Character Analysis of “To Kill A Mockingbird” by Harper Lee Essay

In the novel, â€Å"To Kill a Mockingbird†, the character Scout plays an important role; Harper Lee portrays her as straightforward, abrupt, impulsive, and even just plain rude. One example of this is when Scout says, â€Å"He ain’t company, Cal, he’s just a Cunningham,† (Lee 24) in reference to when Walter Cunningham was over at the Finch residence, and Scout disapproved of the way he ate his food, that is, with a liberal amount of syrup. This shows that she is unafraid to speak her mind. Also, it shows that she is very opinionated about classes of people, as the Cunningham boy was of a lower class than Scout’s own family. This, in addition, proves that Scout can be unruly when she wants to be. Another great quote from Lee’s story, to go along with the one above, would be when Scout decides to take a piece of gum from a knothole in a tree on the way home from school. â€Å"I stood on tiptoe†¦hastily looked around once more, reached into the hole, and withdrew two pieces of chewing gum minus their outer wrappers. My first impulse was to stick it into my mouth.†(Lee 32) This excerpt from the story shows Scout’s impulsive side, showing that she does not always think before acting. There is also another side to Scout that we do not see as much, the gentle side, where she cares for Jem, and wants him not to go to the Radley’s to give Arthur Radley a note. Another example is when she goes with Jem to read to Mrs. Dubose, a horrible woman, every day. In conclusion, Scout may seem rowdy, unruly, and uncouth, and she may be, but on the inside there is more to that, she also is a caring little girl.

The Dictatoral Regime

Dictatorial regimes (also known as dictatorships) are one of the most well-known forms of government. In a dictatorial regime, an individual assumes sole power over the state and will go to great lengths just to remain in power. Dictatorial regimes are synonymous with corruption and violence, as dictators often put and kept themselves in power by plundering the wealth of their respective nations and brutally suppressing legitimate political dissent. The despotic nature of dictatorial regimes was very much felt in the 20th century, as the political history of this era was characterized with the emergence of dictatorships throughout the world.Definition and Stucture According to Merrian-Webster (2008), a dictatorship is defined as â€Å"a form of government in which absolute power is concentrated in a dictator or a small clique† or â€Å"a government organization or group in which absolute power is so concentrated† (Merriam-Webster Online, 2008). In a dictatorship, a sing le leader or a small group of leaders control all aspects of social and economic life. Constitutional formalities such as parliamentary sessions, judicial courts and popular elections are suspended.Dictators are often reliant on the military and the police to preserve their hold on power (Sedivy, n. d. ). Role of the Government and the Citizen The role of the government in a dictatorship is to exert immense control over the affairs of the nation as a whole by using threat and force to interfere in the lives of its citizens. The citizens, in turn, are expected to swear allegiance to the government, particularly to the leader itself. In a dictatorial regime, it is believed that the individual existed solely for the good of the state.Those who opposed this philosophy are immediately considered as â€Å"enemies of the state† (Hsieh, 1994). The Anatomy of a Dictatorship Aside from threat and force, dictatorships also capitalize on nationalistic propaganda. Dictators often use patr iotic mottos, slogans, symbols and songs in order to justify their iron-fisted rule. Under the guises of â€Å"protecting national security† and â€Å"defeating the enemies of the state,† dictators will then proceed to commit various human rights violations, such as torture, summary executions and warrantless arrests.In order to make the people side with them, they will resort to scapegoating, or the identification of a perceived common â€Å"enemy. † The most common scapegoats in a dictatorship include ethnic or religious minorities, liberals, communists, socialists and terrorists (Britt, 2004). Since a dictatorship is reliant on the military for its survival, dictators allocate very large amounts of government funds to the defense forces (at the expense of the domestic agenda).State censorship is likewise very rampant – mass media is subjected to government control, progressive militant organizations and labor unions are severely suppressed, free expres sion is openly attacked and artists and intellectuals who are against the government are arrested or even killed. To further protect their interests, dictators make cronies out of their countries' industrial and business aristocracy, appointing them to important government positions despite their lack of qualifications.Dictators are also the masterminds behind bloody and fraudulent elections – they engage in vote buying, manupulate election results and even have their opponents assassinated just to emerge as the winner (Britt, 2004). The Advantages and the Disadvantages of a Dictatorial Regime A dictatorship is often known to possess the advantages of efficiency and rationality. The dictator is also the decision-maker; hence, there is consistency and congruency between decisions and preference orderings. But a dictatorship, as discussed earlier, is more likely to result in the violation of individual rights and civil liberties.In addition, the political and economic policies of a dictatorial regime will only benefit the cronies of the dictator (Rea, 2003). Conclusion It has often been said that if power corrupts, then absolute power corrupts absolutely. A dictatorship takes this argument to a higher level by showing how a government can turn against its own people just to keep one person in power. A dictatorship may appear strong and invincible, but it is actually afraid of its own people. That is why it sows fear and hate among the people – so that they will be too busy fighting and killing each other to notice the illegitimacy of its rule over them.

International Management/Application Exercises Essay

Make a list of the reasons you would want to accept a foreign assignment and a list of reasons you would want to reject it. Do they depend on the locations? Compare your list with a classmate and discuss your reasons. Living in a culture that has a different language, different customs, and a different work style is exciting, and an once-in-a-lifetime experience. It can give your career a significant boost as well as broaden your horizons. But â€Å"global† assignments, as many companies call them today, have a downside, too. It’s true that some parts of the world are dangerous for Americans and other visitors, but in most global postings the challenges have more to do with different cultures and different ways of doing business. The good thing about accepting a foreign assignment: builds the resume when you are invited to take an International Relocation you should take it because there may be no other experience that adds to your resume more, become a multi-cultural pro when you take an International Assignment it gives you an opportunity to add to your multi-cultural tool belt. Every day you will be challenged by cultures different from your own in the workplace. Learning to manage people of different cultures than your own is an increasingly valuable asset today. While advantageous for some, international assignments aren’t right for everyone. Only you and those close to you can decide if you want to live and work in a different country, and if so, at which point in time. If success on your career path requires international experience and you are unable to take on an international assignment at this time for any reason, there are other ways to gain global exposure. These might include short-term assignments in other locations, jobs that involve cross-border interaction, or a task force made up of a global team. There’s a downside to working abroad: The difficulty of being away from friends and family. It’s especially hard if you move overseas alone, problems adjusting to living in a foreign country. Many people have a difficult time dealing with cultural differences, extreme disorientation. It can take several days or more to get used to living and working in a different time zone, a chance of getting sick. In tropical climates, malaria and dysentery are common. Different health care and sanitation practices must be considered, you’re out of touch with the home office. Many changes can occur in the space of two or three years, such as new management, mergers and acquisitions, and promotions, technological change. Technology in foreign countries can be years behind the United States. It could take several months to digest all the changes when you get home, your company may be reluctant to have you return. Keeping an experienced employee in an overseas post is often easier than training a replacement, and returning to your old job could be difficult, both for you and your coworkers.

Critical Review Of Sumantra Ghoshal's Article Essay

Critical Review Of Sumantra Ghoshal's Article - Essay Example There have been extensive debates about good practices in the theory of management. In this regard, the article published by Sumantra Ghoshal had provided quite a valuable insight. The surge in corporate scandals in the past has brought management practices taught in the management schools under attack. The article published by Ghoshal (2005) had stated that academic research, which is done in the field of business and management, has led to certain detrimental practices in the field of management. According to Ghoshal, most of these negative influences can be attributed to the incorporation of a set of ideas that have gained more dominance in the theory of management for organizations. Ghoshal has strongly criticized the business schools of propagating ideas based on amoral practices, which have made students free of any type of social and ethical concerns (Gapper,2005). Hayek had criticized the scientific model adopted by business schools by commenting that it is "pretense of knowl edge" (Ghoshal and Moran,1996). I think both of these authors had a major complaint against the dehumanization of humans in business. According to me, most business practices that are adopted by organizations are regarded from a capitalist view point, which does not take ethical considerations of decisions into account. The paper published by Ghoshal is unique according to me because it points out not only to the flaws of organizations per se but also to a flaw in which knowledge is imparted by individuals in the academic field, including him.

Strategic decision making mechanisms available to deal with airport Essay

Strategic decision making mechanisms available to deal with airport development at the national and local levels - Essay Example It seems that in the area of strategic planning, the British airline industry needs several alterations and improvements in order to meet the challenges set within the global market. The delays in the application of the relevant projects as described above could affect the performance of the industry towards its competitors and for this reason appropriate plans of action should be designed in order to support the improvement of the particular industry in the long term. Current paper refers to the strategic decision making options/ methods that can be used in the airport development in Britain. Towards this direction, general principles and schemes of strategic decision making procedure will be presented while the current trends that characterize airport development in Britain are also going to be analyzed. On the other hand, a comparison with the conditions that apply in the relevant sector of Ireland has been considered to be necessary in order to understand the elements of airport development and their role within different markets. In this way, any possible differentiation among the British and the Irish market regarding the airport development will be revealed offering valuable information on the formulation and application of strategic decision making mechanisms in both the above countries. The main aspects of the airport development in Britain are presented in the White Paper â€Å"The Future of Air Transport† which published by the British government in December 2003. In accordance with this paper, current efforts in UK regarding the airport development in the various regions across the country focus on the following issues: ‘a) A new runway at Stansted, to be operational by 2011/12; b) A third runway at Heathrow, as long as legal air quality limits are not breached. If this is not possible, Gatwick will have the runway instead, to be operational by 2020; c) A new runway in Birmingham; d) Also, existing airports

Managing human resources in business context Case Study

Managing human resources in business context - Case Study Example Although intense rivalry between the top brands is important to be taken care of, the emphasis for tobacco manufacturers should now be on dealing with the people. Anti-Smoking campaigns, new laws and the gaining public awareness about the harms of smoking is decreasing the annual consumption of cigarettes. This is definitely a de-motivating feature for the company and its employees. However the thing tobacco industry has kept going in its favour is the addictive nature of cigarettes. This fact however presents the company with serious corporate social responsibility issues and therefore British American Tobacco should keep these issues in mind when developing a new human resource management strategy as proposed in this paper. British American Tobacco is the most globalization brand in the world. The brand has millions of diverse customers across the globe, with access to over 180 markets globally, and makes the best quality tobacco products. The brand commits its customers to always be indulged in principles of corporate social responsibility, a practice kept running through out the group. (http://www.British American Tobacco.com/) With the exception of the Chinese state tobacco monopoly, UK holds the 3 of the top 5 tobacco companies within its boundaries. Philip Morris leads the market with 18% share, BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO follows with 11%, while Imperial Tobacco and Gallaher hold fourth and fifth position in the global tobacco pie. The missing third spot belongs to Japan Tobacco. Cigarette and Tobacco Pie Share in UK Market share In UK, the cigarette and tobacco market is predominantly captivated by Gallaher and Imperial Tobacco; the two firms enjoy an 80% hold in the market. BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO has its manufacturing facilities in UK but exports most of its production. (Cullum and Pissarides, 2004) (Action on Smoking and Health, Fact sheet no.18) Rank Brand Name % share of UK cigarette market Manufacturer 1 Lambert & Butler KS 13.5 Imperial Tobacco 2 Benson & Hedges Gold 7.3 Gallaher 3 Mayfair King Size 7.1 Gallaher 4 Richmond Superkings 6.6 Imperial Tobacco 5 Richmond King Size 4.9 Imperial Tobacco 6 Marlboro Gold King Size 4.4 Philip Morris 7 Regal KS 3.5 Imperial Tobacco 8 Royals King Size Red 3.4 BAT 9 Superkings 3.3 Imperial Tobacco 10 Silk Cut Purple 3.2 Gallaher Top 10 UK cigarette brands: 2004 Recent Developments at BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO Recently, BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO has strengthened its position in the Tobacco world market with different moves. As per the most recent developments, to expand their reach farther, BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO is in process of acquiring small firms internationally so as to have extended access to the markets, and to have stronger position at the same. The group is also quite close to the completion of purchasing House of Prince (HoP).

Why Mixing Students With and Without Special Needs Is a Good Idea Essay

Why Mixing Students With and Without Special Needs Is a Good Idea - Essay Example In this regard, I found Vaness Romo’s article Why Mixing Students With and Without Special Needs Is a Good Idea enlightening and very interesting because she gave very good reasons for her cause. The article started with a controversial photo of a second-grade class which caused some uproar on the Internet. The photo shows a teacher with a warm smile standing beside twenty-two kids sitting on a set of bleachers. Off to the far right, a boy with a beautiful smile was sitting in a wheelchair, separated from his peers. At the beginning of the article, Vanessa discusses why that photo caused the uproar on the Internet and how it was heartbreaking for the online world that believed the picture aimed to show discrimination against people with disabilities. Then, she presents Miles, the boy in the photo, the type of his disability, and his mother’s feeling. Vanessa moved to another point, which was arguing about why mixing students with and without special needs is a good idea. First, she talked about a parent’s fear of people picking on or excluding their child, especially parents of children with special needs, and how that was the reason for the inclusive education model. Secondly, Vanessa quoted Margo Pensavalle, one of the professors at the USC Rossier School, saying â€Å"It’s a win-win situation for everybody,† in arguing that students with special needs should be placed in mainstream classrooms with children of similar ages. Thirdly, Romo also explained how regardless of the severity of a student’s disability and socio-economic status, the advantages of inclusion in the classroom has been well documented with The National Longitudinal Transitions Study showing many advantages of mixing students with and without special needs. Fourthly, Vanessa continued to argue based on Pensavalle’s statement that the two kinds of students in the inclusion model â€Å"take advantage of [the extra help] and learn more completely in a more supportive

Management Research Project Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Management Research Project - Assignment Example Garman (2010). In their research, they elaborate resistance to organisational change and its impact. Similarly, Lloyd C. Harris, Andrew Crand (2002), Sjoerd Beugelsdijk, Arjen, Slangen, Marco van Herpen (2002), and Bernard Burnes (1996) have all conducted research on organisational change, motivation, and information communication technology. (b) Change and its impact on employees’ motivation are unavoidable. Recently, many factors have influenced the organisational environment and culture. Consequently, this impact has positively and negatively affected the employees’ motivation. However, for organisations, it is highly essential to provide congenial environment to employees as this will enable them to retain their level of motivation which will convince and direct them to achieve their job related goals and objectives. However, motivation is defined as a force enabling someone to work in a specified direction for obtaining a certain organisational objectives (Mills et al., 2007). In the same context, both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation has been separated as both have different types of impacts and benefits offered by organisations. For example, intrinsic motivation is doing something for one’s own sake (Jacobs, 1993). On the other hand, extrinsic motivation is externally provided incentive in w hich an employee is offered an incentive or reward for completing certain targets. The field of information communication technology (ICT) experiences more effects of changes than any other fields and it faces both positive and negative impacts of change for a number of reasons. For example, every day new advancements, softwares, methods, and techniques are being invented and the frequency of these changes is so fast that new version is hardly implemented and the latest version is developed. In this regard, Iyanda and Ojo (2008) carried out study over the impact of adopting new ICT on the motivation of employees in the Botswana organisations;

Resonse to comment W4CT and CE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Resonse to comment W4CT and CE - Essay Example The payback period gives the manager the amount of year it takes to break even. The payback method allows managers to assess a capital project quickly and make operating decisions based on the results. If the payback period is longer than what the company can afford then the project must be rejected. The reason a manager should accept a project with above an above cero NPV is because the metric ensures that the firm will generate money taking into considerations the time value of money. As you mentioned in your response the use of the NPV method lowers the risk of managers of accepting projects that could be unprofitable. The great thing about using the NPV method to evaluate projects is that this method provides results that are unbiased due to the fact that the NPV mathematical methodology is flawless. If the NPV results states that a project has a negative NPV results this is undeniable prove that the project will not bring a company any benefits. If a manager does not use any pro ven capital budgeting techniques such as NPV the manager is being irresponsible and his work as a manager can be considered irresponsible and incompetent. DQ2 Managers must use financial capital budget techniques to evaluate whether to accept or reject a project.

Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Research - Essay Example ted patient to 30 degrees, controlling venous thromboembolism through anticoagulation and use of chronological compression devices, initiating early mobilization, practicing good hand hygiene, giving patient gastric acid histamine 2 blockers and performing daily routine interruption at 10 am to find the neurological status. The objective of this research paper is to support the argument that oral care in terms of timed tooth brushing in combination with VAP bundle can help prevent and mitigate the occurrence of VAP. This project specifically addresses timed oral care of medical ICU, neurologic and unconsciously ventilated patient on a twenty-four hour bed stroke. Several patients were formed into a control group that performed a usual oral care of brushing teeth after every eight hours. The results were quiet startling (A life in the day, 2013)The VAP rate in the intervention group dropped to zero after one week of every eight hours brushing. The result was so successful that the intervention group was released after six months and the teeth of all incubated patient after every eight hours until a zero rate maintained at the end of study. There is inadequate evidence to show whether difference in the duration of brushing has any effect on the outcome on the mechanically ventilated patient. There is ins ufficient evidence of the effects of other oral care

CRIMINAL JUSTICE 1 question drugs Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CRIMINAL JUSTICE 1 question drugs - Coursework Example In truth, Colombian drug organizations and Mexican drug organizations have traditionally taken different roles in the drug trafficking chain. In the article by Lyman (2011), the relationship started with Mexican drug organizations acting as surrogates and partners of their Colombian counterpart drug organizations – taking advantage of the borders between Mexico and the United States to smuggle in cocaine from Colombia (page 136). However, towards the end of the 1980s the Mexicans were no longer satisfied with being mere conduits and wanted a share both of the drug loot and the U.S. markets. Lyman explained the consequence of this: Eventually, this arrangement with the Colombians not only resulted in dividing the cocaine shipments down the middle but in dividing much of the U.S. markets down the middle. As the arrangement evolved over time, the Colombians retained the wholesale market in the eastern United States as their own, and Mexican drug cartels took over the wholesale market in the Midwestern and Western states. According to Bagley (1988), the expanded role of the Mexicans in the drug trade had created, in his words, â€Å"an unprecedented wave of drug related violence in Mexico that seriously threatened the country’s fledgling process of democratization. (page 71)†. And this begins to answer the question as to whether or not these drug cartels are as much of a threat to the United States as traditional terrorist organizations. In fact, it may even be argued that drug cartels are even more of a threat to the United States than the terrorist networks that people have come to associate with Islamic fundamentalist groups and the like. For one thing, the scale of violence wrought by drug organization can perhaps rival that of traditional terrorist organizations. Colombia’s principal guerrilla organization, the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucion de

List of Companies Essay Example for Free

List of Companies Essay 1. AmBank Corporate The AmBank Group is one of Malaysia’s premier financial services group with leadership positions in the retail banking, commercial banking, investment banking and insurance sectors. With an established history and a track record of customer focus and innovation, the AmBank Group continues to serve its customers with a wide range of innovative products and services. 2. Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd Astro Holdings Sdn Bhd is a Malaysia investment holding media and entertainment company that began in the form of a pay digital direct broadcast satellite radio and television service, Astro. 3. Celcom Axiata Berhad Through the Mobile Numbering Portability by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, CELCOM also provides Virtual Mobile Operator services. Celcom also provides rural communications services using CDMA Technology and Satellite Phone. 4. CIMB Bank In their commitment to deliver a more exclusive level of banking, they continuously develop their products and services, advisory capabilities and lifestyle privileges to be more attentive, convenient and rewarding for their customers. 5. DiGi Telecommunications DiGi Telecommunications Sdn. Bhd., DBA DiGi, is a mobile service provider in Malaysia. It is owned in majority by Telenor ASA of Norway with 49%. On 24 May 1995 DiGi became the first telco in Malaysia to launch and operate a fully digital cellular network. 6. DRB-HICOM DRB-HICOM Berhad (â€Å"DRB-HICOM) is one of Malaysia’s leading companies listed on the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad, playing an integral role in the nation’s road to industrialisation. 7. Maxis Communications Maxis provides a variety of mobile communication products and services. They offer prepaid call plans, monthly subscription plans, International Roaming, MMS, WAP (over both GSM and GPRS), Residential Fixed Line services, Broadband Internet plans, and as of early 2005, 3G services to both prepaid and post paid subscription customers. It is easier to attract the customers. 8. Media Prima Berhad Rich with compelling content, Media Primas traditional and new media channels have been able to engage millions of people throughout Malaysia and beyond with something for everyone. 9. Naza Group The Naza Group of Companies is Malaysia’s largest privately-owned conglomerate with businesses in the automotive industry, property development, food and beverage and hotel management to name a few. 10. New Straits Times Group NSTP is the leading printed media with a growing online presence. They inform, educate and entertain. 11. Perodua They responsible for the sales, marketing, and distribution of all Perodua vehicles as well as after sales service and spare parts operations. Perodua is well-known for selling affordable car for everyone. 12. Petronas Dagangan Berhad Committed to a growth agenda, PDB strives to continuously provide superior products, and services in all its four core businesses of Retail, Commercial, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Lubricants. The Company invests in research and development (RD) to ensure that PDB continues to offer a wide range of internationally recognised high quality petroleum products including motor gasoline, aviation fuel, kerosene, diesel, fuel oil, bunker fuel, LPG cylinders and asphalt. Today, PDB is the market leader in the Commercial and LPG sectors, with strong fundamentals to retain and further solidify this position. 13. PLUS Malaysia Berhad The PLUS Expressways Berhad (PEB) or PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PMB) or known as Projek Lebuhraya Usahasama Berhad (PLUS) (formerly Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Berhad (PLUS)) (MYX: 5052) is the biggest Highway Concessionaries or Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) operator company in Malaysia. A member of the UEM Group, the company is also the largest listed toll expressway operator in Southeast Asia, Asia, and the eighth largest in the world. 14. Pos Malaysia Pos Malaysia Berhad constantly invests in identifying, evaluating and maximising the human capital that drives the organisation and innovating solutions to improve its products and services to fulfill the increasing demands of its customers. 15. Proton Holdings Berhad Using the resources, technology, innovations, manpower and design capabilities which includes the expertise of PROTONs wholly-owned subsidiary Lotus Engineering UK, one of the worlds leading automotive engineering consultancy companies, has provided PROTON with an invaluable resource which has helped place the national car company at the forefront of the automotive industry. 16. Sime Darby Sime Darby provides many kind of services such as Sime Darby Plantation, Sime Darby Industrial, Sime Darby Energy Utilities, Sime Darby Property and Sime Darby Motors. 17. Shell As one of the world’s leading energy companies Shell plays a key role in helping to meet the world’s growing energy demand in economically, environmentally and socially responsible ways. 18. Public Bank Public Bank Berhad is a bank based in Malaysia. Public Bank is the biggest domestic bank in Malaysia by shareholders funds. It focuses on retail customers and small to medium sized enterprises 19. SIRIM Berhad SIRIM has been dedicated in championing standards and management services, research and technology in high-end technology development, technology transfer and technopreneurship incubation. 20. Tenaga Nasional Berhad TNBs core activities are in the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity. Other activities include repairing, testing and maintaining power plants, providing engineering, procurement and construction services for power plants related products, assembling and manufacturing high voltage switchgears, coal mining and trading. 21. Telekom Malaysia As a model corporate citizen committed to good governance and transparency, TM continues its pledge to ensure the integrity of our processes, people and  reputation as well as the sustainability of our operations. Our Corporate Responsibility (CR) ethos reinforces responsible behaviour in the four main domains of the marketplace, workplace, the community and the environment. With a focus on ICT, the Group further promotes 3 major platforms i.e. education, community/nation-building and environment, through our Reaching Out programmes. 22. Konsortium Transnasional Berhad Konsortium Transnasional Brhad is the largest operator of public bus transportation in Malaysia. Its stage and express bus operations provide the most extensive coverage throughout Peninsular Malaysia, covering all major cities and towns as well as Singapore. 23. Petron Malaysia Refining Marketing Bhd Beyond their business agenda, they take their corporate and social citizenship to heart by integrating education and environment programs into our operations to ensure sustainability and contribute to social development. 24. Aeon Co. (M) Bhd AEONs constant interior refurbishment of stores to project an image designed to satisfy the ever changing needs and desires of consumers is clear evidence of this. The Companys performance has been further enhanced by the managements acute understanding of target market needs and the provision of an optimal product-mix. AEONs stores are mostly situated in suburban residential areas, catering to Malaysias vast middle income group. 25. AirAsia Berhad AirAsia Berhad is a Malaysian low-cost airline headquartered in Kuala Lumpur. It has been named as the worlds best low-cost airline, and a pioneer of low-cost travel in Asia. AirAsia group operates scheduled domestic and international flights to 78 destinations spanning 25 countries.  Their tagline ‘ Everyone Can Fly’ have attracted everyone to try their services. 26. Malaysian Airlines (MAS) Apart from the airline the group also includes aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), and aircraft handling. Malaysia Airlines has two airline subsidiaries: Firefly and MASwings. They offered affordable price for everyone with different classes. 27. Hong Leong Bank The Groups Reaching Out to You embeds the organisation in the country and community within which it operates. Through its financial services arm Hong Leong Financial Group Berhad, which consists of Hong Leong Bank, Hong Leong Islamic Bank, Hong Leong Bank Vietnam, Hong Leong Assurance and Hong Leong Tokio Marine Takaful, the Group is well positioned as an integrated financial services provider. 28. Apple Incorporated Apple Inc. (Apple) designs, manufactures and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players, and sells a variety of related software, services, peripherals, networking solutions, and third-party digital content and applications. News about Apple Incorporated, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times. 29. Samsung Corporation Samsung has a powerful influence on South Koreas economic development, politics, media and culture, and has been a major driving force behind the Miracle on the Han River. Its affiliate companies produce around a fifth of South Koreas total exports. Samsungs revenue was equal to 17% of the South Koreas $1082 billion GDP. 30. Nokia Corporation Nokia has production facilities located all over the world and we’re working to make each one as sustainable as possible. In part, this means minimising any negative environmental and social impact the facility may have for example, by reducing its energy consumption or ensuring materials are ethically sourced. But it also means maximising the positive impact our presence can have on the local community from providing rewarding employment opportunities to supporting worthy causes, such as schools or hospitals. JCS3113 Corporate Communication in Practice Name : Nur Afdhaliah Binti Abu Bakar Matrix Number : 4111009431 Title : List of Company with Good Marketing Strategy Lecturer’s Name : Sir Azrul Shah Bin Mohamad Date of Submission : 18 September 2013

Impact of Women in Government for Nigerian Democracy

Impact of Women in Government for Nigerian Democracy TIJANI, FATIMAH. A TITLE: Impact of Women Involvement In Governance and Political Leadership, Towards the Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria: 1999 – 2012. AN OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY: The focus of this qualitative phenomenological study is to explore the impact of the Nigerian woman in the involvement in governance and Political Leadership towards the sustainable democracy in the last three dispensations 1999-2012. It is no doubt that in such a patriarchal society as our women expenses such a large percentages of discrimination and marginalization in their quest for active participation. However, despite the recorded achievements of women’s rights advocates such as Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti, Margaret Ekpo, and Gambo Sawaba, there continues to be an underrepresentation of Nigerian women in leadership and political positions (Asase, 2003; Qualls, 2003). Various challenges such as gender roles and stereotypes as well as structure of the political environment in Nigeria militate against the full participation of women in political and public life. Additionally, severe hindrances of gender inequality such as the underrepresentation and discrimination as a result of cultural, social, and political norms empower men at their expense (Okome, 2006; Okunna, 1996). As a result women are struggling to gain access, have a presence or be influential in the political process of the country. They are often in a poorer position than their male counterparts in the various spheres of politics. Though a growing number of women are members of the various political parties in Nigeria, very few occupy executive positions in these parties, only very few are given the opportunity to contest for elective positions and even fewer are appointed as members of the ruling cabinet. To this end, the findings from this research may provide the following information to; to provide strategies to help decision-makers reevaluate or develop programs designed to improve the quality of life for Nigerian women towards active participation, to provide enabling channel for the empowering of Nigerian women towards gender equality as well as those in similar societies as they continue striving to obtain gender equity. To provide insights regarding the importance of including women in governance and Political leadership roles. Finally the study will also explore the various influences and presence of women in the last three dispensation in Nigeria and the roles they have played towards sustainable democracy in the country despite the little opportunity they are given. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: The inferiority complex of the Nigerian women as to their active political involvement and representation constitute the crux of this Research. The gender stereotyping in Nigeria’s political system today has its genesis from the onset of colonialism in Nigeria. Making the western cultural notion of colonialism tied towards a patriarchal society which in turn is reflected in its male superiority within the Nigerians society today. The most crucial element of this research is that women are, and have been marginalized as well as sidelined in the political spheres of things in Nigeria and this current situation might cause some dangerous national catastrophe if not adequately managed. Indeed, women’s political involvement during the colonial times till date have contributed greatly towards shaping the Nigerian politics not only in democratic governance; but also during the pre-colonial era. Therefore, it will be unreasonable, and cruel to wish away the critical efforts of women in the making of Nigerian state while arrogating political powers to the male folk. It is also unjust to ascribe political seats only for the male folks in this state of globalization where the world is evolving and where the role, influence and charismatic preposition of the women in global politics is considered to be relevance and importance towards attainment of overall world peace, mutual co-existence and tranquility. In line with this I will be taking a look at the various stages of Nigerian political history and how women has been in some ways impacted to the sustainable democracy in Nigeria even when they are unimaginably sidelined, additionally ways to encourage their full participation into political posts in the country without prejudice. AIMS/PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY: The followings are the reasons why I decided to embark on this research To examine the impacts of women in governance and political leadership towards the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria To elicit their challenges, experiences and contributions to the democratic process in Nigeria To look at the disparity between the involvement of women in governance, Leadership and politics in Nigeria, and to raise concern on the lack of gender equity in the transformed democratic practise in Nigeria enlighten about their human rights for involvement and participation. This research work will form part of the requirement for the degree of the Masters in International Relations. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY: To bring to limelight ways/how Nigerian women are shattering the ceilings that limit and marginalize them in the Nigerian political scene. To provide information to help decision-makers reevaluate or develop programs designed to improve the quality of life for Nigerian women towards active participation. The findings from the study may provide insights regarding the importance of including women in governance and Political leadership roles. To serve as an avenue for further research study on the area of gender politics in the Nigerian Society. RESEARCH QUESTIONS What impact has the involvement of Nigerian women in governance and political leadership been able to add to the sustainable of democracy in the country? If more women participated in decision-making and active participation, what kind of difference would they make? What are the positions of political parties, government and other state institutions (including the three branches of government) on the role and participation of women in political and public offices? In what ways can women themselves contribute to reducing the challenges that hinder their effective participation in governance and politics in general? What lessons can be drawn from the research that would help decision-makers in general but especially political parties to address the problems of women’s participation in political and public life? What recommendations can be made to address the problems of women in politics and public offices? SCOPE OF STUDY: This study will be undertaken within the jurisdiction of the Federal Republic of Nigeria State. It will look into the impact of Nigerian women involvement in governance and political leadership towards the sustainable democracy in Nigerian politics within the last three dispensation i.e. from 1999-2012. RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS According to Ogbeide (1996), hypothesis testing is a fundamental in activity in qualitative data analysis. The statement of a hypothesis take two means: null (H0) and research (H1). While null hypothesis indicates that there is no relationship between the variables under study, the research hypothesis indicated that there is a relationship between the variables. In this study two hypotheses will be tested as shown below: Hypothesis 1 H1: Women Involvement in Governance and Political Leadership, has been impactful towards the Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria H0: Women Involvement in Governance and Political Leadership, have not been impactful towards the Sustainable Democracy in Nigeria Hypothesis 2 H1: Women participation in decision-making will help faster development of the nation H0: Women participation in decision-making will not help the faster development of the nation. METHODOLOGY: In obtaining the required information for this research, the use of qualitative and quantitative means of data collections will be used, which means Data for the study will be carried out from both primary and secondary sources. Primary data will be administered through structured questionnaires on about 700 randomly selected female politicians, activists and professionals in government and dominant political parties cross-cutting through the six geo-political zones of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This will be done in order to capture and document a cross-cutting opinion of the targeted groups in the respective geo-political zones on the situation regarding women’s role in politics and the democratic process in Nigeria. Additionally, scheduled interview schedules will be conducted with 10 purposively selected respondents who occupied key political leadership positions whose experiences has facilitated the documentation of women’s involvement in politics and the democratic process in Nigeria from 1999-2011. The use of academic research books, journals, and writes up from feminist scholars will be highlighted. As such, this research will take its bearing from the feminist ideologies concerning the status of women. THEORETÄ °CAL FRAMEWORK This research study will take its theoretical prospect from feminist ideologies which is concerned with the status of women in every spheres in general. Feminists are of the view that in comparison to men, women occupy disadvantaged positions in most elusive dimensions of our life. The work of two feminists idelogist will be of importance here; Walby (1990; 1997) and Chafetz (1990) will be briefly examined here with particular focus on the relationships they perceive exist between domestic and public economic life with regard to the creation and maintenance of gender inequalities. A BRIEF OUTLINE: (THESIS STRUCTURE) This study will comprise of six chapters. The introductory chapter which will provide us with an overview of what the research is going to be, the objectives, literature review, research method and also samples arguments on why gender equality in politics is essential. Chapter two examines of the historical dimension and position of women in Nigerian political history dating back to its precolonial, colonial as well as postcolonial times till date. It seeks to creates insight on the various contributions of women in governance though Nigerian political history which will help the focus of this research. The third chapter will analysis the data collected based on the field research, and opinion of selected respondents via interviews and questionnaires. Chapter four on the other hand will be focusing on the impact of women involvement in Nigerian politics vis-a-viz their quest for political participation. This chapter equally introduces the three major political parties in Nigeria; and using them as case study in order to fully capture the scope of political transition period, this research analyzes the contributions of political parties towards the poor participation and representation of women since independence till date. It highlights their role in representative democracy such as practiced in Nigeria today as well as various avenues they use to hamper women’s advancement in politics. Furthermore the fifth chapter will be taking a broader insight into the impact, ways and contributions adopted by the women in Nigeria in the last dispensations to encourage gender equality in political scene, the various national as well as international policies amongst other things and how these measures have been implemented. This chapter will also analyze the impact these measures have had on women advancement in the country’s politics as well as the hindrances they have been face with. Finally, the concluding chapter, will highlight some observations, recommendations on the findings as well as recommendations from various respondents for further research study. ORGANIZATION OF CHAPTERS CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Background of the Study Statement of the Problem Aims/Purpose/Objective of the Study Significance of the Study Research Questions Scope of the Study Hypothesis Methodology Theoretical Framework Delimitation (Scope) of the Study Literature Review Operational Defination of Terms Reference CHAPTER TWO: REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 Introduction- Women in Nigerian Politics: An Overview 2.2 The 1979 and 1999 Nigerian Constitution and the Status of the Nigerian Woman in politics 2.3 Women in Pre-colonial Nigeria 2.4 Women in Colonial Nigeria 2.5 Women in Nigeria Today 2.6 The Problem of Colonial Legacy to Women’s Involvement in Nigeria Politics 2.6 Ferminist Theory in Perspctive 2.7 Arguments for gender-balanced Representation Reference CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY (DATA PRESENTAION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION) 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Research Design 3.3 Population 3.4 Sample and Sampling technique 3.5 Instrument for Data Collection 3.5.1 Personal Interview 3.5.2 Questionnaire 3.6 Data Analysis 3.7 Response to Questionnaire 3.8 Tabular Design of Questionnaire 3.9 Statistical Test of Hypotheses 3.10 Interpretation of Hypothesis 3.11 Summary Reference CHAPTER FOUR: CONTRIBUTORY FACTORS TO THE LEVEL OF WOMEN’S POLITICAL PARTICIPATION IN NIGERIA TODAY AND THE ROLE OF PARTY POLITICS 4.1 An Overview of the concept ‘Participation’ in politics 4.2 The rise and structure of political parties in Nigeria 4.3 A brief background of the three major political parties in Nigeria 4.4 The position of women in the Nigerian political parties 4.5 Ways political parties inhibit women in Nigerian politics Reference CHAPTER FIVE: CONTRIBUTIONS OF WOMEN TO NIGERIAN POLITICS 5.1 Impacts of Nigerian Women Involvement in Nigerian Politics towards Sustainable Democracy 5.2 Barriers and Hinderances to Women Involvement women in Nigerian politics 5.3 Actors role in increasing womenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸s political participation 5.4 Other contributions towards women empowerment and gender equality in Nigeria Reference CHAPTER SIX: SUMMARY CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 6.1 Summary 6.2 Conclusion 6.3 Recommendations 6.4 Recommendations for Further Studies

The Chocolate Industry In India

The Chocolate Industry In India Introduction This assignment deals with the organization whose current main product is at maturity stage in the market life cycle and its sales have been reduced, to sustain its market share the organization has to go for product development to defend it from its rivals. The organization chosen for this particular scenario is Lotus Chocolate Company Limited. An Overview of Chocolate Industry in India The chocolate industry in India as it stands today is dominated by two companies, both multinationals. The market leader is Cadbury with a lions share of 70 percent. The companys brands (Five Star, Gems, Éclairs, Perk, Dairy Milk) are leaders their segments. Till the early 90s, Cadbury had a market share of over 80 percent, but its party was spoiled when Nestle appeared on the scene. The latter has introduced its international brands in the country (Kit-Kat, Lions), and now commands approximately 15 percent market share(rediff.com).The Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and Central Areca nut and Cocoa Manufactures and Processors Co-operative (CAMPCO) are the other companies operating in this segment. Competition in the segment will get keener as overseas chocolate giants Hersheys and Mars consolidate to grab a bite of the Indian chocolate pie. Per Capita Chocolate Consumption (in lb) of first 15 countries of the world Rank Countries Per Capita Consumption (in lb) 1 Switzerland 22.36 2 Austria 20.13 3 Ireland 19.47 4 Germany 18.04 5 Norway 17.93 6 Denmark 17.66 7 United Kingdom 17.49 8 Belgium 13.16 9 Australia 12.99 10 Sweden 12.90 11 United States 11.64 12 France 11.38 13 Netherlands 10.56 14 Finland 10.45 15 Italy 6.13 INDIA, stands nowhere even near to these countries when compared in terms of Per Capita Chocolate Consumption. (Data sourced from LMC International, The world cocoa market outlook).Chocolate and confectionary market is valued around US$ 282.6mn and which is divided into three main sectors or groups namely sugar boiled confectionery with US$ 65.2mn, next comes chewing and bubble gums with US$ 87mn and the major chunk goes to milk chocolate with US$ 130mn.Chocolate Consumption Structure by age groups are as follows- Children 55% Adults 12% Young Adults 33% (Data sourced from Overview of Indian consumer goods) The chocolate market in India grew by 19 per cent and reached the market value of INR 17.9bn(2007), low consumption patterns have been changing due to the raising economy(www.just-food.com). The market is divided into two segments urban and rural segments, the consumption of chocolate is higher in urban areas and lower in rural segment,the growth rate of urban is higher( Data sourced from Overview of Indian consumer goods). This poses a high potential for chocolate manufacturers as the raise in population who are opting for chocolates as alternatives as local mithais, as a part of cultural transition due to the high influence of western cultures at work and other areas(The Dark Chocolate Rush). Background of the organization Lotus Chocolate Company Limited is established in the year 1992 (www.lotuschocolate.com), It is renowned for its innovative chocolate design and their variety taste when compared with competitors. The plant is located at Medak district Andhra Pradesh. They provide consumer and industrial solutions for different chocolate manufacturers. The famous chocolate brands/products produced are Chuckles, Superr Carr and Tango. Lotus is also famous for producing customized chocolate gift packs upon consumers request(www.lotuschocolate.com).The core target market of the organization is the low end niche group(children young adults). The organization lost its core market share due to the increased marketing efforts and rapid development of new products based on changing customer trends(The Hindu Bussinesline). Issue-1 Decline of Lotus chocolate brands (Superr carr, Tango chuckles) in the market due to changing consumer and chocolate industrial patterns, high competition from well established multinationals such as Nestle Cadbury. The main objective of Lotus chocolate company ltd. is to regain its market share and stand against competition. SWOT Analysis Strengths Experience in chocolate industry. Brand presence in the market. Established industrial supplier. Medium production capacity. High suppliers base. Customized products facility for consumers. Weaknesses Limited distribution facility outside South-India. Poor advertising strategies. Limited product range. Limited resources. Opportunities Strong growth potential in South-India urban region. Raise in chocolate consumption. Market expansion into North-India. Changing consumer behavior patterns. Threats Aggressive market penetration by multinationals Price sensitive market. Competitive position of Lotus is fragile. Increasing production costs. Vast cultural influences on buying patterns. Alternatives to regain the market position and share by using Ansoffs Matrix Option A (Market Development) Developing markets other than core markets, such as moving into north Indian market or entering into other markets where the product or brand is not present. Option B (Diversification) This option deals with shifting the interests of the organizations core interest into other businesses interests, for instance moving away from chocolates and entering into cold drinks or clothes or etc. Option C (Market Penetration) This option deals with penetrating the existing core market with lower prices and more products with enhanced distribution processes. Option D (Product Development) This option deals with developing new products to compete in the market and to sustain the companys presence in the market . Recommendations A mixture of market penetration ( C)and product development (D) because for the following reasons This gives opportunity for Lotus chocolate to develop a product to sustain its brand value,market share,to increase its financial position and consumer base. Due to increased competition in the market, developing innovative tastes and along side producing chocolates with lower health effects such as Organic chocolates. As the organic market is gaining interest among the higher class segment(Indias booming organic market, rediff.com). Market penetration helps Lotus chocolate to revitalize its distribution systems and revitalize its brand image among the targeted consumers at sustainable price as the brand has its presence already in the market. Product development helps Lotus chocolate to over come its past weaknesses and product is the core and brand enhances its value. The rising chocolate consumption poses an opportunity which can be converted into financial means, develop a strong brand image and loyal consumers. Why not for Market development Diversification can be justified by the following sentences- Market development needs much heavier finance and it needs to invest more time resources , it deals with entering into new markets which are more complex and the risk is higher, in-turn concentrating on new markets may led to the fall of existing markets. Diversification deals with completely moving from core operations into new businesses and it is very risky and needs much time to develop and build reputation from scratch, these two options would need high monetary resources. Based on the present situation and Lotus chocolates swot analysis the best and feasible options are market penetration and product development which deals with existing markets. After deciding on what course of action to be carried for sustaining and developing the brand value and consumer base. The options and strategies chosen are product development and market penetration. After deciding to go for product development next comes what product to develop and whom to target, how to reach them and what are the core benefits the product is to deliver and the value chain process from suppliers to consumers. The strategy opted for reaching the perceived state of position is focused differentiation strategy coupled with best cost provider strategy from porters five generic strategies(Thomson etal,pg. 134).The focused differentiation strategy concentrates on a narrow buyer segment and outcompeting rivals by having lower costs than rivals, best cost provider strategy deals with giving customers more value for their money by incorporating good to excellent product attributes at a lower cost than rivals. According to an article named Indias booming organic market states that India would be both a major organic food producer and consumer, the potential of consuming organic food products are on a raise due to increased awareness about health and having environmentally friendly raw-materials. According to article named Global Organic Business the consumption of Organic beverages and confectionary would increase drastically in India by 40 % by 2020, starting early would be better option to reap the future benefits and would help us to establish ourself in the market. The core target group is children aged from 14 to 18 years old,teens and adults from rich urban segments and upper middle class sections. Branding of Hercules Branding adds value to the products and gives additional identity to the products and their consumers, products mite change but brands will not change and once a brand decides its characters and features it remains steady for longer time. Developing optimal brands needs a change in corporate management culture and their attitude. The influence for deciding a brand character is explained below Branding is one of the main ingredient in the success of the product in the market, the proposed brand values for Hercules is its premium nature, pure nature and energy, individuality and freedom. As Hercules is not a just a chocolate its more than an luxury experience. Marketing Mix Marketing mix consists of 4 Ps namely product,price, promotion and place (distribution). The right strategies for all these Ps are necessary for success of the product or service in the market. Product Product is the physical representative of the companys core value transition from organization to the consumers. Product strategies deal with the issues such as package, product shape,product features and product quality. The package is designed based on the target market and product features. The shape is also designed based on the perceived best by the target market and brand image. Packaging also has implications on the perceptions of the consumers which visually appeal them and classify the product into premium product. The levels of product are as follows- Core Product- The core benefits of the organic chocolate is that of its health benefits and taste variety. Tangible Product- The tangible are those benefits which are positioned by the packaging and advertisements. For this organic chocolate the tangible benefits are premium quality. Augmented Product- The augmented benefits are the values which reach the consumers expectations , which are non-tangible and can be measured only in-turns of consumer reply in favor of praising the product. Potential Product- The potential product benefits surpasses the expectations of consumers and the core-product, which would obtain large consumers delight. Product differentiation strategy provides the primary source for competitive advantage, this also provides a platform for developing future products under the same brand. Product strategy is directly linked to the strategies of the organization. The product line is available in two versions of weight namely 100gms and 200gms. Name of the Organic Chocolate is Hercules Price Pricing strategy deals with pricing the product based on the current market pricing structure, organizations break even, psychological pricing. The pricing strategy is also based on the product and the targeted consumers. The pricing strategy used for this product is a mixture of premium pricing and quality-based strategy. The cultural aspects of the target market has a profound impact on spending and food habits. The costing of the new product is one of the tough jobs of management. The cost of the product has direct relationship with positioning of the product. The factors to be considered while deciding a price for Hercules are as follows The consumer spending structure and their patterns are to be analyzed and find the average and the best cost in the market for Hercules. The companies costing systems and proposed investments for developing Hercules and the rate of returns expected by the organization. The brand strategies and the positioning strategies proposed for the Hercules also have their share on deciding the price. According to the article defining the premium chocolate market, the appearance of luxury chocolates in the super marts as the aspirants for consuming luxury has become a trend and even those who cannot afford the luxury goods are having premium chocolates as alternatives to satisfy their urge to feel good. A research presentation from Ledbury Research states that there would be 140,000 families in India with annual income around $230,000. The consumers spending have dramatically increased on apparels,food and entertainment. The pricing strategy which has been decided is value-based pricing and quality based pricing, the price decided after calculating the ROI,manufacturing costs , promotional costs distribution cost is 75 rupees for 100gms and 150 rupees for 200gms. This is unpriced structure across the market. The custom ordered chocolates online are priced based on their ordered quantity and their flavor structure. Pricing is done in a way to differentiate from competitors and duplicate products which are a major threat in Indian market, Organization to move towards price excellence for better market acceptance. Distribution Distribution deals with making product available to the consumers at right time and right place, the considerations for designing the distribution network deals with the consumers choice, companys resources and market infrastructure. The distribution sector in India is fragmented and completely complex due to the large size and fundamental infrastructural problems such as electricity, roads and warehouses. The main distribution system is divided into three segments namely distributors, wholesalers/super-marts and retail stores. The major factors which influence the distribution strategy for the Hercules is the product strategy, organizations strategy for business, target consumers. The strategy which is selected for distributing this project is selective distribution which means the company selects few distribution channels to reach target markets through which the product availability can be controlled by the company, this also assists Lotus chocolates to keep their brand image and to maintain the premium image of the product. Based on the competitors distributions channels, consumers choice and feasible options of the organization the selected ways to reach the target market are super markets , premium chocolate stores, hyper malls , airports(duty free stores ) and through internet directly to consumers (online). The distribution picture can give you a complete idea about Lotus chocolate distribution channels for Hercules. The picture states that they are single layer channels, double layer channels and triple layer distribution channels to reach the targeted consumers. As developing a strong customer base and differentiating the Hercules from other competitive brands and products, Lotus chocolate has developed a program for its customers to design their own organic chocolate online with the available options, through this options customers can directly buy and give their feedback directly. Promotion This is one of the most important aspect of the marketing mix which would decide the success of the Hercules(Organic chocolate ) in the market. Promotion deals with promotional activities such as advertising, promotional strategies such as offers, discounts, public relations and publicity. The promotion aspects aim at creating an impact about the Hercules on the mind sets of targeted consumers. We are going to use one of the oldest marketing strategy for promoting the product to the target market through AIDA model (www.changingminds.com), AIDA means to attract by visual appeal such as cool ads, create interest among the target market, then develop desire among consumers by proving more information about core and potential benefits of Hercules and the final one is action this is considered done when the consumers by the product. In addition to the AIDA model, the consumers interest through sharing benefits and values, opinions with customers and asking for their feedback via blogs, post and emails. The channels used to reach the target market are through print media, internet, television, out-door campaigning and point of sale. The basic message in the strategic marketing communication would be more of product oriented and would explain about the products core benefits and its core values which add value to the target market. The chocolates are advertised through 360 degree for complete. The television channels which are known for reaching target markets and their share are explained below The subliminal message which we want to pass on to consumers is that Hercules is not just a chocolate but its a wonderful and joyful experience and its merely more than a chocolate. This also needs to break and build the present brand image of Lotus chocolate company Ltd. Promotion and popularity of the product are directly proportional to each other. Emotional flavor infusions in the marketing campaigns would attract the targeted consumers. While marketing in India you need to understand the cultural aspects of the target market. Hofstedes cultural dimensions would assist in understanding cultural aspects of the consumers and also helps in designing an innovative message. The chart below explains power distance index, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance index and long term orientation. Sourced from (http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_india.shtml) As the above graph indicates that higher PDI means higher inequality among different sections of people, its also indicates that India is a collectivistic society, uncertainty avoidance is lower at 40 per cent which indicates that people are open to any uncertain situations and ideas. (wwww.geert-hofstede.com). By understanding the above graph the message through with we need to reach our target market should be designed and developed in way that it should touch them culturally and explain the health benefits and environmental benefits Hercules is going to provide. Other than television ads, there are also other channels through which we can reach consumers such as wall paintings, print media advertising such as publishing in premium magazines of sports, movies,business and animation. Point of sale posters at shelves at super stores, out-door campaigning at malls and multiplex cinema halls, conducting competitions on environment at international schools for faster promotion among schools. Another important form of advertising through online such as website ,pop-ups at yahoo, google,windows mail, orkut, twitter,face-book and much more. One more aspect of promotional channel which is gaining popularity is mobile advertising such as through mobile phone messages and mobile games. The utilization of full resources at maximum rate would help Lotus chocolate to create an impact in the market and target market and helps to establish the Hercules. Evaluation of the Hercules Success in the Market Evaluation is done based on the sales patterns. Consumer feeling are collected using feedback such as compliments and complaints. Key partnership with retailers and examining the consumer behavior towards Hercules. A primary research for understanding the current advertising strategy and the message passed through them and what target consumers understand and perceive. Marketing Production Schedule/Plan for Hercules Production objectives The main objective is to procure green or organic or chemical free cocoa and other raw-materials. Insure the quality is double checked. Ensuring that the process flow is smooth and meets the production capacity. Targeted production percentage is to produce 75 per cent of Hercules than other nominal brands which are out competed. Production of customized Hercules for customized orders are to be produced 25% of the total capacity. Marketing management objectives Increase the awareness about Hercules among the target market segments by 30% per annum. Decrease the potential customers resistance by 25 percent per annum. Position the brand image of Hercules as premium luxury chocolate and stand differentiated among the competitors by providing customized chocolates for consumers. Strengthening of non-priced competitiveness, business restructuring by rebranding the image of lotus chocolates company and Hercules brand. Demand creation, sustainment and enhancement of quality advantage and healthy products. Increase the sales of Hercules by 5-6 per cent per quarterly. Marketing Plan 02/05/10 Brand image and product development 05/06/10 Product testing for quality, taste, color and odor 20/06/10 Promoting Hercules brand through television commercials 25/06/10 Promoting through out door campaigning, print media, radio. 30/06/10 Passing the product through distribution channels and making it available to the target consumers. 10/07/10 Evaluating the outcomes of the advertising campaigns promotional activities. 20/07/10 Developing alternative and going for aggressive campaigning. The alternatives for promoting Hercules is by pairing with brands which are identical and supports each other in promoting themselves as premium brands. For example promoting Hercules (organic chocolate) with BMW or any luxury brands. Or Promoting Hercules with premium airlines through giving complementary packs to business class flyers, or promoting with premium star hotels.

mr :: essays research papers

My Grade 11 co-op placement was Sherwood Hunt Law Office. There are two Lawyers there, an office manager, and two law clerks. I usually spent most of my time with the law clerks and began to learn a lot from them right from the beginning. Jim Hunt, the lawyer who was present the most at the law office was whom I had to time to have nice, insightful conversations with about Law, School, and life.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I always thought of how hard it was going to be in university and law school. I got to talk to Jim to see just how hard he had to work in school to make him as successful as he is now. He told me about when he was going for his MBA, he had twelve exams near Christmas, and if that wasn’t hard enough, if he got lower than a B on any of them, he was out of the course. These were just a few of the challenges Mr. Hunt had to face.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My usual day involved answering the phones, making some photo copies, and doing odd jobs, like opening or closing files, and writing or revising a letter or document of some sort.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Being at this placement I learned many things. To begin with, I learned some of the challenges I’m going to have to face in school, and how hard I’m going to have to work. I was talking to Mr. Hunt about my current courses and I mentioned that I was worried that my strengths in Math and Physics would not be useful in the law workplace. Fortunately, Mr. Hunt reassured me that they are plenty useful in the law environment, and in fact, Jim got a 99 in University Physics.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I also learned specific skills at this work place. Things that will help me out as I become a lawyer, such as, how to write an affidavit, open and close files (although this may change at different law offices) and read a statement of claim or search through files to find one specific point. Also, I learned about serving a defendant / plaintiff in a law suit. This can be a very time consuming process, (or a very simple one) and there is usually someone that is paid to do this. In one case in the law office, they had to hire a Private Investigator to find a person to be â€Å"served†.

The Horrific Holocaust :: World War II History

The Horrific Holocaust Nearly six million Jews were killed and murdered in what historians have called "The Holocaust." The word 'holocaust' is a conflagration, a great raging fire that consumes in its path all that lives. In the years between 1933 and 1945, the Jews of Europe were marked for total annihilation. Moreover, anti-Semitism was given legal sanction. It was directed by Adolf Hitler and managed by Heinne Himmler, Reinhard Heydrich and Adolf Eichmann. There were many other great crimes and murders, such as the killing of the Armenians by the Turks, but the Holocaust stood out as the "only systematic and organized effort by a modern government to destroy a whole race of people." The Germans under Adolf Hitler believed that the Jews were the cause of all the German troubles and were a threat to the German and Christian values. Dating back to the first century A.D. the Jews and Christians were always at war. The Jews were considered the murderers of Christ and were therefor denounced from society, rejected by the Conservatives and were not allowed to live in rural areas. As a result, the Jews began living in the cities and supported the liberals. This made the Germans see the Jews as the symbol of all they feared. Following the defeat of the Germans in WW1, the Treaty Of Versailles and the UN resolutions against Germany raised many militaristic voices and formed extreme nationalism. Hitler took advantage of the situation and rose to power in 1933 on a promise to destroy the Treaty Of Versailles that stripped Germany off land. Hitler organized the Gestapo as the only executive branch and secret terror organization of the Nazi police system. In 1935, he made the Nuremberg Laws that forbid Germans to marry Jews or commerce with them. Hitler thought that the Jews were a nationless parasite and were directly related to the Treaty Of Versailles. When Hitler began his move to conquer Europe, he promised that no person of Jewish background would survive. Before the start of the second world war, the Jews of Germany were excluded from public life, forbidden to have sexual relations with non-Jews, boycotted, beaten but allowed to emigrate. When the war was officially declared, emigration ended and 'the final solution to the Jewish problem' came. When Germany took over Poland, the Polish and German Jews were forced into overcrowded Ghettos and employed as slave labour. The Jewish property was seized. Disease and starvation filled the Ghettos. Finally, the Jews were taken to concentration camps in Poland and Germany were they were

Pay Differential in Sports Based on Performance

The salary gap between genders has been a predominant issue in the sports arena. Women are continually paid less than their male counterparts, but men experience pay differentials between each other in some sports. In male dominated sports, such as hockey, baseball, and basketball, there is a variation in an individual’s salary that adversely affects the team’s performance and vice versa. In a capitalist society, everybody is paid what their work is worth. Sports such as hockey, basketball, and baseball are pay-for performance sports, in that the players are paid what their skills are worth to the team. The less common a desired talent is, the more money an athlete will make because of it. There has been a continuous debate about how athletes should be paid. Is a defensemen in hockey who can score as valuable as a forward or more so? Is a catcher in baseball who can hit multiple homeruns in a season as valuable as a star pitcher? Many researchers use economic theories to analyze â€Å"Pay-For-Play† or the idea that athletes are paid better for a better performance. In order to examine athlete’s salaries certain definitions need to be established beforehand. Overpaid athletes are not athletes are not players who are paid more than what they are worth, but rather are the top earners in their sport. Underpaid athletes are athletes who are paid less than the average player. It needs to be acknowledged that the success of a team is not just dependent on salary, but also coach and managerial input that are often omitted from research papers. The following examines the idea of pay-for-performance in hockey, baseball, and basketball. The correlation between a team’s performance and the individual salaries of the players are examined. Whether or not being a free agent or having a signed contract and the influences these may have on an athlete’s effort exerted are also looked at. Hockey, baseball, and basketball are all pay-for-performance sports where the best performing players are paid top salaries. Idson & Kahane (2000) used the National Hockey League (NHL) to examine coworker productivity and its influence on salary. Because the statistics of a team’s performance and the salary of each player are publicly recorded and readily available, the information was considered accurate and ideal to use in the investigation. Idson & Kahane (2000) asked the question as to whether an individual’s special attributes were rewarded/valued differently (in the form of a higher salary) in a variety of environments or in special cases. The investigators got the statistical data from Hockey News [February 8, 1991 and November 15, 1991] and the Hockey News Complete Hockey Book that compiled data from various years. The final data set of Idson and Kahane (2000) contained data on 930 players from the 1991-92 and 1992-93 seasons. The points and plus/minus interaction were statistically significant at the 10% level indicating that an individual player performed at a higher level when playing with a team that contained better players. One of the main problems with studying athletes is that players can be traded midyear and essentially play on multiple teams in a given season. To counter this, the researchers placed an athlete on the team that reported the athlete’s total salary for the year. There is no one way to examine a player’s skill in hockey. Idson & Kahane (2000) placed players as either a â€Å"forward† or â€Å"other†, such as defenseman or goalie. The strict dichotomy of this category might have had an adverse influence on their results because defenseman and goalies are not known for scoring points. Jones & Walsh (1988) made two categories for position in their data by labeling forwards and defensemen as forwards that would be examined by the points they scored. Goalies were the other category and were analyzed using goals allowed on average. Because defensemen do not score as many points as forwards, the researchers pointed out that a defenseman scoring an equal number of goals as a forward would earn more money because of the added skill. In hockey, goalies make the big saves of the game, while forwards score the big goals of the game. Doing routine defensive maneuvers in a typical and habitual manner, defensemen are covered in a sheet of ambiguity. The top paid forward in hockey, Vincent Lacaviler, made $10 million, while the top paid defense man was, Zendo Chara, made only $7. 5 million for the 2009-10 season. Both had relatively equal statistics for the season, but Lacaviler is a well known forward who makes the big plays people remember. Jones & Walsh (1988) incorporate the number of trophies and the number in the draft pick into their equation. Both trophies and draft pick numbers help defense men more than forwards. Adding these in was an attempt to even the playing field between forwards and defenseman. It was still shown that forwards with defensive skills, â€Å"enforcers† as they are called, make more money than defensemen with scoring abilities. It is a possibility that enforcers are paid more because they excite fans with both their scoring and fighting skills. George Steinbrenner once said, â€Å"You measure the value of a [player] by how many fannies he puts in the seats. † People who go to athletic events go to see the home team win, not just to observer one power player. Sommers, P. M. , & Quinton, N. (1982) used that approach to examine how having a superstar on the team, regardless of their input to winning the game, would affect revenue. It was discovered that although superstar have a slight influence on revenue, winning has a big influence on crowd attendance. Because the players were organized into the categories of â€Å"free agents† and â€Å"not free agents†, it was also shown that free agents make more money on average than players without contracts. Harder (1992) hypothesized that pay-for performance contracts would lessen the effects of being underpaid on an individual. It was also hypothesized that underpaid individuals would not cooperate as much and would tend to have more self-centered behaviors. Using the equity theory, Harder (1992) compiled data for four seasons of players in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and Major League Baseball (MLB). Statistical data was accumulated from Sporting News [May 8, 1988]. The number of points a player got in a season and the overall number of points in a career were positive indicators that basketball is a pay-for-performance sport. The results for baseball are the same; the better an athlete was in the season and overall his career, the better that athlete’s salary was. The first hypothesis was proven partially correct in that Harder (1992) found in baseball, the players who were paid less had lower average statistics, but this did not affect the number of runs from the underpaid athletes. In basketball, an underpaid athlete was more like to shot the ball, but would not score as often as overpaid athletes. Overpaid athletes would contribute more to the team as a whole, rather than just scoring points, and were generally more team oriented than underpaid players. This was consistent with the second hypothesis put forth by Harder (1992). Some limitations put on Harder’s (1992) work was that when using sports salaries in equity theory, the salaries tend to be much higher. Although sports teams are a good area to research performance-based pay because of the easily accessible data, it also limits how generalizable a study can be. A more recent way to interpret pay-for-performance was with the agency theory. Contracts in sports, such as basketball, are intended to make both the athlete and the team managers, content. Athletes who are at different cyclical stages of their contract perform in various ways. Just before signing or resigning a contract, athletes are more likely to put forth more effort to get a better contract (multi-million dollar, multi-year, or both). Just after or in the middle of a contract, players tend to play less strenuously (Stiroh, 2007). Stiroh’s (2007) hypothesized that the decline in the effort a player puts forth is directly linked to the length of a contract and also the age of the athlete. The results showed that there is statistical evidence at the 1% level that before a contract was signed, an athlete put more effort into a performance. There was a negative regression in relation to age such that as age increases, the performance of an athlete steadily declines. The hypothesis that a player’s effort will decline after a contract is signed depends on the length of the contract. The longer a contract is, the less likely that a player is going to keep playing with the same effort. Stiroh (2007) concludes that the status of an individual player’s contract is a good predictor of the athlete’s overall performance. An examination between the win/loss percentage of a team and the team’s payroll using multiple sports (baseball, hockey, football, and basketball) was conducted by Quirk and Fort (1999). Over a six year period (1990-96), there was significant evidence in both the NHL and the NBA to suggest that a difference in payroll for athletes on a team will affects the win/loss percentage. There was not conclusive evidence for the MLB and NFL. One needs to be wary of the results though; the evidence may be misleading because of unforeseen events like injuries and players holding out on signing contracts. These four sports were examined again in the same context by Forrest & Simmons (2000) using the results for the 1999-2000 season and came to the same conclusion. In the three main sports that were focus on (hockey, baseball, and basketball), there is repeated significant evidence to support the idea that the performance of an athlete and/or a team is influenced by the payroll of the individuals on the team. The only sport that shows a slight discrimination in the pay of an athlete is defensemen in the NHL. More research and analysis is needed to see if a stronger correlation between the win/loss percentage and the team wages because current research suggests a weak predictive power. All of the current research is focused on regular season. Play-off performances are an area where more research needs to be done to see if the added pressure changes the team dynamics thus influencing an individual player’s salary.

Obtaining a college degree Essay

Obtaining a college degree is one of the most important goals in my life. I know that with a college degree I could have better opportunities to realize my dreams. I am an international student and I find life in this country exciting, new and it seemed that everyday is a learning experience. I feel that there is so much more that I could learn, so much more to experience and to discover. I am Chung, Sung-Joo and I am applying in your university to continue my studies in the field of economics. I come from a place where education is valued and highly prized. I know that my parents and family will be proud of me when I get into a university and I am doing my best to not fail them. The dream of earning a degree from a prestigious university has been my inspiration to continue studying despite the difficulties of adjusting to a new country and new culture. The image in my mind of going to school everyday in this university and attending classes and meeting new people have kept me going and pulled me through two years of preparatory training. Applying to the University of California is the next installment to the realization of that dream. Being accepted would be an accomplishment in itself and if ever I will be given the chance to continue my studies in this institution then I am prepared and able to give my best and fulfill my desire for learning and to become an expert in the field of economics. Early in my life, I have understood why my parents have worked so hard to send me to a good school and why they have encouraged me to seek education in this country, and until now I believe in their conviction that having a quality education is the key for success later in life. I bring with me that conviction, hence I am committed to finishing this course, and I will work hard, persevere in the face of difficulties, find meaning in my lessons, respect my teachers and participate wholeheartedly in my classes. I believe that if a person desires and prays for that which he holds dear then it will be given to him. I know that with hard work, dedication to my studies and being happy with what I do will take me closer to that degree. Academically, I know that I can cope with the demands of university rigors. I am good with numbers and I can easily understand concepts like trends and patterns of movement, and I do believe that I have the analytical mind necessary for the study of economics. I have been well trained by my mentors in Diablo Valley College and they have all encouraged me to apply in your school. I trust their judgment and I know that your program will give me the knowledge and skills to become an analytical economist. I am also good at understanding relationships between ideas and or events, I am fairly certain that economists should be good at critical thinking, problem solving and forecasting. I think that I have the necessary background for furthering a degree in economics, although I must admit that I still need to improve in my verbal communication skills and in speaking the language more fluently. But I know that despite the language difficulty, my earnest desire to learn would surpass it. I have adequate computer skills, I have an eye for details, I am careful with my work and I have a working study habit. I am also adept at research and I like doing practical application projects as it helps me test the concepts I learned from class and I enjoy working with a topic and finding more about it. I know that so many students come to you every semester and I do hope that I will be among those you would consider to accept. Reference Peterson’s Undergraduate Database (2006). Â  New York: Thomson Learning Inc.

Salesforce Case Study

1 . How does Salesforce. com use cloud computing? Salesforce. com use clound computing software as a service . Many advantages and disadvantages come with using the software-as-a-service model. Some of the advantages include: Automatic updates- This means that the user will always be getting the latest version of the software, with no new downloads required. No installs- You don’t have to worry about installing software onto any of the computers. This leaves less room for compatibility issues for computers. Usually if you use a standard web browser, more than likely you will be able to use the service. Low Cost- The upfront cost of cloud computing is small. The user can space the payments out over a period of time, paying monthly payments. Doing this avoids any large upfront costs. There are also disadvantages of using this model. These include: Security issues- Since software-as-a-service is not run directly by the company using it, it is possible that the information can be seen and leaked by others who run the program. Online connection-An online connection is needed to run the system. Therefore if you are somewhere without internet service, you will be unable to use the program. Ongoing payments-Ongoing payments are necessary to keep the service going. Unlike regular software where you only pay one payment to install it, if you don’t pay for the services your account will be shutoff. 2. How does Salesforce. com use cloud computing? AnsSalesforce has come across several challenges throughout its growth. One of these challenges is competition from new businesses wanting to replicate Salesforce and also from traditional industrial leaders. A few of these competitors includes Microsoft, SAP, Oracle, and smaller companies such as NetSuite. Another challenge for Salesforce is deciding if it should expand its business into other areas. As of now, Salesforce is used mainly by sales staff to keep track of leads and customer lists. Salesforce has formed a partnership with Google to hopefully expand functionally. A third challenge for Salesforce is its availability. It has occasional outages, causing companies that depend on Salesforce to be available 27/7 to rethink their usage as software as a service. Salesforce is working very hard to overcome these challenges. They are doing their best to keep up with competitors and to expand their business. They are also providing tools to assure dependability to their clients about the systems reliability. They are offering an application that allows users to work offline, which is a big advantage in case a person is unable to have internet service and needs to use the system. 3. What kinds of businesses could benefit from switching to Salesforce and why? Ans. Just about any company could benefit by switching to Salesforce. com. Salesforce is a great way for companies to keep track of records and information. Almost every company needs a place to be able to manage these types of things. Salesforce gives companies a single place to store all their information and can only be accessed by authorized employees. 4. What factors would you take into account in deciding whether to use Saleforce. com for your business? One of the factors I would take into consideration when deciding if I would use Salesforce for my business is its reliability. If my company had a rough time with its internet service, then I probably wouldn’t use Salesforce, considering that internet service is a requirement. I would also determine if my company would have the money to continuously pay for the program. I would think about its security issues and how that could affect my business. I would also think about how no installation is needed. This means that it’s one less software I have to download on my computer to slow it down and take up storage space. I consider this to be a really big advantage to using Salesforce. 5. Could a company run its entire business using Salesforce. com, Force. com, and App Exchange? Explain your answer. Yes, a company could run its entire business using Salesforce. com and App Exchange. From what I have seen on the Salesforce. com website, it can accommodate businesses processes such as sales, marketing, finance, manufacturing, and HR. When I looked up all the different applications on App Exchange, I saw that there are apps for just about everything. Applications can support tasks such as emailing, creating documents, and e-signatures. Between Salesforce. com and App Exchange, a company has everything necessary to successfully run a business.

Clarice Lispector’s Women Characters Essay

I sat before my glass one day, And conjured up a vision bare, Unlike the aspects glad and gay, That erst were found reflected there- The vision of a woman, wild With more than womanly despair.[1] The Italian feminist writer Elsa Morante stated that: â€Å"One woman’s agony in her room is something so insignificant that it casts no shadow across the great universe†[2]. However true this might be, Clarice Lispector manages to give voice to her female character’s feelings in a such overwhelming way that the reader’s own universe cannot remain indifferent. Reading Lispector’s works, especially her short stories, is like plunging into an apparently innocuous moment of a woman’s life but rapidly and unavoidably be dragged into the unreachable depths and the darkest recesses of her psychology. It never turns out to be a merely pleasure trip. Influenced by existentialist authors, Lispector’s over-riding concern revolves around woman condition in its entirety[3]. It is a definitely complex and multi-faceted matter, which encompasses all the issues of the human condition exasperated by the womanhood’s burdens. Alongside with the unbearable awareness towards the absurdity of life and its revealed lack of meaning, the writer has to deal with the role of the women in a male oriented society, their existential sufferings and failures, the sense of relationships and isolation, their unfulfilled aspirations given up to conform to an imposed social scheme, the ideas of family and alienation, their forlorn hopes and submissiveness. The reader is prompted to ask himself: ‘to what extent is the woman allowed to be herself before becoming the objectification of somebody else’s aspirations?’ The concept of identity is therefore the pivot of all this speculation: Clarice explores the dynamics of self-discovery, the different and always traumatic ways in which her characters find or are forced to face their true authentic self and the conflict these achievements generate in their life. In this essay, I will pay close attention to the object of the mirror, a recurrent image in Lispector’s fiction, where it occupies a key role in the process of â€Å"autoconhecimento e expressà £o, contemplaà §Ãƒ £o e aà §Ãƒ £o, conhecimento das coisas e relaà §Ãƒ µes inter-subjetivas†[4]. In the consideration of this point, I will draw on the psychological theories that explained the phenomenon of visual self-identification, highlighting the correspondences in the behaviour of the woman characters. I will also refer to the literary criticism that handled with the Lispectorian â€Å"potà ªncia mà ¡gica do olhar†[5]. Then, I will focus on the range of feminine figures portrayed in Laà §os de famà ­lia, pointing out how they underwent the experience of self-awareness, what they have in common and where they are different. Finally, I will take into account Clarice’s short article â€Å"Espelho mà ¡gico†, which I found to be a particularly valu able contribution to this analysis and a sort of locking ring to this paper. Let’s start by considering the leitmotif of the mirror and the importance of sight. To try to unfold the copious polysemic connotations that the mirror bears, it is worth briefly considering it under a psychoanalytic point of view. Several are the currents that acknowledged the mirror to be one the most powerful tool in the process of the analysis and identification of the self. Jaques Lacan theorised the famous concept of the â€Å"mirror stage†: the child starts to identify with the reflection of itself, discerning the â€Å"I† in the mirror and the â€Å"I† outside the mirror. Along with OLTRE!!! The identification, however, comes the sense of alienation, due to the perception of the mirror image as an Other self. Experiencing this splitting, the subject keeps searching a constant confirmation of its identity from/by/in the confrontation with other people and objects. By the visual contacts, as a sort of multiplicity of mirrors, the sense of selfhood ca n be reinforced by returned gazes of recognition[6]. The idea that the people interacting with the subject act as mirrors for itself has also been substantiated by Charles Horton Cooley. He went further and advanced the social psychological concept of the looking-glass self, according to which ‘identity is created out of the tension between natural impulses that the individual must actively develop and the social structures that the individual must actively appropriate’[7]. He points out that there are three stages through which a person goes: she/he imagines how she must appear to others, she/he imagines the judgment of that appearance, she/he develops her/him self through the judgments of others[8]. But what happens when the social structures develop a diffused and subjugating system of judgements and bias that deeply interfere with the expression of the individual impulses? The result is deep manipulation of somebody’s own self, where self-denial tendencies usually prevail as a compromise between the two tensions. This is actually what happen to Clarice’s women characters. When they look in the mirror, they see (or glimpse) themselves how they truly are, but also how they are not allowed, or do not dare, to be. This social conditioning is clearly summarised by John Berger: ‘To be born a woman has been to be born, within an allotted and confined space, into the keeping of men. The social presence of woman has developed as a result of their ingenuity in living under such tutelage within such limited space. But this has been at the cost of a woman’s self being split into two. A woman must continually watch herself [†¦] because how she appears to others, and ultimately how she appears to men, is of crucial importance for what is normally thought of as the success of her life’[9] Bearing in mind these concepts, let’s now delve into the feminine universe of Laà §os de famà ­lia. The first aspects to remark is that Lispector’s characters are never stereotypical women. They cannot be enclosed in any womanly clichà ©, even if they share the same experiences and they sometimes seem to be facets of the same person. Clarice introduces the reader to different women, or again different stages in life of only one: daughter, adolescent, wife, mistress, mother, grandmother. Emotional detachment is one of the thing they have in common. They all show unsolvable inability to connect with others in a deep and meaningful way. Although being present and even physically close to their families, they are not emotionally present in the relationships. They dissociate, both experiencing emotional numbing, both restraining their own true feeling. Moreover, they do not find a reliable interlocutor in their partners or friends, because the image that the latter project on them is distorted and limited to the role they unconsciously or not impose on them. As previously illustrated, the achievement of self-identity requires an interchanging dialogical recognition between one I and one other that acknowledge that I as a whole[10]. Clarice’s women are left alone. Nevertheless, even when they seem to live the identity they have been given (therefore being self-denial), their true inner self, their real subjectivity suddenly bursts out. There is a kind of fil rouge that pools all the short stories: the narrative nucleus is represented by a moment of conflictive tension, an interior crisis, a rupture. At times, it is sufficient the most trifling event to trigger an epiphany, an instant of dramatic awareness. Everything that has been kept suppressed explode in a flood of thoughts, reminiscences and revelations. The body abruptly paralyses and time stands still: life is revealed, meaning is lost, the measure of identity and freedom are found. But understanding is a responsibility, and Clarice pushes her characters to their limits. They hang on the balance between stepping back or going beyond: utterly disoriented, they face the danger of living. Regarding this point, Professor Earl E. Fitz explains that: ‘they come to grips with themselves, with who and what they really are and, finally, react to this unexpectedly experienced flash of insight by either rejecting the â€Å"new self† that would emerge or by actually undertaking the creation of a new self, a new and authentic identity. [†¦] But the price of real freedom is always high and appears in Lispector’s fiction as the discomforting and solipsistic realisation that we are all alone, isolated in our solitude, and tormented by the need to communicate’[11]. Epiphanies, alienation and incommunicability show close affinities with the literary world depicted by Sartre and Camus. The encounter of the conscience with the reality, more specifically with the experience of the Absurd and the sense of meaningless of life, always generate unease in the protagonists. Even if Lispector has asserted that her naà ºsea is not the nausà ©e of Sartre[12], the epiphanic moments are associated with upsetting feelings: nausea and daze in Amor, anger in Feliz Aniversà ¡rio, hatred in O bà ºfalo, fear in Preciosidade, nausea and sadness in Devaneio e embriaguez duma rapariga ,nausea and derangement in Imitaà §Ãƒ £o da rosa. Moreover, Lispector’s characters experience these unconscious outburst via their sense of sight, similarly to Sartrian protagonists. In Amor, Ana’s reality suddenly falls apart with the simple view of a blind man chewing a chewing gum on the tram. The sudden braking of the tram is like a tug to her subconscious, the detonator of her repressed unhappiness and her existential in-satisfaction. The woman feels an emotional collapse, she is overwhelmed by nausea and compassion. A moment later, she feels emptied and alienated as she wanders through the Jardim Bà ´tanico. When she manages to get home, her husband takes her by the hand, â€Å"sem olhar para trà ¡s, afastando-a do perigo de viver†[13]. So she comes back to her previous existence, but she has now become aware that she loves her world with repugnance, loathing. She represents the women who are conscious of the fact that something essential is missing in their life, that what they are surrounded by is not what they really wanted, is not enough to fulfil them. At the end of the day she look at herself in the mirror, â€Å"por um instante sem nenhum mundo no coraà §Ãƒ £o. Antes de se deitar, como se apagasse uma vela, soprou a pequena flama do dia.†[14] The process is alike in O bà ºfalo. The unnamed protagonist is destroyed by unreciprocated love. ‘Eu te odeio, disse a mulher, muito depressa, a um homem que nà £o a amava. Mas a mulher sà ³ sabia amar e perdoar, e ‘se aquela mulher perdoasse mais uma vez, uma sà ³ vez que fosse, sua vida estaria perdida’. In order to bear the pain, she tries to learn how to hate by the wild nature of the animals. Wandering in a zoo, she encounters a buffalo (something close to the male sexual symbology). â€Å"Ela nà £o olhou a cara. [†¦] Olhou os seus olhos. E os olhos do bà ºfalo, os olhos olharam seus olhos†. The climax is achieved by the visual contact between their eyes. She feels so jarred that she faints. The condition of woman victim of love finds its catharsis in this epiphany closed to sexual ecstasy. Visual contact and self-perception take on another nuance in Preciosidade. The protagonist is an adolescent girl, who tries to avoid having anyone look at her. She feels she must protect an ambiguous preciousness she owns. Either it is referred to her virginity or simply to her being a girl, by eschewing male’s gazes she knows she will keep from becoming an objectification of their desire. More complex are the eye contacts in the short story Laà §os de famà ­lia. The title includes the emblematic essence of family relationships. The semantic ambivalence of laà §os can either be seen in a positive way, â€Å"love bonds†, or in a negative one, like â€Å"binding chains†. The protagonist Catarina and her mother epitomise this ambivalence, in living their strained relationship as a mother and as an adult daughter. Sentiments are no longer expressed, love mixes with hate, visual contact is unbearable. Waiting for the train to leave, the mother looks at herself in pocket mirror to fill the emptiness left by the lack of communication with Catarina. Once home, Catarina take a walk with her son, tying him to her in another noxious kind of love binding. Very important is the figure of the husband, left out, excluded. He need her, but awkwardly tries to exercise his apparent power to show off his role. Another strongly symbolic story is Imitaà §Ãƒ £o da rosa. The protagonist is Laura, a woman who experienced a rupture, both physical with a nervous breakdown, both social, not being able to adhere again at the role of wife she used to perform before her illness. The character is therefore divided between two attitudes: the â€Å"impersonal† woman, who tries to be obedient to the established pattern of being a wife, and the â€Å"personal† woman, that breaks the contract and the social expectation codes. Roberto Corrà ªa dos Santos[15] analyses the duplicity of Laura’s nature and the reflection it has on the relationship with her husband. Corrà ªa dos Santos divides her feelings and her behaviours in two moments: the â€Å"Tempo de obedià ªncia† and the â€Å"Tempo de ruptura†. During the â€Å"Tempo de obedià ªncia†, the attitude of her husband towards Laura shows a man â€Å"esquecido de sua mulher, em paz, recostado com bandono† whereas Laura is â€Å"submissa, atende o marido de braà §o dado, fala sobre coisas de mulheres†. During the â€Å"tempo de ruptura†, the husband turns out to be â€Å"cansado e perplexo, mudo de preocupaà §Ãƒ £o, tà ­mido, com um hà ¡lito infeliz†, while she becomes â€Å"super-humana, tranqà ¼ila em seu isolamento brilhante, como un barco tranqà ¼ilo, de perfeià §Ãƒ £o acordata†[16]. Like the example of Carlota’s husband, Laura’s husband metaphorically shrinks the more and more his wife finds her dimension of self-confidence. Fitz, E. Earl sums up: â€Å"Consistent with Lispector’s view that each of us fight a battle for control of the chaos that envelops us, she shows poignantly how the woman in the story is growing in terms of consciousness and self-understanding (tangled as this itself is) while the man with whom she is living [†¦] is stupidly and dully trapped in his own uninteresting view of reality, [†¦] dominated by the spurious â€Å"clarity† of his conventional thought, his socially prescribed clichà ©s and unoriginal thinking†[17] In addition to these considerations, it is relevant to stress that the concept of the mirror as fundamental tool in the process of self-perception has also been taken up by Clarice outside her fictional work. Espelho mà ¡gico is short article she wrote when she contributed to Dià ¡rio da Noite. It was published in 1960, in a culumn entitled â€Å"Sà ³ para mulheres†, which suggests a hidden feminine complicity that strengthens the message the author wants to conveyed: Nà £o à © sà ³ o espelho da madrasta de Branca de Neve que à © mà ¡gico. A verdade à © que todo espelho tem a mesma magia. [†¦] Vocà ª nà £o hà ¡ de perguntar: â€Å"Quem à © mais bela do que eu†. O melhor à © perguntar ao espelho: â€Å"Como posso ficar mais bela do que eu?† Eis os ingredientes para um espelho mà ¡gico: 1) um espelho propriamente dito, de preferà ªncia daqueles de corpo inteiro; 2) vocà ª mesma diante do espelho; 3) coragem. [†¦] Coragem para se ver, em vez de se imaginar. Sà ³ depois de se enxergar realmente, à © que vocà ª poderà ¡ comeà §ar a se imaginar. [†¦]Mas lembre-se: a imaginaà §Ãƒ £o sà ³ nos serve quando baseada na realidade. Seu â€Å"material de trabalho† à © a realidade a respeito de vocà ª mesma. Nà £o vou lhe dizer o que vocà ª deve fazer para melhorar de aparà ªncia. Nà £o tenho a pretensà £o de ensinar peixe a nadar. E sà ³ uma coisa à © que vocà ª nà £o sabe: que vocà ª sabe nadar. Quero dizer, se vocà ª tiver confianà §a em vocà ª mesma, descobrirà ¡ que sabe muito mais do que pensa. Mas, de qualquer modo, estarei aqui para ajudar a vocà ª a nà £o esquecer que sabe. Here, Clarice recurs to the archetype of the magic mirror in the fairy tale, positioning the question of identity in an apparently simple layer of interpretation. The strength of this passage, though, resides in the shifting of the cultural pattern of the identification of the self: the answer is not any more given by the mirror, but acknowledged directly by the person who mirrors herself. Who is answering is indeed the same woman who asked, providing herself with the true measure of her renewed â€Å"I† descried alone, without the need of something (or somebody) else who sees her from the outside. This is the new espelho mà ¡gico Clarice hopes for, where the magic comes from the other side on the glass: the person. More than an article, it becomes a suggestion, an exhortation. It takes some efforts, some coragem para se ver, se enxergar, but this is necessary in order to build a new parameter for the individual existence, a new pattern of legitimisation of the self. It is the only way for women to ged rid of the old and tight social and cultural paradigms and to confront themselves with new references based on their quotidian choices and prerogatives. A new perspective is offered, where beauty stops being a primary attribute and leaves its place to self-confidence and fortitude. This new woman holds in her hands a â€Å"material de trabalho†, the realidade a respeito de si mesma. She could represent a new possible social feminine figure, who believes in her capability to promote a change and to be in charge of her own destiny. While in her stories she often left her characters helpless and powerless in front of their mirrors, in the real world Clarice let this mirror become a threshold towards a higher dimension, like an open portal in front of the woman. The article end is contract-like: women will try to operate this transformation and the author will watch over her, with her novels and stories. For the aforementioned reasons, there is no doubt that Lispector’s fictional universe is as wide and deep as the themes it deals with. To understand how her complex feminine characters perceive themselves, it is necessary to take into account the issue of the human condition in its entirety, applied to the point of view of women. Nonetheless, every story she wrote encompasses a multitude of smaller senses and significances, so that more than one reading is needed in order to disclose all of them. Every reader can easily agree with Hà ©là ¨ne Cixous, who stated that: â€Å"Clarice’s text, like Kafka’s, are not narratives. They contain a secret, a lesson. But this secret and this lesson are dispersed in the verbal space in such a way that the meaning cannot be apprehended at a first reading.†[18] Psychoanalytic perspective helps to explain her literary explorations of the question of identity, the importance of sight, and the self-perception her characters achieve in their reflection in the mirror or in someone else’s eyes. The in-depth analysis of the women in Laà §os de famà ­lia also provides a comprehensive picture of Clarice’s profound sensibility and complex psychology. The plot, the setting, the description of the characters and their relational dynamics epitomises Lispectorian imaginary. As far as the mirror is concerned, it undoubtedly hold an important position in Clarice’s symbolism and recurs also in her non-fictional works. The article Espelho mà ¡gico represents a significant contribution in the comprehension of her Weltanschauung, and creates a concrete link between her imaginative world and the tangible reality. ———————– [1] Mary Elizabeth Coleridge The Other Side of a Mirror, 1896 [2] Elsa Morante, Arturo’s Island, p. 187 [3] Lispector does not actually represent all women in her text, but she rather focuses on the ones she belongs to and presumably knows the most: the middle-class white urban women. With the expression â€Å"woman condition in its entirety† I mean the whole range of feminine experiences a given woman can go through during her life. [4] Nunes, Benedito, Clarice Lispector. Sà £o Paulo: Edià §Ãƒ µes Quà ­ron, 1973 p. 95 [5] Ibid, p. 95 [6] Lacan, Jaques, The Four Fundamental Concepts of Psychoanalysis. London: Penguin. 1994 p 70-72 [7] Cooley, Charles H. On Self and Social Organization. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1998 p 20 [8] Cooley, Charles H. Human Nature and the Social Order. New York: Scribner’s, 1902. pp. 183-184 [9] Berger, John, Ways of Seeing. London: Penguin, 1972 [10] See also: Psychology of Self. Kohut, Heinz The Analysis of the Self. New York: International Universities Press, 1971 [11] Fitz, E. Earl Clarice Lispector. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985, p. 48 [12] Lowe, Elizabeth. The Passion According to C.L.: Elizabeth Lowe interviews Clarice Lispector. Review, 24: p 36 [13] Lispector, Clarice, Laà §os de Famà ­lia. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria Josà © Olympio Editora S.A., 1976 p 24 [14] Ibid, p 26 [15] Corrà ªa dos Santos, Roberto Lendo Clarice Lispector. Sà £o Paulo: Atual Editora LTDA, 1986 p. 21 [16] Lispector, Clarice, Laà §os de Famà ­lia. Rio de Janeiro: Livraria Josà © Olympio Editora S.A., 1976 p 36-40 [17] Fitz, E. Earl Clarice Lispector. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1985, p. 44 [18] Cixous, Hà ©là ¨ne, Reading with Clarice Lispector. Trans. By Verena Andermatt Conley. London: Harvester Wheatsheaf, 1990 p 98