The Significance of Improving Productivity in the Hospitality Industry Essay

The Significance of Improving Productivity in the Hospitality Industry - Essay Example Introduction Productivity has a huge impact on all businesses; both individual and corporate. In fact, the hospitality industry is witnessing a steady decline in productivity after World War II, and for many decades the industry effectively hid its poor productivity behind the baby boom in the size of the market. According to estimates, the hospitality industry is only 50% as effective as other industries. Still, it is surprising to note that am effective strategy that could be used to measure the productivity in hospitality industry is not available. This work intends to check why productivity is important in hospitality industry; especially bars and clubs, and also it tries to analyse the existing notion of and attitude towards productivity in the hospitality industry. Thereafter, it tries to suggest some ways that can be adopted to improve productivity in the hospitality industry, especially bars and clubs. The Productivity Paradox of Hospitality Industry The main problem with hos pitality industry, according to scholars, is poor productivity. From studies, it became evident that most people in the hospitality industry possess relatively little idea about the importance of human resources in the hospitality industry. In the opinion of Mill (2010), in hospitality industry, the role of human resources has been undervalued. ... cording to them, despite the best efforts by the hospitality industry to incorporate information technology in operations, there is no evident improvement in productivity. According to them, an important reason for this lack of evidence lies in the fact that there is no effective tool for the measurement of productivity improvement. In addition, it became evident from the study that those who used technology did not use it to improve productivity, but to improve the guest experience. Another serious issue is that different people use different set of criteria to measure productivity (ibid). Similarly, the study by Ingram and Fraenkel (2006) looked into the perception of productivity among hospitality managers. It is pointed out that they possess little idea about the notion of productivity, and the more they tried to understand what productivity is, the more confused they became. The same opinion is revealed by Mill. So, it seems useful to look into the different ideologies on produc tivity. Definition of Productivity and its Measurement In the opinion of Gummesson (1998), it is both ambiguous and inadequate to measure service productivity. However, in the opinion of Reynolds (2004), as about 30% of the hospitality cost comes from labour, a general tendency in the industry is to reduce labour costs while maintaining productivity. However, an article published by the New Zealand Tourism Research Institute warns that the productivity targets achieved in this way will not last long. This is so because reduced costs will lead to a decline in service standards. As Kimes (2001) states, this poor service, in turn, will affect customer satisfaction, which, eventually, will result in poor sales, and finally, poor productivity. There are people like Parasuraman (2002) who argue

THE IMPACT OF COMPETITION ON AIR TRAVEL SERVICES A CASE STUDY OF Research Proposal

THE IMPACT OF COMPETITION ON AIR TRAVEL SERVICES A CASE STUDY OF VIRGIN ATLANTIC - Research Proposal Example This study will use quantitative methods of research tom collect data on the effects of competition on the operational and organizational structure of Virgin Atlantic Airlines (Utton 2007). The researchers distributed questionnaires to the respondents and the data collected sampled for analysis. Similarly, some respondents who were not in a position to fill in the questionnaires were interviewed to determine the specific impacts the entry of new airlines would have on the general operation of Virgin Atlantic (Utton 2007). The analysis the collected data through questionnaires was done through statistical programs, and specifically SPSS. Correspondingly, the interview data will be analyzed for four major themes that includes a number of crucial factors. The quotations from the interview will be used in the illustration of study findings from this research work. This research will ascertain that any form of competition either through entry of new airlines into the market, introduction of similar products of service delivery systems into the market and differences in pricing policies have significant effects on the operation and survival of the Virgin Atlantic Airlines. Any form of competition in any viable firm, though instrumental in defining the operational structures of the firm can be detrimental if not countered by appropriate policies (Malaval & BeÃŒ naroya 2002). This research recommends that Virgin Atlantic Airlines be more vigilant and proactive to any changes in the market systems. By checking on the operational strategies of competing firms and establishing better service delivery systems than the competition firms, Virgin Atlantic will be in a better position to attain a fairly high competitive market advantages. The management of Virgin Atlantic should aim at being a leading airline in terms of service delivery and efficiency. Like any other service industry, Virgin

Evaluate And Analyse The Strategic Perspective Of Tesco Marketing Essay

Evaluate And Analyse The Strategic Perspective Of Tesco Marketing Essay The aim of this write up is to evaluate and analyse the strategic perspective of Tesco. This will include checking through all the activities of Tesco both in the U.K and globally. OBJECTIVES: The aim and objective of this write up is to examine the general operating strategies of Tesco, the challenges they are facing, what motivates them, their strategic directions, what strategy they are pursing presently. Also, what challenges lies ahead of Tesco and also to know where they will be maybe in the next five years. METHODOLOGY: Materials were consulted and sorted for in order to get fundamental information about Tesco and its operations. These materials will link from books, journal and online sources. ACHIEVEMENTS: During the course of this research, we have been able to analyse Tesco strategic options, directions, aspirations and operations. The position Tesco is at the moment has been established and their future directions. However, the present achievement and success of Tesco cannot be over emphasised in recent times. CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION This research is basically to explore the strategies Tesco Plc is pursuing, their core competencies and their challenges. It is also to evaluate those competencies to know if they are sustainable and also if they provide customer value. Further research will be done as the research progresses. BRIEF HISTORY OF TESCO Tesco is a British international grocery and general merchandising retail chain. It is the largest British retailer by both global sales and domestic market share, with profits exceeding E3 billion and the third largest global retailer based on revenue behind WAL-MART of U.S,A and CARREFOUR of France. (http://www.evri.com) Further online source stated that the company started as a one man business in London East and was funded by JACK COHEN son of a polish Jewish tailor. He sold groceries in the markets of East end in 1919 but the brand first appeared in 1924. The name derived after Jack Cohen bought a large shipment of tea from T. E stock well( Formally messrs Torring and stock well of Mincing Lane ), he made new labels by using the first three letters of the suppliers name and the first two letters of his surname to form the word TESCO. The first store was opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, EDGWARD- LONDON. On the part of food retailing, Tesco is one of the largest food retailers in the World, operating around 2,318 stores and employing over 326,000 people. It provides online services through its subsidiaries. The UK is the companys largest market where it operates in the following areas Extra, Superstores, Metro and Express. The company sells almost 40,000 food items, including clothing and other non-food items. The companys own-label products (50% of sales) are at three levels, value, normal and finest as well as convenience produce. Many stores have gas stations becoming one of British largest independent petrol retailers in 1991. Other retailing services offered by Tesco include Tesco personal Finance, Tesco.com and Tesco Direct launched in 2006. Tesco is a supermarket giant. Research and retail analyst have identified some reason like : Tescos are everywhere Tescos sell to everyone Tesco sells everything Tesco has branded itself in such a way that its success is inevitable. They always take into account various implications for customers, their employees, shareholders and other concerned bodies. Tesco places importance on its mission statement. Tesco have developed various international marketing strategies in various countries like China, Sweden, Malaysia, Poland, e.t.c TESCO COMPANY PROFILE According to information cited from on an online source, universitydissertations.com, Tesco runs more than 2,300 supermarket, hypermarkets and convenience stores in the United Kingdom, Ireland, central Europe and Asia. Tesco is the market leader in food retail in the United Kingdom where it has its highest market share existence compared to other countries where they operate. Tesco operates in various categories of shop sizes, from hypermarkets (Tesco extra) to small urban stores (Tesco metro) and convenience and gasoline retailing (Tesco express) including Tesco financial services. Also according to this same source, Tesco is a global leader in online grocery sales as it owns about 35 % stake in United States grocery chain called Safeways Grocery works. Tesco is a leading online grocery store at the moment; they are now evening moving into expanding their business by diversifying into other areas. TESCO SWOT ANALYSIS STRENGTHS Tesco has diverse ranges of products They have a strong cash flow position They increase sale and trade profits They have a Strong balance sheet They focus on brand awareness They have human resources Strong Online shopping facility Tesco open 24 hours a day They have a leading supermarket chain They have capabilities of converting resources into finished goods. WEAKNESSESS Perception of low quality (Tesco value brands) Lack of local knowledge of customers (international markets) Lack of foreign culture knowledge (International markets) OPPORTUNITIES Tesco develop brand awareness globally Constant New Market opportunity Market shift to globalisation Innovation and Alliances Low cost brand growth Diversification Non-Food offers Tesco untapped new markets with higher margins. THREATS New and existing competition Increase in the price of raw materials Economic recession Far-east low cost brands High competition for customers and resources CHAPTER TWO ELICITING AND EVALUATING STRATEGY Tesco is pursuing hybrid strategy in all their markets. Tesco strategies can therefore be analysed with the Bowmans strategy clock below. ssssss Tesco Position on clock C:Userspc userPicturesbowmans_lesson.gifT According to strategyexplorer.com online resource, a hybrid strategy seeks simultaneously to achieve differentiation and low price relative to competitors. Tescos Hybrid Strategy is pre-dominant in the UK market. Rival organisation like Asda seek to pursue low cost strategy and another rival, Sainsburys tend to pursue differentiation (broad) Strategy. Hybrid strategy can give an organisation advantage especially when larger volumes of sales can be achieved. This is a plus to Tesco competitive advantage considering their market share in the U.K market. Tescos aspirations in the near future are to pursue full differentiation strategy which they may want to achieve in phases. In additional to this Strategy, Tesco also utilises Market development strategy which has increased their balance sheet strength and global presence. According to online information from Tescoplc.com, Tesco Diversifying into areas like Non-food, Financial services and Telecoms and also new markets abroad in Asia, Central Europe and recently into the United Tescos strategy towards market Development has broadened their scope of business over the years into new markets outside the U.K. Tesco has an established and sustainable. Their Strategic decision to diversify in 1997 has contributed to their success in recent years. (www.Tescoplc.com) TESCO STRATEGY OBJECTIVES: According to Tesco online source, the objectives of their strategy are: To be a successful international retailer To grow the core UK business To be as strong in non-food as in food. To develop retailing services such as Tesco Personal Finance, Telecoms and Tesco.com To put community at the heart of what they do. TESCO TWO AREAS OF CORE COMPETENCIES Core and distinctive competencies are very important to any organisation who wants to lead in its industry and also provide customer value. According to Hunger J.D and Wheelan, T.L (2001) P.56, Resources are the organisations assets. Core competence capabilities, in this context mean the ability of such organisation to exploit and use these resources. These resources can be analysed by Barneys VRIO framework below. TESCO VRIO FRAMEWORK RESOURCES V R I O H.R Yes Yes Yes Yes Online shopping Yes Yes Yes Yes 24hr stores Yes Yes Yes Yes Cash Flow position Strong Yes Yes Yes Yes Balance sheet Yes Yes Yes Yes Tesco is very strong considering the resources they have at their disposal. They also utilise all these resources to the fullest. They are in a very strong position both in the U.K and around the globe where they are operating. According to tutor2u.net (online) (n.d), core competencies are those capabilities that are critical to an organisation achieving a competitive advantage. Two areas of Tesco core competencies are: The Tesco.com experience Non-food strategy strength The Tesco.com will; Effectively supply good customer interface that personalises online shopping which make it more efficient thereby giving customers value. The non-food strategy is one of the strongest tools Tesco has at the moment. It is giving them advantage to tap into new markets with very high margins. CHAPTER THREE IS TESCO CORE COMPETENCES AND STRATEGY SUSTAINABLE? If we want to analyse whether these resources and competencies are sustainable, I would say yes. I arrived at this conclusion because looking at the strategy they are pursuing and their core competencies couple with their market penetration and development around the globe, they should be able to sustain these core competencies and strategy. It can also be noted according to the speech of Tesco director that they are market leaders in most of their international markets. TESCOS PESTEL ANALYSIS POLITICAL FACTORS Tesco is a globalised company as they operate in many countries. Political conditions and legislations in these countries have highly influenced Tescos success. ECONOMIC FACTORS Tesco does not have any power over economic factors. Economic factors can affect cost, prices, demand and profits. SOCIOLOGICAL FACTORS According to Ivory research (Online) (2010), current trends have indicated that British customers have moved towards one stop and bulk shopping, which is due to various sociological changes. Aging population now eat ready meals which reduces cooking at home. TECHNOLOGICAL FACTORS Ivory research (online 2010), stated that new technologies benefit both customers and Tesco. Food chains have been more accurate and equipments like self checkout, electronic fund transfer facilities have really increased the success of Tesco globally. ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS There have been increased demands from organisations for responsibility of the environment. Tesco has commitment on corporate responsibility to the environment they operate in. LEGAL FACTORS Various legislations from different government have influence on Tesco, For example, legislations about suppliers and so on. STRATEGIC COMMENTARY Tescos core competencies can really help them to achieve an increased competitive advantage. This is obvious because of their focus on new markets outside the U.K. Tesco needs to focus on their key strategies like the Non-food and the tesco.com. Tescos customer loyalty can be sustained by continuous customer value provision. Tapping into new international market is a good turn for Tesco has this will increase their global market share and turnover. Tescos fresh and easy brand in the United States would develop and increase their global profit turnover if they focus on that market. CONCLUSION Tescos strategic direction for the future is very important and crucial to their global strength. I can see Tesco competing closely with Grocery giant, Wal-Mart in the nearest future. Their success in the last 12 years has proved that they can really move into the global market and become like coca-cola in the nearest future.

Ulysses S. Grant Essay -- biographies bio biography

Ulysses S. Grant   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On April 27, 1822 a boy was born to Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson Grant in the small town of Point Pleasant, Ohio. They named their son Hiram Ulysses Grant. In 1823 the family moved to a town nearby called Georgetown, Ohio, where Ulysses’ father owned a tannery and some farmland. Grant had two brothers and three sisters born in Georgetown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses attended school in Georgetown until he was 14. He then spent one year at the academy in Maysville, Kentucky, and in 1838, he entered an academy in nearby Ripely, Ohio. Early in 1839, his father learned that a neighbors son had been dismissed from the U.S. Military Academy. Jesse asked his congressman to appoint Ulysses as a replacement. The congressman made a mistake in Grant’s name. He thought that Ulysses was his first name and his middle name that of his mother’s maiden name. But Ulysses never corrected the mistake.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grant was an average student at West Point. He spent most of his free time reading novels and little time studying. He ranked high in math and was very good at horsemanship. Ulysses did not like the military life and had no intention of making it his career. Instead he considered teaching mathematics in a college.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grant graduated from West Point in 1843 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment stationed near St. Louis. It was there that he met Julia Dent. They fell in love and soon became engages. The threat of war with Mexico delayed their wedding plans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1847, Grant took part in the capture of Mexico City and won a promotion for his skill and bravery. He reached the rank of 1st Lieutenant by the end of the war. Grant returned to St. Louis as soon as he could and on Aug. 22, 1848, he was married to Julia Dent. During their marriage, the Grant’s had four children: Frederick, Ulysses S. Jr., Ellen, and Jesse Root Jr.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Civil War Era   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grant was almost 39 years old when the Civil War began in 1861. He had freed his only slave in 1859 and strongly opposed secession. After President Abraham Lincoln called for Army volunteers, Grant helped drill a company that was formed in Galena. Then he went to Springfield, the state capital, and worked for the Illinois assistant general. Grant asked the federal government for a commission as colonel, but his requ... ...e ring from exposure. Grant stoutly defended Babcock, who was cleared of the charges. Many other officials were convicted of defrauding the government. In spite of the growing list of scandals, many Republican leaders wanted to nominate Grant for a third term as president. But Grant refused to run again. In June 1876, the Republicans nominated Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio for president. Hayes won the presidency by a margin of only one electoral vote.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Grant retired in 1879, he had about $100,000 in savings and decided to invest it in a banking firm called Grant & Ward. His son was a partner in this company. Grant knew nothing about banking, but his son assured him that Ferdinand Ward was a financial genius. The collapse of the company came in 1884 leaving Grant almost penniless. In order to make a living after this great loss, Grant began writing magazine articles about his war experiences. Soon he began to write his memoirs. The memoirs were a great success and earned Grant’s family about $500,000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1885, Grant moved to Mount McGregor, New York, near Saratoga. Grant died on July 23,1885 from cancer. His wife later died in 1902. Ulysses S. Grant Essay -- biographies bio biography Ulysses S. Grant   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  On April 27, 1822 a boy was born to Jesse Root Grant and Hannah Simpson Grant in the small town of Point Pleasant, Ohio. They named their son Hiram Ulysses Grant. In 1823 the family moved to a town nearby called Georgetown, Ohio, where Ulysses’ father owned a tannery and some farmland. Grant had two brothers and three sisters born in Georgetown.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ulysses attended school in Georgetown until he was 14. He then spent one year at the academy in Maysville, Kentucky, and in 1838, he entered an academy in nearby Ripely, Ohio. Early in 1839, his father learned that a neighbors son had been dismissed from the U.S. Military Academy. Jesse asked his congressman to appoint Ulysses as a replacement. The congressman made a mistake in Grant’s name. He thought that Ulysses was his first name and his middle name that of his mother’s maiden name. But Ulysses never corrected the mistake.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grant was an average student at West Point. He spent most of his free time reading novels and little time studying. He ranked high in math and was very good at horsemanship. Ulysses did not like the military life and had no intention of making it his career. Instead he considered teaching mathematics in a college.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grant graduated from West Point in 1843 and was commissioned a second lieutenant. He was assigned to the 4th Infantry Regiment stationed near St. Louis. It was there that he met Julia Dent. They fell in love and soon became engages. The threat of war with Mexico delayed their wedding plans.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1847, Grant took part in the capture of Mexico City and won a promotion for his skill and bravery. He reached the rank of 1st Lieutenant by the end of the war. Grant returned to St. Louis as soon as he could and on Aug. 22, 1848, he was married to Julia Dent. During their marriage, the Grant’s had four children: Frederick, Ulysses S. Jr., Ellen, and Jesse Root Jr.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Civil War Era   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Grant was almost 39 years old when the Civil War began in 1861. He had freed his only slave in 1859 and strongly opposed secession. After President Abraham Lincoln called for Army volunteers, Grant helped drill a company that was formed in Galena. Then he went to Springfield, the state capital, and worked for the Illinois assistant general. Grant asked the federal government for a commission as colonel, but his requ... ...e ring from exposure. Grant stoutly defended Babcock, who was cleared of the charges. Many other officials were convicted of defrauding the government. In spite of the growing list of scandals, many Republican leaders wanted to nominate Grant for a third term as president. But Grant refused to run again. In June 1876, the Republicans nominated Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio for president. Hayes won the presidency by a margin of only one electoral vote.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Grant retired in 1879, he had about $100,000 in savings and decided to invest it in a banking firm called Grant & Ward. His son was a partner in this company. Grant knew nothing about banking, but his son assured him that Ferdinand Ward was a financial genius. The collapse of the company came in 1884 leaving Grant almost penniless. In order to make a living after this great loss, Grant began writing magazine articles about his war experiences. Soon he began to write his memoirs. The memoirs were a great success and earned Grant’s family about $500,000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1885, Grant moved to Mount McGregor, New York, near Saratoga. Grant died on July 23,1885 from cancer. His wife later died in 1902.

EGT1 †Economics and Global Business Applications Essay

Elasticity of demand is a measure of responsiveness to a price change of a good or service. When demand is elastic, the percentage of a price change of a product will result in a larger percentage of quantity demanded (McConnell, p 77). It basically means reducing the price of a good service will result in a greater quantity demanded and an increase in revenue for the seller. When demand is inelastic, a change in price will result in a reduction of quantity demanded, which will then lead to a revenue decrease (McConnell, p 77). To demonstrate elastic and inelastic demand results, Company A sells 100 pens at $1.00 a piece each day, making their revenue $100.00. Company A then decides to sell their pens at $.50, which results in a total of 250 pens being sold. The total revenue from the price drop is $125, resulting in an additional $25.00; therefore the demand in this scenario is elastic. If selling the pens at the decreased price of $.50 would result in more pens being sold, but less total revenue, the demand is said to inelastic. According to McConnell, when demand in unit elastic, the percentage change in price and the resulting percentage changes in demand are the same. The change in price will not increase or decrease revenue. Cross price elasticity measures the response of demand to a change in price of another substitute or complimentary good (McConnell, p. 87). Substitute goods are goods that can be purchased in place of another good. Examples of substitute goods are soda (buying Coke vs. Pepsi), computers, and potato chips. A positive cross elasticity of demand means the increase of price in one good, for example Coca-Cola, will increase the demand of a substitute good, for example Pepsi. As the price for Coke increases, consumers are more likely to purchase Pepsi at a lower price, thereby increasing its demand. Complementary goods are items that are typically purchased in conjunction within one another. Examples are ringed binders and notebook paper, pencils and erasers, and potato chips and dip. A negative cross elasticity of demand in complementary goods means that the increase in price of one good, an example being potato chips, will decrease the demand for the complementary product that goes with it, the dip. Income elasticity measures the responsiveness of consumers to changes in their incomes (McConnell, p 88). Demand for normal goods tends to increase as consumers’ incomes increase and conversely, demand for inferior goods tends to decrease as consumers’ income increases. Demand is elastic where there is a large availability of substitutes. The reason for this as the price of a good increases, if there is a large amount of substitutes for this particular good, the consumer will choose the substitute. As discussed earlier, soda is an excellent example of this elasticity. Airline tickets are another example. As one airline raises its cost of a ticket or to even pay for a bag to be checked, a consumer will more likely choose a cheaper ticket or an airline that doesn’t charge for baggage over the original. If there is no (or a very limited) amount of substitutes for a good, elasticity is said to be negative. A price change in medication will not likely change the behavior of a consumer relative to demand since there isn’t a substitute to taking the medication. Household utilities are another example of a limited amount of substitutes. In discussing the proportion if one’s income devoted to a good concept, the household budget comes into play. In a given month, households pay for many different good and services. A change in price may or may not affect the households demand for those goods and services. Often, it is dependant on how much of the household budget is devoted to that good or service. Mobile phone service is an excellent example of a service that will most likely have a large amount of a household budget dedicated to it. A change in price in the cell phone service will most likely result in that family making a decision to change to a cheaper service, since that will have a large impact on their budget. On the other hand, that same household may purchase light bulbs each month. The amount of money dedicated to the purchase of light bulbs is so small, that a price increase will not likely affect the budget, therefore the family will not likely make a decision to change to a cheaper bulb. The concept of time when discussing demand is important. When a consumer has a large amount of time to decide on the purchase of a good or service, the elasticity is positive. Conversely, if there is little time, the elasticity is said to be negative. According to McConnell, and excellent example of this is gasoline for automobiles. Gasoline prices change daily and more often than not, prices rise. A family, who owns a car and is dependent on that car for work, etc, will not likely stop buying gas in the sort-term, because it is crucial to their everyday living. However, that family over a long period of time may decide to find alternate means of travel, decreasing their demand for gas. Using the graphs for elasticity of demand and total revenue, areas of elasticity, inelasticity and unit elasticity have been identified. Demand is elastic between the prices of $80.00 and $50.00, meaning the demand increases as the price decreases, resulting in an increase of total revenue. Between the prices of $50.00 and $40.00, the demand in unit elastic, meaning the percentage of drop in price resulted in the same percentage of increase in demand. Revenue remained unchanged in this price range. Between the prices of $40.00 and $0, the demand is inelastic, meaning the price drop has resulted in an increase in demand, but not enough to over come the decrease. Total revenue has been negatively impacted.

Economics and Book Online Essay

1. Liza needs to buy a textbook for the next economics class. The price at the college bookstore is $65. One online site offers it for $55 and another site, for $57. All prices include sales tax. The accompanying table indicates the typical shipping and handling charges for the textbook ordered online. a. What is the opportunity cost of buying online instead of at the bookstore? Note that if you buy the book online, you must wait to get it. The opportunity cost of buying online instead of at the bookstore would be whatever is you would need to give up to get the book online. This would mean that the opportunity cost of buying online would include the sum of the shipping charge and the time that you would spend waiting on the book to arrive. If you buy the book at the store, you would be able to get the book the same day but it would also mean losing out on the possible savings that you would get if you bought it online. b. Show the relevant choices for this student. What determines which of these options the student will choose? So if Liza buys from the bookstore it would cost $65. If Liza decides to buy online from the first store the cost would vary. The price of the book from the first online store would be $55. Next day air to get the book in one business day would cost an additional $13.98. ($55 + $13.98 = $68.98). Her next choice would be to use 2 days shipping which is an $8.98 charge also from the first site. ($55 + $8.98 = $63.98). Next she could use 3-7 day shipping for a $3.99 shipping charge. ($55 + $3.99 = $58.99) The next online site charged $57 for the book. If she chose 1 day shipping it would cost ($57 + $13.98 = $70.98), 2 day shipping would cost ($57 + $8.98 =  $65.98) and 3-7 day shipping would cost ($57 + $3.99 = $60.99). So from looking at the information here it would be unlikely that Liza would purchase from the 2nd online store and I don’t see her buying it from the first online store and using next day shipping because that would cost her $68.98. It is hard to tell from the information whether or not Liza has enough time between now and her next class to wait the 2 or 3-7 for shipping. It would be helpful to know if her class was tomorrow or next week and depending on what time of day she orders the book online or if it is over a weekend or close to a holiday that would also push the shipping date back some. Also where she lives in the U.S. sometimes plays a factor in shipping times. 2. In August 2007, a sharp downturn in the U.S. housing market reduced the income of many who worked in the home construction industry. A Wall Street Journal news article reported that Wal-Mart’s wire-transfer business was likely to suffer because many construction workers are Hispanics who regularly send part of their wages back to relatives in their home countries via Wal-Mart. With this information, use one of the principles of economy-wide interaction to trace a chain of links that explains how reduced spending for U.S. home purchases is likely to affect the performance of the Mexican economy. I think in this case this may fall under Principle #10: One person’s spending is another person’s income according to our textbook. If you start from the top of the chain that may include lenders and financial institutions that are funding a construction or real estate project or they are finding that they are taking a high risk because more people are defaulting on the mortgage loans. If that takes place then this hurts the lenders because there will be less potential home buyers because of people losing jobs and finding it harder to find work so in return that will make the real estate market crash. This chain of events will make it harder for the contractors to keep some of their workers and be forced to fire people so that will make it harder for the Mexican community to send money back to their families which is why it will also hurt Wal-Mart’s wire-transfer business. 3. During the Great Depression, food was left to rot in the fields or fields that had once been actively cultivated were left fallow. Use one of the principles of economy-wide interaction to explain how this could have occurred. For this I would say that Principle #11: Overall spending sometimes gets out of line with the economy’s productive capacity, would fit this situation. Because there was not as much spending going on during the great depression that also would mean that there would be less people buying products such as foods from the fields. The food that was already produced or grown would be left to rot if the sellers could not find any buyers. As it says in our textbook, â€Å"in the 1930s, spending fell far short of what was needed to keep American workers employed, and the result was a severe economic slump. In fact, shortfalls in spending are responsible for most, though not all, recessions.†

Free Essays on Making A Moral Decision

Making a Moral Decision In Joseph Conrad’s short story â€Å"The Tale† and James Joyce’s short story â€Å"A Painful Case† there are several similarities between the characters of the stories. Each story is composed of parallel moral lessons, which becomes the theme of the stories. The main characters look back at a point in their lives and are unsure if they made the wisest choice in their individual situation. The moral of each story is an ethical decision may never have a right answer. Conrad and Joyce portray a moral lesson in a very similar way. In each story the main characters, the commanding officer and James Duffy, look back on moments in their life and regret the decisions they have made. The commanding officer in â€Å"The Tale† decides an entire ships fate by directing them off cliffs, consequently the captain of the ship and his crew die. The commanding officer states, â€Å"That course would lead the Northman straight on a deadly ledge of rock. And the commanding officer gave it to him† (Conrad 17). The main character of â€Å"The Tale† is aware of the importance of his decision and questions whether or not it was the wisest choice. He contemplates with this and it effects him on an emotional level. At the beginning of â€Å"The Tale† the women (who is never given a name) requests he tell a tale like he used to before the war. She states, †Å"You used to tell- your- your simple and professional- tales very well at one time†¦you had sort of art- in the days- the days before the war† (Conrad 2). This statement supplies the reader with evidence that the commanding officer is a changed man since the war and foreshadows that the story will not be like his old â€Å"simple† stories. Throughout the story the commanding officer battles with his instinct to decide whether or not to believe the Northman. He continually asks himself why the Northman did not sound his horn when they entered the bay, and why the Northman’s vo... Free Essays on Making A Moral Decision Free Essays on Making A Moral Decision Making a Moral Decision In Joseph Conrad’s short story â€Å"The Tale† and James Joyce’s short story â€Å"A Painful Case† there are several similarities between the characters of the stories. Each story is composed of parallel moral lessons, which becomes the theme of the stories. The main characters look back at a point in their lives and are unsure if they made the wisest choice in their individual situation. The moral of each story is an ethical decision may never have a right answer. Conrad and Joyce portray a moral lesson in a very similar way. In each story the main characters, the commanding officer and James Duffy, look back on moments in their life and regret the decisions they have made. The commanding officer in â€Å"The Tale† decides an entire ships fate by directing them off cliffs, consequently the captain of the ship and his crew die. The commanding officer states, â€Å"That course would lead the Northman straight on a deadly ledge of rock. And the commanding officer gave it to him† (Conrad 17). The main character of â€Å"The Tale† is aware of the importance of his decision and questions whether or not it was the wisest choice. He contemplates with this and it effects him on an emotional level. At the beginning of â€Å"The Tale† the women (who is never given a name) requests he tell a tale like he used to before the war. She states, †Å"You used to tell- your- your simple and professional- tales very well at one time†¦you had sort of art- in the days- the days before the war† (Conrad 2). This statement supplies the reader with evidence that the commanding officer is a changed man since the war and foreshadows that the story will not be like his old â€Å"simple† stories. Throughout the story the commanding officer battles with his instinct to decide whether or not to believe the Northman. He continually asks himself why the Northman did not sound his horn when they entered the bay, and why the Northman’s vo...

Electroplating Definition and Uses

Electroplating Definition and Uses Electroplating is a process where a coating of metal is added to a conductor using electricity via a reduction reaction. Electroplating is also known simply as plating or as electrodeposition.When a current is applied to the conductor to be coated, metal ions in solution are reduced onto the electrode to form a thin layer. Brief History of Electroplating Italian chemist Luigi Valentino Brugnatelli is credited as the inventor of modern electrochemistry in 1805. Brugnatelli used the voltaic pile invented by Alessandro Volta to perform the first electrodeposition. However, Brugnatellis work was suppressed. Russian and British scientists independently invented deposition methods that came into use by 1839 to copper plate printing press plates. In 1840, George and Henry Elkington were awarded patents for electroplating. Englishman John Wright discovered potassium cyanide could be used as an electrolyte to electroplate gold and silver. By the 1850s, commercial processes for electroplating brass, nickel, zinc, and tin were developed. The first modern electroplating plant to start production was the Norddeutsche Affinerie in Hamburg in 1867. Uses of Electroplating Electroplating is used to coat a metal object with a layer of a different metal. The plated metal offers some benefit that the original metal lacks, such as corrosion resistance or desired color. Electroplating is used in jewelry making to coat base metals with precious metals to make them more attractive and valuable and sometimes more durable. Chromium plating is done on vehicle wheel rims, gas burners, and bath fixtures to confer corrosion resistance, enhancing the life expectancy of the parts.

Chapter 31.1 1-9 Flashcards Example for Free (#31)

Chapter 31.1 1-9 Created new ideas on space, time, energy and matter. He created the theory of relativity, how motion is the key to his idea. Relative motion is the key to Einsteins theory so it was called the theory of relativity A Australian physician whos ideas were like Einsteins. He studied the human mind and said there was a â€Å"irrational† part of the mind where people did not know what was happening and they did whatever made them happy. The idea that there is no universal meaning to life German philosopher who argued that reason and democracy was destroying people’s creativity and actions. He wanted people to return to ancient heroic values and pride. A new art movement that was inspired by a world of dreams and real life A new style of music that emerged that was developed in New Orleans and Chicago. It was loose and lively. He was the first American pilot who made the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In your opinion, whose contribution has had the most lasting impact? I think Albert Einstein because his ideas were very revolutionary and they are still used today. They put a base idea to use for the rest of time. Why were the ideas of Einstein and Freud revolutionary? Because they showed how people and things worked and their minds and their ideas are still being used today How did literature in the 1920’s reflect the uncertainty of the period? People were uncertain of wether to keep using democracy or start using their ideas and being creative. What impact did the increased use of the automobile have of the average people? Families were able to travel more for fun, cars were more affordable, it made transportation easier and faster and more fun. Why do you think writers and artists began exploring the unconcious? I think so because they wanted to see how different parts of the human mind worked and why this one part was so different. Why did some women begin demanding more political and social freedom? Because new things were being created and women wanted the opportunity to have more political and social freedom. Why were new medical treatments and inventions developed during WWI? So new weapons could be improved or created and used as battle tactics in WWII or any upcoming fights â€Å"Buy a radio today! Listen to latest news, plays and live sporting events on the air!† Einstein QUIZ HYBRID Atomic Bomb Controversy Einstein Child Einstein Chap 26 Sec 5, Chap 28 Sec 1Questions Part VI: The Twentieth Century Chapter 7: EMR, Planck, Einstein, de Broglie, Bohr APUSH- CH. 34 & 35 Philip Glass Knee Play 1 from Einstein On The Beach company About StudyMoose Contact Careers Help Center Donate a Paper Legal Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Complaints We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. By continuing we’ll assume you’re on board with our cookie policy We will write a custom sample essay on

Academic Capitalism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Academic Capitalism - Research Paper Example It might range from production of knowledge that has been prepared by the teachers to the teachers’ curriculum as well as instruction (Rhoades & Sluaghter, n.d.). Hereby, the main objective of the paper is to understand the meaning of the term ‘academic capitalism’, theories related to academic capitalism, history of academic capitalism and its impact upon the teachers, students as well as the general US people. What is Academic Capitalism? Academic capitalism can be comprehended as the contribution of both college as well as faculties in ‘market-like behaviours’ which has gradually become one of the main characteristics of higher education in the United States. In the current day context, it has often been observed that colleges as well as universities, especially in the public sector, have not been capable of gaining adequate support from the side of the government. It is because of this reason that public colleges and universities are trying to prepare their targeted market and sell numerous products in the private sector as one of the main source of income with the motive of increasing the profit margin. In the present times, the higher-educational institutions such as colleges and universities are observed to be intended towards earning revenues by means of their core educational, research as well as service functions. ... The term intends to demonstrate the phenomenon of universities’ as well as the teachers’ high attention to market potential as a research momentum (Mazzolini, 1997). In this regards, academic capitalism has often been defined by the academicians as a philosophy that follows profit-generating attempts. While focusing upon marketplace and associating with the government, business, and industry, the profit earning initiative of the academic institutions can comprise of technical services along with personnel exchanges (Gumport, 2000). Academic capitalism is also defined as a systematic procedure which focuses on yielding the benefits of high quality training, the growth of e-learning offerings, rental facilities along with space, and the shifting of the resources from inactive tasks to ones which is more productive as well as efficient. It is in this context that by means of academic capitalism, the decision makers of academic institutions are endorsed to become more consc ious towards the market. Another virtue of academic capitalism is that it motivates the academicians to be more careful while allocating the resources ranging from traditional instructional tasks to the task of revenue generation (Tarance, 2002). The concept of capitalist academy seems to be quite contentious in nature since it is viewed as demanding conventional academic leadership forwarding the institutional resources towards the task of revenue generation and thereby shifting the institutional focus and leveraging the characteristic of academic work (Hanley, 2005). In the context of academic capitalism, students are the customers and colleges have become merchants. Along with it, the research conducted by them is being commercialised in various fields leading to new age in

Genetic risk factors Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Genetic risk factors - Essay Example On family history, his mother had a myocardial infarction due to high cholesterol value that lead to formation of atherosclerotic plaque on the coronary vessels occluding the lower cardiac muscle from getting oxygen. This necessitated a surgical procedure of coronary artery revascularization by using a bypass graft but died because of severe complication of dysrhythmias. Considering environmental factors, my father had a history of smoking. He takes one packet of cigarettes per day. He was constantly exposed to fumes on the road following his career as a driver and spending most of the time on the road. He does not perform aerobic exercise other than the natural work that he does. The food he takes is usually sugary with high cholesterol values. The recent test of the cholesterol value indicated that he had high values of low density lipoproteins (LDL) at 146 mg/dl, the high density lipoproteins (HDL) were at 30 mg/dl and triglycerides were at 156 mg/dl. According to Ondrus and Kanovsky (2013), coronary artery diseases disease is brought by formation of occlusion on coronary vessels that supply oxygen and nutrients to the cardiac muscles. It is a disease that runs down the families because it is genetic predisposition. Condition such as inactivity due to lack or inadequate exercise and taking high cholesterol foods especially the low density lipoprotein and triglycerides predisposes one to having the condition due to formation of atherosclerotic plaque (Velasco & Rojas, 2013). Smoking may precipitate the formation of the plaque (Kakouros & Kokkinos, 2014). This limits oxygenation of the cardiac muscles hence procedure such as coronary artery bypass grafts are needed. Boles (2013) age has also shown relationship of advancing of disease enhanced with inactivity or to long sitting such as drivers. This lead to stasis of blood hence embolism becomes

Evaluate an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Evaluate an Argument - Essay Example The author further states that the information may be true but, but since the experts do not review the site’s access; there is a substantial peril in relying on this resource for your academic works (Isites.harvard.edu, n.d.). As with the conclusion of the argument, the author clamps the whole argument against the use of Wikipedia and suggests that Wikipedia is good for use for some functions. For instance, they can be used for becoming accustomed or background information of what one is researching (Isites.harvard.edu, n.d.). For the validation of the argument to hold, it means that all of their premises that support the argument are all true and the conclusion must ultimately be true. The argument in this article is valid because the premises are well linked to the conclusion. In terms of soundness, the argument is not sound even if it is deductive and logically valid; it has some mythical arguments that habitually make it unsound. When viewed from an inductive perspective, which holds on the basis of probability, that if the premises given are true then conclusion is most likely to be true. The inductive argument employed here is strong- it holds on the assumption that the conclusion of X is probably true if the premises of X are true. The deductive is valid as per the author’s premises for a number of reasons, which include; the contributors are not expertise and are anonymous and, therefore, their credibility is questionable; the information or articles on the website are out-of-date and may be posted by someone who wants to just mislead the audience; and because the administrators do not review the site’s access. Based on these validations, it clear that the deductive argument is true and valid since its conclusion sustains all the premises stated therein. However, the deductive argument in the article is not sound because of the following. Several

The Blues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Blues - Research Paper Example Bessie Smith was born to a poor African American family in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and was brought up by her older sister because her parents both died very young. This hard start in life, moving from house to house without a stable home environment, is the classic stuff of the Blues, and she got involved in singing with other family members initially as a way to earn money to feed herself and her siblings. Many details about Bessie’s early life are not known, and this is mainly because the lives of black people were often not considered remarkable enough to be documented accurately. Evidence of her school career and early singing activities is, for example sketchy. It is likely that she experienced singing in the Church, since her father was a part time preacher as well as a day labourer, and in the street, since that is where she would have spent a lot of time as a child. It appears that Bessie started her performing career with her brother in the streets near her home, and then gradually progressing to various roles in Vaudeville and travelling â€Å"tent shows† which appeared frequently in Chattanooga due to the town’s strong connections with railway companies. (Scott, 2008, p. 92) Much of this early work was in supporting roles, such as chorus singing. As a young woman without parents to chaperone her, Bessie had a freedom to experience all the excitement, and of course the danger and immorality, that surrounded the music scene in the black communities of the South. Bessie’s singing talent and huge personality made an impression with music publishers and soon she began to record songs made famous by other female singers like Ma Rainey, adding her own personal style, and incidentally creating a fashion for â€Å"cover† records which then took hold of the music publishing world. (Davis, 1995, p. 76) Although Bessie Smith died tragically in an automobile accident at the age of only forty three, she was one of the most distin ctive voices of the early Blues period. Bessie Smith’s singing talent was the key to her success but added to this was her larger than life personality and her commanding physique. As a large and confident black woman she dressed lavishly and obviously enjoyed the star status that her career had brought her. The beauty that she had was of a different kind than the ideals of the age: instead of the slim and tailored look that professional women chose, Bessie opted for flamboyant styles and exuberant colors. This was not a woman who could be easily overlooked in a room full of people. Her voice was loud and deep, but with a very subtle flexibility that made it ideal for the nuances of sadness that the early Blues lyrics required. Bessie sang the popular blues songs of the day, most famously the title song â€Å"St Louis Blues† for the famous film of that name, but she also wrote her own material which indicated an assertive, rebellious, and very womanly perspective on th e world. The lyrics to her song, â€Å"Young Woman’s Blues† for example, promote the lifestyle of a wandering singer, deliberately choosing to reject conformity and the attractions of respectable married life, which emulated white society’s standards: â€Å"I’m as good as any woman in your town, I ain’t no high yella, I’m a deep killer brown. â€Å"I ain’t gonna marry, ain’t gon’ settle down. I’m gon’ drink good moonshine and run these browns down.†

Cross cultural management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Cross cultural management - Essay Example Tesco plans to penetrate the Indian market through Tata’s Trent Hypermarket Limited. To understand possibility of success of the joint venture, the paper will provide analysis of national and organizational culture in India and use international joint venture theory and Trompenaar’s model of differences in culture. Foreign investment is one way that multinational companies expand their operations with intention of maximizing profits. While some have succeeded in raising their profit margins, some multinational companies have failed to realize that cause and considered withdrawal. Multinational companies also use foreign investment as an opportunity to popularize and familiarize their products in the rich global market (Hatten 2012, pg. 27). To enter a foreign market, multinational companies have employed various strategies that include foreign direct investment, acquisition of foreign-based business and partnership. Cultural barriers and differences between the home and foreign market constitute one of the greatest challenges faced by most multinational companies seeking to invest in the countries. Harmonizing, adapting home, and foreign culture have proved a hurdle to some companies, which has led to poor performances in the target markets. Tesco is one of the multinational companies that currently target the Indian market. In fact, Tesco has succeeded through all the processes and is ready to begin its operations in the Indian market. Tesco is the first multi-brand handler to succeed in penetrating the Indian market. This has been due to the recent review in Indian foreign investment law that barred multi-brand companies from sourcing supplies from their foreign-based markets, but instead collaborates with Indian local manufacturers to supply goods. The review of the law now allows liberal ground for foreign multi-brand handlers to source supplies from their

Visual analysis paper of greek pottery Assignment

Visual analysis paper of greek pottery - Assignment Example The vessel had themes of encyclopedia of mythology. It exploits of Peleus and his son Achilles (the hero of Homer’s Illiad). Dionysos and Two Satyrs The vessel came into being in the years 500 BCE. The vessel was amphora shaped. The material used to make the clay was Corinthian which in other words reffered to as the beige clay is commonly. The vessel’s decorativeness technique comprises of geometric and organic forms which are limited to the shoulder of the vessel. The composition of the vessel is that of the registered one and it comes in distinct forms like silhouetted, ones filled in with color. The details of the vessel are done by great accuracy and incision. The effect of the vessel is that of a decorative and appears in two-dimensional. Dionysus in a Boat This relic: the vessel â€Å"kylix† came into being in the years 540 BCE and was made by an artist by the name Exekias. It measures 12† in diameter. The material used in making this vessel is known as Attic or in other words the orange clay. The technique employed is that of the â€Å"black† figure; black glaze. The details of the vessel are very much incisive. The decorativeness forms of the vessel are very much organic. The compositions of the vessel are those that are narrative and figures that do not necessarily conform to the shape of the vessel. Herakles Strangling Nemean Lion This Greek relic; â€Å"amphora† came into being in the year 525 BCE. ... The composition of the vessel is very much registered. The narrative bit of the vessel is limited to the body of the vessel while decorative bit of it is expounded on the geometric patterns and limited to the border areas and arms. Death of Sarpedon This Greek relic; the vessel â€Å"krater† was brought into being in the years 515 BCE by artists going by the names Euxitheos and Euphronios. The material that the artists have used is the Attic or better known as the orange clay. The technique used in this relic is that of the red figure, which is an inversion of the black figure and has the background around the figures painted in black. The details are no longer incised but painted in black. He decorativeness effect are the geometric patterns and limited to the border areas. The composition is registered and the narrative bit of it is limited to the body of the vessel. The figure depends less on the profile view and embraces foreshortened and overlapping limbs that interest in facial limbs. Lapith and Centaur This Greek relic; â€Å"kylix† was made in the years 490 BCE. The artist who made it is known as the â€Å"Foundry Painter†. The material used is the Attic or in other words the orange clay. The technique used is the red figure. The decorativeness of the vessel bounds along the geometric patterns that are limited to the border areas. The composition is non-registered while the narrative conforms to the body of the vessel. The figures are shortened and overlapping limbs that interest in facial expressions. Archaic Period - Rycroft Painter Column Krater (Mixing Bowl) comparison In comparison with the above described relics, this vessel embodies the epitome of finesse and precision. It dully conforms to the works of the Greek Archaic period

Cross cultural management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Cross cultural management - Essay Example Tesco plans to penetrate the Indian market through Tata’s Trent Hypermarket Limited. To understand possibility of success of the joint venture, the paper will provide analysis of national and organizational culture in India and use international joint venture theory and Trompenaar’s model of differences in culture. Foreign investment is one way that multinational companies expand their operations with intention of maximizing profits. While some have succeeded in raising their profit margins, some multinational companies have failed to realize that cause and considered withdrawal. Multinational companies also use foreign investment as an opportunity to popularize and familiarize their products in the rich global market (Hatten 2012, pg. 27). To enter a foreign market, multinational companies have employed various strategies that include foreign direct investment, acquisition of foreign-based business and partnership. Cultural barriers and differences between the home and foreign market constitute one of the greatest challenges faced by most multinational companies seeking to invest in the countries. Harmonizing, adapting home, and foreign culture have proved a hurdle to some companies, which has led to poor performances in the target markets. Tesco is one of the multinational companies that currently target the Indian market. In fact, Tesco has succeeded through all the processes and is ready to begin its operations in the Indian market. Tesco is the first multi-brand handler to succeed in penetrating the Indian market. This has been due to the recent review in Indian foreign investment law that barred multi-brand companies from sourcing supplies from their foreign-based markets, but instead collaborates with Indian local manufacturers to supply goods. The review of the law now allows liberal ground for foreign multi-brand handlers to source supplies from their

Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors Essay Example for Free

Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors Essay Comparing and contrasting Achilles and other warriors Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles is one of the main characters in Homer’s Iliad. Iliad is a legendary epic covering the formative years of Roman and Greek mythology. Iliad pursue glory, heroism, and love within the authority and influence of supernatural powers. Achilles possessed heroic strength and also had close contact with the gods. Achilles had all the qualities of a grand warrior and he proved to be the most dominant man among the Achaean army. However his deeply rooted character barred his capacity to act with integrity and nobility. The rationale of this paper is to analyze the character of Achilles and examine how he was similar of differed from other heroic warriors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles could not manage his pride or the fury that came about when his pride was injured. These attributes greatly affected Achilles life since he abandoned his fellow warriors because he had been insulted before Agamemnon, his commander. Achilles even wished his fellow warriors to be killed by Trojan warriors. He was driven by thirst for glory and was willing to sacrifice anything for his reputation. Achilles had extreme temper; for example, though the demise of Patroclus provoked him to reconcile with Agamemnon, this did not alleviate his fury but he directed his anger to Hector (Homer, 1990, p. 32). Achilles forfeited twelve Trojan men at the funeral of Patroclus, he also killed his opponents mercilessly and shamefully vandalized the corpse of Hector. These events reveal Achilles great anger because he was mourning the death of Patroclus. Achilles pride, bloodlust and wrath affected him adversely (Virgil, 2006, p. 42).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Achilles is recognized as the greatest warrior in Achaian army and no other warrior could match him as a fighter. Achilles has a great sense of social order because he decided to act during the plague that was consuming the soldiers at Achaian camp. Agamemnon, Achille’s kind did not act so Achilles decided to find out the cause of the plague by calling for a congregation of the entire army. Achilles is argumentative and petulant because he argues that though Agamemnon gets the best prizes from war, he never worked for them. In the course of argument, Achilles almost killed Agamemnon, though he was saved from carrying out the heinous act by goddess Athena. Achilles believed that the quarrel between him and the king was righteous and same as the war against Trojan army. Achilles major characteristic was excessive pride because he remained angry even after Agamemnon promise to return Briseis alongside other gifts (Vigil, 2006, p. 47).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Gilgamesh is a warrior who fears death throughout George XIII epic. Achilles on the other hand is also very keen with his metaphoric wickedness that can only take place after the death of his earthly life. Gilgamesh and Achilles have a lot of similarities, which include dynamic attitude on death and life centered. They have similar attitudes especially when their heroic comrades died. The death of Patroclus touched Achilles very much whereas the death of Enkidu also caused much distress to Gilgamesh. Achilles and Gilgamesh are two semi-divine heroes who have various matching characteristics and life-events, and they focused a lot with their mortal lives, but not relatively in the same approach. Achilles and Gilgamesh share fundamental similarities in their mortal lives. Each of them is a child of a goddess and a mortal man who happens to be a king. Achilles is a son of Thetis and has an exceptional rapport which enables him to speak with t he gods with the help of Thetis (Homer, 1990, p 27). Gilgamesh on the other hand is regarded as one third human and two third god, which makes him to stand out as an exceptional character that exists in relationships with both the mortal world and divine world. Iliad relates the preeminence of Achilles and Gilgamesh in battle where they reveal themselves as headstrong warriors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Neither Achilles nor Gilgamesh is concerned with romantic and family relationships. The major relationship these epic heroes have is with their mothers, where they seek protection and guidance. Through this rapport, they are able to gain development and wisdom. Achilles can also be compared to other heroes such as Aenes since their lives is determined by supernatural powers. In the book Iliad and Aeneid, Achilles and Aenes are characters who reveal their chivalry and bravely. In the books, Aenes and Achilles are chosen by gods and favored in various periods of their lives (Homer, 1990, p.26). These characters have predestined death and fate, they are sons of gods and they have specific accomplishment and mission in their lives. The major difference between Achilles and Gilgamesh is on anger management. Even after the death of his friend Enkidu, Gilgamesh remains cool and does not translate his fury to anyone, but Achilles anger could not b e controlled after the death of Patroclus. Gilgamesh mourns the death of his friend by ritually pulling his clothes and hair, but Achilles mourns the death of Patroclaus by killing several Trojan warriors.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   An in depth analysis of the epics of the era reveal contrasting features of the heroes. The circumstance, the physical features and situation might be similar, but the discrepancy is mainly due to mental and intellect framework of the heroes. Aenes fought major battles just like Achilles, but their fate was different. Achilles was predestined to die in the battle, while Aenes was predestined to be an architect of a huge town in the planet. Achilles was more of a cruel enemy and fierce warrior and his task was to wrestle and triumph over bloody wars. On the other hand, Aenes was more civilized and constructive in comparison to arrogant Achilles. Achilles is violent, stubborn, ruthless and hostile and had a capacity to kill Trojan warriors ruthlessly in the battlefield. Achilles battle and attack intended huge massacre. On contrary, Aenes is more placid and sober. Aenes as a warrior had adorable features of restraint, chastity, discipline an d love. He was a true leader who never left his comrades. Aenes led the warriors to pursue new home and new culture. He was a fighter, but not even once did he display emotions and power in arbitrary and cruel manner (Vigil, 2006, p. 74).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion, Achilles was a great warrior, but he was a merciless fighter who killed many Trojan warriors. Achilles shared similar features with other heroes in the epics. These heroes fate was usually predestined and they were mostly sons of gods. They sought advice from their mothers which helped them to develop and gain wisdom. However, an in depth analysis on the character of these heroes depict that there are some differences. Achilles was a violent warrior as compared to most heroes who were able to manage their fury. In addition, Achilles, Aenes and Gilgamesh were heroes of their times. References Homer, Robert Fagles, and Bernard Knox. The Iliad. New York: Viking,  1990. Print. Hope Nash Wolff. Gilgamesh, Enkidu, and the Heroic Life. Journal of the American Oriental Society 89.2  (1969): 392-398. Web. Virgil, R. Fagles, B. Knox, and S. Callow. The Aeneid. New York: Penguin Audio,  2006. Print. Source document

Organization Theory For General Motors

Organization Theory For General Motors Organization theory is a sociology branch that focuses on the structure, systems and processes within an organization. Organization theory is thus applied by firms and states the activities and goals of that firm. General Motors Company was established in 1908 in Michigan by William Durant. By then it was a parent company for Buick. Later that year, it acquired two motor track companies i.e. the Reliance motor company which was based in Owosso, Michigan and Pontiacs Rapid motor company. However, General Motors Company came to be the market leader in Motor industry in the early 1980s.It started with employing 349,000 employees and had 150 assembly plants. Currently, General Motors produce tracks and cars in over 34 countries worldwide. It sells the vehicles through such brands as Cadillac, Buick, GMS, Chevrolet, Holden, GM Daewoo, Wuling and Vauxhall. The United States is the largest national market for General Motors. Other markets include the China, England, Germany.Russia, Canada and Brazil. Daewoo Auto and Technology Company of South Korea is the main shareholder of General Motors. It has power training and purchasing collaborations with Isuzu motors Ltd and Suzuki Motor corp of Japan. The genuine General Motors accessories and parts are normally sold under GM Goodwrench, GM performance, ACDelco brands and GM brands with the assistance of parts operations and GM service. The GM transmissions and engines are sold via GM power train (Frederick, 1995). General Motors Organizational Structure With regards to its organizational structure, General Motors have transformed form a traditional model to a modern one. The change in the organizational model has had an impact as far as the customers and the local communities of General Motors are concerned. The traditional General Motors Organizational model consisted of a hierarchy with executive or the president on top, then senior managers or vice presidents. Followed by managers and finally the employees. The jobs were usually grouped into departments. The General motors were composed of various independent automakers and each automaker operated differently and competed with each other. The transformation of the organization model saw General motors unified and centralized whereby several individuals work towards achieving a common goal. The corporation is now run in a streamlined manner and the several departments have been abolished (The University of Virginia, 1993). Multinational Company With operations in 34 countries all over the globe, General Motors is a multinational company. Multinational companies refer to those organizations which have operations in many countries. The ability of the General motors to operate in many countries is enhanced by globalization. This entails an ongoing process through which societies, regional economies and culture become integrated as a result of execution and globe network communications. This is usually driven through the combination of technological, political, economic and biological factors. Organization design Managers at General Motors have encompassed the application of the organization design. They have created processes, roles and reporting relationships in order to match the organizations form very closely. It is through the organization design that the company is able to improve probability that members collective efforts will be successful. The General Motors Company have been designed in a beauracratic manner whereby responsibility and authority have been arranged hierachically.This has enabled specialization and grouping of people who performs similar or related tasks in clusters. The bureaucracy in the General Motors have enhanced logic, rationally and most important, the efficiency. It has also had some demerits as far as rigidity and inflexibility are concerned e.g. slow decision making process e.t.c. (Salmon, 1989). Divisional Structure The General Motors Company uses divisional structure. Each organizational function is grouped into divisions. A division which is within the divisional structure usually has all the necessary information and resources within it. The General Motors can thus make a distinction based on geographical aspects e.g. the Russian division and the United Kingdom division and also on its products such as SUVs and another one for subcompact cars with each division having its own engineering, sales and marketing departments. This organizational structure have its own demerits which includes difficulty in product integration i.e. each GM divisional manager concentrates on delivering his or her products and fails to focus on integration and also the employees usually feel a bit affiliated towards their department only and they lacks sense of being a part of the organization. Divisional structure also inhibits the career growth of specialists as technical people may feel alienated from their colleag ues in other divisions and also may lack some exposure to major developments taking place in the organization (Cook, Woollacott, 1995). Organizational Culture The strategic leaders in the General Motors should are vested with the responsibility of creating the organizational characteristics that encourage and reward collective effort. The organizational culture is the most fundamental characteristic as it enables the organization to cope well with its environment. For General Motors to survive individuals must be integrated into a whole and also the organization must adapt effectively to the environment in which it is operating (Lung, 2003). GM External environment General Moors just like many other organizations does not operate in a vacuum. The organization has to be conscious about what happens outside its factory and office walls. These factors that occur outside the business boundaries are known as the external environment. They usually influence the organizations main functions, objectives and strategies. The main factors include the competition i.e. the extent to which other firms competes with the General Motors automobiles. The main competitors of the General Motors ifs the Ford Company. Ford was established in the 1920s by Henry Ford. It has been struggling to overtake General Motors Company using such strategies as lowering prices. Despite these, General Motors have been the market leader due to its variety and good management. To effectively deal with the competition threat from Ford and other automobile makers such as Toyota, the management should aim at improving the quality of the products so as to add the value to their customer s. The company also needs not to flounder in the accounting practices such as derivatives and pensions which have brought huge costs in the General Motors. To improve its management, the General Motors Company has been reshuffling its executives over the years (Helen Dwight Reid Educational Foundation, 1994). The other factors that affect the General motors are; social i.e. how the consumer and communities at large behave with reference to the companys products. The other external factor is legal i.e. the manner in which the legislation affects the organization e.g. the change of the laws regarding employees working hours. Economic is the other external factor which affects an organization. This relates to such issues as taxation, interest rates, government spending, global economical factors and general demand. The other external factor that affects the business is the technology. For instance, the General Motors have to move with the current trends in the motor industry as far as its production processes and product innovation are concerned. Others are ethics i.e. the morality aspect of doing a business (Bordenave, 2003). The Stakeholders approach The General Motors should adopt the stakeholders approach in which case all its stakeholders will be able to know well how the business is being operated. Stakeholders are those people that have an interest in an organization and are affected by the companys omission or commission of its duties. The managers are required to decide on which views from the stakeholders are necessary to listen. The General Motors Company is currently undergoing through some significant transformations as it strives to become more competitive and so there could be several key things that the company could be involved with without the know-how of the companys management. In an aim of maintaining its competitive status, it is important to enquire from some of its more insightful people who may be experts in the industry about the things that should be done by the GM management so as to make the organization healthier, stronger and a more competitive one. To achieve this, the managers can adopt stakeholders approach which believes that the managers in any organization should consider the views from all the companys stakeholders and not relying only on the owners views. This inturn enables the stakeholders to have active interest as far as the business welfare is concerned. Some of the stakeholder approach and the potential benefits that can be achieved by business include offering the customers excellent after sale services and also good value products so as to create customer loyalty, social corporate responsibilities such as providing the locals with sports facilities so s to create good relations with them which may inturn help to increase sales.Also,a company should provide the workforce with good wages so that the employees can feel motivated and perform their duties enthusiastically and effectively( Rothstein,2005). To stay healthier and stronger, the General Motors needs to keep away from its historical tendencies of being in its comfort zone and regarding itself as the greatest. It should focus on achieving and sustained the momentum so as to bring change and improvements.It needs to borrow a leaf from Toyota which is away ahead of GM (Coetzee, 2001). The General Motors needs to innovate and be ahead of regulation i.e. it should take the opportunity and re-establish itself as a leader in Enviromental technology and avoid being regarded as resistant towards progress on emissions and fuel efficiency. This will enable the company to overtake Honda and Toyota which is deemed as leaders as far as this area is concerned (Greenberg Baron, 1995).

Utopia :: essays research papers

Utopia Utopia represents the notion of an ideal commonwealth, as the expression in a fable of what would at once be a standard and touchstone for social and political regulations. Hytholoday begins to talk of his adventures, and to describe how in the course of them he had come across many interesting communities, among them the commonwealth, whose custom on laws might well serve as examples to European Countries. By directs comments on the evils and miseries prevalent in England and Europe with an analysis of their causes and suggestions for their remedies. When More and Giles discover how widely Hythloday had traveled and realized the depth of his understanding of the governments of many nations, the propose that his knowledge is too valuable to waste and he ought to as a counselor in order to employ his knowledge in service of mankind. But Hythloday address so far on the reasons for his reluctance to undertake such employment. He does not believe that , as things stand, his advice would be accepted. The majority of those presently sitting in royal councils invariably practice a system of flattering toward their superiors and of personal aggrandizement and would surely override his idealistic and philosophical proposals. Hythloday proceeds with the argument to a critical analysis of patterns of law, government, economic and more, among European nation, particularly in England. He criticism are directed specifically at the severity of the penal code, the terrible inequities in the distribution of wealth, the unequal participation in productive labor and so on. After which Hythloday gives an account of the whole life pattern of the Utopians. Hythloday argued that a human life is of more worth than money and that is unreasonable to punish equally the taking of a man ¡Ã‚ ¦s life and his property. The Utopians have not only eliminated money from their economy, they have devised psychological methods to teach their people to despise those precious metals that are used for money in other countries. The concept of the romantic love or the grand passion is not brought into the discussion. Though it is evident throughout Utopia that the family relationship is emphatically advocated and the permanence of matrimony is supported. As the final statement, More presents a puzzle that he led to a major controversy over whether or not to contribute the plan for a society such us he had described in the book. The concept of Utopists, was to create a design for a ideal society, one must then discard the existing one and start a new afresh one.

The Horror of Christianity Essay -- essays research papers

"A Pagan Joke" A Pagan died and, much to her surprise, found herself at the Pearly Gates facing St. Peter. He walked up to her and said, "Hello, and welcome." She stared at St. Peter in complete confusion. "Wait a minute," she said. "I was supposed to end up in the Summerlands." He smiled. "Ah, you must be one of our Pagan sisters. Follow me, please." Peter gestured for her to follow him down a small path, which went through the gates and down a bit to the left. They walked for a short while, then he stepped back and gestured her forward. Looking past his hand, she saw the verdant fields and forests of her desired Summerlands. She saw people feasting, dancing, and making merry, exactly as she expected. While shaking her head in wonder, the Pagan happened to glance over to one side and saw a small group of people a short way away from the edge of the Summerlands. The people in the group were watching the revelers, but not joining them. Instead, they were screa ming and weeping piteously. The Pagan looked at St. Peter. "Who are those people?" St. Peter replied, "Them? They're fundamentalists. They're a bit surprised to see you all there, so they stand there and carry on like that all day." â€Å"Why? Don't they have better things to do?" Peter leaned conspiratorially toward her. "They don't really have a choice. They're actually in Hell. God doesn't like being told what He thinks." I start this paper with this joke to prove a point. When read, pagans, athiests, and those that lie outside the mainstream of Christianity will enjoy it, while Christian Fundamentalists and Conservatives will think it is in poor taste. Some might go so far as to say â€Å"My goodness, he is going to step on a lot of toes with that!† The question remains, though, WHOSE toes, and why does it matter? The answer can be found if we examine the psychology of Christianity. Christianity is one of the worlds most widespread and pervasive religions, and has been around a good long while. Wherever it goes, it seems to spread and promulgate and overrun. Evangelistic Christians send out missionaries to fulfill one of the commands given to them in the Bible: â€Å"Go ye forth and preach the Gospel to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.† (Mt. 28:19) Christi... ...rt or be ostracized, join or suffer, love Christ or be of the devil, and accept the Church or be destroyed. Not all Christians do this and not at all times. But some Christians do commit acts of destruction and this fearful violence is occurring everyday and has occurred for most of the last two millennia somewhere on our world. â€Å"The night is black, Without a moon. the air is thick and still. The vigilantes gather on The lonely torchlit hill. Features distorted in the flickering light, The faces are twisted and grotesque. Silent and stern in the sweltering night, The mob moves like demons possesed. Quiet in conscience, calm in their right, Confident their ways are best. The righteous rise With burning eyes Of hatred and ill-will. Madmen fed on fear and lies To beat and burn and kill. They say there are strangers who threaten us, In our immigrants and infidels. They say there is strangeness too dangerous In our theatres and bookstore shelves, That those who know what's best for us Must rise and save us from ourselves. Quick to judge, Quick to anger, Slow to understand Ignorance and prejudice And fear Walk hand in hand....† ~Neil Peart, Witch Hunt

letter writing Essay

The article is about the use of letter writing within the therapeutic context of counseling among the adolescents. According to the article, note writing and passing is common among adolescents because it function as an outlet to test their new ideas and behaviors while receiving their peer’s feedback. It also provides a place for them to implement their emerging self concept and connect with their peers as they connect with their peers as they develop their autonomy.   Article also discussed the advantage of letter writing compared to a conversation. Obviously, a spoken word may fade over time but written words are more permanent. The author also mentioned the uses of letter in counseling such as correspondence between counselor and client, elaboration of important elements of discussions that occurred during the sessions, client empowerment through altered personal narratives, and identification of client strengths. Meanwhile, the author also explained the theoretical basis for the use of letter writing. One of the theory that the author links to letter writing is the Morita Therapy. France, Cadieax, and Allen (1995) conceptualize letter writing as an opportunity for counseling to take place without disruption of the individual’s everyday life through traditionally scheduled counseling sessions. The other on is the narrative therapy which allow both the counselor and adolescent client to benefit from letter-writing techniques. On the other hand, the most important part of the article is the guidelines for using letter writing intervention among adolescents. First, look for exceptions to the problem and unique outcomes. Then, assume that the adolescent has strengths and resources. Lastly, problems should be externalized through the use of language. Finally, the author discussed about the types of therapeutics letter before she reached the conclusion.   These are letters between counselors and clients, letters from counselors to clients, letters from clients to themselves. Victoria E White, Melissa A Murray. Journal of Mental Health Counseling. Alexandria:Apr 2002. Vol. 24, Iss. 2, p. 166-176 (11 pp.)

Product Design and Process Selection †Services Essay

1. Identify the operations management problems that Dr. Barr is having at the clinic. Dr, Barr is experiencing several operations problems due to a change in what customers are requesting compared to the services the clinic was designed to offer. The increase in specialized services and the addition of grooming requires a different layout. Not only have the space requirements changed but some non-contact services are being performed in contact areas. Customers are requesting a mix of services but the clinic has not thought about service â€Å"packages†. Finally, the staff is not trained for the new service mix. 2. How would you define the â€Å"service bundle† currently being offered? How is this different from the initial purpose of the clinic? Customers are now requesting a bundle of grooming, examining, and sometimes minor surgical services. The business was originally designed to offer examining and surgical services. Not only do the new demands require additional services but also customers see these as a package. The clinic needs to offer the demanded bundle more seamlessly. 3.Identify the high-contact and low-contact segments of the operation. How should each be managed? The high contact segments include reception and customer waiting. The low contact segments are examining, surgery, and grooming. However, grooming is currently being performed in a high contact area. High contact segments must be performed while the customer is present and in contact. Low contact segments can be performed while the customer is not there, and do not need customer contact. In fact, as the grooming operations demonstrate, customer contact with low contact segments can decrease performance. 4.What should Dr. Barr have done differently to avoid the problems she is currently experiencing? What should she do now? Dr. Barr should have studied the impact of a change in the mix of services offered before she started accepting a significantly different mix. Now she needs to either reject business that is outside of her original plans (probably not what she wants to do) or redesign the clinic to better handle the current mix. The redesign should include a new facilities layout, employee training, and probably attention to the service â€Å"packages† offered.

Conversation Analysis

Conversation Analysis Conversation is absolutely instilled throughout every corner of every day for the totality of our lives. Whether it is on your favorite morning talk show, a casual encounter with a roommate, or admitting an undying love to your significant other, our lives, along with our realities, are entirely shaped by the conversations we allow ourselves to become continually engulfed in.With so much of our daily lives revolving around the conversations in which we are a part of it becomes clear that the underlining meanings, or messages, of these conversations could very well be the motor that keeps our realities in a state of progress. Conversation is interactional, philosophical, emotional, and entirely necessary in order to fulfill and express any type of accomplishment. When these conversations, these parts of our lives, are put under a trained mental microscope with the motive of finding a better understanding of the interaction taking place, it is referred to as Conve rsation Analysis (CA).Conversation Analysis’ method is aimed at determining the methods and resources that the interactional participants use and rely on to produce interactional contributions while also making sense of the contributions of others (Schegloff, 2007). What follows in this essay is an in-depth look at the practices and methods of Conversation Analysis showing that a better understanding of one’s conversation(s) will ultimately lead to a better understanding of one’s reality; while also showing that every utterance fulfilling some kind of act, or task, and is entirely motive driven toward the accomplishment of one of these tasks.Conversation Analysis is the study of social interaction, embracing both verbal and non-verbal cues and conduct. As a field of study, Conversation Analysis was developed in the late 1960’s by Sociologist Harvey Sacks with the help of his associates Emanuel Schegloff and Gail Jefferson. Harvey Sacks is commonly regarde d to as the ‘father’ of the particular study. Conversation Analysis is frequently embodied into the works of sociology, anthropology, linguistics, speech communication, and psychology just to name a few.Although similar, Conversation Analysis differs from Discourse Analysis because its focus is squarely on the processes involved in social interaction, and does not include the work of written texts (Sidnell, 2010). To create an accurate analysis of conversation the interaction should not be viewed from a far or from a perspective that is external to the participants own reasoning and understanding of their circumstances and communication (Sidnell & Stivers, 2012).The analysis in which we are going to use as an example for the remainder of the essay focuses primarily on the functions of turn taking, adjacency pairs, repair, and speech acts; all common perspectives in the field of Conversation Analysis. The format of a conversation can be relatively easy to understand; one party communicates, the remaining parties respond in somewhat of a positive feedback loop; meaning that the feedback loop of the conversational system is continually going around with the addition of new information and new utterances, thus a positive feedback loop.This way of conversation is simply called ‘turn-taking’ implying that it is not a lecture style of communication with primarily one party conducting the conversation, rather an interaction where one party’s conversation is influenced and working together with a separate party’s. After establishing the turn taking method of conversation we are able to take it one step deeper and analyze the chosen utterances. While turn taking the two parties will be exchanging what are called ‘adjacency pairs;’ adjacency pairs are composed of two utterances, one after the other.The first pair provokes a response from the second party, such as: ‘Hello, how are you? † could provoke a resp onse such as: â€Å"Fine, how are you? † That is an adjacency pair. When the conversation fails to provide a relevant response to the pair; for example: If â€Å"Hello, how are you? † were to be responded to with â€Å"My favorite color is purple. † The responder has failed to provide a relevant response and has done what is considered to be a breach of conversational maxim, or the maximum of relevance. If such a breach were to happen one can resort to what is called ‘Repair. Repair is a self-righting mechanism that describes how parties in conversation deal with problems in speaking, hearing, or understanding. If the previous example of â€Å"My favorite color is purple† was said due to a misinterpretation of the required response to repair the conversation they might immediately say, â€Å"Oh, I’m terribly sorry I must have misheard you, I’m doing well how are you? † Lastly, this essay will focus on what are called ‘Spee ch Acts;’ the main goal of the utterance, the underlining message of the conversation.For example, telling someone that you will meet them at 7:00 is creating a commitment, a promise, making an arrangement; it isn’t simply just words pieced together. Speech acts include promising, ordering, responding, greeting, warning, inviting, asking, congratulating, etc. , and are the task in which the conversation is attempting to achieve. These perspectives of conversation analysis are just a few of the many factors that go into the structuring and fulfillment of a successful conversation.Turn taking is one of the easier factors of conversation analysis to point out to one who has yet to gain much experience in the field of communications. In the following transcript T is asking E why he has set up his laptop to record what they are talking about: [0:00 – 0:30] T: Takin’ pics? E: No. I’m just recording what we’re saying. T: Does it matter what we say? E: No, doesn’t matter. T: We can say whatever the f*ck we want? E: Uh-[huh] T: [just like that? ]E: Yeah, haha, we don’t even have to be, like, talking the whole time, just has to be 20 minutes worth of time. T: Soo what is this for? E: I get extra credit for my communications class T: you just get conversation from us? E: uh-huh! haha T: What’s up Commi’s?! This is an example of turn taking because T is not lecturing E about something, he is seeking information from E that is relevant to the conversation, and relevant to T’s reality. The two conversers are using adjacency pairs while speaking to each other in order to keep the onversation flowing in a positive feedback loop, while also not breaching the maxim of relevance. The conversation holds adjacency pairs because the utterances from the two conversing follow one another, and anything E said would not be relevant to the reality of T without T first asking E what was going on with the laptop. T had an underlining task of seeking information through his conversation; he successfully used a Speech Act in order to gain the information in which he sought, thus having a clearer understanding of his reality at the time of the conversation.Repair comes into a conversation when the feedback loop of those conversing becomes skewed; a misunderstanding of an utterance from one party to another can alter the outcome and flow of the conversation until the party that misunderstood an utterance and altered the feedback of the conversation has done repair work to reposition the conversation back into a positive feedback loop. The example in the transcript comes into play when E walks into T and J’s room when J is trying to study.E realizes that his presence in the conversation that T and J were having about the material they were studying is beginning to interrupt the flow of their conversation. E begins his repair work to the conversation: [12:00-13:47] J: I’m going to g o study T: good old study sesh J: You can leave that in our room if you want, while we study haha E: I’ll walk back and fourth (p 3. 0) Did you end up selling those clubs dude? T: Yeah, Yogi bought them E: Dam[n] T: [It would] have been a good deal E: (p 8. 0] Connor how was your day?C: Sick! I did a lot of studying. Now I’m helping out with some extra credit J: Excellent! E: Your day was excellent Jack? J: No! my day was pretty shitty, shitty. E: haha (p 7. 0) You want this door closed? J: Yeah, thanks. E: alright sorry guys, peace J: Give him an A! E: I need an A! haha bye guys Once E realizes that his two roommates, T and J, are studying and that he has interrupted their concentration with the video on the lap top he begins to start the repair process of the conversation, and his present reality.E realizes that he shouldn’t be intruding on T and J and by uttering ‘Do you guys want this door closed† he is implying that the interruption is understoo d and he is going to repair the situation by leaving them alone and closing the door on his way out. The repair work is understood by J and he thanks E for the notion and sends him off by telling the camera that E should get an A for his extra credit work that was mentioned in the previous transcription.Repair work is vital to a misunderstanding in a conversation, if a situation arises where repair work is needed but goes unnoticed, the misunderstanding of the conversation will lead to a further misunderstanding of the present reality. Speech acts are the underlining meanings of our conversation; they are the tasks in which we are trying to fulfill through our interaction. Speech acts can be broken down into three categories: locutionary, illocutionary, and perlocutionary acts.Locutionary is the actual utterance and its phonetic meaning, ilocutionary is its intended significance, and perlocutionary is the actual effect on the conversation and present reality. In the following transc ript E goes back into T and J’s room to try and find information about golf clubs. He is not just trying to strike up a conversation; he is seeking information and is attempting to accomplish a task: [16:47 – 19:30] E: Jack do you have any old golf clubs? J: Naah, only the ones I use. E: Does Nick? J: Nope. E: fuckT: John has old ones, but they’re pretty nice. And I don’t think, I can [ask him] E:[Yeah, if he’s looking to sell them] E: definitely let me know, ‘cause I’m trying to go. T: If he does I can definitely let you know. E: awesome thanks, I’m trying to go. The locutionary meaning of E’s utterance is easy to understand; he is seeking a way to buy golf clubs from his roommates if they happen to have an old set. The illocutionary in this particular example matches the meaning of the locutionary as its intended significance is to find some new golf clubs.The actual effect on the conversation, the perlocutionary act, c auses J and T to respond to E with their answers, as it would be in their better interest to sell some old golf clubs. E uses speech acts to try and acquire the information in which he sought. The topic of golf clubs did not just happen to come up in conversation, but was purposely brought into the realities of T and J by E through E’s search for information. Speech acts revolve around every conversation and interaction taking place throughout our lives.Even in random day-to-day gossip speech acts are the motor that drive these interactions in a forward motion of gaining new information. When one better understands the underlining meanings of the conversations throughout their day there is no doubt that that better understanding of communication leads directly to a better understanding of one’s reality. Our realities are entirely shaped by and understood through the words in which we use to describe them.The motives behind our interactions are what shapes the conversat ions into what they become; whether we are trying to be humorous and crack a joke, give a serious speech, show empathy toward someone, argue our opinions back and fourth, or seeking information these certain motives are what craft our interactions with one another. When one better understands these motives they will better understand their conversation, have a better understanding of how to accomplish tasks through their conversation, and ultimately lead to a better understanding of one’s present reality. ReferencesSchegloff, E. (2007). Sequence organization in interaction: A primer in conversation analysis, volume 1. Retrieved from http://www. sscnet. ucla. edu/soc/faculty/schegloff/pubs/index. php (Schegloff, 2007). Sidnell, J. (2010). Conversation analysis: An introduction. Retrieved from http://individual. utoronto. ca/jsidnell/OverviewResearch. html (Sidnell, 2010). Sidnell, J. , & Stivers, T. (2012). handbook of conversation analysis. boston: Wiley-blackwell.. Retrieved from http://media. wiley. com/product_data/excerpt/82/14443320/1444332082-12. pdf (Sidnell & Stivers, 2012)