Operations Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Operations Management - Essay Example Unlike in projects, in operations one has to typically stick with his or her decisions. In operation management, there is permanence in operations. A continuous process in the shop like purchasing and selling of goods is regarded as an operation. The good features that can be adopted from project management can be combined with operations management so as to have a better and efficient style of management (Olivia, 2011:59). According to Wilson (2012:178) asserts that operations can be analyzed at three levels; flow between processes, resources, and operations. Operations management involves the planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the process of bringing together people, materials, equipment, and methods so as to accomplish a wide range of operational tasks in the most cost effective way. At every point of operations management, knowledge and deliverables are typically transferred for the implementation of delivered work. Its occurrence is through the transfer of project resources to sound operations towards the end of the operation (Arnas, Jabbour, & Saltorato, 2013:89). The paper is will be going to discuss the sound operations management for organizations so as to efficiency and strategic purposes and how improvements of operations are required to maintain quality and remain competitive in a globalised environment. Operations management Efficient management of operations is of very utmost importance for both the survival and success of any firm. To ensure that the organization remains competitive in the global business environment, it must ensure a cost effective operations management process within the organization. Moreover, the management team is to be familiar with the world class operational guidelines and is to implement them to be effective. The operations management process includes: examining relevant operational activities; designing and organizing products and services; initiating and maintaining product or service selection; developin g cost effective operational processes and methods; evaluating the suitable equipment used in the operations; developing cost effective operations planning and control systems; and finally developing and implementing a material and supply chain management (Meredith & Mantel, 2011:117-118). Seemingly, many tasks we do everyday appear to be easy to handle but they are really complex in nature, but the repetitiveness and their familiarity hide their complexity. As a consequence, most real world problems require complex methods at first exposure, but their sophistication is hidden as they become familiar (Slack, Brandon-Jones, & Johnson, 2011:458-470). Operation is a transformational process that adds value such that the value of the output has a financial value that is greater than the sum of inputs. The recent advancement in technology has enabled the enhanced the carrying out of various operations (Waltes, 2005:162). This is attained through an integrated value chain. It is a set of activities that create and ensure the delivery of products to the consumer. The traditional value chain comprised of the manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, and finally the consumer unlike the new chain which comprises of manufacturer, e-retailer and the consumer (Kousholt, 2007:90). The internet based operations promotes; more efficient processes, an expanded supply chain, low cost of materials, better decision making frame work, more efficient processes, expanded supply chains, globalization, and new ways of doing business. The benefits of the internet based businesses have various

Examine the way Mildred Essay Example for Free

Examine the way Mildred Essay He pointed in their direction with everybodys eyes following his finger. Taylor wants everything to become very sultry through this quote, Through the settling dusk three figures ambled with assurance across the wide lawn. R. W. and Melvin on either side of T. J. As they came closer Cassie could see that his clothes were different, they werent tatty like they were at the start of the book. Thanks to theft the clothes he wore were wealthier. T. J foolishly brags about the clothes that the brothers have bought him, Look see what they give me. Proudly he tugged at his suit coat. R. W. and Melvin are secretly mocking him, Melvin nodded, a condescending smirk on his face which was lost on T. J. Cassie can see that the brothers are mocking him but T. J. can not, stupidity is blinding him. He is very gullible. T. J. continued to boast about how he was R. W. and Melvins best friend, and they would get him anything he wanted. Anything including a pearl handled pistol. T. J. had wanted this for ages, he had shown it to Stacey and Cassie in the Barnetts Mercantile, the day they went up to Strawberry. On that day he had told Stacey and Cassie that he would, sell his life for that gun. He claimed that it would offer protection. Eventually his attraction to guns led to his undoing. R. W. demanded T. J. then to hurry up and enter the pickup truck so they could head down to Strawberry to retrieve his gun. Yet he didnt turn and leave immediately he stood on his own undecided for while. Cassie watched him, she felt sorry for him standing there looking, desolately alone. But in the end he turned his back on them and went with the two white brothers. This action is very final. Mildred Taylor now compels me to feel sorry for T. J. like Cassie did. I am made to think, how sad that he made the wrong decision. How sad that he didnt stay where he belonged. Later that night it became hot and all the Logans were at home asleep. Apart from Cassie who couldnt get to sleep, she was able to hear the distant thunder. As she was just about to drop off, she heard light tapping coming from outside and decided to creep out of bed to see what it was. She discovered that it was T. J. knocking on the boys bedroom door calling, Hey, Stacey, come on wake up will ya? Stacey opened door and both T.J. and Cassie slipped in. When T. J. speaks there is a lot of repetition and pausing used which creates much sadness. Help me Stacey. Help me get home I cant make it by myself. R. W. and Melvin had beaten up T. J. and as a result his stomach was becoming a deep blue-black. Stacey refused to take T. J. anywhere until he had told him why the brothers had done this to him. T. J had no choice but to tell Stacey and Cassie his story of the event. After he had left them at church himself, R. W. and Melvin had gone straight to Strawberry to retrieve the gun from the mercantile store but it was closed. This was when we learn about R. W and Melvins true motives for befriended T. J. They persuaded the young boy to squeeze through the window to let them in. With the window being so small in size only a small skinny boy like T. J. could have been able to fit through. To stop anyone from being able to identify the two brothers they cleverly covered their faces with dark stockings and their hands with gloves. So if someone were to see them they would have immediately assume that they were black. When the three boys were all inside the shop R. W. broke the glass which the gun was encased with an axe and handed it to T.J. R. W. and Melvin then went towards the wall cabinet where Mr. Barnett kept the money. R. W. had to hit the lock on that protected the cabinet a few times before it broke. Then right when Melvin had the metal tin filled with money in his hands Mr. Barnett and his wife appeared from upstairs with a flashlight. Mr. Barnett shone the flashlight at all three boys, he recognised T. J. but not his two black accomplishes. Once Mr. Barnett noticed that the cabinet had been broken into he entered into a rage and went for Melvin. They both struggled to obtain the metal box until R. W. hit Mr. Barnett over the head with the axe. Mrs. Barnett attempting to protect her husband flew at R. W. but didnt get far. He slapped her right across the face this made her stumble and hit her head. All three boys ran outside T. J. was so frightened foolishly that he threatened to tell everybody at home what happened. This is when R. W. and Melvin had beaten T. J. Fortunately T. J. managed to find someone who was filling to give him a lift back to the Logans. Cassie suspiciously questioned T. J. if he was telling the truth. T. J. was in such a desperate situation that he admitted to everything. I admit I lied bout tellin on your mamma, but I aint lyin now. We feel sympathy for T. J. he is seriously injured, his face his pale, his eyes glazed and coughs up blood. Hurt T. J. begs Stacey not to inform his Grandmother about it, for his family will only be dragged into the predicament. Stacey please! You my only friend aint never really had no true friend but you Look at how late it is before T. J. can see the truth. In the end Stacey, Cassie, Christopher-John and Little Man walked T. J. back home. Straight after T. J. had arrived home, the white men including R. W.and Melvin parked outside the Avery household. As soon as the white men had found out about the incident in Strawberry with Mr. Barnett they were ready to cause havoc. They started to pound the Averys door with their rifles screaming abuse, We want that thieving, murdering nigger of yalls. When they saw that nobody was leaving the house R. W. broke a window at the side of the house so that several other men could enter. A few seconds later the front door was flung open as Mr. and Mrs. Avery were dragged out by their feet, the small girls thrown out of the window and the older girls spat upon. Then finally T. J was dragged out of the house on his knees, his face smeared with blood. Here Taylor forces us to picture the horror of the situation, mans inhumanity to man. Soon after this, headlights of two cars appeared one of vehicles stopped at Harlan Grangers home and the other at the Averys. Mr. Jamison a white lawyer jumped out of the car aiming to save the situation. He remained calm and told the men to hand T. J. over to him and the sheriff so they can take care of it. But the men refused to listen to reason and Mr. Jamison was warned off and accused of being a nigger lover. We must admire Mr. Jamison for having the courage to stand up to all those angry and violent men for what he believes is right. The sheriff is the introduced into the scene with a message from Harlan Granger. The sheriff quotes, He say yall touch one hair on that boys head while he on this land, hes gonna hold every man here responsible. The white men did not take the news well until Mr. Kaleb had the idea to take the boy somewhere else and hang him. He also refers to Mr. Morrison as, that big black giant of a nigger so that they can hang him also. Someone then refers to Mr. Logan as, the boy he working for thinking that the white men might as well hang him too. By speaking of Mr. Logan in such a tone that he calls him boy displays total lack of respect. The Wallaces clearly think that they are above the law that they believe they can go against the sheriffs word. Also because of the incident with T. J. the Wallaces now had the opportunity to gain revenge on the Logans. The Logans stood didnt approve of how the Wallaces treated the black people. Therefore stood up for what they believed in and took trade away from the Wallace store and shopped in Vicksburg, with the support of Mr. Jamison. All the while Stacey, Cassie, Christopher-John and Little Man had never left the scene they sat quietly behind a bush and watched. But when they heard Mr. Morrison and their fathers name mentioned Stacey sent his three younger three siblings along home to warn his parents. Cassie protested against Staceys request she was worried that her older brother would do something stupid in a desperate attempt to save T. J. She made him promise that he wouldnt do anything drastic before she eventually left him alone to inform her father of what was happening. T. J. does not deserve it but Stacey has a protective nature of man. It just demonstrates what type of man Stacey really is. On Cassies way back home with the boys Taylor describes the weather. Thunder crashed against the corners of the world and lightening split the sky. Again we are made to observe the parallel between the storm in nature and the storm between the black and white people. Most importantly we are made to notice that there is mention of thunder and lightening but none of rain. When the three children arrive home their parents are furious with worry and are about to whip the children for having the cheek just for leaving the house. However their intentions soon change after Cassie informs them of what is happening back at the Avery home. Mr. Logans first reaction to the news is to go down to the Avery home and do whatever he can to protect T. J. even if it resulted in him being hung himself. He trots straight to their bedroom to fetch his gun. The wisdom of Mrs. Logan tells her husband, Get Harlan Granger to stop it. She knows that all to do is persuade Harlan Granger to say the word and all of the men would stop. T. Js predicament brought out the best in the Logan family. Their need to protect one another, their need to show love and care for one another. Before Mr. Logan leaves to go and save T. J. there is more proof that the storm is ominous. A bolt of lightening splintering the night into a dazzling brilliance. As the bible says, Men love the darkness, so their evil can be committed. This is because night is a time of darkness, which symbolises evil. Light and brilliance symbolises good. A while after Mr. Morrison and Mr. Logan had left the two women and children were all sitting in the main room. When Mrs. Logan smelt smoke she rushed outside to find that the cotton fields were on fire. The Logans land and Grangers land was right next to each other so if there was fire on one patch it was most likely to spread to the other. So back the Avery home Mr. Jamison had jumped in his car and blocked off the road so that none of the men could get passed with T. J. When suddenly Mr. Granger came flying out of his house yelling, Theres smoke coming from my forest yonder! Give that boy to Wade like he wants and get on up there! Like Mrs. Logan had predicted all that was needed to save T. Js life was to have Mr. Granger say the word. That night both blacks and whites worked together side by side to save the land. Following the fire Mr. Jamison visited the Logan house to see Mr. Logan and warned him that he should keep out of the T. J. situation otherwise people will think he should lose more than a quarter of his land. Or somebody might just get to wondering about that fire. Here we are made to assume that it was Mr. Logan that set his own land on fire, in a sacrificial attempt to save T. J. Mr. Jamison. Also came with some bad news Mr. Barnett had died that morning this would mean that because T. J. was the only person identified, he would get accused of murder. If found guilty he would serve a death sentence. Stacey and Cassie were both devastated when their father told them this information. Stacey was extremely hurt by the news that he ran off into the woods. He knew that their wasnt any evidence at all to find T. J. innocent and he would ultimately die. The problem with T. J was he never thought before he acted, which had some serious consequences. Also he didnt have any common sense to see what was really going on around him, he became blind to the obvious. Finally I think T. J. was overall an attention seeker thats the reason why he done the things he did. He wasnt obtaining enough attention at home so he looked for it somewhere else. But unfortunately he looked in the wrong places and it ended him into to trouble, which ultimately ended him. N:\MyDocuments\RollofThunderHearmyCry. doc Ebonni Chabala 10R Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Mildred Taylor section.

Fire! :: essays research papers

I remember the night all too well. It was an August evening and my parents left my younger brother Steve and I home alone as the rest of my family went to one of my younger sister, April’s, softball games. They left the two of us together thinking that they could trust us since I was the ‘older brother’ and that I’m going to be a senior in high school. I guess that eventually proved to be quite the mistake.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As I recall it, Steve and I became bored after watching a few minutes of television. Our cable was disconnected the week earlier, and so the only channels we received weren’t too exciting for teenage boys. Out of desperation, Steve begged me to find something for us to do. I decided that since it was still pretty nice outside, we could go out and create a little fun of our own. And that is exactly what happened†¦ We grabbed the barbeque lighter and began circling our house and driveway looking for flammable objects. Since I was the one in charge, of course I was a little nervous, but I knew, or at least I hoped I knew, that Steve had an idea of what he was doing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Paper, leaves, and an occasional cat got pretty monotonous, so I told Steve that we should just head back into the house. Now please take note that Steven thrives on attention, and albeit he’s not the brightest crayon in the box, he loves to have people around to laugh and joke with as he attempts his insane adventures. So he suggested that we move onto bigger and better things, promising me that it would be well worth my time. I got a bit curious as to what he had planned, so I went along just for kicks. Besides, how bad could it really be?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Pleased that I was joining him, Steve grabbed a can of bug spray that was lying on our back deck. He also asked me to run into the garage and grab as many aerosol cans as I could find. All that I could gather was a can of Lysol, Raid and a half-empty can of wasp-repellent. I wasn’t exactly feeling too good about this, but Steve assured me that because of scouts, he was a professional pyromaniac. I was as curious as ever by now, and so I was concentrating on his every move.

“Yi-Yi, a One and a Two” Film Assignment

â€Å"Yi Yi, A One and A Two† is a ?lm that has been talking about three families and their family members’ lives. Interestingly enough, it seems like that family members have been focusing on their own life most of the time through out the movie. Instead of showing closely connected families, the characters in the movie are living their own lives while living under the same roof. One of the examples is that when Min Min decided to move out, she didn’t even talk to NJ about this, and when NJ saw her getting on the bus to the mountains, he didn’t have the attempt to stop her or ask her why.Which is quite unusual to closely connected families. Below are the characters' relationship ?gure and theories applied to explain the events and the relationships I observed in the movie. 1. Bowen’s Family Systems a. Marital Con?ict Xiao-Yian and Adi’s marital con?ict was caused by the presence of Yun-Yun at Xiao-Yian’s party. Yun-Yun’s Adiâ⠂¬â„¢s ex-girlfriend. But it seemed like Xiao-Yian was not playing fair when the three of them were in a love triangle relationship, which worsened the relationship between the girls. Xiao-Yian got pregnant ?rst and kicked Yun-Yun out of the relationship.Since then, both of them had been hostile towards each other. Thus, Yun-Yun’s presence at XiaoYian’s party was de?nitely not something Xiao-Yian would want to see. Which caused Xiao-Yian and Adi’s marital con?ict. Min Min and NJ’s marital con?ict, on the other hand, was caused by grandma’s sudden illness. Min Min felt that all the burdens were on her, and she could not ?nd a way out of the routine work, which made her felt lost and hopeless in her life, eventually she could not take it anymore. But NJ was not doing anything before Min Min shouted all these out.However, it was all too late, Min Min decided to leave instead of staying and face all the complicated troubles. NTU B00610017 Joanne Lin-Ju ng Chiu b. Triangles /Emotional Distance / Emotional Cutoff There exists an emotional distance between Lily and her mother. Lily’s mother had been busy doing her job and spending lots and lots of time with her new boyfriend. And apparently, Lily’s not happy with her mother’s new boyfriend. Upon feeling neglected and feeling like an outsider, Lily acted like an outsider. Thus caused an emotional distance between Lily and her mother.As the distance kept growing and growing, Lily started to form an emotional cutoff between she and her mother. Instead of repairing the relationship with her mother, she started to rely on her new-formed relationships with Fatty and the other new boyfriend. 2. Brofenbrenner’s Family in Human Development a. Mesosystem Models To both Yang Yang and Ting Ting, they have their school and peer groups as the mesosystems. Take Yang Yang for example, his experience at school (bullied by the girls and humiliated by the teacher) did actual ly affect his behavior at home (i. . sad expression).However, Ting Ting’s mesosystem didn’t seem as much affecting to her life and behavior as Yang Yang’s in the movie. b. Exosystem Models Min Min and NJ both have their world of work and the neighbors as their exosystems. Min Min’s colleagues told her to go to the mountains so that she can escape from the dull life she had. Her colleagues was some sort of emotional support at the time. Also, the neighbors discussed with Min Min about the new neighbor’s private life.The neighbors were another emotional support and practical support when grandma fell ill. NJ met Ota at work, who led him to think deeply into life and human’s fear. This also gave him some support when NJ was facing his ex-lover and his current family. c. Chronosystem Models There are several transitions that can be found in the ?lm: Normative: Xiao-Yian and Adi’s marriage was obviously a normative transition. They got mar ried, shared their lives together. Ting Ting’s got a new boyfriend (though it only last for a very short time) indeed was a normative transition.But it seemed more like a normative transition to her own instead of to the whole family in the movie, the others weren’t aware of Ting Ting’s romantic relationship. NTU B00610017 Joanne Lin-Jung Chiu Non-normative: Grandma’s coma was a non-normative transition, which made Ting Ting felt worried and guilty, made Min Min stressed and helpless and made the family fell out of balance and soon fell apart. Min Min’s moving into the mountains was another non-normative transition. Min Min has always been the one whose been making a lot of effort to keep the family functioning.However, when grandma fell ill, the stress, fear and anxiety that fell upon her was far beyond the amount that she could handle. And thus she listened to her colleague’s advice and moved into the mountains. After she moved into the mo untains, the family looked unaffected because most of them were focusing on their own life. But, that was just how it seemed, the family was actually falling apart (not physically, emotionally instead). 3. Mating Preferences Women exhibit a stronger preference to the men with more ambition, social status, ?nancial wealth and desire for children and a commitment to family.That’s why Adi kept boasting how much money he has or earned, broadcasting what his ambition in work was and saying what he’s been doing at work made him a socially dominant man through out the entire ?lm, he wanted to be popular among women. On the other hand, men exhibit a stronger preference to the women with more features of youthfulness, health, physical attractiveness and attributes that indicates reproductive potential. This explains why Lily and Ting Ting both wore shorter skirts and shorts when dating with a guy —– that showed more youthfulness and are probably physically more at tractive to men.And this also explains why Adi chose Xiao-Yian over Yun Yun, Xiao-Yian was apparently more youthful and physically attractive than Yun Yun. 4. 9 Constraining Beliefs about Mate Selection (Larson, 1992) a. Try Harder Ting Ting fell into this constraining belief when she was trying to convince Fatty to have sex with her in order to show his love to her. Love isn’t something that can be improved only through hard work. b. FInding a New Love Should Be Easy Lily kept dating new boys and dumping the old ones.I think it could be that she did not think ?nding a love is something difficult or serious. However, love isn’t something that can be turned on and off like a switch of the light bulb. NTU B00610017 Joanne Lin-Jung Chiu 5. Marital Processes in Context a. Microcontext: Life stressors & Transitions Adi tried to commit a suicide at home but failed, this traumatic event strengthened marital ties for Xiao-Yian and him. Xiao-Yian and Adi were ?ghting all the ti me for many reasons such as Yun Yun’s presence, Adi’s living habits and money. But after Adi’s attempt to suicide, Xiao-Yian tarted to realize how much she needed him, and thus strengthened their marital ties. Grandma’s death also strengthened Min Min and NJ’s marital ties eventually. Soon after grandma’s gone, Min Min went back home from the mountains and realized how much she needed her family and that life was not as difficult as it seemed like. NJ went back from Japan and learned a lot from Ota. They started to face the events coming to them together. Their marriage ties strengthened, the family was united again emotionally. b. Microcontext: Children Adi and NJ’s children both stabilized their marriage.NJ was struggling between Min Min and his ?rst love Sherry after he met her again at Adi’s wedding banquet after 30 years. Sherry was trying so hard to convince NJ to start a new life with her. But after a second thought, he decided to stay with his family instead of going off with Sherry. I think apart from what he said in the movie (â€Å"I would make the same decision if I have the chance to live twice†), Yang Yang and Ting Ting should be one of the main reasons why NJ chose to stay. Adi was not over with Yun Yun like what he had said to NJ and Xiao-Yian at all.They still have sexual relationship and ?nancial partnership after they broke up. The main reason why Adi married Xiao-Yian instead of Yun Yun should be XiaoYian’s pregnancy, which is quite obvious. And the newborn baby became a strong bond that ties Adi to Xiao-Yian somehow. Adi took video tapes for the baby and they took the baby with them when they visited NJ, all these showed that because of the baby, Adi began to make more effort in the family and the baby became something that Adi and Xiao-Yian shared. The baby surely stabilized their marriage in some ways. . Parenting Styles The parenting style in Lily’s family coul d be Uninvolved Style. Thus Lily showed moody, impulsive and alienated characteristics. In the movie, Lily’s mother spend most of her time with her boyfriend. Lily’s mother chose to give Lily money and ask her to watch a movie with Ting Ting and spend time with her boyfriend at home instead of going to the movie with her daughter. The parenting style in Ting Ting’s family, however, is more like Authoritative Style. We could see that Yang Yang is a friendly and explorative child, while TingNTU B00610017 Joanne Lin-Jung Chiu Ting is independent and optimistic. NJ always shows an positive attitude towards Yang Yang’s questions and problems. For example, when Yang Yang was asking NJ questions like â€Å"what people see and what people cannot see? †, NJ didn’t show any negative expressions, instead, he answered each questions Yang Yang asked patiently. NJ also taught Yang Yang rules. When Yang Yang was being impolite by staring at the neighbor in sunglasses, NJ told him not to do so and explained why it’s wrong to do that after they got to the parking lot.

My Biography Essay

E-MAIL ADDRESS: veronguti@yahoo. com To whom it may concern, Dear Sir/ Madam, I am a University of Nairobi graduate, born, raised and schooled in Kenya. I have worked In 2 NGOs in the last 3 years. (The first was as a volunteer in the ICL ABC Project Abstinence, Being Faithful and Condom as a Peer Education Supervisor). This has been with adolescents, fellow youth in institutions of higher learning and urban slums (Dandora and Mathare). As a result I have acquired modest but valuable skills on project management (Monitoring and Evaluation). I am creative, innovative and eachable. I am familiar with the BCC model and development of ‘EC materials. I am available to start right away. I worked with I Choose life Africa, a leading NGO involved in Peer Education as a project officer in the High School Project and as a result I worked with the Ministry Of Education in Carrying out a survey (on Sexual reproductive Health) with the aim of enriching the high School Curriculum among other duties. As a student I volunteered for over two years with ICL in organizing and supervising Behavior change interventions at the University of Nairobi. I gained experience in working with adult and youth behavior change methodologies and their application to HIV/AIDS. I have conducted numerous trainings on Life Skills in peer education. I was also in charge of the Leadership and governance project which I helped design. In this project, the peer educators we train give back to their communities by training their fellow youth, carrying out outreach and thematic events. Last year, I helped the students prepare a memorandum to the Committee of Experts on constitutional affairs. This was given to Mr. Bobby Mkangi during one of our leadership and governance forums. I was part of the team that developed a website dubbed ‘Chuo’ which is aimed at connecting youth to various opportunities and information provision. I belonged to the Customer perspective and proposals teams. I have acquired skills in project design, implementation and Monitoring and evaluation. Working with you will be very beneficial to me. This will be a new challenge and a great opportunity for me to learn, share, input and grow. Looking forward to working with you. Yours faithfully,

Ebay Vertical integration essays

Ebay Vertical integration essays On October 3, 2002, the online payment system PayPal was purchased by online auction giant eBay. PayPal had quickly emerged as the premier online payment program, thrashing in market control over eBays own subsidiary, Billpoint. According to eBay CEO Meg Whitman, the PayPal acquisition will help both customers and the companys bottom line by speeding up the payment process. Her reference to the bottom line may have stemmed from the fact that eBays sluggish Billpoint had been losing $10 to $15 million per year. PayPal offers better online account services for monetary transactions, primarily because of its credit card security features. EBay, like other online services, is known for its ease of use and few channels it requires customers to go through to get their products. This forward integration helps solidify eBays efforts to increase their customers ease of use and strengthens their ability to limit any competitors ability to compete on the online payment market. From the surface, it appears that this acquisition will help eBay tremendously. PayPal was (and still is) a young company with incredible potential for financial services. At the time of the article, the author estimated that of eBays 55 million users, 20 million also used PayPal. EBay was in a position to observe the growth of the company and see the advantages its patrons had in using the online account service. The hard part is to put a price on such a young company. The $1.5 billion buyout included $17 million in acquisition costs. EBay expected that net revenues from the payment segment, including revenues from Billpoint, will be approximately $300-310 million in its first year. While PayPal had been in legal trouble before, but eBay could not predict the potential problems it might face. Because of PayPals youth, the financial regulatory laws were not clear cut as to w ...

Street Gangstas essays

Street Gangstas essays Anotha sucka dead, L.A. Times front page. This is a quote from a well known rapper, Easy-E, of the grout NWA. He often claimed to be a gang member from the city of Compton. He had a history of being a drug dealer also. Easy-E and the rest of his group let the world know what a gang member does through lyrics similar to the example given. Proclaiming to be gang members, NWA painted a detailed picture of the street gang subculture lifestyle. Street gangs are a problem to many communities across the globe. Gang members, also known as street thugs, are infamous for the various crimes they commit; crimes that range from murder to petty theft. There are gangs that try to spread as far as possible and there are gangs that stay local in their local area. The gangs that try to extend their territorial control behave as a mafia would. Acts such as having international connections is one way they act like a mafia. The local gangs are a smaller group that is interested only in that area . Nevertheless, minute gangs and gangs with a vast amount of members share characteristics of their lifestyle. The attitudes of street gangs do not have much variance between each other. One feature that most members of a street gang try to impose is toughness. Many of them start off by getting jumped in the gang. This means that several members beat up the individual that wants to be in their gang. Members are usually in groups showing unity and strength. They try to show this to others, as a form of intimidation. Another characteristic that shows a street gangs mind-set is the recruiting of individuals within the same race. More times than not, gangs are racially motivated. They protect their territory from other gangs but may have a truce with a gang of the same race in order to only worry about gangsters of a different ethnicity. The outlook of not caring is the last trait seen in many gangs. They see nothing going well fo...

Solar System Science Project Ideas

Solar System Science Project Ideas Do you have a science fair project in your future? If so, consider focusing on the solar system. Outer space is rich with mysteries and scientific questions to explore, from the phases of the moon to the existence of space dust (micrometeorites). Start with this list of solar system science fair projects. Build a Working Sundial The ancients used sundials to tell time using the position of the Sun in the sky.  You can build your own sundial with two simple materials: a flat surface (e.g. paper, cardboard) and a thin object that can stand up (e.g. a popsicle stick or straw). Once your sundial is functional, test it for accuracy a few times per day by comparing the sundials reading to your watch or clock. Make Your Own Telescope Build a telescope. Galileo did, and so can you. Learn about the basics of telescopes  here, then check out  NASAs page on building your own. The easiest one to build is a Galileoscope, made out of a cardboard tube and some lenses.   Build a Model of the Solar System You can make a scale-model solar system out of paper or in a diorama. First, find out the distances between solar system objects, then do some math to get the distances to scale within your own model. Some tabletop scale-model solar systems contain marbles for the planets, a tennis ball for the Sun, and other smaller pebbles for asteroids and comets. Make a Spacecraft Model Build a model of a NASA space probe. Many of the major probes and space-based observatories have patterns you can download and use to make scale model, including the  Hubble Space Telescope and the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Track the Lunar Phases First, read about the phenomenon of lunar phases here. Then, for a few months, observe the Moon in the sky each night, recording how, where, and when it appears. Record the information in a chart and include a drawing of the moons shape each day.  If you have the materials, you can construct a 3D model of the sun using small balls and a light source to show how the Sun illuminates the Moon and Earth throughout the month.   Study Renewable Energy For many years, NASA and other space agencies have been using solar panels to power their satellites and the International Space Station. Here on Earth, people use solar power for everything from household electricity to powering their watches and other electronics. For a science fair project on solar power, study how the Sun generates light and heat and how we convert that light and heat into usable solar power. Collect Bits of Space Micrometeorites are tiny bits of asteroid that drift through our atmosphere and land on the surface of the Earth.  You can collect them by looking in places theyre likely to end up. For example, rain and snow can wash them off of roofs, and they can flow down the drainpipes and storm gutters. You might also try looking in the piles of dirt and sand at the bottom of a rain spout.  Collect that material, remove anything that obviously is not a micrometeorite (e.g. large rocks and leaves), and spread out the remaining material on a piece of paper. Place a magnet underneath the paper and tilt it. Most of the material will slide right off; anything that does not slide off is magnetic. Study the remaining magnetic material under a magnifying glass or microscope. Micrometeorites will appear rounded and may have pits. Edited and updated by  Carolyn Collins Petersen

Basic Concepts and Techniques of Human Resources Term Paper

Basic Concepts and Techniques of Human Resources - Term Paper Example KFC restaurants provide several fried and non-fried chicken foods such as sandwiches, chicken strips and several other delicious products. Besides, it also offers variety of additional items which are best fitted in terms of local food preferences of customers (Yum! Brands, 2011). In the year 1997, PepsiCo acquired KFC along with other two brands namely Taco Bell and Pizza Hut renaming the acquired group as Tricon Global Restaurants. In the year 2002, the Tricon Global Restaurants was again renamed as Yum Brands, Inc collectively (KFC, 2011). Purpose of the Paper This paper provides a brief description of the job role of a restaurant manager in KFC. The objective of the paper is to develop a training program for the recruiting the most suitable restaurant manager in KFC. In this regards, it undertakes the aspects such as major tasks, major specifications and job standards of the restaurant manager in KFC. Furthermore, each step of the training program has been described in the paper along with the requisite activities that needs to be performed. Strengths and Weaknesses of KFC The major strength of KFC is its brand identity. KFC is known all over the world and enjoy a strong brand reputation of fast food restaurant services. KFC’s other strength in the international market is its attractive menu offerings which acts as its competitive advantage. However, the major disadvantage of KFC can be identified in terms of the frequent conflicts in work culture with its parent company PepsiCo. It is in this context that the conflicting cultures of both brands tend to have a substantial impact on the performance of the employees. The cultural conflict is also considered as a hindrance while entering into other foreign markets. Besides, the company has been identified to have a record of weak performance with respect to franchisee business (Scribd Inc., 2012). Scope and Size of KFC The scope of KFC as a restaurant business is quite high as the products of the compan y are increasingly desired by numerous people globally. Data collected during the year 2006 suggests that above one billion units of ‘finger lickin’ chickens were served by KFC per annum in almost 80 nations (Yum! Brands, 2011). In the year 2010, the number of employees in KFC was almost 455,000 internationally (Yum! Brands, 2011). Furthermore, KFC has been identified to have made a tremendous progress in the developing nations including China and India. KFC is also leveraging its assets for developing additions to its menus. The sales growth figure in countries where KFC operates is also impressive indicating a significant scope of success. In the year 2010, KFC had generated almost US$ 14.7 billion excluding the United States market. With more number of outlets internationally, the sales figure of KFC is expected to increase considerably in the future (Chancey, 2012). Section 2 Job Analysis Job analysis is a vital process for determining the sole functions of a partic ular job. Job analysis is supposed to be the fundamental aspect for human resource management activities where development of training program necessitates a complete investigation of the job. It is in this context that KFC has engaged numerous managers for several tasks which can range from area managers and assistant managers to trainee managers and restaurant managers. The restaurant manager is liable for the overall operation of the allocated restaurant. The major

The world wide well known fashion label Mango cooperats with many Essay

The world wide well known fashion label Mango cooperats with many celebrities for its collections. Does this cooperation affect the sales profit of the company - Essay Example But there is always a question about the extra sales these activities actually bring about. Marketing is all about customers. Their behaviour and attitude towards buying a product is of paramount importance. Therefore Marketing is all about understanding the customers and of finding ways and means to for providing product or service as per his requirements. Markets are heterogeneous and are created by reasons of different values, needs wants, constraints, beliefs and incentives. Customers differ in their values and perceptions and want to purchase things that have value for them. Value is not just the monetary part, but also the usefulness and emotions that with go with it. Their need and want play a great role in determining this value. For this reason customer satisfaction has long been considered as the ultimate measure of success for marketers. Organisations that can increase the satisfaction level of their customers can expect profitability in the longer run (Felton 1959; Houston 1986; Webster 1988). Satisfaction is the outcome of customer relationships. This has been explained as antecedents of customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, customer profitability, and a host of other concepts and variables. Customer satisfaction however remains the main concept and concern and has been the foundation of all marketing efforts (Drucker 1954; Levitt 1960; Ames 1970; Gronroos 1989). Measurement of customer satisfaction has always been the main focus of several studies (Myers 1991; Parasuraman et al 1988, 1994; Oliver 1996) as this helps the company to assess and develop marketing strategies that will ensure this satisfaction and creates customer loyalty. Often the customer is acquired for a single sale but it is more important to make him a returning or a lifetime customer. This is considered to be more critical and valuable for a company. Therefore it becomes an important objective, one that is ignored in the initial

Decultralization and Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Decultralization and Education - Essay Example Such group of students advocates for inclusion into the education system or may go a head to start their own system. The families that have been affected by the government schooling system have often sought alternative means in private institutions. Springs notes that Catholic schooling provided opportunities for the minorities who found public school unfriendly. This paper explores the work of spring in describing the education system of American society. Spring (57), has noted in his book that dominant culture in the United States of America has played a significant role in dictating education policies in United States of America. Dominant cultures or races in the United States have affected the education policies. Some student from minority groups finds it difficult to study in an environment that seems to segregate against them. Spring describes post racial society as one, which does to harbor any segregation or discriminatory traits. This seems not to be the case in America. Man y communities that live in America come from diverse backgrounds and cultures. The society should admit them the way they are and accept the presence of their children in schools without discrimination of any nature. The statement is contrary to what Spring points out in his book. He described the discrimination of the minority students in America public institutions. Post racial society contributes toward such for equality because of the inclination that many communities take towards advocating for common policies that would include members of diverse community. The blacks, whites and the Indians learn in the same institutions and would advocate for policies that give each of the communities an equal space in school. Native cultures of the American played a role in shaping the education system in 19th and 20th century. For examples, the Indians schools promoted the Indian cultures and were less friendly to the non-Indian students. Introduction of policies during the tenure of Presi dent Roosevelt provided an opportunity for creating a learning environment for students from diverse cultures. A senate sub committee of education noted the problems that student of minority cultures face in schools and came up with policies that aim at protecting them. Largely, the championing of the deculturalization by the rights activists has contributed in changing discrimination in schools. Entrenching of the non-discriminatory act has contributed towards stumping the retrogressive policies that promoted discrimination in schools. The democratic space that the society has provides a means of channeling critical issues for discussion. Incorporation of the government policies in education system of United States of America stumped out the dominant cultural policies that inhibited the democratic space in schools. The changes in the education system of United States have occurred due to respect to human rights as documented in the constitution. Legislation of the land provides an equal opportunity for people of diverse culture to pursue their interest without interference. Respect for human rights dictated the actions of people in the society. This legislation has promoted equality in public schools and has worked towards changing the treatment of the minority in schools. Teachers and students have shaped their reactions towards the minority or the less dominant groups in school based on this piece of legislations. Court cases against discrimination

RESEARCHING BEHAVIORS OF INTERNET SHOPPING Research Paper - 1

RESEARCHING BEHAVIORS OF INTERNET SHOPPING - Research Paper Example For this research a lot of literature has been analyzed in depth and quantitative research design will be used for the purpose of conducting this research. This research will be conducted with full authenticity and all areas regarding the current and future trends in internet shopping will be investigated. The internet has become accessible to public for over twenty years by now. It came upon the scene and has exploded in popularity like few things have ever done in the history of mankind. Since the introduction of the World Wide Web, its value in the area of commerce as well as human life has been growing. Skeptical at first, online consumerism has steadily increased and, along with it, has come some positive and negative behaviors. Online business has been the most distinctive feature in this internet era. The internet is used by all types of people on a daily basis for multiple purposes. Internet shopping is one of the most accepted forms internet activities after email and browsing. Online business is the process of buying products through the internet. This has become the easiest way to purchase various items people want, without physically visiting the shop. When the customers wish to buy a product or service, they will explore it online and further make an evaluative learning about the product. This online shopping allows the consumers to search for information about the product and its prices. It opens a vast opportunities for the shoppers to study the product details. There will be several collections of items from books, prints, games to electronics, household materials, etc. They will be better attracted by learning the facts about the products they intended to buy. Then they assess other options avai lable and lastly make a decision to buy the one that most suits their needs, considering all aspects of the product. After, this, the money transaction is done and then the materials are provided. The instances of people

The Role of Human Resource Management in a Healthcare System with Research Paper

The Role of Human Resource Management in a Healthcare System with Employee Unions - Research Paper Example Employee unions in the U.S grew from 1950 to 1970 during which industrialization was at its peak (Shi and Singh, 2008). Towards the end of 1980s and 1990s, Malvey (2010) believes there was a change in this trend because the U.S economy was taking a different direction of production; from manufacturing industries to service industries, hence the decline in the number of workers registered under unions. This research paper presents the role played by HR management in improving the general delivery of healthcare services and patient outcomes in organizations that have employee unions. Methods This research paper was compiled with help from published literature. Data collection was through secondary sources. Results This paper is expected to reveal the role played by HR management in organizations that have employee unions and health organizations in general. The Role of HR Management in a Healthcare System with Employee Unions This section describes the specific work areas in which the roles of HR management are integrated to ensure that these aspects are taken into consideration during any organizational activity. Labor Unions and Healthcare Labor unions have one major objective: to protect the rights of the members and ensure their fair treatment (Dessler, 2012). The early 1990s saw a rise in unions due to industrialization and persistent unfair employee treatment by the management in the U.S. According to Dessler (2012, p. 404), the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) was passed in 1935 and it protected workers’ rights to formation of unions, defined labor practices that were unfair and formed the National Labor Relations Board liable for NLRA regulatory oversight. A shift in the U.S economy from manufacturing to service during the 1980s and 1990s saw a decline in union membership following a remarkable rise that saw 25% of the U.S workforce represented by unions between 1950 and 1970 (Malvey, 2010). Healthcare industry is a target service sector by unio n leaders for they feel it is an untapped potential union membership source. According to Malvey (2010), the healthcare sector had 12.9% of its workers registered under unions in the year 2000, a percentage that rose in 2009 to 13.6%. The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) formed a separate union in 2007, SEIU Healthcare, which happens to be the largest national union (Dessler, 2012). This union represents nursing, hospital, long-term care and other outpatient facilities while those representing physicians are associated with SEIU. The largest union of nurses sin the United States is the National Nurses United (NNU) which was formed when three unions, the United American Nurses, the California Nurses Association, and the National Nurses Organizing Committee, merged and it represents an estimated 150,000 members (Dessler, 2012). The role played by the HR department and management is to engage in labor negotiations with these labor unions in order to provide employee ample t ime and place for work. Handling of Legal, Ethical, and Healthcare Safety Issues In all organizations all employees at different levels must understand the basic and ethical values that have particular effects in the healthcare working environment (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2011). The legal relationship that exists between the healthcare institution and the client, or rather the nurse practitioner and the patient is the back-bone relationship of all medicares. It is not just the law’s requirement that healthcare providers maintain ethical behaviors but this must be addressed as the medical industry is full of tough situations that involve ethical problems.

RESEARCHING BEHAVIORS OF INTERNET SHOPPING Research Paper - 1

RESEARCHING BEHAVIORS OF INTERNET SHOPPING - Research Paper Example For this research a lot of literature has been analyzed in depth and quantitative research design will be used for the purpose of conducting this research. This research will be conducted with full authenticity and all areas regarding the current and future trends in internet shopping will be investigated. The internet has become accessible to public for over twenty years by now. It came upon the scene and has exploded in popularity like few things have ever done in the history of mankind. Since the introduction of the World Wide Web, its value in the area of commerce as well as human life has been growing. Skeptical at first, online consumerism has steadily increased and, along with it, has come some positive and negative behaviors. Online business has been the most distinctive feature in this internet era. The internet is used by all types of people on a daily basis for multiple purposes. Internet shopping is one of the most accepted forms internet activities after email and browsing. Online business is the process of buying products through the internet. This has become the easiest way to purchase various items people want, without physically visiting the shop. When the customers wish to buy a product or service, they will explore it online and further make an evaluative learning about the product. This online shopping allows the consumers to search for information about the product and its prices. It opens a vast opportunities for the shoppers to study the product details. There will be several collections of items from books, prints, games to electronics, household materials, etc. They will be better attracted by learning the facts about the products they intended to buy. Then they assess other options avai lable and lastly make a decision to buy the one that most suits their needs, considering all aspects of the product. After, this, the money transaction is done and then the materials are provided. The instances of people

Reflecting writings Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflecting writings - Essay Example One such example was the creation of Voki in the Turkish language. I found the uploaded compositions interesting and challenging. II. This assignment greatly expanded my knowledge about the implementation of blogs in learning communities. In terms of the articles and the uploading of my own personal blog, I came to believe that some of the most important elements of blogging in the professional learning environment are the question and answer options that exist so that colleagues can aid each other if problems arise. In addition to this this module opened my eyes to the broader possibilities of blogging within education. For educators blogging can represent a sort of self-reflective practice where daily or weekly occurrences are noted and professional colleagues and thinkers can contribute to possible solution criteria. In this way professional development is not limited to administrative at the particular institution but can be extended to a broad range of learning and intellectual communities. Within the contemporary world, where social-networking dominates, it’s clear that such professional development opportunities are becoming increasingly necessary; without extending beyond these traditional barriers the educator and subsequently their students will not be able to remain on-top of the curve in terms of national trends and insight. Another clear function of blogging is for the students themselves. While in-class writing assignments have long been a core part of the curriculum, blogging offers a relatively new and convenient means for students to chart their reflections and insights in a format that is apt for feedback from other students and educators. This is just another tool for educators to develop and improve student intellect. III. I found this task to be highly relevant as it allowed me to become a large amount more familiar with the podcast format. In this task I was assigned the group C, wherein I acted as the enquirer – reading and sharing three articles and questions with the group. In large part this module functioned to demonstrate to me the practical aspects of podcast creation. For instance, I learned how to create a podcast and how to demonstrate this ability to students. In addition to the practical aspects, I came to understand how the podcast form is particularly applicable in foreign language learning where pronunciation and audible understanding are essential elements of learning. Within this specific module I recognized this through the implementation of our own podcast, as we used the English-Turkish song I Will Survive. In terms of podcasts the application for language learning is truly endless as students can engage in interactive forms of learning through listening exercises, as well as be required to go beyond traditional forms of written homework; instead being required to participate in listening and pronunciation exercises in the off-school environment. IV. In this module I became familiar with the wiki format. While I had already been acquainted with major such features, for example Wikipedia, in this section I came to understand that wikis exist in a broad variety of subject area formats. The first wiki I examined was the 18000 Campus Way wiki, wherein it was predominantly utilized as an extra-curricular means of promoting school meetings and outside activites. The next wiki –

Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Essay Example for Free

Loneliness in Of Mice and Men Essay These are just a few of the times in which Candy has shown thoughtfulness. The last character John Steinbeck has developed, Curleys wife, shows loneliness for three reasons. For one, she states, I get lonely. You can talk to people, but I cant talk to nobody but Curley on page 87, which shows that she has loneliness because she doesnt have anyone to talk to but Curley. Specifically, people wont talk to her because they know that Curley will get jealous and want to start a fight. In another reason, she says, Im looking for Curley on page 31, which shows that she, made up an excuse to find adult conversation. Candy does not seem to have a dream until he meets George and Lennie. He is swept up in the plausible reality of this dream, a dream he would probably be too scared to initiate by himself. Candy is not happy with his life on the ranch, but he doesnt think that there is anything else that he can do. He has one arm and is quite an old man, he used to have a dog that was also very old and someone else shot it for him. He was very miserable after the death of his dog and he said, I ought to have shot that dog myself, George. I shouldnt ought to have let no stranger shoot my dog. His dog was the only precious possession he had at the ranch and it was taken away from him. He overheard George and Lennie talking about their dream and later approached them and told them his generous offer. He had more than half of the deposit money and George was very grateful of that and let him in on their once unattainable dream Steinbeck was of German and Irish ancestry. Curleys wife tries to get the men to feel sorry for her but also has a powerful and mulipative side to her by threatening Crooks. I could get you strung up on a tree so easy it isnt even funny. Curleys wife is abusing her power by using it to threaten Crooks and make him understand what kind of position he is in. She says this by threatening to get Crooks lynched, the hate of black people during this time is unimaginable. The men in the barn would rather listen to a white woman over a black man. He helps them get closer to actually owning the ranch because he has a lot of money saved away in his bank and offers it towards the ranch. Crooks is also crippled in his back and because of this he works as a stable buck. Like Candy he also has nothing to look forward to. When Lennie tells Crooks about his and Georges dream of owning a ranch, he is very cynical; Every damn one of ems got a little piece of land in his head. An never a god damn one of em ever gets it. Crooks mentions how George and Lennies dream will be unattainable but after hearing what Lennie has to say, he wants in but.. But after a while he believes that they might actually get their ranch and decides he also wants in. His hopes are soon crushed by Curleys wife taunts and changes his mind George and Lennies dream to buy a plot of land is a powerful symbol of the American Dream, Steinbeck uses Candy as a narrator. At the start he gives commentary of the characters to introduce them, he says how curleys wife is a tart, curley hatred for big guys and what the boss said in the morning and what he is like. Candy seems to know about Curleys wife and her giving the eye to Slim and Carlson. I seen her give Slim the eye, An I seen her give Carlson the eye. If he was white he would have such a nicer life on the ranch, knowing this he is depressed therefore like many people the great depression. Crooks is a nice person but being black the reader finds it hard to see that he has feelings and also his arched back makes him look twice as bad of an outsider. Steinbeck has written this novel in the hope that people would understand what happened back in his child years. He also wanted to convey his feelings of the violence and anger in the 1930s he had experienced. In the novel the violence mentioned is where curly exhibits himself in the bunk house because he does not like big people. There was a ranking system in America that was similar to an unwritten law. This ranking was used on the ranches and unfortunately put Crooks at the bottom. In America black people were oppressed and were not allowed to prosper. On the ranch Crooks had his own bunk and kept himself to himself. However, any sympathy that we might have felt for Curleys wife is reduced because of the cruelty she shows when talking to the men and by the way she treats Crooks. She is contemptuous of Candy, Crooks and Lennie, referring to them as a nigger an a dum-dum and a lousy ol sheep and she laughs at their dream of having a ranch of their own, dismissing it as Balony. Far worse though is the way she removes all Crooks pride and dignity when he dares stand up to her and saying how she can get him lynched. would say that loneliness is one of the main themes throughout the novel and I also think that Crooks is defiantly the loneliest. He is a Negro stable buck and the only reason he does not get beaten up is because the ranch the hands are not aloud to use their feet to fight because Crooks has a bad back. I aint wanted I cant play because I am black Those quotes show that Crooks is feeling lonely Says George in a way that says I know I cant force you but I dont want you here. This is of course because of what Curly did. She is taken aback by this, she is used to being ignored but not told to leave by anyone other than her husband. I just want some one to talk to. She says. you got a husband, go talk to him George replies. yeah I got a husband. She says almost in a disappointed way. She then asks how Curly got his hand broken. To which George lies and says he got his hand caught in a machine. But this doesnt fool her so seeking an answer she asks Lennie who she knows wont have the mental capacity to make up a lie. how did you get those scratches on your face? she asks. Lennie looks to George and then looks away saying, he got it caught in a machine. He answers. is that so? She says with a look that is trying to work out how Lennie thinks. Almost as if she is concerned for him. She then quietly leaves. In this scene we begin to see that she isnt stupid she can work things out. Also that she doesnt like Curly and being married to him. The possibility that all she wants is some one to talk to is again present. it differs the way Curleys wife is perceived in the film and book, we dont see how clever she is and how she uses her knowledge, power and position to be malicious. In the book, there is a quite surreal scene towards the end, when Lennie is by himself in the brush. He gets agitated with himself over what he has done and all of a sudden, a short, plump lady appears, his Aunt Clara. She starts speaking to him in Lennies voice. Then after she is finished disappears. Then, a giant rabbit scuttles out of Lennies head and starts shouting at him. Unfortunately, this is never visually seen as it is left out of the film. It would have been a funny scene and with it being right near the end, would have spoilt the mood; therefore, it was left out. Another scene left out so not to detract the mood, was when Lennie has his dead puppy in his arms after he has killed Curleys wife, and he has the idea of throwing the pup away so it wouldnt look so bad. The last two scenes would have caused undue laughter in the middle of two important and emotion parts of the film, which would have lessened the viewers emotions. Along with missing out scenes, a fair number of scenes were added. For example, in the film there is a scene when Lennie enters the bunkhouse with the bib of his dungarees puffed up and him cradling it. As Lennie had tried to sneak his pup into the bunkhouse before, Lennies suspicious behaviour hints to George that he is trying to do it again. After George scalds Lennie for his attempt to sneak the pup in again, Lennie lies on the bed and slaps the bib of his dungarees, flattening it, and finishing the joke. An amusing practical joke obviously thought up purely by Lennie showing he does have an intelligent and a funny side. John Steinbecks Of Mice And Men expresses George and Lennies relationship brilliantly just like a marriage, not in a sexual manner but in a mutual loving relationship. This occurs throughout the novel.(then examples) Curley has a very poor attitude in that he believes beating up people that are bigger than himself would make him a hero, however if the bigger person beat him up people would call the bigger person a bully and be sympathetic towards Curley. This backfires horrendously one day when seeing that Lennie has a childs mind he tries to pick a fight on him only to find that Lennys reaction left him with a badly broken hand. Due to this event, Curley then bares a grudge on Lenny throughout the play and the death of Curleys wife fits in nicely as it gives Curley an excuse to go after Lenny. Steinbeck does this cleverly so that there is already bad blood between Lennie and Curley before the death of Curleys wife. More than anything, Curley has his wife as a trophy wife. At no point in the book does he show any sort of love or affection toward her. Steinbeck does this so when his wife is found dead he isnt bothered about mourning hes focused on getting Lennie. eorge had told him not to speak, so he didnt answer. Curley really got angry. George answered for him and he answered, An you wont let the big guy talk, is that it? He wants to be big and tall. He picks fights with anybody that is larger, in a way superior to him. He only has respect for Slim; we know this because he listened to Slim. I think you got your han caught in a machine. He knows what really happened. He didnt want to get laughed at either, so he listened and obeyed Slims instruction. But you jus tell an try to get this guy canned and well tell ever body, an then will you get the laugh. Curley agreed to this statement, otherwise he will be laughed at for starting the fight and then losing it. Even though Curleys hand was totally ruined, and Lennie got a couple of bruises and cuts nobody got in any more trouble. When his wife was killed he was really mad. Not mad for losing a loved one. He was mad at Lennie for killing her, and instead of staying with his wife, he hurried off to find Lennie and to kill him. We notice that although Curley was very protective over his wife, he didnt show any interest in her, and showed no signs of love. Nobody liked Curley, not even his wife. Curleys wife was an outcast, because she is the only female on the ranch and wore a lot of red.

Plastic Theatre in A Streetcar Named Desire

Plastic Theatre in A Streetcar Named Desire 1. Introduction â€Å"I don’t want realism. [] I want [] magic!† (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 130) It is Blanche DuBois who states this quotation in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire. In this drama from 1947, two worlds, embodied by the two characters of Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski, clash. That conflict between realism and a romantic view of things is visible through the whole play, increasing from scene to scene, and reaches its peak in Stanleys rape of Blanche in Scene Ten. After that suppression of the romanticism and with Blanche going to an asylum, one might think that the realistic point of view triumphs, but in my opinion her leaving and her acting, still relying on the kindness of strangers (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 159), leads to the impression of a survival of her fantasy world. She just escapes from the demonic night world and completes the cycle of romance (Thompson 28). But I dont think that her illusions win over Stanleys realism, as she is a Romantic protagonist committed to the ideal but living in the modern age, a broken world (Holditch 1 47). In Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, things are not always called by their names, but he creates a sense of indirectness. With the aid of telling names and special attitudes of the characters, he caricatures a truth behind things. However, this is not restricted to the protagonists and their quotations, but also concerns the play itself, including the stage directions. The feeling of hidden truths is supported by effects and motifs, for example the adoption of light and music or the gestures of the actors. This realization of a play on a stage is called the Plastic Theatre, as the audience gets more involved through the use of different senses. This leads to a vivid impression of the feelings and thoughts of the protagonists. Williams himself created the term of the Plastic Theatre in his production notes to The Glass Menagerie. There he writes about a conception of a new, plastic theatre which must take the place of the exhausted theatre of realistic conventions if the theatre is to resume vitality as a part of our culture (Williams, Glass Menagerie 4). 2. Definitions To provide a solid basis for the following thoughts concerning the different characters of A Streetcar Named Desire and their points of view, I want to introduce and explain the two terms of realism and romanticism briefly. Both of them can also been seen as epochs in American Literature, but I just want to focus on the general statement. In addition, I want to expose further information about the idea of the Plastic Theatre. 2.1. Realism In the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, realism is described as accepting and dealing with life and its problems in a practical way, without being influenced by feelings or false ideas. This means that one takes things as they are, evaluating situations only with the aid of the visible facts, not relying on false hopes or following non-realistic ideals. The human reason has, from a realistic viewpoint, a higher value and is more important than emotions or spontaneous impressions. 2.2. Romanticism The romantic perspective is in contrast to the realistic one. Romanticism is related to highly imaginative or impractical (Longman Dictionary, Romantic.) attitudes, admiring ideals which are not realistic or even unachievable. In romanticism, feelings and emotions are stated higher than rational thinking and human reason, not only in the context of love issues, but also in the way of dealing with situations and problems. Impressions are not based on visible facts, but on ideal conceptions, and these conceptions might be sometimes quite fictional or utopian. 2.3. The Plastic Theatre To express his universal truths Williams created what he termed plastic theater, a distinctive new style of drama. He insisted that setting, properties, music, sound, and visual effects all the elements of staging must combine to reflect and enhance the action, theme, characters, and language (Griffin 22). Like Griffin, many authors, including Tennessee Williams himself, tried to explain the Plastic Theatre, but it was barely discussed in public. After he established the idea of the Plastic Theatre in the production notes to The Glass Menagerie, Williams never publicly discussed it again. But from that moment on, his plays were very theatrical, with lyrical and poetic language, his scenic descriptions draw on metaphors from the world of art and painting and with quite symbolic use of sound and light (Kramer). 3. A Streetcar Named Desire: The Truth Behind Things In Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire, the audience gets the impression that facts are not just stated within the text, but between the lines. The characters are often described better through their behavior and gestures than through their actual quotations. From scene to scene it gets clearer that Blanche and Stanley are embodiments of two very contrasting viewpoints of life: extreme romanticism and down-to-earth realism. This is also visible through different symbolic motifs, which emerge various times in the play. Connected with a very evocative use of music and light and many telling names from the beginning on, the whole play seems conspicuously allusive. 3.1. Romanticism and Realism in A Streetcar Named Desire We are presented in A Streetcar Named Desire with two polar ways of looking at experience: the realistic view of Stanley Kowalski and the non-realistic view of his sister-in-law, Blanche DuBois (Kernan 17). Williams brings the two views into conflict immediately. 3.1.1. Blanche DuBois as the Romantic Protagonist When the audience meets Blanche, her appearance is described as incongruous to this setting (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 8). In Scene One she arrives at the Elysian Fields, where her sister Stella and her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski live. Her clothes are white and fluffy, looking very delicate and as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party in the garden district (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 9). She is very shocked about the habitation of her sister and calls it a horrible place (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 13). The reader is confronted instantly with her deranged self-awareness, as she asks Stella to turn the merciless (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 13) light off, because she does not want to be looked at in the bright light. This behavior is visible through the whole play. Blanche always tries to avoid over-light and glare. Her vanity about her looks is also remarkable in the way Blanche presents her figure to her sister, fishing for compliments and stating that she has the same figure as she had ten years ago. (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 18). She often states very romantic quotations through the whole play, e.g. concerning the pretty sky where she ought to go [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] on a rocket that never comes down (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 44). When the relationship between Blanche and Mitch, a friend of Stanley, becomes more intimate, the audience gets an impression of Blanches romantic conception. She calls him her Rosenkavalier and wants him to bow, just like the gentlemen in the Old South would do (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 90). Although she was married once, she tries to behave like she would be untouched and a virgin, which she is obviously not. When Mitch says that he cannot understand French, she asks Voulez-vous couchez avec moi ce soir? (Would you like to have sex with me tonight?) (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 95). The information about her past, that she had many men in a hotel called the Flamingo, and the way she speaks about her relationship with Mitch, that she does not love him, but just want a man with whom she can rest, brings certainty for the audience. So Blanches character can be described as a very romantic one. For her, outwardness is very important, and to appear very delicate and pure she is not afraid of telling lies. She is a fake, a person who likes to be better than she actually is, living in a fantasy world which has nothing to do with the real life. Already damaged by [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] the harsh realities of disease and death, Blanches Romanticism is reduced in some moments to nothing more than sentimentality (Holditch 155). 3.1.2. Stanley Kowalski as the Realistic Protagonist Stanley Kowalski seems as the embodiment of a real man, opposed to or ignorant of the transcendent, very sexual and physical. When the audience gets in contact with him for the first time, he carries a package of meat and throws it to his wife Stella. He is described as strongly, compactly built. Animal joy in his being is implicit in all his movements and attitudes (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 24). His relationship to his wife is a very sexual one, as Stanley treats his wife in a very physical way and Stella states that she is very attracted to him. When Blanche leaves to the asylum and Stella cries, he consoles her by touching in a sexual way (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 160), which is characteristic of their relationship. His view of things is a very realistic one. When Blanche informs Stanley and Stella that she had lost the plantation of their parents, Belle Reve, Stanley thinks that in fact she did not lose it, but perhaps sold it and did not give them their part of the money. For him, this would be an affront against himself, as the property of his wife Stella is his own, too. He thinks Blanche bought jewelry, clothes like a solid-gold dress and Fox-pieces (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 32) from the returns of the plantation. In reality, the furs are inexpensive summer furs (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 33) and the jewelry is glass. This mistake is the mistake of the realist who trusts to literal appearance, to his senses alone (Kernan 18). Stanleys view of things, the realistic one, is the one which works in the modern, broken world. He embodies this harsh world with all its physical, material and sexual aspects. His strong appearance and his human reason is all he needs to get along in the real world. 3.1.3. Conflict between Romanticism and Realism The two points of view clash from the beginning of the play on until the end. Blanche embodies the romantic one, whereas Stanley stands for the realism. In the course of the play Williams manages to identify this realism with the harsh light of the naked electric bulb which Blanche covers with a Japanese lantern. It reveals pitilessly every line in Blanches face, every tawdry aspect of the set. And in just this way Stanleys pitiless and probing realism manages to reveal every line in Blanches soul by cutting through all the soft illusions with which she has covered herself (Kernan 18). Kernan explains very descriptive the relationship between the two protagonists. Stanley does not treat Blanche with much respect, which is visible through the way he talks about her bathing and her way of dressing. But also Blanche has an aversion to him, calling him sub-human something not quite to the stage of humanity yet (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 74). For her, Stanley is a threat, because he is able to destroy her fantasy world and to uncover her past and her real face. The conflict increases from scene to scene and reaches its peak in the rape of Blanche. Stanley has to prove his dominance and therefore rapes her to force his reality on her. But she is not broken after the rape, she is just even deeper in her fantasy world, which is shown by the way she trusts the doctor, holding tight to his arm, still depending on the kindness of strangers (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 159). Finally the audience gets the impression that the realistic point of view has the advantage of being workable. Blanches romantic way of looking at things, sensitive as it may be, has a fatal weakness: it exists only by ignoring certain positions of reality (Kernan 18). 3.2. The Plastic Theatre in A Streetcar Named Desire Williams tried to communicate circumstances not only by the acting of the protagonists, but also through symbols and various effects. The setting, lighting, props, costumes, sound effects, and music, along with the plays dominant symbols, the bath and the light bulb, provide direct access to the private lives of the characters (Corrigan 50). The many telling names in the play give additional information and enforce the impression of a truth behind things. In the following subchapters I want to discuss exemplary Blanches bathing, the adoption of music and sounds and the use of telling names. 3.2.1. Blanches Bathing Blanche bathes very often in this play. She obviously wants to clean herself from her past. After the bathing, she feels all freshly [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] like a brand new human being (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 35). Every time she is confronted with the real, brutal world, she wants to escape in her dream world, which is strongly connected with bathing. In Scene Three when the men have a Poker Night and Stanley gives a loud whack of his hand on Stellas thigh, she instantly says I think I will bathe (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 49). In Scene Seven, she bathes again, little breathless cries and peals of laughter are heard as if a child were frolicking in the tub (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 110), while Stanley tells Stella about Blanches past and her affairs with a seventeen-year-old boy and many other men. The title of the song Blanche sings while bathing is It Only a Paper Moon and it is described as a saccharine popular ballad which is used contrap unctually with Stanleys speech (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 106). Especially the verse - But it wouldnt be make-believe If you believed in me! (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 107) is very ironic, because Blanche does not seem very trustworthy at all, and so the song even accentuates her disreputable past. After the rape, she bathes again in Scene Eleven and is very worried about her hair, as if the soap would not be completely washed out. The many baths in the play show that Blanche will never be done with bathing, because she is always confronted with the real world and could not clean herself from her past. It gives her a brand new outlook on life (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 115), but cannot change her life really. 3.2.2. Music and Sounds The use of music and sounds is also very theatrical in the play. The Blue Piano expresses the spirit of the life which goes on (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 6) and is always heard when the conflict between real world and Blanches fantasy world seems to increase. It is heard, for example, when Blanche arrives at Elysian Fields and grows louder when she informs Stella about the loss of Belle Reve as well as when Stanley tells her that Stella is going to have a baby. It also suggests the fall of Blanche as it is swelling when Stanley rapes Blanche and afterwards when he consoles Stella, who cries because of Blanches leaving. Another music, which is strongly connected with Blanches past, is the polka music. It is always heard when Blanche talks about her dead husband. It emerges for the first time when Stanley mentions that Blanche was married once (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 28). She tells Mitch the story about her husbands death, he shot himself after dancing with Blanche in a casino. He was homosexual and she discovered him with another man and said while dancing he disgusted her (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 103) and therefore he shot himself. It also appears when Stanley gives Blanche a ticket back to Laurel where she lived and when he takes Stella to the hospital and Blanche remains in the flat. So the song predicts Blanches downfall, as it is always heard when she is haunted by her past. 3.2.3. Telling Names There are various telling names in Williams play. Blanches name itself is quite telling, as blanche is French and means white, which is very fitting when looking at her character. The name of her plantation, Belle Reve is also French, meaning beautiful dream. Blanche behaves like she would still live in this dream, refusing to face the truth and the real world. There are many more telling names, but I want to concentrate now on the perhaps most important one, the Streetcar Named Desire as it is the title of the play. Blanche takes the streetcar named Desire (Williams, Streetcar Named Desire 9) to get to the apartment of the Kowalskis. This is very telling itself, as the audience finds out more and more about her past and that she leaved Laurel as a broken woman somehow, but her desire to live her life as an elegant, trustworthy and honest woman is still present. So she tries to live a, for her, desirable life, and she hopes to find that in New Orleans. By the aid of the telling names, which are visible from the beginning of the play on, the use of music and the different symbols which appear often, it seems very theatrical and plastic. The audience gets an impression of the characters and the circumstances in various ways. 4. Conclusion In Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire, the conflict between Romanticism and Realism, embodied by the two protagonists Blanche DuBois and Stanley Kowalski, is the major theme of the play. With the aid of the characterization of these protagonists and the explanation of the conflict between them I was able to verify this thesis. These two persons are very polarized, visible through their points of view, their behavior and gestures. But in the end, only one point of view is workable, namely the realistic one of Stanley. Blanche lives in her dream world, even in the end after her rape. Stanley is not able to crush her, but she can only survive in her romantic fantasy world, which leads to the impression that she cannot exist in the modern age. The Truth behind things in this play is also visible through the Plastic Theatre. Williams caricatured this hidden truth by the use of music and sounds, symbols and motifs, and telling names. My notions about Blanches bathing, the Blue Piano and the Polka in the play, and the telling names were exemplary for this plastic and sculptural theatre, and therefore I showed the existence of a truth behind things and that the term of the Plastic Theatre fits for A Streetcar Named Desire.

Feeling Sympathy for Gertrude and Rhoda in The Withered Arm, by Thomas

Feeling Sympathy for Gertrude and Rhoda in The Withered Arm, by Thomas Hardy The Withered arm is typical of Hardy's novellas, as it is a tragedy. It involves two main characters, Rhoda and Gertrude. Rhoda and Gertrude both have their own different problems that the must face. Rhoda and Gertrude become friends after they first meet. Rhoda had an illegitimate child to farmer lodge who marries Gertrude. Before Rhoda and Gertrude meet Rhoda does not know what Gertrude is like so is bitter about the idea of her marrying farmer lodge who hardy hints Rhoda is still in love with. Rhoda is described to be old before her age and works as a milkmaid. She receives no help in the upbringing of the boy she had with farmer lodge so she works hard to care for him. The other milkmaids talk about her and they start to talk about the subject of farmer lodges new wife. This part makes you feel some sympathy for Rhoda as she is being talked about when she is still there. Because of the times Rhoda was not at all respected for bringing up a child on her own but instead she was treated as a social outcast. No one seemed to blame farmer Lodge for what had happened. The other milkmaids will think nothing of talking about her business when she is there. This makes you feel sympathy for Rhoda because in this day and age the farther would be forced to help at least financially with the upbringing of his son and Rhoda would be respected for her hard work in bringing up a child on her own. Rhoda is curious about the new wife and sends her son of to "check her out", as it would be. She wants to know what his new wife is like. Hardy gives the impression that Rhoda is jealous of the new wife or a least angry that he is taking a new... ...ge says that he is away on holiday. You feel sorry at her desperation as she is only doing this so farmer lodge will like her for her physical beauty but she does not seem to mind. The body that she touches happens to be Rhoda's son and farmer Lodge is with her. You feel sorry for both the women equally as much at the end of the story but for different reasons. Rhoda has had her whole life taken away from her however little it was and Gertrude has now died as a result of trying to improve her physical beauty. In conclusion I think that you can not feel more sympathy towards either woman as they are both in the same boat and it is because of each other that they had so much grief and hardship. If they had nether met or had anything to do with each other then they would not have been like they were. It was all a matter of situation and circumstances.

Customer value proposition Essay

Customer value proposition† has become one of the most widely used terms in business markets in recent years. Yet our management-practice research reveals that there is no agreement as to what constitutes a customer value proposition—or what makes one persuasive. Moreover, we find that most value propositions make claims of savings and benefits to the customer without backing them up. An offering may actually provide superior value—but if the supplier doesn’t demonstrate and document that claim, a customer manager will likely dismiss it as marketing puffery. Customer managers, increasingly held accountable for reducing costs, don’t have the luxury of simply believing suppliers’ assertions. Customer managers, increasingly held accountable for reducing costs, don’t have the luxury of simply believing suppliers’ assertions. Take the case of a company that makes integrated circuits (ICs). It hoped to supply 5 million units to an electronic device manufacturer for its next-generation product. In the course of negotiations, the supplier’s salesperson learned that he was competing against a company whose price was 10 cents lower per unit. The customer asked each salesperson why his company’s offering was superior. This salesperson based his value proposition on the service that he, personally, would provide. Unbeknownst to the salesperson, the customer had built a customer value model, which found that the company’s offering, though 10 cents higher in price per IC, was actually worth 15.9 cents more. The electronics engineer who was leading the development project had recommended that the purchasing manager buy those ICs, even at the higher price. The service was, indeed, worth something in the model—but just 0.2 cents! Unfortunately, the salesperson had overlooked the two elements of his company’s IC offering that were most valuable to the customer, evidently unaware how much they were worth to that customer and, objectively, how superior they made his company’s offering to that of the competitor. Not surprisingly, when push came to shove, perhaps suspecting that his service was not worth the difference in price, the salesperson offered a 10-cent price concession to win the business—consequently leaving at least a half million dollars on the table. Some managers view the customer value proposition as a form of spin their marketing departments develop for advertising and promotional copy. This shortsighted view neglects the very real contribution of value propositions to superior business performance. Properly constructed, they force companies to rigorously focus on what their offerings are really worth to their customers. Once companies become disciplined about understanding customers, they can make smarter choices about where to allocate scarce company resources in developing new offerings. We conducted management-practice research over the past two years in Europe and the United States to understand what constitutes a customer value proposition and what makes one persuasive to customers. One striking discovery is that it is exceptionally difficult to find examples of value propositions that resonate with customers. Here, drawing on the best practices of a handful of suppliers in business markets, we present a systematic approach for developing value propositions that are meaningful to target customers and that focus suppliers’ efforts on creating superior value. Three Kinds of Value Propositions We have classified the ways that suppliers use the term â€Å"value proposition† into three types: all benefits, favorable points of difference, and resonating focus. (See the exhibit â€Å"Which Alternative Conveys Value to Customers?†) Which Alternative Conveys Value to Customers? Suppliers use the term â€Å"value proposition† three different ways. Most managers simply list all the benefits they believe that their offering might deliver to target customers. The more they can think of, the better. Some managers do recognize that the customer has an alternative, but they often make the mistake of assuming that favorable points of difference must be valuable for the customer. Best-practice suppliers base their value proposition on the few elements that matter most to target customers, demonstrate the value of this superior performance, and communicate it in a way that conveys a sophisticated understanding of the customer’s business priorities. All benefits. Our research indicates that most managers, when asked to construct a customer value proposition, simply list all the benefits they believe that their offering might deliver to target customers. The more they can think of, the better. This approach requires the least knowledge about customers and competitors and, thus, the least amount of work to construct. However, its relative simplicity has a major potential drawback: benefit assertion. Managers may claim advantages for features that actually provide no benefit to target customers. Such was the case with a company that sold high-performance gas chromatographs to R&D laboratories in large companies, universities, and government agencies in the Benelux countries. One feature of a particular chromatograph allowed R&D lab customers to maintain a high degree of sample integrity. Seeking growth, the company began to market the most basic model of this chromatograph to a new segment: commercial laboratories. In initial meetings with prospective customers, the firm’s salespeople touted the benefits of maintaining sample integrity. Their prospects scoffed at this benefit assertion, stating that they routinely tested soil and water samples, for which maintaining sample integrity was not a concern. The supplier was taken aback and forced to rethink its value proposition.

Ranch Girl by Maile Meloy from Contemporary American Short Fiction

The story is told in second person, which gives the reader a sense of being in the story, at the same time being an observer. It begins with telling you where you stand in the socio-economics’ and in the eyes of your peers. â€Å"If you’re white, and you’re not rich or poor but somewhere in the middle, it’s hard to have worse luck than be born a girl on the Ranch. It doesn’t matter if your father is the foreman or the rancher – you’re still a ranch girl, and you’ve been dealt a bad hand. † (551) The story goes on, telling you where you where you live on the Ranch, who your father is (the foreman on Ted Haskell’s Running H cattle Ranch) and how you keep your room still decorated from when you were ten. You never have friends over, so you can keep your room that way. You never have friends over because no one wants to come over to a Ranch girl’s house. The second person point of view pangs at the readers emotions. You feel the hunger for attention and flush it creates when Andy Tyler flirts with you. The author re-creates the feelings of a teenage girl, somewhere on the cusp of popularity, in such a way it is almost impossible not to get caught up with the story. I was never a Ranch girl, but when reading the story I felt akin to the feelings of the narrator. The experiences described are vastly different from any of my own child/young adulthood but the universal truths laid out are the same with any person. The narrator has fallen in love with a boy from the rodeo. She goes and watches him fight every Friday. She s sixteen and the Ranchers daughter, Carla, and her curls they hair into perfect ringlets. Trying to catch Andy’s eye. When he gets up from fighting, he asks her to give him a rainbow and she twirls her rainbow gloved hand around his face. The narrator wants to marry Andy Tyler. The blushing hope of picking out her future husband harks back the authors understanding of a young girl. â€Å"Virginity is as important to rodeo boys as to Catholics, and you don’t go home and fuck Andy Tyler because when you finally get him, you want to keep him. But you like his asking. Some nights, he doesn’t ask. Some nights, Lacey Estrada climbs into Andy’s truck, dark hair bouncing in soft curls on her shoulders, and moves close to Andy on the front seat as they drive away†¦. But cowboys are romantics; when they settle down they want the girl they haven’t fucked. † (553) The narrator doesn’t feel too jealous of Lacey Estrada because she knows that Andy is like every other rodeo boy. He won’t marry a girl who he (or anyone else) has fucked. This statement is then contested after Andy Tyler dies in an accident. The paper announces in Andy Tyler’s obituary that he was engaged to Lacey Estrada. When reading this, the author goes on to detail the narrators feelings that you can almost taste the salt tears from being hurt. â€Å"Andy’s obituary says he was engaged to Lacey Estrada, which only Lacey or doctor father could have put in. If you had the guts you’d buy every paper in town and burn them outside that big white house where Lacey took him home and fucked him. Then Lacey shows up on the Hill with an engagement ring and gives you a sad smile as if you shared something. If you were one of the girls who gets in fights on the Hill, you’d fight Lacey. But you don’t; you look away† (556) I think putting this piece into second person was an excellent choice. If the piece were in first person, it might have been too emotionally sentimental, or with too much angst. If the piece was in third, it might not have been able to capture the vulnerability of the narrator. The narrator shuts down after Andy’s death, although it might be because of his death she has more options than if he had been alive. The narrator feels cheated, alone since he died, but she continued through high school where her science teachers (who saw through her ignorant facade) encouraged and bothered her to go to college. In the first course in college, the professor accuses her of plagiarism because she can write. The feelings of frustration and anger, feeling cheated out of a life with Andy to be left alone. The narrator feels the expectations of others enshrouding her, something that would not have been if Andy Tyler had not died in that car crash. â€Å"You are so lucky to have a degree and no kid,† Carla says, â€Å"You can still leave. † (558). The narrator has the world around her telling her how she can still leave, how she has nothing to tie her to the Ranch, or to Montana anymore. She can go. â€Å"But none of these things seem real; what’s real is the payments on your car and your mom’s crazy horses, the feel of the ranch road as you can drive blindfolded and the smell of the hay†¦. But out there in there world you get old. You don’t get old here. Here you can always be a Ranch girl. † (558) The tangible things that tie someone to a place has nothing on the emotional ties. Andy Tyler might have died and left her alone, but he still ties her to the Ranch by his memory. The stolen life taken by a drunk driver took not only Andy Tyler, but also the narrators by taking him from her. She wastes her potential by pining and mourning someone she should have moved on from years ago. The sad desperation is clear in the description, in how the author portrayed the narrator through the second person point of view. The narrator comes off much more sympathetic and her motives are clearly understandable through the second person point of view. I don’t think that any other point of view could have given such a clear view of the narrator life.