Beyond Rivalry Essay

During childhood, sisters and brothers are a major part of each other’s lives, for better or for worse. As adults they may drift apart as they become involved in their own careers, marriages and families. But in later life, with retirement, an empty nest, and parents and sometimes spouses gone, brothers and sisters often turn back to each other for a special affinity and link to the past. â€Å"In the stressful, fast- paced world we live in, the sibling relationship becomes for many the only intimate connection that seems to last,† says psychologist Michael Kahn of the University of Hartford. Friends and neighbors may move away, former coworkers are forgotten, marriages break up, but no matter what, our sisters and brothers remain our sisters and brothers. This late- life bond may be especially important to the â€Å"Baby Boom† generation now in adulthood, who average about two or three sibling apiece. High divorce rates and the decision by many couples to have only one or no children will force members of this generation to look to their brothers and sisters for support in old age. And, as psychologist Deborah Gold of the Duke Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development points out, â€Å"Since people are living longer and are healthier longer, they will be more capable of giving help. † Critical events can bring siblings together or deepen an existing rift, according to a study by psychologists Helgola Ross and Joel Milgram of the University of Cincinnati. Parental sickness or death is a prime example. Ross and Milgram found that siblings immersed in rivalry and conflict were even more torn apart by the death or sickness of a parent. Those siblings who had been close since childhood became closer. In a study of older people with sisters and brothers, Gold found that about 20 percent said they were either hostile or indifferent toward their siblings. Reasons for the rifts ranged from inheritance disputes to animosity between spouses. But many of those who had poor relationship felt guilt and remorse. A man who hadn’t spoken with his sister in 20 years described their estrangement as a â€Å"festering sore. Although most people in Ross and Milgram’s study admitted to some lingering rivalry, it was rarely strong enough to end the relationship. Only 4 out of the 55 people they interviewed had completely broken with their siblings and only 1 of the 4 felt comfortable with the break, leaving the researchers to ask, â€Å"Is it psychologically impossible to disassociate oneself from one’s siblings in the way one can forget old friends or even former mates? † As brothers and sisters advance into old age, â€Å"closeness increases and rivalry diminishes,† explains Victor Cicirelli, a psychologist at Purdue University. Most of the elderly people he interviewed said they had supportive and friendly dealings and got along well or very well with their brothers and sisters. Only 4 percent got along poorly. Gold found that as people age they often become more involved with and interested in their siblings. Fifty- three percent of those she interviewed said that contact with their sisters and brothers increased in late adulthood. With family and career obligations reduced, many said they had more time for each other. Others said that they felt it was â€Å"time to heal wounds. A man who had recently reconciled with his brother told Gold, â€Å"There’s something that lets older people put aside the bad deeds of the past and focus a little on what we need now†¦especially when it’s brothers and sisters. † Another reason for increased contact was anxiety about a sister’s or brother’s declining health. Many would call more often to â€Å"check in† and see how the other was doing. Men especially reported feeling increased responsibility for a sibling; women were more likely to cite emotional motivation such as feelings of empathy and security. Siblings also assume special importance as other sources of contact and support dwindle. Each of us moves through life with a â€Å"convoy† of people who supply comfort and nurturance, says psychologist Toni C. Antonucci of the University of Michigan. As we age, the size of the convoy gradually declines because of death, sickness or moving. â€Å"Brothers and sisters who may not have been important convoy members earlier in life can become so in old age,† Gold says. And they do more than fill in gaps. Many people told Gold that the loneliness they felt could not be satisfied by just anyone. They wanted a specific type of relationship, one that only someone who had shared their past could provide. This far- reaching link to the past is a powerful bond between siblings in later life. â€Å"There’s a review process we all go through in old age to resolve whether we are pleased with our lives,† Gold explains. â€Å"A sibling can help retrieve a memory and validate our experiences. People have said to me, â€Å"I can remember some with my spouse or with friends. But they only person who goes all the way back is my sister and brother. † Cicirelli agrees that reviewing the past together is a rewarding activity. â€Å"Siblings have a very important role in maintaining a connection to early life,† he says. â€Å"Discussing the past evokes the warmth of early family life. In validates and clarifies events of the early years. † Furthermore, he has found that encouraging depressed older people to reminisce with a sister or brother can improve their morale. Some of the factors that affect how much contact siblings will have, such as how near they live, are obvious. Others are more unexpected-for example. Whether there is a sister in the clan. Cicirelli found that elderly people most often feel closet to a sister and are more likely to keep in touch through her. According to Gold, sisters, by tradition, often assume a caretaking and kin- keeping role, especially after the death of their mother. â€Å"In many situations you see two brothers who don’t talk to each other that much but keep track of each other through their sisters,† she says. Researchers have found that the bond between sisters is strongest, followed by the one between sisters and brothers and, last, between brothers. Sisters and brothers who live near each other will, as a matter of course, see more of each other. But Cicirelli says that proximity is not crucial to a strong relationship later in life. â€Å"Because of multiple chronic illnesses, people in their 80s and 90s can’t get together that easily. Even so, the sibling seems to evoke positive feelings based on the images of feelings inside. † Gold’s finding support this assertion. During a two- year period, contact among her respondents decreaed slightly, but positive feelings increased. Just the idea that the sibling is alive, that ‘there is someone I can call,’ is comforting. † Although older people may find solace in the thought that their siblings are there if they need them, rarely do they call each other for help or offer each other instrumental support, such as loaning money, running errands of performing favors. â€Å"Even though you find siblings saying that they’d be glad to help each other and saying they would ask for help if necessary, rarely do they ask,† Cicirelli points out. Gold believes that there are several reasons siblings don’t turn to each other more for instrumental help. First, since they are usually about the same age, they may be equally needy or frail. Another reason is that many people consider their siblings safety nets who will save them after everything else has failed. A son or daughter will almost always be turned to first. It’s more acceptable in our society to look up or down the family ladder for help than sideways. Finally, siblings may not turn to each other for help because of latent rivalry. They may believe that if they need to call on a brother or sister they are admitting that the other person is a success and â€Å"I am a failure. † Almost all of the people in Gold’s study said they would rather continue on their own than ask their sister or brother for help. But she found that a crisis beyond control would inspire â€Å"a ‘rallying’ of some or all siblings around the brother or sister in need. † Despite the quarreling and competition many people associate with the mere mention of their sisters and brothers, most of us, Gold says, will find â€Å"unexpected strengths in this relationship in later life. †

Media criticism paper

When he first was signed to his record label and released his debut single, I will admit I was not a huge fan Of his. But as he got older, along with me, and his music started becoming more mainstream, and relatable it was hard not to love him as an artist, plus he got much easier to look at. My love for him peaked in the fall of 201 2 when my best friend and I attended his concert in Portland. It was impossible not to fall in love with him, after spending 3 hours listening to Justine serenade us with songs varying from all four of his albums out at the current time.Since then he has released and acoustic version of his ever popular ‘Believe' album. Justine concerts aren't just him standing on stage singing into a microphone either, he is a performer, and his concert was a production, lots of time and effort goes into each and every show he performs. But Justine is much more than just a pop sensation; he is also a very charitable person. He has donated of millions of dollars to various charities since his rise to stardom. Though recently, he has been getting a lot of negative press, which has been hard for any, if not all of his â€Å"Believers†(what Justine calls his millions of dedicated fans) to hear.Justine is constantly under the media's microscope and every single thing he does get criticized and scrutinized by the paparazzi and by the media. Justine main audience is young, teen girls and with some of the things that the media has accused him of doing recently have parents keeping girls from going to his concerts. For being less than two decades old, Justine Bibber has done more charity work than most kids his age will do in their entire lives. Although he has made more money in the short time he has been in the footlight than most people would know what to do with, he does a great deal of good with all that dough.Most recently, in wake of the devastating typhoon in the Philippines, â€Å"Justine Bibber is finally using his fame for good- by turning his love for graffiti into hard cash for a Philippines typhoon relief group†(Jiffies). Bibber posted a picture to his Mainstream of him next to the ‘Pray 4 Philippines' graffiti he made. It has been reported that Justine is to sell Off the cans Of spray paint he used, along with a signed picture of the painting o help raise money for Typhoon Hanna (Jiffies). But tagging the walls of L. A. Is not the only charity Justine Bibber does.Just this summer he granted his 20th Make-a-Wish Foundation. At one of his meet and greets during his Atlanta concert in August, Justine met an eight year old girl with a life threatening liver condition. She got to ask him a series of question and at the very end she asked him to marry her, only to have him get down on one knee and pretend propose to her himself. This was the 20th Make-a-Wish Bibber had granted, the most by any recording artist ever (Acacias). In addition, Justine Bibber donates one dollar from every concert tour tic ket to charity.From the two tours he's been on, it comes out to be 13 million dollars (Earthman). Those are just a few of the good deeds the young pop star has done since his rise to fame, he has also founded/supported 14 different charities and 17 various causes (Justine Bibber). Like every teenage boy, Justine has recently been caught â€Å"experimenting† with different substances. The only problem with him doing so rather than every other teen, is he has constant microscope over him watching his every eve, and scrutinizing every thing he does.Earlier this year reports surfaced that Bibber has allegedly been caught smoking weed. His tour bus was raided in Sweden when the police thought drugs Were being used inside. Reports say that the officers found â€Å"narcotics† on the bus but there were no charges, as the police couldn't determine who they belonged to. Justine was also allegedly caught one time before this for the use of marijuana but biblically and comically a pologized to fans during a skit while hosting Saturday Night Live in February (Marcus). S normal for every college age kid to drink or try pot (not legally of course, but it still happens), but Justine has to endure the wrath of the media because he such a big star. Bibber has been criticized for all sorts of mischievous things recently like, going to clubs, supposedly spitting on his fans, peeing in a mop bucket, reckless driving of expensive sports cars, attacking a London paparazzi and many more. These sorts of activities are leaving parents of young fans wondering if Justine is a good role model/ icon and wondering what sorts of messages and values he is sending to his monger fan base.Being born and raised in Canada, permits drinking and club-going at age 18, so he has been legal there for over a year, but he cannot partake in those types of behaviors in the US, where he lives and owns a house in Calabash, California. The most recent scandal surrounding Bibber is the wild party he threw at his California home this past weekend. TOM reports that Justine threw a â€Å"Gatsby like† party at his home, that was â€Å"FILLED with naked chicks† thought to be stripers that he was â€Å"tipping like a Pro†. He was said to have dropped $10,000 in cash on all the girls.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Kentucky Fried Chicken - Case Study Example Lastly, this discourse recommends the ideologies for improvising the organization's marketing efforts that can prove to be a share of positive assistance to its future. Kentucky Fried Chicken Corporation, as discussed above, is the world's largest chain of chicken restaurants and is one of the paramount havens for fast-food round the globe. It is the most successful operator in United States as it has made significant ways to maintain its gradation in the international market. KFC offers a whole new variety of fried chicken products as it conjoins both stores as owned by the corporate and the franchise outlets. In response to the call for healthier cuisines from the consumers, the company has recently initiated with involvement in grilled chicken that has gathered enormous response. KFC is at present, owned by PepsiCo, which is also the owner of the Taco Bell fast-food operation. PepsiCo has installed its own management group on senior posts, whereas, the previous owners of KFC such as Heublein permitted senior managers to stay because of KFC's minor existence and familiarity to the world market. This correlation between KFC and PepsiCo has enabled both the brands to endorse their products with a strong financial background assisting to drive the expansion that is the way to prosperity. Marketing Environment Though many countries of the world are new to franchising as a method of expanding business, KFC has enjoyed success through its stores as owned by the corporate. It has been successful in expanding its operations in the foreign markets by out-stripping the fast-food industry as a whole. KFC has learned to develop and introduce new products as it has efficaciously utilized the opportunities that have come its way so far. Since, introduction of new products are the key to a company's prosperity, KFC has proved its metal in the international field as well. For several decades, where other fast-food corporations have recently introduced the expansion of their businesses in to the international market, KFC has witnessed its participation as a successful multi-national corporation. This has led to efficient familiarity with all the logistical and attribute complications as faced by the organizations which, in anyway, accompany to its operation as an international food functioning. It has, therefore, depicted its successful operations with host countries and businesses within the host country in order to establish an effectual strategy to work (LotsOfEssays.com). KFC has experienced success in availing enormous marketing opportunities in the US because of the recent relaxation of rules and regulations that could have hindered the American companies to conduct business. Though, franchising still needs to make a place within the world market, it is no longer a foreign concept to

Business Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Business Research - Assignment Example e managers are expected to conduct the business research in order to gather some information regarding the functioning of the organization (Koufteros, Vonderembse and Jayaram, 2005). They also conduct the market research in order to determine the relevant information about the competitors in the international market and plan out strategies to make the organization perform well. Zikmund, 2009 has pointed that business research becomes increasingly essential for the companies to carry out a successful business. However, irrelevant information collected by the managers leads to an incorrect decision making procedure and the company would not be able to judge its market position. The research offers a scope to the researcher to understand the importance of collecting relevant information from the market. It also aims to make the researcher carry out a critical evaluation of the statement that whether information about a particular field reduces the uncertainty in business. Zikmund and Babin, 2009 suggests that only way to gather business related information is by conducting an overall survey on the market and analysing the data collected. In order to gather the relevant information, the business research has to be conducted by the managers in various fields because the decision making process within an organization is based on the data that is collected (Lambert, Leuz and Verrecchia, 2007). Business decisions are taken in each and every step of the business activities that are manufacturing, sales, operations, logistics, human resource management and marketing (Van Nieuwerburgh and Veldkamp, 2009). Based on the information collected related to the demand of a particular product in the market, the company can make decisions on the manufacturing and the sales activities. In case the demand for a product is high, the company can increase its production decision. Further, the inventory management for the future is also an important task that the managers need to undertake

Strategic Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Strategic Marketing - Essay Example For marketers operating in a business-to-business environment, this means merging product use and industry sector segmentation with other facets that are associated with purchasing decisions. These can include factors such as the criteria for procurement, and decision motivations that will determine the out-sized purchases made by the organization. For example, the trend towards more use of subcontractors generates market for those suppliers. However, the retailers require a strategic marketing vision in order to make out or perceive these new markets before their business rivals also identify them and take the opportunity (Manning and Reece, 2003). Consumer marketers have to consider the use of demographic and geographic segmentation; along with psychographic segmentation such as attitudes, values, consumer lifestyles, and the motivation for product usage. For example, the aging population segment generates an increased demand for a wide range of goods. It also forms market niches t hat are big enough to make marketing as well as product development a worthwhile endeavor. These same factors can also contribute to the decrease in demand for other items. Occasionally, rather than increase sales or advertising efforts, it is more advisable to desert a declining market. Without strategic marketing tactics, an organization can actually waste valuable assets or miss a rare opportunity to take advantage of prevailing favourable conditions. The strategic marketing plan procedure usually has three stages. These are segmenting the market, profiling the market segments, and the creation of a market segment marketing strategy. Creating Value to Customers in Strategic Marketing The value in a manufactured product is usually defined by the reaction of customers to it. It is essentially a matter of the customer’s perception. If the product is perceived by the consumer as possessing value then that discernment will lead to a procurement. Customer value may also develop from having employed the product over and over again with pleasing results. Customer value in its most fundamental form refers to the difference between the price of a product and the benefit the customer gets from the product. Today's customers are much more informed as a result of the easily available modes of electronic communication that are available (Cravens and Piercy, 2008). As such, they usually purchase the goods that they sense are worth the cost required to attain them. Customers usually know precisely what they want to buy and will not waste time with low value products. It is important for marketers to have products that can be considered as unique. This is something that can make the product be viewed as being of utmost value, resulting in a higher price being appropriate. In their mission to communicate information to consumers pertaining to products, sales professionals frequently oversell and fail to notice the consumers’ real needs. Consequently, the produc t presented is of hardly any value to consumers. The greatest challenge that marketing professionals have to confront today is rising beyond the ordinary noise level, getting access to their targeted market, and eventually buying influence. Qualified leads are just harder to come by in today’s market which is saturated with the pitches of dedicated marketers. The convergence of rich media, digital graphics, direct response tools, email,

The Schengen Agreement and Migration Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Schengen Agreement and Migration - Essay Example This initiated the first step of the dialogue. The next issue discussed was whether this should be applied to people who were outside this European Community. The movement gained momentum when some of the countries decided to push ahead with the proposal and eliminate these borders. (Hiroyuki Tanaka and Trinidad Macias, 2007) The Benelux countries which included Belgium, Luxemborg and Netherlands had already initiated the process of having a common passport much before the idea of Schengen originated. This was formed as early as the 1970’s. France and Germany furthered strengthened their cross border treaties by signing a bilateral agreement in 1984 which decided to do away with the cross border checks. (Gelatt Julia, 2005) This was borne by the protests initiated by truck drivers who were not happy with the long procedural delays these checks were taking. To further strengthen the agreement a number of countries like France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Belgium signed the first agreement on June 14, 1985 at Schengen. It was decided to do away with the passports and other red tape including procedural delays which hampered free movement. The process that began in Schengen was considered as a sort of beginning for greater co-ordination between further member states of the European Union so that the idea that was generated in Schengen could be expanded to the whole of the EU. (Kazmierkiewicz, 2005) Source: Hiroyuki Tanaka and Trinidad Macias, 2007, Schengen Member States The Schengen area further consolidated its intentions by eliminating the need for border checks on both travellers from the member countries and also relaxing these norms for visitors from outside the Schengen area. However there was a need for careful monitoring the people who was allowed free access in the Schengen area. The Schengen Convention was further ratified by France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Germany in 1990. (Bertozzi Stefano, 2008) Several key decisions were taken in this convention. The terms and conditions for the issuance of short term visas for less than 90 days were outlined. It also laid out the policies for the travel of people across the Schengen region. Movement of people who intended to stay on for more than 90 days were provided with long term visas. Internal border checks were done away with but external borders were still subjected to the principles of national legislation.( Gelatt Julia, 2005) The Schengen roped in further countries. In 1990 Italy joined in while Portugal entered into the fray 1991. Spain joined next in 1992 supported by Austria in 1995. Finland, Sweden and Denmark completed the formalities of joining in 1996. (Hiroyuki Tanaka and Trinidad Macias, 2007) An interesting facet to this agreement was that although Norway and Iceland were not members of the EU, it supported and became a member to enhance the sanctity of the union. The membership of Denmark into the Union however came with a rider. They could fe el free to agree or disagree with decisions that were made from time to time in the Schengen Agreements. Schengen Information System The Schengen Conv

PM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

PM - Essay Example The use of the internet is an important source of information in our daily lives. The nurses in Pleasant Manor center would therefore be able to research and gain more knowledge about the various nursing interventions. This would boost the level of service delivery of the nurses to the patients. With technological developments worldwide, a patient’s medical history can be found in through shared government websites. Access to such previous information would assist the nurses to make relevant diagnosis hence correct nursing interventions. Moreover, the use of computers connected to the internet assist in the storage of files and their retrieval. As opposed to the traditional shelving of files, the storage and retrieval of information is made easier because computer files are easier to access (Locsin, 2001). This has resulted to efficiency and reduction of workers hence reduction of expenses. An aberrometer is a device that is used in the checking of the eye defects. This latest technology allows a keen analysis of the eye parts hence unexpected occurrences are identified at an early stage. The use of this technology by Pleasant Manor would boost efficiency in its eye treatment wing thus resulting to patient satisfaction. Apart from the common gym equipment such as weight plates, properly leveled benches, leg machines, etc. Pleasant Manor should introduce the latest versions of the gym equipment. This modern equipment are electronically connected to some parts of the body hence they are able to determine the levels of heartbeat, amount of calories utilized, rate of exercise etc (Czar, 2012). Therefore, the use of this modern technological gym equipment would ensure quality exercise by the patients. Technology can be used to create the necessary entertainment to patients especially those in the hospice wing. By use of 3D movie screens, play

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development in Thank You for Smoking (2005) Essay

Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development in Thank You for Smoking (2005) - Essay Example Some of the characters in the film swing across these moral stages, depending on their changing goals and target audiences. Characters in â€Å"Stage 1: Obedience and Punishment† display morality that comes from following authority (Crain, 1985). Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart) shows Stage 1 morality because he is initially focused on what his boss and company think is right. Instead of following the government or traditional social norms, Naylor follows the goals and norms of his company and boss. Naylor’s boss BR (J.K. Simmons) seeks for ideas on making smoking a more lucrative business. He tells Naylor: â€Å"We don't sell Tic Tacs, we sell cigarettes. And they’re cool, available, and addictive† (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). Naylor responds with a recommendation of product placement in the movies. He is responding to the pressure of doing what is right, based on what his company demands from him. Furthermore, Naylor displays loyalty to his boss, even when the latter does something wrong. BR steals Naylor’s idea of product placement in the movies and presents it to Captain (Rob ert Duvall) as his own. Naylor does not correct Captain anymore for fear of reprisal. Morality, in this stage, is â€Å"external† to the people, and not something they feel they must be personally responsible for, so they follow their bosses as the basis of their morality (Crain, 1985). Aside from Stage 1, characters in Thank You for Smoking exhibit morality in â€Å"Stage 2: Individualism and Exchange,† when they focus on the relativity of morals and the importance of making compromises to gain something. Naylor shifts to Stage 2, when he explains to his son that being right heavily relies on one’s argumentation skills. He tells his son: â€Å"That’s the beauty of argument, if you argue correctly, you're never wrong.† Morality is relative to the person doing the argumentation and his/her persuasiveness. Furthermore, flexible morality is another indicator of an individualistic approach to morality. Naylor admits to his son that to be in his job, he must have â€Å"flexible morals† (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). Flexible morals allow him to stay unaffected of the negative views on tobacco smoking. Jeff Megall (Rob Lowe) is another example of someone who manifests Stage 2 because he is not concerned of maintaining the social order or universal principles. Megall emphasizes that individuals have different opinions, so he calls himself a â€Å"facilitator† because â€Å"people decide for themselves† (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). He believes in the individual differences of morality and does not judge them. Heather Holloway (Katie Holmes) illustrates Stage 1 morality too because she exchanges something to gain another. She enters into a sexual affair with Naylor, so that she can access and expose his secrets as a reporter (Sacks & Reitman, 2005). These are examples of people, who believe in individualistic views of morality, as well as the flexibility needed to undergo social transactions for the purposes of personal gai n. The next stage is â€Å"Stage 3: Good Interpersonal Relationships,† and characters show this level of morality, when they do what is good based on what their family and community value as good behaviors (Crain, 1985). Naylor wants to be a better father to his son. In order to do this, he thinks that it is right to spend more time with him. Joey’s mother and stepfather are alarmed of what he is learning and inhaling from his father, but Naylor does not care, because he simply wants to have more quality time with Joey (Sacks

Objectives of GPFRs in AASB and IASB Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Objectives of GPFRs in AASB and IASB - Essay Example It is to be noted that both the boards have set down the objectives of General Purpose Financial Reports on the different basis. The further sections of this report focus on the helpfulness of the objectives set down by International Accounting Standard Board to improve the general purpose financial report. There are several questions that have been raised regarding the usefulness of the objectives. A comparison of the objectives of both the Australian Accounting board and the International Accounting board is made to analyze which one of the two is better suited as objectives for the general purpose financial report. The next section deals with the meaning of general purpose financial report and helps understand the main reason why these reports are produced. General Purpose Financial Reports are prepared to focus on the requirements of users who require understanding the company’s financial status. This report provided the common information to users who cannot prepare speci fic information to meet their needs. There are a few financial entities that are authorized to prepare these reports. Since these reports are very general most of the time these reports focus on general information of the company which benefits only a few groups of people. The main users of General Purpose Financial Reports are divided into three main categories namely. Resource providers like employees, lenders, supplier, lenders, investors, etc. These groups of people are interested in knowing the financial status of the company to understand whether the resources provided are being put to efficient use and if the company is performing economically, efficiently and effectively (CPA Australia, 2002). Recipient of goods and services like consumers, customers, or any person benefiting from the goods or services provided by the reporting entity.  

Cafe Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cafe - Case Study Example The roles and responsibilities of Louis Chen include: Ensuring the continuous running of the Levendary Cafe in China; making strategic decisions that would enable the company to stay competitive and in business against market trends. The company expanded from the USA to China due to the reason that its domestic growth was slowing down progressively from 2008. The company chose to expand by setting up a strategy team that would be used to research on available opportunities in China. More to that was the fact that China had a high potential for investment since their GDP was 14.5% for the past decade and they had a high population of approximately 1.4 billion people. Out of this, the urban population had risen from 36.2% to 46.6% between 2000 and 2009. This was an issue that was discovered and brought about by Mia Foster to the Levendary Cafe CEO in China - Louis Chen. The issue was that Louis Chen was not willing to ensure and implement global standardization of procedures. This was an issue that was projected by Mia Foster to Louis Chen. According to Mia Foster, the CEO of Levendary Cafe in China – Louis Chen was not up to the task of implementing changes that would boost future operations of the organisation. Louis Chen did not follow the standard GAAP Accounts and reporting procedures for Levendary Cafe in China. Apparently, the financial and management reports that were being sent to Denver were in a format that had been â€Å"massaged†. This was an issue where Mia Foster implied that the way Louis Chen managed the China operations would not sustain the company in future. For example: his refusal to follow a standardized global operating procedure; not adhering to GAAP accounting standards. In order to address the challenges being faced in China operations, Mia Foster has to follow the following actions: Raise the questions about the China operations to Louis Chen; confront Louis Chen on the issues

Sociological Theories Response Essay Example for Free

Sociological Theories Response Essay In the Virgin Islands there is program that is run by the police force by the name of SADD (Students against Destructive Decisions). The program is run by local Police Officers with the involvement of the Chief Police. There are also volunteers that are made up of parents and some business personnel’s. This program helps children and adolescents make wise choices when it comes to their actions and choosing their friends. The program assists with after school care that includes homework help, tutoring and literacy help. There are also sports programs, counseling and outreach upport for those that are in need. The business aspect helps young adolescents with preparation of resumes and business etiquette when it comes to job searches. For me this program holds true to the social structure theory because it embodies all aspects of uplifting, nurturing and educating young adolescents and children to do right(Virgin Island Police Department, 2010). My next program that I will look at is one that embodies social process theories. The New Zealand National Parliament implemented a program called Family Group Conferencing. This program embodies child and youth affairs that range from care and protection matters to social welfare problems. The program helps individual and their families with education, healthcare and assists with curbing youth delinquency. This program also gives considerable decision making power to individuals rather than the state when it comes to parents and their families. They also provide funding to programs on child subsidy, helping parents who are unemployed to find and keep jobs (Cengage Learning, 2010). The Social conflict theory is known as society as a whole always battling for what is ight and trying to confirm ones belief unto someone else. It is people fighting for a justice that they feel should be equaled across the boards, whether or not it affects a certain group of people the goal is to have and keep the less fortunate at a level of low poverty. The Cooke, Fannin and Grayson County Juvenile Boot Campis facility that helps boys between the ages of 12 through 17 years old. Their goal is to keep those troubled individuals out of the justice system through counseling, therapy and acceptance of ones actions. The boot camp is established as a leader in providing top otch programs to juvenile offenders and it also has specialized commons that serves sex offenders and substance abuse offenders. Their goal is a step by step program that offers educational, therapeutic and socio-education opportunities. Discipline and physical activities are also part of the curriculum. The programs belief are being in a structured but nonrestrictive environment helps these young men begin a process of trust. By building on that platform the individuals will be able to be compliant within societal norms (Cook, Fannin and Grayson County Boot Camp, 2009).

Issues with Cadburys Workforce

Issues with Cadburys Workforce One of the most important workforces issues that Cadbury has to tackle after the Krafts takeover will be the psychological contract and the employee engagement, thus, the fundamentals issues this paper work address are; explores some of the most important external and internal influences and business pressures that Cadbury is facing now, recommending the most appropriate strategic responses and describing some of the key Human Resource issues that the company have to bear in mind during the whole process of this transition. Secondly, this essay does a depth analyses of how Cadbury should tackle their psychological contracts issues, through a fully understanding of the workforces expectations and beliefs towards the Cadburys new employer, generally these expectations are out of the formal or legal contract, which means they are unwritten and unspoken but they still play an important role during this takeover. In addition to the psychological contract, this essay also explores another important issue in this takeover which is the employee engagement, this engagement generally is something given by the employees to the company which shows their commitment, effort and dedication, using the best of their capabilities to achieve the companys goals, therefore, this paper studies how Cadbury should make an appropriate adoption of the employee engagement concept bringing a tremendous vantage for the company. 216 words STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK Business Pressure Cadburys company was built nearly two hundred years ago in Birmiham Great Britain, where during whole these years the company has stood up of the crowd for its chocolates quality and has even been awarded for the British Queen in February 1984 (Cadbury 1) Cadbury has also launched some chocolates which have became in a totally British iconic, chocolates bars such as wispa, which was first launched in 1981 and the creams eggs which sell around two hundred million units every year in the UK, and the Dairy Milk which was first launched in June 1905 and has become a mega well-known brand in many different varieties around the world (Cadbury 2), All these products and much more, have made that Cadbury become nowadays the second most engaging brand in the UK, according to a study made by the agency Hall Partners (2010), this study measures how the British people are engaged with brands and analyse how do they feel and think about it. The study reveals that Cadbury is a UK proud brand that British people love; as during whole these years, Cadbury has built a strong relationship with its customers and products in a consciously and unconsciously way. http://www.netimperative.com/news/2010/february/cadbury2019s-and-google-top-uk2019s-10-most/view Hence, taking into the account all these historic facts of Cadbury, it seem obvious that after the announce of Krafts takeover, a huge business pressure had grown all over UK regarding to continuation of the workforces inheritance , the maintaining of their manufactories in UK and the loss of jobs seems to be the most complicated business pressure. As a complement, after the acquisition of Cadbury in  £11.9 billion, Kraft is on  £7 billion debt, and to be able to solve this issue Kraft has created a saving plan of  £450 million a year (The Guarding 3) to pay off all its debts to the Royal Bank of Scotland, which ironically is 84% owned by the UK Government, which means that the UK government has borrowed the money to sell out one of the most engaging British companies. http://www.cadbury.co.uk/cadburyandchocolate/ourstory/Pages/ourstoryFlash.aspx#/1941_1980/product/1971_creme_egg (2) http://www.cadbury.co.uk/cadburyandchocolate/ourstory/Pages/ourstoryFlash.aspx#/1820_1860/product (1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/mar/04/cadbury-kraft-union (3) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8470776.stm (4) Strategic Responses Seems to be a very tough task, to set a good and appropriate strategic response, after all these enormous business pressures that surround Cadbury, hence, Kraft should start doing a deep analyses of each one of the business pressure, covering the customers and workforces expectations, to fully understand the whole context. Once exist a better understanding of the whole picture, Kraft should be more likely to face these business pressures in a more efficiently and appropriate manner, setting up the best possible strategic responses to tackle the whole problem. However, bearing in mind that my understanding of the whole picture will never be as deeper as the one Kraft could achieve inside their world, my best possible strategic responses should be keeping their pledges, showing the commitment and interest of Cadburys new owners to the workforce, doing the best of their capabilities to keep the social and ethical values, analysing the business strategic and vision of the company. On the other hand, UK Government should do everything they can, to ensure the jobs are kept in UK after the Krafts new acquisition, however the Cadburys Chairman has admitted that jobs loss are unavoidable as a consequence of the big acquisitions price of  £11.9 billion (The Indepent 2010 5), but as strategic response to this issue, Kraft should make a further investment in better technology machines to increase the productivity and reduce their overhead costs more efficiently without the need to make jobs redundant. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/takeover-will-mean-job-cuts-says-boss-of-cadbury-1873155.html (5) HRM Factors; possible impacts There are many numbers of possible HR impacts in this unexpected and unwelcome Krafts takeover, the first of them, is one of the most common HR impacts which takes place in most of the takeovers, these are the workforces strikes, which are already happening in Cadbury, the employees are desperately seeking for a plan or a law from the UK government which secure their jobs and give them work stability. Secondly but not less important, as consequence of this unwelcome takeover, Cadburys workforce might change its attitude and loyalty towards the company, creating a stressful and uncomfortable workplace environment for everybody, leaving as a result, a depth impact in the productivity of the company. Additionally to the job instability, lack of support from the companys new owner and stressful environment, all these issues could make that the best workforces men remaining in the company, decide to jump out of the ship before the company decides to throw them out. Lastly, the workforces future expectations, beliefs and principles might also change towards the company, meaning a partial or total loss of the engagement from the employees which could easily lead a collective decrease in the productivity. HRM Strategic to tackle As HR strategic, one of the first issues to tackle should be to build a much healthier workplace environment to the wellbeing and productivity of all the company, however to be able to solve this issue the strategic should starts improving the lack of communication between all the workforce, making ice-breaking session involving all manager and plant workers. On the other hand, the HR strategic, should also look at the terms and conditions of the workforces formal contracts, giving additional benefits, securing their jobs stability to all the workforce or at least the best workers and lastly making periodically reviews of their salaries and their current position in the company, all these incentives are with the aim of create a better perception of their psychological contract and get back the employees engagement. As a complement and improvement of the psychological contract perception, the company should also invest in their employees, giving them special training and special support wherever needed, earning also some of the trust which has been lost during this whole process. In support of the business pressures, strategic responses and HRM factors mentions above, the table below shows a strategic framework as develop by Sparrow and Pettigrew to complement the main points which have just been described, this framework shows some of the external influences issues and business pressures that Cadbury is currently facing after Krafts takeover, highlighting the most strategic responses and the HRM factors to my point of view. Business Pressure Strategic Responses HRM Factors Cadbury Now UK Prime Minister has done nothing to secure the Cadburys jobs Takeover will lead to a collective jobs redundant and losses at Cadbury as part of the annual cost saving plan of  £450 millions Public and government concerns about maintaining social, ethical values, and inheritance of Cadbury Customers value and expectations towards Cadburys product may change specially within UK Lack of trust between Cadburys new owners and Cadburys employees A massive disappointed from the UK citizens regarding to the money that RSB bank has lent to Kraft to takeover Cadbury Agreement between Cadbury and UK Government to maintain the Cadburys workforce Better technology machines should be used to increase the productivity and reduce the costs efficiently Show the commitment and interest of Cadburys new owners to the workforce, doing the best of their capabilities to keep the social and ethical values, analysing the business strategic and vision of the company. Keeping promises up to the workforce and showing them that the company really cares and worries for its employees POSSIBLE IMPACTS Possible strike from Cadburys workforce Insufficient support from the Company to the workforce, deteriorating the communications Hidden pressure that managers are not aware of The workforces attitude towards their work activities may change, leaving an impact on the company productivity Stressful work environment Employees concerns about jumping ship and their future career within the Cadbury Cadbury in the Future The UK Government cannot do legally anything to stop the massive fires; they were only concern about their votes There are not hopes that anything will change for the better as result of the takeover The takeover brings a deeper financial crisis for UK Government concern about lack of investment from Cadbury Kraft in UK The maintaining of the Cadbury manufactories in UK The inheritance of Cadbury have come to the end Make an aggressive marketing camping to show everybody the benefits, the takeover has brought To expand the manufacturing production along UK, Create a strategic plan to help sustain the inheritance of Cadburys workforce families HRM STRATEGIC TO TACKLE Restructure the workface of the company Create a healthy workplace environment for the employees wellbeing and productivity of the company Retain the best employees of the Company ensuring them long-terms stability Maintain terms in staff legal contracts (e.g. pension schemes) Revise recruitment policies (to retain existing staff + attract new talents from outside) Introduce training + long-term benefits for commitment of existing staff Conduct ice-breaking sessions for new managers and employees to build positive relationships 1470 words Management of the Psychological Contract and Employee Engagement The management of the psychological contract and employee engagement is one of the areas how Cadbury could tackle its challenges in strategic people management; however to be able to tackle it appropriately, first is essential some degree of understanding of what a psychological contract and what employee engagement is. Psychological Contract There are many different definitions of what the psychological contract is; this concept was first introduce by Argyris, C. (1960), to refer to the different expectations that the employers and the employees have out of the formal contract, since this concept was introduced, many writers have attempted to modify and refine it. At a general level, the concept of Psychological Contract refers to a voluntary agreement between the employee and the employer in exchange of compensations (Rousseau, D. Schalk, R. 2000), in this voluntary agreement, each party, held a number of commitments and beliefs, those beliefs can take the form of promises, expectations or obligations which are generally unwritten and unspoken in the legal agreement contract, however they still play a critical role as they can be interpreted differently by each party (Osborn Jones 2000). This concept of psychological contract implies that either the employee or the employer can have a different perception of anothers expectations, voluntary commitments, obligations and aspirations which are out of the formal contract of employment (Herriot, P. et al. 1997). Therefore, a certain degree of mutual understanding of the agreement between both parties is essential to achieve each participants goals. (Rousseau, D. Schalk, R. 2000), Employee Engagement This seems to be an easy topic to define and describe, however after some research, the huge numbers of definitions regarding this issue seem to be uncountable, making this topic unclear but at the same time attractive enough to the HR consultancy market, consulting firms, business press and some academics writers. Having said that, one of the most complete definitions I found about employee engagement out there to my point of view is the one by Robinson et al., (2004). A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organisation. The organisation must work to develop and nurture engagement which requires a two-way relationship between employer and employee. Robinson et al., (2004) has also stated in his work, a set of additional characteristics of the employee engagement, which include a belief in the organisation, and the desire of the employees have to work and make the organisation better, basically the concept Robinson presented in his paper work is about the employees having a bigger picture and a better understanding of the business context as well as keeping up to date with the latest information which concern to his/her field. Relation between the Psychological Contract and the Employee Engagement Having defined the employee engagement as; a positive attitude, behaviour and/or outcome from the employees towards the company and its values, being aware of the whole business context and working together with the colleagues in order improve the performance of the company and gain the best benefits for the organization, and having defined psychological contract as; a set of beliefs which can take the forms of promises, expectations and/or obligations existing in a voluntary agreement between the employee and the employer. It seems to be a straightforward relationship each other definitions. Both definitions are relate to the employer and employee relationship, and the first challenge is to efficiently manage the loyalty and trust instead of dictate the rules by organizations, this relationship is fragile and should not be taken for granted by any of the parties, the second challenge is to keep a healthy relationship for the wellbeing of both participants. http://www.hrmagazine.co.uk/news/features/Opinion/927664/Engagement-depends-clear-psychological-contract-employee-employer/ On one side, the employer expects that their employees always performance to the best of their capabilities, being loyal to the company and understand the whole business context, and on the other hand the employees want to be respected, valued, heard and compensated by the employers, therefore the key issue is to build mutual trust which engage the employees with the employers, always keeping an eye on the psychological contract, which means, keeping clear and understandable expectations for both participants (Wellin, M. 2007) However, Cadbury Previous Psychological Contract Having already analysed the general psychological contracts context, is much easier now to deepen in the previous Cadburys psychological contract, but bearing in mind this contract is a pure metaphoric action, where each participants have their own voluntary commitments regarding to the performance and fulfilment of each other, we can infer that each one of the 45000 UK Cadburys workforce have a different psychological contract, which make this an even bigger scenario to analyse but at the same time a extremely attractive, as based on the records, (reference) it shows that most of UK workforce had a similar metaphoric contract. Thus, is unavoidable raise a fundamental question; How Cadbury former owners made that all the forces underlying the legal agreement of their workforce where so similar to each other and how did they manage to sign 45000 similar psychological contracts where does not even exist a physical document as it is a subjective phenomenon? There are evidences (Morrinson, E. and Robinson, S. 1997) which indicate that the performance of each participants psychological contract is directly proportional to how clearly each participant has spelled out the conditions and exchange of their mutual agreement. This last paragraph makes me conclude that, Cadbury has truly understood this issue and has conveyed its commitments, beliefs, and expectations through their whole workforce, establishing in this way some degree of mutual agreement among its 45000 UK employees. Rousseau, D. Schalk R. (2000) indicated in his work that, when both participants of the psychological contract believe that they owed each other something, is very likely that each one gets whatever they desire. The power of the promises Cadbury seems to have conveyed well its expectations and beliefs, establishing a degree of mutual agreement. However, this might not be enough to unify the similar conditions of the psychological contracts in 45000 employees during 180 years. Is remarkable to note at this point, that all sort of beliefs cannot be taken as part of a psychological contract, what this means is, not all expectations, promises and obligations that arise in the workplace can form part of the psychological contract context, as if this happen the concept itself will be weak enough to utilize as an analytical tool (Convoy and Briner 2005), The challenge here is to identify and clarify, which promises, expectations, and/or obligations can be categorized as part of the psychological contract context, nevertheless, does not exist any concern for this essay to deepen in this subject. Having clarified that, psychological contracts are basically a subjective phenomenon based on implicit promises; promises which do not include any belief derive from other inferences. Despite to what we normally think that promises can only be a verbal action, in the psychological context the promises can also be inferred, and is right there, when it becomes difficult to properly interpret these promises into the psychological contract framework. The two key issues here are; primary, do not set promises in the legal contract which could lead to a future misunderstanding of the employees, second do not take into consideration promises derives from any inferences. Tackling the Challenges of the Psychological Contract Having spelled out the success of Cadburys previous psychological contract, is notorious that Kraft / Cadbury has the key issue to maintain the same psychological contract within the UK workforce in order to manage this takeover in the most appropriate way. Kraft will not enjoy of the current Cadburys workforce commitments until they truly understand its ingrain psychological contract as well as its own culture identity Therefore Kraft / Cadbury, in order to tackle the challenges of the psychological contract in the most effective way, they should firstly, fully understand the drivers of their beliefs and what make the employees engage with the company so tightly, taking into consideration the culture differences. As the saying goes, England and America are two different countries separated by the same language; this is a clear caveat to Kraft / Cadbury does not forget that exist some underlying forces of the legal contract, which could leads or infer to a misunderstanding of the beliefs between both participants and as consequence a disengagement of the workforces commitments. For instance, Kraft / Cadbury could hire an external local brand auditor to investigate the reason(s) of key employees engagement, such as plant employees and/or relevant senior employees with the company and/or the brand itself, this audit should be placed with the aim of understand the whole picture in a much clear scenario, before any action takes place to align the companys psychological contract Once these employee engagements reason(s) are clear and there are not doubts of the workforces beliefs, it is equally essential that Kraft/Cadbury spells out their own expectations towards the future of the company and most importantly, the future of their workforce, this action should be made in the most understandable way, covering the entire negatives and positives beliefs so that the workforce can clearly understand the companys position and deal with it in the same psychological contract context. However, this action of conveying the negatives and positives beliefs towards the company and workforce, does not guaranty that the workforce will accept them and share the same commitments that they were sharing before the merger, but at least it will not create wrong expectations, setting up fair rules during the game. Actions such as the recent announcement of the closing Somerdales factory close to Bristol, (http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/consumer_goods/article7022608.ece) losing approximately 400 UK jobs, once Kraft had mentioned that there were not going to be any job cuts during the first six months of the merger, this announcement only creates unrealistic expectations among the workforce towards the company, and being this action the first impression which Kraft has given to their employees of breaking the pledges, it only shows the lack of principles and lack of commitments to keep what they say. These types of actions are the ones which Kraft has to avoid will happen again, after this announcement; it seems to be obvious that the way how Kraft expresses its beliefs and commitments, certainly has not been well understood not only for its workforce but also for all its UK customers and the UK government. Therefore, if Kraft really wants to be engage with their workforce is going to have to work even harder to firstly recover the trust which ever had gained and secondly to rectify the first opportunity which has just spoiled out. CONCLUSIONS

Convention And Exhibition Industry Importance

Convention And Exhibition Industry Importance In October 2010, the city of Shanghai successfully held the World Exposition, with an accomplishment of participants coming from 246 countries, and more than 70 million visitors (Xinhua, 2010). There were many preparations made prior to the event, including constructing the buildings, transportation, accommodation for world wide visitors, and training service providers with better services. As holding international large-scale conventions and exhibitions will attract international guests and will boost the economy locally, the value-added brought by the events can also influence tourism industry with the service quality, and the influence will take effect even after the event is over. The current research is interested in the effects of convention and exhibition industry on service quality, as World Expo 2010 Shanghai just finished, it is suitable for collecting data concerning this topic. The convention and exhibition industry is one of the most important and fastest growing industries in the 21st century. It is often categorized with meeting, incentive travel together as the meetings, incentive travel, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) industry. With its gaining popularity, it has grown as a significant market segment over the past decades (Astroff Abbey 2006; Kim, Chon Chung 2003). MICE industry not only brings a destination with strength and development in their competitive advantage, but also enhances the image of the destination, and economic benefits for the destination and community (Opperman 1996). According to the International Meeting Statistics by the Union of International Associations (UIA), 11,423 international meetings were held in 2008 worldwide (UIA, 2009). The industry consists of multi-sectors of hospitality service including lodging, food and beverage, catering, convention service, convention facility supply, transportation, tourism, retail, and entertainment (Astroff Abbey 2006). And the benefit to local economy is huge. With U.S. Travel Associations (2009) estimation, the MICE industry contributes $101 billion in annual spending, and provides $16 billion in tax revenue, and creates one million jobs. As for Singapore, every dollar generates by the MICE industry adds another 12 dollars to the national GDP (International Enterprise Singapore 2001). As the case in China, which is one of the most populous countries in the world, reports indicated that during the Kunming Expo 1999, the international horticultural fair, ticket revenues were 100 million RMB ($12 million) , and it has brought 170 million RMB ($20.5 million) ticket revenues to the hospitality industry (China Research and Intelligence 2009). The development if convention and exhibition economy also provides more job opportunities, marketing, infrastructure and service quality. Service Quality Service quality has been an important attribute in the service industry; it is defined as the consumers judgment about an entitys overall excellence or superiority (Parasuraman, Zeithaml Berry 1988). It affects customer satisfaction, and it is one of the critical factors to business survival and competitiveness in the service industry. In previous researches, the efficiency and accuracy to measure service quality has been the main focus (Ladhari 2008). Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry (1988) conducted the most influential studies on service quality, which was developing the SERVQUAL instrument. The SERVQUAL instrument concluded five dimensions: tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. This instrument has become the foundation of service quality measurement instrument in a variety of industries, which compares between customer expectation and realized performance of specific service. Tsang and Qu (2000) on the other hand, adopted from several studies and indicated the 5 gaps of service quality. They describe the gaps as the difference between expectations and perceptions. The management perceptions of customer expectations and service quality specifications, the difference between service quality specifications and the service actually delivered, and the service delivery and what is communicated about the service to customers, these gaps affect the actual delivery of service. And the difference between customer expectations of service quality and customer perceptions of the actual performance affects customer perceptions of service quality, which is what this research would like to find out. World Exposition The World Exposition, or called World Fair, Universal Exposition, Expo, is a form of large public exhibitions held in different parts of the world. The first Expo was held in 1851, in Hyde Park in London, United Kingdom. It was the first international exhibition of manufactured products. It was the idea of Queen Victorias husband, and it influenced the development of many aspects in the society (Findling Pelle 2008, pp. 13-14). Since then, the World Expositions have attained increasing prominence as grand events for economic, scientific, technological and cultural exchanges, serving as an important platform for displaying historical experience, exchanging innovative ideas, demonstrating esprit de corps and looking to the future. The World Expo 2010 Shanghai is the first Expo to be held in a developing country, the theme is Better City, Better Life. Because nowadays, 55% of the world population lives in a city, the Expo sets out to explore the full potential of urban life in the 21st century, and display urban civilization, exchanging experiences of urban development, explore new approaches to human habitat, lifestyle and working conditions in the new century, also learn how to create an eco-friendly society and maintain the sustainable development of human beings. It is held from May 1st to the end of October in 2010, spanning six months (Expo 2010 Official Website 2008). Visitors to Shanghai As the Expo brought over participants coming from 246 countries, and more than 70 million visitors (Xinhua, 2010), there is also a boost in tourism and numbers of travelers in Shanghai, both domestic and international. A statistic data gathered from the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration is given in Table 1. As shown in table 1 and the total number of visitors in Figure 1, theres a big leap in year 2010, which the Expo took place. Table 1. Visitors to Shanghai Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Domestic 4,646,303 5,200,981 5,264,727 5,333,935 7,337,216 Hong Kong 314,871 322,351 363,247 415,478 623,969 Macau 16,448 17,363 15,575 17,816 40,043 International 3,997,979 4,426,148 4,416,223 4,390,495 5,931,211 Total 8,975,601 9,966,843 10,059,772 10,157,724 13,932,439 Source: Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration Figure 1. Total Visitor to Shanghai from 2006 to 2010 Hotels in Shanghai Shanghai is one of the most visited cities in China, according to the statistics from Euromonitor research and China Bureau of Statistics, the market size of travel accommodation in China in year 2010 reach sales of RMB 510.8 billion ($78.2 billion) (Euromonitor International 2011). According to the report, the regional hotel parameters in 2010 indicate that Shanghai has the highest occupancy rate among all other municipal or provinces, as shown in Table 2. Table 2. Occupancy rate For Travel Accommodations in China Destination Travel Accommodations Occupancy rate % Anhui 3102 50 Beijing 5182 69.4 Fujian 5024 60.1 Guangdong 6422 67.1 Guangxi 4903 53.2 Hainan 2167 59.8 Hebei 2983 49.1 Henan 2668 50.4 Jiangsu 5544 59.8 Shaanxi 3882 55 Shandong 5149 50 Shanghai 4410 70.7 SiChuan 2311 58.9 Tianjin 1973 54.2 Yunnan 3763 52 Zhejiang 5606 56.7 Source: Euromonitor International from official statistics, trade associations, trade press, company research, trade interviews, trade sources As for a more detailed statistic for Shanghai, data retrieved from Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration is shown in Table 3, and the occupancy rates for total travel accommodations is shown in Table 4 and Figure2. The statistics suggests that the occupancy rate for accommodations in Shanghai experienced a growth between 2009 and 2010. Although the occupancy rates for Table 2 and Table 3 are slightly different, due to the differences is samples, numbers in Euromonitor International (2011) studies are narrowed to certain hotel chains, however it still indicates the market size in Shanghai is greater than other destinations in China. Table 3. The Occupancy Rate for Hotels in Shanghai Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010  ¼Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Occupancy 64.24 61.35 56.53 52.68 67.22 Source: Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration Figure 2. Occupancy Rates of Hotels in Shanghai Conceptual Map With the review and statistics presented above, we can infer that the 2010 World Expo Shanghai has brought more visitors to Shanghai, and helped increased the occupancy rate. Supposed there are more people visiting Shanghai due to the Expo, accommodation demands raise and the demand for service quality should also rise. The conceptual framework of this study is depicted in Figure 3. Convention and Exhibition Industry Total Visitors to a Destination Hotel Service Quality Figure 3. The Conceptual Framework The convention and exhibition industry will influence the total number of visitors to a destination, weather they are participants to the event or guests and tourists. This link is already shown and proven in the data provided above, therefore, with more visitors coming to the destination, demands for accommodations will rise, and that will in turn influence the service quality in the hotel sector. According to the research questions and framework, the hypothesis for this study is formed: Hypothesis 1: World Expo 2010 significantly influenced the number of visitors to Shanghai. After examining the influence on increase in visitors to Shanghai, I would like to know if the increase in visitor numbers influences the service quality in the hotel sector, therefore: Hypothesis 2: Increased visitors to Shanghai positively influenced the service quality in hotel sector. If Hypothesis is also supported, then I would like to examine if the effects on service performance will keep on taking effect, or if there is no difference between service quality compared to before, or the quality will even drop, therefore: Hypothesis 3: The increase in service quality in hotel sector will remain after the World Expo 2010 is finished. Research Question The aim of this study is to answer the questions of whether the convention and exhibition industry brings benefit to a destination, and will the industry influence the service quality. Not only during the event, but also after the event, the total quality for service industry will increase. Therefore, the research questions I set out to answer are: Will convention and exhibition industry bring more visitors to a destination? Will more visitors influence the service quality for hotels? After the event, will the influence still carry on? Research Design Due to the aim of this research, I try to discover the differences between service qualities before the Expo 2010 and after, the research will adopt a time series design. However it would be impossible to gather data prior to the Expo by myself, but I can reference past research on service quality in the hotel industry in China from previous studies and researches. Drawn from a research done by Tsang and Qu (2000), I will have a reference of the service quality done in year 2000, and then I will be able to compare the results done today and later. Sample To understand the hotel service quality provided in Shanghai, the current research targets at international guests that visits Shanghai, I will use a convenience sampling method, questionnaires will be distributed to guests in a hotel chain. Also a systematic sampling method will also be used, which every 5th visitor checking in will be asked to do the questionnaire. This will also be similar samples to the previous study done by Tsang and Qu (2000). Instrument In this research I adopt the instrument developed and used by Tsang and Qu (2000). They adopt the questionnaire from SERVEQUAL and other research, and developed the questionnaire in 3 parts, with 35 service quality attributes. The first part is to measure the respondents expectations regarding service quality in the hotel industry, they will be asked to fill in the level of importance of statements with responses, from a 5-point Likerts scale, ranging from (1) very low expectation to (5) very high expectation. The second part of the questionnaire is designed to examine the respondents perceptions of service quality actually provided during the stay. Also, the respondents were asked to indicate their level of agreement with statements with responses from a 5-point Likerts scale: (1) strongly disagree to (5) strongly agree. The third part of the questionnaire collects the demographic and classification questions of the respondent. The 35 attributes are listed as below: Gap mean differences between managers perception of tourists expectations and tourists expectations of service quality in the hotel industry Attributes 1. Comfortable and welcome feeling 2. Neat appearance of staff 3. Professionalism of staff 4. Hotel staff with multi-lingual skills 5. Friendliness and courtesy of staff 6. Special attention given by staff 7. Availability of staff to provide service 8. Staff performing the services right the first time 9. Reservation system was easily accessible 10. Quick check-in and check-out 11. Cleanliness of room 12. Quietness of room 13. Security of room 14. Attractive decor, furnishings of room/lobby 15. Comfortable mattress and pillow 16. Reasonable room rate/value for money 17. Variety of services offered 18. Reliable message and wake-up service 19. Provision of accurate and reliable information 20. The guarantee of reliable service 21. Availability of room service 22. Prompt breakfast service 23. Elegant banquet service 24. High quality of food in restaurant(s) 25. Variety of drinks and wine list 26. Reasonable restaurant/bar prices 27. The high degree/level of hygiene of food 28. Up-to-date and modern facilities 29. Adequacy of fire safety facilities 30. Availability of eating and drinking facilities 31. Availability of year-round swimming pool 32. Availability of business center facilities 33. Availability of sauna and health club 34. Availability of conference/meeting room 35. Convenient hotel location Data Analysis Descriptive statistics analysis was used to understand the demographic information about the respondent. Each of the categories will be calculated and described in the descriptive statistics section. In order to understand the correlations between variables, a correlation analysis were conducted on all basic data such as gender, age, experience, educational level, marriage status and the scores of the scales. To investigate the service quality gaps, a paired t-test will be used to evaluate the service quality. Conclusion The expected results for this research will be there are positive relationship between visitors to Shanghai positively influenced the service quality in hotel sector. As the visitor numbers already increased during the period of the Expo, the hotel occupancy rates are also higher. With more people check into the hotels, hotel managers pay more attention to the service quality, in order to deliver better guest service. Also, it is expected that the increase in service quality in hotel sector will remain after the World Expo 2010 is finished. There are several limitations of this research. First with the time series design, the differences in sampling and long time between the two time periods will cause some confounding. Since the improvements in infrastructure in Shanghai may also influence service quality, this is something we cannot eliminate. Second, travelers to the hotels will be different from the first sample, we can compare the demographic data between the two, trying to match the samples, however there are still unparallel between the two. For future research suggestions, we can collect the data again 5 years after the Expo, to find out weather the service quality keeps the same as the period right after the Expo. We can also get an idea of how hotel managers improve their service quality by interviewing them, with can reveal some more detailed facts on how the Expo really affect their business.

Coopers and Lybrand Ltd :: Papers

Coopers and Lybrand Ltd Coopers and Lybrand Ltd is a private limited company. Finance is needed throughout a company's life. The type and amount of finance required for a business depends on many factors: type of business, success of firm and state of the economy. There are two main types of money that a company needs: Capital expenditure and working capital. Capital expenditure is used for buying fixed assets where a large amount of money but not often purchased. Working capital is day-to-day money required for running the business. These are short-term finance which is usually needed to star t up a business to cover the day-to-day running costs. Long-term capital is used to grow or expand and is paid back over a number of years. There are two main types of finance: Internal and external sources of finance. Internal sources of finance come from the business’s assets and activities e.g. retained profit, sale of assets, reducing stocks and trade credit. External sources of finance come from outside the business e.g. commercial banks, building societies, factoring services, venture capital and leasing and hire purchase. The company ‘Coopers and Lybrand’ can use retained profits as an internal source of finance. Retained profits are when a business had a successful trading year and made a profit after paying all its costs. The business could then use some of that profit to finance future activities .This can be a very useful source of long term finance, as the business is generating profits. Another internal source of finance is sale of assets, where the business sells its assets such as property, machinery, vehicles etc. Sale of assets is usually used as short term finance; however it can be used as long term finance if the asset they sold is very valuable. Coopers and Lybrand are also able to use trade credit. This is when a business normally doesn’t pay for things before they take possession of it. They will place orders for supplies and pay for it after receiving

Diary Of A Survivor: Literary Analysis :: essays research papers

Title: Diary of A Survivor: Nineteen Years in a Cuban Women’s Prison Authors: Ana Rodriguez and Glenn Garvin Published: St. Martin’s Press Type of Book: Assisted auto-biography Plot Summary Diary of a Survivor follows nineteen years of Ana Rodriguez’s life, a Cuban woman arrested by Cuba’s ‘State Security’ in her late teens. As a teenager she had been an activist against the Batista dictatorship which governed Cuba, and at first welcomed Fidel Castro’s take-over of power. Gradually, however, she realises that Castro has no intention of leading Cuba democratically and joins the fight against him. She is betrayed to the authorities by an informant, is arrested, tried and convicted, and is sentenced to thirty years in prison. Diary of a Survivor tells of Ana Rodriguez’s continuous resistance against political intimidation that eventually ‘breaks’ her captors rather than them ‘breaking’ her. This strong will and courage earns her legendary among fellow political prisoners and civilians as a ‘plantada’; one who cannot be broken. Themes/ Thematic Statements The ill-effects of communism/ dictatorships on a society is explored through the entire book as it was a constant part of Ana’s life, in fact it is what caused her imprisonment. Human rights abuses in Cuba and in communist countries in general Cuba’s corrupt government hierarchy and legal system also feature throughout the books, like the continual rapes and beatings the prisoners face. People who betray one group of people will end up betraying anyone they come into contact with. This is shown in Isis Nimo, the spy who initially gets Ana sent to prison but eventually gets fired from all her government jobs because of her untrustworthiness. Racism can work in reverse but still produce adverse effects. There are two mentions of black political prisoners (most are white). They are considered unusual because Fidel Castro’s regime was meant to favourable to black people in general. Even people who are said to have firmly set ideas can have doubts, like the ‘hard-line communist soldiers’ who do not join in when the women are being attacked and the guards that in one particular incident slip the starved prisoners food. The pros and cons of the chivalrous Cuban idea that women are considered good and passive, and therefore only the most offensive women criminals are jailed in Cuba, and the disregard of it by some officials. This is touched on whenever there is contact with the common prisoners, and in an especially disturbing scene where a group of female common prisoners are let into a cell where a young girl is held as a ‘traitor’ to the Fidel Castro regime.

B-2 bomber :: essays research papers

WHAT IS THE B-2 BOMBER?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stealth Aircraft, military aircraft, fighters, and bombers designed to elude detection and tracking systems, such as radar and infrared monitoring. Stealth technology is used to mask unmanned objects such as cruise missiles. The United States is a world leader in developing and deploying stealth technology, although much about its program remains classified.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Stealth technology includes a variety of design features that affect an aircraft signal, also called its signature, on tracking systems. These features include an aircraft shape and the materials used to build it. For example, it is harder for a radar to detect an aircraft that has smooth and rounded curves. Special composite materials or coatings on the surface of an aircraft can absorb or deflect radar signals. Engines placed within the body of the aircraft and exhaust vents may be arranged to mask the heat coming from engines and help hide an aircraft from heat seeking sensors. Reducing the noise and vibrations produced by stealth aircraft may also minimize its acoustic signature. In addition, stealth aircraft are equipped with special electronics for suppressing or confusing enemy monitoring systems.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Since the use of radar during World War II (1939-1945), air forces worldwide have tried to develop methods of confusing radar or making it ineffective. Early attempts at this included the targeted aircraft attempting to electronically jam radar or to release metallic strips to produce false readings. However, in the 1950’s and 60’s, new electronic tracking methods and the new waves devised to confuse them kept pace with one another, prompting military engineers to look for ways to completely mask aircraft.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  American aeronautical engineer Clarence L.

Inherent Evil: Lord of the Flies

Many say human kind is inherently evil, that there is evil in all of us. William Golding strongly confirms this point in his novel The Lord of the Flies. The Lord of the Flies expresses what can happen to man when there is not structure and little mean of survival. The boys prove man to be inherently evil through control, mistreatment, and murder. The boys in the Lord of the Flies illustrate that human kind is inherently evil through excessive control. Firstly, Jack starts to control his choir to become more savage. Jack says to Ralph, â€Å"I’ll split up the choir-my hunters that it, â€Å" (Golding 42). Here Jack tries to make his choir seem to be more savage, calling them hunters. Secondly, Jack again exercises the need for control by going against the rules. Jack speaks out, â€Å" Bollocks to the rules! Were strong- we hunt†¦we’ll close in and beat and beat and beat,† (99). Jack breaks the rules wanting to have his own control. Thirdly, by brutally beating Wilfred, Jack demonstrates excessive control. Ralph told, â€Å" He’s going to beat Wilfred†¦. he didn’t say what for. He got angry and made us tie him up,† (176). This Young 2 uotes shows how Jack has taken control making the boys tie up and help beat Wilfred. The excessive control used by the boys in the novel supports the idea that man is inherently evil, although it is also shown through other ways such as how the boys treat each other. The novel proves the point man is evil through the mistreatment the boys have for each other. To start, mistreatment is shown through the disresp ect the boys have for each other. Jack tell Piggy, â€Å"Shut up, Fatty,† (17). Jack is insulting Piggy as many of the boys insult and hurt each other, mistreating others. Next, Samneric show evidence of mistreatment by betraying Ralph. Samneric tell Ralph of Jack’s plan for him. However, later they betray Ralph by telling Jack where he is hiding (207). In this section Samneric mistreat Ralph when they betray him this way. Last, Jack performs mistreatment when he steals Piggy’s glasses. Ralph confronts Jack, â€Å"You came sneaking up like a thief and stole Piggy’s glasses,† (196). Even though the boys in The Lord of the Flies mistreat each other proving man is inherently evil, killing plays a major part as well. Golding confirms that man is inherently evil by the murders displayed by the boys. The first point is the intentional; murder of Piggy. Golding describes the murder, â€Å" The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (200). This vicious murder of Piggy strongly suggests evil. In addition, is the unintentional, but denied murder of Simon. Ralph is honest with Piggy, â€Å"That was Simon†¦. That was murder,†(172). In this quote Ralph explains to Piggy that they all killed Simon and that it was murder. Finally, there is the in-humane killing of the pig which the boys participated in. The author describes it, â€Å" The first blow had paralyzed its hind quarters so then the circle could close Young 3 in and beat and beat,’(79). The savage killing of the pig shows the boys blood lust for murder. Murder strongly demonstrates that human kind is in fact inherently evil. In The Lord of the Flies the author affirms man is inherently evil through the boys control, mistreatment, and murders. Deep down without rules and society and the instinct to survive savagery evil may take over. Everyone has the capacity to be evil. Golding has strongly supported and proves this to be corrects in the novel.

Dimmesdale the Lying Coward

Cooper Chisum Dimmesdale the Lying Coward In the book The Scarlet Letter, a character named Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale was considered to be, by most people in the Puritan community, a hero. Dimmesdale was an extremely religious man with great morals and values. Many people in the community looked up to him for his passion and truth about his religious beliefs. Dimmesdale was a very reserved man, and was thought to be an angel of God. People worshiped him, believed what he said, and looked at him as hero.Unfortunately the community was left completely devastated and confused, because Dimmesdale was a lying coward that didn’t find the strength to admit his sin. Dimmesdale knew how the community saw him and could not face the truth, so he hid it. Dimmesdale lived two different lives, one was the religious face that everyone loved and looked up too. On the other hand, when he was alone all he did was beat himself up mentally and physically.Soon the guilt made Dimmesdale weaker and weaker and he wanted to tell the truth, and tried multiple times, but he never found the courage. He allowed the guilt of lying and manipulating the people to eventually kill him all because he couldn’t deal with what the community might think. Nobody in the town imagined him committing of sin of any kind, especially one that was a huge wrong doing in the Puritan community. Dimmesdale hid a secret behind the mask he wore for the community. He had courage to commit the sin but he did not have the courage to admit it.He committed adultery with a woman, she got pregnant, caught and punished by public humiliation because of him, but he couldn’t accept the consequences. On the other hand, he was tortured not only by his conscience; he was beat down by Roger Chillingworth. Eventually Dimmesdale was destined to die because he could not survive the guilt. Surprisingly in a last show of strength, Dimmesdale admits to his sin, but dies soon after. He died and left the community , his people with no explanation.In the novel The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne, Dimmesdale proves that he is a coward by not being able to do the right thing and tell the truth. He lived a double life. He was a hero to so many people and all he did was let them down. He lost their trust and honor towards him, all because he could face the consequenses. Arthur Dimmesdale is a pathetic lying coward that didn’t have the confidence or power to make things right and follow what he preached to people of the Puritan community. He didn’t have the courage to live by everything he made other people believe in.

Music in Films Essay

Talents are strewn around everywhere in the form of music, acting, editing, singing, etc. Stories and themes are left undiscovered in the slums of India. Who would pick them up and give an artistic touch? Hats off to Danny Boyle, an English director who did it. He took the challenge of making it to the silver screen and ended up with Oscars, the highest authority on movies that acknowledged Slum Dog Millionaire with 8 out of 10 nominations. An 18-year old boy Jamal who was raised in Mumbai slum wins 10 million dollars in a quiz competition which is popularly known as â€Å"Who will be the millionaire. † in Indian television show. As he keeps winning, the doubt â€Å"How an uneducated tea supplier working in a call center could answer all questions correctly? † raises. Was he cheating? An obvious question that arises in the minds of everyone which the movie alone could answer. Just one more question the next day will make him a millionaire. That night, Jamal was taken to police station and was beaten brutally on charges of cheating in the quiz competition. The answer to the question â€Å"How Jamal would know the answers to all the questions? † is the central theme of this movie with which the entire story is built. Usually rich ones with good schoolings have better access to quiz competitions with the probability of winning. But Jamal had no formal education. The vicious streets of Mumbai, the horrific nights, the villainous characters around taking every opportunity to exploit poor children like him are all the lessons Jamal went through in the open and unsafe streets of Mumbai. The insecurity for the poor in the slums and the social weaknesses of the Indian society is brought about by the movie in a thrilling fashion. Thugs turning children blind and making them beggars for their selfish motives is one such example. For every question asked in the competition, Jamal derived answer from his life time experience. In other words, there were events in his life which had some connection to the answers. He uses his intelligence and memory to recollect the events and tries his luck. Of course a bit of luck is also necessary in everything one does. Another way of looking at Jamal is that talents are everywhere in forms suppressed, in royal institutions as well as in the slums. Bringing them up to the surface is what heroism is. While young, Jamal made an awkward choice of jumping into the pool of shit to come out of the toilet and finally making it with Amitabachan (a leading actor in India) for an autograph shows his drive and enthusiasm. Jamal meeting her girl friend Lathika back in Mumbai after a long gap is an ecstatic moment. Girls like Lathika after being grown up are eyed seriously by lewd males. Even Jamal had to ruffle with his brother to get Lathika out of him. Both Jamal and Lathika are safe in the end and their love materializes. Jamal talking to Lathika over phone as a lifeline friend is symbolic of Jamal winning his invaluable prize Lathika before winning his 10 million dollar. The movie is a combination of everything – scores of music, songs, cinematography, editing, etc. A. R. Rehman struck his chord with his rich and varied notes scoring over horror, melody, love and misery. The distinction shown among all these items with originality and inventiveness are something special which won him the Oscar for Original Scores. The choice and combination of music themes applied make the movie prolific. For example â€Å"Ring ring ringa, Ring ring ringa†¦. † is used when prostitutes are shown. â€Å"Jai ho, jai ho† is used when Jamal and Lathika meet or when there is a heroic deed performed. The â€Å"jai ho jai ho aaja aaja jind shamiyane ke tale aaja jariwale nile aasman ke tale jai ho jai ho ratti ratti. † song transcends the barriers of language and reaches out to audience worldwide to enthrall and has yielded him yet another Oscar for song. It is the music that takes the song everywhere. Every time when there is a change of scene, the music is simply astounding. The change of mood is rightly set by the music. The background music of quiz program is not new to the people of India, as the real program on television show was similar to this one. However, the typical music recorded in multiple tracks give thrill and excitement when questions are being rolled out. The song â€Å"I fly like paper, get high like planes If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name If you come around here, I make ’em all day I get one down in a second if you wait   Ã¢â‚¬  while the train is moving has all the gravity of cheerfulness compassioned with the advent of nature. Music is the language whenever flashbacks have to be short and quick. If the arrival of Taj Mahal has some humorous events in it, the music compensates it with reverence. The background music when the prostitutes are shown in the slums of Mumbai, the humming love music when Jamal meets Lathika after a gap, and the song at the end of the movie which brings winning moments for everyone – for the hero, for the director, for the musician, etc is worth mentioning. Whenever the scenes have the power to move the audience, the music leaves an impression in the minds for an everlasting memory. Titanic Titanic is a movie of all times for its unparalleled mixture of fact and fiction filmed on a massive scale. The grandeur of the ship, the differences shown between the rich and poor in the backdrop of Edwardian influence, the love between Rose and Jack tied together in the heart rendering scores of James Horner, the magnanimous touch of James Cameron as writer, director and editor eventually became the first movie of its kind in Hollywood. The movie is screened for just three hours but it comprises a mammoth research by reaching out to the depth of the Atlantic where the original Titanic sank in 1912, and by building a main production set at Rosarito Beach in Baja California, Mexico. As one of the crew members rightly says in the movie, â€Å"The ship is known for grandeur. † it has everything in it: the restaurants, swimming pool, elevators, grand staircase connecting seven decks, a huge glass dome, and all the luxury items. The gigantic ship has massive propellers to pull it all along. The cost of first class tickets are so high even close to $4000 for some which is equal to the amount of $50000 today. Cameron begins the movie in a striking manner as he uses the latest submergence technology and the grandeur with which it explores the wreck of Titanic. The entire operation under water around Titanic in the rumbles of James Horner is a rare phenomenon to watch. â€Å"She is the largest moving object ever made by the hand of man† as said by a character in the movie, it also felt by the music effect. Brock Lowett, an explorer in the movie is curious to possess the necklace with blue diamond worn by Rose in 1912. He ends up discovering a nude painting of Rose. The 100-year old Rose, watching this incident on television calls Brock Lowett and tells the fact that she is the one in the picture. What rose recollects from her memory is the main story of Titanic. Everyone around Rose including her fiancee Caledon is of typical business people who restrict women. Unable to bear with the economy based love and affection running deep in the hearts of her fiance, Rose decides to commit suicide and runs to edge of Titanic and climbs on the railing. Jack comes at the right time to her rescue and the compassionate words of Jack brought her back to life. Jack boarded the third class in the last minute because of the Jackpot he won. He is only a survivor and is no match to the rich and elegant families of the first class passengers who were made to invite him for a dinner party for rescuing Rose. But Jack is well mannered, clear headed, charming and he feels for others. He has passion for drawing and some of his paintings attract Rose. The movie scripts are written aptly to bring Jack and Rose together after an initial disapproval by Rose when Jack asked her â€Å"Do you really like the guy? † Later it turns out to be good and they had a good understanding. Their togetherness in the ship after they started loving each other is the sweetest moment of the movie. It includes Jack’s mystical touch in painting her nakedness wearing only the Heart of the Ocean, their running around the deck and cargo hold of Titanic in joy, their standing at the edge of the ship on the railing with their hands straitened in excitement singing: â€Å"Every night in my dreams I see you. I feel you That is how I know you go. † †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. † This song has become the magical spell of the movie Titanic all over the world and this still picture of their stance became the trademark of the movie Titanic. The music fastens with the solo violin bringing momentum. After a while, the fatal iceberg strikes the edge of Titanic and in the next couple of hours or so everything goes under water. The serious episode of the movie begins with the gradual inflow of water into the ship sinking it gradually and bringing panic. The entire mechanism of how a gigantic ship would submerge under water is a massive research effort discovered and shot for screening by James Cameron. Rose and Jack face predicaments in the ship when they are in search of each other as the ship is sinking gradually. The thrill, excitement and horror are maintained well. Silence followed by music and vice versa creates impression in these scenes. Jack and Rose reached the edge of Titanic from where they jump off the drowning ship and were in the waters of Atlantic waiting for a survival boat. No boats are in the vicinity. Jack prepared to be in the water leaving Rose on a piece of oak panel that is available. The chilly water frozen in minus degree centigrade would not keep Jack alive for long. Rose cries in emotion â€Å"Jack come back†, â€Å"Jack come back†. â€Å"There is a boat Jack. † The music of the song â€Å"Every night in my dreams, I see you. I feel you, That is how I know you go† in low humming voice hardly leaves anyone without tears in eyes. This is one of the greatest emotional scenes on the screens. As she promised Jack she lives until she becomes old enough. It is not just the James Cameron has given The 20th Century Fox has not just produced a movie that has just won 11 Academy awards but has gifted the world a movie of great proportion that would stand all ages. School of Rock School of Rock reveals the power of music through a group of children aged around 10 from a prep school. The spirited hard rock singer and guitarist Dewy Finn masked as a substitute teacher in a class room could not go fizzled out when the music director Craig Wedren has his full support. The hero Dewey Finn visualizes no way out but to be with the rock that paid him nothing. â€Å"Do you want me to give up my band? † he goes weird while talking to his friend Ned Schneebly when he pressurizes him to pay the share of his room rent. Voted out from the band due to his hyper active stage antics, Dewy has no source of income to pay off anything. He is a lone talent unexplored on the stage, dreaming of a great rock career. All that he needs is â€Å"One little thing, it’s music†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  and he has challenged his band members who voted him out, â€Å"I’ll set up my own band. We are going to start a revolution. † So the fire is burning within him contributes to the central theme of the movie. He turns a phone call of Mr. Schneebly in his favor and decides to go as a substitute teacher in the name of Schneebly to make some money for his immediate needs. As desired, he gets into the school and there begins a new lease of life when he spots children attending music classes amidst his boring class room sessions comprising mainly of recess. He senses a vibrant rock band in his students that could back him up back on to the stage. His mind worked brilliantly. He worked in that direction shifting musical instruments back and forth to the class room and away. He picked up students and assigned each student an instrument and engaged them in practice. The music of comedy is well underway with Dewy managing his students answering all their questions to comfort them that they are doing a school project. That’s how he tells students instead of telling the truth that he wants to win in the Battle of the Bands. Either ways it is a competition – a competition to disclose talents to the public. His conversations with Ms Mullins, the Principal of the preparatory school and other teachers are full of comedy. The words of Dewy, â€Å"It’s experimental teaching. We were learning in singing songs. † confuses the Principal as there is no such thing. Gradually, Ms. Mullins has a special liking for Dewy as he drags her for tea with his artistic eloquence in praise of her profession and her way of handling things. She is much more impressed by his reverence tinged with fun for her profession and especially when he tells her that she is cool and capable. The movie takes a dramatic turn when Schneebly and his fiance come to know of the fraud when Dewy opens up how the check in the name of Schneebly reached him from the preparatory school. The secrets are let out and the police enters the class room when Dewy is in a parents day meet. He is out of school now. Parents are in despair complaining to the Principal about their children’s studies suffered. Ms. Mullins has a tough time answering all the parents and so shuts the door in anger. The power of music is still alive with the students. They secretly take the school bus and reach Dewy’s place to pull him up for the Battle of the Bands. Dewy never dreamt students would be so taken by the rock. They rushed to the theater. Their turn is about to come. Surprise mounts up as the parents and the principal too rushed to the theater to rescue their children. The school of Rock is finally on the stage in colorful dresses. Zack is amazing with his guitar. Freddy is rollicking with his drums. Lawrence is working mystery with his keyboard. Tonika enchants the audience with her voice. â€Å"Baby we was making straight A’s, But we was stuck in a dumb daze, Don’t take much to memorize your life, I feel like I’ve been hypnotized. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. † Dewy goes wild on his power stance, moving, dancing, rolling all over and jumping into the crowd to bring a swashbuckling finish to the song. Their performance is surprising, unbelievable, absolutely stunning. Every parent delights at his or her child for doing great on the stage. The music in the last few minutes of the movie brings a complete change of moods. The parents who rushed in panic are now cool after discovering great talents in their children. The principal runs out of words when people praised her. The power of rock took everyone by surprise. Finally the music wins. School of Rock fails to win the $20,000 prize but the audience shouts, â€Å"School of Rock† â€Å"School of Rock† repeatedly asking for once more. Once again The School of Rock is on the stage with a song once again. Dewy gets a chance to train students in music after school hours. The filmmaker Richard Linklater has directed the movie in accordance with, â€Å"Guitar in hands and rock in our hearts. † References Retrieved March 21, 2009,http://www. mygodwithin. com/2009/02/slum-dog-millionaire-receives-8-oscar. html Retrieved March 21, 2009, http://www. futuremovies. co. uk/review. asp? ID=139 Retrieved March 21, 2009, http://www. hollywoodlot. com/titanic/james-cameron. html