The Weight of a Social Life free essay sample

â€Å"Do you guys remember that time at Teo’s bonfire when we all sang to Drops of Jupiter? Oh my god that was such a fun night†, Em’s hazel eyes light up recalling the moment. â€Å"Remember that one time we slept in the tent on the beach and thought we heard a monster?† Sav chuckles, â€Å"It ended up being the neighbor’s dog, we were scared for nothing†. â€Å"Remember when we†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Actually, I dont. During the memorable, movie-like nights of high school that make for excellent stories, I could typically be found at home, nose stuffed into the my AP Biology textbook, hand cramped from rewriting all the steps of generating an action potential. While my three best friends tested the popular new Haywire Burger Bar after mini golfing, it was not uncommon to find me at the track doing hurdle repetitions and speed workouts. High school is a balance of intelligence, beauty, athleticism, and social life. We will write a custom essay sample on The Weight of a Social Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Like a balancing scale, any individual excelling in one facet must lack in another. Preferring books over most people, my drive to excel in school and athletics weighed down the metaphorical scale of high school, leaving me short in the beauty, but more importantly, the social life department. Em, my best friend, is a well-known socialite. Not only does she have an adorable relationship that many people envy, but she also rarely spends a Friday night without the company of others. Most sports teams can depend on Em cheering at every game. To Em, a B on a test is not an earth shattering, monumental crises. The hackneyed expression â€Å"opposites attract† rings true in our relationship, as I am devastated by receiving a B on a test and hardly think twice about missing a sports game if I have too much homework. For the first two years of high school, sleep and relationships were lost in order to go above and beyond the required work of assignments. Sitting under the bright overhead lights at my kitchen table one night taking notes for hours on the novel Beloved for the fourth night that week, my father walked in from parent teacher conferences, sharing that Mrs. Chausse, my English teacher, does not even check notes in order to demonstrate how the excessive effort I was putting forth was unnecessary. My father’s kind words â€Å"Don’t make everything a test of life† emphasized the need for balance in life. My overtired, overworked body absorbed that advice and the following night, rather than spending two hours on notes, the forty minutes of concise, critical reading notes was sufficient. The following day, rather than wrestling with a small precalculus assignment for forty-five minutes, the task was conquered in twenty which left time to go support our basketball team on their senior night. Ever since the night of parent teacher conferences, â€Å"don’t make everything a test of life† has become a personal motto. Rather than spending unnecessary effort on miniscule assignments, I have been pursuing the opportunity to be social in order to enjoy my high school experience. In thirty years, the probability of remembering the rules of balancing redox reactions is slim while remembering adventurous nights with childhood friends is much more likely; as a result, social life has become more prevalent in my life as I try to balance out the scales. A year ago, attending a baseball game with a group of girlfriends was practically unheard of due to homework. Though school stills remains a much larger priority than social life, today I often alter my strategy or schedule of completing assignments in order to incorporate social events into my high school experience. No one refers to me as a social butterfly yet, but I am certainly working on fi nding balance.

Introduction to New Venture Development

Introduction to New Venture Development Executive Summary Poor nutrition leads to obesity which in turn causes illness or even death. According to American Medical Association (AMA), the increase in health related diseases and illnesses have been caused by the increase in obesity and overweight rates. Some of these diseases include: diabetes, cancer, insomnia, heart diseases, and cardicascular disease. An individual’s body weight can be measured using body mass index (BMI). Research has found that, about 20% of adults suffer from obesity having a BMI of 30 or more.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Introduction to New Venture Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More More than 30% are overweight with a BMI of 25 to 29.9. Graph 1 shows the obesity and overweight for children between the ages of two and seventeen years in Australia. There is therefore a strong call for involvement to perk up diet and health in order to curb the illnesses associated with poor nutrition. Nutritionists have argued that, water, fruits, and vegetables can be used to counteract this problem (Sturm, 2005). The aim of this product is to promote healthy eating while trying to fight with the increasing rates of obesity in both children and adults. It has been noted that, people have forgotten their traditional foods and are now relying on highly processed foods which increase the cholesterol levels in the body. Many nutritionists and doctors advocate for the use of fruits in reducing this problem but we think dried vegetables would also do a recommendable job. This product aims at being the market leader not only in Australia but other parts of the world. It aims at providing the best nutrients in its natural form since it is not processed with chemicals. Since the product is in its dried form, it aims as reaching a big market and can stay for long. It will be available in major outlets where even the rich people (who rely on the processed food) can acc ess it easily. This report focuses on the target market for the product, the quality of the product and how it can be used to prevent obesity in both children and adults. Part one of this report focuses on the product itself, how it is made and the opportunities available. It also focuses on the industry that is responsible for creating the product and the pros and cones of that industry in dealing with the product. Part two dwells on the anticipated (financial) performance. This part focuses on the business model to be adopted for the product, the estimated starts of orphan crops include finger, millet, and yams; these are crops that have been neglected for along period of time although they are very nutritious. The advantage of these foods is that they contain high nutrients that have some medicinal value. In addition to that, the traditional vegetable and orphan crops if well preserved can solve the problem of food security that is being experience in most part of the world (Whit e, 2010). This products aims at reducing the high obesity rates that are evident in Australia as it also works as a supplement to the main dishes. This product is provided in its most natural form to ensure that all important nutrients are present for boosting better health. Our team aims at introducing the product to the rich people, the elderly and sick because these people are not very active and take very little exercises. It aims at targeting the rich because; these are people who have been relying on the highly processed food that is becoming a problem to their health (Biggs, 2006). The product will be branded in several colours that symbolize the different elements of the product. For example, national colours will be used to show the origin of the product. Food is a basic need and a right for each individual on the universe, however most people do not have access to nutritious foods and this has facilitated the development of health related complications. The product (dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops), is aimed at helping the larger Australian population that rely on junk foods for their daily meals. The Opportunity There are many opportunities in the market which our team aims to take advantage of in meeting customers’ needs through the creation of awareness of the new product. These opportunities guarantees successes of the product because issues related to health have remained unsolved for quite some time now. Australia is one of the developed nations and almost all food industries focus on the processed food because of the development in technology.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Introduction to New Venture Development specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More These foods seem easy to make and have been able to attract a wide population. However, they have not been able to solve the health related issues (which is a common problem) and instead they have accelerated the m. This has forced customers to incur additional costs as they seek for medical attention. This creates a very good opportunity for the dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops which guarantees sound health. The following table gives a summary of the factors that have created an opportunity for this new product Factor Opportunity Global increase in processed foods available in major outlets where they are accessed by everyone. People are no longer going to the market to purchase foodstuffs as they can get them in the supermarkets in their preserved form. Due to the increased need and demand for processed food. It has proved to be difficult to find a market for the fresh food products. This has resulted in the abandonment of the natural vegetables which contain high nutrients. To satisfy these customers, our product will be dried to ensure that it can stay for a longer period of time and will be available in supermarkets where other foods stuffs are stocked. Most people a re busy and hardly have time to do shopping after work. They prefer to shop during the weekends when they are relaxing. Most of the time they will go to the supermarkets because they are assured of getting everything under one roof as compared to going to the markets This creates an opportunity for the dried traditional vegetables. By branding them in different colours, they attract the customers’ attention and the content speaks for it self. This ensures that, this product is not swept out by other supplementary products. Good health is currently receiving both national and international attention. Many people have realized that, they are responsible for taking care over their health status and beyond what they can not provide, the government comes in. Dried vegetables and orphan crops would not have come at a better time than this. This product is assured of success because of the national concern of good health. Most international organizations are advocating for the use of vegetables in fighting heart disease, and other chronic diseases (National Institute of Health, 2010). Many international organizations such as the World Health organization (WHO) are fighting against increased obesity rates in Australia which has grown at a very alarming rate. This problem is common in children below the age of five years who are likely to develop health complications. To avoid this, these organization are discouraging customers from using highly processed foods and food reach in fats such as pizzas, because they are facilitating obesity in children (Morgan, 2010) Traditional vegetables such as cowpeas bunya nuts and Kakadu plums are the best solution to this problem. They are high in nutrients and contain less fat, if any. These products are also known to assist the white blood cells as they fight with disease causing organisms Powers (2007) noted that, people find it hard to avoid unhealthy foods and it has even become difficult for nutritionist to advice people on which food to take. It is therefore upon the government to ensure that people eat healthy foods. One way would be to raise the taxes on junk foods and make healthy foods (such as vegetables and fruits) available and affordable for consumption. This is a good opportunity for our dried vegetables and orphan crops because we will be able to purchase them at reduced prices enabling as to offer them to the customers at affordable prices. We are also assured of a ready market because the government is creating public awareness on the importance of organic foods. How will the Product be sold The dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops will be sold in supermarkets which are strategically located in both the urban and rural centres in order to reach a big population. They will be offered at affordable prices because the main aim of the introduction of this product is to promote health to all people. After drying, the product will be packed in small, medium sized and big t ins decorated in different colours and with the nutritious values well specified on the tin. They are to be placed alongside other products although the team plans on carrying out a vigorous advertisement to create public awareness. We also plan to open up a small store in Victoria because most of the target population is concentrated in this area. Start-Up Strategy We understand that, the introduction stage is the most expensive stage in the product life cycle. This is the stage when we expect to create public awareness in all areas. To achieve this, our team plans to take orders from major supermarkets while at the same time use direct sales representative to reach the areas that may not be served by the outlets. We expect our start up costs to be approximately $30, 000 with the advertising budget taking the bigger percentage (about 30%). Vigorous marketing will be carried out in the areas where the target consumers are located for instance, near hospitals, schools and colleges. T he team seeks to reach its target population by using printed brochures and small pamphlets that explains what the consumer stands to gain by using the product. The pamphlets will be offered for free for every purchase made. The other percentage will be used for the production process and to pay human resources. Most of this products will be imported from African for, instance Kenya because they have a wide variety of vegetables which are yet to be exploited. Our work will be to dry and package these products before offering them for sale. Performance and Financials Expected Performance During the first year after the product has been launched into the market, we do not expect to make much sales because the product will be in its introduction stage which needs a lot of advertisement in order to create public awareness on the availability of the product.Advertising Looking for report on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Most of the money collected from sales will be used for further advertisement in order to ensure that, the product kicks off during the growth stage. Since this is a natural product, we expect its sales volume to increase drastically towards the end of the first year so that a lot of profit is collected in the second year of operation. The cost of production depends on the type of vegetable and quantity, but since the product does not go through a lot of process, we expect one kilogram of vegetables or orphan crops to cost about $1.5 and the expected selling price is $3. This means that, our products will earn $1.5 gross profit per every kilogram sold. Some of this profit will be used to cater for the overhead costs while the rest will be saved as retained profits. During the first year, our team expects to sell more than fifty thousand kilograms of dried vegetables and orphan crops fetching close to one hundred thousand dollars as gross profit. This sales volume is expected to incr ease in the second year even though the product is expected to face some competition. During the second year, the product will be differentiated further and packaged in different tins with each tin containing different type of vegetable. Financial Analyses The expected financial performance for the first three years can be summarized in a table as shown below. Year Production cost/kg Selling price/kg Estimated sales (in kg) Gross profit Overhead cost Net profit one $1.5 $3 50, 000 $75, 000 $50, 000 $25, 000 two $1.5 $3 150, 000 $225, 000 $40, 000 $185, 000 year $1.5 $2.5 150, 000 $150, 000 $40, 000 $110,000 As noted earlier, during the first year of operation, we do not expect to make much profit because a lot of money will be used for advertisement. Also the sales are expected to be very low because people will not be familiar with the product. However, in the second year, sales are expected to shoot upwards while overhead costs declines due to reduced advertisement. Wi th time, competition will emerge in the market which is likely to force us to lower the selling price to at least $2.5 in the third year of operation. By lowering the prices we will be able to retain our market share although the overall effect will be a reduction in the profit levels. The product is expected to break even after three years since competition will have risen to significance levels. At this point, the product will be decline stage of the life cycle, instead of allowing the product to die; it will be sold to big companies Business Model The start-up capital will come from members’ contribution (which will be treated as share capital) and contributions from well wishers such as international organizations. Revenue model Having no other products in the market, our main source of revenue will be the sale of our products. With this revenue, we plan to start up other products and services to boost our revenue base and to ensure that our products do not die. Cost mode l Our costs include Product purchases Rent for the production centre Salaries and wages Transportation of both raw and finished products Paying contractors Licensing Market Market segmentation To ensure that our product does not die after reaching the maturity stage, we plan to use the cost leadership strategy. This is a strategy aimed at ensuring that costs remain as low as possible. It is a competitive strategy used by many organizations by giving them a competitive advantage in the market (Hitt, et al, 2009:81). Cost leadership strategy is an indication of how a firm’s theory in successful competition is centred on low costs and prices. It ensures that products of the same value are offered at a lower price in order to attract more customers. By using the cost leadership strategy, we will be able to position the product to target the average customers in the market with little or no differentiation. This strategy uses the low-margin high-volume kind of approach. Key areas in cost leadership are: materials, management of logistics and manufacturing. Consumers’ choices are complex and multifaceted. If consumers were concerned only about getting food at the lowest possible price, alternative agriculture would have a hard time taking hold, because industrial-style farming produces food cheaply. Consumers require the source of food that will be of most benefits to their bodies. Vegetables and orphan crops are the only type of food that can satisfy a wide range of consumers’ need. Most of the government health agencies and departments such as World Health Organization (WHO) have been fighting with the growing problem of obesity and unhealthy eating. They have been advocating for a modification in the health program to include more fruits and vegetable. Research has proved that, diets with a bigger portion of vegetables can lower or even prevent some illnesses such as cancer and heart diseases (World Health Organization, 2004). This is because diets rich in vegetables contain less cholesterol as compared to those rich in carbohydrates or proteins. Obese and overweight people are advised to increase their daily intake of vegetables as this will help them to maintain an incredible figure (Baourakis, 2004). This being the case, our product targets to reach people in hospitals, schools, colleges, and government institutions. By reaching these populations we are assured that our products get to the right people. The elderly people are also our main point of focus because they too need a lot of vegetables to help then in fighting diseases and to grow strong. Vegetables are digested easily and can also be used to clean the stomach. Competition and Risks Being a new product in the market, we are expecting to face some risks and competition although this will not deter us from further production. Having the government fight against junk food by taxing them heavily is a good opportunity for us and we will take full advantag e of it. To be able to survive in the competitive market, we will charge low prices for our products so as to attract a big market. The low cost also gives us a competitive advantage which is a significant entry barrier. By charging low prices, we are able to buy large volumes of goods from suppliers thus we enjoy economies of scale. However, being a cost leader we are prone to face some risks (Hosler, 2008). The first risk is that, in most cases, there is a danger of out competition on the basis of cost. If this happens, the leader will be forced to continuously reduce prices which may not be profitable in the long-term. The other risk is that, the persistent force to cut costs may engrave corners that displease customers because more often than not these low prices will result in the production of poor quality products. Porters’ Five Forces Model Porter developed a structure for analyzing the nature and extent of competition within an industry. His argument was that, in eve ry industry, there are at least five competitive forces which establish the nature of competition within that industry. These five forces apply to our product and are discussed below: Buyer’s bargaining power Buyers have the ability to determine which products will move first and which will not. It is through buyers that a company realizes its competitive advantage in the market. We expect our product to be subjected to the following buyers’ power. Low switching costs Buyers are many and are not concentrated This is a weak force since the buyers have limited bargaining power Competitive Rivalry in the industry Within the food industry, there are businesses which compete with each other for the available market share. These businesses either specialize in the production of similar products or differentiated products. This competition is based on: Low prices Quality Performance High exits barriers Little product differentiation High investment intensity Though th ere are several companies which offer high quality and low cost products, there is still great rivalry in the industry as products are close substitutes to each other. Threat of Substitutes Our product is likely to face many substitutes in the market. Other companies are likely to come up and offer similar products thereby threatening the survival of our product. Threat of entry Dried traditional vegetables and orphan crops product will enjoy the following barriers: Strong economies of scale Brand loyalty of customers Strong capital cost on entry Legal constraints Mergers and acquisitions It stands to win over the threat of entry in the market because; the government has put strong entry barriers. Supplies’ bargaining power Flexibility to the industry’s request Volume and price provided Concentrated suppliers High switching cost The suppliers bargaining power is weak over the buyers’ and could always lower their prices to ensure a share of the buyersâ⠂¬â„¢ prospective profit. Environmental Analysis SWOT Analysis SWOT is an acronym for Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. In order to understand where our product stands in the Australian market, we have first to analyze the strengths and opportunities of the product as well as the threats and weaknesses that the product will be exposed to. Strengths 1. Marketing power growth- strong brand creation through cross-promotion 2. Strategic expansion through customer-focused innovations 3. High turnover growth 4. A strong market strategy 5. Strategically placed to fight competition Weaknesses 1. Low profit margins 2. Lack of a well thought future market strategy Opportunities 1. Increased economic development 2. An unfulfilled customer need 3. Rise in per capita income 4. Increased technological advancement Threats 1. Industry rivalry 2. Entry of new firms 3. Strong government regulations 4. Competition 5. Emergence of substitute products PEST Analysis Political Free and f air government which promotes equality Fair Trade Practices Consumer Protection Taxation policies Economic Factors affecting the GDP- for instance employment, inflation, and government spending More disposable income Seasonality issues Developed Australian economy Socio-cultural Lifestyle trends and consumer preferences Demographic changes Increased consumer spending Multi-cultural society Technological Innovation capacity Improved infrastructure Australia is among the technologically advanced nations in the world The forces described above helps in the determining the market growth (or decline) of our product and the implication of its strategic business unit. If an economic recession occurs, the economic forces would have a considerable bearing on the future market strategies through ripple effects on the political and socio-cultural factors. Political factors put a restriction on the development of the industry by putting tough taxes and regulation requirements. Aus tralia has been experiencing low tariffs barriers which have led to an expansion in the international trade thereby resulting in increased demand for food products. Australia’s economic growth potential is facilitated by its demographic advantage and could therefore open up opportunities for industry development. Although the Australian economy has been doing well and the future is promising, our product has to overcome some obstacles before it realizes its full potential. First there is the government requirement which it has to adhere to before being allowed to operate, increased capital costs, requirement of skilled labour force, and rivalry from other firms. To add to these risks, the product is not guaranteed of a ready market in the rural areas making it a risky undertaking. Exit Strategy Since we may not be in a position to continue the production of our product because of competition, we plan to sell it to one of the major food industries in the country. Depending on the circumstances, we may even choice to emerge with big grocery firms and continue producing the product. Another option would be to franchise our product so that we maintain our market share and even attract new customers. All this will depend on the performance of the product after three years of operation. Reference List Baourakis, G., 2004. Marketing trends for organic food in the 21st century, Volume 3 Marketing Trends for Organic Food in the 21st Century. World Scientific Biggs, M., 2006. Overweight and obesity in Australia Web. Web. Hitt, M., et al, 2009, Strategic management: competitiveness and globalization: concepts cases. London, Cengage Learning Hosler, A. S., 2008. Assessing retail fruit and vegetables availability in urban and rural underserved communities, Public health research, practice and policy, 5(4): A123 Web. Morgan, C., 2010. Should the government control; what we can and can not eat? Web. Web. National Institute of Health, 2010. DINE Healthy: Diet improvem ent software Web. Available at:  https://rtips.cancer.gov/rtips/programDetails.do?programId=286002 . Powers, S., 2007. Organic for Health. New York, Sandra Powers Sturm, R., 2005. Childhood obesity- what we can learn from existing data on societal trends, part 1. Public health research, practice, and policy Web. White, Anne, 2010. Why organic Food costs so much Web. Available at:  https://blog.mint.com/trends/organic-food-07082010/ . World Health Organization, 2004. Fruit and vegetable for health, Report of a joint FAO/WHO workshop, Kobe, Japan Web. Available at:  https://www.who.int/dietphysicalactivity/publications/fruit_vegetables_report.pdf .

Essay#2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

#2 - Essay Example Lapham in this article have been successful narrating the unpredictable and inconsistent ideologies of political party. ( Thesis) The author has been highly creative in laying down his debates on a democratic party which was abandoning their so called liberalistic attitude. The author has been right in blaming the liberals for their waning movement. They did not live up to their ideal value but waivered at the time when people demanded their support. The article has provided many detailed political events which give a credible validity to the arguments stated by the author. The author was showing the fear of people who were expecting a wave of crime and a rise of violence. The entire activities of liberals during the middle of 2oth century has made the article a fact based article. As per (Graham,2008 ) â€Å" The American obsession with self and self-promotion—Lapham had a field day when Francis Fukuyama declared â€Å"the end of history†Ã¢â‚¬â€is one of the reasons Lapham says he’s not more popular in the op-ed columns or the talk show circuit†. The article is a glimpse of the death of the democratic values of a party on which a nation had great hopes. The author has jotted down how a well respected political party with class and value downgraded in materialistic lure. The best part of the article is that the reader can feel the sympathetic transition of a political group which once was a ray of hope. The ebb and flow of democracy, human idealism, social desperation, racial tension all can be seen in the reading. The power machine has taken the advantage of the political party and the author establishes that the right wing was not in the proper direction. As per ( Kimball,2004) â€Å"Mr. Lapham subtended the rubric â€Å"a brief history† to the title of his 7500-word jeremiad; â€Å"a desperate fantasy† would have been more accurate†. The author has a point to make here which is the reluctance to keep trust on parties that is the either wing

Anti-federalist Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Anti-federalist - Essay Example The strong belief of anti-federalists to have an independent, sovereign government for each state laid the basis for opposing ratification of US constitution. The anti-federalists who regarded constitution as untried were skeptical of its ability to form the finest form of government. They claimed it to be silliness to substitute the existing form of government with an entirely new document. Anti-federalists argued that constitution characterized twin evils of monarchy and aristocracy rather than the democratic goals of American Revolution. The most significant reason for the opposition against the ratification of constitution was the fear of provision for president’s supreme power. Limited restrictions on authority of national government over the states were claimed by anti-federalists and they stressed on an authority equal to states rather than a greater one. They claimed the emergence of congress as aristocratic in nature as president was supposed to be given much power by the constitution. Members of anti-federalist group doubted the effectiveness of national government in controlling a vast country like the United States. They sorted out several problems in constitution such as insufficient representation scheme and argued that constitution would put an end to self rule in the states.

Reflective account Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Reflective account - Essay Example Moreover, I shall discuss things that surprised me the most, and how I would feel if I was employed in these companies or made a customer of them. The first thing that I learnt was that growth of a business depends to much an extent, upon the dedication of the personnel that make part of it. In 1998, Pendennis decided to improve the competence of the first ten of their apprentices by providing them with on-job training. Their efforts proved to be fruitful later in several ways. The company benefited from the enhanced skills of laborers as the quality of their service improved manifolds. The quality of their training can be estimated from the fact that they were awarded the title of Best Large Company Apprenticeship in 2008. This news was the most exciting and surprising for me. Their popularity increased as a result of their hard work and they earned more and more clients with the passage of time. The fact that Pendennis provides its employees with training is the biggest reason why I approve of becoming a part of it because I think that on-job training not only increases the skill of employees, but they also feel more competent and feel proud of their association with the company. This in turn, improves their performance and they enjoy work. Mr. Toby Allies has been leading the company for a lot of time. The voluminous body of customers that Pendennis has conventionally maintained can be attributed to the excellent leadership and public dealing skills of Mr. Toby Allies. He studies the needs of customers and values them a lot. The five sectors that work under the department of sales and marketing take very serious notice of the comments left by the customers. As their comments and requests are entertained, customers feel valued and honored, which in turn, develops their long term relationship with the company. Staff at Pendennis is very cooperative with the customers. Much of the creativity and innovation that Pendennis displays comes from the suggestions of t he customers. On the other hand, A & P is no less than Pendennis in taking care of the professional needs of its employees. The specialty of A & P is that a vast majority of people who once get hired in it build their whole career in it, and keep serving in this company until the end of their professional practice. I came across many people who have been working in A & P for over 30 years. This speaks of the great care A & P offers to its people that make part of its workforce. Obviously, the people who have worked in it for so long must have found working in it worth the whole work life. The organizational culture of A & P is conducive for better performance of the employees. Employees feel like at home while at work. There is frequent communication and interaction among the employees, and they all feel like members of the same family. In addition to employees’ health, their safety is also equally ensured in the business practices of A & P. Their regulations of health and sa fety are quite well laid out and they are strictly implemented in the organization. The employees are sufficiently equipped with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). They feel safe at work, and hence, display extreme productivity because of that. In A & P, it is ensured that all areas are adequately marked for safety concerns. The company significantly complies with the

The Role of Language in Shakespeares Play The Tempest Essay -- The Te

The Role of Language in Shakespeare's Play The Tempest 1 The role of language in Shakespeare’s play â€Å"The Tempest† is quite significant. To Miranda and Prospero the use of language is a means to knowing oneself. Caliban does not view language in the same light. Prospero taught Caliban to speak, but instead of creating the feeling of empowerment from language, Caliban reacts in insurrectionary manner. Language reminds him how different he is from Miranda and Prospero, and also how they have changed him. It also reminds him of how he was when he wasn’t a slave. He resents Prospero for â€Å"Civilising† him, because in doing so he took away his freedom. Language and knowledge is the key to power on the island. Prospero is a well educated man, and has many books, which gives him his magical power. Prospero rules the island and has many creatures under his command. He possesses so much power that he can even cause weather to change and indirectly the fate of the people who were shipwrecked on the island. William Sherman has the opinion â€Å"Knowledge was magical, and sometimes even entailed magic. But the attacks on libraries, the condemnations for conjuring, and the polemical complaints betray a deeper and more significant phenomenon: there were in early modern England dramatic uncertainties about the power of information and those who possessed it. (Cited in Jardine 1996: 105) Throughout the whole play there is evidence of power, someone in possession of it and another subordinate to the person with the power. Mostly this happens in the scenes with prospero, as he is almost an omniscient and omnipotent character, with god-like qualities. He has the means to change many things not possible for humans, because of his magic and his power over magical creatures such as Ariel. Caliban also does the will of Prospero; But, as ‘tis, We cannot miss him: he does make our fire, Fetch in our wood, and serves in offices That profit us. What, ho! Slave! Caliban! (I.ii.351-53) The shipwrecked people also play into Prospero’s hand, but they don’t even realize this. Even Miranda is dutiful to her father, and does what he says with little complaint. There is a hierarchy on the island, with Prospero on top of the list. Lorie Jerrell Leininger writes in her article â€Å"Miranda is given to understand that she is the foot in the family ... ...epresents every person that has been colonized by Europe, and their attempt to civilize the savages. Their method of civilizing and to maintain a firm grip on their savage labourers was language. It was their means to communicate and control the people who they didn’t consider as themselves and a means to discriminate against it. This is reason why Caliban resists and rebels against Prospero and disparage the language he has been taught. To him it is the loss of freedom and the agency through which he is being discriminated against. References: Knight,G.Wilson. â€Å"The Shakespearean Superman: An essay on The Tempest.† The Crown of life: Essays in Interpretation of Shakespeare’s Final Plays. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1947. 203-255 Leininger, Lorie Jerrel. â€Å"The Miranda Trap: Sexism and Racism in Shakespeare’s Tempest.† The Woman’s Part: Feminist Criticism of Shakespeare. Eds Carolyn Ruth Swift Lenz et al. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1983. 285-294 Smith, Ian. "When we were capital, or lessons in language: Finding Caliban's roots." Shakespeare Studies 28 (2000): 252-256 Tomlinson, Gary. "The matter of sounds." Shakespeare Studies 28(2000):236-239

Absurdity in Beckett’s Endgame

Bucket's â€Å"Endgame† explores an existence in an era when the importance of being Is Incessantly challenged by man's newfound recognition of the universes absurdity and lack of observable meaning, Written In 1957, the context of the world at the time of this works creation sheds much insight on its themes. In a time of continuous social and technological change scientific observations began yielding a more accurate picture of causality for the world and its phenomena; and the concept of god became ever less relevant. The recent world wars had left ruins in not only cities, but in the concepts driving the nature of man.With the Implicit destruction of deities and sets of traditional rules to govern man's behavior, humanity found Itself at a need to define a different purpose to Its existence. Enter existentialism: A belief in existence despite any discernible meaning, existence for its own sake; heralding with it an implied freedom of choice in both perception and action. As with the then contemporary world view, the characters in Bucket's â€Å"Endgame† are left to survive in the wake of a crumbled world. Free to devise their own world view, the characters respond by developing life affirming routines – mistreating that creation persists even In destruction.Destruction, It would seem does not eliminate an object or Idea, but only redefines its form, beginning its existence anew. Rather ironically, the play begins with Cool repeating the world â€Å"finished†. Consequently, this theme of beginnings and endings as interrelated, cyclical, mutually necessary, and conclusively futile comes to prevail over the course of the play. As with the classic case of the chicken and the egg, the cyclical pattern of creation and destruction is eternal In Its supposed nature.However, to the AOL of Inciting drama or motivation, a story must begin with destruction; a motif with which â€Å"Endgame† is rife. The very setting of the play Immedia tely evokes a sense of catastrophe and destruction. The lifeless â€Å"bare interior (Endgame, 50) is coupled with the â€Å"nothing† or â€Å"zero† (Endgame, 51) reported outside by Cool to Imply at the decay of a once lively outside world; while the imagery of the stage as a skull (with the two windows acting as eyes and the characters as the thoughts) denote the destruction within.During this unmentioned catastrophe, the characters saw the end f their entire world and way of life; thus being forced to redefine their views and behaviors. The destruction of their past worlds leads the characters to abandon their old ideals and ways of life. The bastardly He doesn't exist. † exclaimed Ham when his prayer went unanswered; showing that even god had died in the wake of Ham's personal disaster. However, these new circumstances work to effectively create a new world for the characters to inhabit – a world as senseless as the last.Whether It Is the story about the tailor, which coupled the end of a period of walling he beginning of the world, Ham and Clove's killing the flea from which they believe humanity may have been reborn (Endgame, 591 or the numerous references to Christ, whose death (and subsequent rebirth) – destructive and creative motifs in Bucket's â€Å"Endgame† are presented in tandem. Interestingly, the cyclical nature of life and death renders itself generally nonsensical and pointless.Surely, if all is to end to be reborn anew then a personally crafted purpose will ultimately remain as to exemplify this notion of a circular existence, with many motifs of rebirth such as Cool always returning. In their awareness of death (their own destruction), Bucket's characters foster eternally static routines that they hope will distract them from their imminent demise. They go through the â€Å"†¦ This farce, day after day† (Endgame, 54), as Nell puts it, because there is nothing else to do but delay the ine vitable while they wait.To that end, Becket makes use of repetitive language to denote the futility and repetitiveness of the cyclical nature of life. The play systematically notes upon and enunciates the characters minutest movements, and repeats their most casual interests: from Ham's insistence on remaining at the center of the room (Endgame, 57); to how many pauses Ham takes in his speech; to how Nell repeats herself to Nag, as in the case of â€Å"April afternoon† (Endgame, 56) . â€Å"Let's my dream. A world where all would be silent and still, and each thing in its last place, under the last dust. † (Endgame, 66) says Cool, expressing a desire for order.Yet Cloves constant tidying seems to have no end in sight; especially if he were to direct his efforts to the destruction outside. This tidy end of which Cool dreams would only yield disappointment as he would have no cleaning duty to occupy him and upon achieving it, his life would again become meaningless. In s uch a way, Cloves vision provides meaning to his trudge, which would otherwise dissipate upon achieving his goal. This focus on repetitive actions that delay the inevitable prohibits the discernment of meaning from these same actions, since there is never a final culmination to assess.Still, even the one example of a final product, is by no means fulfilling. â€Å"Look at the world and look – at my TROUSERS. † (Endgame, 56) Says the tailor in Knell's story, as if to belittle the bounty of the world (tongue in cheek, of ours) in the face the quality of his pants. In this case, as in the case of the characters death delaying routine, no amount of postponement will have made the end result worthy. As such, the play essentially stresses a â€Å"damned if you do, and damned if you don't† scenario by showing how any action will eventually be absolved in futility.The theme of futility ties into the very initial metaphor for ends in beginnings: As Cool mutters â€Å"Fi nished, it's finished, nearly finished, it must be nearly finished. Grain upon grain, one by one, and one day, suddenly, there's a heap, a little heap, the impossible heap. (Endgame, 50), he effectively questions when individual grains live up to the concept of a â€Å"heap. † From this perspective, the heap is an â€Å"impossible† notion, as any single grain is not in itself a heap, and a â€Å"heap† is Just an accumulation of single grains.This view resurfaces yet again, when Ham considers how individual moments make up a life (Endgame, 70). In this instance the analogy maintains that it is an â€Å"impossible† life, consisting not of a life that can be scrutinized as a goal achieved (or not), but of discrete moments that define it (before death terminates it indefinitely). Thus, any creation of meaning incurred during one's life, is presented as ultimately pointless – and only leading to its own destruction with the passing of its believers.Whil e Ham and Cool are in the â€Å"endgame† of their ancient lives, with death lurking around the corner, they are also stuck in a perpetual loop that never allows the to achieve closure. Ham claims he wants to be â€Å"finished,† but admits that he â€Å"hesitate[s]† to do so (Endgame, 51). â€Å"We're not beginning to†¦ To†¦ Mean something? â€Å", Ham wonders, only to be ridiculed by Cool in response him deeply aware of its lack of purpose. Since any ending is also a beginning, there is never any finality, and conclusive meaning is impossible.Besides, any meaning derived would be as shallow as the meaning left behind; while only persisting as long as its belabored. The very expression of Ham's question exemplifies this very struggle; where he delays and repeats words as he attempts to finish the sentence – only to have it become a meaningless gesture in the eyes of Cool. Cool, though aware of the world's absurdity must still subscribe to routi ne. He adheres to the daily procedures of tending to Ham and thus makes it the purpose of his life.Just as death wont arrive to conclude their lives, neither Ham nor Cool can escape existence in catheters presence. Such is the case with Clove's frequent failed attempts to leave the room and Ham's insistence on squashing the flea that might herald with it the human race; the characters appear to fear the destruction of their current realm of existence in favor of another for fear of the new world being worse still. It is consequently implied that the characters loathe the thought of reincarnation into this world; particularly being personally resurrected after death only to face life again.Thus they make an effort to kill all potential propagators of meaningless life such as the â€Å"procreators† that they seek to kill (Endgame, 73), or the incident with the flea the flea: â€Å"But humanity might start from there all over again! Catch him, for the love of God! † (Endg ame, 59) screams Ham, in chase of the flea. In exploring the cyclical nature of destruction and creation, â€Å"Endgame† notes on the futility inherent to the process. The cyclical nature of destruction and creation is rendered meaningless by the very definition of its continuity.Seeing the meaning seep from their previous existence, the characters come to realism that any new purpose will be as unfailing and mortal as the last. In the process of finding purpose in an existence doomed to meaningless, the characters come to occupy their time with senseless repetition that they both despise, and require. In true existentialist fashion, they deem all actions pointless, but are unwilling to stop making them while they still can. This play goes to show that meaning is what you make of it, and that there are no winners at the end of this absurd game called life.