Holdens Beakdown Essays - Holden Caulfield, J. D. Salinger

Holden's Beakdown This fall I think youre riding for- its a special kind of fall, a horrible kind. The man falling isnt permitted to feel or hear himself hit the bottom. He just keeps falling and falling. The whole arrangements designed for men who, at some time or other in their lives, were looking for something their own environment couldnt supply them with. So they gave up looking. They gave it up before they ever really even got started. Holden Caulfields fall to psychological breakdown begins with his brother Allies death. To Holden, Allie represents everything that was good in this world. When Allie is first described, Holden only says great things about him. Youd have liked him... He was terrifically intelegent... He was the nicest (member of the family). Therefore when Allie dies, the good things in his world disappears. After this first major event, Holden gradually realizes that he is powerless to change the evil and corrupt world that he lives in. Holden is looking for something that his own environment couldnt supply him, the only thing that he ever liked, Allie. Just because somebodys dead, you dont just stop liking them, for Gods sake- especially if they were about a thousand times nicer than the people you know thatre alive and all. Another early event in Holdens life is the death of James Castle. Holden sees himself as James in many ways. James would not take back what he said about a conceited boy, and jumped out of the window before he would do something that he did not believe in. Holden is the same in many ways. He refuses to accept the fact that the world is evil, and does everything in his power to change it. The mark of an immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of a mature one is that humbly for one. Another similarity between them both is that James was wearing Holdens sweater when he fell out of the window. As he saw James lying on the ground, Holden sees a part of himself die with him. The part that dies is the part that believes in the goodness of people and the world. Holdens tendency to get kicked out of schools is both a reason and effect of his gradual fall. He does not apply himself in school because he is depressed, and is depressed because he is being kicked out of schools. This most recent expulsion has a larger effect than usual on Holden. He cares about Pency more than he did about the other schools. And for once, he knew that he was not coming back. When Holden leaves Pency, he states that, I was sort of crying. I dont know why. Sleep tight, ya morons! Holden becomes more desperate when he realizes that his old friend Jane Gallagher was going on a date with his roommate Stradlater. He realizes that Stradlater was going to take away Janes innocence by treating her like he treats other girls. That is why Holden tries to remind Jane of her childhood when he asks Stradlater to ask her about keeping her kings in the back row. He wants to save Jane from falling off the rye field like he did. Ironically, Phoebe, who is one of the innocent children he is trying to protect, is the one who brings him to reality and to his final breakdown. Phoebe is the one who challenges his plan to escape out west. As he tells Phoebe that she cannot run away, he discovers that he too cannot run away. You cant ever find a place that is nice and peaceful, because there isnt any. All the kids were trying to grab for the gold ring, and so was old Phoebe, and I was sort of afraid shed fall off the goddamn horse, but I didnt say anything or do anything. The thing with kids is, that if they want to grab the gold ring, you have to let them do it, and not say anything. If they fall off, they fall off, but its bad if you say anything to them. The gold rings are not gold, but are really

Reasons to Be Pretty, a Play by Neil LaBute

Reasons to Be Pretty, a Play by Neil LaBute Reasons to Be Pretty is a hard-edged comedy written by Neil LaBute. It is the third and final installment of a trilogy (The Shape of Things, Fat Pig, and Reasons to Be Pretty). The trio of plays are connected not by characters or plot but by the recurring theme of body image within American society. Reasons to Be Pretty premiered on Broadway in 2008. It was nominated for three Tony Awards (Best Play, Best Leading Actress, and Best Leading Actor). Meet the Characters Steph is the central argument of the play. Throughout the story, she is furious. She feels emotionally wounded by her boyfriend- who believes that her face is regular (which she views as a way of saying that she is not beautiful). Greg, the protagonist, spends most of his life trying to explain his misunderstood intentions to others. Like other leading men in Neil LaBute plays, he is far more affable than the male supporting characters (who are always foul-mouthed jerks). In spite of his low-key, eager-to-remain-calm personality, Greg somehow evokes anger from the rest of the characters. Kent is the obnoxious jerk character we were just talking about. He is crude, down-to-earth, and believes that his life is better than perfect. He not only has a good-looking wife, but hes also tangled in a work-related affair. Carly is the wife of Kent and the best friend of Stephanie. She sets the conflict in motion, spreading gossip about Gregs supposedly true feelings. Reasons to Be Pretty Plot Summary of Act One Scene One In Scene One, Steph is very angry because her boyfriend Greg supposedly said something derogatory about her physical appearance. After a heated argument, Greg explains he and his friend Kent had a conversation in Kents garage. Kent had mentioned that the newly hired woman at their workplace was hot. According to Greg, he replied: Maybe Steph hasnt got a face like that girls. Maybe Stephs face is just regular. But I wouldnt trade her for a million bucks. After his admission, Steph storms out of the room. Scene Two Greg hangs out with Kent, recounting his fight with Stephanie. During their conversation, Kent chastises him about eating an energy bar directly after a meal, claiming that Greg will get fat. Kent goes into the bathroom. Kents wife Carly arrives. Carly is in law enforcement. She is the one who gossiped to Steph about Gregs conversation, regarding her regular face. Carly harshly criticizes Greg, detailing how upset Steph has become, reacting to his insensitive words. Greg argues that he was trying to say something complimentary about Steph. Carly states that his communication skills suck. When Kent finally returns from the bathroom, he defuses the argument, kisses Carly, and advises Greg to treat women nicely to keep the relationship happy. Ironically, whenever Carly is not around, Kent is far more demeaning and derogatory than Greg. Scene Three Steph meets Greg in neutral territory: a restaurant at lunchtime. He has brought her flowers, but she remains intent on moving out and ending their four-year relationship. She wants to be with someone who sees her as beautiful. After unleashing more of her anger and rebuking Gregs attempts at reconciliation, Steph demands the keys so she can remove all of her items from their home. Greg finally fights back (verbally) and says that he doesnt want to see her stupid face anymore. That makes Stephanie snap! Steph makes him sit back down at the table. She then pulls out a letter from her purse. She has written down everything about Greg that she dislikes. Her letter is a vicious (yet amusing) tirade, detailing all of his physical and sexual flaws, from head to toe. After reading the hateful letter, she admits that she wrote all of those things to hurt him. However, she says that his comment about her face represents his true beliefs, and can therefore never be forgotten or taken back. Scene Four Kent and Carly sit together, complaining about work and money. Carly criticizes her husbands lack of maturity. Just as they start to makeup, Greg arrives to hang out and read a book. Carly leaves, annoyed because she blames Greg for making Steph move away. Kent reluctantly confides in Greg, admitting that he is having an affair with the hot girl at work. He goes through a long list of positive details about her physique. (In many ways it is the opposite of Stephs angry letter monologue.) At the end of the scene, Kent makes Greg promise not to reveal the affair to anyone (especially Steph or Carly). Kent claims that men must stick together because they are like buffalo. Act One of Reasons to Be Pretty concludes with Gregs realization that his relationship is not the only one that has fallen apart.

Discuss the treatment of women in Kate chopins The Story of an hour Research Paper - 1

Discuss the treatment of women in Kate chopins The Story of an hour and The Awakening - Research Paper Example This enables her to ‘paint a picture’ of life in that moment. By focusing on key elements of the environment in which the characters move and through special attention given to just how the story is to be told, she enables the audience to experience the constraining forces experienced by women of her time and why they would want to escape from it. These ideas are easily discovered in a comparison between Chopins short story â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and her novel Awakening as both women experience an awakening to their own inner nature. Awakening begins with consistent references to Edna Pontelliers position as part of the property held by her husband until the night she takes a liberating swim away from the life shes been trapped within. Her owned status is introduced on her first appearance at the beginning of the story in the way that her husband, Leonce Pontellier, addresses her as she returns from a swim. â€Å"’You are burnt beyond recognition,’ he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of personal property which has suffered some damage† (13). Vague ideas of independence and self-awareness plague Edna, slowly building through the action of the novel until they finally break free on the night of the beach party: â€Å"that night she was like the little tottering, stumbling, clutching child, who all of a sudden realizes its powers, and walks for the first time alone, boldly and with overconfidence. She could have shouted for joy. She did shout for joy, as with a sweep ing stroke or two she lifted her body to the surface of the water† (50). This experience of freedom is something most women didnt have a chance to know. According to one of the experts on womens conditions in that time period, â€Å"Woman †¦ was the hostage in the home† (Welter 21), subject to her husbands desires, vices,

Religion in school Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Religion in school - Essay Example This has led to wide spread ignorance in terms of one own religion as well as the religion of the worlds. In the global village of today where we reside, it is important to know the basics of the main religions in the world in order to be able to relate to the people of a different faith. The disappearance of religious studies in schools has led to deterioration of moral and ethics in the general society. By being taught ones own religion as well as the different religions of the world in school; the children tend to develop awareness, patience and tolerance amongst themselves and towards people of different race, ethnicity and religion. However due to the deterioration of morality caused in the society because of lack of religious education the children are now depicting lower tolerance towards different groups and races in their school. This has resulted in a substantial increase in the race hate crimes and racial, as well as ethnicity basses harassment in schools. â€Å"The number of reported xenophobic, anti-Semitic, and homophobic crimes has increased considerably between 1997 and 2003. The most common hate crimes against immigrants are threats, harassment, slander, ethnic agitation, and assault.† (Bunar, 2007) The other problem that is caused by lack of religious education is the increase in the violence and the number of shootings in the schools. The trend for high school shootings by children against their teachings and peers has shown an alarming increasing trend since the shootings of 1996. One of the most prominent ones was the high school shooting in Cleveland in the Succes Tech Academy. In this shooting â€Å"14-year-old Asa Coon wounded two teachers and two students before killing himself. One of the teachers, Michael Grassie, had already realized that Coon needed special attention. Coon had been singled out as a troubled youth after being disciplined for fighting.† (Raymond, 2007) In order to

Addiction and Native Americans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Addiction and Native Americans - Research Paper Example Reports by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2001 to 2005 indicate that 11.7% of Native American and Alaska Natives are alcohol-related; in the general population, only about 3.3% is credited to alcohol deaths (Associated Press, 2008). Deaths among Native Americans were mostly due to traffic accidents, alcoholic liver disease, homicide, suicide, injuries, and falls. Alcohol-abuse is also a risk factor in some of the common illnesses found among Native Americans and Alaska Natives like tuberculosis, pneumonia, and colon cancer (Associated Press, 2008). A great percentage (66%) of alcohol-abusers among the native population was below 50 years of age. Drug use and abuse is also increasing in the Native American population with methamphetamine, marijuana, and cocaine use rapidly increasing in the past several years. The Public Broadcasting Service (as cited by Tarzana Treatment Centers, 2009) revealed that Native Americans are five times more likely (as compared to whites) to die from alcohol-related causes with chronic liver disease and cirrhosis being among the top six leading causes of death among Native Americans. These diseases do not even belong to the top 10 causes of deaths among the whites (Tarzana Treatment Centers, 2009). This study released by the Associated Press points out the importance of culturally appropriate interventions for alcoholism and alcohol-related health problems among the Native American population. These statistical figures paint a grim picture on alcohol and drug use and abuse and the related problems that come with such abuse. They also present challenges for the health care professionals and government officials in addressing this problem. Alcohol and drug abuse among the Native Americans has to be understood and studied in their historical context. Their history has been riddled with violence, poverty, discrimination, and abuse from the dominant White population in America. As a result,

Entrepreneurship And Innovation At The Mcdonalds Commerce Essay

Entrepreneurship And Innovation At The Mcdonalds Commerce Essay Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship are three essential tools of success for companies in the increasingly challenging business environment. Where, creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and discover new ways of looking at problems and opportunities, Innovation is the key to economic development of any country. Inventions and innovations are the building blocks of the future and Entrepreneurship is the process of creating something new with value by devoting the necessary time and effort assuming the accompanying financial psychic, social risks and receiving the resulting rewards of monetary value and personal satisfaction and independence. All three call for new ideas and there is an element of risk involved in the implementation and the acceptability of the new idea. Where creativity is the ability to generate an idea, innovation is the process of the idea creation and entrepreneur is the person who performs both to become who he is, takes the risk, implements the i dea in the form of a venture. In this fiercely competitive, fast faced global economy creativity is not only an important source of building a competitive advantage but is also a necessity for survival. When developing creative solutions to modern problems, entrepreneurs must go beyond merely using whatever has been used in the past. McDonalds is one such company which has earned its brand image over the years with effective use of entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation all put in right place in the organization allowing the company to achieve massive competitive advantages and an edge at building new ideas and defining new and better means of customer satisfaction. The company serves around 50 million customers in 30,000 destinations worldwide on a daily basis and pulling that off whilst successfully obtaining high revenues is a job that requires continuous innovation and out of the box thinking. McDonalds focus over the years has been nothing less than the customer itself. McDonalds took its strong roots in building a name in innovation during the 1990s and the early 2000ss when the competition first started to grow. McDonalds at that time did not take its brand equity for granted and infused its creative teams minds into the thought process that have and continue to generate innovative products and campaigns like Big Mac and Egg McMuffin (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). McDonalds offers an extensive case study of the application of a well thought of and thorough innovation strategy, a product planning and developmental process that effectively reflects the changing industry, its opportunity recognition and analysis to stay on top, and the Mcdonalization culture and leadership embedded with innovation that it follows to successfully practice innovation in all aspects and obtain customer satisfaction that defines industry standards. But even for a company like McDonalds room still exists for improvement. The paper analyses the company on these aspects. The paper after analysis of the corporate entrepreneurship and innovation strategy being following in the company will attempt to establish recommendation for the enhancement of the competitive advantages of the company. Innovation Strategy Think big, start small, scale fast. This is the innovation strategy being followed by McDonalds. This idea was brought together by the managing director of McDonalds Ventures, Mats Lederhausen (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). The key players are all of the employees of the company who are well ingrained with the 5PS that form the paradox of the company. These 5 PS are: People, Product, Promotion, Place and Price. The innovation that takes place in the company is all customer-oriented and started with people and ends with people making effective use of company resources, offers and tools. The innovation strategy is built on one concept: Customer is king. The insights and demands of the customers are the main triggers of the entire innovation process. The franchisees are known as owner-operators who are a big part of the innovation chain. Keeping such diversified franchises and their thought processes altogether merged with the company objectives and essence is a big challenge which can not be controlled or centralized. The innovation process is decentralized making the owner-operators feel as much important in the company as those who are part of the core headquarters as well as encouraging them to create competitive advantages for the company. McDonalds seizes every opportunity it can to bring innovation and lead the industry. McDonalds success is also based upon its suppliers that are part of the three-legged stool. For McDonalds, the quality of its products is of absolute importance. It specifies highest standards for suppliers in the food industry. McDonalds focuses on developing close relationships with suppliers. At McDonalds, everything is done on an open accounting, handshake trust basis  (Times100, 2009). McDonalds works closely with the suppliers to develop and improve products and production techniques. This dependency is described as a three-legged stool principle, and involves McDonalds, the franchisees and the suppliers. The growth and success of t he McDonalds, in this way, is shared by the suppliers of the restaurant who are able to meet the quality standards (Times100, 2009). For McDonalds, the relationships between franchisor, franchisee and supplier are of paramount importance to the success of the innovation led business. The Process of Innovation and Creativity The owner operators are small business owners who have the entrepreneurial zeal in them and offer various ideas and creative insights that form success drivers for the company. Thus, they are involved in each of the innovation steps and processes. Each of the franchise of McDonalds is in itself a mini laboratory that has millions of potential ideas stored just waiting to be explored and the owner operators are the main source of their retrieval and practice. Sources of Ideas For McDonalds, following are the main sources of ideas. Consumers are the foremost innovation triggers. These include potential as well as existing ones. They are given great importance and attention to point to new directions. This attention takes the form of informally monitoring potential ideas and needs and formally arranging for consumers to have an opportunity to express their opinions (Bygrave, 2008). Existing products and services in the market are also continuously monitored or evaluated to uncover ways to improve the services. This results in innovative products and services that have more market appeal with better sales and profit potential. Owner-Operators, like mentioned above, are the biggest and most effective source of ideas for McDonalds as they offer insights of local appeals surrounding the franchises, which are then incorporated into new products and services. McDonalds introduction of Apple and Walnut salads is one such example of its catering to the local demands, which were communicated effectively by the owner operators. But there are also many demands, such as Shrimp salads that McDonalds cannot currently cater to, because of lack of resources. Federal Government is also a source of new product ideas in two ways. First, the files of the Patent Office contain numerous new product possibilities. Although the patents themselves may not be feasible, they can frequently suggest other more marketable product ideas. Second, new product ideas can come in response to government regulations (Drucker, 2008) Research and Development is yet another but large source of innovative ideas for McDonalds. McDonalds has its mini-laboratories in each of its franchises as well as large laboratories in its head-quarters in US which are continuously engaged in bringing in new product ideas and ingredients and recipes to win customer satisfaction. The Creative Process Although, creative ideas may appear to strike McDonalds as suddenly as a bolt of lightning but they are actually the result of the creative process, which involves the following steps: Preparation Investigation Transformation Incubation Verification Implementation Preparation involves getting the mind ready for creative thinking. Preparation includes a formal education, on the job training, work experience and taking advantage of other learning opportunities. This training provides a foundation on which to build creativity and innovation. Investigation is where a solid understanding of the problem, situation or the decision at hand is developed. Transformation involves viewing similarities and differences in the information collected. This phase requires two types of thinking: convergent and divergent thinking. Convergent thinking is the ability to see the similarities and the connections among various data and events. Divergent thinking is the ability to see the differences among various data and events. The subconscious needs time to reflect on to the information collected, this is done during the incubation phase. Next comes the illumination phase, where a spontaneous breakthrough causes the light bulb to go on. McDonalds Innovation Council then verifies the ideas where it conducts experimentation to test the success potential in the idea generated. Implementation then follows where the idea is transformed to reality (Entrepreneur, 2006 [online]). Opportunity Recognition and Analysis A business opportunity represents a possibility for the entrepreneur to successfully fill a large enough unsatisfied need that enough sales and profits result. Recognition of an opportunity results from the knowledge and experience of the company and its employees. McDonalds makes effective use of its knowledge base and maintains proper records of its previous industry analysis to point to new directions and market niches to exploit profits out of. Each and every innovative opportunity is carefully assessed through an opportunity analysis plan. This opportunity analysis plan comprises of four sections: A description of the idea and its competition; An assessment of the domestic and international market of the idea; As assessment of the entrepreneur and the team; and A discussion of the steps needed to make the idea the basis for a viable business venture. Product Planning and Development Process Once ideas emerge from idea sources or creative problem solving, they need further development and evaluation. The product planning and development process at McDonalds is divided into five stages: The idea stage The concept stage Product development stage Test marketing stage commercialization Organizational Culture McDonalds has succeeded because it offers consumers, workers, and managers efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control. This constitutes the McDonalds model of work practice and work design, known as McDonalization. McDonalds is a global capitalist organization that transforming the production, consumption and distribution of food more importantly everyday life. McDonalds employs Taylors and Fords methods in its assembly line production. Ritzer discerns four elements of Mcdonalization: Efficiency Calculability Predictability and Control (Haworth, n.d.) McDonalds offers efficiency, which is the optimum method for getting from one point to another. This means that McDonalds offers the best available way to get from being hungry to being full. For working people, quick and easy access to food is a blessing and McDonald offers just that through its efficient work practices. This fast-food model offers people an efficient method for satisfying many needs. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) To achieve this efficiency, workers in McDonaldized systems function efficiently. They are provided with training to work this way by managers, who supervise over them closely to make sure they come up to standards. This is ensured by organizational rules and regulations regarding production of highly efficient work. On the other hand, McDonalds also offers calculability, which is an emphasis on the quantitative aspects of products sold (portion size, cost) and service offered. Quantity has become equivalent to quality; that is something that must be good. The common customers perception of bigger is better, is very successfully satisfied with McDonalds Quarter Pounder, the Big Mac, and the large fries. People quantify these things and realize that they are getting a lot of food for quite less money. For consumers this is the best deal but for the food-food outlets this is the extraordinary profitability. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) Consumers also calculate the time it takes to drive to McDonalds, be served the food, eat it, and return home; and then, they compare that duration to the time required to prepare food at home. They believe that it takes them less time to get it from McDonalds than prepare the whole meal at home. This calculation obviously supports home-delivery franchises such as Mcdonalds, which emphasis on time saving. The McDonaldized institutions combine the emphases on time and money. Workers at McDonaldized systems emphasize the quantitative rather than the qualitative aspects of their work. This causes the workers to focus more on the amount of work they do rather than how well they do it, at times. This is how McDonalds employs Frederick Taylors Scientific management work practices, that related the work directly with pay. (Daft, 1997) The third element of the McDonalization is that McDonalds offers predictability, the assurance that the products and services will be the same every time and in all outlets. For example, the Egg McMuffin in New York is identical to those in Chicago and Los Angeles. To be more precise, those eaten next week or next year will be identical to those eaten today. This provides a great comfort in knowing that McDonalds offers no surprises, its service is predictable. People know that the next Egg McMuffin they eat will taste about the same as the others they have eaten; it will be what is expected and in mind of the consumer. The success of the McDonalds model explains that many people have come to prefer a world in which there are few surprises, because unpredictability can be dangerous too (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11) . Relating this to the work practices at McDonalds, the workers in McDonaldized systems also behave in predictable ways. They are confined by the corporate rules as well as the dictates of their managers. McDonalds offers extensive training to its employees, which is so standardized that whatever the employees say at customer touch points is scripted by the managers themselves. McDonalds has pioneered in the routinization of interactive service work (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). Fourthly, McDonalds practices control, especially through the substitution of nonhuman for human technology. A human technology is controlled by people; a nonhuman technology (controls people. The people who eat in fast-food restaurants are controlled through lines, limited menus, few options, and uncomfortable seats. All of these enable the customers to eat quickly and leave (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). The employees in McDonalds working under the McDonaldized organizations are also controlled to a high degree. They are provided trained to do a limited number of tasks in precisely the way they are ordered to do them. The technologies and the way the organization is set up reinforce this control. Managers and supervisors make sure that workers follow the line. (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). How does McDonalds makes sure employees follow up to this control? It threatens them to replace them with technology. But employees cannot be controlled from fouling up the systems operation. The manager cannot control a slow worker, who can still make the preparation and delivery of a Big Mac inefficient and worker who refuses to follow the rules might leave the pickles or special sauce off a hamburger, thereby making for unpredictability. And then a distracted worker can put too few fries in the box, making an order of large fries seem skimpy. It is for these reasons, McDonalds has been obliged to steadily replace human beings with non-human technologies, such as the soft-drink dispenser that shuts itself off when the glass is full, the french-fry machine that rings and lifts itself out of the oil when the fries are crisp, the preprogrammed cash register that eliminates the need for the cashier to calculate prices and amounts, and, perhaps at some future time, the robot capable of making hamburgers. Such technologies increase the companys control over workers. And in this way McDonalds can assure customers that their employees and service will be consistent (Ritzer, 1996, Pp. 9-11). Increasing Competitive Advantages Being an innovation leader in the food service industry, McDonalds does not let its creative heads fall asleep. It is always looking for new directions to improve its customer services to pave way for profitable business. Following are the ways in which McDonalds can sustain and increase its competitive advantage in the face of aggressive rivalry in the food service industry. Enhancing Organizational Creativity McDonalds can enhance its organizational creativity by: Embracing diversity one of the best ways to cultivate a culture of creativity is to hire a diverse workforce. When people solve problems or come up with ideas, they do so in the same framework of their experience. Hiring people from different backgrounds, cultural experiences, hobbies, and interests provides the company with crucial raw material needed for creativity. Expecting Creativity employees rend to rise- or fall- to the level of expectations of entrepreneurs have of them. One of the best ways to communicate the expectation of creativity is to give employees permission to be creative (Morris, 2009) Expecting and tolerating failure creative ideas will produce failures as wells as successes. People who never fail are not being creative. Creativity requires taking chances and managers must remove employees fear of failure. The surest way to quash creativity throughout an organization is to punish employees who try something new and fail. Encouraging curiosity McDonalds may keep its managers and employees asking the question what if and take a maybe we could attitude to break out of assumptions that limit creativity. Viewing Problems as Challenges every problem offers an opportunity for innovation. Entrepreneurs who allow employees to dump all of their problems to desk to be fixed do nothing to develop the creativity within those employees. Providing Creative Training almost everyone has the capacity to be creative, but developing creativity requires training. Training accomplished through books, seminars, workshops and professional meeting can help everyone learn to tap their creative capacity. Providing Support the higher level management of McDonalds should give employees the tools and resources they need to be creative. One of the most valuable resources is time. Rewarding creativity they can also encourage creativity by rewarding it when it occurs. Financial rewards can be effective motivation but non-monetary rewards such as praise, recognition, and celebration can be more powerful incentives. Modeling Creative Behavior creativity is caught as much as it is taught. Companies that excel at innovation find that the passion for creativity starts at the top. Entrepreneurs set examples of creative behavior, take chance and challenge the status quo will soon find their employees doing the same (Morris, 2009). Improving the Creative Process Teams of people working together usually can generate more and more creative idea. Three techniques McDonalds can use to improve the quality of creative ideas that follow from its Innovation Council: brainstorming, mind-mapping and rapid prototyping. Brainstorming is a process in which a small group of people interact with very little structure with the goal of producing a large quantity of novel and imaginative ideas. Another useful tool for jump-starting creativity is mind mapping, an extension of brainstorming. The strength of mind mapping is that it reflects the way the brain actually works. Rather than browsing out ideas in a linear fashion, the brain jumps from one idea to another. Generating creative ideas is a critical step in the process of taking an idea for a product or a service successfully to the market. However, entrepreneurs find that most of their ideas wont work and thats where rapid prototyping plays an important part in the creative process. The promise behind rapid prototyping is that transforming an idea into an actual model will point out flaws in the original idea and will lead to improvements in its design (Hisrich, 2009). Conclusion Dick and Mac were the ones who opened the first McDonalds restaurant in 1940 in San Bernardino, California, and at that time they could not have imagined the worldwide phenomial success that McDonalds now enjoys. What got them famous was their winning formula of selling a high quality product cheaply and quickly. The business really began to grow immensely once Ray Kroc, a Chicago based salesman, who was a marketing expert, joined the team (Watson, 2002). He decided to spread McDonalds formula throughout the United States and beyond. McDonalds now has more than 30,000 restaurants all over the world. Its serves 46 million customers everyday, that is equal to a lunch and dinner for every man, woman, and child in the world! McDonalds enjoys sales over $38bn from the entire world, which make it the biggest food service company internationally. McDonalds paradox of success lies with innovation and giving customer satisfaction the priority for its service offerings and operations. It keeps track of industry changes, anticipates consumer preferences and incorporates them into the product. Also, insights and communication with owner operators provides new product ideas and a highly effective and successful innovation process that is dealt by the McDonalds innovation council and together with the organizational culture of McDonalisation, it is practicing innovation in all aspects and providing innovation embedded services all around the world. But even a company like McDonalds has room for improvement, whereby it can enhance the creativity of its organization by infusing the culture of innovation more predominantly than before into each organizational level and improving the overall creative idea generating process. In the face of globalization, innovation offers a highly effective opportunity which companies like McDonald are making effective use of but it is more of a continuous process rather than a one-time thing.

The Way of The Warrior in The Tale of The Heike Essay examples -- Japa

The Way of The Warrior in The Tale of The Heike Heike Monogatari, with its multitude of battles and skirmishes, provides a wonderful chance to analyze the way of the warrior in ancient Japan. There aren't a great number of surviving works from this period that show in such great detail both the brute and the compassion of the Japanese warriors. They followed carefully a distinct set of principles which made up the well-rounded warrior. Loyalty to one's master, bravery and glory in any situation, strength, martial skills, compassion, and interest in the arts were all held with the highest esteem. Few warriors could become well known without possessing each of these skills. Religious beliefs shaped a warrior's behavior tremendously. Most warriors were heartfelt believers of both Shinto and Buddhism, and followed the ideas of karmic retribution, the four noble truths, the six realms, and the sacred rituals of battle and death. Examples of these, and many other religious ideas abound in Heike. Even before entering battle, warriors prepared mentally. "In the past, three commitments ha been required of a Commander who went forth from the capital to destroy an aenemy of the court. On the day when he received the Sword of Commision, he forgot his lineage; when he prepared to leave his home, he forgot his wife and children; when he engaged the foe on the battlefield, he forgot his life. Most lovingly, those same resolves must have been in the minds of the Heike leaders, Koremori and Tadanori.(p.186)" Formal battles often followed a standard procedure. First off, battles were typically planned with both sides knowing when the time of battle would be. This differs greatly from more strategic methods of battle such as surprise attack... ...g to their religious beliefs. When the Genji warrior Yorimasa suffered a grievous would to his knee, he asked his retainer Watanabe no Chojitsu Tono to cut off his head. Tono, Yorimasa's retainer, refused to do so until Yorimasa had killed himself. Whereafter "Yorimasa turned toward the west, chanted ten Buddha-invocations in a loud voice, and spoke his last sad words: 'No flower of fortune has blessed a life resembling a long-buried tree--yet how bitter is the thought that all should end like this.' Without another word, he thrust the tip of his sword into his belly and fell forward, his vitals pierced.(p.157)" Tono took his head, fastened it to a rock and sank it in the Uji River. Like Yorimasa does, it is imperitive at the moment of death if one wants to reach the Pure Land, that he completely forget his current life and pray towards the Amida Buddha in the west.

And of Clay Are We Created by Isabelle Allende

When assigned to read the short stories in class to summarize and learn to paraphrase, there was one story in particular that emotionally touched me. This short story was â€Å"And of Clay Are We Created† by Isabell Allende. I found many great points that could be discussed about the story, and that is why I chose it to be a part of this research paper. This story is a touching momentum of a man's penetrating awakening that he no longer has to suffer from the emotional torment that was inflicted upon him during is childhood.Rolf, â€Å"like a flower sinking into the mud† (367) has sank into himself; a self that is magnetized with cataclysmic devastation and desolation. The volcano has erupted to bring an avalanche of despair, so does this same volcano explode, bursting to eventually bring calm and equanimity. Isabell Allende has Rolf Carle, a news reporter fly out to the devastating scene where you are introduced to Azucena, a young girl, stuck in the mud. Rolfe Carle s tays with Azucena in hopes of saving her from this catastrophe but in the meantime, he Journeys through his repressed hildhood memories.It is important to investigate repressed memories so you could courageously move forward to live a fuller life, instead of blocking these memories and living in the past. This paper will slightly take you through Rolf Carle's emotions, the effects these memories can have, and how to overcome them. I found it ironic how Rolf Carle is close to many people's histories when investigating the incident being a reporter but he is so distant with his own and we see this when he is telling his stories to Azucena.Rolf connected with Azucena at a level of xperience, whether it was physical or emotional, they became one and shared things with each other, some things being on a different level. This connection occurred because Rolf saw himself like Azucena â€Å"trapped in a pit without escape, buried in life, his head barely above ground† (Allende, 363). It is apparent that Rolf, like the buried and trapped girl, has submerged his own suppressed and hidden visceral terror; terror concealed from reality, that when it is unearthed, it is â€Å"intact and precise as if it had lain always in his mind, waiting† (Allende, 362).Like the eceased relatives who weigh down Azucena by clinging on her legs, so too is Rolf weighed down, incapacitated and paralyzed by the hauntingly vivid repressed memories. Rolf seemed to be trapped in pain as Azucena was in the mud, and confronting the thoughts of the girl dying was tough. Azucena taught him to pray, and eventhough it might have been consolation for herself, she later provides support for Rolfe when he was suffering through his past memories. This moment with Azucena, showed Rolf shame, fear, and regret.Rolfs emotional break down, as displayed with Azucena, esulted in him rising above the vultures and helicopters†¦ [flying] above the vast swamp and corruption† (366). The quest ion of importance and focus is not how this took place. In other words, it is not the line of successive actions and conversations, told and untold, that led to his decisive moment of freedom that is important. It is the cognitive and emotional process of a child who has been abused and chooses to either suppress or repression those traumatic painful memories.Indeed Rolf goes through a transformative change. But for 30 years he has â€Å"lived† or hoose to forget certain events that took place in his life. The reader is never told in full detail the abuse that was inflicted upon Rolf. We are given the illusion of a being beat with a belt then put in a closet. Such a painful event indeed was resulted in the present moment of physical pain, as well as, the present and future psychological damage done to Rolf, not mentioning the effects that it had on his sister.We are reminded time and again by survivors of abuse that emotional abuse is far worse because â€Å"the body is mean t for recovering and healing physical wounds, the vidence is in scars, but the mind has a difficult time reacting to emotional abuse because it is counterproductive and counter intuitive in an unhealthy and unnatural way' (abused victim who chooses to remain anonymous). When dealing with painful events, especially when occurring during childhood, a child often times chooses to either repress or suppress the memories hoping that he or she will never have to relive that moment. A repressed memory, according to some theories of psychology, is a memory (often of a traumatic nature) of an event or environment, which is stored by the unconscious mind but outside the awareness of he conscious mind† (pyshowiki), whereas, suppressed memories are those memories that are forgotten by choice. The question now becomes did Rolfs unconscious mind repress the memory or was it by choice that he suppressed his childhood experience?The answer first comes with an understanding that â€Å"memorie s stay in the brain for life† (Martin Dak). It is important to understand that â€Å"repressed memories do not disappear† (changingminds. org). â€Å"We can only bury memories for so long before they resurface† (Effect on the Mind). A person tends to â€Å"forget memories† because the fear f facing reality has invaded his or her life and he or she no longer has the fortitude to properly be engaged in the present moment.Like an earthquake that shatters glass into millions of pieces and demolishes massive infrastructures into complete and utter ruin; so too can the effects of repressed memories play in a person's life. If repressed memories are not received, accepted, and properly discussed, a lifetime of tortured reality can unfold in a person's life. We don't have to look any farther than the 30 years of life that Rolf lived. The reader is never given a glimpse into his life after the abuse. We are told he has a relationship with a girl and that he is a re porter.Only with extremely caution, lest we stereotype that all reporters and to conclude that his Job does keep him moving from one situation to the next, avoiding having to ever think about his own issues and life. People that have repressed memories could possibly have disorders like post- traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and depression. â€Å"Dwelling on such emotions†¦ is overwhelmed by extreme mental trauma (Novella). One could also experience traumatic amnesia, â€Å"this involves the loss of memories of traumatic experiences† (Kolk).

Wow Philippines Essays

Wow Philippines Essays Wow Philippines Paper Wow Philippines Paper CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Despite Crises, Wow Philippines Campaign Made 2003 Tourism Succeed In 2003, 1. 9 million tourists arrived in the Philippines compared to 1. 93 million in 2002. The slight drop of . 03% was a result of the  Oakwood mutiny, the threat of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Iraq war, political turmoil, and the unhelpful travel advisories from different countries However, tourism revenues for 2003 kept balance with 2002 revenues because of the Department of Tourism’s (DOT) Wealth of Wonders (WOW) Philippines the tourism promotional slogan, which kept the energy of  tourism success steady. WOW Philippines is former Tourism Secretary Richard J. Gordon’s idea to encourage tourism and to motivate a  culture of tourism between Filipinos. Tourism improved in September when the World Health Organization (WHO) removed the country from SARS-infected list with 140,652 tourists’ arrivals for a 2. 5% boost. October added the improvement with 167,573  tourists or an 11. 3% increase. A 17. 6% pour in November  with 170,921 tourists. December had the  leading increase for the year with 24. 7%  or 238,316 tourist coming. In December 2003, the largest  number of tourists comes from the United States. With 55,165 tourists visiting the Philippines regardless of the travel advisories and the state of terrorism alert of their government. The WOW Philippines campaign aimed 2. 4 million  tourists’ arrivals in 2003. In spite of the said difficulties of the year, it is  an honor to the DOT’s WOW Philippines program that catches the attention of 1. 9 million tourists and received close to $1. 5 billion in revenues to help increase the Philippine economy. cribd. com/doc/52724942/Despite-Crises-WOW-Philippines-Campaign-Made-2003-Tourism-Succeed Critics: DOTs Pilipinas Kay Ganda not so pretty The DOT start a new tourism campaign which focuses on the beauty of the Philippines but it turned out to be not so beautiful as start for them. Department of Tourism (DOT) launched its Pilipinas Kay Ganda or Philippines So Beautiful in english campaign, however the slogan and its website beautifulpilipin as. com were both criticized. The day after it’s launched, the website was said to be fix. DOT said that its fresh slogan is portrayed in a colorful, vibrant logo, which shows both the tropical scenery and the happy smiles of our people. A cute tarsier, a marsupial endemic to the country, highlights our unique and playful character. However, the Tarsier is a primate, not a marsupial. The DOT also said that the phrase Kay Ganda! is a common Filipino phrase that exactly means So beautiful! it can be used to state appreciation for everything, beginning from people and landscapes to music, food and even manners. DOT added that it used the word Pilipinas instead of the more common Philippines since Pilipinas captures the renewed pride and hope that were feeling. gmanews. tv/story/206091/critics-dots-pilipinas-kay-ganda-not-so-pretty â€Å"Pilipinas Kay Ganda† not just about ‘wrong grammar’ Tourism Secretary Alberto Lim said that the reason why the DOT’s new P200 million promotion line, â€Å"Pilipinas Kay Ganda† didn’t work is because it is â€Å"ungrammatical. † But the real problem was never the grammar but the ability of â€Å"Pilipinas Kay Ganda† to promote in foreign market. Pilipinas Kay Ganda† was meant to replace the old campaign slogan created by Former DOT Secretary Richard Gordon, but instead of promoting it to the foreign market it would end up working to our balikbayans or with the domestic tourists. Higher chances that the â€Å"Kay Ganda† wouldn’t understand by what DOT would like to target. Keep in m ind that our campaign slogan will be  challenging with difficulty  in the international market with dozens of other countries’ promotional campaign, And if the foreign listener doesn’t understand it at first,  tendency that he or she won’t get it at all. Compare this with the old but still fantastic â€Å"Amazing Thailand,† or the newer â€Å"Incredible India† or Malaysia Truly Asia promo lines that one remembers. The greatest disagreement against â€Å"Kay Ganda,† is that,  it is said to be wrong grammar, but why fix it when in fact the DOT successfully pushed tourism arrivals here over the past years because of â€Å"WOW Philippines,† and just because it belonged to the PGMA administration doesn’t mean it can’t work anymore. â€Å"WOW Philippines† hasn’t reached its full potential also it could have new variations projecting the rich wonders of our pronvices. As Former DOT Secretaty Gordon explained it in an interview, it could represent â€Å"Wealth of Wonders,†Ã‚  or  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Walk our Walls†Ã‚  in Intramuros, In Donsol it could mean â€Å"Watch our Whales†, or for the shooting rapids in Cagayan de Oro or Pagsanjan, it can be Wild over Water  or  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Wild over  Waves†Ã‚  for sirago surf-lovers and Wacko over Wildlife. in subic. It could also be known as â€Å"World of  Warblers. †Ã‚  Because of our world class international singers, like Charice, Arnel Pineda and Lea Salonga. Or it could be Warriors of Worth.    beacause of the our Pambasang Kamao Manny Pacquiao. ttp://www. polbits. com/2010/11/its-not-grammar-its-unintelligible-to. html DOT announces new tourism campaign Pilipinas, Tara Na! After the fall of the controversial â€Å"Pilipinas Kay Ganda† of the Department of Tourism, here comes â€Å"Pilipinas, tara Na! † as the new Domestic Campaign Slogan of DOT. DOT Secretar y Alberto Lim said that the new slogan was meant for the Filipinos to travel within the country rather than going to another country. He also said that the new slogan will be recognized because it was derived from the â€Å"Tara Na, Biyahe Tayo†. Lim said that DOT will going to use the said song but eith different singers. He also added that there will be no protests against the new campaign slogan â€Å"Pilipinas, tara Na†. http://ph. news. yahoo. com/dot-announces-tourism-campaign-pilipinas-tara-na-20110322-183700-797. html DOT, Confident with â€Å"Pilipinas, Tara Na! † Slogan Following the much criticized â€Å"Pilipinas, Kay Ganda† the Department of Tourism has come up with a new campaign slogan to promote Philippine tourism, â€Å"Pilipinas, Tara Na! † People had condemned the effort of DOT to use â€Å"Pilipinas, Kay Ganda† because of the said â€Å"plagiarism† concerns of the logo and all. This slogan supposed to aimed foreign tourists to draw closer to the Philippines for them to witness the beauty of the Pearl of the Orient. Do the idea of changing the slogan change? Since, â€Å"Pilipinas, Tara Na! † aims to persuade Filipinos to take a trip inside the country first instead of traveling around the places and the beauty of other countries. â€Å"Pilipinas, Tara Na! † when interpreted in English is â€Å"Philippines, Let’s Go! † wowbatangas. om/features/others/dot-confident-with-pilipinas-tara-na-slogan/ CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF THE STUDY FIGURE 1: Conceptual Framework of the Study The paradigm of the study serves as the framework on the course of the study. The input consists of the Respondent’s profile (age, gender, occupation) of the respondents. The input was processed by cond ucting a survey through the use of questionnaire forms and conducting an interview which resulted to know the Similarities and Differences of â€Å"WOW Philippines† and â€Å"Pilipinas Tara Na† as a Marketing Slogan of the Department of Tourism.

Medical school personal statement Essays

Medical school personal statement Essays Medical school personal statement Paper Medical school personal statement Paper Everyday I ask myself this nagging question- why medicine as a career ? Well, I wish to be doctor because I carry in me- the passion to care for people. And it is this overriding passion that has been imbibed in me by my father, who I consider my inspiration and reason to be here. In my region where i belong to, medical care is expensive and beyond the reach of the common man. I wish to make a difference by taking healthcare to the masses and thus render service to my nation. By doing so i believe it is the most fulfilling experience that i could ever attain. But that is not all, i wish to advance my career in the medical profession and contribute to medical research in the long run. My father had a humble and difficult start in life, however that was not to deter his aspiration to get educated and succeed in life. Despite all the hardships, he went on to become a successful pharmacist in Addis Ababa (ETHIOPIA). He was a self motivated person and would often use endearing words of hope and optimism in his conversations with me. His words of direction and encouragement have stood by me in my formative years, and today i stand as an applicant to a medical school. I consider myself as a hardworking and conscientious student who will emerge successful and do justice to the profession and to the people of my country. xxxxxx Why medicine? Is the question that I ask myself everyday. I want to become a doctor because I carry in me the passion to help people. This passion has been instilled in me by my father who I consider my inspiration in life. My dad played a great role in helping me decide to become a doctor. My father had a humble beginning in life. Being born to a farmer father and a stay home mom, he had little chance of getting educated and succeeding in life. Despite his circumstances he managed to become a successful Pharmacist in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Growing up my dad would use words such as perseverance and hard work as he relates it to his life stories. These words echo in my ears as I stand today as a medical school applicant. My passion for medicine has been strengthened during my years in undergraduate college and it continued to grow even more in graduate school. When I first took gross anatomy at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, I started to appreciate the human body as a whole. My anatomy course came to life when I was exposed to surgery as a volunteer at Abington Memorial Hospital. The surgery procedure was a robotic assisted hysterectomy. I stood there watching in amazement as the pink organs appeared on the video screen. The surgeon took time as he carefully dissected through connective tissues. Due to the location of the uterus in close proximity to the bladder, the surgeon was taking great care not to damage the urethra. The procedure took over five hours including time to set up the patient followed by the robotic surgery. As mundane as it sounds, I want to be a doctor because I care about humanity. I want to do my part to contribute to bring hope and healing to those who are hurting. There have been many defining moments in my life that has tested my passion for medicine. I have had various circumstances that drove me to give up my vision of becoming a doctor. However, I always found the courage to comeback to my dream. As my father has said, perseverance and hard work, that is what I plan to do until I become a doctor and then after. I plan to work hard to succeed in the profession and in your institution.

What's Under the Veil - Ottoman Women Research Paper

What's Under the Veil - Ottoman Women - Research Paper Example What many people might find interesting is that these women probably wore and owned the most extraordinary and stunning jewelries and clothes of their time. In this research paper, I want to go back in time to the Ottoman Empire and examine what the traditional Ottoman woman wore - jewelries, clothing etc. - and show that there is so much more to discover about them under the veil. Over the centuries, the most important feature of a Turkish female dress was that they wore traditional clothing. We know about the various aspects of a woman’s dress between the 12th to 14th centuries because of tiles, miniatures and the stone carvings that they have left behind and have been discovered. Ottoman clothing is the fashion followed and worn by the Ottoman Turks. It changed over time, but it remained as lovely as ever. Even though the women covered themselves with the ferace – a black long upper dress like a cardigan with full sleeves and no collar – before going outside, they were dressed up beneath this layer (Inal 263). They wore the most beautifully made clothes with exquisite jewelry. The styles and designing of the clothes were the same, the class and religious difference only being apparent due to the quality of the cloth used to make their clothes. The rich made their dresses of a fine cloth called barami. Guillaume Postel, a professor, was sent to Istanbul by King Francois the First. He kept a travel log in which he has written: â€Å"The materials used are gold and silver satin, brocade, damask and many kinds of silk. These are the fabrics chosen by the rich and the city aristocrats, the city poor and villagers dress very badly† (Ministry of Culture and Tourism). The women, in hopes for making a way for themselves in the Empire, did embroidery. They wove intricate designs and used these cloths as headscarves, etc. They were quite proud of their appearance and wanted to look their best. Later in the period, they started wearing a two- layer long entari, too, which is a gown. They also wore tul, a shawl of velvet around their heads. Even later on in the century, an entari was worn inside beneath a caftan-shaped dress which was short-sleeved (Besse and Morris 176). The basic accessories worn by the Ottoman women were jeweled belts made of gold, crystal, silver, mother-of-pearl or even ivory. Belt buckles were worn around the waist or at times over the hips. These had floral or geometric designs and were bedecked with gems like diamonds, turquoise, emeralds and others. Beneath it they wore salwar  ­Ã¢â‚¬â€œ a kind of loose pants (Inal 252). These were mostly made of taffeta. They wore leather shoes which were usually yellow in color, probably because of the gold embroidery (Kia 216) and the toes were quite narrow and so very tight. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, the wife of the English ambassador to Turkey had this to say about their clothing whilst her stay over there: â€Å"The first piece of my dress is a pair of drawers, very full, that reach to my shoes and conceal the legs...They are of a thin rose color damask brocaded with silver flowers, my shoes of white kid Leather embroidered with Gold. Over this hangs my Smock of a fine white silk Gause edg'd with Embroidery...The Antery is a waistcoat made close to the shape, of white and Gold damask, with very long sleeves....My Caftan of the same stuff with my Drawers is a robe exactly fitted to my shape and reaching my feet...† (Kamps and Singh 101) As Muslim women have been advised to cover themselves in front of any male who is not their husband or close relative, the women used to wear veils or, at least, covered their heads. These were made of silk for the summers and of wool, lined with fur for the colder seasons. Over time

DQ2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

DQ2 - Essay Example It was Goffee and Jones who considered the fact that, there are never-ending assortments of leaders and managers moreover no individual can immediately imitate a different leader or a different manager. Accordingly the dare facing the potential leaders and managers is for them to maintain their true personalities with a lot more polished skills. Which is why, individually they would need to formulate their own approach towards successful leadership and managers (Goffee, 2000). Will set a track or else visualization that others pursue, without taking into account the fact as to how this fresh direction is going to be accomplished. There are individuals then within the group who have to try real hard to complete the picture, a lot of effort is then required on their behalf. In this case the individual will be able to administer the resources in order to preserve the position or else make sure things go on in line with the previously recognized tactics. E.g.: a cricket match umpire supervises the game, however does not generally endow with leadership for the reason that there is no fresh alteration, no novel direction. Moreover the umpire is scheming resources to make sure that the rules of the game are ensued also position is preserved. In a situation where both exist, it would imply mutually the establishing of new paths along with administering the resources to accomplish it. E.g. A recently nominated leader otherwise a premier. It is quite possible that an individual might be an effective leader but not an effective manager. In this case, the manager or the leader would somehow make sure that there work goals are met, but they would not be able to accomplish anything in total. Experts also believe that all human beings have sometimes both the traits. The efficiency of the management comes into play here, when they need to recruit an individual and then work upon his skills to polish