 7.51 7.11 Receivables Turnover 93.72 100.75 96.75 Inventory Turnover 12.96 14.19 14.98 Fixed Assets Turnover 5.85 6.32 6.6 C. Profitability Ratios   

Friday, September 27, 2019

Discuss 'residential satisfaction' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Discuss 'residential satisfaction' - Essay Example With this backdrop, people seek to stay in houses which give them complete residential satisfaction by way of good neighbourly relations, peaceful surroundings, serene environment, suitable facilities and good administration of residential complexes. Depending on individual tastes and preferences, aspirations and satisfaction levels change but most house owners or tenants prefer to seek better houses in order to get full residential satisfaction in all respects whenever their aspirations are not met with in their existing homes. As everyone commonly understands, satisfaction is a state of happiness derived through fulfilment of an objective. It can be more clearly described as a sort of contentment one gains by fulfilling a desire, need or hope. Residential satisfaction is therefore a certain state of happiness gained by a person in all respects in relation to his / her residence, own or rented. Going by common knowledge, people would generally tend to continue to reside in houses where full satisfaction is sustained in relation to their neighbours, environment, facilities available and maintenance of the premises. When one runs out of residential satisfaction with regard to any of these issues, he or she may opt to move out of it in search of better residential satisfaction. In such a case, either the house is sold off or vacated by the occupant. Golledge and Stimson (1996: 473) quite appropriately describe ‘residential satisfaction’ as the meeting point of the residential achievement with the residential aspiration. Aspirations are not similar and most of the times, they differ depending on the different tastes of people. This is especially so with regard to a dwelling unit. Because of the different perceptions of different people on how to achieve residential satisfaction, all house owners would not display the same level of satisfaction from a single residential environment (Galster, 1987: 93). One therefore has to understand

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Writing a Management Report for the Case Company Zenith PM Essay

Writing a Management Report for the Case Company Zenith PM - Essay Example It also discusses the potential impact that Zenith PM would have to face as a result of the change in the method of construction. Additionally, the paper also confers how the company can carry out the implementation of offsite manufacturing in addition to the issue it would have to emphasis on for a smooth transition. Conclusively, the paper also presents all the risk management issues that Zenith PM needs to consider while exercising the approach offsite manufacturing. 1. Introduction The declining level of housing supply in the UK together with a huge increase in the number of households (Barker, 2003; DETR, 2000; ODPM, 2005), has led to an heightened requirement for new housing across the nation. This lead to widespread concerns, as to whether the traditional construction processes would be able to fulfil the mounting housing demand in addition to meeting the elevated quality standards (Barker, 2003; Housing Forum, 2002; ODPM, 2003). Consequently there have been extensive calls for the implementation of offsite manufacturing. Various reviews have recommended that the offsite manufacturing approach could both develop the quality of construction and counterbalance the effect of skills deficiencies in the construction industry. The UK Government had coined the term Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) to depict a number of modernizations and improvements in house building. A vast majority of these innovations are offsite manufacturing approaches, moving work from t he production location to the factory (Gibb, 1999). Many researchers have widely considered the advantages from the exercise of such technologies (Gibb, 1999; Housing Forum, 2002; Parry et al., 2003; Sparksman et al., 1999; Venables et al., 2004) and they principally take account of reductions in expenditure, time, faults, health as well as safety risks and ecological impact in addition to a resulting amplification in predictability, performance and earnings. Offsite manufacturing system is highly recognized in the United Kingdom. As a result, actions to support the implementation and acceptance of offsite construction techniques in the UK construction industry are substantial, consisting of a number of research initiatives, groups of practice and government endorsed forums. During the period 1997 to 2001, the UK government had been put in around ?5 million in research projects that were related to offsite construction and manufacturing. The industry funding into the modern methods of construction, during the same period of time was also approximately around ?5 million, making the cumulative funding in this field equivalent to ?10 million (Gibb, 2001). 2. Offsite Manufacturing Offsite manufacturing is a significant category of modern methods of construction. It can be referred to the segment of production procedure that is completed away from the location of the building in industrial units. Some of the examples of off-site manufacturing are panel building systems, modular construction, hybrid and sub-assemblies & components (Building Research Establishment, 2009). The panel building systems consist of walls, roofs and floors in the structure of flat pre-engineered panels. These panels are manufactured on site to build up the box like essentials of the construction, after

Music On Radio and Television Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Music On Radio and Television - Essay Example Finally, the more remarked developments ensued through the presentation of drama programs, comedies, and other shows that manifested the creation of musical themes or scores to reinforce public awareness. From among the pioneers in using musical theme was the program The Lone Ranger enabling listeners to recognize the show upon hearing the background music. As the article also revealed, the creation of musical themes were expanded to the television medium whose popularity was clearly identified in the 1950s to the 1960s. Most of the musical themes are recognizable even in contemporary times such as the theme from The Twilight Zone, The Addams Family, from among those noted. Other popular theme songs broadcasted on the television were those of Hawaii Five-O, Mission Impossible, and a lot more. During the four year span, from 1952 to 1956, the television popularized showcasing rock and roll music from the program American Bandstand, and rating musical programs where teenagers danced to pre-recorded popular music of the time. Similar formats of shows were created during the 1960s (Hootenanny), focusing on folk music; in the 1970s (Soul Train) where rhythm and blues, and soul music were popularized. Finally, the origin of MTV or Music Television was identified in 1981 that initially started on a music only format and have slowly evolved and developed through the years. The contents of the article presented the significance of both radio and television, as broadcast media, were tremendous in rapidly increasing the number of audience who could appreciate music on a wider scale, and at cheaper costs, compared to other music media. Previous generation’s holding musical concerts and operas held on grand concert halls could only be heard, appreciated and afforded by a few who are financially well off. Thanks to the popularity of both radio and television, more people were able to access music in various formats and styles. These two mediums were instrumental in en hancing the popularity of music in far more audiences of a wider geographic and demographic scale (various ages, gender, races, income group). The idea that brought concerts to the listening public through the radios was profoundly beneficial to share the beauty of hearing musical compositions of various artists from past generations. The benefits were felt in terms of providing inspiration to other people with musical inclinations to learn music and to be future composers, singers, and musicians with stirred talents that can be honed to play various musical instruments. The shows from the television were musical scores and themes were created (which actually started from radio programs) have been expanded to the movies, where until now, major award giving bodies learned to appreciate and acknowledge those that created exemplary and outstanding musical renditions in the most original styles and forms. The MTVs in contemporary shows and programs continue to showcase diverse musical t alents, not only in terms of their ability to compose innovative and popular songs; but more so, to show creativity and ingenuity in creation and development of original compositions from popular artists.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

New Technologies, New Dependencies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

New Technologies, New Dependencies - Essay Example According to Griffiths, computers have enhanced communication on a global spectrum; this has happened not only because of the improved functionality of different computers, but also due to social media tools that have transformed the world into a global village (Griffiths). The development of computers has led to an increasing human dependency on the micro-chip. People hold various opinions regarding the development of this device. Many of them feel that it is a great way and it has proven to benefit many people and has revolutionized the entire world. However, others hold opinions against this device and feel that human beings have shown too much dependency on the computer. Technology endeavors have led to increase in business returns, enhanced consumer relationships, and have raised the standards of competition to the benefit of the market and have highlighted the positivity of the computer device in this era (Lai). The history of computers goes back to the time when the Abacus was used in 300 BC used by the Babylonians. Initially, in the abacus pebbles were used for counting. The word â€Å"calculus† is a Latin word which means pebbles. Human beings were the initial computers so to speak. They would carry out tasks that now computers are programmed to do. Also the computer is developed in a similar way like the human being in which a hard drive, stores memory similar to the human brain, the Central Processing Unit plays the role of the human heart, making the machine work. Human beings wanted work to be done fast, without any chaos, in an organized and systematic manner. Inventors had been searching for a way to do work fast and flawlessly. This actually led to the invention of the computer, that is work is done in a mechanized way. In 1936, the first proper freely programmable computer was invented. It was invented by Konrad Zuse. Slowly and gradually computer production developed, and in 1953 IBM (International Business Machine) became the latest co mputer system. Since then, there is constant development and improvement in various computer systems, and scientists are more and more focused on trying to develop the most user-friendly device possible. In 1976 Steve Jobs set up his company with the name of Apple and stars to produce the first personal computer kits. Apple kept improving and bringing out better and more advanced and latest models of computers. For Apple, The new â€Å"in† thing that has now come into the market is the touch. IPhones, IPads and IPods are the latest gadgets produced. Then, in 1985, Microsoft Windows made its grand entry into the computer market and has made itself a huge name and earned a major chunk of the market share. By that time, a subtle competition began between the Apple and Microsoft who hold together most of the market share in today’s world. In the 1990’s, particularly from 1992-1998, real businesses experienced an increase on an average of 44% per year on computer pri ces. Computer companies would sell their hardware’s and software’s convincing buyer that this was the latest and most reliable parts that promised improved productivity (Whelan). Now coming to the question of why there is an argument between people who feel that computers are an advantage opposed to those who feel it is a nuisance. Well, people have made it into one because of too much dependency on the device. But is there any other

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Best Vacation I Ever Had Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Best Vacation I Ever Had - Essay Example The Best Vacation I Ever Had â€Å"It’s a small world after all†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . The song caught inside my brain and as I squinted to step back onto the too clean cobblestone walk to see the man in the bowtie sweeping up in the corner, I made a face that looked like I was about to throw up. This moment, caught in a swirl of nausea and bile, fit for a vomitorium, described the worst moment of the best vacation that I have ever experienced. Most of this world, this chaos of saccharin sweetness that saturated into my pores as I walked along the false main street, looking at the venders whose merchandise was consistently covered with three circles, folded onto one another to commemorate a mouse as the god of the place, consisted of such false happiness that I was infuriated during most of my time there. I looked away from my family, too old and too good to be thrilled by the appearance of costumed characters for whom all I could think of was that the interior of those costumes must be drenched in sweat as they stood out in the heat, signing ’autographs’ with pens and books and stickers all sold by the minions of the mouse. I looked over in disdain as my youngest sibling bounced up to meet the great god of the place, his face beaming as he held out his own little pen and he lifted his eyes to look up into the big plastic eyes of the head of the costume, believing that they were living and breathing beings who had deigned to come to him so he could worship. My patience was short for most of the experience, my arms crossed in prepubescent arrogance as I judged the place through my impatience and zeal for finding rides that would punish my parents, even though that never seemed to work. No matter how thrilling, spilling, twisting and turning the attraction ride, my parents seemed to be able to come off of it laughing and smiling, which only put me into a worse mood. I tried not to infect my family with my disdain, but I moved through the experience detached, engaging in it in b rief intervals as we gave all my family’s hard earned money over to help in the worship of these creatures that seemed to have endless ways of taking our cash. A pin, a balloon, even a candy bar with pictures of the demi-gods, the beings to whom this enormous temple had been built all taking from those who came to worship at the doors. There was not a single experience of the day that didn’t have an associated licensed item that could be used in the daily devotion to the mouse and his cohorts. I was blessed with the clarity to see beyond all of this and find the ridiculous moments of excess in worship to be beneath me. At one moment, after a very long day having used their transportation to travel from place to place until the fumes from the bus only served to encourage the horrific smells and air inside the monorail, I exploded. I quoted Marx. I quoted Shakespeare. I quoted Bobby who had made fun of me when I told him where we were going on vacation. I told them that they were spending money in a place that was the epitome of capitalistic horrors and that I was ashamed. I lost my temper until my eyes stung with tears and after being told to go to sleep, I did. I slept hard and long, dreaming of spinning teacups and a mad hatter spinning the world. When I woke, I was calm and my family acted as if I had never said anything to them except one moment when my father looked at me and grinned, asking â€Å"so, you’ve read Marx†¦.did you understand it?†. I did not fully understand it at the time, only enough to use it as a

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Tahiti Tourism IMC Plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tahiti Tourism IMC Plan - Assignment Example A viable IMC plan needs to take into consideration the existing and upcoming competitors (Porter 1980). At present, going by the global economic meltdown, the Tahitian tourism industry has been hit hard and is facing a slump like situation. With a majority of the tourist arrivals at Tahiti, hailing from the US, the local tourism and leisure industry has proven more then vulnerable to the recessionary international trends. In the existing scenario, the more affluent and resource rich tourist destinations are resorting to aggressive and proactive marketing strategies. In addition, the upcoming competitors like the Middle East and Africa are continually increasing their share in the tourism industry by posing a cutthroat competition. The target segments have already been identified. All the digital and print media efforts are to be oriented around young singles, young married couples and post parenthood families in the US and France in general and in New Zealand and Australia in particular. The advertising efforts will tend to educate the target customers about the uniqueness of Tahiti in terms of pristine locations, variegated tourist activities, economical accommodation and food and affordability. The advertising campaigns will peculiarly target the urban customers in Australia. The media campaigns will stress on perceiving leisure as being a sound and affordable emotional investment rather then being a costly luxury (Ray 1982). The media strategy wil... MEDIA STRATEGY The media strategy will be broad based, involving both the online channels like the internet, blogs, emails and podcast and the offline channels like the print media, television, radio, public relations, etc. The strategy will be immaculately profile matched to hit the target segment (Freeman 1999). The crux of the media strategy will be to bolster the image of Tahiti as being a desirable and affordable tourist destination. The connectivity of the campaign with the target is bound to encourage a trial purchase and an eventual brand loyalty. The campaign will especially focus on the trendsetting areas like the urban markets and state capitals. CREATIVE PLAN The plan is to communicate to the target audience that Tahiti is an excellent tourist destination that is almost immune to the altering economic and political trends (Peckham 1975). An excellent destination, which has something for everybody, regardless of one's age, family status or budgetary constraints. The advertisements will show young, attractive couples and happy, middle class families having a good time at Tahiti. The strategically contrived frames will enable the audience to contrast the positive aspects of Tahiti with the over crowdedness and high prices at other tourist destinations. The slogan: "Tahiti, a home you can always come to" will project Tahiti as an affordable and soothing destination. MEDIA SELECTION RATIONALE Internet is not only a relatively low cost media that offers a high selectivity and multiple interactive possibilities, but studies have also shown that the target audience mostly retrieve the desired information and data using the internet (Davenport & Bech 2000). Going by the large

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Arthur Miller Essay Example for Free

Arthur Miller Essay Between 1949 and 1953, Arthur Miller wrote two of his most famous plays. Both plays dealt with major problems in society. The main characters of the plays were similar. Also, the supporting characters of both plays were alike. Arthur Millers plays Death of a Salesman and The Crucible are similar in many ways. The main purpose of both Death of a Salesman and The Crucible was to show major problems in American society. In Death of a Salesman, Arthur Miller was trying to show the impossibilities of the American Dream. In The Crucible, he was trying to show how society is intolerant toward others and is prone to hysteria. Both plays dealt with society defeating the average, hard-working man. Each play showed a society that was full of deceit and liars. In both of these plays, society was depicted as an evil thing that would overpower the average person and create an unjust world. The main characters of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, Willy Loman and John Proctor, were alike in many ways. Both of these men had extramarital affairs, and in both cases, the affairs ended up destroying their lives. Both of these men were hard-working, average men who were just trying to make a good life for themselves and their families. Names were important to both men, and they both took pride in their names. In both cases, many decisions the two made were because of their family members. One large similarity between Willy and John was the fact that they both eventually died, and the death was partly their choice. Both men could have avoided death, but instead, they chose to die because they believed it was the correct thing to do. In these two plays, there were also many similarities between the supporting characters. In both plays, children had much more power than they normally do. In Death of a Salesman, Willys son controlled much of his life. In The Crucible, the girls, led primarily by Abigail Williams, caused many people to be hanged, and even more to be imprisoned. Also, both John and Willy had wives that were very loyal to them throughout their lives and supported them until the end. Both plays showed a figure of power, seen as Howard in one play and Judge Danforth in the other. In both plays, the main character had a friend who stood up for them at the end. Willy had Charley, who had been his best friend for a long time, and John had Reverend Hale, who tried to prevent Johns death. There are many similarities between characters in the two plays. Death of a Salesman and The Crucible are alike in many ways. Arthur Miller created similar characters in both plays. He used both to show the many things wrong in America. These two plays are both powerful pieces of literature that should be read and appreciated by all people.Sources: Death of a Salesman and The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Friday, September 20, 2019

A Small Business Manager as A Leader

A Small Business Manager as A Leader Outline In the 21st century era, small and large, private and public businesses are all aiming towards economic growth. However, this growth has slowed following emergence of unprincipled leaders whose main aim has been satisfaction of individual needs as opposed to their employees and customers. With such unethical practices, it is obvious that a strong impact has been witnessed in economic growth, which boils down to declining capital investments and unemployment for small businesses. Emergence of economic uncertainty can be traced back to WorldCom and e-business sector failure (Luthans, Luthans, Hodgetts, Luthans 2001)1 . Before the famous 9/11 attack, United States economy was already declining following increased unemployment and reduced consumer spending. This condition was further worsened by the 9/11 attack that resulted in increased uncertainty in economic change (Shaw Shapiro 2002)2. These changes have challenged the need for leadership and management at all levels of business fo cusing on ensuring nothing but absolute success. For leadership and management to achieve these roles, there is need for redefinition from the commonly held perspective. Management and leadership are two terms that are commonly and differently used in small businesses and importantly in rejuvenating a dwindling economy. To some people, these terms are seen as synonyms and hence used frequently and interchangeably. From other perspectives, these words are perceived as two different business approaches. Those identifying these terms as extremes maintain the possibility of an individual being a bad manager and good leader simultaneously. Others have resided somewhere between the terms insisting that while management and leadership inherently presents two different business approaches, it is possible to navigate in both positions for a successful business. In modern business environment, businesses whether small or large- will importantly require effective managers and effective leaders if any operation is going to be regarded as successful. While some perspectives argue that their contributions to organizational success vary, it is conclusively understood that management and leadership will apparently contribute positively towards any business success. For the purpose of this article, management and leadership are understood differently. Whether utilized simultaneously or differently, many businesses will give a precise testimony of significant impacts that leadership and management have on any successful business. Therefore, the main objective here is not to evaluate how the two terms vary, but rather how they contribute to success of small business. This essay will hence understand the fundamental characterizations of management and leadership, the components of effective leadership and management in small scale businesses and thei r underlying theoretical perspectives. Ideally with appropriate training, it is possible for managers and leaders to develop a successful small scale business. Leadership versus management In any small scale business, adopting an entrepreneurial spirit is perceived as critical for economic growth, enterprise growth, and overall nation wellbeing. Therefore in these entrepreneurs, the passion is motivated towards ensuring development of businesses that will outline success. As this business is continually natured, the aim is providing the best services and products at friendly prices that can easily be afforded by their customers. Therefore, without even contemplating on what constitutes leadership and management, business developers embark on a journey that is entirely perceived to be geared towards the overall goal. Ironically, these business leaders or managers hardly possess appropriate expertise, background, and desire of managing their businesses in a strategic manner. Leadership and management are important for success and hence if undermined, these businesses are likely to eventually fall or fail to achieve the overall objectives (Kouzes Posner 2007)3. Kouzes and Posner (2007) understand leadership as a process that enables a group member to influence fellow members towards achieving a common goal. Further, the same authors explain that while indeed there exists various leadership styles, there are particular leadership components that will inherently exist in all these definitions. These varying definitions will undeniably agree that leadership is a process; it incorporates influence, involves attainment of a well labeled goal, and occurs in a group context. Hence, regardless of how leadership is operationalized, these aspects will undeniably play a contributing role in the utilized theory and definition of leadership. From a different perspective, Kouzes and Posner (2007) argue that management is understood from varying definitions. Conversely, this does not imply that both management and leadership roles cannot be held by one individual, but management is perceived to follow a definition quite different from leadership. Management definition incorporates supervisory, administrative, and executive direction of an organization or group. Therefore, management and leadership are perceived to share numerous similarities. For instance, going by the understanding of Gordon and Yukl (2004), both leadership and management are ways of impacting influence and collaborating with people for achievement of the overall goal. However, management and leadership fields can also be observed to be different. In Kotlers leadership theory, leadership is an old concept that has been employed in business for many centuries. Management on the other hand is a concept that has been developed over the last 100 years as a result of industrial transformation. Kotlers perspective is undeniably shared by many scholars when it comes to understanding leadership and management. For instance, according to theorists Nanus Bennis as qtd. by Gordon Yukl (2004), management is perceived to be an approach through which activities are accomplished in such a way that routines can be mastered. Leading hence implies influencing others and development of a vision through which change may be enhanced. Rost (Chemers, 2002)4 on the other side understands leadership as a relationship with multidisciplinary influence while management is perceived to be authoritarian leadership that is lined towards one direction. Chemers (2002) adds that leadership and management are two different business approaches that should be h andled by different individuals. Moreover, an overlap exists in the two fields. For instance, when management activities are aimed at assisting employees to achieve organizational goals, this form of management is observed to be operating under leadership. As the leaders are involved in features such as organizing, planning, controlling, and staffing, they are observed to be operating under management. This is a simple indication that these two aspects will undeniably involve interchanging and similar roles and hence can hardly be fully isolated. Literature review In the United States, a larger section of economy is mainly centered on small businesses. In small businesses, leaders have used various approaches that have been employed to enhance organizational positioning in such a way that these business objectives and goals can be achieved (Howard, 2006)5. Based on the fact that economic condition has been a major concern, this market has witnessed a rapidly changing demand for small business. According to Pellerins (2007) perception, small businesses are individually owned and operated, hence hardly dominate in their field of operation. The last three decades have seen United States, among other global nations, witness a dominant development of small businesses (Kuratko, 2007)6. These small businesses have, in United States, resulted to the GDP growth by more than half, serving as a main source of job creation through incorporation of more than 50 of the workforce. Therefore from studies, it is apparent that when it comes to the economic growth, small businesses are hardly detachable. From the United States Census (2005) statistics, 13.3 million United States organizations were registered as small scale businesses by the year 2004. The small business increase has come as a boost to economic growth and as a means of employment creation. Growth in small businesses has been linked to economic improvement and most importantly creation of new employment. According to Kurakto (2007), small business growth has been attributed to increased competition, profitability, and well framed organization goals. In order for these achievements to be enhanced, Kurakto (2007) has noted the importance of effective leadership. However, this has not always been the case because as earlier highlighted; poor leadership is inherent in many small businesses. Beaver (2003) and Perry (2001)7 affirms that one of the reasons for failure in much small business is simply because of poor leadership. Based on this understanding, Gordon and Yulk (2004) have mainly targeted their reteach in understanding important leadership skills that affect small scale environment. More than two decades ago, Beaver (2003) analyzed 200 small scale businesses that had recorded bankruptcy. From the study, it was clearly observed that the main reason behind failure of small business was management neglect, and lack of knowledge on leadership. Therefore, if these small businesses have to be successful, it is important to incorporate leadership styles. As Pellerin (2007) observes, the rate of failure in small businesses is high. This author observes that by the end of the third year, the rate of failure hits more than 62% in many small businesses. However, this study does not incorporate another burning issue: management incompetence. Scheers and Radipere (2007) add that within the first ten years of business operation, 90% of small business fail. These authors strongly agree that failure in these businesses is mainly caused by poor skills in management and leadership. As a result, for any economy to be successful, small business have to be competitive and productive (Beaver 2003)8. For any economic growth, the central role of small businesses can hardly be undermined. For these businesses, leadership and management skills should be understood as main steps towards increased returns. These skills are well incorporated in different theoretical perspectives. From various authors, leadership has been understood differently although th ere is a common agreement in these varying perspectives. Leadership has always been perceived to be a process through which one person is able to support and aid others to accomplish common tasks. Through leadership, a way is created through which contribution is enhanced by ensuring that extraordinary things are implemented (Pellerin 2007). In addition, if these leaders have to be successful, they should importantly portray internal control locus. Charismatic leadership Charisma in leadership is highlighted and defined in numerous ways. It is however perceived to be an exemplary character that is natured in an individual person. According to Kouzes and Posner (2007)9, charismatic leadership is perceived as a behavioral inclination of leaders that result in development of exceptionally strong relationship between leaders and their followers. For these charismatic leaders, Robbins and Coutler (2003) has highlighted three exceptional leadership characteristics which are; expression of high confidence, strong convictions, and dominance in their beliefs. The same authors also add that these charismatic leaders should be able to demonstrate optimism, determination and confidence, and collective ability of accomplishing mission and realizing the vision. These authors arguably add that these leaders are also required to engender trust as well as the ability to take personal risks to prove that their approach is indeed justified. Therefore, there is a high l ikelihood of charismatic leaders focusing to develop a clear and distinct group. Charismatic leadership has a high likelihood of being found in emerging and struggling small businesses than in stable and successful organizations. Emphasizing on the importance of this leadership, Kouzes and Posner (2007) have highlighted five important attributes that must be found in any leader to be categorized as charismatic. They are: (1) Articulation and vision; (2) Sensitivity to the needs of employees; (3) Personal risk taking; (4) Sensitivity to the business environment in which the business is operating; and (5) Execution of progressive behavior. Schermerhorn (2005) has summarized charismatic leaders as leaders or managers who are capable of sparking a sense of belonging towards the business. In addition, these leaders have been able to inspire their employees towards a direction in which organizational objectives and goals may be achieved (Schermerhorn 2005)10. Transformational leadership According to Pryor et al. (2007)11, transformational leaders are able to impact movement and change in their organization. Such leaders are able to seek ways of altering the prevailing structure while ensuring that people are continuously convinced to support new responsibilities and vision. For the excellent transformational leaders, power and authority is utilized as motivational and inspirational tools to the people they follow and trust. This leadership is hence able to provide energy producing characteristics through which new changes are likely to be generated in a business. Furthermore, these leaders are capable of motivating followers to transcend their individual interests for other combined purposes while at the same time ensuring that these followers are assisted to increasingly satisfy their individual needs. Pryor et al. (2007) have revealed inner transformational leadership characteristics in small business. These characteristics are highlighted to be inclusive of hones ty, integrity, and personal values. These characteristics are positively influential to the leaders behavior. For effective performance, a major ingredient is connection of transformational leadership with life experiences. This inner connection is combined with the resulting behaviors do develop external behaviors through which a business is transformed. For instance, a group vision is produced by a sense of personal involvement. Management models Conventionally, small businesses have been seen to have a low likelihood of utilizing strategic management models in comparison to large organizations based on a number of reasons. They are: (1) Small businesses are in most cases owned at the family level; (2) The leaders in small businesses are in most cases focused on daily operations thereby paying minimal-if any- attention to strategic management systems and management models; (3) Small businesses are mainly less endowed in financial resources that can comfortably be utilized in improving business performance through training; and (4) Competitors at their levels apply similar business approaches, without incorporation of any managerial models and implementation of systems through which improvement can be enhanced. Additionally, entrepreneurs involved in development of small business are hardly interested in development of procedures and processes. On the other side, large organizations obviously incorporate people with a clear understanding of management models by the time they have completed their studies in colleges. Moreover, these organizations have large amounts of finances that can resourcefully be allocated to training. Large scale businesses compete with large business opponents that are competitively and strategically driven. Strategic management approach This approach was initially developed by Toombs, White, and Pryor (1998) with a perception that small scale business leaders or managers incorporate strategic management elements in their business. This ideal incorporates the SWOT analysis together with the vision, mission, objectives, goals, values, competitive advantage, critical success factors, measurement, and feedback. Various theorists strongly insist that strategic management is an important aspect for a small business targeting enhancement of quality initiatives. Numerous authors have mostly insisted that as a result of incorporating various business theories, models, standards, tools, strategies, surveys, and training, it becomes possible for small businesses to be improved. These theorists mainly insist on the need for integrating quality initiatives into the organizations strategic management (Pryor et al. 2007)12. As a way of creating additional emphasis on this point, Chemers (2002) explain that total quality management must be linked to the strategy of a business because most strategies incorporate goals. Chemers also adds that TQM must be guided by a senior team in management and project selection must be based on their importance when it comes to achieving success in a business. Robbins and Coulter (2003)13 supports the perception above. However, they argue that customer impact must be integrated with strategic management as a way of achieving the desired results. Model While strategic management theory is perceived to be a model that should be incorporated by business leaders for long term success and survival, this model hardly incorporates the 5Ps model that was established by Pryor (1998)14. The strategic management model and strategic direction establishment is perceived to be incorporated in one of the five rudiments that should importantly be adopted to enhance a business success. For pneumonic purposes, this business approach has mainly been referred to as Purpose. The remaining elements are performance, people, processes, and principles. The 5Ps model is perceived to have some elements that are similar to those found in strategic management model that has earlier been examined. However, these elements have additional importance besides their individual importance. Moreover, their alignment is perceived to be equally important. Business leadership approaches Trait approach to leadership Trait approach is developed from great man model as an approach through which key characteristics can be identified for successful leaders. This approach is centered on the perception that through this approach, it is possible for leadership approaches to be isolated. Therefore, individuals possessing such traits can be selected, recruited, and installed into the positions of leadership. This theory has resulted in development of numerous traits. After numerous years characterized with continuous research, it is apparently hard to identify consistent traits. Although some traits have been found in various studies, these studies results have been inconclusive. It is possible for some leaders to possess certain traits. However, in case these traits are not present in an individual, this is not sufficient reason to disqualify such a person as a leader. In order to qualify an individual as effective leader, various traits should be processed. Nevertheless, there is a high likelihood of s ome traits to be more frequently observed than others. Some of the commonly observed traits in an effective leader are inclusive of friendliness, technical skills, task motivation, supportiveness to group tasks, emotional control, social skills, intelligence, and general charisma. Behavioral leadership The trait studies results were not conclusive. The inconclusiveness is based on the perception that it is hard to measure traits amongst other things. For instance, it is hard to measure such traits such as integrity, diligence, loyalty, and honesty. This inconclusiveness is what has challenged development of behavioral model. In this model, the focus is based on human relationships alongside performance and output. In McGregors theory Y and theory X managers, it is observed that an average individual is more likely to develop an inherent work dislike and will make all efforts possible to avoid working. In theory X, it is observed that this individual characteristic is highly likely to provoke the need for controlling, coercing, or even threatening individuals if they are to be encouraged to make efforts required for organizational goal achievement. Theory X is also based on the perception that an average individual highly prefers being directed as a way of avoiding responsibility. In theory Y, the managers believe that mental or physical effort expenditure is as natural as rest and play. In addition, the managers believe that employees are likely to exercise self-control and self-direction as a way of achieving the objectives that define their commitment. Moreover, the ability of exercising high level of ingenuity, imagination, and creativity in organization problem solution is widely (as oppos ed to being narrowly) disseminated in the people and human being potentials. From this theory, it is possible to conclude that theory X leader is more drawn towards an autocratic approach while theory Y leader is more drawn towards a participative style. In the managerial grid, developed through collaboration of Jane Mouton and Robert Blake, the focus has mainly been drawn to managers, employees (people), and task (production) orientation together with a combination of concerns between these two limits. Mouton and Brake model therefore suggest that team management, a major concern to production and employee, is the most effective leadership approach. Situational or contingency leadership approach to business Even as behavioral model is likely to assist management in a business when it comes to development of a specific leadership behavior, little guidance is given in understanding the constituents of effective leadership in varying situations. Undeniably, most modern researchers conclusively agree that indeed there exists no one appropriate leadership style for every manager under all settings. Therefore, development of contingency models was aimed at indicating that the utilized style is dependent upon such aspects as the people, the situation, and business among other surrounding variables. In contingency approach, it is understood that there hardly exists one specific approach through which managers can be able to lead. As a result of situations, varying leadership requirements are likely to be created for a leader. For this leadership situation, the solution is dependent on the factors affecting the situation. For instance, in a high routine environment characterized with repetitive tasks, a comparatively directive management approach it likely to yield best results. However, a more participative approach will be required in a dynamic environment. Building a successful business According to Howard (2006)15, business performance is perceived to be a multifaceted construct incorporating customer, operational, and financial oriented performance domains. The non-financial measures are inherent in Howard study. This performance measurement approach is incorporated as a result of limitation connected with small businesses financial data measurement. The satisfaction of the owners through performance of business is perceived to be one significant success indicators. Small business success is defined as performance level equal to or exceeding the firms owner expectations. The indicators that have mainly been employed in performance measurement are: profitability, annual earnings, and return on investments. Standards of a small business The small business standards have been developed by Chartered Quality Institute (CQI) (2007) in collaboration with the management consultants. This is a business model that is perceived to be important for managers targeting continuous growth in their business. Designing of the small business standards is aimed to be utilized in various investments that include small and medium size businesses, and micro businesses (CQI 2007). In the places where management term is utilized to imply micro business, it is likely to imply the proprietor. In the standard business model, there are nine main sections: (1) Customer care; (2) Business reviews; (3) Employees and staff; (4) management responsibility; (5) suppliers; (6) processes and work environment; (7) Correction and prevention of services complications; (8) Records; and (9) Documentation. While the standard is mainly perceived to be simplistic in comparison to the 5Ps model and Strategic management model, it incorporates numerous small bus iness management key ingredients. Therefore for small businesses, it is likely to be a good starting point as the business moves towards management and improvement of its organization (CQI, 2007)16. In relation to the small businesses standards application, one British Standards Institute website has observed that it is possible for real business standards to be achieved by small scale businesses. If this approach is well utilized, it hence has a high likelihood of resulting in: (1) elimination of inefficiencies witnessed when it comes to allocation of already limited resources; (2) improvement of marketing speed and risk reduction; and (3) enhancement of an effective competition with bigger businesses (British Standards Institute 2007)17. From the general leadership perspective, it is apparent that indeed success or failure in results production will mainly depend on leaders character. For these leaders to be viewed as effective, they have to be viewed as essential for the business success. However, the achievement of organizational success will not depend on adoption of similar leadership styles in all organizations. Nonetheless, these leaders will have an influential role on how the organizational goals are to be achieved by the employees in the organization. For this to be enhanced, small business leaders will require advanced understanding of the leadership styles to portray progress and development in achievement of organizational objectives and goals. With small business research, these leaders will be provided with understanding of leadership activities that are necessary for specific position if achievement of organizational objectives and goals is to be enhanced. These businesses will hence have to establish working environment for their business; this will be enhanced through leadership style. For organizational effectiveness, leadership will obviously have an important role. If employee empowerment will not be fulfilled in these organizations, there will be a high likelihood of employee dissatisfaction that will undeniably divert from achievement of organizational objectives and goals. Therefore, if a healthy working environment has to be maintained in these businesses, leadership should play an integral role. Conclusion The theoretical underpinnings evaluated in this article clearly demonstrate need for robust leadership existence in any small business. The failure of these businesses is indeed due to failure to adopt the necessary and fundamental requisites of a successful organization; effective leadership and management skills. This essay is very relevant; for instance in the current economic conditions that desperately require an influential intervention. Leadership hence should be trailed towards ensuring employee satisfaction and effectiveness as a way through organizational success and profitability will be enhanced. Consequently, robust leadership will eventually affect the success and profitability of small business. The way through which this will be enhanced is through incorporation of leadership and management theories analyzed in this essay. These leadership and management hence need to be employee motivation towards adaptation of organizational vision and mission. References 1(Luthans, Luthans, Hodgetts, Luthans 2001) 2(Shaw Shapiro 2002) 3(Kouzes Posner 2007) 4(Chemers, 2002) 5(Howard, 2006) 6(Kuratko, 2007) 7 Beaver (2003) and Perry (2001) 8(Beaver 2003) 9 Kouzes and Posner (2007) 10 Schermerhorn (2005) 11 Pryor et al. (2007) 12 White, and Pryor (1998) 13 Robbins and Coulter (2003) 14 established by Pryor (1998) 15 According to Howard (2006) 16(CQI, 2007) 17 (British Standards Institute 2007)

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Character of Hedda Gabler in Ibsens Hedda Gabler Essay -- Hedda G

The Character of   Hedda Gabler      Ã‚     Hedda Gabler is perhaps one of the most interesting characters in Ibsen.   She has been the object of psychological analysis since her creation.   She is an interesting case indeed, for to "explain" Hedda one must rely on the hints Ibsen gives us from her past and the lines of dialogue that reveal the type of person she is.   The reader never views Hedda directly.   We never get a soliloquy in which she bares her heart and motives to the audience.   Hedda is as indifferent to our analysis as she is to Tesman's excitement over his slippers when she says "I really don't care about it" (Ibsen   8).   But a good psychologist knows that even this indifference is telling.   Underneath the ennui and indifference lies a character rich for psychological investigation:   "The Character of Hedda Gabler remains a product of our speculation.   That is, as we process the surface details we perceive in the various postures she assumes, we hypothesize an idea of the figure underneath the mask." (Lyons   83).   This paper will try to "explain" Hedda with the aid of critical analysis.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first aspect of the play that strikes the reader is the title.   Before we even read a line of this play we notice the incongruity between the name of the title character and her name in the play.   In the play Hedda is Tesman's wife, but the title suggests that she is the independent daughter of the late General Gabler.   Thus, Ibsen introduces the reader to this complex character before the curtain is drawn.   We immediately ask the question:   why is the title "Hedda Gabler" and not "Hedda Tesman"?   Perhaps Ibsen is suggesting Hedda's independence from her present situation, the situation in which she is introduce... ...wman.   She too is confused about her own identity and appears to be in the grip of forces beyond her understanding and control--social and psychological forces.   Nevertheless, Hedda is an interesting case and Ibsen's play foreshadows many psychological and social concerns of the 20th century.    WORKS   CITED Helland, F.   "Irony and Experience in Hedda Gabler."   Contemporary Approaches to Ibsen.   Ed.   Hemmer and Ystad.   Norway:   Scandinavian UP, 1994.   99-119. Ibsen, Henrik.   Hedda Gabler.   New York:   Dover Publications, 1990. Lyons, C.   Hedda Gabler:   Gender, Role, and World.   MA:   Twayne, 1991. Northam, J.   Ibsen's Dramatic Method: A Study of the Prose Dramas.   London:   Faber and Faber Limited, 1953. Weigland, H.   The Modern Ibsen:   A Reconsideration.   New York:   E.P. Dutton, 1960.                              

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

Physics of Paper Airplanes :: Physics Science Planes Plane Airplane

Paper Airplanes, flight at its simplest for humans. As kids, we learned how to build paper airplanes and send them soaring into the sky. We didn't stop to think about why the airplanes where able to fly after the initial thrust we gave them or how they were able to glide for so long afterwards. Ignorance was bliss then, but now we strive to understand how things work. Looking back to the childhood past time of flying paper airplanes, I will try to explain some of the parts that make paper airplanes fly. First off, it should be stated that there are many different designs of paper airplanes and that different designs could affect the physics applied to it. If one paper airplane used a second set of wings or had a tail like a real airplane, those items would have more physics applied to them like extra drag. Up, Up and Away! So your paper airplane takes to the air and glides gentely to the ground but you still don't understand how it is able to glide. Your paper airplane uses lift to carry it through the air and to its landing area. Now you are interested and want to know how lift works. The lift for your paper airplane doesn't work quite the same as a real airplane but understanding how an airplane maintains lift is useful. Now something important to remember is that lift can only happen when in the pressense of a moving fluid and that air has fluid properties. The basic concepts of lift for an airplane is seen. The air that is flowing splits to move around a wing. The air that that moves over the wing speeds up creating lower pressure which means that the higher pressure from the air moving slower under the wing pushes up trying to equalize the pressure. The lift generated can be affected by the angle at which the wing is moving into the flowing air. The more surface area of the wing resisting against the flow of air can either generate lift or make the plane dive. This can be easily simulated in everday life. Next time you are riding in a car with someone stick your hand out the window. Have your fingers pointing in the direction of the motion of the vehicle. Now move your hand up and down slightly. You can feel the lift and drag that your hand creates.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decoru

The Portrayal of War in Charge of the Light Brigade and Dulce et Decorum Est Both "Charge of the Light Brigade" by Alfred Lord Tennyson and "Dulce et Decorum est" by Wilfred Owen are poems about war. However, they were written in two very different contexts and about two very different wars. Charge of the Light Brigade describes a doomed cavalry charge made by British soldiers during The Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War (1854-1857). Dulce et Decorum est, on the other hand, tells the story of a group of soldiers who were caught in a gas attack returning from the trenches of World War I (1914-1918) towards their "distant rest". Alfred Lord Tennyson was the "Poet Laureate" at that time and wrote the poem after reading about The Battle of Balaclava in the "Times" newspaper. This could have influenced how he portrayed the battle as he used secondary information which could be unreliable. In contrast, Wilfred Owen had first hand battle experiences from World war I, and so you would expect his information to be more reliable, However he could have emphasised certain points for poetic effect. In Dulce et Decorum est Wilfred Owen uses a variety of similes metaphors and other poetic techniques to describe the actions, appearance and mental states of the soldiers. Owen describes the soldiers as "Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags", this simile shows that the war has had a very large effect on the soldiers as it gives the impression that they have aged prematurely and are in a very bad state of health. Owen also says that they limped on "blood-shod, all went lame, all blind", also giving the impression that the soldiers are in a very bad state of health, this emphasi... ...rge of the Light Brigade Tennyson gives the impression that the British soldiers were fighting a loosing battle. Tennyson gives the impression to the reader that he is not against the war even if they were going to loose but he still praises the soldiers for what they did. In Charge of the Light Brigade Tennyson contradicts Owens views, and instead says that it is honourable to die for ones country even if you loose the battle. In general I prefer Dulce et Decorum est because of what the poem stands for, Dulce et Decorum est give the views that war is a terrible thing and Owen is very against it whereas Tennyson seems to be a lot more pro war. Works Cited L. Bensel-Meyers. Literary Culture: Reading and Writing Literary Arguments. New York: Pearson Custom P,2000. Napierkowski, Marie Rose and Mary K Ruby. â€Å"Poetry for Students.† Vol 1 Detroit: 1998.

English Composition Essay

In the aspect of writing English composition, several rules and guidelines must be followed for the aspect of clarity, clearness, and understandability. This grammar rules are established to follow a clear and concise presentation of the ideas and concepts being communicated in each composition. Included in these guidelines and rules is the use of examples and how they are used to promote the main argument in each composition. In the use of examples in the English composition, several approaches are established to guide the use of this strategy for the clearness in the composition. First, is using example in a word or phrase employing short approaches towards the presentation. The second is through sentence-length examples, which are more specific as they employ the idea along with the specific example explaining the said concept. Third is through the use of extended examples, which are commonly to be an entire paragraph for more detailed explanation and presentation. For better composition, most writer use different styles and conjoined different approaches in a single essay for more detailed explanation of the main topic. For example, in the composition of John Head entitled â€Å"The Brutal Business of Boxing†, the author was able to clearly and specifically presents his topic and ideas through the use of both single word or phrase example and sentence-length examples. In most paragraphs, the author mentioned specific words to support his topic and in the others, he used the sentence-length examples, which includes the idea and the specific argument explaining the concept. Through this approach, the author has able to present clearly his main argument and reasons about his opinions towards the brutal nature of boxing explaining why the said act should be condone not as a sport but as an uncivilized fight in the society.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Investment Management Exam Paper

Sample (Easy/Medium level of difficulty) Midterm Exam, FINE441- Fall 2012 – Answer KEYs are attached in the end! THIS IS THE EXAMPLE OF MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS. THE NUMERICAL PROBLEMS WILL BE SIMILAR (NOT IDENTICAL) TO THE END OF CHAPTER PROBLEMS POSTED ON My Courses and Assignments 1. You purchased a share of stock for $20. One year later you received $1 as dividend and sold the share for $29. What was your holding period return? A) 45% B) 50% C) 5% D) 40% E) none of the above Use the following to answer questions 2-3: You have been given this probability distribution for the holding period return for XYZ stock:State of the Economy Boom Normal growth Recession 2. Probability . 30 . 50 . 20 HPR 18% 12% – 5% What is the expected holding period return for XYZ stock? 3. What is the expected standard deviation for XYZ stock? 4. A T-bill pays 6 percent rate of return. Would risk-averse investors invest in a risky portfolio that pays 12 percent with a probability of 40 perc ent or 2 percent with a probability of 60 percent? A) Yes, because they are rewarded with a risk premium. B) No, because they are not rewarded with a risk premium. C) No, because the risk premium is small. D) Cannot be determined.E) None of the above 5. In the mean-standard deviation graph, which one of the following statements is true regarding the indifference curve of a risk-averse investor? A) It is the locus of portfolios that have the same expected rates of return and different standard deviations. B) It is the locus of portfolios that have the same standard deviations and different rates of return. C) It is the locus of portfolios that offer the same utility according to returns and standard deviations. D) It connects portfolios that offer increasing utilities according to returns and standard deviations.E) none of the above. 6. Assume an investor with the following utility function: U = E(r) – 3/2(s2). To maximize her expected utility, she would choose the asset with an expected rate of return of _______ and a standard deviation of ________, respectively. A) 12%; 20% B) 10%; 15% C) 10%; 10% D) 8%; 10% E) none of the above Consider a risky portfolio, A, with an expected rate of return of 0. 15 and a standard deviation of 0. 15, that lies on a given indifference curve. Which one of the following portfolios might lie on the same indifference curve? A) E(r) = 0. 15; Standard deviation = 0. 20 B) E(r) = 0. 5; Standard deviation = 0. 10 C) E(r) = 0. 10; Standard deviation = 0. 10 D) E(r) = 0. 20; Standard deviation = 0. 15 E) E(r) = 0. 10; Standard deviation = 0. 20 An investor can choose to invest in T-bills paying 5% or a risky portfolio with end-of-year cash flow of $132,000. If the investor requires a risk premium of 5%, what would she be willing to pay for the risky portfolio? A) $100,000 B) $108,000 C) $120,000 D) $145,000 E) $147,000 7. 8. 9. You invest $100 in a risky asset with an expected rate of return of 0. 12 and a standard deviation of 0 . 15 and a T-bill with a rate of return of 0. 05.What percentages of your money must be invested in the risky asset and the risk-free asset, respectively, to form a portfolio with an expected return of 0. 09? A) 85% and 15% B) 75% and 25% C) 67% and 33% D) 57% and 43% E) cannot be determined 10. Beta is the measure of A) firm specific risk. B) diversifiable risk. C) market risk. D) unique risk. E) none of the above. 11. The efficient frontier of risky assets is A) the portion of the investment opportunity set that lies above the global minimum variance portfolio. B) the portion of the investment opportunity set that represents the highest standard deviations.C) the portion of the investment opportunity set which includes the portfolios with the lowest standard deviation. D) the set of portfolios that have zero standard deviation. E) both A and B are true. 12. Consider two perfectly negatively correlated risky securities A and B. A has an expected rate of return of 10% and a standard deviation of 16%. B has an expected rate of return of 8% and a standard deviation of 12%. 12. 1. The weights of A and B in the global minimum variance portfolio are _____ and _____, respectively. A) 0. 24; 0. 76 B) 0. 50; 0. 50 C) 0. 57; 0. 43 D) 0. 43; 0. 57 E) 0. 76; 0. 24 12. 2.The risk-free portfolio that can be formed with the two securities will earn _____ rate of return. A) 8. 5% B) 9. 0% C) 8. 9% D) 9. 9% E) none of the above 13. Portfolio theory as described by Markowitz is most concerned with: A) the elimination of systematic risk. B) the effect of diversification on portfolio risk. C) the identification of unsystematic risk. D) active portfolio management to enhance returns. E) none of the above. 14. According to the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) a well diversified portfolio's rate of return is a function of A) market risk B) unsystematic risk C) unique risk. D) reinvestment risk.E) none of the above. 15. The risk-free rate and the expected market rate of return are 0. 06 and 0. 12, respectively. According to the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), the expected rate of return on security X with a beta of 1. 2 is equal to A) 0. 06. B) 0. 144. C) 0. 12. D) 0. 132 E) 0. 18 16. Which statement is not true regarding the market portfolio? A) It includes all publicly traded financial assets. B) It lies on the efficient frontier. C) All securities in the market portfolio are held in proportion to their market values. D) It is the tangency point between the capital market line and the indifference curve.E) All of the above are true. 17. Your personal opinion is that security X has an expected rate of return of 0. 11. It has a beta of 1. 5. The risk-free rate is 0. 05 and the market expected rate of return is 0. 09. According to the Capital Asset Pricing Model, this security is A) underpriced. B) overpriced. C) fairly priced. D) cannot be determined from data provided. E) none of the above. 18. According to the index model, covariances among security pa irs are A) due to the influence of a single common factor represented by the market index return. B) extremely difficult to calculate. C) related to industry-specific events.D) usually positive. E) A and D 19. In the single-index model represented by the equation ri = E(ri) + ? iF + ei, the term ei represents A) the impact of unanticipated macroeconomic events on security i's return. B) the impact of unanticipated firm-specific events on security i's return. C) the impact of anticipated macroeconomic events on security i's return. D) the impact of anticipated firm-specific events on security i's return. E) the impact of changes in the market on security i's return. 20. Suppose two portfolios have the same average return, the same standard deviation of returns, but portfolio A has a higher beta than portfolio B.According to the Sharpe measure, the performance of portfolio A __________. A) is better than the performance of portfolio B B) is the same as the performance of portfolio B C ) is poorer than the performance of portfolio B D) cannot be measured as there is no data on the alpha of the portfolio E) none of the above is true. 21. An arbitrage opportunity exists if an investor can construct a __________ investment portfolio that will yield a sure profit. A) positive B) negative C) zero D) all of the above E) none of the above 22. Consider the one-factor APT. The variance of returns on the factor portfolio is 6%.The beta of a well-diversified portfolio on the factor is 1. 1. The variance of returns on the well-diversified portfolio is approximately __________. A) 3. 6% B) 6. 0% C) 7. 3% D) 10. 1% E) none of the above 23. Consider the single factor APT. Portfolio A has a beta of 0. 2 and an expected return of 13%. Portfolio B has a beta of 0. 4 and an expected return of 15%. The riskfree rate of return is 10%. If you wanted to take advantage of an arbitrage opportunity, you should take a short position in portfolio _________ and a long position in portfolio __ _______. A) A, A B) A, B C) B, A D) B, B E) none of the above 4. You sold short 300 shares of common stock at $55 per share. The initial margin is 60%. At what stock price would you receive a margin call if the maintenance margin is 35%? A. $51. 00 B. $65. 18 C. $35. 22 D. $40. 36 E. none of the above 25. You purchased 1000 shares of CSCO common stock on margin at $19 per share. Assume the initial margin is 50% and the maintenance margin is 30%. Below what stock price level would you get a margin call? Assume the stock pays no dividend; ignore interest on margin A. $12. 86 B. $15. 75 C. $19. 67 D. $13. 57 U = E(r) – (A/2)s2, where A = 4. . 26. Based on the utility function above, which investment would you select? A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4 E. cannot tell from the information given 27. Analysts may use regression analysis to estimate the index model for a stock. When doing so, the slope of the regression line is an estimate of ______________. A. the ? of the asset B. the ? of the as set C. the ? of the asset D. the ? of the asset E. the ? of the asset 28. Analysts may use regression analysis to estimate the index model for a stock. When doing so, the intercept of the regression line is an estimate of ______________.A. the ? of the asset B. the ? of the asset C. the ? of the asset D. the ? of the asset E. the ? of the asset 29. The index model for stock A has been estimated with the following result: RA= 0. 01 + 0. 9RM+ eA If ? M= 0. 25 and R2A= 0. 25, the standard deviation of return of stock A is _________. A. 0. 2025 B. 0. 2500 C. 0. 4500 D. 0. 8100 E. 0. 5460 Answer keys for the Sample Midterm, Fall 2012, FINE441. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 1 12. 2 13. B 14. A 15. D 16. D 17. C 18. E 19. B 20. B 21. C 22. C 23. C 24. B 25. D 26. C 27. B 28. A 29. C B C E B C C C C D C A D C

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Discuss the various perceptions of love in Shakespeare’s Essay

William Shakespeare wrote Romeo and Juliet in 1595. When it was written, Shakespeare was quite young, 31, already five years into his career. Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne at the time, and many of the characteristics of Elizabethan lifestyle are included within the play. In the Elizabethan times, it was not unusual for people to get married and have children young. In the play Lady Capulet says, â€Å"By my count, I was your mother much upon these years,† to Juliet, who appears to be about 12 years old. She is telling Juliet that she was already a mother at Juliet’s age, implying she should be getting ready to marry now. Women were also not considered of much importance in those days. They were not as ‘important’ as men, and just used for sex, which plays a big part in the topic of conversation between characters throughout the play. Women/girls also had to obey their fathers until they got married, and then obey their husbands when they did get married. It was a very male dominant era. Romeo and Juliet is partly a comedy, tragedy and history. It is a tragedy obviously because of all the death in it. It is a comedy because of the irony and contrast the characters raise, and also because of the humour some characters like Mercutio and the Nurse bring into the play. It is a history as well because of the fact it was written a long time ago, and has historical contents in it. There is a great deal of love and passion in this play, but not all the same. Different characters have different perceptions of love, and different passions. The play is also as much about hate as it is about love, which is a very important element. Shakespeare puts emphasis on themes such as the relationship of love and hate and old and young. This is what I will be analysing in the essay. The play tells the story of Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet; the children of two rival families living in Verona, who fall in love and get married without their families knowing. The hatred felt by their families leads to the death of five people. Two of who are Romeo and Juliet, the star-crossed lovers who die because they want to be together but cant be. It shows the young as they struggle to escape from the morass of hatred created by their elders. The ancient family feud makes Romeo and Juliet’s union even more significant as they both hate each other’s families, but manage to overcome it when they meet each other. This play represents ‘true love’ because it shows pure hatred turn into pure love. Romeo and Juliet went against everything they were brought up with and gave up their lives to be together. Romeo is a very passionate person when we first meet him, and his passion stays throughout the play. We do learn however, that Romeo is very impulsive, and acts on this impulsive streak very often, and it leads him to do some stupid things, which I will show further on in the essay. The first reference to love in the play is in the opening scene where we meet Sampson and Gregory (two Capulet servants). They are both very vulgar and crude characters and show this straight away when they are talking about the Montague women. In lines 17-20, Sampson says, â€Å"Tis true, and therefore women being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to the wall. Therefore I will push Montague’s men from the wall, and thrust his maids to the wall. † This is where the punning becomes sexual. He is implying that he will assault the Montague maids against the wall. Later on in lines 27-28, he says, â€Å"Ay, the heads of the maids, or their maidenheads- take it in what sense thou wilt. † Here he is saying that he will either chop off the heads of the Montague maids, or rape them, depending on what he feels like. Their behaviour shows that they do not actually think of love itself, and only think of sex. They view women as mere objects to serve their pleasure. They are not the only bawdy characters in the play to have this perception of women and love thought. In act two, scene one (lines 34-38); Mercutio is making fun of Romeo’s talk of love for Rosaline. He talks about a ‘Medlar tree’, and describes sex as a ‘Medlar fruit’. He is saying that Romeo really wishes Rosalie were a Medlar fruit, even though he says he loves her, all he really wants is sex. This is probably because this is all Mercutio sees love as. The Nurse is another one of these characters. She constantly talks about the physical side of marriage. To her, love is merely about sex and having babies. For Sampson, Gregory, Mercutio and the Nurse, love is something non-emotional, and they have obviously never experienced love like Romeo and Juliet’s. Love for Romeo and Juliet is very emotionally bonded, and they cannot live without each other. This however does not mean there is no physical element to their relationship. Romeo and Juliet eagerly look forward to the physical side. This can be seen in act three, scene two, lines 1-30, where Juliet is looking forward to her wedding night, or her â€Å"love-performing night. † But even this is altered by their love into something of which Mercutio, the Nurse and the servants know nothing of. In act one, scene one, Romeo’s parents show parental love when they are concerned about him. The first evidence to show they care about Romeo is in lines 118-119, where Lady Montague says, â€Å"Right glad I am he (Romeo) was not at this fray,† meaning she was glad that Romeo was not involved in the fight that had just happened. In lines 133-144, Montague talks about Romeo’s worrying behaviour. He says that he is always crying, distances himself from everyone else, and shuts out light, making himself â€Å"an artificial night†. Montague is obviously worried about his son’s behaviour, and asks Benvolio if he could talk to Romeo because he does not understand him. This doesn’t mean however, that he does not care how Romeo feels, but he evidently does. It just shows the contrast between young and old. The first time we meet Romeo, he seems very sad and down (in the exact state his father describes him to be in). he is sad because he is ‘in love’. For Romeo, being in love (at this stage in the play) is a very painful, negative thing, especially because here there is a situation of unrequited love. However, by studying Romeo’s language in this scene, I believe that he is not in love with ‘Rosaline’, but infact in love with the idea of love itself. The fact that he does not say Rosaline’s name once, but talks about being in love, shows that the she is irrelevant. Romeo’s doting over Rosaline is introduced to show the difference between love and infatuation. He talks about love as a painful situation to be in, as shown in lines 195-196, â€Å"A madness most discreet, a choking gall, and a preserving sweet. † This changes drastically though, when he meets Juliet. From the second he sees Juliet (in act one scene five); you can see he has changed. He suddenly speaks in a more positive tone, with more positive views on Juliet not just of love. â€Å"O she doth teach the torches to burn bright. † Romeo is referring to Juliet as an actual person, whereas before he was talking about being in love (supposedly with Rosaline), but never refers to her as a person. On meeting Juliet he experiences ‘love at first sight’. He goes on to say, â€Å"For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night†. This shows that he has forgotten about Rosaline already, almost like she never existed. Romeo constantly compares Juliet to a saint throughout the play, â€Å"O then dear saint. † He has made Juliet out to be the most important person (to him), in the matter of minutes. In their first meeting, Romeo and Juliet share a sonnet (lines 94-107). This immediately shows the connection of love and harmony that exists between them. In the sonnet, love as a religion seems to be the key subject, and Romeo talks about it so passionately. He refers to Juliet as a â€Å"holy shrine†, and his lips â€Å"Two blushing pilgrims†. By studying Romeo’s language here, and that of which he used when we first met him, you can see that his feelings have gone from being self-centred, self deceiving and essentially negative, to less self-centred, genuine and sincere passion, positively approached when he meets Juliet. The love between Romeo and Juliet is different from any other in the play, because both share the same view on love. It is so strong that they fought through everything to be together and when they weren’t they felt empty and sad. No one else in the play shows love for anything this deep. The words Romeo and Juliet use when flirting with each other emphasise their love for one another. They use words to do with the body â€Å"lips, hands, palms†, religion â€Å"pilgrims, saints, prayer, devotion and holy† then they put both ideas together, â€Å"holy palmers’ kiss† and â€Å"saints lips†. Romeo is trying to ‘woo’ Juliet with romantic gestures. In line 139 Juliet says, â€Å"My only love sprung from my only hate! † Two types of love are at conflict here for Juliet. Romantic love (for Romeo) and love for her family, (because she was brought up to hate the Montague’s). This saddens her. There is another type of love in the play – parental and familial love, the love between parents and their children. We do not learn much about the Montague parents, but we do see a great deal of the Capulet parents. At first when we see Capulet talking to Paris, he is saying Juliet is his only daughter and she means a lot to him, so he does not want her to marry as young as she is. However, this changes completely by Act 3, scene 4 when he shrewdly decides to marry off his daughter to Paris and arranges the wedding. In Act 1, scene 3, Lady Capulet has a talk with Juliet about marriage (to Paris). She does not seem to care much about Juliet’s opinion, but more than she does later on. This is where we see her first selfish streak, and realise that their mother-daughter relationship is not a very close one. It is not until Act 3, scene 5 we see the Capulets completely fail their daughter, when they force an arranged marriage onto her. This is a striking scene, where Lady Capulet wishes Juliet was dead after she says that she does not want to marry Paris â€Å"I would the fool were married to her grave†. Capulet is even more heartless in this scene. He completely loses his temper with Juliet, and threatens to throw her out and disown her is she does not marry Paris. The love of the Capulets’ for their daughter is so possessive and domineering, that when she doesn’t do as they wish, it turns into utter cruelty and really makes you question whether they love Juliet or not. Her parents want to force her into a loveless marriage because they obviously do not consider love to be at all important in a marriage, and also because they think they know what is best for Juliet and that she is theirs to treat however they like â€Å"An you be mine I’ll give you to my friend; An you be not, hang, beg, starve, die in the streets, for by my soul, I’ll ne’er acknowledge thee,† (line 192-194). This also shows the contrast between young and old – the old don’t understand the young. Lord and Lady Capulet actually show more love for Juliet when they find her supposedly dead, but even this is selfish love as they are more worried about how they are going to live without her. This shows just how superficial their love for Juliet is. Other characters that act as surrogate parents for Romeo and Juliet and the Nurse and Friar Lawrence. The Nurse nursed Juliet as a baby, and has practically brought her up. The Friar is someone who both lovers turn to for advise. Romeo goes to the Friar when he wants to marry Juliet. The Friar and the Nurse acted as messengers between Romeo and Juliet. They showed great support and parental love towards Romeo and Juliet when they got married, but even this was partially superficial. At the end of Act 3, scene 5, just after the big argument between Capulet and Juliet, the Nurse is trying to comfort a distraught Juliet, but instead she fails her miserably. When Juliet asks the Nurse what she thinks she should do, the Nurse surprises her by saying that she might as well marry Paris because Romeo has been banished and they can no longer be together. She thinks that love (marriage) is no more than having sex and having babies, then to her Paris would make just a good husband as Romeo would. She does not understand the depth of emotion involved in true love, and Juliet is very upset by this because she thought that the Nurse understood how she felt. After this conversation, Juliet goes to the Friar for advice (Act 4, scene 1). The Friar helps her a great deal, and you think he really understands Romeo and Juliet, but he in turn fails Juliet in Act 5, scene 3. When Juliet wakes up and find Romeo dead she wants to spend more time with him, but the Friar insists that they leave when he hear people coming their way, â€Å"Come I’ll dispose of thee among a sisterhood of holy nuns†. The Friar’s inadequacy in this crisis is shown by this ironic suggestion. He is fine until now to help the lovers be together, but when it comes to him nearly being caught out, he just tries to run away from the situation. This shows his selfishness, and the fact he does not understand the lovers’ affections and intentions to be together always. In this play of overflowing love and passion we are introduced to a character very different from all the others – Paris. Paris is an altogether good man, who is genuinely in love with Juliet and is the only one genuinely upset when she dies. Here there is another situation of unrequited love for Juliet from Paris. He is quite an innocent character caught up in the Capulet family’s complications and does not think there is anything wrong with the arranged marriage. He does not actually speak to Juliet until they meet in the Friar’s cell in Act 4, scene 1, and the marriage is arranged through Capulet. He is very thoughtful towards Juliet’s feelings, and in lines 6 and 7, he says he has not talked to her about ‘love’ (the marriage), because she has been weeping and is very sad about Tybalt’s death, but thinks that by getting married she will be happy again. Another character apart from Romeo and Juliet who is also driven by great passions and love is Tybalt. Tybalt shows the greatest passion for hate. In Act 1, scene 1 he says, â€Å"what, drawn and talk of peace? I hate the word, as I hate hell, and all Montague’s and thee†. He is a very passionate character who also shows a tremendous amount of familial love, because he is prepared to fight and in turn die for his family. Mercutio is also another one of these characters. Although he is neither Capulet nor Montague, he shows a great amount of love of friendship towards Romeo and the Montague’s he dies whilst duelling against Tybalt for them. In his â€Å"Queen Mab† he lets his tongue run away with him because he is talking passionately about something (love) that he doesn’t believe in. The mood in the scenes in which we see Romeo and Juliet together, contrast with the atmosphere of most the other scenes in the play, because of their feelings for each other. They are the two main characters who are star-crossed lovers, so obviously their scenes are going to be much more romantic and intense with passion for love than any other. Their scenes are also more calmer, relaxed and create a pleasant, positive atmosphere, whereas the rest are mainly to do with the family feud or other less positive things (such as the arranged marriage). In the balcony scene (Act 2, scene 2), you can tell that they both see their love as more important than any ancient family feud. In lines 66-69, Romeo speaks of how â€Å"stony limits cannot hold love out†, meaning that even high walls are no challenge for love and that nothing can stop them from sharing their love. By the end of the play Romeo and Juliet have changed quite a bit. Romeo went from being almost in a state of depression, to this fiery most positive character. However the same impulsive streak he has at the beginning is still there right till the very end when he acts on his impulse and decides to drink the poison not knowing the facts of Juliet’s ‘death’. Juliet was quite childish at the beginning of the play, because she does exactly what she was told by her parents. You could say that both character stayed childish right till the end, because of the way they hid everything from most people because they were too scared to come out. You could also say though that they grew up, matured a lot and became more independent because they disobeyed their parents and found a way to be together practically by themselves (even though the Nurse and the Friar knew, they did not understand Romeo and Juliet properly). I also think that by spending their first night together, Romeo and Juliet matured more as they cemented their love. They both made huge sacrifices for each other, making their love even truer, and even though they both died in the end, Romeo died after kissing Juliet, and Juliet died after kissing Romeo. Just before Romeo takes his poison, he says, â€Å"here’s to my love! † and just before Juliet stabs herself she says â€Å"Oh happy dagger! † This shows they didn’t mind dying as long as they were able to be together. Also in the play, the actions for the older members, affect the younger members a lot. Because of them, Mercutio, Tybalt, Paris and Romeo and Juliet all die. This is what makes Romeo and Juliet such an immense tragedy. Now I have shown the various perceptions of love in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, I will now pick out two contrasting scenes I have discussed and explain how I would stage them to show their differences. The two scenes I have chosen are, act 1, scene 1, with Sampson and Gregory (lines 11-27), and act 1, scene 5, where Romeo and Juliet meet for the first time (lines 94-107). Sampson and Gregory are two very crude characters, and this has to be shown by not only their performances, but also their surroundings. The actors should wear green or khaki colours, with their swords hanging from a belt on their sides. This makes them look like they are army soldiers, who are ready to fight at any moment. They would have stubble showing, and walk as if they had something heavy on their shoulders, which makes them look ‘rough’, and rude. I would have them talk very loud, almost shouting, as if they owned the place, inconsiderate to other peoples’ feelings and are boosting about what they are saying. The lighting should be a bold green when Sampson says, â€Å"A dog of that house shall move me to stand. † Green is quite a hard, ‘sick’ looking colour, which will emphasise their foul minds. They should walk side-by-side, in the middle, and people should walk on the very edges (of the stage) to look as if they are trying to stay away from them. When they talk about the Montague maids and pushing them against the wall, one of them should pretend he is going to push a woman passing by into the wall, and then they both laugh about it. Romeo and Juliet’s first meeting is very special. In lines 94-107 they share a sonnet, so this should be a very romantic scene. Juliet should be dancing with someone else, then they all switch partners, and Romeo hurries to be hers. Until they start dancing with each other, there should be other people all around the room (on the stage), but as soon as Romeo says his first line, â€Å"If I profane†¦ † they should all move into the background, the music (at the party) should die slowly into a soft beat. Romeo and Juliet will dance in he middle, up-stage, and this will show the audience who they should be looking at and listening to. The lighting would hover from a calm yellow, to subtle orange, then to a soft red, then eventually to a light pink. These colours remind me of a beautiful sunset, and also romance, so I think it will work well because of the softness. They should go behind a pillar on the right side of the stage to kiss to show they are hiding it from everyone else. Romeo should wear a mask all throughout, and pull it off just before they kiss, and they should both look into each other’s eyes the whole time. This will show that they do not care about each other’s bodies. Both would be in their party outfits- Juliet’s should be in a long cream or white dress to show her purity, with red flowers or embroidery on it, also wearing red lipstick. Romeo’s outfit should be a red or maroon velvet material, with a yellow belt and silver mask. This will make him look like a ‘prince’, and the red worn by both characters, emphasises the ‘red’ associated with romance. They should speak softly to each other, and when they speak it should not be as if this is their first meeting, but as if they have known each other for a lifetime. This will show the special connection they have straight away.