Fahrenheit 451 Analysis Essay

The theme of Ray Bradbury’s classic Fahrenheit 451 can be viewed from several different angles. First and foremost, the book gives an anti-censorship message. Bradbury understood censorship to be a natural outcropping of an overly tolerant society. Yet, the protagonist Guy Montag is one of the few that is courageous enough to find out the truth for himself. This unexpected discovery on the corruption of society challenged traditional values, knowledge and beliefs. The personal freedom to the right of an individual having the freedom of expression when he utilizes the issue of censorship in Fahrenheit 451. In Bradbury’s novel, society has evolved to such an extreme that all literature is illegal to possess. Because of the trouble books may cause, they were banned altogether. For example, one group might think they had a really great idea and wrote it in a book, however, the other group might object to something that has been written, that means the book will have to be modified and therefore censorship begins. Soon, another group objects to something else in the book, and it is again edited, eventually the original product will be lost. Because of this presented danger, no longer can books be read, not only because they might offend someone, but because books raise questions for the people that the government cannot answer. The intellectual thinking that comes from knowledge can often be dangerous, yet, who would want to do that when they can take the easy route? â€Å"Ignorance is bliss† applies perfectly here. The government would rather rule the people orderly than have them start a revolution with knowledge. This philosophy, according to the book, completely ignores the benefits of knowledge. True, knowledge can cause disharmony because it causes people to ask â€Å"why†, but in many ways, knowledge of the past, which is recorded in books, can prevent mankind from making similar mistakes in the present and future. The society envisioned in Fahrenheit 451 is corrupted. As Captain Beatty explains, government control of people’s lives there was not a conspiracy of dictators, but a consensus of everyday people instead. The citizens are so weak-minded that they don’t want to think for themselves and solve the troubling problems of the world. They don’t have much emotion, because they prefer pleasure over hurt. The only way they can do this is to not care. The parlor women, for example, cannot see past the surface. They are more interested in looks than reality; they are so shallow that they cannot see one’s true qualities. It is far easier to live a life of seclusion and a life where technology will provide you with all necessities. Yet more importantly, Fahrenheit 451 described the people in that society as anti-social. Clarisse, the only â€Å"normal† girl mentioned that people in that society doesn’t talk much, at all. They are â€Å"either shouting or dancing around like wild† (30), but the key point is, â€Å"people don’t talk about anything† (31), â€Å"they name a lot of cars or clothes or swimming pools mostly and say how swell!† (31) They do not quite live in the reality, only using abstract things to entertain themselves. â€Å"They all say the same things and nobody says anything different† (31) because in their eyes, technology and the government is always correct. This is very similar to our world today, almost everyone some kind of technology: television, computer, hand held devices. When we have a choice between technology or nature. It is almost certain that technology wins. We are on the computer three to four hours a day, doing work, checking email, social media, or just simply surfing the web. Our everyday life is technology; we depe nd on it so much that it is almost impossible to live without it. People in the novel are afraid of themselves, of what their minds are capable of doing. They fear the thought of knowing, which leads them to depend on others, such as technology and the government to think for them. The best example would be the protagonist Guy Montag. His entire view on life shifted as the book progressed. He was originally a normal fireman, but when he met his neighbor Clarisse McClennen, who was considered a misfit in the society, he began to see things differently. Instead of burning books because it’s useless information to the public, he now wants to share its knowledge with the whole world. Montag is at war with the society, he’s battling against the â€Å"common knowledge† and laws, trying to shine some light on the people. Thus, the book successfully advocates the idea that men should think for themselves, not let technology or any outside sources decide for them. Technology may provide you with joy, but to live life to the fullest, you have to try everything, and there are no substitute for the treasure you can find in books. It’s like Montag said, â€Å"I went around doing one thing and feeling another.† (131) as he reflects on all the trouble that he has gotten into because he has not been true to himself. Although this path might not be easy, it is necessary for any society that doesn’t wish to repeat the mistakes of the past to earn knowledge. Our society today needs to realize that before it is too late.

Apple a Day Keeps a Doctor Away

Pet a Day Keep the Doctor Away! INTRODUCTION: A. Attention-Getter: They say that an apple a day keeps the doctor away, but how much better would you feel if the apple was being presented to you by a cute dog or cat? B. Tie to the audience in this persuasive speech topics outline: If someone that you care about is dealing with encroaching old age, spending some time with an undemanding, loving animal can be something that is important for you in more ways than one. C. Personal experience: For example, my granddad was in dire straits after my granny died.After thirtyfive years together, he didn't know what to do with himself until he ended up adopting an older Labrador Retriever. The change was immense, and suddenly we had a familyman who was interested in the world around him and reaching out again. The change was amazing! D. Thesis Sentence of this persuasive speech topics outline: Pets make an impressive positive change in the mental and physical health, and if you are concerned wit h the issue personally, consider the health benefit potentials for a beloved older person in your life. E.Preview of the main points of this persuasive speech topics outline: First, I will discuss the ways an animal is capable of making an elder person feel connected to the world at large. Then, I will show how the company of a loving cat or a dog makes the difference in a person's mental and physical outlook. And then, I'll tell you what to keep in mind when you are considering what pet might be appropriate for someone in your family. Transition sentence of persuasive speech topics outline: As people get older, there is very much a concern of not being needed.BODY OF THE PERSUASIVE SPEECH TOPICS OUTLINE MAIN POINT I: A human-companion animal is capable of making the elderly feel connected to the world at large. 1. Elderly people who have had their adult children leave home and who have lost spouses often find that it is difficult to connect with other people and because of this, th ey end up feeling a great deal more introverted and isolated. 2. Pets can make a huge difference when it comes to how well they cope with change and how they react to the world. An animal will depend on them, and give them that essential feeling of being needed again. . Elderly people also often find that they are living their lives without much tactile contact. Spouses might have passed on, and they might not be comfortable looking for tactile comfort from the people around them. This is where dogs and cats come in. 4. Cats and dogs love physical contact, and because of this, they are willing to go seeking it. A cat may love to sit in your lap or to sit down next to you for petting or you may find that a dog loves to roll around with and sit leaned up next to your legs†¦Transition sentence of this persuasive speech topics outline: Elderly people often develop feelings of being unloved or lonely; an animal who is concerned with them and who loves them can make a huge difference in the way that they feel. MAIN POINT II: Pets can help improving their mental health; animals seem wonderfully intuitive when it comes to responding to how their humans feel. 1. A cat or a dog, especially one that is closely bonded to you, can feel in tune with your emotions. If you have ever been upset and had an animal come to cuddle you or to check on you, you know how soothing this can be.Rhetorical persuasive speech topics outline questions: o Have you ever felt more relaxed when a cat walks up and demands to be petted? o Have you ever not been able to resist a smile when a dog comes up and wants to play? These feelings are not merely happening in isolation. 2. There are plenty of scientific studies that show us that having pets around can lower the blood pressure and help us relax. When you think about how many elderly people are often beset by feelings of stress and how this can lead to things like heart disease or impaired functioning: looking into how pets can help is ess ential! . Pets are company that is very low stress and the truth is that when you give them what they need, they reciprocate with a great deal of love and joy! At the most basic level, pets can be very non demanding company. When you mess up, they are willing to forgive you, and they do not ask for much. They need food, attention and care, but they are not going to ask for things that you cannot give them. Transition sentence of this persuasive speech topics outline: If you're interested in making sure that a beloved older person stays active and social, it is time to take a look and see what a pet can do.

Balanced Scorecard Essay

A balanced scorecard is very helpful to any organization and should be viewed as a very important document throughout the company. Wal-Mart has developed a scorecard so that their customers can see what goals that the company wants to achieve and also how to achieve those goals. If you look at the scorecard on a regular basis, then you will know exactly how your company is running and what areas you need to work on. Wal-Mart wants everyone to know where to look at their scorecard and how to achieve the goals that they feel will make them even more successful. Wal-Mart also expects that every employee should follow this scorecard to guarantee they are doing the right things to make the company grow even faster and stronger than they already are (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). The financial part is a very important part to Wal-Mart. With this part being successful you will be able to pay all the employees the right amount and also pay all the bills so that the company can make more money and keep thriving in the world today. Also with the financials down, the shareholders will see an increase in the amount of what the shares are selling for and that lets them know what they are making for owning those shares in the company. A competitive position is a major key within a huge retail chain like Wal-Mart. They are number one compared to other store chains similar to them. They continue building stores all over the world while a lot of the competitors keep shutting their stores down. Staying atop of this list is what makes Wal-Mart the leader in general merchandising stores (Wal-Mart Stores, 2013). Another major area of a balanced scorecard is how the customers see what Wal-Mart is doing. This is the most important part other than the  financials but work hand in hand with the financials. If the customers see Wal-Mart as a bad company then they will not buy the items that Wal-Mart is selling and then Wal-Mart will not be able to afford their bills and payroll and eventually have to close down. If they see Wal-Mart as a great place to shop then they will tell everyone that they know to shop there and that will make the revenue rise and make more profit for the company so that they can become even more successful in the future. The customers perspective always pays a big role in any company, if you keep them happy, then the will spend more money and time and energy with your company instead of your competitors (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). Innovation is what you need to do to improve the company and learn how to grow and become a stronger economy. Wal-Mart is trying to be innovative in how they get their ads out to the general public. They are starting to email adds out to individuals emails letting their customers know of great deals and opportunities that are coming up in the local stores (Balanced Scorecard Basics, 2014). They are also developing an app for the smart phones of today with the deals and specials going on within the company. They are trying to get their products and service out in the community. Last but not least are the internal methods. They look at areas they think they will excel in and also the areas that will not excel so much at. The areas that Wal-Mart plans to excel at are usually the electronics. They look at other ideas to help them excel even more than usually and develop a plan to implement how to excel further in these areas. The Ares that are weak, they look for reasons that they are weak and how can they implement a plan to make those areas excel in also. When they can get all the areas in the store to excel greatly then they will become very successful and continue to grow beyond measure. This paper has demonstrated how a strategic plan of a balanced scorecard can help any company grow to a different standard. With these scorecard in effect and followed out completely then any company will succeed in everything that they want to do and become very successful. References Wal-Mart Stores. (2013, November 6). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Forbes. Balanced Scorecard Basics. (2014). Retrieved March 31, 2014, from Balanced Scorecard INstitute: https://balancedscorecard.org/Resources/AbouttheBalancedScorecard/tabid/55/Default.aspx

The impcat of the drug culture on the Rock music industry of the 70's Research Paper

The impcat of the drug culture on the Rock music industry of the 70's - Research Paper Example se of the Soviet Union which effectively brought the Cold War to an end, creating a suitable condition for the society to thrive and prosper politically, economically and socio-culturally. Therefore, the drug culture emerged as a means of assuring stable and healthy living, through fighting diseases and illnesses that were commonly associated with the previous war periods, to give people more freedom to enjoy life (). Thus, many drugs were invented to play different roles, with some targeted at preventing and curing diseases, while others were meant to keep people alert, help people sleep, to lessen their worry and anxiety and alleviate pain (). Therefore, the availability of all sorts of drugs created a wave of optimism in the 1970s society, effectively impacting on the rest of the socio-cultural aspects of the society such as the lifestyles and the music development. This way, songs were written and sang about a variety of drugs, especially those drugs that provoked societal resist ance such as the hard drugs including cocaine, heroin and marijuana (). These drugs were being resisted by the society owing to their addictive and negative health implications on individuals’ mental and psychological health, yet they were perceived to offer the rest of the drug benefits such as keeping people alert making them feel high and good about themselves, as well as reducing sensitivity and increasing creativity. The influence of such drugs made artists feel inspired, while also removing the inhibitions that would disrupt performance such as tiredness, thus helping to keep the party moving (). Therefore, the influence of the drug culture was the formation of the creation of soundtracks of roll and roll to promote a revolution of celebrating drugs, and the consequent stability, peace and the joy of love and sex that came with the drug culture, in a society that was defined by obsession with wars (). In this respect therefore, the drug culture helped o promote the rock and roll

Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 25

Business - Essay Example The employees working in the campus has the facility that they can have free food any time they want, they can give their clothes for dry cleaning and can use the gym in order to maintain their health (Emerson, 2012). The employees have the facility that they can work on their own idea in the 20% of the time that is allocated for them to become innovative and do whatever they want so that they can expand as well. Google allows the employees to take leave for a year or two without being paid, but this way they can try to launch their own idea (Emerson, 2012). The company gives all the employees special attention and apart of basic benefits, some other benefits are also given to the employees that are on-site medical facility, Japanese washrooms, swimming pools, conference bike, free haircut, ball pits etc (Emerson, 2012) . Emerson, R. (2012, January 31). Googles Best Benefits: The Top 7 Perks Google Offers Employees. Retrieved June 30, 2012, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com:

Okapi Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Okapi - Term Paper Example My skin is also oily to make the rain water drain off and keep me dry on a rainy season. I do resemble my relative the Giraffe except for the fact that I have a relatively shorter neck than the giraffe but it is long enough to enable me reach leaves that are high in trees and also helps me defend myself and also my territory and my head is also relatively lighter with a black muzzle supported by a thick neck. I have a very long (approximately 35 centimeters) flexible blue tongue that I use to stripe buds and leaves from trees. It is also long enough for me to wash my eyes and clean my ears inside out. I am a herbivore. The amazing thing about me is that I can eat a variety of plants that other animals and even human consider poisonous! Such as fungi and other plant materials. My main predator is the leopard. My ankles are white with dark spots on each of my hoofs and a thick skin that helps protect my legs from injury. Although I do travel by myself within my home range, I do have wa ys of communicating with the others whose ranges overlap mine; this is through a scent gland on either of my foot that leaves behind a sticky tar-like substance wherever I walk thus marking my territory. MY young ones are adapted in such a way that they defecate between four and eight weeks of age, this adaptation helps my young ones grow and gain strength before predators sniff them out. My sharp sense of smell helps me locate breeding partners. The minerals that my body needs I normally obtain them from eating the clay from along the river banks. My male counterpart has horns which are short and skin covered so that he won’t get tangled in the forest branches. I normally travel miles in search of food and I can consume 40 to 65 pounds of food. I do give birth to one calf and my gestation period can last up to a period of 16 months and am very protective of my young ones which are weaned at around 6months but may continue suckling for more than a year. My young ones have sho rt fringe hair along the spine at birth which disappears when it is one year old. The main threat to my existence is habitat loss due to deforestation. The leopard also threatens my existence because it positions itself from above the ground and hence able to survey the surrounding area for potential prey and also is able to ambush it from above, these threats makes me to be classified as an animal that is under that is threatened with extinction. The human hunters are also a threat since they hunt me for game meat and for my thick hide but the efforts that have been in place by the government of Zaire to seclude the area from hunting activities has done great in protecting me from human infringement. The other interesting thing about me is that I only vocalize when I am ready to breed and with my solitary lifestyle I don’t normally associate with other animals except with my calf that is when I have one. The fact that I inhabit a secluded section of the mountain forest means that I surprisingly have very few predators particularly in comparison other animals. Since I am a ruminant I do swallow food without chewing and then chew the curd afterwards. My shy and secluded nature is an adaptation since it helps me hide myself from the human hunters. The human efforts to have some of my family members captured and put in captivity is a measure aimed at ensuring that our population is protected from extinction and that our

Grant Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Grant - Research Paper Example In order to become effective learning institutions, organizations have to struggle hard for acquiring, implementing and maintaining a competitive learning strategy. The transfer of knowledge and expertise of existing communities of practice to the freshly recruited employees is critical for effective organizational learning. In learning organizations, the attitude and response of supervisors, peers and trainers to the employees can either hurt or help the whole learning process. The actions taken by these partners before, during and after the learning process directly affects the likelihood that learning will occur properly. Although organizations spend a lot of time and money on employees’ learning annually, there exists no significant relationship between learning and actual job performance. However, when the learned skills are successfully transferred into effective job performance, learning can surely produce far better outcomes. Due to volatile market preferences and needs, learning organizations have to focus more on strengthening their internal resources and capabilities. As Grant (2005) has stated, â€Å"When the external environment is in a state of flux, the firm itself, in terms of its bundle of resources and capabilities, may be a much more stable basis on which to define its identity†, the rate at which learning takes place within organizations thus contributes towards achieving sustainable competitive advantage. Organizations must have their own unique ways to encourage and value employed workforce in order to motivate their commitment towards innovative pursuits.

He is My Hero - Essay about my Grandfather Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

He is My Hero - about my Grandfather - Essay Example He might never have caned me but his advice challenged me even at a very tender age. He would always be straightforward with me and warned me that he was not going to watch me turn into a wicked child. He was a very loving man, not only towards me but also towards my grandmother. My grandfather had a great heart, to be sincere, I have not known anyone with such a heart. His face always shone with a smile even when facing hard times. Most thought his life was ever smooth but we who were around him knew the many hardships he had faced. Even when he was sick and could barely raise his head, he always preached peace and love. He would call all of us, his grandchildren and tell us how important it was to be good to other even when they were not good to us. Being a great physician, he would always inspire me by the way he dedicated himself to ensuring that he gave his best to his patients. Sometime he would wake up in the middle of the night to go attend to patients even he was not in duty , particularly when he learnt that there were emergency case. I will never forget one incidence since it really touched me. It revealed to me something I had never known about my grandfather. I would often go to see him in the hospital when I was young since he worked a few metres from our house. While I was visiting him on one of the occasions there happened to be a patient who needed a liver transplant but had not found a donor even after making requisitions from several organizations that deal with organ transplant. However, it happened that my grandfather’s liver matched with his. Nonetheless, the hospital prohibited organ donation by the staff members. Irrespective of this, my father requested the surgeon in charge to arrange for him to donate part of his liver to the almost dying man. The surgeon was reluctant and reported the matter to the hospital administrator. When the administrator learnt of my grandfather’s plan, he threatened to sack him if he decided to g o on with his plan. Most thought that my grandfather would give up and forget about the whole issue but his personality could not let him do so. He demanded that he had to donate his organ, which he eventually did though he lost his job. Most of his workmates felt that he was irrational since he was helping a stranger at the expense of his job. Even the family members could not understand his actions. Several years later, I asked him why he had chosen to do this. What he told me made me realize he was a rare kind of a person. He was a bighearted hero and no one or anything could prevent him from doing what he was right. He told me that the best thing you can do is to follow your instincts if you felt what you were doing was right, since you only have one chance to live. Giving up a job to enable him donate his liver was one of the greatest sacrifices that a person could ever make. We knew he was noble and generous but not to such an extent. Those who knew him in the hospital thought he was just a physician like any other doctor, but he was more than that. You only needed to know him more to realize the kind of a person he was. When he lost his job, he decided to dedicate himself to charity work. Some thought he was ridiculous to spend his time working as a volunteer in hospitals that took care of less privileged. According to him, he was just doing the right thing. He was such a talented doctor, but he used his talent

Sustainable Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Sustainable Development - Essay Example Every person wants to raise his standard of living above the minimum level of sustenance but the resources provided by nature are limited. Limited resources may include the finite ones like land, drinking water and petroleum. Along with these there are intangible resources like the deterioration in quality of water, productivity of land and so on. Hence by these two arguments, one can easily judge or evaluate sustainable development in terms of political, technical and social and even environmental development. This difference between available resources and level of needs to be met has driven human beings to engage themselves in erratic interaction with the nature. This erratic interaction almost in all the cases has led to the deterioration of the future generation’s quality of life. When the natives of Easter Island engaged themselves in severe destruction of the Palm forest, they seldom managed to measure the future atrocities that they had to undergo following their own action

Formal analysis of a work of art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Formal analysis of a work of art - Essay Example Dressing Room is remarkable and representative of his mature work. Dressing Room is one of the Kuhn’s impressive and eye-catching realistic images of a theater performer in a quiet moment backstage. Fascinated by such persons who existed on the borders of society, Kuhn dedicated this image with an unselfconscious sexuality that was still uncommon in American art of the period1. In Dressing Room painting, a sparkling female stage performer who looks like a dancer stands in her dressing room and looks like she is ready to go on stage. She looks like a pensive female performer still in her costume with heavy 1920’s makeup. Behind her on the right side, there is a chair/sofa with a cushion. The left side composition of the painting shows a dresser and a clothing stand topped with hats. A partly obscured sign on the wall reveals that this is not a private room 1. This painting strikes the classic pose of the body conscious young female. She is standing with arms raised and hands behind her head and exposing her upper body. She is wearing a small and entertaining costume. Her short and dark hair is made folded with a bulky red bow. Her makeup is heavy and bold with dark blushes on the chick and deep red lipstick reveals that she has just finished her dress-up and now she is ready to go to stage to perform her task. It looks very clear from girl’s seductive extended pose that she has prepared for stage show but there is no emotion on her face and her eyes are empty and show her deep sadness and unwilling feelings which gives the idea that she is not so far involved in the job of performing for the enjoyment of men. The dressing room is a place for performers for the staging of character. The performer enters in the dressing room as its whole self and exits as a prescribed character that is intended to perform in front of audience. In this

Polygamy reasons in Islam Essay Example for Free

Polygamy reasons in Islam Essay Polygamy is a Greek word that means the practice of multiple marriages. Polygamy was considered to fulfill men’s desires on the grounds of strong cultural considerations. Nowadays, Polygamy is considered in Islamic countries and some rural areas around the word. However, it was difficult to provide statistics on the issue of polygamy because of the lack of communication. The man can marry up to four wives. Each wife constitutes a separate household with the husband visiting his wives in turn. Human Rights: Human rights deny gender differences and strive to maintain equality in social rules. Gender equality means an equal visibility, empowerment and participation of both sexes in all spheres of public and private life. Human rights discourse prohibits polygamy and the act of practicing it. Human rights theory is against the notion of polygamy. Human rights discourse states that polygamy is against the dignity of women and their human rights. Polygamy violates the right of equality between men and women; indeed, by allowing men to have more than one wife but preventing women from doing it, the right of equality is violated. In addition, human rights discourse is against the practice of polygamy. It violates women’s right of spending enough time with their husband and children’s right to be raised within a stable family. The idea of allowing the husband to choose polygamy is not considered as slavery or exclusion of the women’s right to decide; on the other hand, it is considered as traditional family life in which the husband is the head of the family. However, the wife can take the place of her husband as the head of the family when the law deprives his civil rights, as if the husband is in jail. On the other hand, polygamy violates the rights of children. Men that have more than one wife do not have enough time to spend it with their children compared with men that have one wife. In addition, their wives try to compete with other wives in order to impress and entertain the man. As a result, children will not have enough time to spend it with their parents. Polygamy requires a lot of time and money; indeed, the man is ordered to fulfill the needs of his wives equally. That will decrease his financial status and this will result in a decrease in health and educational status. Kent acknowledges that polygamists refuse the common life styles and beliefs they live apart from public scrutiny or association, and are more vulnerable to violating civil rights (Kant, 2006). Canadian civil marriage act (2005) defines marriage as â€Å"the lawful union of one two persons to the exclusion of others†. This definition of marriage excludes polygamy. Even though there were laws in Canada prohibiting polygamy before 2009, Winston Blackmore and James Oler were the first polygamists arrested in Canada in January 2009. The maximum penalty for polygamists is 5 years in jail. Although Canadian law assures freedom of religious expression, Polygamy is prohibited. Legal experts say the case promises to pit Canadas antipolygamy law against the countrys Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees freedom of religious expression. Divine Command: Divine command theory in Islam respect gender differences and it maintains equality between men and women. However, it is different in some cases. Divine command explains gender differences as being compatible to each other, which explains the differences in some cases. One of these few cases is polygamy. Islamic law allows polygamy as stated in the quran â€Å"And if you fear that you cannot act equitably towards orphans, then marry such women as seem good to you, two and three and four; but if you fear that you will not do justice between them, then marry only one or what your right hands possess; this is more proper, that you may not deviate from the right course† (4:3). There are several conditions to be maintained in order for the man to marry more than one woman. The first and most fundamental condition is justice, the man have to maintain equality between his wives. He has to be equal in the time spent with the wife and the financial matters, but not his heart inclination. The man can love a wife or her children more than the other but he should keep that to himself and do not show it to his other wives by his behavior. A man should have a reasonable issue to have more than one wife, he should not have more than what he wants. As a result, if two women are enough their husband does not have to marry a third wife and so on. In addition, the man should be able to aid his family, so he cannot marry more than one wife if he is not able to satisfy all of his wives equally. There are several types of aid: financial aid that extends to his children, the ability to satisfy the wives sexual desires. If the man is not able to satisfy the sexual desires of one wife, then he is not allowed to marry more than one. If a women states that her husband does not satisfy her sexual desires, she has the right to ask for divorce. To sum up, the man has to apply justice in the concepts of expenses, sex, and treatment in order to be eligible to have more than one wife. Polygamy is allowed in Islam due to several reasons. First of all is increasing the population. Although one says that increased population causes problems on the society, it results in increased labour, which will increase economy. For example, China has the largest population in the world and they have a strong economical force. Another reason is the increased number of women compared with men in some countries. For example, an official statistic in Germany shows that in 1990 there were approximately 2.7 million more females than males; moreover, the incidents of dying men are more then women. This means that there will be many women without a husband that will lead to a decrease in the population and an increase in adultery and sexually transmitted disease. Childs of adultery are missing the traditional family life and that will reverse it on their behaviour. There are many men that can not handle their sexual interactions and they need more than one women, so if they had more than one that will prevent them from adultery. In addition, men are prohibited to have sex during menstruation or confinement due to its medical harm. The most reason that makes men marry is to make a family, but this dream is impossible if the woman is infertile or has an illness. As a result, it is fair to marry another fertile women. One says that polygamy will cause problems to the family and the wives will be competing with each other. The response for this critique is that problems can occur in every family even if there is one wife. Moreover, each wife has the right to live in her own house and the man can not force them to live in the same house. Another one argues that if polygamy is allowed for men, it should be allowed for women as well. The response to this critique is that women are the carrier of the off spring and by having sex with more than a man the child’s identity will be lost. The children will not be able to recognize their father and it will confuse the society. In addition, the ties of the fatherhood with the children are going to be weak. On April 15th, 2009 Afghanistan women protested in a Shia mosque in the country’s capital city because of a new law that was passed which forbid women to leave their homes without permission from a male relative and these women were also not allowed to refuse to have sex with their husbands. The 300 women who protested were young and organized by women’s rights activists. These Afghan women believed this new law was unacceptable and was a return to Taliban rule. Many local men were outraged by the protesting of these women and threw gravel and small stones at them. As a result, polygamy will decrese these problems. Conclusion: From my point of view, I think that polygamy have more advantages and disadvantages. We can adapt and solve the disadvantages to make polygamy more successful. For example, one can spend more time with his family to make sure that the women and children are satisfied. On the other hand, polygamy should not be allowed without its provisions. Indeed, courts should make sure that polygamy conditions are accomplished, especially the right of justice and equality. References: Kent, S. (2006, August). A matter of principle: fundamentalist Mormon polygamy, children, and human rights debates. Nova religio, 10(1), 7-29. Retrieved June 18, 2009, from ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials database. Polygamists arrested for first time in Canada. (2009, February 10). Christian Century, Retrieved June 18, 2009, from Humanities International Complete database. Polygamy Is Against Womens Human Rights and Their Dignity, Experts Say, (2000). Retrieved June 14, 2009, from http://www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/51DA40508951B238C1256988002EE12E?opendocument Polygamy reasons and conditions in Islam, (2007). Retrieved June 17, 2009, from http://akhawat.islamway.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=49647 Polygamy reasons in Islam, (2002). Retrieved June 14, 2009, from http://www.islamway.com/?iw_s=Articleiw_a=viewarticle_id=218#(1)

Ecology Mock Experiment Essay Example for Free

Ecology Mock Experiment Essay Due to their large size oak trees become shelters and nesting sites to very many wildlife species, so if one were to remove or decrease availability of these oak trees then one might expect the abundance of the animals that use oak trees as a home would decline as well. In this experiment, we will be testing whether or not the availability of oak trees in an environment will affect the distribution and abundance of robins. The hypothesis of the experiment would be as follows: The population size of robins is restricted by the availability oak trees present. This hypothesis would then lead you to predict that by removing oak trees from an environment, the population size of robins would then decline. In this experiment, both the control and the experimental groups will be tested in similar conditions which include temperature, geographic location, resources available, and species diversity and richness of the areas in which the experiments are taking place. The variable which will be tested is the presence of oak trees. Therefore, the experimental group will have the oak trees removed while, the control group will have the oak trees present. For the experiment, we will observe these groups on a weekly basis for two months. If in the experimental group, the population of the robins were to show a decline while population of the control group would remain at a steady pace over the two month span then my hypothesis would be proven correct. But if results of the experiment were to show the population size of the experimental group have similar numbers with the control group or show the control groups robin population decrease more than the experimental group then my hypothesis would be disproven.

Gender Representation in the Media

Gender Representation in the Media A comparison of representation between genders and how different genders are portrayed in childrens media Introduction I have chosen this EPQ topic because I wanted to address possible issues in the world we live in today. Its no secret that in society sexism, under representation and/or bad representation of both genders run wild and the issues greatly affect males and females. Representation is the description or portrayal of someone or something in a particular way, whether that be good or bad. This essay will explore the differences and similarities of the way males and females are portrayed in childrens media, and even dig deeper into the intersectional theory which is the view that people experience oppression in varying configurations and in varying degrees of intensity, for example, that be the fact they are a member of the LGBT community or a POC (Person of colour). For this essay, I define childrens media as: Television Shows (Animation and Sitcoms) and Films. Originally, I included childrens literature as one of the areas I would analyse but I decided against this idea as I felt I was working with too much and I wouldnt be able to complete my project on time. I knew that focusing on too many things wouldnt allow me to work to my full ability and on the other hand, its a lot easier to watch something than it is to read something and fully comprehend it. I have many films and shows that I have used to base my research, for example I have taken a selection of the most popular shows (based on opinions from online critics and some factual evidence also) from the Networks dedicated to the ages of 8-16 so CN (Cartoon Network) and its sister channels affiliated with it and Disney, along with their related channels. Some of these programs include the popular programs like Steven Universe, Gravity Falls and Spongebob Squarepants. Its no use just watching these shows of course, I aim to make detailed notes showing the percentages of male and female character appearances in episodes, how certain genders and minorities are portrayed and to debate the question of which gender really receives the best and most realistic representation. For example, some questions I have asked myself during my research include, are there any obvious stereotypes that stand out to you and how do they make you feel? By doing this I believe I can form a solid opinion on the shows I have watched. However, its important that my opinions are not one sided so I aim to really argue with myself over the issues and weigh up the positives and the negatives in my conclusion. Furthermore, I wanted to discover how other people felt about gender representation in childrens media also. It would allow me to see if people really thought there was an issue and to try and understand those who believed that what their children were watching on television was okay. I have used questionnaires to gather opinions from both parents and children in hope that they will allow me to generalise the opinions further. Television: Cartoon Network Starting with Turners Cartoon Network I have chosen two programs from the channel, Johnny Bravo and Steven Universe. Johnny Bravo Starting with Johnny Bravo; it premiered on July 14, 1997, making it the earliest show on the Cartoon Network list, and the first season completed production in December of that year. [1]The series stars a muscular young man named Johnny Bravo who dons a pompadour hairstyle and an Elvis Presley-like voice. He has a forward, woman-chasing personality and the plots typically revolve around him trying to get a woman that he has targeted throughout the episode to fall in love with him. He is often beaten up or stunned by his target or companions, or is ditched by them in the end. Almost immediately I believe this sort of program to contain very sexist messages towards both men and women. For men, it shows that its normal to lust after young beautiful women and treat them as nothing but sexual objects that you can try and win over. Then, theres also the problem that the main character is promoting unrealistic standards for young boys. Adults or older viewers may see this as a joke made by the creators however I believe young children may comprehend this differently, they may believe this is the proper way to act. Steven Universe Finally, we have Steven Universe. it premiered on November 4, 2013 as Cartoon Networks first animated series to be solely created by a woman, Rebecca Sugar. I think the fact Rebecca Sugar is the first woman to create an animated series says a lot about the show because we can see that a woman is writing women which will lead to more accurate women characters. It is the coming-of-age story of a young boy named Steven Universe, who lives in the fictional town of Beach City with the Crystal Gems Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst, three magical humanoid aliens. Steven, who is half-Gem, goes on adventures with his friends and helps the Gems protect the world from their own kind[2](Wikipedia, 2017). I decided to watch Steven Universe instead of other popular CN television shows, for example Adventure Time or We Bare Bears because its very different from your usual cartoon. What I mean by that is we have four main characters, three of them are women who sport different body shapes which shows great body representation for women and theres even one character who is coded black, which means that outside of the shows context, she is seen is a black woman[3]. When watching some of the episodes for the show, I expected to see a lot of good representation for both genders and minorities too. I didnt expect to see any themes or characters that were LGBT, but if there were, Id expect them to be secondary characters or not that important at all. However, I was proved wrong and the show surpassed what I expected. Well start with the very first episode of Steven Universe, Laser Light Canon. Not even a minute into the episode and 3 out of the 6 characters weve seen are plus size which is very surprising as you dont normally have that many characters that arent just slim or curvy in childrens television shows. Two minutes in and we meet the crystal gems; Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl. We see these characters fighting against corrupted beings, not even breaking a sweat. The first impression we have of these women is that they are powerful and that they dont conform to the norm. Amethyst is very relaxed, she lassos the monster and calmly says, Sup Steven? while doing a peace sign. From this we can see that shes the laid back one of the group, she doesnt take things too seriously and she likes to have fun with what she does. One thing to note is that Amethyst is plus sized, a very deliberate characteristic the story boarders have given her. In media, overweight characters (mostly girls) are virtually absent.[4] In the Prix Jeunesse study for childrens television in the UK, 431 (63.7%) of the sample were of average weight, 192 (27.4%) of the characters were very thin, and 55 (8.9%) very overweight. 63.7% of all characters represented in British childrens TV are of a normal body range. Females are more often thin, males more often overweight. Out of the female characters 159 (55.2%) are in the normal range, 112 (38.9%) are very thin and 17 (5.9%) are very overweight. 272 male characters (69.9%) are in the normal range, 79 (20.3%) are very thin and 38 (9.8%) are very overweight. [5] This shows that the cartoon is obviously aiming for representation of larger characters and so far, this is good representation. The next character Pearl is then seen, she moves carefully and her strikes are precise as a melodic tune from a piano plays in the background. From this small part we can see that Pearl lives up to her gemstone symbolism; shes pure and innocent. Disney  Movies: Disney and Pixar For this part of my report, I would like to refer to the studios Disney and Pixar both as Disney. It is my understanding that they are different but fundamentally they stem from the same studio. Mulan The first film we have from Disney is the 1998 classic, Mulan. This film is heavily praised and noted for being a feminist film but why is that? What makes Mulan feminist? The basic plot of the film is that Mulan takes the place of her father in the war as she is concerned about her health. Mulan tackles the idea of how gender roles are worthless and that anybody can do anything as long as you have the right attitude however some may argue against this. After her male disguise fails and she is banished, Mulan doesnt give up and instead saves the whole of China and winning the heart of her once captain, Shang. One of the problems that have arisen already is the use of gender identity and what makes you a man or a woman. Mulan plays with the idea that to be a man you must à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦be swift as a coursing river, with all the force of a great typhoon which are lyrics from the song, Ill make a man out of you. This is a problem as it reinforces the idea that you should be a man but what does it mean to be a man? This is giving young children, young boys in particular, a very obscured impression of what men are; that they should be powerful and forceful. This also links to the idea that men are praised for taking charge and women are brandished as bossy[6] (see figure 1) and commanding. In addition, the opening song, honour to us all includes the lyrics, men want girls with good taste, (who are) calm (and) obedient and who work fast-paced, with good breeding and a tiny waist. This is obviously sexist and demonstrates that in the past women were seen as nothing more than objects for men to a dmire. A further problem with gender identity in the film Mulan is that it could be regarded as transphobic as its ideas of what it means to be a man or woman only reference the physical aspects, for example the way we look or the way we talk which can be seen when Mulan cuts off her hair and uses a deep tone when pretending to be Ping who is her male alter ego. The film does not reference the mental aspects of gender and could possibly offend a minority of people. However, some argue that Mulan isnt transphobic in the slightest, its just all about gender performance, much like drag in real life. In the Feminist and Queer Analysis of Disneys Mulan by Juliane Fung they suggest that using the queer theorys idea of gender performativity, it can instead be argued that Mulan is a film about gender performance and not gender itself. The film is supported by Butlers idea that gender is not an inherent set of traits, but rather it is performed (Ott and Mack 2009).[7] Furthermore, the film explores the pressure that is put on young women and how the anxieties can affect the. In the song, Reflection Mulan considers about her roles she has. She claims that she will never pass for a perfect bride, or a perfect daughter which shows the unrealistic demands that she was asked of. Mulan also hopes that she can free (herself) from their expectations which also demonstrates that women are In conclusion, many would argue that Mulan executes feminism ideals very well and that the theme of women empowerment is the most prominent in the whole film while others would disagree and claim that the film portrays the belief that men are in fact superior to women and that feminine traits will always be subordinate to those of the superior male class, as explained in Juliane Fungs analysis.[8] Throughout the whole movie, the emphasis is on gender roles, not Mulans aim to save China or her fathers life. Moreover, I believe that no gender here is represented in a more positive way than negative. Its very obvious that Mulan reinforces gender stereotypes with males being strong leaders and females serving no other purpose than looking after their husbands and being beautiful. Something I felt was completely unnecessary was giving Mulan the love interest too, this film was supposed to show Mulan being strong and independent and break free of the stereotype that women should be wives a nd dedicate their life to domestic life so I felt having Mulan and Shang share a romantic relationship completely went against the films intended message. The Princess and the Frog The second film we have from Disney is The Princess and The Frog which is the modernised version of the Brothers Grimms The frog king. This film excited many people as it was the first Disney film to have an African American lead role who was female. It also strays away from the typical damsel in distress trope that Disney have frequently used in the past. Tiana is a hardworking woman from New Orleans from 1930s America. She works two jobs to try and fund her dreams of owning a restaurant but due to discrimination she is left without the chance to buy an empty property. Her friend Charlotte is the daughter of the mayor, shes rich and beautiful yet her and Tiana have a very honest and open relationship. This is really refreshing to see as you would expect Charlotte and Tiana to have a very unfortunate relationship however they work really well together. One problem however is that there are the stereotypes of the smart brunette and the dumb/helpless blonde. (Gà ¶tz, 2006). Tiana is a headstrong character while Charlotte is constantly obsessed with marrying princess and being a princess herself, many would argue that she is a very one-dimensional character as she has no other tropes other than the one previously mentioned. As I previously mentioned, Tiana was the first female African American lead of a Disney movie so a lot of people would be excited to see what role she would take on and how she would be represented. A positive of Tianas character is that she shows that its important to work hard for what you want and that you should always follow your head. Her happily ever after isnt that she is married to a prince, although that does happen, it is more about the fact she finally has her restaurant after working hard for so many years. Its very inspiring to see that Tiana finally reaches her goal after all of the hardships she faced but there are many problems attached to this as well. One problem that I have found is the fact that Disney likes to include love interests when theyre clearly not needed. By showcasing male-female romantic love as something out of the ordinary, special and magical childrens films further the notion of heterosexuality normative. (Kazyak and Martin, 2009) Furthermore, it seems at the end of the film that Tiana was only able to purchase the restaurant she wanted because of Naveens money and his status as a prince. Its understandable that this is more realistic as his privilege would have helped Tiana in the 30s but what sort of message does it promote to young women? That you have to rely on a man to reach your goals? In my opinion this is bad representation as it is showing that women cannot be independent in the long run. Another problem that could be argued is that even though Disney made a huge breakthrough with their first African American lead, Tiana spends the majority of the film as an amphibian. Obviously, she has to be so the film can be progressed but what does it say if we hardly have any moments with a humanised Tiana? It could be claimed that because of the way Disney gave human Tiana hardly any screen time they didnt want a woman of colour to be the main lead and that is understandable. However, on many pieces of merchandise Tiana is very much always presented as a human and not as the frog character we know so this could dispute that claim. On the other hand, Prince Naveen also has troubles with representation in the film. Disney have come under fire from many fans and black man who accuse Disney of erasing their identities. Stroman (1984) states that black characters on television shows are more likely to be unemployed and impoverished[9] so by making Naveen racially ambiguous, Disney have offended many people. From a blog online people have argued that this was a slap in the face of black men who are only portrayed as criminals and sidekicks and not heroes and romantic love interests.[10] In conclusion, I feel like Disney did try to represent both genders and minorities in this case well yet it didnt work. There are many problems such as the fact that the two main people of colour spend the majority of the film as amphibians and not portrayed as humans, that the female character has to rely on the male character for her dreams to come true and the forced hetero-romance between the main characters. On the other hand, there are many positives too. Tiana is overall a very inspiring character for young girls and especially little black girls. Its important for children to not only be encouraged by a character but that they can relate with them also. Tiana teaches them not to give up on your dreams even if the world is against you and thats an important life lesson for anyone. Prince Naveen is also a good role model for young boys, but mostly towards the end of the film when he has come to the end of his character arc. He goes from a penniless prince to a man who is loving and caring of his friends and family. He is concerned about his own ego at the start but changes to become more compassionate. Whats more is that Naveen loves his music and encourages others to play, something which is considered quite feminine. Bibliography Figure 1 http://articles.bplans.com/gender-equality-white-paper/?_ga=1.15604406.1436524096.1490723092 (Accessed Feb, 17) (Ott and Mack 2009) Ott, Brian, and Robert Mack. Critical Media Studies. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010. (Accessed Jan, 17) (Gà ¶tz, 2006). Gà ¶tz, M. (2006). Die Hauptfiguren im deutschen Kinderfernsehen (The main characters of German childrens TV). In: TelevIZIon, vol. 19, no. 1, pp. 4-7. (Accessed October, 16) (Kazyak and Martin, 2009)   Ã‚   Martin, K. A., Kazyak, E. (2009). Hetero-romantic love and heterosexiness in childrens g-rated films. Gender and Society, 23(3), 315-336. (Accessed October, 16) (Stroman, 1984) Stroman, C.A. (1984). The socialization influence of television on black children [Electronic Version]. Journal of Black Studies, 15(1), 79-100. (Accessed January, 17) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Bravo#cite_note-8, 2017 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Universe, 2017 [3] https://www.reddit.com/r/stevenuniverse/comments/3j7r23/does_garnet_count_as_black/cun2a4f/, 2016 [4] http://prixjeunesse.de/images/PDF/GenderInChildrensTVWorldwide_2008.pdf [5] http://www.prixjeunesse.de/childrens_tv_worldwide/studies/CTV_WW_23_UK_IZI_PJ_2008.pdf [6] http://articles.bplans.com/gender-equality-white-paper/?_ga=1.15604406.1436524096.1490723092 [7] http://mulananalysis.weebly.com/ [8] http://mulananalysis.weebly.com/ [9] The Portrayals of Minority Characters in Entertaining Animated Childrens Programs, http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-05282004-130909/unrestricted/Smith_thesis.pdf [10] https://tcdh.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/the-princess-the-frog-controversies-and-criticism/

Cold War Manderin Essay -- Comparative, Ngo Dinh Diem, Seth Jacobs

The book, Cold War Mandarin Ngo Dinh Diem and the Origins of America’s War in Vietnam 1950-1963, by Seth Jacobs is a comprehensive retelling of the rise and fall of Ngo Dinh Diem’s government in South Vietnam. In that retelling Jacob focuses on the major events that took place in Vietnam as well as showed how America backed a leader that did nothing to booster his nation and led America into one of the worst wars in its history. The Diem regime was a corrupt and tyrannical government that used the United States’ fears of communism to push its own goals that ultimately led to its own demise. Jacob viewed the escalation of America’s involvement in Vietnam as the following, â€Å"The nine-year â€Å"experiment† that ended when Diem died was America’s crossover point from advice and support to active cobelligerency in a Vietnamese civil war† (8). Jacob in his book is very critical of the actions that both the Americans and Diem took in the establishment of South Vietnam. As the title of the book suggests, the author claims that Diem and his actions resulted in America becoming stuck in a war that would last over a decade. Diem, who was not very well known in either the United States as well as his own nation at the time the book starts in the early 1950s, was able to perpetuate himself into a position of power through use of both his faith as well as perpetuating generalized American fears. In the first chapter of his book, Jacobs looks at Diem’s early rise to power. Diem first worked under the French where he stood as a Minister of the Interior in the Bao Dai puppet government. Where Diem hated that the French who had control over Vietnam both economically as well as politically, one thing he hated more where the Viet Minh. The Vi... ... Ngo Dinh Diem and his regime. In Diems attempts to maintain a sense of national independence and ignoring American advisors in regards to how to manage his nation placed both himself and America in a very bad situation. Jacob broke down the reasons why Diem’s policies and decisions as head of state in Vietnam ultimately led to its demise, from his totalitarian policies and misuses of American funding/support. Jacobs does not put all blame on Diem but also points out that despite information gathered from American officials in Vietnam the American government supported a government that was unpopular and full of corruption. In the end Jacob reinforces his claim that the United States and their â€Å"Diem experiment† pushed America into a shifting relationship with Vietnam that would ultimately lock the nation into a state involvement that it could not back out of.

Modern Piracy With A Breif History Essay -- essays research papers fc

Piracy is usually determined as a seizure of property (ship, airplane or software) that holds no commission from the owner (â€Å"Piracy† 1). It is mostly linked to the dirty, bearded men that sailed the seven seas and robed merchant ships or ships that carried a valuable cargo. This however, was not the case in the late eighties and is definitely not the case today in the nineties. Now software pirates copy software without the permission of the company for their own personal benefits. Since piracy interrupts trade between nations it has been considered to be an offense against international law (â€Å"Piracy† 1). While the pirates in the medieval age roamed for plunder on the high seas, pirate radio and television stations broadcast, unauthorized software pirates copy to save money and even if one form vanished, another would soon take its place. Although the roots of piracy go as far as 102 BC the true sea pirates golden age was between the time periods of the very late 1600’s and the year of 1923 when almost all pirates suddenly disappeared. Pirates attacked the Romans as early as 100 BC. This was not as rough as the future pirates would be, but the idealism of piracy was present. The so-called piracy’s golden age started in 1695 when the first famous pirate, Henry Every, began seizing sizable treasures in the Red Sea and this made him an idol to many unemployed seamen in England. Piracy offered no more risks than being on board an ordinary merchant or privateering (which is often confused with piracy) vessel and the returns could be indescribably greater than in trade or attacking enemy ships. This started an increase in the number of pirates. Soon, in some parts of the world, for example Nassau, there were so many pirate vessels sailing the seas that the trade between the colonies and the outside world was n onexistent because all the goods ended up in the pirate vessels. Although their ways were inhumane and sometimes highly brutal, they had some sort of passion to sail the unknown and break the law to fight a war on the ordinary world. Some pirates were famous for their incredible brutality or for their otherwise colorful personalities: Edward Teach (alias Black Beard), who terrorized the coastline of North Carolina in 1716-1718; Captain Kidd who was more known for his highly publicized trial than his wrongdoings; and Bartholomew Roberts who was the last and... ...mplies with the law, and that it issues an appropriate policy statement that is signed and respected by all involved (Software Publishers' Association). The sea pirates, the software pirates Hackers and the on the air pirates all have something in common. They all (with the exception of software pirates) do their job for the passion of it. All of these forms are considered illegal because of the losses made to the owner to save costs or to collect prizes (sometimes). Whatever the case, piracy can never be gotten rid of because a new form will show up when another vanishes, history proves that. What will the next form be? Use your imagination. Works Cited Botting, Douglas. â€Å"The Pirates.† Alexandria, Virginia: Time Life Books 1978. â€Å"Piracy.† Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 1995. â€Å"Software Piracy.† CQ Researcher. May 21, 1993 MAS. Byrd, Kelly V. "Kelly's Place" Computer and Law http://www.acsu.buffalo.edu/~kbyrd/piracy.html: Spring 1996. Software Publishers' Association. "Software Use and the Law". http://www.spa.org/piracy/homepage.html: November 20, 1996. Computers In Society 6th ed. Dushkin Group/Brown&Benchmark Publishers: Guilford, CT, 1996.

Womens Real Life Problems in Thelma and Louise and Shirley Valentine E

Women's Real Life Problems in Thelma and Louise and Shirley Valentine Throughout the history of film actresses have always received the worst roles in which to portray women. Women are often featured as lovers or prostitutes, backstage roles that support the power and domination of men. Hollywood has always been dominated and ‘run’ by the influence of male actors and directors. Statistics have shown that 71% of male actors are given major roles compared to women who receive only 29% of centre stage roles. Thelma and Louise and Shirley are two films, which change that. They portray woman in a positive role, showing them in a positive light against male oppression. Although Shirley Valentine is a British film and Thelma and Louise is American, both films still show women facing the prejudice of society in the 20th century. In this way women viewers can relate to the films believing them to show the difficulties women face in life, the loss of women’s individuality due to the domination of their husbands and their experiences of sexism and prejudice in modern day society. There are many similarities as well as differences in both films and the storylines are varied, yet both films still feature woman who overcome the typical stereotype that they are nothing but sexual objects for men to abuse. Thelma and Louise a road film featuring two women who are trying to run away from the law because Louise has shot a man who was trying to rape Thelma. Throughout their journey they go on a quest of self-discovery realising the mistakes they have made in life and finding their true identity among the ravages their partners have made ... ... were losing. Therefore I believe both films are successful in presenting stories from a women’s viewpoint on the real life problems women face. Both films are realistic and can be compared to the lives of many women in the same situations. These films allow women to relate to the characters and experience emotions on issues that they have faced throughout history such as rape and sexism. They allow women to feel a sense of hope and to make them understand that they are individuals who must fulfil their dreams. Shirley Valentine and Thelma and Louise allow women to overcome stereotypical images of ‘housewives’ and ‘sex objects’ and present women as strong with their own individual characters. In this way both films are successful in showing the problems and issues women face and overcome from a female perspective.

How to Be a Chef Essay

Bodily/Kinesthetic My first intelligence was Bodily/ Kinesthetic. I’m very athletic and I love to play sports a lot. I play basketball after school on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at my local community center. I even play basketball outside when I have spare time on my hands. I play a lot of 2K13 on my PS3 and my favourite team in the NBA is Oklahoma City Thunders because they have good players like Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka. I get better by shooting at certain spots on the court and practicing my lay ups. I play rugby for the Newman Knights. I started in grade 9 and I love to go to practice. When I scored my first try in rugby, it felt all my hard work and determination paid off. Interpersonal My second intelligence is Interpersonal. I have many friends from my old elementary school and I also made new friends when I came to Newman. I socialize with many people at Newman; having laughs, tears of joy and always joking around a lot. I always go out with my closest friends to malls like STC or Eaton’s Center, after hanging out at my school or in my house to play PS3 and to other people’s house. I keep in touch with my friends on Twitter and texting them on my phone. I have fun texting people; it keeps me occupied and keeps my friends close to me no matter where I am. I also enjoy having group work with people, it’s easier to work with people because I don’t like working by myself. Visual/Spatial My third intelligence is Visual/Spatial. I like to draw and do art when I’m bored. I like to draw Pokà ©mon when I was a kid and I still do Pokà ©mon drawings sometimes. I don’t like reading novels but I love to read manga and its Japanese base where you read it left to right. I love these types of books because I like to see the manga panels instead of reading books without pictures. I learn better when they show me a drawing, a demonstration, or an activity because I sometimes don’t understand when teachers explain without a visual representation. Such as in science, history and math. Personality and True Colours My dominant color is gold and the main characteristic of gold to me is dependable. I chose the picture of a quote saying â€Å"You’re even more dependable than alcohol† because I can always depend on my friends and they can also depend on me to be there by their side no matter what. People know that I’m nice, so they always say that I’m such a good friend to them. I always say yes to favors from my friends and they know I always finish the job no matter how big or small it is. I am always loyal to my friends and to my work in school. I chose an image of a wolf on top of a rock saying loyalty because as I said before, I’m always there when you need me like a dog. As the saying goes, â€Å"a man’s best friend is a dog†. I’m very loyal to people when they need me to do work or to get them something for someone. I never tell any of my friend’s secrets to people because they trust me and I trust them with my personal things as well. I’m as loyal as a knight to the king or a friend who’s there to the end. I’m also a very responsible person. I’m responsible at home, school and in my life. I’m always on top of my chores and sometimes on top of my school work. I chose a picture of a dog cleaning up his feces because I always clean up after myself. I have chores at home like washing the dishes, cook and to look after my little brother and sister. At school, I try to be on top of my work and to my studies but sometimes I slack off with my work. When I make a big mess, I take responsibility to clean up and to say sorry to them if I made the mess. Values The value I cherished in life is being a humanitarian. The picture that represent humanitarian to me is the Canadian Red Cross organization because I love what they do all over Canada; by donating food and money to people in need. I’m just like them because I help people who are in need. I help people at school with work and understanding concept in certain subjects like math or science. I help at home by doing chores and helping my sister with her homework. When I’m in public I help hold the door or pick up and return their belongings. I do these nice things out of the kindness of my heart. My second most cherished value in life is my beloved family. I love them no matter what happens in life, through thick or thin. I chose a picture of my family at my grade 8 graduation because they love and support me in my accomplishments. Sometimes I have trouble with my family but I always say to myself that they love me no matter the kind of attitude I give them, if it’s me being nice or being rude to them. I use to have fights with my brother and sister but later on we would forgive each other and we would just laugh about it. I know my family would support me whatever I do in life. My last most cherished value is money. I love to make a lot of money in the future so I can go to college and one day to support my own family. The picture I chose was a person buying something in a store because I would love to spend my first paycheck on things I want. I know money doesn’t give people joy but it can make you happy by buying people things and to donate to organizations that will help the poor and people in third world countries. Work/Life Balance My career choice is one that relates to my strengths at this very moment and allows me to do what I love to do. That is to make people smile with my passion to cook food. The work environment that would allow me to cook is one where I can cook for families and to earn more experience from cook’s that could pass their knowledge to me and it would help me in the future. I wouldn’t quit my job in life because if I can make nice tasting food for people, it would make my job easy and enjoyable. My love in food is very strong and it’s my only passion in life that I would hold on to forever. If I choose to be a chef, it would make my life complete because it can help me feed my family and have fun cooking with them. It can benefit me by helping me strengthen my relationships with my friends by teaching them how to cook and to make them happy when they come over to my house. It can help me in the future by cooking in community kitchen for all ages and it would fill my heart to see people in need eating my food, smiling at the food and thanking me. I cook a lot when I feel hungry at home. I would pop out my cook books and choose my favorite recipe. The way I cook makes me happy because it can bring people together and bring my friends closer to me. The hardship I would go through to get the job is to work my way up to an experience chef from what I know now. When I graduate from high school, I would like to take a culinary course in college and to gain more experience so I can improve my cooking skills. No matter the hardship it would take to become a chef, I will be dedicated to earn a cooking degree.

Internal Risk Assessment †Home Depot Essay

Former president and chief executive officer of the online auction site eBay stated, â€Å"A business leader has to keep their organization focused on the mission. That sounds easy, but it can be tremendously challenging in today’s competitive and ever-changing business environment. A leader also has to motivate potential partners to join† (Whitman, n. d. ). These wise words expressed from a wise and highly successful business leader speak soundly in relation to motivating employees and a sustaining a competitive business advantage. Along with a competitive advantage arises the need to assess the firm’s internal risk. Departmental strengths and weaknesses, strategic endurance, and financial foundation all substantiate the level of allowable tolerance for internal risks. A publicly traded global firm, The Home Depot, Incorporated leads the world in retail building supplies and home improvement goods. According to the 2009 Form 10-K reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the company maintains 2,244 retail sites â€Å"Located throughout the United States including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories of the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam (â€Å"U. S. †), Canada, China and Mexico† (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). The Home Depot wisely forecasts and assesses its risks while maintaining flexibility to assume increased or decreased influences affecting internal operations. According to the annual report for 2009, The Home Depot’s returns declined as compared with its 2008 earnings, as did stock prices. The company forecasted for this decline with the closure of several underperforming stores in 2008. Cutting the ties of projected threats made capital resources available to concentrate on heightening strengths and improving upon weaknesses. Company growth does not solely equate to the gain of more real property. Growth produces many internal facets through improving and enhancing capabilities to overcome weaknesses within the organization. The company’s fiscal 2009 operating strategy maintains a centralized focal point in their core retail business. In this strenuous economy, they also realize that â€Å"Success depends upon our ability to attract, train and retain highly qualified associates while also controlling our labor costs† (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). Lean production with educated employees becomes essential while awaiting the economy’s upward trend. Customer loyalty and return business starts at the frontline through customer service. The operating strategy gears its strategic decisions toward raising improving capital allocation, controlling expenses to generate long-term value for its shareholders, the bottom line. To further the company’s 2009 internal strategic stability, in 2008 it opted to exercise valuable capabilities whereby counteracting short-term and long-term threats with the closure of several underperforming stores, shelving new store construction projects, and parting with business contracts loosening hindering obligations. The reevaluation of the strategic business plan provided a means to target emerging opportunities that supported the restructuring planned objectives for 2009. Success of reducing threats evidenced opportunity to position the company for future growth in projecting a strengthened economy in forthcoming years. The Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations reveals 13 store openings with a concentration toward the â€Å"Core retail business, investing in our associates and stores and improving our customer service† (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). The report also ascertains that â€Å"The slowdown in the global economy and weakness in the U. S. residential construction, housing and home improvement markets negatively impacted our Net Sales for fiscal 2009† resulting in a 7. 2% declined Net Sales (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). The company maintains the decrease in sales as a direct correlation to the underperforming store closures. Asserting that the weakened sales figures correlate to the competition, The Home Depot estimates a 21% market share in the United States. Reduced pricing drove an operations increase evidenced with the gross profit margin for fiscal 2009. Compared to last year, the operating income as a percent of net sales rose 1% for $4 million over 2008 figures. A substantial savings exhibited with a decline in Operating Expenses in that expenditures shrank 10. 9% from last year. Employing new merchandising tools aid the company in realizing lean production measures with its supply chain. Forecasting capabilities substantiated through â€Å"The combined efforts of our supply chain, merchandising, operations and finance teams, we reduced inventory by almost half a billion dollars in 2009, while at the same time improving our in-stock position† (Datamonitor 360, 2010). The organization’s strengths illustrate an emphasis in positive marketing, as brand awareness continues to retain The Home Depot as the largest home improvement retailer in the world, boosting its negotiating influence concerning capital financing. Competitive positioning emanates as a strength through the human resources department as the charge to maintain employee training geared toward the customer elevates as a long-term objective. The sales team continues to revolutionize efficient processes in bettering supply chain management to continue efficient production. Additional strengths, as found with its customer satisfaction measure through a store performance survey called, Voice of the Customer, is a marketing and research effort to sustain market share strengths. A new education program, Customer First, launched in 2009 afforded each employee training, by the end of that fiscal year, aimed at placing the customer first. This measure supports management’s long-term commitment toward putting the customer first and gaining feedback to achieve peak customer service. Supplying the customer with exclusive and well-known brands is also a priority to distinguish public visibility and improve traffic flow. Top manufacturers carried exclusively at the retailer include Behr Premium Plus, Husky, Ryobi, Pegasus, and Glacier Bay. The Home Depot’s chief executive officer stated in the annual report that â€Å"While our supply chain team is proceeding with the rollout of these new RDC facilities, we are also restructuring and improving other parts of our supply chain. We have closed legacy distribution centers, optimized distribution center operations and enhanced our transportation management systems, driving further supply chain efficiency in addition to the RDC rollout. Creating exclusivity and optimal vendor relations develops a stronghold on the supply chain, along with securing customer loyalty. A weakness that The Home Depot notes in their Annual Report reveals that â€Å"Sustained uncertainty regarding current economic conditions and other factors beyond our control could adversely affect demand for our products and services, our costs of doing business and our financial performance† (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). The decline in new residential housing construction displays a historic low of 43. 5%, according to the census report, and as compared with 2008 data (U.  S. Census Bureau, 2009). This figure reveals strategic business planning to maintain company stability, at a minimum, although ideally growth is the target. Competition is noted as another weakness as it negatively affects pricing, causing an upset in sales figures should a competitor win over the organization’s market share. A decline in product demand and services provided to customers also decreases the company’s market share, lessening sales, company profits, and shareholder wealth. The store’s mindfulness of the competition remains at the forefront of planning. Failure to maintain attractive stores and to timely identify or effectively respond to changing consumer tastes, preferences, expectations as to service levels, spending patterns and home improvement needs could adversely affect our relationship with customers, the demand for our products and services and our market share† (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). The risks associated with large companies are endless. Some of the identified risks with this company include changes or a failure with information technology systems, alterations in regulations and laws or accounting standards, and third party vendor relations. This snapshot list of risks, or weaknesses, create potential financial repercussions with the way the company conducts its business plan. Cognizance of each area should be taken into account when preparing the SWOT Analysis, along with the strategic business plan. Overlooking an item may prove a detriment in company earnings. The Home Depot continues its strategic business plan to include forecasting for internal changes and developing capabilities that positively affect profitability as evidenced in revenues, operating profit, and net profit. Recorded 2010 revenues of over $66 million, showed a decrease of 7. 2% over 2009, the operating profit was $4,803 million, for an increase of 10. 2% over the same period. The annual report indicated a net profit of $2,661 million, which was an increase of 17. 7% over the previous year (The Home Depot: Annual Report, 2009). Strategically assessing internal factors and employ its resources pertaining to the company’s strengths and weaknesses position its stronghold, enduring as the largest home improvement retailer in the world.

Crown Cork and Seal

Crown Cork and Seal Competitive Environment Analysis Exercise Corporate Purpose Crown Cork and Seal had three segments Metal Containers (cans), Closures (crowns), and packaging equipment. Metal containers are cans used in things such as soft drinks or aerosol cans. These were made from steel until being switched over to aluminum in the early 80’s. Crowns which are closures for any type item such as a jar. â€Å"Metal containers generated 65% of Crown’s $1. 88 billion 1988 sales, while closures generated 30% and packaging equipment 5%. † The mission of Crown Cork and Seal was to â€Å"be successful. To do this Connelly had to take control of cost. He did this by first trimming the workforce by letting go anyone not needed which reduced payroll by 24%. â€Å"The second step was to institute the concept of accountability. † He did this by instilling pride and a sense of workmanship in the employees. He also gave plant managers â€Å"responsibility for plan t profitability† as well as quality and customer service. Last but not leased he focused on the company’s debt. He paid off the banks through â€Å"inventory reduction and liquidation. †His vision and strategy for the future emphasized â€Å"cost efficiency, quality, and customer service. Connelly did this by focusing on the company’s strengths. He was able to improve on their strengths by focusing on the beverage can and new aerosol market. Simultaneously, he improved manufacturing including adapting to customer needs. Environment Analysis: General Environment: Demographic: 1989 over 120,795,000 metal cans were sold. Socio-Culture: The movement away from metal cans to plastic and glass has been a problem as they gain a bigger market share. Political-Legal:Political will play a big part in recycling and the push for â€Å"going green. This will also take effect for the legal aspects as new laws will be in place for more recycling and cleaners running man ufacturing plants. Technological:Shut down old out dated plants and opened up new plants across the US with new equipment. Economic: As higher gas prices hit lighter products such as plastic will be more economical to ship to customers verses a heavier metal can. Global: Connelly focused on international growth. He specifically targeted developing countries. Soon foreign plants generated 44% of sales and 54% of operating profits. Competitive environment: Buyers The competitive environment for the buyers appears to favor the buyers over Crown Cork and Seal and its competitors for many reasons. Major buyers in this industry include Coca-Cola Company and Incorporated, Anheuser-Busch, and PepsiCo. In other words there are a low number of buyers, all of which are very large and powerful companies. The size distribution is mostly centered on these major buyers; however there are other companies such as Seagram’s, Molson, and Labatt. Because there are so few companies for CCS to sell to, a high percentage of sales are dependent on these buyers. This low number of buyers is due to consolidation within the soft drink segment, from 8,000 bottlers in 1980 to about 800 in 1989. Generally 45% of the total cost to buyers went into purchasing the cans. Due to the total cost of cans, buyers try to maintain many relationships with many can makers to increase bargaining power and reduce costs. As a result of this the buyer is not heavily dependent on one single can company. Switching costs are also lower for buyers for the same reason; they already have many resources to choose from. Buyers also are likely to profit fairly well compared to can manufacturers. Can manufacturers must maintain low prices in order to compete with each other to gain share over these very few yet powerful buyers. Some brewers are avoiding switching costs all together through backward entry into the market. By 1989, due to production of cans by â€Å"captive† plants, 25% of all can output was produced by captive plants. By 1980 brewers had capability to supply 55% of their can needs. As a result threat of backward entry is very likely for brewers. It is easier for brewers to do this because they make high-volume single-label products. While at the same time soft drink industry could not easily do this because they focused on low-volume multiple-label products. The aluminum can has three major substitutes buyers can choose from: Plastic bottles, which constituted for 11% of soft drink sales in 1989 along with a growth rate from 9 to 18% from 1980 to 1989; Glass bottles, which constituted for 14% of sales in the soft drink industry in 1989; and steel cans. The aluminum can however is a unique and valuable product to the industry, which is why they constituted for 75% of total sales in 1989. As stated in the case aluminum has many advantages over its substitutes. Aluminum is lighter than glass and steel, aluminum is easy to handle and fill, aluminum allows for a wider variety of graphics options, and also consumers prefer aluminum. Because this product is so unique and advanced, it absolutely increases the buyer’s product quality. Cans have a longer shelf life than plastics and bottles, they are lighter and easier to handle, and since they are coated with a protected seal inside the can taste is not sacrificed. All of which add value and quality to the finished product given to be consumed. Suppliers There are three large aluminum suppliers: Alcoa, Alcan, and Reynolds Metals. Alcoa is the largest producer of aluminum with sales of $9. 8 billion, Alcan ranked a close second with $8. 5 billion in sales, and Reynolds Metals is ranked second in the united states with sales of $5. 6 billion. The percentage of our supplies that come from large suppliers are 21% aluminum and 23% steel. Crown Cork and Seal represents 61% of sales for large suppliers. The supplied product is unique in that they have injected the aluminum cans gas to help the metal retain its shape. This allows the cans to hold more than just caffeinated beverages. Also, the steel is produced thinner to cut costs and weight and there are even steel/ aluminum mixes. In addition to aluminum and steel, there are glass and plastic suppliers that offer unique products based on function. There are always substitutes for a particular supplied product. With the advancement in technology, a cheaper, lighter product could be developed or a new innovative product could be discovered. For example: Bottling has transitioned over the decades from being primarily glass, then to steel, and now aluminum. The cost for switching a particular supplied product would be $20-$25 million based on the finding of switching from three piece to two piece cans. From reviewing the case, there does not seem to be a supplier that is excessively profitable. Even though Alcoa has the largest share of the market making $9. 8 billion in sales, Alcan is not too far behind with the $8. 5 billion. The other suppliers could always come out with a product which would give them a greater competitive advantage, and give threaten Alcoa’s top ranking position. In addition to profitability, there is a great likely hood to forward entry by a supplier. Reynolds Metals, who is a supplier, sold over 11 billion cans itself. The supplier’s product is very important to our product quality. The difference between the value of resources used and the value of the aluminum can to the brewer makes up the surplus value between what the supplier sells the aluminum for and what Crown Cork and Seal can get for it. Competitors Entrants There are a number of threatening entrants to the can manufacturing business. As the market continues to see more suppliers producing cans, and more brewers skipping the middle man (can manufacturer), the threat becomes more serious. Substitutes The shift towards plastic bottles, and perhaps more innovative materials are the threats to substitutes for cans. Corporate Profitability and Productivity: Please See Appendix A Threats to Competitive Equilibrium A 10X force that may come from the general environment to greatly disturb Crown Cork and Seal’s equilibrium in the market might be a socio-cultural shift to be more health conscious. This may hurt the soft drink industry especially hard since they are so high in sugar and there is an epidemic of diabetes and childhood obesity in America. In 1989, soft drinks accounted for more than 50% of the beverage industry. If the health craze were to gain momentum, it could cut into soft drink sales severely. This would increase the market for water and juices. However, water and juice tend to come in plastic containers for the most part. Crown, Cork & Seal never got into the plastics market and this could be a huge problem for them. If they do not find a new market for their products they might be left out in the cold once a health revolution occurs in society. The impact on sales would be overwhelming. This would bring profits way down and they may even start to have losses if they do not make adjustments fast enough. Their assets may also decrease in value because there would be less demand for can making machines due to an increase in the need for plastics making machines. With this massive shift in end-user sentiment, Crown, Cork, and Seal would have trouble convincing investors and banks to bet on them thus increasing their cost of capital greatly. A 10X force from the competitive environment could come from Crown, Cork, and Seal’s buyers, especially soft drink bottlers. There has been a trend of consolidation among soft drink bottlers and they have used this to gain leverage over their suppliers and get discounts for their bulk orders. If they were to continue with this trend of consolidation, it could create a scenario in which the bottlers could make their cans in-house cheaper than ordering them from companies like Crown, Cork, and Seal. This would be devastating for Crown, Cork, and Seal to say the least. Since soft drink bottlers are Crown, Cork, and Seal’s largest buyer, this would likely put so much stress on the company that it would eventually become obsolete unless the trend changed or the company shifted their focus before it was too late. This 10X force would bring sales way down for Crown, Cork, and Seal. Even if their sales were not hit as hard as possible, their profits would likely suffer anyway because of the pressure their buyers would be able to put on them with the threat of in-house can manufacturing. Their assets would not drop too much in value because there would still be a market for can manufacturing equipment in this scenario. Crown, Cork, and Seal would likely find it more difficult to attract investors to their company and even their cost of debt would increase with a likely decrease in the rating of their bonds. These two setbacks would drive up their cost of capital and make it difficult to raise money to shift their focus if they wait too long to do so.

Case analysis for Hyundai Card Essay

As a latecomer in Korean credit card market, Hyundai Card has gradually increased the market share since it entered the business in 1999. With its tie with Hyundai motor group, the company branded itself as â€Å"Hyundai M Card†. It started off by attracting buyer to consider using the card to purchase Hyundai automobile by offering discount. In later stages, the company has adopted the customer segmentation strategy to diversify its target groups of clients. With the emphasis on market segmentation based on different groups of card holders, utilizing clients’ card usage data, it has led to the unique customized service via alphabet card marketing activities. The strategy has led to great success, Hyundai Card received a Number One ranking in the Korea’s National Customer Satisfaction Index. The Korean credit card market has experienced a period of overheating due to a rapid expansion in the number of cards, reduced standards for issuing cards, etc. However, in recent years, Korean government has tighten up the policy in the credit card industry, and it results in lower % returns for the card issuer. The market has become saturated, consumers are having too many different options in card for different needs. But the fact is that most people are only using 1 or 2 cards, and the rising cost of operating business also presents an area of concern for major card player like Hyundai Card. Background Hyundai Card is a credit card company in South Korea. Hyundai Motor Group and GE Capital are two of their largest shareholders. The company entered the credit card business in 1999 through the acquisition of Diners Card as a subsidiary. In 2001, the card’s name was changed to â€Å"Hyundai Card†. Credit card business in South Korea is a competitive market. According to a report of The Economist, Korea has the equivalent of 4.4 cards for every  member of the labor force. And Koreans made frequent transactions with credit card, on average, each Korean swipes card for 129.7 times in 2011. That number has well exceeded Americans (77.9) and Canadians (89.6). Hyundai Card is the fourth biggest credit card issuer in South Korea. As per stats in May 2007, it captures a 9.96% share of the market. The Korean credit card market is led by Koomin (16.21%), LG (16.08%), Samsung (12.33). Among the major players in the credit card market, Hyundai is considered as a latecomer. Current Situation Hyundai card has continued to increased its market share in the competitive Korean market. As per stats at the end of 2012, Hyundai Card had a market share of 14.3%. And Hyundai Card has also received a good market reputation being ranked as Number One in the Korea’s National Customer Satisfaction Index. Critical Marketing Issue The credit card industry has underwent an adjustment period. Credit card company experience a growth in the number of late payment and bad debts. And the card market has become saturated, as there are too many card products in the market, which card caters for different need. In fact, most card holder only uses 1 or 2 credit card to purchase. Another is the political factor of the tightening government policy, it has also present a problem to card issuers as they are having lower % of return in the business. In 2012, the government barred card companies from extracting higher fees from smaller merchants. And it also make it easier for customer to compare interest rates across products and harder for less credit worthy borrowers to spend beyond their means. As a result, many card issuing companies started to cut the budget and become more conservative in doing their card business. Alternative Solutions 1. Try to move out of the business by selling it to a suitable buyer Pros: If the company can find a suitable buyer and sell the business at a good price, once and for all, the company does not need to face the problem in the market. The proceed of selling the business may help raise substantial fund capital and enable the company to invest in other business with higher return. Cons: With the end of the credit card business era, Hyundai may suffer certain degree of reputational loss in the domestic market, people may start to worry about the future of the company, it may cause bigger problem to other core business such as the automobile business. 2. Down size the business by cutting cost Pros: The company can remain as a player in local card business, and the company can allocate additional budget to invest in other areas of business with higher return Cons: With less budget allocated, the company may start to lose the status as one of the four biggest player in Korean card business 3. Stay aggressive in card business but try harder to expand the international market Pros: While the company remains its presence in its domestic market, the company will develop more profit growing point in overseas market Cons: The uncertainty in less mature overseas market may not guarantee profit, it can also lead to unexpected loss for the company Decision Matrix Three options may be good options for different companies. For prestigious  brand name like Hyundai Motor and GE, it is always not a wise choice to come up with a solution with the aim of securing short term profit at the expense of sacrificing the brand equity. As a late comer to the card market, Hyundai card has experienced success by capturing larger market share. And the good reputation of customer satisfaction is also an important asset. Therefore there is no way for the company to sell or downsize their business. With less promising future in the local market, the company should start to concentrate to penetrate into other markets in order to develop more profit growing points and remain as a leading brand name in the credit card business. The company has the experience in automobile business in overseas and relevant expertise in Korean credit card, those are the strength that can help the company to capture the opportunities in those less mature market at the same minimizing the chance of failure. Recommendation Target Markets Mainland China, other developing South East Asia countries Positioning With its tie with the branded name in Hyundai Motor, it should position itself as one of the premium brand in the market. Marketing Mix Elements ( 4 Ps) Price: Should aim at customers at high end with high social status Product: Black and Purple card are issued for high social status people in Korea, it can also be used in other markets Promotion: Seek cooperation with branded companies such as winery, golf club,etc. Try to offer card holder with incentive using the card to purchase Place: Golf club, luxury suites Evaluation: The company should conduct effective marketing survey at least once a year to evaluate the effectiveness of marketing campaign and the overall strategy Conclusion For prestigious brand name like Hyundai Motor and GE, it is always not a wise choice to come up with a solution with the aim of securing short term profit at the expense of sacrificing the brand equity. As a late comer to the card market, Hyundai card has experienced success by capturing larger market share. And the good reputation of customer satisfaction is also an important asset. Therefore there is no way for the company to sell or downsize their business. With less promising future in the local market, the company should start to concentrate to penetrate into other markets in order to develop more profit growing points and remain as a leading brand name in the credit card business. The company has the experience in automobile business in overseas and relevant expertise in Korean credit card, those are the strength that can help the company to capture the opportunities in those less mature market at the same minimizing the chance of failure. Bibliography HyundaiCard’s Marketing Strategy, by Chan Soo Park and Ronald D. Camp II, 2009 Hyundai internet home page (http://ir.hyundaicard.com/ceh/ho/cehho0101_01.hc) http://totalidentity.com/hyundai-card-innovation-growth-activation-rebranding http://www.economist.com/news/finance-and-economics/21589470-it-getting-harder-make-money-worlds-most-prolific-card-users-swipe