Saturday, August 31, 2019

Marketing Brand Strategy

Decide if you would like to brand your product or service. Then identify three products or services in your industry that have a logo or slogan. After which, either develop a logo or slogan that will identify your product or service or explain why branding is not the best marketing plan. Then write a marketing memo to the advertising division of your company rationalizing your choice. Evaluation Criteria: Have you included all the required elements? Have you identified the environmental factors and described their influence appropriately in the given situation? Please use the textbook – Marketing Management 12E by Kotler & Keller and other sources. If you are using sources other than the text, you must provide complete citations. Is the paper professionally presented? Remember your audience – senior management at your company. It is important to present your information as clearly and succinctly as possible. Please read the instructions carefully. Please make sure that 1 of the 3 references that you are using is my text book – Marketing My product brand : â€Å"Smiley ulcer-guard toothpaste†, Company: Teethal Slogan : Guardian in disguise –   forever with a smile [ which implies that this above mentioned toothpaste prevents from the oral infection of ulcers which shadows a face with grin and no smile for a long period. ] Logo: A smile embedded in a circle Three products in the industry having logo or slogan are as follows – 1. HLL’s Close-Up 2. Proctor and Gamble’s Pepsodent 3. Colgate Palmolive’s Colgate Why banding is not the best marketing plan? Strategic planning is a process which gives a detailed understanding of the growth and provides a futuristic view of a business enterprise. Careful study of the strategic planning helps in scrutinizing and developing a steady marketing plan for a product line or a brand. Every marketing plan should involve a thorough analysis of the external and internal environment. If the environment is stable, most of the activities will be predictable and convenient for the organization. But in today’s scenario, the environment is changing faster and faster which leads to discontinuity with the past. The environmental survey is the cornerstone to every marketing plan. The various macro environmental factors like political, social, economical, technological, natural and legal environment imbibe a sense of competitive advantage over other competitors. In the course of studying and analyzing the marketing plan, marketers also identify the brand power of the product lines existing in that firm, which speaks about the positioning and differentiation of the products. Branding is a process of developing a differentiated product which is positioned in the minds of the consumers as a brand by way of its logo and slogan. Branding is just one strategy in the whole of the marketing strategy of the marketing plan. If Branding is studied without looking over the marketing plan, then the outcome would be disastrous as branding is a subset of the marketing strategy which in turn is a subset of the marketing plan which is a subset of strategic planning. Hence it is said that branding need not be the best marketing plan. If a marketing plan is properly carried out, it satisfies the process of branding too (Batra et al 1999, Kotler, 2001, & Ramaswamy et al;, 2004). Marketing Memo to the Advertising firm: Lintas My organization â€Å"Teethal† deals with the manufacture of varied products of toothpaste. Recently a new product is been manufactured named – Smiley ulcer-guard toothpaste, which has a unique differentiating factor of overcoming the worst oral infection caused by ulcers. I have carried out a detailed learning of this product which is branded by taking into consideration the environmental factors like consumer and demand for the product, industry competition, technology and social environment which plays a major role. The following specification needs attention while carrying out the advertising plan (Batra et al, 1999 & Gilbert, 2003). Product Specifications: Attributes of the brand: long lasting fresh breath, ulcer protection, economical Personality of the brand– always charming and vibrant Benefits of the brand – All the attributes provide a functional benefit â€Å"I won’t have to worry about my oral protection†. The attribute economical translates into an emotional benefit which makes the user feel important for maintaining value-for-money. Values of the brand – The brand also says something about the manufacturers’ values – hygienic and effective and powerful. User of the product: all age group.   Strongly advisable for teenagers who have bad eating habits and executives working under stress. Pricing:   Although the product is very much effective for every user, the price is economical to encourage the masses to buy the product and avail the benefit of its healing touch. 200 gm toothpaste is priced at US Dollars 3. Promotion: The product could be initially advertised in the urban cities on Television, in metros on FM radios and in the rural places on TV cables [just a suggestion] Distribution: The product is a convenience product and hence will be sold at every local convenient store. Intensive distribution mode will be adopted to enhance its usage and improve its beneficial value. Based on the above requirements, kindly prepare the advertising budget to bring out the clarity of this advertising campaign so as to provide the necessary resources. Also provide us with your study carried out with regards to the internal differences between the advertising plans which arise from the differences in the external factors and the environmental situations which the advertisers face (Batra et al 1999, Kotler, 2001, & Ramaswamy et al;, 2004). References – Batra, R., Myers, J. G., and Aaker, D. A. (1999), Advertising Management, 5th ed, New Delhi: Prentice. Gilbert, D. (2003), Retail Marketing Management, New Delhi: Pearson. Kotler, P. (2001), Marketing Management, Millenium ed, New Delhi: Prentice. Ramaswamy, V. S. and Namakumari, S. (2004), Marketing Management: Planning, Implementation and Control, 3rd ed, Delhi: Macmillan.      

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Stupidest Angel Chapter 9

Chapter 9 THE LOCAL GUYS, THEY HAVE THEIR MOMENTS Thursday morning it became official: Dale Pearson, evil developer, was a missing person. Theo Crowe was going over the big red truck parked by the pounding Pacific at Lime Kiln Rock in the Big Sur wilderness area above Pine Cove. This was the area where half the world's car commercials were filmed – everything from Detroit minivans to German lux-o-cruisers was filmed snaking around the cliffs of Big Sur, as if all you needed to do was sign the lease papers and your life would be an open road of frothy waves beating on majestic seawalls, with nothing but leisure and prosperity ahead. Dale Pearson's big red truck did look carefree and prosperous, parked there by the sea, despite the crust of salt forming on the paint and the appearance that the owner had been washed away in the surf. Theo wanted that to be the case. The highway patrol, who had found the truck, had reported it as an accident. There was a surf-casting rod there on the rocks, conveniently monogrammed with Dale's initials. And the Santa hat he'd been wearing was found washed up nearby, and therein lay the problem. Betsy Butler, Dale's squeeze, had said that Dale had gone out two nights ago to play Santa at the Caribou Lodge and had never come home. Who went fishing in the middle of the night while wearing a Santa hat? Granted, according to the other Caribou, Dale had done â€Å"some drinking,† and he was a little wound up from his confrontation with his ex-wife the day before, but he hadn't lost his mind completely. Negotiating the cliffs by Lime Kiln Rock to get down to the water during the day was risky business; there's no way that Dale would have tried it in the middle of the night. (Theo had lost his footing and slid twenty feet before he caught himself, wrenching his back in the process. Sure he was a little stoned, but then, Dale would have been a little drunk.) The highway patrolman, who had a crew cut and looked to be about twelve – an escapee from one of the hygiene films Theo had seen in sixth-grade health class, Why Mary Won't Go in the Water – had Theo sign off on his report, then climbed in his cruiser and headed up the coast into Monterey County. Theo went back and looked through the truck again. All the things that should have been there – some tools, a black Mag flashlight, a couple of fast-food wrappers, another fishing rod, a tube of blueprints – were there. And all the things that shouldn't – bloody knives, shell casings, severed limbs, evidence of bleach from cleanup – were not. It was like the guy had just driven up here, climbed down the cliff, and washed away. But that just couldn't be the case. Dale could be mean-spirited, crude, and even violent, but he wasn't stupid. Unless he knew the exact topography of these cliffs, and had a good flashlight, he'd never have made it down in the dark. And his flashlight was still in the truck. Theo wished that he had better training in crime-scene investigation. He'd learned most of what he knew from television, not at the academy where he'd spent a miserable eight weeks fifteen years ago when the corrupt sheriff who had found his personal pot patch had railroaded him into becoming Pine Cove's constable. Since the academy, almost every crime scene he'd encountered had been turned over to the county sheriff or highway patrol almost immediately. He went over the truck cab again looking for something that might be a clue. The only thing remotely out of order was some dog hairs on the headrest. Theo couldn't remember if Dale had a dog. He put the dog hairs in a sandwich bag and dialed Betsy Butler on his cell phone. She didn't sound that broken up about Dale's disappearance. â€Å"No, Dale didn't like dogs. He didn't like cats either. He was kind of a cow man.† â€Å"He liked cows? Did you guys have a pet cow?† Could it be cow hair? â€Å"No, he liked to eat them, Theo. Are you okay?† â€Å"No, sorry, Betsy.† He had been so sure that he didn't sound stoned. â€Å"So, do I get the truck? I mean, are you going to bring it here?† â€Å"I have no idea,† said Theo. â€Å"They'll tow it to the impound yard. I don't know if they'll release it to you. I'd better go, Betsy.† He snapped the phone shut. Maybe he was just tired. Molly had made him sleep on the couch last night – saying something about him having mutant tendencies. He hadn't even known that she liked the salad shooter. He was sure that she could tell that he'd been smoking pot. He flipped the phone back open and called Gabe Fenton. â€Å"Hey, Theo. I don't know what that stuff is you brought me, but it's not hair. It won't burn or melt, and it's damn hard to cut or break. Good thing it was torn out by the roots.† Theo cringed. He had almost forgotten about the crazed blond guy he'd run over. He shuddered now, thinking about it. â€Å"Gabe, I have some more hair I'd like you to look at.† â€Å"Oh my God, Theo, did you run over someone else?† â€Å"No, I didn't run over anybody. Jeez, Gabe.† â€Å"Okay. I'll be here all day. Actually, I'll be here all night, too. It's not like I have anywhere to go. Or anyone who cares whether I live or die. It's not like –  » â€Å"Okay. I'm coming over.† There were two men and three women, including Lena, in the offices of Properties in the Pines when Tucker Case came through the door. The women were immediately intrigued by him and the men immediately disliked him. It had always been that way with Tuck. Later, if they got to know him, the women would dismiss him and the men would still dislike him. Basically, he was a geek in a cool guy's body – one feature or the other worked against him. It was an open stable of desks and Tuck went directly to Lena's desk at the back. As he went he smiled and nodded to the realtors, who smiled back weakly, trying not to sneer. They were beat from showing properties to Christmas vacation be-backs who wouldn't move here even if they could find employment in this toy town. They'd just failed to plan any vacation activities and so decided to take the kids out for a rousing round of jerk off the realtor. Or so went the party line at the MLS meetings. Lena met Tuck's gaze and instinctively smiled, then frowned. â€Å"What are you doing here?† â€Å"Lunch? You. Me. Eating. Talking. I need to ask you something.† â€Å"I thought you were supposed to be flying.† Tuck hadn't seen Lena in her business clothes – a sensible skirt and blouse, just a little mascara and lipstick, her hair pinned up with lacquered chopsticks, a few strands escaping here and there to frame her face. He liked the look. â€Å"I flew all morning. There's weather. The edge of a storm coming.† He really wanted to pull the chopsticks out of her hair and throw her down there on the desk and tell her how he really felt, which was somewhat aroused. â€Å"We could get Chinese,† he added. Lena looked out the window. The sky was going dark gray over the shops across the street. â€Å"There's no Chinese place in Pine Cove. Besides, I'm really swamped here. I handle vacation rentals and it's Christmas Eve eve.† â€Å"We could go to your place for a quick lunch. You have no idea how quick I can be if I put my mind to it.† Lena looked past him to her coworkers, who, of course, were now staring. â€Å"Is that what you need to ask me?† â€Å"Oh, no, no, of course not. I wouldn't – that would be, well, yes – but there's something else.† Now Tuck was feeling the realtors watching him, listening to him. He leaned over Lena's desk so only she could hear. â€Å"You said this morning that that constable guy your friend is married to lives in a cabin at the edge of a ranch. It wouldn't be the big ranch north of town, would it?† Lena was still looking past him. â€Å"Yes, the Beer-Bar Ranch, belongs to Jim Beer.† â€Å"And there's an old single-wide trailer next to the cabin?† â€Å"Yes, that used to be Molly's, but now they live in the cabin. Why?† Tuck stood back and grinned. â€Å"Then white roses it is,† he said, a little too loudly for the benefit of the audience. â€Å"I just didn't know if they'd be appropriate for the holidays.† â€Å"Huh?† Lena said. â€Å"See you tonight,† Tuck said. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, then sauntered out of the office, smiling apologetically at the exhausted realtors as he went. â€Å"Merry Christmas, you guys,† he said, waving from the door. The first thing that Theo noticed when he entered Gabe Fenton's cabin was the aquariums with the dead rats. The female was scampering around the center cage, sniffing and crapping and looking rat-happy, but the others, the males, lay on their backs, feet shot to the sky, like plastic soldiers in a death diorama. â€Å"How did that happen?† â€Å"They wouldn't learn. Once they associated the shock with sex, they started liking it.† Theo thought about his relationship with Molly over the last few days. He pictured himself in the dead-rat display. â€Å"So you just kept shocking them until they died?† â€Å"I had to keep the parameters of the experiment constant.† Theo nodded gravely, as if he understood completely, which he didn't. Skinner came over and headbutted him in the thigh. Theo scratched his ears to comfort him. Skinner was worried about the Food Guy, and he was hoping that maybe the Emergency Backup Food Guy might give him one of the tasty-smelling white squirrels in the cages on the table, now that it appeared that the Food Guy was finished cooking them. This teasing was as bad as when that kid at the beach used to pretend to throw the ball, then not throw the ball. Then pretend to throw the ball, but not throw the ball. Skinner had to knock the kid down and sit on his face. Boy, had he been bad-dogged for that. Nothing hurt like being bad-dogged, but if the Food Guy kept teasing him with the white squirrels, Skinner knew he was going to have to knock him down and sit on his face, maybe even poop in his shoe. Oh, I am a bad, bad dog. No, wait, the Emergency Backup Food Guy was scratching his ears. Oh, that felt good. He was fine. Doggie Xanax. Never mind. Theo handed Gabe the sandwich bag with the hairs in it. â€Å"What's the oily substance in the bag?† Gabe said, examining the specimen. â€Å"Potato-chip flotsam. The bag is from my lunch yesterday.† Gabe nodded, then looked at Theo the way the coroner always looks at the cop on TV – like: You numbskull, don't you know that you're contaminating evidence just by continuing to draw breath and I'd be a lot more comfortable with you if you'd stop? He took the bag over to the microscope on the counter, removed a couple of the hairs, and put them on a slide with a cover, then fitted it into the microscope. â€Å"Please don't tell me it's polar bear,† Theo said. â€Å"No, but at least it's an animal. It seems to have a distinct sour-cream-and-onion signature.† Gabe pulled back from the microscope and grinned at Theo. â€Å"Just fucking with you.† He gave Theo a gentle punch to the arm and looked back into the microscope. â€Å"Wow, the medulla is absent and there's low birefringence.† â€Å"Wow,† echoed Theo, trying but not really feeling the low-birefringence stoke that Gabe was. â€Å"I have to check the hair database online, but I think it's from a bat.† â€Å"There's a database for that? What, Bat Hair Dot-Com?† â€Å"That was supposed to be the whole purpose of the Internet, you know. To share scientific information.† â€Å"Not a Viagra- and porn-delivery system?† Theo said. Maybe Gabe was going to be okay after all. Gabe moved to the computer at his desk and scrolled through screen after screen of microscope photos of mammal hair until he found one he liked, then went back to the microscope and checked it again. â€Å"Wow, Theo, you've got yourself an endangered species here.† â€Å"No way.† â€Å"Where the hell did you get this? Micronesian giant fruit bat.† â€Å"Out of a Dodge pickup truck.† â€Å"Hmm, that's not listed as their habitat. It wasn't parked in Guam, was it?† Theo fished his car keys out of his pocket. â€Å"Look, Gabe, I have to go. Meet at the Slug for a beer tonight, okay?† â€Å"We can have beer now, if you want. I have some in the fridge.† â€Å"You need to get out. I need to get out. Okay?† Theo was backing out the door. â€Å"Okay. I'll meet you at six. I have to go pick up some Super Glue solvent at the Thrifty-Mart.† â€Å"Bye.† Theo jumped off the porch and loped to the Volvo. Skinner barked at him in four-four time. Hello? Tasty white squirrels? Still in the little box? Hello? You forgot? When Theo pulled up to Lena Marquez's house, there was a generic white economy rental car (A Ford Mucus, he thought) parked out front. He looked for the bat he'd seen hanging from the porch ceiling, but it wasn't there. He hadn't even filed the experience of running over the apparently indestructible blond guy, and now he was facing the possibility that he might actually be about to confront a murderer. Just in case, he'd stopped at home and gotten his gun off the shelf in the closet and his handcuffs off the bedpost where Molly had last imprisoned him when they had still been speaking. (She'd been in the yard out behind the cabin, working out with a bamboo shinai kendo sword she'd been using since breaking her broadsword – he'd snuck in and out without confrontation.) He unsnapped the Glock's nylon holster that was clipped to the back of his jeans and rang the doorbell. The door opened. Theo screamed and drew his gun as he jumped back. On the other side of the threshold, Tucker Case screamed and dove backward also, shielding his face with his hands. His hat made a little yelping sound. â€Å"Hold it right there,† Theo said. He could feel his pulse beating in his neck. â€Å"I'm holding, I'm holding. Jesus, what the fuck is this about?† â€Å"You have a bat on your head!† â€Å"Yeah, and for that you're going to shoot me?† The bat, his huge black wings wrapped around the pilot's head, gave the impression of a large leather cap with a Mohawk crest of fur that culminated in a big-eared little dog face that was now barking at Theo. â€Å"Well, uh, no.† Theo lowered the gun, feeling a little embarrassed now. He was still in his shooter's crouch, though, which now, with the gun lowered, made him look like he was posing as the world's skinniest sumo wrestler. â€Å"Can I get up?† Tuck asked. â€Å"Sure, I just wanted to talk to Lena.† Tucker Case was exasperated and his bat had fallen over one eye. â€Å"Well, she's at her office. Look, if you're going to get high, maybe you ought to leave the gun at home, huh?† â€Å"What?† Theo had been careful to use some Visine, and it had been hours since he'd hit his Sneaky Pete pot pipe. He said, â€Å"I'm not high. I haven't gotten high in years.† â€Å"Yeah, right. Constable, maybe you'd better come in.† Theo stood and tried to shake off the appearance that he'd just had about five years of life scared out of him by a guy with a bat on his head. He followed Tucker Case into Lena's kitchen, where the pilot offered him a seat at the table. â€Å"So, Constable, what can I do for you?† Theo wasn't sure. He'd planned on talking to Lena, or at least the two of them together. â€Å"Well, as you probably know, we found Lena's ex-husband's truck up in Big Sur.† â€Å"Of course, I saw it.† â€Å"You saw it?† â€Å"From the helicopter. Tucker Case, contract pilot for the DEA, remember? You can check me out if you want to. Anyway, we've been patrolling that area.† â€Å"You have?† The bat was looking at Theo and Theo was having trouble following his own thoughts. The bat was wearing tiny sunglasses. Ray-Bans, Theo could see by the trademark in the corner of one lens. â€Å"I'm sorry, Mr., uh – Case, could you take the bat off your head. It's very distracting.† â€Å"Him.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"It's a him. Roberto. He no like the light.† â€Å"Pardon?† â€Å"Friend of mine used to say that. Sorry.† Tucker Case unwrapped the bat and put it on the floor, where it spidered away, walking on its wing tips into the living room. â€Å"God, that's creepy,† Theo said. â€Å"Yeah, you know, kids. What are you gonna do?† Tuck dazzled a perfect grin. â€Å"So, you found this guy's truck? Not him, though?† â€Å"No. It was made to look like he was washed into the ocean while fishing off the rocks.† â€Å"Made to look? So, you suspect foul play?† Tuck bounced his eyebrows. Theo thought the pilot should be taking this more seriously. It was time to drop the bomb. â€Å"Yes. First, he never came home after the Caribou Christmas party Tuesday night, where he played the joke Santa. No one goes surf-fishing in the middle of the night, wearing a Santa suit. We found the Santa hat still in the truck, and I found hairs from a Micronesian fruit bat on the headrest.† â€Å"Well, that's a coincidence. Jeez, that's got to make you suspicious, doesn't it?† Tucker Case got up and went over to the counter. â€Å"Coffee? I just made it.† Theo stood up, too, just because he didn't want the suspect to get away, or maybe to show that he was taller, because it seemed like the only advantage he had over the pilot. â€Å"Yes, it is suspicious. And I talked to a kid Tuesday night who said he saw a woman killing Santa Claus with a shovel. I didn't think anything of it then, but now I think the kid might have actually seen something.† Tucker Case was busying himself with getting cups out of the cupboard, milk out of the fridge. â€Å"So, you did tell the kid that there's no Santa, right?† â€Å"No, I didn't.† Now Tucker Case turned, coffeepot in hand, and regarded Theo. â€Å"You know that there is no Santa, don't you, Constable?† â€Å"This is not a joke,† Theo said. He hated this – hated being the MAN. He was supposed to be the smart-ass in the face of authority figures. â€Å"Cream?† Theo sighed. â€Å"Sure. And sugar, please.† Tuck finished preparing the coffee, brought the cups to the table, and sat down. â€Å"Look, I see where you're going with this, Theo. Can I call you Theo?† Theo nodded. â€Å"Thanks. Anyway, Lena was with me Tuesday night, all night.† â€Å"Really? I saw Lena on Monday. She didn't mention you. Where did you meet?† â€Å"At the Thrifty-Mart. She was a Salvation Army Santa. I thought she was attractive, so I asked her out. We hit it off.† â€Å"You make it a habit of hitting on the Salvation Army Santas?† â€Å"Lena said that you're married to a scream queen called Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland.† Theo nearly shot coffee out his nose. â€Å"That was a character she used to play.† â€Å"Yeah, Lena says sometimes that's not so clear to her. My point is: Love is where you find it.† Theo nodded. Yeah, that was true. Before he drifted into a wistful state of mind, Theo reminded himself that this guy was, in an offhand way, attacking the woman he loved. â€Å"Hey,† Theo said. â€Å"It's okay? Who am I to judge? I married an island girl who had never seen indoor plumbing until I brought her to the States. Didn't work out –  » â€Å"Fruit-bat hair in the truck,† Theo interrupted. â€Å"Yeah, I knew you'd come back to that. Well, who knows? Roberto goes out on his own from time to time. Maybe he met this Dale guy. Maybe they hit it off. You know, love is where you find it. I doubt it, though. I hear that this Dale guy was a real creep.† â€Å"Are you implying that your bat may have something to do with the disappearance of Dale Pearson?† â€Å"No, you nitwit, I'm saying that my bat may have had something to do with bat hair, which, even you, with your Sherlock Holmes-like powers of observation, may have noticed he is all covered with.† â€Å"I can't believe you're a cop,† Theo said, getting truly angry now. â€Å"I'm not a cop. I just fly the helicopter for the DEA. They hire me by the season, and this is close to the harvest season in Big Sur and surrounding areas, so here I am, flying around looking in the forest for dark green patches while the agents in the back look at it through infrared and record everything on GPS so they can get specific warrants. And man, do they pay well. ‘Vive la war on drugs, I say. But no, I'm not a cop.† â€Å"I didn't think so.† â€Å"Funny thing is, I have learned to spot the right color of green from the sky, and usually the infrared confirms my suspicions. This morning I spotted about a thousand-square-foot patch of marijuana growing just north of the Beer-Bar Ranch. You know where that is?† Theo felt a lump in his throat the size of one of Gabe's dead rats. â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Man, that's a lot of pot, even by commercial growers' standards. Felony quantity. I turned the helicopter – steered away without calling it to the agent's attention, but weather permitting, we could go back. There's a storm coming in, you know? Roberto and I drove by there this afternoon just to make sure. I guess I can always show the agents tomorrow.† Tucker Case put down his coffee, leaned on his elbows, and turned his head sideways like he was a cute kid in a cereal commercial who was reaching sugar nirvana. â€Å"You're a very unlikable man, Mr. Case.† â€Å"Oh my God, you should have seen me before I had my epiphany. I used to really be an asshole. I'm actually very charming now. By the way, I saw your wife working out in the yard at your house – very nice. The whole sword thing is a little scary, but otherwise, very nice.† Theo got to his feet, feeling a little dizzy even as he stood, like he'd been hit with a sock full of sand. â€Å"I'd better be going.† Tucker Case put his hand on Theo's shoulder as he walked him to the door. â€Å"You probably don't believe this, Theo, but at another time, I'm sure we'd be friends. And you have to understand, I really, really want things to work out with Lena. It was like we met just at the precise moment, the exact second, that I got over my divorce and was ready to love again. And it's so nice to have someone to bone under the Christmas tree, don't you think? She's a great woman.† â€Å"I like Lena,† Theo said. â€Å"But you are a psychopath.† â€Å"You think?† Tuck said. â€Å"I've really been trying to be more helpful.†

Comment on the various sorts of love shown in Romeo and Juliet Essay

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a romantic tragedy based around a pair of young lovers. The play is set in 12th century Verona where a pair of families, the Capulet’s and the Montague’s have been feuding for many years. The play revolves around Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet falling deeply in love and the events that befall these two forbidden lovers. The play covers an array of different types of love and love related issues from brotherly love to bodily lust, Shakespeare uses the characters to portray stereotyped ideas of love and how it affects people. Before even the first scene is out, the play has already touched upon the idea of brotherly love. Benvolio, the cousin of Romeo, finds Romeo in a state of near depression and says to Romeo ‘What sadness lengthens Romeos hours’? With this line Shakespeare is showing Benvolio’s concern as a man might unto his brother. Romeo is sad because he has fallen in love with a girl, Rosaline ‘In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman. ‘ However Romeo’s chosen spouse does not return the affection, as Romeo states ‘She will not stay the siege of loving terms’. Benvolio offers to Romeo the idea of looking for a different more attainable woman. He gives this advice in order that his cousin may once again be happy thus showing his affection for Romeo. Throughout the play Shakespeare writes about light when referring to love, he talks of it in the prologue before the play is even afoot ‘A pair of star-crossed lovers take their life;’ It does not stop here however, on Romeo’s first encounter with Juliet he says ‘O she doth teach the torches to burn bright’ Meaning that she brings light to his dark troubled state of mind, where there was the haze of rejection her light shines through brightening his mood. Again in scene two upon meeting with Juliet his love Romeo compares her presence to light ‘But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? ‘ To Romeo meeting Juliet is like the sun rising, just as the sun lights up the world she lights up his mood and, as the sun clears the morning mist, so Juliet clears the fog of his mind leaving it clear. I think Shakespeare uses these references to light to show that in ‘dark’ times often love can show the way. Perhaps showing that in the face of a problematic social environment love can be a beacon to those who embrace it. When Romeo first visits friar Lawrence in Act two Scene three they speak of Romeo’s newfound love for Juliet and change of heart to Rosaline ‘With Rosaline, my ghostly father? no; I have forgot that name, and that names woe’ By this he is telling the friar that he has not only stopped doting on Rosaline but, has in fact undergone a total change in spirits forgetting the woes he had over Rosaline. However the Friar speaks of the doubts he had for the sincerity of Romeo’s love for Rosaline in the first place ‘Thy love did read by rote, that could not spell. ‘ This implies that Romeo, whilst sounding outwardly convincing lacked the meaning behind his words. Shakespeare is again using a characters opinion to influence that of the audience, in this case Romeo’s love for Rosaline may well have been true but due to the friars opinionated speech the audience is cast into doubt on the matter. The friar also chides Romeo about his use of elaborate metaphorical language when talking of love, telling him to ‘be plain, good son,’ For in order for Friar Lawrence to absolve Romeo he must first be able to understand him. Yet it is not just the friar who is suspicious of Romeo’s decorative words, Juliet had already commented on the way he talks in Act two Scene two ‘O swear not by the moon, th’inconstant moon, That monthly changes in her circled orb, Lest that thy love prove likewise variable. ‘ Romeos allegorical promises do not hold well with Juliet because in his words no definition can be found merely elaborate metaphors. However Juliet’s complaints go unheeded for later Act two Scene six Romeo is again using exotic language in order to describe his love for her ‘Unfold the imagined happiness that both Receive in either by this dear encounter. ‘ Juliet however responds by saying ‘Conceit, more rich in matter than in words, Brags of his substance, not of ornament; They are but beggars that can count their worth, But my true love is grown to such excess I cannot sum up sum of half my wealth. ‘ What Juliet is saying here is that unlike Romeo she cannot sum up her love for him in words. Shakespeare uses strong negative imagery such as ‘beggars’ and ‘conceit’ to display Juliet’s exasperation with Romeos continuing usage of needless ornate speech. But despite Juliet’s doubts and Romeo’s misleading words there is an overwhelming love between the pair that cannot go unnoticed. Even upon their first meeting Romeo’s feelings for Juliet are obvious ‘Did my heart love till now? ‘ He directs this phrase at Juliet before the two have even met. Yet when they do at last meet Juliet shares with Romeo not one but two kisses, the second induced by Juliet ‘Then have my lips the sin that they have took’ These shows of affection in the time in which the play was written would be unheard of upon a first meeting. This shows just how the pair truly epitomise the phrase ‘Love at first sight’ for they did not let the fact that they were total strangers hinder the strength of their feelings even if the feeling was simply lust. However as of yet we cannot tell whether Romeo is sincere in his love this time rather than just lustfully infatuated as he was with Rosaline, the cousin of Juliet. However he proves himself later in the act by saying ‘Call me but love, and I’ll be new baptised; Henceforth I never will be Romeo’ By this he is offering to change his name if it would make Juliet love him and be with him. During Shakespearian times it was no small feat to denounce one’s name, there was a lot more weight placed upon names back then, especially if it was a name of high social standing as was Romeo’s. This proposal shows the true and serious nature of Romeo’s newfound love. However it is not simply Romeo who makes such a bold offer for earlier in the scene Juliet says ‘be but sworn my love, And I’ll no longer be a Capulet’ To the audience Shakespeare was writing for this selfless act on both their parts would have convinced the audience that their love was true. Another factor that Shakespeare played upon to influence his audience into believing that Romeo and Juliet’s love was true was his use of Religious language upon their first meeting. ‘If I profane with my unworthiest hand This holy shrine, the gentle sin is this, My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand To smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss. ‘ Shakespeare deliberately uses this language to symbolise a number of things. Firstly that Juliet like a shrine is ‘untouched’ or virginal this theme is recurrent through the first two acts of the play. Secondly it However not all Shakespeare’s example’s of love are so romantic for instance Juliet’s mother The Lady Capulet says to Juliet considering the offer of marriage from Paris ‘So shall you share all that he doth possess, By having him, making yourself no less. ‘ This shows a very materialistic side to Lady Capulet it also implies that the reason she is married to Lord Capulet might not necessarily be because they are in love. It portrays a much more dutiful love between Juliet’s parents perhaps Lady Capulet loves Lord Capulet simply because they are married rather than being married because they are in love. This type of relationship was common in Tudor times because often romanticism was overlooked in the face of bettering oneself financially. Paris’ show of affection for Juliet is not without a sense of duty he, as was proper in those days, approaches Lord Capulet for his daughters hand in marriage ‘But now, my lord, what say you to my suit? ‘ At this point Capulet believes his daughter to be too young for marriage yet he encourages young Paris to ‘woo’ her in order that she may fall in love with him down the line ‘And too soon marred are those so early made. ‘ Might be referring to the marriage of himself and lady Capulet that has now become loveless and hollow. He as a loving father does not wish this upon his own only child so through Paris’ persistence Shakespeare shows another form of love, the love of a father for his daughter. Yet not all Shakespeare’s characters believed in such an ‘honourable’ love. In his opening scene there are two servant men talking between themselves, there speech although on the topic of fighting generally is rife with sexual innuendo and pun. For example ‘Ay, the heads of maids, or their maidenheads, take it in what sense thou wilt’ This line seemingly innocent to the reader of our time has a very rude meaning in Shakespearian language where ‘maidenhead’ means virginity, in this sense the two are talking of having sex with virgins, more than a little less noble than the good Paris. They speak also of pushing women to the wall because of their weaker build; this all shows little true emotion and a very physically sexual type of ‘love ‘ if indeed it can be referred to as that at all. Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet was a revolutionary piece when it was written because it showed just how love can move people in an age where marriage for social or financial gain was the norm. Over nearly five hundred years Shakespeare’s language and story line has captivated the hearts and minds of generations of lovers with its unique mixture of reality and fantasy. Romeo and Juliet is one piece of Shakespeare’s work that will remain a true timeless classic.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Discussion Forum Post Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion Forum Post - Essay Example man who work by faith should understand how to cope with the justice a contradiction of war and needs to understand how to deal with different  aspects of a strange and pilgrim world. Individual is always meant to obey God and obedience to civil authority. Although the humans are expected to obey authorities and accept the punishment willingly, the authority with the responsibility to levy punishment should not over exercise in the task. The authority has the power to control the behavior of the individual, but they are not expected to impose heavy punishment such as dead to individuals. The traditional chief could set rules that his people were required to follow. In case someone goes against the set rules, the punishment was administered. Those punishments could sometimes be too heavy and may include killing, which is against todays culture. Today’s society is well-organized with the most of the authorities playing their roles as expected. International laws do not allow any leadership to administer killing as part of punishment. On the other site, most people obey God and authority as

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

President's Role in the Regulatory Process Article

President's Role in the Regulatory Process - Article Example In evaluating the role of the president in the regulatory process, there exist two sets of distinctions. The president is an advocate or rather the formulators of policies enacted by the congress (Himmelberg, 1994). The president execute theoretical establishment manned by the chief executive. In this regard, the president’s role is to provide a regulatory process that functions for the citizens and not against them. The process should be dedicated to improving citizens’ safety, health, the surroundings, and encouraging growth of economy and creating jobs to citizens. The president is responsible for providing guidance, assistance in planning and dispute resolution (Lubbers, 2006). During his term as the president of the U.S, President Reagan issued an executive order that aimed to carry out a cost benefit analysis of certain regulatory processes from agencies. This order ensured that agencies followed the desires of the coalitions that enacted the procedures. The procedures are eventually used to establish a decision-making environment for agencies in their daily operation. In my opinion, I think President Obama has impressed the best regulatory process in furthering administration goals. In this process, the president has employed recommendations that offer a harmonious relationship between the agencies and the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of the state. The president Obama has provided guidance on transparency and disclosure. He also encourages the public to take part in agency regulatory process. In president Obamas’s regulatory process, he allowed suggestion made on the function of the cost-benefit analysis of the economic laws. He applies a decentralization method of regulatory process in that it is not stakeholders only that are involved in the process but citizens also take part in the process and not . In conclusion, regulations are means with which agencies execute definite laws and general goals of the

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

A STEEPLE analysis of the UK motor car market or the UK supermarket Essay

A STEEPLE analysis of the UK motor car market or the UK supermarket sector - Essay Example In the second part, two examples of human resource management (HRM) in the supermarket sector will be presented, to demonstrate human resource (HR) professionals’ responses to changes in the environmental contexts. Part 1: STEEPLE Analysis of the United Kingdom’s Supermarket Sector STEEPLE is a valuable instrument facilitating the use of appropriate strategy and practices by Human Resource professionals and senior managers, in response to the changing external circumstances impacting organisations. Environmental analysis is considered as the key element in strategic analysis for corporate planning. Several of the external variables identified by the STEEPLE analysis, will present opportuniites, while many will pose threats. Hence, it is necessary to â€Å"distil out of the complexity the key environmental impacts for the purposes of strategic choice† (Kew and Stredwick, 2005, p.205). Strategic choice involves the creation and evaluation of strategic options, and the logical or political selection of strategy, to effectively manage the key drivers of external forces, with a focus on the microeconomic environment. STEEPLE Linkages with UK Supermarket Sector Leading supermarket chains Marks & Spencer and Waitrose founded in 1884 and 1904 respectively, are among the highly successful retail businesses, which have changed organisational strategies with shifts in external drivers related to the STEEPLE concept. Similarly, the four biggest chains in the UK: Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury and Morrison’s also deal with the same external forces as the smaller retail chains across the country. Among the STEEPLE external forces, changes in Sociocultural factors affects United Kingdom’s supermarkets, with changing demographics found in greater ethnic diversity, and increasing percentage of the elderly population (Datamonitor, 2009), as well as greater health consciousness, product awareness, selectivity and austerity among people. Similarly, techn ological advancements in information and communication support the provision of greater reach (Meneely, Burns and Strugnell, 2009; SAS, 2012), and more efficient service. For example, ASDA Supermarket’s online evolution has led to its highly successful ASDA@Home Website (Khosrowpour, 2006). While consumers acquire increasing power through access to information and the availability of greater choices, retailers’ power declines. â€Å"New technology fuels rise in m-commerce by all age groups and empowers voice of the consumer† (SAS, 2012, p.3). Bryan (2004) reiterates that there is increasing competition for gaining customer loyalty among manufacturers, suppliers and retailers. Waitrose has acquired tremendous customer support due to its minimizing the environmental impacts of its business, while maximizing economic outcomes such as â€Å"better prices for suppliers, better value for consumers† (Warrier, 2010, p.31), as well as social effects such as better conditions and wages. According to Farnham (2010), the economic factors that impact UK supermarkets relate mainly to the microeconomic environment including the product market, the competitive structure and nature of competition. Fair-traded products are preferred by the increasingly well-informed clientele. These are â€Å"

Monday, August 26, 2019

Multiculturalism Promotes Social Segregation. Discuss Essay

Multiculturalism Promotes Social Segregation. Discuss - Essay Example The third part of the essay will look at the concept of multiculturalism in the context of Britain and France. The paper will try to rationally access the fact as to whether UK is truly a multicultural society and does multiculturalism has some measure of positive relevance for the British society. With respect to France, the paper will look into why the French give no consideration to the concept of multiculturalism and as to why they cherish and encourage citizenship over multiculturalism. As already said, the term multiculturalism has acquired a ubiquitous usage in current times; still the reality is that this term needs to be interpreted in relation to the context in which it is used. The most commonly held belief is that multiculturalism is about the celebration of diverse cultures and about accepting the varied values, social systems and ethnic backgrounds coexisting in a society. To put it simply, multiculturalism is primarily about respecting and accepting differences so as to facilitate social and cultural integration. Well, is this multiculturalism is all about, or is it a convenient term to sideline the segregation heaped on varied sections of a society. Most of the times, people and even experts shudder at the very idea dissecting the term multiculturalism probably fearing that it may give way to some kind of undesirable backlash. Thus, nobody ever dared to arrive at a realistic and viable definition of multiculturalism. However, there are some debates buildi ng up around the ideas of multiculturalism and diversity, the possible fall of multiculturalism, because of it being a pseudo system that promotes segregation, though on the surface it professes to respect cultural, religious and ethnic diversity. It is an attempt to understand multiculturalism as a cacophonous discourse that camouflages the invisibility and isolation existing in the multicultural societies. The report by Parekh (2000) interestingly discusses the concept of multiculturalism in both the British and French context. The central argument of Parekh is that though both the countries are multicultural in a simplistic sense of the word, there exists is a great difference as to the magnitude of acceptance for the concept of multiculturalism in both the nations. France does not acknowledge multiculturalism, but rather encourages and supports citizenship (Parekh 2000). France requires the citizens who are not familiar with the French culture and heritage, to educate themselves about them (Parekh 2000). It is somewhat akin to the German stance; when one considers the recent remarks by Merkel declaring that multiculturalism has failed and it’s time to face this fact. As per Merkel, the concept of multiculturalism was contrived to get people together, but instead it has separated them and has created conflicts amongst groups. Interestingly, Parekh (2000) evinces a great interest in the politics of multiculturalism. The recent political reforms are raising queries as to how varied interest groups tend to manipulate the concept of multiculturalism for their own political gains. The adherents of multiculturalism consider it to be essentially organic and solid, yet they do fail to see its practical implications. They only tend to do so when the conservatives put forth the arguments pertaining to the failure of multiculturalism. Though multiculturalism has to do with respect and humanity, still the truth is that

Sunday, August 25, 2019

The emotional intelligence competence I most want to develop and why' Essay

The emotional intelligence competence I most want to develop and why' - Essay Example This developed my insight on what competencies constitute emotional intelligence and scopes of the competencies. I then applied the derived knowledge to examine my intelligence potentials. Based on the literature review and self-evaluation, I identified self-confidence, self-control, and initiative as my top three emotional intelligence competencies. My identified weakest competencies are however adaptability, innovativeness, and communication. This activity was useful in facilitating self-awareness for personal development. Its developmental aspect was based on the activity’s scope that created awareness of elements of different emotional intelligence competencies towards understanding personal competency and the need for improvement. My identified strength in self-confidence, self-control, and initiative means that I can exercise integrity in managerial or leadership roles within my profession. Even though my weaknesses may challenge my leadership and managerial potentials, I can improve on them to enhance my capacity to lead and manage. Adaptability is the emotional intelligence competence that I most wish to develop. This is because of its scope that is instrumental to achieving change, a very critical concept in leadership and management. In improving my adaptability competence, I seek the ability to multitask and manage priorities in dynamic environments, and become flexible to people’s responses and my perceptions. I will apply the SMARTER goal as a strategy to making the desired development. My specific objective is to improve my adaptability competencies. I will measure my competencies through an independent examiner who will evaluate and rate my adaptability potentials on an interval scale. Improving on my adaptability capacity will require financial resources for a qualitative research that aims at understanding people’s strategies to developing and improving their adaptability potentials. The process will also require human

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Promoting Content Area Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Promoting Content Area Learning - Essay Example These two were all recommended by Coleman & Goldenberg (2010). Setting objectives will benefit the students because it will help set a scope of area of learning that they must cover. Feedback will also ensure that they are receiving the right form of tuition. From this week’s learning resource, the type of grouping option that would be used to promote academic language in the students is mixed competency grouping. The rationale for selecting this type is in its ability to promoting peer learning and teaching. Very often, teenage learners of English language have been found to be more comfortable seeking extra knowledge from their peers and this grouping option would help to achieve this. It is expected that the mixed competency grouping will be effective in increasing interactions at the student level. But to ensure that interaction is also promoted between students and the tutor, efforts will be made to introduce post tuition encounter with students. This will be a special session where students having difficulty even after consulting their peers can come to the tutor for further assistance and learning support. (c) What aspects of the Opportunity to Learn (OTL) framework from this week’s Aguirre-Muà ±oz and Amabisca article could you incorporate to ensure English Language Learners have the necessary language skills to comprehend the academic content that is presented during a

Friday, August 23, 2019

The Specter of Terrorism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Specter of Terrorism - Essay Example Example: Al-Qaeda, Hamas, Taliban, Hezbollah, Tehrik-i-Taliban in Pakistan and Armed Islamic Group of Algeria. Offensive acts commonly committed by groups of terrorists are bombing in public places, raping women, kidnapping, torturing, wounding and murdering of civilians, political leaders, journalists and other distinguished characters in the society. Initiatives taken by the nations for abolishing terrorism can thus be highly justifiable. Particularly the United States and United Nations are giants and play significant roles in controlling the acts of terrorism in today’s world. This paper examines the increasing of terrorism in America and Middle East and the role on UN in resolving the problems associated with world terrorism. Involvement of US and UN in the security and political matters of other countries especially in the Middle East seems to have lead by other interests than terrorism. Example: US army invading Iraq in March 2003 is highly obscure. Initially Iraq was p resumed to cause a significant threat on the regional security of Middle East. Allegations made against Iraqi president were developing Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) example, nuclear and chemical weapons and not cooperating with the international observers who were agents of the United Nations. Saddam Hussein who was the president during that time rejected all the allegations made by the US. Regardless of the president’s rejections UN placed sanctions upon trading with Iraq and later the war was declared. After a year Charles Duelfer who is an adviser of Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) stated that Iraqi nuclear program was actually eliminated in 1991 and Saddam Hussein was right in rejecting the allegations made by the UN. One can argue that the former president of Iraq died fighting to protect the rights of his country’s sovereignty. And that US army was the actual terrorist who unlawfully used weapons against Iraqi population and its president. Further, no effo rt was taken to compensate the injustice caused by US against Iraq during the war. In a household survey carried out by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Iraqi health ministry in 2007, it was revealed that the cost of human lives which were lost during the war is much higher than the cost of terrorism operated in Iraq. Initially the number of Iraqi civilian deaths has been not recorded by the international organizations. The actual cost of destroying the physical infrastructure and human capital had been carefully excluded from all the war accounts. Nevertheless the above survey revealed that US troops had killed civilians during the first two years of the war much more than the terrorist group al-Qaida ever did in Iraq (Steele and Goldenberg, 2008). The death toll of Iraqi civilians in fact exceeded one million. Moreover, the death toll of Iraqi children during the trade sanctions placed by the UN was half a million which exceeds the killings of actual nuclear bombing occ urred in Hiroshima (Albright, 1996). The opportunity cost of fighting in Iraq was substantially high for America as well. Example: The cost of fighting ten days in Iraq is equal to funding the continent of Africa for a year and eliminating illiteracy in the world (Crawley, 2008). Clearly the approach adapted by international governing bodies for ending the terrorism in the Middle East has many drawbacks. It is provocative and unjust in many ways. In a global economy where people die in starvation pumping millions of dollars

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Third paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Third paper - Essay Example This is followed by a request, which shows that the speaker is down and ready to prostrate to her girlfriend as he asks â€Å"Shall I go down and bow, baby?† As a romantic song, the speaker goes on to praise his loved one, using romantic terms, descriptions and repetitions. This is a blues song, which doubles the traditional three lines to six lines in every stanza. The last line is a form of a question and the response is provided at the end of the song in a series of derivative three lines answer. The question repeated is ‘Shall I go down and bow, baby?† and at the end of the song, the speaker appears to have reached the end and resolves to answer his question because the referred and revered ‘baby’ seems to have answered in her acceptance and he derives; Shall I go down and bow, baby? I shall go down and bow, baby I am down and bowing baby Oh baby baby make you stay Baby ah baby oh baby I’m done! The pattern of this song is AbcdeB, AfghiBâ₠¬ ¦ and so on, with the first line and the last lines repeated. This pattern is regular and the blues lyrics have concentrated on the theme of love as the speaker tries to show his affection to his goddess, the valentine. The description of the ‘baby’ by the speaker is marked by repetitions. These repetitions are regular, and they make the rhythm of the song regular. In most of the stanzas, the first line and the last lines are repeated in a regular manner. This harmonizes the regular rhythm of the song. The last two stanzas are the conclusion of the song and the speaker consummates his dream of being granted a favour by his girlfriend as thus: Oh ah oh ah baby baby Baby oh baby stay baby My goddess baby, leave not baby oh baby baby Shall I go down and bow, baby? †¦ Shall I go down and bow, baby? I shall go down and bow, baby I am down and bowing baby Oh baby baby make you stay Baby ah baby oh baby I’m done! In this case, the song is conclusive and the clima x is reached when the instruments adopt the rhythm of the song in a unified manner. At the same time, the speaker is able to express his last passions and emotions for his girlfriend who has accepted his request. This song has a regular sound considering its regular rhythm. Being a romantic blues song, it will require soft beats and a mix of melodies. Therefore, the studio producing the song must refine and produce a soft symphony for the song at the start and at the end. The singer or the lead vocalist must be a man and should have a romantic, soft or mildly broken voice so as to exploit the overall theme of the song. This song should be started by a combination of a violin and a keyboard string tunes. Immediately the lead vocalist picks the first line, other instruments should pick and harmonize but should pause whenever the vocalist is picking the first line in every stanza. Moreover, instrumentation should also be toned down whenever the speaker is picking on the descriptive par ts so that the lead vocalist is above all the instruments. This will ensure the message is passed and the song is entertaining and moving as well. When the song is read in the lyrics, the reader is able to pick musical elements such as the tone of the song, the rhythm of the song and possible beat and meter of the lyrics. For example, the lyrics of this song requires a quadruple beat and regular dynamics in the loudness, volume and softness. On the other hand, if one listens to the song, he or she will notice by hearing, not

My Production of Act 1 Essay Example for Free

My Production of Act 1 Essay My production of this scene will be performed in the round, with the audience seats rising outwards as if looking in to a pit. The stage itself will have a single light shining brightly from the centre straight up into a gap in the ceiling. The performance will be set in the main hallway of an expansive mansion, with the dim outlines of a staircase in the backgrounds, but the lighting will be very poor apart from the centre stage light. The beginning of the play will begin with complete pitch dark, so as to scare the audience, and to open their minds to all the possible evils in the eye of the imagination. The half-light will semi-illuminate the background and then the flash of the centre stage light will shock them, as the unexplainable phenomenon of thunder that Shakespeare used to show evil in his script, as the people of that time were very apprehensive about thunder and lightning, and believed witches could control the weather, inspiring the fear of power. As the thunder, a corpse will come dropping like only a corpse knows how, through the roof and onto the light, causing semi-darkness once more. As the audience are examining the corpse while trying not to look too closely, the flash of steel from the long, thin dagger straight to its target, will give the audience a presence of true sadism, a torturer who does not know when to stop, a merciless twisted mind. As the blade hits the torso of the stiff, a soft thud will horrify the audience, as to how easily the knife cut through it, right to the hilt. This will serve as a warning as to what they are going to witness, much like the summary of the play before it was performed in Shakespeares day, only simpler. The entrance of the evil coven will be dramatic, although not from a trapdoor, like Shakespeare would have done creating the image of an entry from hell. The assassins, all clad in black tight fitting suits which cover their faces, introducing the image of deception and battle with knives almost all over them, and each having six fingers on their left hand, showing disease and evil, as the people in that day believed left handed people were evil. The assassins will use ropes to descend, and each will be at a different third of the stage facing each of the thirds of the audience, giving them a long and contemptuous look, and stating their unchallenged superiority of them all. As they chant, their voices merging into one, purple smoke will swirl inwards as the gathering of evil. Shakespeare would have just used the witches voices becoming one to show the power of evil being gathered, As now more technology is available than in Shakespeares day, I will use the smoke to add more power behind the words in the eyes if the audience, and to show the effects of evil working instantaneously. The chanting will start off slow, quiet and broken. As they progress, eyes never leaving the audience, they will speed up as the evil draws in, and get louder without physically showing the needed exertion for such a volume, hinting at their supernatural intensity. Then they will exit via the ropes, and the carcass will fell through a trapdoor as if buried right into the underworld. Shakespeare would have the witches digging while they chanted, but these personifications of evil were above mortal toil. Shakespeare would also show the power of the witches by having them vanish from the audience, but the assassins will show their power by not seeming to do anything, but they had to be the ones chanting, right? The audience will be asking themselves and by this see them as immortal, above the three dimensions of this reality. And as the stage fades into darkness the scene will end, beginning and starting in the same place; absolute black, suggesting a cycle of evil, which is suggested at the end of the Polanski film as Malcolm approached the witches subsequent to his coronation. This gives the audience that kings come and go, but the controller of this puppet show, the witches, always remains. Since the technology of Shakespeares day could not support the lighting and special effects of modern day theatre, the dialogue of the characters played an important, if not vital, part in the audiences ability to follow the spread of evil. The double meanings of the words reflect the deviousness of evil, and the point of not speaking in iambic pentameters when consumed by evil, for the example the ravings of the mad Lady Macbeth, made it clear where evil has spread while remaining subtle enough not to ruin the mood of the scenes. The echoes of the witches words also represent where evil has touched the characters. It showed the extent of the witches grip on events, and the speed in which their actions take effect. Also, the soliloquised dialogues, primarily Macbeths, show how far evil has reached into his mind and others, changing the way they think, and how they act as well. Shakespeare has cleverly exploited the English language to represent the evil present.

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Practice Based Self Reflection

Practice Based Self Reflection During placement, I worked for a charitable, voluntary organisation that supports Asylum Seekers who were destitute. For the purpose of this essay, I will utilise a pseudonym for the client, which will be Sam, to ensure that her confidentiality is maintained. Sam has authorised consent and confirmed that I may use her experience as material for this essay. I have chosen to examine this intervention as it is based upon this service users presenting issues upon point of contact. Firstly, I will explain the background of Sams situation, to give you an idea of her story, and outline the agency involvement giving a brief description of the context and setting for their work, which will include relevant legislation and policies. Secondly, I shall discuss a substantial piece of work where I have met Sam on a number of occasions whilst working at the agency and demonstrate my theoretical understanding of critical reflection that took place during this intervention. Finally, I will discuss ho w my own values informed the work I undertook with Sam and will demonstrate critical reflection and the skills applied during this intervention and what I had learnt through this process. Furthermore, I will discuss how this had impacted on my own identity in practice and the effectiveness and the outcomes from this intervention. Sam is a 31-year-old woman who entered the United Kingdom (UK) on a work-visa in May 2009 from South Africa. She is of a South-African ethnicity and has faith in Christianity. She is an intelligent, resourceful woman who has more of an advantage in terms of communicating articulately in English over some of the other clients I have met; who do not acquire the basic English language. This made communication effective and according to the National Association of Social Workers (NASW, 2000) it has been stated that Cultural competence is a set of congruent behaviours, attitudes and polices that come together in a system or agency or among professionals and enable the system, agency or processionals to work effectively in cross-cultural situations (NASW, 2000). Sam entered the UK with leave to remain until May 2010 on her work-visa, with no recourse to public funds, which means that people who are under this bracket are not entitled to receive help from the Government. Furthermore, at point of contact Sam was pregnant and was in receipt of Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP). SMP is a contributory benefit based upon National Insurance contributions that Sam had prior paid whilst engaged in full-time remunerative employment. As such, it is not classified as a public fund as Sam was therefore at liberty to claim and receive this benefit irrespective of not being a UK citizen. According to the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP,2009) SMP is paid for a maximum period of 39 weeks, and unfortunately remaining Social Security benefits and associated support such as Housing and Council tax benefit were not available to her as they are classed as public funds. I was concerned from a safeguarding perspective as to Sams welfare, especially keeping mindful that she was pregnant and that the weekly rate of SMP,  £123.06, would be insufficient for her to meet priority needs such as rent, Council Tax and subsistence/living costs (DWP, 2009). The initial referral came from a caseworker who works for the agency and at the Childrens Centre. The agencies work in partnership. He approached me and raised concerns with safeguarding issues as mentioned above. However, a referral had to be made before the agency would accept Sam as destitute. It was essential that the referral was made as the agencies policies stated that they could only accommodate 4 people at one given time in the houses they owned across the City. The agency I worked for worked across two settings and worked in partnership in the City. It provides short-term respite accommodation for homeless and destitute women and men. Sams circumstances were unique as unlike other residents, she did have a source of financial income, whereas many women did not have a fixed income and had to rely on charitable donations. However, in recognition of the fact that Sam was imminent to give birth and was homeless, the agency agreed to admit her in the short-term in the first inst ance, thus offering her security, shelter, food, water and safety temporarily. In the longer term, she was afforded a short-term licence agreement that ran until the 2nd December 2009. The agency was of the view that Sam would have to explore other avenues of support and accommodation. I advocated this procedure to Sam in a house meeting and found that she had yet to find alternative accommodation. I understood she was pregnant and that she was not sure where to start looking or what resources were available. I went back to the office and explained this to the agency. I researched and made phone calls on how I could advocate further help for Sam and made the support worker and colleagues aware that she was concerned about her well-being and from this knowledge, a panel meeting was arranged and the licence agreement was later extended until the 12th January 2010 due to the birth of Sams daughter. According to Cohen (2004) he states, All persons have a right to well-being, to fulfilment and to as much control over their own lives as is consistent with the rights of others which means that as every human being has fundamental values that they should be treated with respect and as individuals regardless of their circumstances. At point of contact, Sam was destitute, as she had separated from her boyfriend, who resides in Ireland. Sam had been residing as hidden homeless which means that there is no accommodation that she is entitled to reside in or it is not reasonable for her to continue residing in that accommodation (www.crisis.org.uk, 2008). She was living in the City on a friends couch, but had been asked to leave due to objections with the friends landlord and overcrowding. It became apparent that Sam would require her own accommodation to return to following discharge from hospital once her baby had been born, and tenable longer-term accommodation thereafter. I met with S am and built up a good working with her following the referral to the agency. I felt this because Sam would contact me at the office if she had any queries about the house and would ask for me if she wanted help or advice. We negotiated convenient times to attend house meetings and I felt she trusted me as she opened up about her personal experiences such as her experience with her ex-partner. According to Howe (2008) relationship based practice is when relationship-gifted workers are interpersonally skilled and they make the most effective and human practitioners, whether the basis of their practice is behavioural, cognitive, task orientated, psychodynamic or person-centred. Moreover, Trevithick (2003) argues relationship-based practice is at the heart of social work. I felt working with Sam in a crisis intervention enabled me to engage with her as I aimed to reduce her stress by communicating effectively the next steps and open and honest with how long she would be able to reside at the accommodation the agency provided her with. I was genuine with her in terms of stating what the agency could provide her with and what resources were available. For example, Sam needed a pram, so we organised one for her and I reminded the support worker to drop this item off at the house as she had access to a vehicle. I also made her aware of the challenges she may face by living indepe ndently once the Social Services department provide her with an assessment and if accepted, I discussed the benefits that may be available to her, so she was aware of the process. This demonstrated significant levels of emotional intelligence, which means, having self-awareness, emotional resilience, motivation of self and to instil in others. It also recognises the skill to have empathy and sensitivity, to be conscientious and intuitive regarding decision-making and also to know how influences and building up rapport with service users are important (Goleman, 1996,p.2). As cited in the British Journal of Social Work, it also underpins requirements for practitioners to develop and maintain effective working relationships, to be able to reflect on my own background experiences and practice that may have an impact on the relationship (Morrison, 2007, p.2). For example, recognising to self-disclose about my own independency only when it was necessary as I did not want to project or share my own values unnecessary as Sams circumstances were unique to her and I understood that I could empathise with her however, only she would know how she feels in this situation. We discussed her feelings and she stated she was concerned about herself and her daughter, so I reassured her by getting in touch with the caseworker who had made the appointment with the social services for an assessment and to re-confirm when this would be conducted in order to see if she is eligible for the resources available. I explained the procedures to Sam, and she understood. She expres sed her gratitude to myself and the agency. As I met Sam on several occasions at the agency and on the day that she was accommodated into the house. I began to analyse her situation in greater detail because we needed to get her involved in the decision-making process. This means that service users are informed and involved in the decision that are made in partnership (OSullivan, 2005,p 135-136) and the effective way to do this, was to hold house meetings and discuss her accommodation situation in a comfortable setting. Saleebey, (2006,p.108) informed my practice in this intervention as he supports an empowering approach to social work practice as it focuses on clients strengths and potential rather than on the disadvantages and the misfortunes of their circumstances. He also recognises that the social worker is viewed as the expert and that service users are viewed as the victim of their own disadvantage. However, as his strengths perspective challenges the traditional anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive practice it ident ifies aspects of structural inequalities as the significant element of clients situations. Furthermore, Saleeby (2006, p.108) states the strengths perspective challenges clients to acknowledge that the social worker will represent them in the assessment and the intervention process as the social worker is viewed as the expert, however it also attempts to work in partnership with service users to support and gain services to meet their identified needs. The strengths perspective also focuses on the resilience of service users and aims to provide strategies to empower and promote positive outcomes for them. Furthermore, Beresford (2000, p.108) argues this perspective as viewing the service user in a one-dimensional aspect, which reduces their identity to essential categories such as elderly, disabled or black service users, thus resulting in the support of universal services to meet their needs. He also argues that service users and oppressed groups should be involved in the design and delivery of their services to meet their identified needs and that service users voices sh ould be used in structure of theory and practice. I felt that the strengths perspective engages with Sams circumstances as the agency and I were the expert in providing the assessments and advice for Sam and worked in partnership with her to find her a possible outcome because the caseworker had contacted the Social Services and had an assessment booked in for her. He informed me about this and I contacted Sam and made her aware of the appointment and the assessment procedures. Criticise the above and get evidence to state that another theorist states the su is the expert. Concerning critical reflection, it is an integral part of social work as it is a route to provide efficient performance and enhances social work expertise (Adams, et al,. 2002, p. 1). They also critique that it enables social workers to question the knowledge and involvement with clients. During this intervention with Sam there were many occasions that professionals and I had to critically analyse Sams circumstances in order to develop a plan of action that would meet her identified needs such as creating opportunities for her to take herself and her baby to groups so she could interact with other mothers at the Children Centre. Put in values/reflect on self/what I learnt from this process/impact on own identity Furthermore, I had arranged appointments for her to seek assistance with her receiving help and advice in relation to her visa options with a caseworker who worked for the partnership agency. The partner agency dealt with all persons from abroad and people who required legal advice regarding their visas. The outcome was that she should return South Africa and then re-apply on another work-visa and or commence work again in the UK and then apply for the visa to be extended. Sam did not want to take up any of these options, as she did not have the money to leave her new born in a child care facility. She also stated she did not want to return to South Africa because her parents were not aware that she had a baby and because she is of a strict religious background. She stated that her parents were likely to arrange her marriage to an old man that she had said no to on several occasions when she was living in South Africa. It seemed her parents had power and control over her life. Put in power and anti-oppressive practice theories hereà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Values, non-judgemental, empathic I discussed and arranging convenient house meetings to discuss her options in taking the next step. Therefore, I asked her to contact Right Move estate agents and private property owners to see if she can find herself long-term accommodation for her and her daughter. Adams et al (2002, p.1) states critical reflection can sometimes be transformed in our own understanding, thus changing the part of the situation by enabling the client and the professional to reflect on what has occurred. For instance regarding Sam, she did not want to call and arrange appointments because she stated when she initially looked for a room in a house share, that the landlord of the property stated that the tenants already residing in the house did not want a mother with a baby living at the property. Therefore, this disempowered her in seeking other properties. At the house meeting, after Sam and I had further discussions we looked online for flats and we found several studio flats she could rent. She did not want to make the phone calls, so in order to empower and enable her in doing this herself for today and future reference. I made the first phone call and then handed her the telephone as she did not have credits on her phone and encouraged her to query about the properties in the same manner I had done. She queried the availability of these properties, however after finding that the landlord wanted a deposit, one as to Sam could not afford, the only solution was to seek refuge from the Neighbourhood Office and present herself homeless. She would then be put up in a shelter. I learnt that this process was going to be challenging and more reflection on this matter would be necessary. What is more, critical reflection can be deconstructed and reconstructed to give us access in advancing our practice. Therefore, this continuous process provides good practice and development. Yip (2005) encourages social work students to undergo self-reflection as it is a process for self-observation, self-evaluation, self-dialogue and self-analysis. Furthermore, he states, under the appropriate conditions social workers can reflect constructively which, results in enhancement. Whereas, he also critics on the basis that if social workers were under inappropriate conditions such as lack of supervisory sessions, hostile environments, then social workers would not be able to reflect constructively and this can create problems for the professional and personal development of the social worker. However, Schon, (1983) describes reflective practice as a non technical, non rational process which means that he is keen to make sense of the relationship between professional knowledge and practice by knowing-in-action. This is when thinking is understood in what we do, also he states reflective in action is where thinking is conscious but does not interrupt or actions and reflection on action is where thinking takes place after the event in order to understand our actions, predominantly in why we acted and what we learnt from this action. Eraut (1995) critiques Schons theory as he states that a practitioner cannot reflect in action as you leave the space, if not physically, certainly cognitively Furthermore, Fook and Gardener (2007,p364) argue that critical reflection is the reflective practice which focuses on the power dimensions of assumptive thinking and therefore how practice might change social situations. Although, Ixer (1999, p.513) argues this concept of critical reflecti on and argues whether social work programmes should be assessing reflection at all. Overall, reflecting on this intervention allowed me to assess and analyse Sams situation thoroughly because of her uniqueness to the agency as she had no recourse to public funds, which made it challenging in assisting her find her own solution. However, communicating effectively and working in partnership with her and the agency employees empowered Sam in coming up with a resolution for her to follow through. As social work, values have unique contributions to social work practice and assessing critically ensures that social work perspective and social work values contribute fully to the provisions of care. Furthermore, the ability of social work will depend on more than knowledge and skills; it is also about recognising practice that is mutually required in negotiating work with various organisations and professionals. Moreover, the ability to effectively communicate and contribute will also depend on the self-esteem and the status of the social worker. In addition to this, being able to effectively research and apply effective education will be found more reliably in the ability to improve the quality of the service users and carers experience of assessment and its outcomes. This is because professional competence in assessment requires critical analysis of self in practice and these development of skills and knowledge base are required to become an emotionally capable, objective practitioner.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Challenges Facing The Internationalization Of Chevron Management Essay

Challenges Facing The Internationalization Of Chevron Management Essay Chevron falls among the worlds top leading energy companies. Its headquarters are in San Ramon, California, and it boasts of numerous branches and divisions in many countries worldwide. Its core business is oil and gas, and the drilling and harvesting of the same from oil reservoirs all over the world. Chevron can trace its origins back to 1879, when oil was discovered at Pico Canyon, California. Because of that discovery, the Pacific Coast Oil Company was formed, and it later became Standard Oil Company of California. With the 1984 merged with Gulf Oil Corporation, Standard Oil Company then became Chevron, as it is known today. The merger with Gulf Oil corp. almost doubled Chevrons reserves of oil and gas, and went a long way in the making Chevron the energy giant it is today (Biographiq Business Profile 2008, p.4). However, Chevron was not done yet, and continued to expand its territory through further mergers. In 2001, Chevron merged with The Texas Fuel Company, which was also known as Texaco, of Beaumont, Texas. In 2005, it also acquired the Unocal Corporation, and affirmed its position as a leader in the energy industry. Their natural gas and crude oil reserves had greatly increased all over the world through these acquisitions (Qontro 2008, p.12). In the light of such success in the oil industry, Chevron expanded its influence into other industries like coal, petrochemicals, technology, and power generation. Chevron Mining Inc., a subsidiary company of Chevron, operates three coalmines in Berry, Alabama, McKinley, New Mexico and Wyoming and a mineral mine in Questa, New Mexico in the United States. Chevron Mining Inc. is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado and supplies molybdenum and coal to customers all over the world. In the industry of petrochemicals, Chevron combined with Phillips Petroleum Company, now ConocoPhillips, to form Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LLC (CPChem, p. 2). CPChem is a leading producer of products like Olefins and Polyolefins, Aromatics, Alpha olefins, and Styrenics. CPChem has 35 manufacturing plants in the United States, Colombia, Brazil, China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, South Korea, and Belgium and employs over 4500 employees. In the power generation industry, Chevron currently has 13 power-generation facilities in the United States and in Asia that make the use of geothermal, wing and natural gas to produce electricity. The wind-powered facility is only one, and it is located in Casper, Wyoming. It began operations in 2009. In Asia, Chevron facilities are mainly geothermal; two of these are in Indonesia, at the Darajat and Salak fields in West Java. It also has facilities in the Philippines, where it manages steam fields that supply geothermal energy to the Mak-Ban and Tiwi power facilities. Chevron, in light of the evolving global energy industry, also invested in research and technology. It was seeking cleaner solutions, and more affordable and more reliable energy than the solutions the energy industry had to offer. In seeking these solutions, Chevron specialized in bio-fuels and emerging energy applications, and formed the Energy Technology Company, Information Technology Company, and Chevron Technology Ventures to assist it to accomplish its goals. Presently, overall, Chevrons network stretches over 28 countries in six continents in the world. These nations are Angola, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chad, China, Colombia, Kazakhstan, Indonesia, Kuwait, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Thailand, Cambodia, Trinidad Tobago, United Kingdom, United States, and Venezuela. Internationalization Strategies Chevron has had to use various strategies to enter into international markets that it has considered lucrative. In some nations, it has used the principle of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to gain favor with prospective nations whose markets it has wanted to explore, or whose resources it has desired to harvest. Angola is one example of a nation in which Chevron penetrated and established roots. Presently, Chevron stands as one of the largest producers of oil in Angola. Chevron discovered considerable reserves of oil and natural gas, thus, in order to be accepted by the Angolans, it committed itself to working closely with the local communities to empower and equip the people with skills and knowledge that they could use to create lasting social development and economic growth. This was shown in the introduction of the Angola Partnership Initiative, which was initiated in 2002. The goal and purpose of this initiative was to help build capacity of government development agencies and nongovernmental organizations, and to assist in alleviate poverty through the development of small and medium sized enterprises. Chevron invested an initial amount of $25 million in this project, and multilateral and national development programs later matched that by $31 million. In healthcare, Chevron committed funds towards the reduction of mortality, especially in women and children. In 2009, combined with several partners, it gave to the Cabinda Tuberculosis Program drugs worth $185,000 as well as consumables and x-ray equipment. According to statistics, the program treated 110 patients, and 73 of these were cured. Between 2008 and 2011, Chevron also boosted the governments efforts in combating malaria by giving $5 million, towards this purpose, to the Global Fund. As at 2009, more than two million individuals and over 70 institutions had benefitted from programs funded by Chevron. These institutions included schools and hospitals. This kind of community development was done not just in Angola, but also in other countries into which Chevrons invested, and it has created good name for Chevron. Unfortunately, other countries were also exploited by Chevron, so that good name did not stick. Joint Ventures Chevron has made several joint ventures with several companies both locally and worldwide that have enabled it to tap into markets that it would not have been able to tap into alone. It involves the joining of assets between two or more companies for a specific goal or task (Vonortas, 1997). The joint ventures that Chevron got into came with several advantages, namely: 1) They enabled it to expand its market coverage. For example, when Chevron merged with Phillips Chemical Company LLC to form CPChem, it gained access to the international market stretch of Phillips Chemical Company. The Phillips Company had establishments and investments in nine countries worldwide. Chevron products were now sold alongside the products of Phillips Chemical Company in those countries. 2) Access to new technologies: In the joint ventures, Chevron and the companies involved came together and combined their technological knowhow and research to come up with a superior product. Both Chevron and the other company owned this product. The objective of this was to make products that were more appealing to customers, as opposed to their own individual products. In the end, both companies got a product that was better received by the public, thus, it increased profits. Chevron and the companies also all benefitted from learning new technology from each other that they did not have before. 3) Reduced costs of production: in the joint ventures, the companies shared the cost of manufacturing, distribution, transport, technology and all other required production components, which ended up being of great benefit to the companies. 4) Spread of risk: the risk of the failure of the project was shared equally by all the companies in the merger. 5) Increased quality of product: the products that came because of the joint ventures were of greater quality. The shared cost of production allowed the companies to spend more on perfecting the products, thus, the quality of the joint venture product was superior. An example of a joint venture that Chevron undertook was the joint venture company called Catchlight Energy LLC- formed by Chevron and Weyerhaeuser Company in 2008; it also formed joint ventures with Star Petroleum Refining Company of Thailand, Petrobas and Venezuelas PDVSA Company, TPAO for Black sea exploration, and many more (Vonortas, 1997). Franchising This is mode of internationalization has been most used by Chevron and all other oil producing and supplying companies. According to Franchisehelp Inc. (1998, p.11), petrol stations have been set up under Chevrons name in uncountable countries all over the world. Having a globally recognized and respected name, chevron franchises have been greatly sort after. This number of franchises has continued to grow steadily, and will continue to grow, as Chevron continues to conquer new global territories. Challenges facing the internationalization of Chevron Chevron, as well as many other oil producers, has had challenges in the area of acquisition of rights to drill for oil in international countries. There are several areas around the world where oil has been discovered, and Chevron has tried to come in and seal the deal for these reservoirs, but has not managed to do so. This is because the host countries have not been willing to give up their oil, even though have not been in a position to harvest it. It has not been easy for countries to give up their oil, which has been considered a national treasure. Chevron has had to give extremely generous compensation packages for the opportunity to drill in these countries. Again, in the countries that Chevron has been given the go ahead to harvest oil, great tension has remained over agreements, mainly due to the large amounts of money that have been involved in getting the rights to drills. Environmental challenges Another challenge that has hindered Chevrons progress in internationalization is the way their operations have affected the environment. A specific case of this was in Ecuador, in the Northern Amazon. In 1964, Texaco, which is currently under Chevron, came to the area and began prospecting for oil. It was the first company to come to the area and discover large quantities of oil that could be harvested commercially. Texaco, working in a joint venture with Petroecuador, commenced operations in the area. According to a 1993 report called Crudo Amazà ³nico, by an environmental lawyer by the name of Judith Kimerling (1993, p.90), Texaco had dumped more than 19 billion gallons of toxic waste in the area between 1972 and 1992. It was also responsible for the spilling of a further 16.8 million gallons of crude oil into the forest from the main pipe. This dumping and spilling of oil was said to have contaminated the soil and seeped into the ground water reservoirs, and subsequently, it affe cted the health of the people of that region greatly. Statistics shown that cancer rates went up. Another study by the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health attributed a high abortion rate in the people living in near the contaminated streams to the spillage. This has served to discourage many countries from allowing Chevron to operate in them (Rubovits 1991, p.30). In Chevrons operations in Nigeria, Prince Gabriel B. Atsepoyi laments at the way the Nigerians expected so much from Chevron in terms of electricity, schools, and clean water, which was its duty (Atsepoyi Sep 2010, p.9). Instead, since 1963, Chevron came and exploited the resources of crude oil, and caused daily spills and widespread pollution from waste. In all of this, the people did not receive any benefits. Atsepoyi also stated in his book Chevron and Ethics (Atsepoyi 2010, p.41), how Chevron never used to pay the Nigerian workers. Another challenge that Chevron has come across is the issue of government regulations. Governments of some countries, having set stringent conditions concerning air pollution, demanded a superior grade or quality of the gasoline produced. Gasoline that was more refined meant higher production costs for Chevron in that country. Another thing that the government controlled and still controls is the pricing of the gasoline or petroleum products. It would normally control this through taxes. When taxes were high, it meant that Chevron would not make as much sales as it would have wanted. One additional challenge was issues with workers. In the countries that Chevron penetrated, it would set up large facilities that required a lot of labor. The governments of these nations required of Chevron that majority of its employees are of the indigenous ethnicity of the country in question. Chevron would have to educate them and train them sufficiently so that they could work in the facilities. It proved to be quite a challenge to work with these people if the country in question did not previously speak English. Conclusion There were also always those nations whose people considered the giving of drilling rights to foreigners as wrong. In these countries, they felt that the wealth of the country should remain in the hands of the ethnic people of that country. Normally these countries had been colonized. Because of the exploitation and torture that they had experienced during that time, they formed a dislike and even hate for westerners. Thus, they were not willing to allow them to manage their resources. Having foreigners come to take over their resources, especially those similar to their colonizers, also worried them of being taken advantage of again. In considering all things ethically, Chevron did well in several countries like Angola, investing heavily in the wellbeing of the men, women, and children of that country, in all areas. One could argue that Chevron did this kind of community investment only in the countries where it had the largest financial interests. This argument seemed to be justified because the contrast between the countries that it supported financially and others that it abandoned like Ecuador. It left the Ecuadorian people suffering serious medical complications because of the spills and the toxic waste they dumped.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Humans Effect on Nature in the 20th Century Essay -- Essays Papers

Humans Effect on Nature in the 20th Century Nuclear Waste With the dawn of the nuclear age in the early 1900’s, came a problem that became a force to be reckoned with. Its name is nuclear waste. This is yet another harmful side effect brought on by man’s drive to find the cheapest and most powerful source of energy technology has to offer. Nuclear waste, ranging from harmful radiation caused by nuclear meltdown to unused military weaponry, has been a serious issue in the past few decades, and is a perfect example of humans effect on nature. Many would argue that the history of nuclear energy and nuclear waste began in 1898 when Marie Curie discovered two radioactive elements; polonium and radium.1 The nuclear scene was relatively quiet until 1838, when a German scientist, Otto Hahn was successful in demonstrating nuclear fission.2 This set off an alert that reached the ears of Theodore Roosevelt, who was President of the United States at the time. With the threat of Germany making a nuclear bomb, the nuclear race was on. The Manhattan Project was launched in an effort to secretly build a nuclear bomb before the Germans. The most commonly known events in nuclear waste history were the near catastrophic meltdowns at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Pennsylvania, and Chernobyl power plant in The Soviet Union. Radiation leakage was minimal at Three Mile Island, however, Chernobyl experienced the release of massive quantities of radioactive materials accompanied by a dangerous fire.3 People from all nations came in contact with radioactive particles which the wind blew around the Earth. These two events sparked nuclear awareness by the general public as well as governmental programs that... ...only aid in cleaning up and preventing nuclear waste, but also to inform and educate the public. Until more effective methods of nuclear waste management are devised, the energy hungry U.S. will have to put up with the environmental parasite it has created. Notes 1. "Curie, Marie" Funk and Wagnalls 27 Mar. 1999 2. "Hahn, Otto" Funk and Wagnalls 3. Meshkati, "Chernobyl" 27 March, 1999 4. Konrad B. Kauskopf, Radioactive Waste Disposal and Geology (London: Chapman and Hall, 1988) 10-11 5. "mixed waste" 28 March, 1999 6. "mixed waste" 28 March, 1999 7. "Yucca Mountain Homepage" 28 March, 1999