Mandatory Second Language Essay

As I was getting ready to go out, â€Å"Made in China† tag of my shirt caught my attention. â€Å"My shirt traveled many miles to reach in my hands,† I said to myself. Then I looked at my shoes; they were made in Bangladesh. I called my computer tech; I was transferred in India. For a moment, I thought I was a citizen of a globalized society where borders did not exist. As a matter of fact, U.S companies invest more than $3.5 trillion a year to do business in other countries while foreign companies invest more than $2.3 trillion a year to do business in the United States (Williams, 2013, Intro to Management, 154). Our task is to set those numbers higher, which might not be an easy job if you don’t speak other countries language as they speak English. In order for a new generation to face globalization challenges, second language should be mandatory for all U.S students. As we grow global more foreign business in coming to U.S soil, and more U.S companies are reac hing international market. I also hear people complaining of high levels of unemployment. The company I work for is aiming to open another 500 hotels in Asia region. Bilinguals are in demand. Most of the qualified trainers must speak another language besides English. Preferably, Chinese or Indian. There is a demand for workers, but skill needed to do the job is missing. The company I work for has signed 21 new deals in China during 2010, compared with 18 all during 2009. â€Å"And development keeps growing,† says Harris Chan, Starwood’s vice president of operations support for China and Taiwan. Not only that, but according to the standards and policies of the company, every hotel should have a Chinese speaker in the team. Now I have a dilemma; should I spend 18 months going for my Master’s or should I use that time learning Chinese? Both options are valid for my working career. As I am working for a hotel industry, training is part of the job. The company sent me in Europe for a job training. A week in Barcelona! I struggled so hard to  sharpen my Spanish, before getting to Spain. The city was beautiful and impressive, but it would be better travel experience for me if would be able to tell the waiter how I wanted my eggs cooked, or how to ask for the bus station. What made me feel comfortable was the team I was working with. Everyone spoke another language besides their native ones. They all spoke English. I felt not confident using my broken English accent Spanish. I admit it was uncomfortable than everyone else spoke another language (maybe two) and I was the only one feeling comfortable only in English language. In fact, Spanish, Chinese, or any other language is not a bad idea in the country of melting pot. According to a study of an educational institution on 2010, below are the top ten foreign languages spoken in high schools of New York: America is the land of immigrants. Along with their traditions, immigrants bring their languages also. That is part of the American culture also. It is our job to maintain it. Not everyone that comes in the U.S soil speaks English. Does that mean, we have to shut the communication with the new immigrants just because of the language barriers? We all agree that, building walls is not an option. From the census of 2013, the governmental authorities stated that â€Å"As the nation continues to be a destination for people from other lands, this pattern of language diversity will also likely continue.† I believe that, separating from social events just because of the language barrier it is unhealthy for the overall society. Isolation makes people unsocial and less active in their communities, which leads them on building walls instead of bridges. Social health depends on proper communication. Our future generations need to fit in the multicultural and global environment. Our communities grow healthier and stronger is we are capable of speaking each other’s language. In a conclusion, I would say that a second language is a need for our generations. The latest global business events are requesting it, by developing new multilingual markets. A good portion of the US trade is done with non-English spoken countries. Our future business achievements will depend on how well we will be able to communicate. Second, the American youth is facing an intellectual competition with foreign  counterparts on language skills. While the average European teenager speaks two languages, most of the teenagers in the homeland speak only English. It looks like we are falling behind. Third, diversity plays a role in national and global business growth. Therefore, diverse language environment is common. Being able to speak more than English, it is not just a skill but a requirement in the new era of business globalization. Reference Lavrusik, V. (2010, April 4). Top 10 languages spoken by students at Manhattan International. http://archives.jrn.columbia.edu/coveringed/schoolstories10/2010/04/top-10-languages-spoken-by-students-at-manhattan-international/index.html Ryan, C. (2013, August 1). Language Use in the United States: 2011. http://www.census.gov/prod/2013pubs/acs-22.pdf Williams, C. (2013). MGMT3 (5th ed). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning Yu, R. (2010, October 26). Foreign hotels flock to China. https://web-b-ebscohost-com.libdatab.strayer.edu/ehost/detail/detail?vid=8&sid=684e6cc8-a980-4638bf02a989aee7%40sessionmgr110&hid=116&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=J0E369281117410

Female Offenders

Aarron Eilers February 22, 2010 Female Offenders The number of women incarcerated is growing at a rapid pace. This calls for a reevaluation of our correction institutions to deal with women’s involvement in crime. Increasing numbers of arrests for property crime and public order offenses are outpacing that of men. The â€Å"War on Drugs† has a big influence on why our prisons have become overcrowded in the last 25 years. Women are impacted more than ever because they are being convicted equally for drug and other offenses. Female criminal behavior has always been identified as minor compared to Male’s criminal behavior. Over the years women have made up only small part of the offender populations. There is still only a small portion of the inmate population that is female but it is increasing at a high rate. Women are participating in more violent crimes and being convicted of crimes that were historically reserved for men. The Bureau of Justice Statistics which reports a yearend report of number of females incarcerated reported that there were 26,300 females behind bars for violent crimes after the year of 2002. Violent crimes in women prisons accounted for thirty-three percent of the population. The overall female population also increased 2. 9 percent from 2003 to 2004. People have recently started paying much more attention to women who commit violent crimes. Women most times have a plan and a target when committing a crime like murder. The target is usually someone very close to them such as a spouse or their children. The reasons for committing the murder range from jealously to self defense. The female usually has been a target of violence somewhere in her past as well. Research that has been done shows that a female who commits murder tends to be older than a one who commits a petty crime. The Bureau of Justice Statistics indicated that most women who commit such a crime as murder did so while they were alone with the victim. Only eight percent of the time was another female or male present during the offense. The Bureau also reports that forty percent of the time the female was under the influence of some type of drug or alcohol. Most women who have spent time in jails or prisons have a lifelong connection with the justice system. Estimates done in the United States show that fifty-eight percent of women are rearrested, thirty percent return to prison within three years, and thirty-eight percent are reconvicted. In Kruttschnitt and Gartner’s review of the literature they suggest that the demographic plays a major part in a female’s recidivism. Females who have a history of property crime, drug use, and a lengthy criminal history are more likely to recidivate. Deschenes and colleagues study of the cohort recidivism dataset revealed similar findings. They did note that the effect of drug abuse and institutional programs were absent from the report. Some questions have surfaced when looking at the general recidivism literature. Scholars argue that the study of recidivism should have a broader range of study. It needed to add the whole life perspective not just a short period in the female’s life. Now that women are committing crimes at almost the same rate as men the question arises, should men and women receive the same treatment in the criminal justice system. This issue has sparked debate in the last few years. The current law states that the defendant should not receive any special treatment due to characteristics such as race, gender, or age. These are considered extralegal and should not be considered during the sentencing process. Gender was ignored until the early 1980’s, but when it was given attention it focused on sex differences and sanctioning instead of questioning the crimes of men and the criminal justice system’s response to men’s crimes. Most research done on sentencing and gender goes as far back as 1934 when Martin concluded that females were no more likely than males to be sentenced to prison terms. One of the most recent studies by Spohn in 2002 stated that the odds of receiving a prison sentence are two and a half times greater for male offenders than for female offenders. For numerous years, prison officials applied the same type of treatment for men and women. In the last decade with the increasing number of women incarcerated, research shows that women have different physical and emotional needs. For example, women are more attached to their children that they are leaving behind, and some have histories of physical and mental abuse. The creation of two programs, Key Crest and Forever Free were created to help with women specific issues. Recent studies done by National Institute of Justice studies found that participants in these two programs stayed drug and arrest free for over three years. Participants were tested and interviewed once a year for three years. The studies also showed that the programs provided aftercare and treatment in areas that were not addressed in previous years. Even though both varied in their approach, they both recognized the many ways there were to treat the needs of women and how they differ from men. The studies also show that gender specific programs do help inmates reenter into society. There are many factors that inhibit women to commit violent crimes. Most women suffer from substance abuse, spouse abuse and mental issues. The most common risk is being previously being abused earlier in life. A survey conducted in 2002 reported that thirty six percent of all female inmates in United States jails had been abused at some point. Twenty-six percent reported that they were abused by someone of their immediate family. Another possible reason for a rise in women’s crime may be due to an idea created by sociologists called â€Å"liberation hypothesis†. In this hypothesis due to the lack of access to certain areas in society women in the past were committing crimes such as shoplifting, fraud, and prostitution. As women start to gain access to more avenues in society they are able to commit more serious crimes. The murder rate, crimes against property, and street crimes have increased significantly. Women used to be just the drug smugglers but now they are the dealers. Dr. Chishom of the Southern Region Violence & Substance Abuse Prevention Center stated that â€Å"Quite frankly women became more daring†. Now they compete with men for the same crimes that once were dominated by men. Society also may be a reason for the rise in women’s crime rate. Society over the last 30 years has changed dramatically and has become more violent. Women feel that they may have to protect themselves more than ever. Dr. Barbara Scott of Northeastern Illinois University suggests that society has an increased acceptance of violence. Violence is portrayed in the media as a way of dealing with frustration and aggression, not only in women but in men as well. Women are no longer scared of doing things that once were deemed unacceptable. They are carrying weapons, being involved in shootings, and committing child abuse. One trend that is related to women committing crimes is drug dependency. The rising rate of drug dependency has a major impact on women’s crime trends. Women who rely on drugs must have a constant income to acquire these drugs on a routine basis. This is where women tend to be involved in burglaries and robberies to fund their drug habits. Drug use also tends to sink women into the underworld of a criminal subculture. It exposes them to violence and dangerous situations. This is where they meet men that are also connected to drug dependency. Most men that are drug dependant exploit women to feed their own habits. When studying the career of a violent female criminal research shows substantial gender variations. Most women’s careers start and end much earlier than one of a man. Females are more likely not to repeat violent crimes. Females are also more likely to shy away from any future crimes. Long term involvement as a career criminal by a woman is very rare. Case studies and interviews show a weak commitment to a life of crime. When explaining the female offending process most theories were created by men. Most theories have been challenged because they were created for men, and people wonder if those theories can be used to explain female crime. Some criminologists argue that traditional theories are male specific and are not designed to explain female crime. Approaches such as the anomie theory and conflict theory suggest that factors such as poverty and inequality underlie much of the basic crime. Consistent between the two approaches, both male and females show that they come from the poor and disadvantaged. These approaches help explain the gender gap as a consequence of the lesser relevance of success goals compared to men. The social processes such as differential association and labeling theory tend to explain common crime in terms of different opportunities for learning female values and skill sets. These theories would explain the gender gap as a consequence of lower access by females to learning criminal activity. The Control Theory suggests that poor social bonds account for much of the crime. This theory argues that most criminals come from a disproportional and dysfunctional family. Their education level is very low and they have a weak chain of conformity. The gender gap in this theory is explained through female socialization towards their bonding behavior. The utilization of the traditional theories is supported by evidence that shows that females and men overlap in their causes for committing crimes. For example, male and females alike tend to have poor education, be in low income bracket, and be of the minority status. Second, there is evidence that shows that there is close relation that females and males respond to the same societal forces. While traditional theories help understand male and female crime levels, they are less accurate at explaining different patterns of crime between the two. Different from male criminals, females are less likely to commit serious crime or lead crime organizations. When linked with males, females tend to be accomplices who help carry out the plan but never are the leader. Females are more likely to commit crime for more traditional reasons such as accomplishment, betterment, and self preservation. Situational pressures such as relationship problems, loss of a loved one, or need for income is a few reasons females turn to offending. The reentry contextual has been a way of understanding recidivism. The neighborhood a women returns to after being released is a main focus. Most women who are released go back to an impoverished environment which is not suited to keep them clear of crime. Most of these areas do not have the proper treatment centers that are needed to make them successful. The job markets in these neighborhoods are slim and sometimes nonexistent. In turn, moral for a woman who is trying to turn their life around becomes very low. Living conditions are also a key factor. Suitable living arrangements provide social and emotional support. Mallik-Kane and Visher found that fifty six percent of women released ended up living with family and friends. Most had been given some sort of financial and emotional support. Over one quarter of these women had not received any support from their families. The Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics reports that there are roughly 2. 1 million female violent crime offenders in the United States. Three out of every four women commit crimes on other women. Two thirds of all violent women had some sort of relationship with their victim prior to committing the crime. Forty percent of these women were under some influence of drugs while carrying out the crime. Over half of these offenses were committed at or near the victim’s house. In 1997, there were 44 known women inmates on death row. This made up about 1. 3 percent of the total on death row inmates. Society itself is always changing and has changed a lot in the last couple of decades. Crime is constant battle here in the United States and around the world. All we can do is hope to contain it and keep it as minimum as possible. As reports have been released and studies have been conducted we can see that the crime rate involving women has increased. The rate of violent crimes as in women has significantly risen every year since the early 1980’s. At the end of 2001, there were nearly 9 times as many men (5,037,000) in prisons as there were women (581,000). However women are the fastest growing population in American prisons. In 2004, men were ten times more likely to commit violent crimes than women. That statistic is now false as women are committing more crime than ever before. Some argue that the reasoning for this is because of the economy and their social conditions. The majority of the females arrested for violent crimes came from poverty stricken neighborhoods where there was little chance for advancement. Over half of the females did not have a stable job when they offended. Females are included in more organized crime than they were ever before. This comes from being exposed to the elements to commit crime. Inhibiters such as the media who says it’s Ok to take anger and frustration out through violence or men who use women to be an accomplice in a crime. Females seem to dig themselves deeper into the criminal subculture until they end up serving a ail sentence. Unlike decades ago there are programs to help females through the incarceration process. Key Crest and Forever Free were created to help females’ obtain the correct tools and support they need to return to a normal life. Due to research done after release, it has been shown that these programs due help females stay off drugs and become a positive member of society. Works Cited Doerner, J. K. , 2007-11-14 â€Å"An Examination of Sentencing Outcomes in U. S. Federal Courts: Does a Gender Gap Exist?   Paper presented at the annual meeting of the AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CRIMINOLOGY, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, Georgia Online . 2010-01-24 from http://www. allacademic. com/meta/p201202_index. html Drug treatment and reentry for incarcerated women, (2005, Dec). Retrieved February 22, 2010, http://www. ncjrs. gov/pdffiles1/nij/212776. pdf Hickey, Eric. (2003). Encyclopedia of murder and violent crime. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Why Women Are Committing More Crimes, (2000, July). Retrieved February 22, 2010, http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1355/is_4_98/ai_63291519/pg_2/? tag=content;col1 Women coming home: long-term patterns of recidivism. (2010, April). Justice Quarterly, 225-254. Retrieved February 22, 2010 from http://www. informaworld. com/smpp/section? content=a910861149&fulltext=713240928 Women & Girls in the Criminal Justice System. Retrieved February 22, 2010 from National Criminal Justice Reference Service Web site: http://www. cjrs. gov/spotlight/wgcjs/Summary. html Women in the criminal justice system. (2007, May). Retrieved February 22, 2010,http://www. sentencingproject. org/doc/publications/womenincj_total. pdf Women offenders, (1999, Dec). Retrieved Feb 21, 2010, http://bjs. ojp. usdoj. gov/content/pub/press/wo. pr Zaplin, T Ruth. (2007) Female Offenders: Critical Perspectives and Effective Interventions, Second Edition Sudbury, MA. Jones.

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Strategic Management and Strategic Competitiveness - Research Paper Example In the last few decades, globalization has become a crucial factor in business, as it affects business in different ways. In the case of Kmart, globalization has led to increased competition in the market. For instance, Target and Wal-Mart are new entrants in the market, having come after Kmart. These later replaced Kmart as the leading retailer. In addition, consumers today have a wide range of options to choose from. With increased technology that comes with globalization, consumers in America can now shop from other international companies, out of America. Being operational only in Guam, the United States, and Puerto Rica, Kmart has not stabilized and diversified enough to adapt to the competition that is globalization presents. In addition, the company has not adopted technology to the required global standards, therefore, cannot fully exploit new business opportunities globally (Turner, 2003). Technology is an important factor in companies today, considering the benefits it presents. In Kmart, the factor of technology made it lag behind and lose it to Wal-Mart. This is because Kmart took a long period to adopt technology to the standards of its competitors. Wal-Mart, which is Kmart’s main competitor, used technology since the early 1970,s as the key to its success. During these years, the company used computers in its stores, electronic cash registers, and used scanners to read UPC bar codes. Later, Wal-Mart started using virtual documents in placing orders and receiving shipping notices. Since Kmart did not take the initiative of integrating technology in its business, this made Wal-Mart have all the competitive advantage, as advanced technology brought effectiveness in the business. However, during the end of 1980s Kmart started to adopt advanced technology in its business process gradually. Nonetheless, the sluggish adoption of technology due to lack of

Explain Why the Treatment of Indigenous People Essay Example for Free

Explain Why the Treatment of Indigenous People Essay There were two main concepts that were thought to have motivated European countries to explore and colonize in America: the excitement and the profit of the New World. Throughout the 17th century England and Spain began to fight for control of the North American Continent, with different economic goals in mind. The success in the colonization of the New World depended on many factors one which included the treatment of the natives. Although the ideal treatment of natives within the countries colonies was identical by violently taking the Native American lands and turning them into outpost for their empires; however, their incentive for the treatment was different. The Spanish revealed a more systematic way of mistreating the natives because they intended to colonize America for gold and slaves without any obstacles, and the English colonized for land with no intention or preparation to interfere with the native people intensely until they necessarily had to. Francisco Vasquez de Coronado led a massive expedition bent on finding and conquering Seven Golden Cities of Cibola, while doing so, he embittered many Native Americans toward the Spanish. As the Spaniards trudged through the North American borders in search of gold and slaves, they established a labor system called the encomienda system which helped sustain control over the natives in North, Central, and South America, so they can have certain opportunities to roam the lands in search of gold without any unwanted interruptions. Conquistadors were granted trusteeship over the indigenous people they conquered, in an expansion of familiar feudal institutions, notably the commendation ceremony, which had been established in New Castile during the Reconquista. The conquistadors scrupulously adhered to the Spanish law of conquest by reading the Requerimiento, which ordered defiant Indians, in Spanish, to accept Spanish rule and Christian conversion immediately. If the Indians ignored this order, they deserved the harsh punishments of a just war. For example, as the Spanish encountered swift resistance at the mesa-top pueblo of Acoma, the Indians refused Spanish demands for provisions for an exploring expedition. Spanish troops captured the pueblo, killing eight hundred inhabitants in the process, forcing surviving men to have one foot cut off and along with the women and children, to be servants of the soldiers and missionaries. As for the English and their colonalization, they strived for the land of the Americas, with little rivalry from the natives as possible; therefore, unlike the Spaniards they did not have a systematic way of controlling the natives. At first all went well, the Native Indians eagerly traded and shared their corn. Given such abundance and native hospitality, the colonist wondered why they should work at all. Refusing to grow their own food they expected the Roanokes to feed them. However, the English had outlived their welcome, and fearing that the natives were about to attack, the English soldiers killed the Roanoke leader. Although some settlers were curious and open-minded about the Indians way of life, most assumed that Native Americans would submit to their authority and feed them while they looked for gold. The Spaniards had different ways of conquering the American land treating the indigenous people than the English people however, they each shared the same idea that the Indians needed to be controlled and cater to the needs of those who conquered them. They felt that they did not need to respect the culture, the religion, and the people of the land. The Europeans had a high self respect which they felt overpowered that of the natives. They wanted what was not theirs in order to better their economy without any compromise, while destroying another societys culture. Because of this they were able to come to the same conclusion that they could treat the Natives as they did. To conclude, the Spanish and the English had a similar perspective of how they wanted to treat the natives of the lands they conquered, however they differed in strategy in how they were able to confine them because of the goals they individually had in mind prior to their conquest. The English had a simple idea of coming into America sharing the land and the crops with the natives until they got afraid and too greedy, leaving violence as a resort. With the Spanish, they strategize according to the fact that they wanted the gold and to enslave the native people with no mercy, resulting in striping the natives away from their dignity.

Employers Obligations for Employee Health and Safety

Employers Obligations for Employee Health and Safety To what extent is the employer obliged to exercise care for the health and safety of the employee while performing his or her duties? Is the current position in this regard satisfactory? Introduction The obligations of the employer for health and safety have undergone an interesting development on both the common law and statutory sides of legal regulation. This paper will examine the current extent of obligations for employers towards the health and safety of their employees while they are carrying out their work duties. This current position will then be analysed in order to determine whether it is satisfactory. A. Current Health and Safety Obligations of the employer to the employee 1.The Common Law The common law duty of care[1] translates into an implied term of the contract and in the case of Wilsons and Clyde Coal Co v English[2] the House of Lords identified three key areas in which this implied duty lies: (a)Competent Staff An employer will be liable if they do not provide their employees with sufficient training. This occurred in Hawkins v Ross Castings Ltd[3] where an employee sustained an injury as a result of a spillage of molten metal at the fault of a seventeen year old colleague who possessed only a rudimentary standard of English. Another facet to the heading of competent staff is the actual behaviour of the employees whereby, acts of mischief or ‘larking around’ can be of a particular danger as occurred in Hudson v Ridge Manufacturing Co Ltd.[4] (b) Safe Plant and Equipment An employer is obliged to provide safe equipment and this even applies where there was no knowledge of there being a fault. This is a departure from the traditional common law perspective but is not a new measure as it into effect with the passing of the Employer’s Liability (Defective Equipment) Act of 1969. Here all faults in equipment to be attributable to the employer where a third party has been negligent and in order to meet the financial needs of this obligation, insurance is obligatory for such actions in accordance with the Employer’s Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969. In the interests of fairness, the employer and/or the insurance company can then sue the manufacturer. (c) Safe System of Work This obligation is twofold whereby the employer must, firstly, tell the employees of the location of safety equipment[5] and secondly, the employer has the right to assume that the employee possesses a degree of common sense with the result that there is no obligation to warn of dangers that are obvious such as the hitting of an unexploded bomb with a hammer[6] or running in the corridor to obtain lunch.[7] This highlights the fact that the employer must find a balance between the obvious and the not so obvious safety measures where there would be an obligation to inform the employee of risks and the proper procedures. Employees may make a decision not to take certain precautions, but if the risk is obvious, their employer will not be liable[8], however despite any conscious choice on the part of the employee, a risk that is not obvious will always rest with the employer[9]. This standard is ideal as it rightly presupposes the authority of the employer and their superior knowledge bu t at the same time, also acknowledges personal autonomy of employees for which the employer should not be held liable. A further and more recent application of the safe system of work is that the employer must refrain from requiring that the employee work excessively long hours[10] and cause unnecessary levels of stress[11] that arise on account of insufficient staffing and the even more serious occurrence of bullying in the work place.[12] This gave rise to an innovation in liability for the psychological injury that employees could sustain and in this era of greater pressure in the work place, it would have been a far more applicable head of claim to a greater number of employees than that of the traditional doctrine of liability for physical injury alone. However two recent cases on this matter gave rise first of all, limitation and then outright exclusion of heads of claim concerning stress in the work place. The earlier limitation arose in Sutherland v Hatton[13] in which it was held by the Court of Appeal that there had to be ‘plain indications of impending harm’ that would arise f rom the stress. This is part of a traditional acceptance that there has to be a balance between the likelihood of the injury occurring and the cost to the employer of protecting his employees.[14] In the latter case of Barber (Appellant) v. Somerset County Council (Respondents)[15] involved a teacher suffering from stress and the House of Lords rejected the notion of an employer’s duty of care. Lord Scott of Foscote stated that: â€Å"The school is entitled to expect, also, that the teacher, an adult, will take his own decisions as to whether he needs to consult his doctor and will, if so advised by his doctor, take time off†¦[16]† (d) Safe Place of Work Since the decision of the Wilsons and Clyde Coal Co case, there is a fourth area to which the applied duty of care is attributable and this is the provision of a safe place of work. There are three key areas where the employer must exercise a reasonable standard of care. This constituted the obligation to provide an adequate reporting system.[17] More recently, this has the potential to extend to instances of long term injury such as passive smoking as it was established that employees have a right not to work in a smoky environment in Waltons and Morse v Dorrington[18] and this would constitute a step in the right direction. A question now arises as to how far this duty ought to extend. 2.Statutory Duties The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the key legislative authority for the obligations of employers to their employees and its aim is twofold. 1. The provision of a general duty of care In the first place the 1974 Act sets out the general duties that are applicable to the entire employment spectrum and this standard is found in s 2(1) of the 1974 Act, which is as follows: â€Å"It shall be the duty of every employer to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare of all his employees.† Further to this there are also more specific obligations laid throughout s 2 of the Act, which encompass ‘the provision and maintenance of plant and systems of work so that they are safe and without risk to health’.[19] There is also provision on, ‘the handling, storage and transport of articles and substances[20]’ as well as, ‘provision of information, instructions, training and supervision.[21]’ Finally s 2 of the 1974 Act also has provision on: â€Å"The maintenance of places of work under the employer’s control in a safe condition with safe and risk free means of access and egress.[22]† and â€Å"The provision and maintenance of a safe, risk-free working environment with adequate welfare facilities and arrangements.[23]† The crucial element of these provisions is that the standard of care stipulated is for the employer to act is, ‘as far as is reasonably practicable.’ This standard carries with it the obligation for employers to do everything reasonable that would ensure safety and the provisions go far to show that this encompasses many fields such as training, inspections and the availability of safety equipment. The emphasis of the Robens Report was therefore largely met with there being a statutory framework that requires employers to actively think about the measures they are taking. 2. Provision of a unified system of enforcement by the Health and Safety Executive and the various local authorities. The second aim of the 1974 Act is as a system of enforcement and this is largely carried out by the Health and Safety inspectorate but paradoxically, no one can, in accordance with s 47 of the 1974 Act, raise a civil action under the duties imposed by the 1974 Act. While this results in a fundamental questioning of the usefulness of the 1974 Act, it does highlight the fact that this legislation is exclusively an Act for professional enforceability. The rights of recourse for employees are therefore in accordance with the standard duties of care that are found under the law of tort.[24] More specifically, actions can be raised in relation to industrial accidents, personal injury, injuries arising out of the course of employment and some statutory obligations. However, it is the Act itself that specifics the standard of care to be adopted by employers when their employees are carrying out their employment duties. In addition, the 1974 Act creates a premise for criminal liability, which of course carries higher penalties as well as an employer’s burden of proof, as opposed to the burden of the plaintiff in civil actions. 2. Interpretation of the standard of care of the 1974 Act in case law Interpretation of the standard under case law is essentially analysis of the way in which the courts have dealt with the crucial phrase, ‘so far as is reasonably practicable.’ Case law shows that the reasonable practicability of a given situation can cover areas such as financial viability of the health and safety measure as against the risk of injury. This is similar to the balance that requires to be sought under the common law, with the equivalent 1974 Act case being that of Associated Diaries v Hartley.[25] Here an employee sustained an injury as a result of a truck going over his foot. The safety shoes would have cost him  £1 per week but decided not to use them and his argument that they should have been provided for free failed on account of the fact that they would have cost the employer  £20,000. This balance is perfectly sound but the 1974 Act is not equipped to deal with instances of stress at work on account of the fact that civil actions cannot be raised via its provisions. B. Is this position satisfactory? 1. Possible faults with the common law It is extremely disappointing that the House of Lords has rejected the concept of a duty of care for stress as there is a great deal that employers can do to relieve stress levels and, as with the balance that has been achieved between the cost of health and safety and the likelihood of injury, the equivalent would be more than approachable for stress situations. This does not bode well for other types of innovations such as The common law does however acknowledge that a duty of care also extends beyond the work place where the employee continues to act within their duties of employment. This is seen in the case of King v Smith and Another[26] where, in the event of inadequate on-site facilities, it is up to the employer to find a suitable solution. 2. Faults with the 1974 Act The current issue with the current Health and Safety legislation is that it is becoming outdated and is much in need of reform in order to cope with new kinds of dangers that were not such a going concern in 1974. This specifically refers to the ever increasing circumstances of stress related injury that would be wholly out-with the competence of the Health and Safety Inspectorate. However as a result of Barber v Somerset County Council, such an argument would not hold strength unless the legislative were to decide to override the common law doctrine and create a statutory obligation for employers against employee stress. Conclusion Both the common law and the statutory framework are equally satisfactory in terms of their ability to tackle cases of negligence where there has been physical injury caused to the employee on account of the negligence of the employer. However, the express exclusion of liability for stress, as well as the impracticability of the Health and Safety inspectorate to even attempt to assist in safeguarding against stress is a concern of great magnitude. The conclusion of Lord Foscote in the case of Barber v Somerset County Council was wrong as the question of choosing to be a teacher or a doctor is an overly romanticised image of a pic’ n mix employee’s market with readily available jobs. Further to this, it should never become an accepted condition of our society that unhealthy stress should be an integral to working life for which there can be no legal recourse. Bibliography Legislation Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 Case Law Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 Wilsons and Clyde Coal Co v English [1938] AC 57 Hawkins v Ross Castings Ltd [1970] 1 All ER 180 Hudson v Ridge Manufacturing Co Ltd [1957] 2 QB 348 Finch v Telegraph Construction Maintenance Co Ltd [1949] 1 All ER 452 O’Reilly v National Rail [1966] 1 All ER 499 Lazarus v Firestone Tyre and Rubber Co Ltd (1963) The Times 2 May Qualcast (Wolverhampton) Ltd v Haynes [1959] AC 743 Berry v Stone Maganese Marine Ltd (1971) 12 KIR 13 Johnstone v Bloombury Area Health Authority [1991] ICR 269 Walker v Northumberland County Council [1995] IRLR 35 Ratcliffe v Dorset County Council [1978] IRLR 191. Waters v Commissioner for the Police of the Metropolis [2000] IRLR 720 Sutherland v Hatton [2002] EWCA Civ 76 Stokes v Guest, Keen Nettleford (Bolts Nuts) Ltd [1968] 1 WLR 1776 Barber v Somerset County Council [2004] UKHL 13 Franklin v Edmonton Corporation (1966) 109 SJ 876 Waltons and Morse v Dorrington [1997] IRLR 488 Associated Diaries v Hartley [1979] IRLR 171 King v Smith and Another (1994) The Times 3 November. General Cleaning Contractors v Christmas [1953] AC 180 Text Book Publications D.Brodie, â€Å"Health and Safety† (Oxford University Press, 2004) H.Collins, K.D.Ewing A.McColgan, ‘Labour Law:Text and Materials (Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2001) Smith and Woods ‘Industrial Law’ (Butterworths, 8th edn, 2003) R.W.Painter and A.Holmes, Cases and Materials on Employment Law, (Oxford University Press 5th edition, 2004) Articles D Brodie ‘Trust and Confidence and Barber v Somerset County Council: Some further Questions’ (224) 33 ILJ 261 1 Footnotes [1] Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562 [2] [1938] AC 57 [3] [1970] 1 All ER 180 [4] [1957] 2 QB 348 [5] See Finch v Telegraph Construction Maintenance Co Ltd [1949] 1 All ER 452 [6] O’Reilly v National Rail [1966] 1 All ER 499 [7] Lazarus v Firestone Tyre and Rubber Co Ltd (1963) The Times 2 May [8] See Qualcast (Wolverhampton) Ltd v Haynes [1959] AC 743 [9] See Berry v Stone Maganese Marine Ltd (1971) 12 KIR 13 [10] Johnstone v Bloombury Area Health Authority [1991] ICR 269 [11] Walker v Northumberland County Council [1995] IRLR 35 [12] See Ratcliffe v Dorset County Council [1978] IRLR 191. See also Waters v Commissioner for the Police of the Metropolis [2000] IRLR 720, which involved tormenting within the police force after the failure to take seriously an allegation of sexual assault. [13] [2002] EWCA Civ 76 [14] For an in depth analysis of this balance, see Stokes v Guest, Keen Nettleford (Bolts Nuts) Ltd [1968] 1 WLR 1776 per Swanwick J at pp 1779-1783 [15] [2004] UKHL 13. For commentary see D Brodie ‘Trust and Confidence and Barber v Somerset County Council: Some further Questions’ (224) 33 ILJ 261 [16] ibid per Lord Foscote at paragraph 14 [17] Franklin v Edmonton Corporation (1966) 109 SJ 876 [18] [1997] IRLR 488 [19] 1974 Act s 2(2)(a) [20] 1974 Act s 2(2)(b) [21] 1974 Act s 2(2)(c) [22] 1974 Act s 2(2)(d) [23] 1974 Act s 2(2)(e) [24] For the birth of the neighbour principle, see Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] AC 562. [25] [1979] IRLR 171 [26] (1994) The Times 3 November. This case followed the older case of General Cleaning Contractors v Christmas [1953] AC 180

Rise and fall of rome :: essays research papers

The divergence of local culture is apt to occur. With this enculturation a new language or dialect of language often is born. This paper will discuss the factors which cause language to change. It will focus on the development of â€Å"New-Englishes†. What are â€Å"New-Englishes†? They develop from areas, which have been in contact with an English-speaking colony the process involves five main steps Foundation, Exonormative Stabilization, Nativization, Endonormative Stabilization, and finally differentiation. Foundation is the first stage, this involves a group of English speaking settlers who create an English speaking base in an area where English is not a spoken language. The settlers previous accents and dialects play an enormous role in how the indigenous people learn English. As the settlers often have different dialects of English themselves, the most universal words and phrases of all the dialects are often included in the â€Å"New-English’s† vocabulary where as the regionalisms of each English dialect will often be dropped. This stage is often awkward for both the parties involved as cross-cultural understanding is often minimal and communication is limited to a few. Thus communication between the indigenous people and the settlers is inhibited. Often with military installations no attempt is made to learn the native language and the emerging dialect is mainly based on the English language. This is not the case with examples like trading posts or Linguistic Anthropologists who attempt to learn the native language to facilitate trade or research. The â€Å"New-Englishes† that emerges from these would contain a solid base fro m both Native and English languages. During this period the native language affects the English spoken, often the first words frequently used of the Native language are place names such as in the United States with Chattahoochee, Mississippi, Milwaukee, Susquehanna, Chicago, Tallahassee, all these are of Native American origin.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The second stage is where an abrupt change occurs the indigenous people realize that it is beneficial to be able to communicate with the settlers. The settlers generally do not attempt to learn the local dialect, as they often believe that they are doing a deed for their country of origin and that once they return their language will again be the norm. This is theorized for both settlers who plan to stay in the foreign country and those who will return after a period of time. The indigenous language begins to work it’s way into the English language as mentioned earlier through place names but also through new species of animals, plants, and new objects.

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway Essay examples -- Hills

"Literature is a luxury: Fiction is a necessity" (Chesterton). Literature is a single phenomenon that will always remain in the lives of people throughout the years. According to Andre Maurois, "In literature, as in love, we are astounded by what is chosen by others." Fiction Literature is one of the most fascinating types of Literature. There are many types of Fiction Literature read across the world and with much selection, the greatest are short stories. Out of those, one very memorable short story is called "Hills Like White Elephants". The author, Ernest Hemingway, has created many intriguing stories with his recognizable syntax. The specific style he is known for may be childish and use only a few small lines, but nevertheless his writings are continuously read by many people. Like any exceptional author would, Hemingway manipulates his text to get across certain themes in the plot of his stories. A couple themes found in "Hills Like White Elephants" are doubt, choices, conseq uences, and decision-making. These themes are noticed by Hemingway's use of various different literary elements in the story. They help the reader better understand the true meanings behind "Hills Like White Elephants"' seemingly empty plot. The characters in this story are very believable because they play very realistic roles. For their situation, these characters are appropriately casted. The protagonist of this story is a girl named Jig. She is portrayed as a flat character where we only see one side of her throughout the story. We only see her doubt and worry over not being able to make a decision. The decision she is trying to make is whether or not to go through with an 'operation' that is not directly stated. We later infer that she... ...about life itself. May we all learn from this reading experience as well as gain knowledge about the world as we know it. Works Cited Akers, Tim. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants.† Short Stories for Students. Ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Short Stories for Students. Gale. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants". LitFinder for Schools. Gale. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.. Henningfeld, Andrews Diane. Overview of Hills Like White Elephants, for Short Stories for Students, The Gale Group, 1999. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Johnston, Kenneth G. "'Hills Like White Elephants' Lean, Vintage Hemingway," in Studies in American Fiction, Vol. 10, No. 2, Autumn, 1982. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Weeks, Lewis E. Jr., â€Å"Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† in Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 17, No. 1, Winter, 1980. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.

Succubus on Top CHAPTER 21

I woke up the next morning with the worst hangover of my life, and that's saying something. It was actually the cold air that woke me, blowing in through the shattered windows and whipping the curtains around. Seattle had mild winters, but it was still November. I shape-shifted on a heavy sweater and then noticed that Sol's blood had not disappeared from my skin during last night's transformation, the blood had dried to fine, glittering red crystals on me and everything else. I picked up his discarded silk shirt and discovered it did a pretty good job at wiping them off. The previous night was a blur, and I had trouble remembering the fine details. I supposed I could blame whatever mystery liquid I'd drank for that. Looking around at the wreckage brought a lot of the events back to me, and the rest I pieced together. Not wanting to linger in this place, I found my cell phone and called for a cab. As I rode back into Seattle, I decided I wanted nothing more than to go home and sleep some more. My shift didn't start until later; Doug was opening. Wait. No, he wasn't. Doug was in a hospital bed. Sighing, I directed the driver to take me to the bookstore. Three voice-mail messages waited for me when I arrived in the office. One was from the author we had doing a signing that night, E. J. Putnam. All was in order with his flight; he expected to be here as scheduled. The second message was Beth calling in sick. Jesus. Couldn't anyone stay healthy anymore? That put us down two people now. Warren wrapped up the messages, saying he'd be back from Florida later today and would stop in tonight. I decided to be mad at him out of sheer principle. I'd spent the last week dealing with chaos; he'd been golfing in eighty degree weather. I got the store running and then staked out a register. Short-staffing will keep a person busy, at least. It gave me little time to reflect on last night's events. Or Doug. Or the fact that Seth hadn't come in today. Or my fight with Bastien. â€Å"Are you Georgina?† I looked up into the face of a pretty Japanese-American woman. Her face and build just barely crossed over into plumpness, and she wore her black hair in a high ponytail. Something about her smile seemed familiar. â€Å"I'm Maddie Sato,† she explained, extending a hand. â€Å"Doug's sister.† I shook her hand, astonished. â€Å"I didn't know Doug had a sister. â€Å" Her smile quirked a little. â€Å"Lots of them, actually. We're kind of spread out around the country. We all sort of do our own thing.† â€Å"So you came to†¦see Doug?† I hesitated to bring up such a delicate subject, but why else would she be here? She nodded. â€Å"I've been with him this morning. He's doing great and said to tell you hello.† That was the best news I could have received. â€Å"He woke up.† â€Å"Yes. He's grumpy and punchy but otherwise fine. He said he has some CDs in your office he wants. He asked if I could pick them up.† â€Å"Sure, I'll show you,† I said, leading her toward the back. Wow. Doug's sister. â€Å"How'd you find out about Doug?† â€Å"Seth Mortensen called me.† I stumbled and nearly walked into a display of gardening books. â€Å"How do you know Seth?† â€Å"I write for Womanspeak magazine. Seth had some questions about a feminist organization that he needed answered for his book, and Doug gave him my e-mail address about a month ago. So, we've been in touch a couple times. When Doug†¦got sick, Seth tracked down my number in Salem and called last night. â€Å" Part of me felt a little jealous that Seth had an e-mail correspondence with her that I hadn't known about, but I immediately quashed such feelings. What he'd done had been terribly considerate. And typical of him. Quietly efficient and kind. I led Maddie into the office and found the CDs in a drawer. â€Å"Did you drive up last night or this morning?† She shook her head. â€Å"Actually Seth picked me up.† â€Å"I†¦what? In Salem? That's, like, four hours away.† â€Å"I know. It was really nice. I don't have a car, so he drove right down after he called, got me in the middle of the night, and then brought me to Doug.† My God. Seth had made an eight-hour round-trip last night. No wonder he wasn't here; he'd gone home to crash. That also meant he hadn't necessarily taken off from the hospital to get away from me. He'd done it to help Doug. A pleasant flutter spread through me at this, half of it relief, half of it a response to still more evidence of Seth's continuing decency and consideration of others. Maddie left me her cell phone number and promised to send my good wishes to Doug. As she was leaving my office, Janice entered it. â€Å"Hey Georgina, Lorelei Biljan's here.† â€Å"Oh, okay. Wait.† I did a double take. â€Å"You mean E. J. Putnam. â€Å" â€Å"No. It's definitely Lorelei. E. J.'s a guy.† â€Å"I know that,† I said. â€Å"But her signing's a week from today. Putnam's is today. I had a message about it and everything.† â€Å"I don't know. I just know she's here.† A horrible sinking feeling built up in me. I followed Janice out and shook hands with a small, solidly built middle-aged woman. I'd seen Lorelei Biljan's pictures in her books. Everything was the same from her brown pixie haircut to her characteristic black clothing. â€Å"I'm going to see some sights today but wanted to check in first,† she told me. â€Å"Oh. Okay. Great.† I smiled thinly, willing myself to keep breathing. We chatted a little bit more, and as soon as she was gone, I tore back to Paige's office and ransacked her desk. Sure enough, her schedules showed both authors coming in today. On the master staff calendar, however, she'd put them on separate days. Our own in-store posters also had them on separate days, but checking newspaper ads, I saw them again scheduled for the same day. Our website declared both appeared today, which meant we'd have fans of both here tonight. Good grief. This was like some bad, clich? ¦d sitcom. We had two dates for the dance. I sat at Paige's desk and rubbed my temples. How had this happened? How had perfect, efficient Paige messed up? I quickly answered my own questions: because she had other things on her mind. She had an increasingly complicated pregnancy on her hands, one that had kept her out for almost three weeks now. A distraction like that would let anyone make mistakes. Unfortunately, I had to deal with them. Andy stuck his head inside. â€Å"Oh, hey, there you are. Bruce said to ask you if any of us can help in the caf? ¦. They're short. And Seth just called the store's main line. Said to tell you he can't do the thing tomorrow. â€Å" â€Å"Seth called?† I asked stupidly. So he wasn't asleep. And the â€Å"thing† tomorrow had been a date to see a local Celtic band play at a pub. But he was cancelling. The noble reasons I had attributed to him for keeping away from me suddenly seemed less altruistic. â€Å"Okay. Thanks.† I stared into space. My world was falling apart around me. I wasn't speaking to the two men I cared about the most. I was in charge of a bookstore that didn't have enough people to run it. Two authors were coming tonight, each expecting to have center stage to promote their books. We didn't have room for that. And to top it all off, I felt like shit. The residual effects of that drug had left me with a wicked headache, and I hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. Killing a god will really wear you out. I had too much to do and not enough energy or willpower to do it. Let alone the means. I needed a miracle. Divine intervention. And as feasible as that might seem in my line of work, it probably wasn't going to happen. Unless†¦ Divine intervention? I found my purse and pulled out one of the packets of ambrosia. Those weird crystals pulsed out at me as I stared at them. What would happen? Nocturnal Admission had risen to stardom in a short time on these. Could I survive one hellish day at work? Would these give me the stamina and know-how to get through it? Or would I just turn into a slobbering sex kitten? I no longer believed Sol had given these to me last night. That had indeed been a date-rape drug. But these†¦these might be able to offer me some sort of inspiration to get out of this mess. Of course, there was the whole dangerous addiction and withdrawal problem. But this was my first time. Even mortals had to go through a couple doses before things got nasty, and Carter had said it would take even longer for me to hit the downside. I was probably safe, so long as I didn't get too into whatever it was I was about to become. Maybe it was the fatigue, but I didn't hesitate further. Don't overthink it, just act. I ordered a white-chocolate mocha from the caf? ¦ and dumped the crystals in once I was back in my office. â€Å"Bottoms up,† I muttered, just before knocking it all back. When I'd finished, I rested my head on the desk and waited for something to happen. Anything. Mostly I still felt sleepy. I yawned. When did this stuff kick in? How would I know? And good grief, what would I do if this turned into a disaster too? What if it made my day worse? I mean, not that it could get worse. I had two authors booked for tonight. The jealousy Tammi had once joked about could very well occur. Two was a bad number. Two led to rivalry. Add more, and it becomes a friendly group matter, not a one-on-one competition for space and spotlight. I'd been to big events where lots of authors spoke and read. Sometimes they sat on a panel and answered questions together about writing, inspiration, and publishing. Getting those perspectives was neat. It was a cool opportunity for fans of all the writers, and then later, said fans could have books signed by multiple authors. Those events were big deals. They took a lot of planning and a lot of advertising, not to mention a lot of staff. I sat up a couple minutes later, realizing I'd long since jolted to alertness. I didn't have time to note when that had happened or what it meant. I had too many things to do. My mind raced. In a flash, I was out on the main floor, hunting down Andy. I handed him a staff roster. â€Å"I need you to call every person who's not working today – except for the sick ones. See if they'll come in. Preferably for the rest of the day. If not, we'll take what we can get. Then ask everyone here who's not closing if they can close. Tell them they'll get time-and-a-half.† Andy stared as though he'd never seen me before, but I didn't give him time to question me. I went back to my office, paged Maria, and called Maddie Sato while I waited. When Maddie answered, I explained to her what I hoped she could do for me. She sounded surprised by my request, but she agreed nonetheless. She also promised to make another phone call for me that I wasn't too keen on making myself. Maria appeared just as Maddie and I hung up. Maria worked part-time and was shy and quiet. She preferred to avoid the registers if she could, being much happier lost in the shelves. She was also an amazing artist. I handed her a piece of poster board from our supply cabinet. â€Å"I need you to make a poster for tonight's event.† â€Å"The signing?† she asked. â€Å"Er, signings?† Everyone had heard about the double booking by now. â€Å"Not just a signing. It's a literary extravaganza. It's†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I came up with and then promptly rejected several possibilities. â€Å"It's the Emerald Lit Fest.† Boring, but straightforward. Sometimes that was better than a gimmick. â€Å"Yes. The first annual one. And put on here that these authors will be there.† I handed her a list I'd already made up. â€Å"Mention that they'll autograph books. And that we'll have drawings for prizes.† I thought some more, making it up as I went along. The ideas just leapt off my tongue. â€Å"And that 10 percent of all sales will be donated to the Puget Sound's Literacy Project.† â€Å"Wow,† she said. â€Å"I didn't know all this was going on.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed briskly. â€Å"Me either. Draw it, type it, cut and paste, whatever. Just do it. I need it in twenty minutes. And it needs to look good. â€Å" She blinked and then immediately set to work. While she did, I made phone calls. Print ads were a no-go, but almost everyone had a website. I called the big papers and the small artsy ones. I also called the local writers' groups and convinced them to e-mail their members. Finally, I called radio stations. They were less willing to do anything on short notice, but they were my best bet at immediate advertising. I could have the DJs mention us without a formal commercial. That took a bit of finagling, but we had an account with most of them already that guaranteed payment, and the charitable angle was hard to resist. Okay, I was hard to resist. Even over the phone, I could hear myself wooing and persuading with an unholy skill. Maria stopped working at one point to stare at me with an almost hypnotized look. Shaking her head, she returned to her poster. Andy popped in with the annotated roster. We hadn't roped in quite as many as I would have liked, but we'd definitely increased our numbers. And most of the current staff was staying. Maria finished her poster just then, and it did look good. I drove to the print shop that usually handled our business and turned the poster over to them. â€Å"No,† the manager told me flatly, making my manic flurry of activity come to a screeching halt. â€Å"I can't do all that in under an hour. Three hours maybe. â€Å" â€Å"Hour and a half?† I cajoled. â€Å"It's for charity. An emergency situation just came up.† She frowned. â€Å"An emergency literacy situation?† â€Å"Literacy is always an emergency. Do you know how many children in the Puget Sound area struggle with reading due to lack of resources and education?† Fortunately, being in the book business, I knew all the grim stats. By the time I was done with her, that battle-axe was nearly in tears. She'd do my order, she promised, and she'd do it in my original hour. While those were being printed, I traveled over to Foster's Books. Locally owned, that store wasn't as big as Emerald City, but it had the same sort of reputation as a local landmark. Technically, we were rivals. Garrett Foster, the owner, looked up when I entered. â€Å"Looking for a job?† â€Å"I've got one for you,† I told him sweetly, leaning on his counter. â€Å"I need you to get in touch with Abel Warshawski for me.† Abel Warshawski was a reclusive local author who wrote wildly popular books about the Pacific Northwest. He and Garrett were longtime friends, so Abel only did appearances at Foster's. Garrett arched a grizzled eyebrow. â€Å"Abel only comes here. You know that. â€Å" â€Å"I do. Which is why I didn't ask for his number.† I laid into Garrett then about how half of Emerald City's staff were in dire health. I talked about charity and literacy statistics. I pointed out that we weren't technically rivals anyway, since he was in Capitol Hill and I was in Queen Anne. Besides, the book industry was like a family. We all had the same goals. â€Å"My God, woman,† he murmured when I finished. I didn't think I'd taken a breath during my entire spiel. â€Å"Are you sure you don't want a new job?† â€Å"I just want Abel for the night.† He bit his lip. â€Å"Think we could get Mortensen over here for a signing some time?† â€Å"Hmm.† I considered this. Bartering was in my blood. â€Å"That depends. You guys close a few hours earlier than us, right? Think we could get a few of you to help us out tonight? Paid, of course.† â€Å"You've got some balls,† he muttered. He stared at me, still thinking, but I knew I had him. He couldn't resist. â€Å"Okay, but only if we get Mortensen during a hot time – around his next release.† â€Å"Done.† I didn't like sharing Seth, but lots of big authors made multiple Seattle appearances when a new book came out. I hoped Seth didn't mind being whored out. Oh, well. That was for later. Before I left, I bought all of Foster's American Mystery and Womanspeak magazines. He hesitated a moment as he rang them up. â€Å"Hey†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He looked me over. â€Å"I don't suppose you read that story Mortensen wrote†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well,† I said with a breezy smile, no longer caring about my doppelganger, Genevieve, â€Å"let's just say he's not the first man I've given some ‘inspiration' to.† As a parting gift, I also gave Garrett one of our advertisements since I'd had the print shop make me a few to take with me before starting the big order. He stared at the poster incredulously. â€Å"You already put Abel on it! Before you even talked to me!† I left him gaping and went to pick up my posters. I returned to the bookstore and distributed them among three of the staff, arming each with a list of places to hang them. I sent them off and then managed the bookstore end of things, which mostly involved moving a lot of furniture and assigning employee duties for tonight. When six o'clock rolled around, it really was like a miracle had occurred. Signings normally occurred in the second floor caf? ¦. That spot still made up the heart of the show, but I'd had the rest of the second floor cleared out. That meant a lot of shelves and displays got crammed together while the speakers were on, but it didn't matter so much. Most of the people there wanted to hear the authors, not browse books quite yet. And what people we had. E. J. Putnam and Lorelei Biljan had each drawn in their respective science fiction and literary fiction crowds. That was big enough, but my advertising had drawn in even more. We were packed. We needed every inch of space rearranging the furniture had allowed. I couldn't remember ever having this many people in the store. Putnam and Biljan had been a little shaken – and initially unhappy – to find themselves in the midst of the Emerald Lit Fest rather than an ordinary signing. I passed off the confusion as a miscommunication with their people and thanked them for helping the charity. I also reminded them this was a good opportunity to show off for people who normally read other genres, and it wasn't even like either writer was slighted†¦too much. Each of them got to read a ten-minute excerpt and then field fifteen minutes of questions. It was a bit expedited for a signing, yes, but it worked and gave us time to then have a Q&A session with our full panel of authors, consisting of the two headliners plus Seth, Maddie, and Abel. Prize-drawings occurred throughout it all, and I emceed everything myself, not even knowing what I said half the time. â€Å"I can't believe you gave Seth second-billing to Putnam and Biljan,† Andy remarked softly to me during the panel. Only those two authors had been given exclusive spotlight. â€Å"He's bigger than both of them put together.† â€Å"He's also extremely good-natured,† I murmured back. Now that I had a momentary breather, I couldn't stop drinking Seth in. I felt like I hadn't seen his whimsical smile and brown eyes in ages. In fact, I hadn't ever seen that particular Captain and Tennille shirt he wore. I wanted to run up to him but held back. Maddie had been the one to ask him to participate, on my behalf. It was one of the things I'd asked her to do this morning. When all the speaking was done, I had the staff more or less move everything back. We left the caf? ¦ cleared out and set up a table for each of the authors to do signings. Even Maddie, who was fairly obscure, had some takers. Womanspeak had sort of a cult reputation, and I think she'd gained a few fans during the panel. Passing by Seth as he spoke to a fan, I caught his eye and paused. A moment of awkwardness hung between us that even my ambrosia-induced mania could not overcome. We had too much unresolved business between us yet. â€Å"Thank you,† I said simply. â€Å"Thank you for doing this.† â€Å"Well,† he said after a moment. â€Å"You know me. I haven't missed an Emerald Lit Fest yet. I'm not about to start now.† The store was nowhere near emptying when closing came, so we let them stay, especially since we were doing a hell of a business. It was around then that Warren showed up. He stood next to me and joined me in a survey of the crowd around us. â€Å"Why,† he said after a moment, â€Å"do I feel like a parent who has just returned home and found his teens throwing a party?† â€Å"Paige double-booked Biljan and Putnam. This seemed like the logical solution.† â€Å"And when did you discover the double-booking?† â€Å"This morning.† â€Å"This morning,† he repeated. â€Å"So, instead of, say, moving furniture on the first floor and simply having two concurrent signings, you decided – with less than a day's notice – to have a star-studded, massively advertised soiree with more people than this store can hold?† I blinked. Wow. That really would have been a simpler solution. â€Å"It's a ‘fest,' actually. Not a soiree. And don't forget it's for charity.† Warren jerked his head toward me. â€Å"We're donating this to charity?† â€Å"Only 10 percent,† I assured him. â€Å"But there's actually a woman here from the Literacy Project who was so impressed that she wants to talk about us getting involved in a much bigger fundraiser with them. It probably won't be until next year – in the spring, of course. We wouldn't want to conflict with the next Emerald Lit Fest.† â€Å"The next one?† â€Å"Well, yeah. It's a tradition now.† I'd been riding the high from all of this pretty steadily all night. I was still so high, in fact, I probably could have arranged and implemented the second Emerald Lit Fest for tomorrow morning. Something suddenly occurred to me. â€Å"Hey, am I in trouble?† He rubbed his eyes. â€Å"Georgina, you are†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shook his head. â€Å"Beyond words. And not in trouble. Definitely not. We won't do this much business on Black Friday.† He gave me one of his nicer smiles, reminiscent of our more intimate days. â€Å"Why don't you go home now? You need it. Your pupils are really big.† â€Å"Are you throwing me out? Are you sure I'm not in trouble?† â€Å"You're not in trouble. But I've heard about how much overtime you've been putting in, as well as†¦other things. Paige is going to be here next week, and we'll sit down and talk then.† He suddenly did a double take. â€Å"Is that Garrett Foster working one of our registers?† I walked home reluctantly. It wasn't easy abandoning one's brainchild. I still felt high and giddy, like pure adrenaline ran in my veins. I couldn't just go home. I needed to do something. Plan something. Anything active. A few guys glanced at me as we passed each other, and I smiled provocatively at them, nearly making one run into a garbage can. Maybe there were other ways of being active tonight. My cell phone rang, and I answered without thinking. It was Bastien. â€Å"Damn it. I forgot I was supposed to be screening my calls. I'm still not speaking to you.† â€Å"Don't hang up. I have to talk to you.† â€Å"No, I told you – â€Å" † Fleur ,I'm leaving.† I heard a strained, weary tone to his voice. He wasn't talking about going out for the night. My euphoric glow dimmed a little. â€Å"You're leaving Seattle.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because it isn't going to work with Dana. We both know it.† I stood in front of my building now and stared at it blankly, waiting for some ambrosia inspiration to give me the insight that would help Bastien finally woo Dana. Nothing happened, so I did the only thing I could. â€Å"I'll be right over.† I found his door unlocked when I arrived and walked inside. â€Å"Mitch† stood in the kitchen with his back to me, hands resting on the island, entire posture slumped. I walked up to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his back. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I whispered. â€Å"Me too.† â€Å"The cooking thing didn't pan out?† I almost laughed at my own pun. God, this ambrosia was great. â€Å"No. Although, I can make a lovely creme brulee now. I have some in the refrigerator if you want to try it.† He sighed. â€Å"But no, it wasn't working. And you knew that, didn't you?† He turned around so that we faced each other. I looked away. â€Å"Yeah. But I didn't want to†¦I dunno. I hoped, I guess. Hoped it would work out.† We stood there in silence for a while. No matter how angry I was at him, I hated seeing him like this. Devastated. Defeated. † Fleur, I want to apologize about that night – â€Å" â€Å"No, it's not all your – â€Å" â€Å"Just listen to me first,† he admonished. â€Å"There's something I have to tell you. Something about Seth.† And then, just like every other time I visited, the doorbell rang. The incubus waved an annoyed hand. â€Å"Leave it.† â€Å"It could be her.† â€Å"I don't care. I don't want to see her.† Maybe he was pessimistic, but I'd eaten the Food of the Gods. I felt like I could do anything. I knew I could do anything. My confidence and cleverness knew no bounds. I had created a new tradition at Emerald City in a matter of hours. Surely I could still find some last glimmer of hope for Bastien if I had a chance to speak to Dana face-to-face. â€Å"There still might be a way,† I told him as I walked to the door. † Go invisible if you want. I want to talk to her. â€Å" â€Å"If it's even her,† he called after me. But it was her. â€Å"Tabitha.† She smiled. â€Å"I thought I saw you come in.† I returned her smile with my own. A dazzling one. I wasn't going to be shy and idiotic around her anymore. I should never have been that way under normal conditions, let alone now, when I was at my finest. â€Å"I'm so glad you could stop by,† I told her, warmth oozing out of every pore. I beckoned her in as though I lived there. As much as she saw me over there, I might as well have. â€Å"Please, come inside. Let me get you something to drink.† For the first time, I saw Dana off guard. I was not the Tabitha she knew, and she didn't know how to handle it. Bastien stood in the kitchen, invisible, arms crossed defiantly over his chest. I winked at him and then turned back to Dana. â€Å"Mitch is out for a while, if you wanted to see him.† â€Å"Oh. That's fine. I can, um, stay for a little while†¦I guess.† She seemed unnerved by my control of the situation. I poured us both iced tea, and we sat down at the table. I led us into conversation about our days, telling her about an awesome charity event I'd been to at a downtown bookstore. Dana recovered some of her composure and returned to her smooth and controlled self. Her bigoted nature aside, the woman could manage a decent conversation, and we clicked. Too bad she didn't channel her intelligence into more useful areas, I thought. As we talked about assorted things, the solution to the whole Dana situation struck me – it was so obvious. I don't know if it was the ambrosia or not, but I couldn't believe how blind we'd all been. How had none of us figured out the problem with her? What kind of seduction experts were we? Bastien was right. Dana was a lost cause. For him. â€Å"Dana,† I interrupted in a most un-Tabitha way, â€Å"I'm really glad you came over tonight because there's something I've needed to ask you.† She choked on her tea. â€Å"Yes?† I propped my elbows on the table, resting my chin in my hands so I could have solid eye contact. â€Å"You said a little while ago that you and Bill had lost the romance and that you didn't care. But you know what? I don't believe that. I think you miss it. I think you crave it. But not with him.† Dana's face went pale, eyes wide. Bastien, standing nearby, wore a similar look. I didn't care. We had nothing to lose at this point. â€Å"Am I right?† I leaned closer. â€Å"There is something missing, isn't there? And you were lying about not knowing what's sexy. You know. You know what turns you on, and you want it. You want it so bad, you can taste it.† I swear, you could have heard a pin drop in the room. Dana worked forcibly to control her breathing, staring and staring at me as though I might vanish if she blinked. â€Å"Yes,† she finally croaked. â€Å"You've been right about a lot of things. Like how we can't choose who we want. And yes†¦I think we both know what I'm talking about, Tabitha.† Some of her old confidence began to return. â€Å"At first, I wasn't sure. You were so hard to read. But then, after I saw how awkward things were with you and your boyfriend – how you never wanted to talk about him and said you weren't attracted to him – I knew for sure. That little lingerie show you put on for me cinched it. You were amazing. I couldn't stop thinking about it. I'd already seen you naked in the hot tub, and that had been agonizing enough. I had to see you naked again. And then, as I talked to you more, I realized you were intelligent too. Just like tonight.† She took a deep, quaking breath and reached out her hand to cover mine, fingers slowly dancing along my skin. â€Å"You're right. I do want something. So bad I can taste it. I know it's wrong, and I know it's immoral, but I can't help myself. I can't help who I want. Can't help wanting you.† No wonder Bastien hadn't been able to close the deal. Dana had wanted me. Probably from the moment I stepped out of the pool in that skimpy bathing suit. Staring at her, I thought about all the horrible things her group did. I also thought about Bastien being tortured by some demon. In some cases, being immortal wasn't always a blessing. Now, I could save him from that fate and send a little payback to the CPFV. I smiled back at Dana, letting my body language speak for me as the tension mounted. I admit, I was a little surprised that all of my previous encounters had been read as advances on her, but well, whatever. The invisible incubus had run out of the room somewhere around â€Å"I had to see you naked again.† He returned now, wielding the video camera. Seeing my calculated silence, he waved the camera at me frantically, glee all over his face. I held the power now to change everything. The power to achieve what Bastien had been fighting for. To save him and humiliate the CPFV. If I could just pull this off. The ambrosia had proved today that my strongest talents lay in improvisation and planning, the ability to multitask and solve problems. That was great. It made me feel better about myself than I had in a while. It was probably what had led me to realize the truth about Dana too. But what about my earlier musings about the ambrosia? In regard to sex? Was my sexual prowess still a key part of me? Had the ambrosia enhanced that too? Could I rock some man – or woman – in bed? Looking at Dana and her now-obvious lust, I knew the answer. I gave a sultry laugh and jauntily brushed my hair out of my face. I could and would rock her world. I was a team player, after all. For both teams. Squeezing her hand, I moved toward her. â€Å"I feel exactly the same way.†

Changes in the Life of Jews in Nazi Germany Essay

The Nazis anathematize the Jews. From a long time ago the Jews were not liked by the people of Europe and in the reign of the Nazis this became much worse. The Nazis officials were given strict orders to exterminate as many Jews as possible. The Nazis wanted to remove the whole of Jewish community. They wanted to eradicate every single Jew in the whole world. The Jews had to face a really hard time during the period of 1933 to 1945. The Nazis believed that Aryan race was the superior race and Jews were the inferior race. And thus Anti-Semitism started on a large scale. After coming to power on 30 January 1933, the Nazi leadership decided to stage an economic boycott on April 1933 against the Jews of Germany targeting Jewish businesses and professionals. And over the next year the Anti-Jewish propaganda increased on a very large scale day by day. On May 1935 the Jews were forbidden from joining the German Armed Forces. Later on the same year in September the Nuremburg Laws was passed which made the life of the Jews miserable. The Nuremberg Laws were anti-Semitic laws that took away civil rights citizenship from German Jews. They also forbade sex and marriage between Jews and non-Jews. In the years 1935 and 1936 the persecution of Jews increased on a large scale. But during the Berlin Olympics in 1936 Anti-Semitism posters and banners were taken down because Hitler did not want the whole world to know what was going on in Germany at that point of time. In the year 1937 Hitler mentioned his hate towards the Jews in front of the public. And then more Jewish businesses were confiscated and more Jewish professionals were sacked. The year 1938 was the year when the segregation towards the Jews increased on a very high scale. In April every Jew had to register his/her property which made it very easy to be confiscated by the Nazis. In the month of June and July Jewish doctors and lawyers were forbidden to treat the Aryans or any German. In October every Jewish person had to stamp a â€Å"J† on their passports to mark them as Jews. But the worst day for the Jews since the time Nazis came into power was the â€Å"Kristallnacht† or as it is otherwise known â€Å"The Night of the Broken Glass† when the SS soldiers and some civilians attacked Jewish Synagogues, homes and shops. The attack left the streets covered with broken glass because of which it is called the â€Å"Night of the Broken Glass. It is an estimate that 91 Jews were killed and later 30,000 Jews were attested and were sent to concentration camps. And since then till the end of the Nazi era Jews faced numerous amounts of problems. On the 12th of November 1938 the Nazis â€Å"fined† the Jews one billion Reich marks for the damage of the Kristallnacht which was simply not fair. Just after 3 days of that the Jewish pupils were only allowed to go to Jewish schools. In the month of December the same year all the remaining Jewish businesses were confiscated. Then next year in January all the Jews had to add new first names- Sarah for women and Israel for men. The Reich office for Jewish Emigration was established to promote emigration by â€Å"every possible means†. On 12th March 1939 the first mass arrests of Jews took place and nearly 30,000 Jewish men and boys were sent to concentration camps. With the onset of war the mistreatment of the Jews increased. The same year these rules were issued against the Jews, they were no longer allowed to go outdoors after 8pm in summers and 9pm in winters, forced labour decree issued for Polish Jews from the age of 14 to 60. It was followed by Yellow Star of David which had to be worn by every Polish Jew over the age of 10 and numerous of other laws which made the life of Jews worse. In January, 1940 there was a quote posted in Der Sturmer which cleared that what was going to happen to Jews â€Å"The time is near when a machine will go into motion which is going to prepare a grave for the world’s criminal – Judah – from which there will be no resurrection. Day after day the condition of the Jews became worse and by January 1942 mass killing of Jews at the Auschwitz concentration camps started and Jews from all around in Europe were sent to concentration camps. On the 2nd of July even The New York Times reported â€Å"over 1,000,000 Jews have already been killed by Nazis†. By the end of 1942 there was a huge reduction in food rations for Jews in Nazi Germany. On May 19, 1943 – Nazis declare Berlin to be Judenfrei (cleansed of Jews). Day after day new concentration camps were set up all over Nazi Germany and Jews were deported there. But as the time passed the Russians started invading several parts of Nazi Germany and the death rate slowed down a bit. Finally on the 27th of Jan. 1945 Russian troops reached Auschwitz where an estimate of 1,500,000 Jews was killed. Within some days the Nazi Empire collapsed and the concentration camps were closed down. By the end it’s an estimate that about 5. 9 million Jews were killed. In the end I would just like to say that the things through which the Jews went though was very unfair and sad. It was one of the worst cases of segregation and I hope that no other ethnic group will go through this in the future. -Gautam Rath

Marketing: video game console and shoppers stop Essay

Ask the company top brass what ‘almost there’ means. The answer: a premier Indian retail company that has come to be known as a specialty chain of apparel and accessories. With 52 product categories under one roof, Shoppers’ Stop has a line-up of 350 brands. Set up and headed by former Corona employee, B. S. Nagesh, Shoppers’ Stop is India’s answer to Selfridges and Printemps. As it proudly announces, ‘We don’t sell, we help you buy. ’ Back in 1991, there was the question of what to retail. Should it be a supermarket or a departmental store? Even an electronics store was considered. Finally, common senseand understanding won out. The safest bet, for the all-male team was to retail men’s wear. They knew the male psyche and felt that they had discerning taste in men’s clothing. The concept would be that of a lifestyle store in a luxurious space, which would make for a great shopping experience. The first Shoppers’ Stop store took shape in Andheri, Mumbai, in October 1991, with an investment of nearly Rs. 20 lakh. The original concept that formed the basis of a successful marketing campaign for seven years is here to stay. And the result is an annual turnover of Rs. 160 crores and five stores, nine years later. Everything went right from the beginning, except for one strange happening. More than 60 per cent of the customers who walked into Shoppers’ Stop in Mumbai were women. This gave rise to ideas. Soon, the store set up its women’s section. Later, it expanded to include children’s wear and then, household accessories. The second store in Bangalore came in 1995. The store at Hyderabad followed in 1998 with the largest area of 60,000 sq. ft. The New Delhi and Jaipur stores were inaugurated in 1999. All this while, the product range kept increasing to suit customer needs. The most recent experiment was home furnishings. Secure in the knowledge that organised retailing in global brands was still in its infancy in India, Shoppers’ Stop laid the ground rules which the competition followed. The biggest advantage for Shoppers’ Stop is that it knows how the Indian consumer thinks and feels while shopping. Yes, feeling – for in India, shopping remains an outing. And how does it compare itself to foreign stores? While it is not modeled on any one foreign retailer, the ‘basic construct’ is taken from the experience of a number of successfully managed retail companies. It has leveraged expertise for a critical component like technology from all over the world, going as far as hiring expatriates from Littlewoods and using state-of-the-art ERP models. Shoppers’ Stop went a step further by even integrating its financial system with the ERP model. Expertise was imported wherever it felt that expertise available in-house was inadequate. But the store felt there was one acute problem. A shortage of the most important resource of them all was trained humans . Since Indian business institutes did not have professional courses in retail management, people were hired from different walks of life and the training programme was internalized. By 1994, the senior executives at Shoppers’ Stop were taking lectures at management institutes in Mumbai. The Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS) even restructured its course to include retail management as a subject. Getting the company access to the latest global retail trends and exchange of information with business greats was an exclusive membership to the Intercontinental Group of Department Stores (IGDS). It allows membership by invitation to one company from a country and Shoppers’ Stop rubs shoulders with 29 of the hottest names in retailing – Selfridges from the UK, C. K. Tang from Singapore, Lamcy Plaza from Dubai and the like. With logistics I in place, the accent moved to the customer. Shoppers’ Stop conducted surveys with ORG-MARG and Indian Market Research Bureau (IMRB) and undertook in-house wardrobe audits. The studies confirmed what it already knew. The Indian customer is still evolving and is very different from, say, a European customer, who knows exactly what he wants to purchase, walks up to a shelf, picks up the merchandise, pays and walks out. In India, customers like to touch and feel the merchandise, and scout for options. Also, the majority of Indian shoppers still prefer to pay in cash. So, transactions must be in cash as against plastic money used the world over. Additionally, the Indian customer likes being served – whether it is food, or otherwise. The company’s customer profile includes people who want the same salesperson each time they came to the store to walk them through the shop floors and assist in the purchase. Others came with families, kids and maids in tow and expected to be suitably attended to. Still others wanted someone to carry the bags. So, the shops have self-help counters with an assistant at hand for queries or help. The in-house wardrobe audit also helped with another facet of the business. It enabled Shoppers’ Stop to work out which brands to stock, based on customer preferences. In fact, the USP of Shoppers’ Stop lies in judiciously selected global brands, displayed alongside an in-house range of affordable designer wear. The line-up includes Levi’s, Louis Philippe, Allen Solly, Walt Disney, Ray Ban and Reebok, besides in-house labels STOP and I. Brand selection is the same across the five locations, though the product mix may be somewhat city-based to accommodate cuts and styles in women’s wear, as well as allowing for seasonal variations (winter in Delhi, for instance, is a case in point). Stocking of brands is based on popular demand – recently, Provogue, MTV Style, and Benetton have been added. In-house labels are available at competitive prices and target the value-formoney customer and make up around 12 per cent of Shoppers’ Stop’s business. Sometimes in-house brands plug the price gap in certain product categories. To cash in on this, the company has big plans for its in-house brands: from re-branding to repositioning, to homing in on product categories where existing brands are not strong. Competition between brands is not an issue, because being a trading house, all brands get equal emphasis. The in-house brand shopper is one who places immense trust in the company and the quality of its goods and returns for repeat buys. And the company reposed its faith in regular customers by including them in a concept called the First Citizen’s Club (FCC). With 60,000 odd members, FCC customers account for 10 per cent of entries and for 34 per cent of the turnover. It was the sheer appeal of the experience that kept pulling these people back. Not one to let such an opportunity pass, the company ran a successful ad campaign (that talks about just this factor) in print for more than eight years. The theme is still the same. In 1999, a TV spot, which liked the shopping experience to the slowing down of one’s internal clock and the beauty of the whole experience, was aired. More recently, ads that spell out the store’s benefits (in a highly oblique manner) are being aired. The campaign is based on entries entered in the Visitors’ Book. None of the ads has a visual or text – or any heavy handedly direct reference to the store or the merchandise. The ads only show shoppers having the time of their lives in calm and serene locales, or elements that make shopping at the store a pleasure – quite the perfect getaway for a cosmopolitan shopper aged between 25 and 45. The brief to the agency, Contract, ensured that brand recall came in terms of the shopping experience, not the product. And it has worked wonders. Value-addition at each store also comes in the form of special care with car parks, power backup, customer paging, alteration service and gift-wrapping. To top it all, cafes and coffee bars make sure that the customer does not step out of the store. In Hyderabad, it has even created a Food Court. Although the food counter was not planned, it came about as there was extra space of 67,000 sq. ft. Carrying the perfect experience to the shop floor is an attempt to stack goods in vast open spaces neatly. Every store has a generic structure, though regional customer variances are accounted for. Each store is on lease, and this is clearly Shoppers’ Stop’s most expensive resource proposition – renting huge spaces in prime properties across metros, so far totaling 210,000 sq. ft of retail space. Getting that space was easy enough for Shoppers’ Stop, since its promoter is the Mumbai-based Raheja Group, which also owns 62 per cent of the share capital. Questions 1. What are the significant factors that have led to the success of Shoppers’ Stop? 2. Draw the typical profile(s) of Shoppers’ Stop customer segments. 3. How are Indian customers visiting Shoppers’ Stop any different from customers of developed western countries? 4. How should Shoppers’ Stop develop its demand forecasts? Case let 2 The rise of personal computers in the mid 1980s spurred interest in computer games. This caused a crash in home Video game market. Interest in Video games was rekindled when a number of different companies developed hardware consoles that provided graphics superior to the capabilities of computer games. By 1990, the Nintendo Entertainment System dominated the product category. Sega surpassed Nintendo when it introduced its Genesis System. By 1993, Sega commanded almost 60 per cent of Video game market and was one of the most recognized brand names among the children. Sega’s success was short lived. In 1995, Saturn (a division of General Motors) launched a new 32-bit system. The product was a miserable failure for a number of reasons. Sega was the primary software developer for Saturn and it did not support efforts by outside game developers to design compatible games. In addition, Sega’s games were often delivered quite late to retailers. Finally, the price of the Saturn system was greater than other comparable game consoles. This situation of Saturn’s misstep benefited Nintendo and Sony greatly. Sony’s Play Station was unveiled in 1994 and was available in 70 million homes worldwide by the end of 1999. Its â€Å"Open design† encouraged the efforts of outside developers, resulting in almost 3,000 different games that were compatible with the PlayStation. It too featured 32-bit graphics that appealed to older audience. As a result, at one time, more than 30 per cent of PlayStation owners were over 30 years old. Nintendo 64 was introduced in 1996 and had eye-popping 64-bit graphics and entered in more than 28 million homes by 1999. Its primary users were between the age of 6 and 13 as a result of Nintendo’s efforts to limit the amount of violent and adult-oriented material featured on games that can be played on its systems. Because the company exercised considerable control over software development, Nintendo 64 had only one-tenth the number of compatible games as Sony’s PlayStation did. By 1999, Sony had captured 56 per cent of the video game market, followed by Nintendo with 42 per cent. Sega’s share had fallen to a low of 1%. Hence, Sega had two options, either to concede defeat or introduce an innovative video machine that would bring in huge sales. And Sega had to do so before either Nintendo or Sony could bring their next-generation console to market. The Sega Dreamcast arrived in stores in September 1999 with an initial price tag of $199. Anxious gamers placed 300,000 advance orders, and initial sales were quite encouraging. A total of 1. 5 million Dreamcast machines were bought within the first four months, and initial reviews were positive. The 128-bit system was capable of generating 3-D visuals, and 40 different games were available within three months of Dream cast’s introduction. By the end of the year, Sega had captured a market share to 15 per cent. But the Dreamcast could not sustain its momentum. Although its game capabilities were impressive, the system did not deliver all the functionality Sega had promised. A 56K modem (which used a home phone line) and a Web browser were meant to allow access to the Internet so that gamers could play each other online, surf the Web, and visit the Dreamcast Network for product information and playing tips. Unfortunately, these features either were not immediately available or were disappointing in their execution. Sega was not the only one in having the strategy of adding functionality beyond games. Sony and Nintendo followed the same approach for their machines introduced in 1999. Both Nintendo’s Neptune and Sony’s PlayStation 2 (PS2) were built on a DVD platform and featured a 128-bit processor. Analysts applauded the move to DVD because it is less expensive to produce and allows more storage than CDs. It also gives buyers the ability to use the machine as CD music player and DVD movie player. As Sony marketing director commented, â€Å"The full entertainment offering from Play Station 2 definitely appeals to a much broader audience. I have friends in their 30s who bought it not only because it’s a gaming system for their kids , but also a DVD for them. † In addition, PlayStation 2 is able to play games developed for its earlier model that was CD-based. This gives the PS2 an enormous advantage in the number of compatible game titles that were immediately available to gamers. Further enhancing the PS2’s appeal is its high-speed modem and allows the user’s easy access to the Internet through digital cable as well as over telephone lines. This gives Sony the ability to distribute movies, music, and games directly to PS2 consoles. â€Å"We are positioning this as an all-round entertainment player,† commented Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony Computer Entertainment. However, some prospective customers were put off by the console’s initial price of $360. Shortly after the introduction of Neptune, Nintendo changed its strategies and announced the impending release of its newest game console, The GameCube. However, unlike the Neptune, the GameCube would not run on a DVD platform and also would not initially offer any online capabilities. It would be more attractively priced at $199. A marketing vice president for Nintendo explained the company’s change in direction, â€Å"We are the only competitor whose business is video games. We want to create the best gaming system. † Nintendo also made the GameCube friendly for outside developers and started adding games that included sports titles to attract an older audience. Best known for its extra ordinary successes with games aimed at the younger set, such as Donkey Kong, Super Mario Bros, and Pokemon, Nintendo sought to attract older users, especially because the average video game player is 28. Youthful Nintendo users were particularly pleased to hear that they could use their handheld Game Boy Advance systems as controllers for the GameCube. Nintendo scrambled to ensure there would be an adequate supply of Game Cubes on the date in November 2001, when they were scheduled to be available to customers. It also budgeted $450 million to market its new product, as it anticipated stiff competition during the holiday shopping season. With more than 20 million PlayStation 2 sold worldwide, the GameCube as a new entry in the video game market would make the battle for market share even more intense. For almost a decade, the video game industry had only Sega, Nintendo, and Sony; just three players. Because of strong brand loyalty and high product development costs, newcomers faced a daunting task in entering this race and being competitive. In November 2001, Microsoft began selling its new Xbox, just three days before the GameCube made its debut. Some observers felt the Xbox was aimed to rival PlayStation 2, which has similar functions that rival Microsoft’s Web TV system and even some lower level PCs. Like the Sony’s PlayStation 2, Xbox was also built using a DVD platform, but it used anIntel processor in its construction. This open design allowed Microsoft to develop the Xbox in just twoyears, and gave developers the option of using standard PC tool for creating compatible games. In addition, Microsoft also sought the advice of successful game developers and even incorporated some of their feedback into the design of the console and its controllers. As a result of developers’ efforts, Microsoft had about 20 games ready when the Xbox became available. By contrast, the GameCube had only eight games available. Microsoft online strategy was another feature that differentiated of the Xbox from the GameCube. Whereas Nintendo had no immediate plans for Web-based play, the Xbox came equipped with an Ethernet port for broadband access to Internet. Microsoft also announced its own Web-based network on which gamers can come together for online head-to head play and for organised online matches and tournaments. Subscribers to this service were to pay a small monthly fee and must have high-speed access to the Internet. This is a potential drawback considering that a very low percentage of households world over currently have broadband connections. By contrast Sony promoted an open network, which allows software developers to manage their own games, including associated fees charged to users. However, interested players must purchase a network adapter for an additional $39. 99. Although game companies are not keen on the prospect of submitting to the control of a Microsoft-controlled network, it would require a significant investment for them to manage their own service on the Sony based network. Initially the price of Microsoft’s Xbox was $299. Prior to the introduction of Xbox, in a competitive move Sony dropped the price of the PlayStation 2 to $299. Nintendo’s GameCube already enjoyed a significant price advantage, as it was selling for $100 less than either Microsoft or Sony products. Gamers eagerly snapped up the new consoles and made 2001 the best year ever for video game sales. For the first time, consumers spent $9. 4 billion on video game equipment, which was more than they did at the box office. By the end of 2001 holiday season, 6. 6 million PlayStation 2 consoles had been sold in North America alone, followed by 1. 5 million Xbox units and 1. 2 million Game Cubes. What ensued was an all out price war. This started when Sony decided to put even more pressure on the Microsoft’s Xbox by cutting the PlayStation 2 price to $199. Microsoft quickly matched that price. Wanting to maintain its low-price status, Nintendo in turn responded by reducing the price of its the GameCube by $50, to $149. By mid 2002, Microsoft Xbox had sold between 3. 5 and 4 million units worldwide. However, Nintendo had surpassed Xbox sales by selling 4. 5 million Game Cubes. Sony had the benefit of healthy head start, and had shipped 32 million PlayStation 2s. However, seven years after the introduction of original PlayStation, it was being sold in retail outlets for a mere $49. It had a significant lead in terms of numbers of units in homes around the world with a 43 per cent share. Nintendo 64 was second with 30 per cent, followed by Sony PlayStation 2 with 14 per cent The Xbox and GameCube each claimed about 3 per cent of the market, with Sega Dreamcast comprising the last and least market share of 4. 7 per cent. Sega, once an industry leader, announced in 2001 that it had decided to stop producing the Dreamcast and other video game hardware components. The company said it would develop games for its competitors’ consoles. Thus Sega slashed the price of the Dreamcast to just $99 in an effort to liquidate its piled up inventory of more than 2 million units and immediately began developing 11 new games for the Xbox, four for PlayStation 2, and three for Nintendo’s Game Boy Advance. As the prices of video game consoles have dropped, consoles and games have become the equivalent of razors and blades. This means the consoles generate little if any profit, but the games are a highly profitable proposition. The profit margins on games are highly attractive, affected to some degree by whether the content is developed by the console maker (such as Sony) or by an independent game publisher (such as Electronic Arts). Thus, the competition to develop appealing, or perhaps even addictive, games may be even more intense than the battle among players to produce the best console. In particular, Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft want games that are exclusive to their own systems. With that in mind, they not only rely on large in-house staffs that design games but they also pay added fees to independent publishers for exclusive rights to new games. The sales of video games in 2001 rose to 43 per cent, compared to just 4 per cent increase for computer-based games. But computer game players are believed to be a loyal bunch, as they see many advantages in playing games on their computers rather than consoles. For one thing, they have a big advantage of having access to a mouse and a keyboard that allow them to play far more sophisticated games. In addition, they have been utilizing the Internet for years to receive game updates and modifications and to play each other over the Web. Sony and Microsoft are intent on capturing a portion of the online gaming opportunity. Even Nintendo has decided to make available a modem that will allow GameCube users to play online. As prices continue to fall and technology becomes increasingly more sophisticated, it remains to be seen whether these three companies can keep their names on the industry’s list of â€Å"high scorers†. Questions 1. Considering the concept of product life cycle, where would you put video games in their life cycle? 2. Should video game companies continue to alter their products to include other functions, such as e-mail? END OF SECTION B Section C: Applied Theory (30 marks). 1. What is meant by sales promotion? Describe briefly the various methods of sales promotional tools used by business organizations to boost the sales. Explain any four methods of sales promotion? 2. Write notes on the fowling : a) Explain right to safety. b) What is right to consumer protection? END OF SECTION C.