Pilgrims Progress Essays - Christian Philosophy, Prophets Of Islam

Pilgrims Progress John Bunyans The Pilgrims Progress is an allegorical story about the Christian religion. It allegorizes the journey of a Christian into the Celestial City, which represents heaven. Although Pilgrims Progress may seem simple and straightforward, there are many deeper meanings throughout the whole story. Bunyan uses the names of his characters to signify whom the character represents in the story, for example, the character Hopeful represents hopefulness, Help represents people who are willing to help others in need of assistance, Faithful represents people who are faithful to whatever they are associated with, and the main character, Christian, represents all young Christians in the world. His journey to the Celestial City is a journey every Christian must face in their lifetime before allowed into heaven. Within his journey there are many obstacles such as temptations both tangible and intangible for instance, the merchandises sold at Vanity Fair and the shortcuts offered, illustrate temptations real Christians must face and overcome; finding an easy way into heaven, and being thrown off course by material things. The character Christian overcomes many obstacles before reaching his destination, the Celestial City. But during his journey he does not face all these obstacles alone. He meets a variety of people all through his journey to the Celestial City; some of these people mock his traveling to the Celestial City, some decide to follow him, and some help him along his way. Christian meets Faithful who decides to join him on his travels. Faithful is a character that faces many difficulties on his own journey to the Celestial City; his journey has many differences and similarities to the life of Jesus Christ. Faithful first meets Christian while he is upon his journey to save his life. Christian cries out for Faithful to stop and wait so they can be companions along their travel, but Faithful replies, No, I am upon my life, and the avenger of blood is behind me (60). In the story, the life he is trying to save is his real, tangible life. But his running away from the avenger of blood to save his life actually symbolizes saving Faithfuls spiritual life. Because he has sinned and broken the Ten Commandment, You shall not kill, he is now being chased by death and if caught, he will kill Faithful; this death characterizes the death of eternal life and therefore not being able to enter heaven (Deuteronomy 5:17). In the bible there is a passage that talks about the avenger of blood and who is he. This is the provision for the manslayer, who by fleeing there may save his life. If anyone kills his neighbor unintentionally without having been at enmity with him in time pasthe may flee to one of th ese cities and save his life; lest the avenger of blood in hot anger pursue the manslayer and overtake him (Deuteronomy 19:4-6). Jesus Christ was born without sin, and never sinned throughout his lifetime. Faithful, however, who although did not try to kill his neighbor, killed him unintentionally and therefore, sinned. Jesus would never have caused pain to any living creatures, neither accidentally nor deliberately. This is one example of how Faithful differs from Christ. Faith is a large part in a Christians life and journey. Faith is also very important for one to overcome evil, corruption, and fear. Along their journey, Christian and Faithful reach Vanity Fair, a fair that sells goods solely based on vanity, such as titles, kingdoms, lusts, pleasures, lives, husbands, wifes, blood, bodies, and souls (78-79). When they first enter the fair, they cause a disturbance because of the way they dress, their speech, their unwillingness to glance at the merchants wares, and their answer We buy the truth when a merchant asks them what they are interested in buying (80). Christian and Faithfuls presence at the fair causes such a disruption that they are brought to examination and are asked their origin, their destination, and the reason their unusual dress. Christian and Faithful answers, saying they are pilgrims journeying to the heavenly Jerusalem (80). Although these may not be the answers the men at the fair are looking for, they have faith in the word an d are not afraid

How to Prepare Common Base Solutions

How to Prepare Common Base Solutions Prepare solutions of common bases using this handy reference table which lists the amount of solute  (concentrated base solution) that is used to make 1 L of base solution. Stir the base into a large volume of water and then dilute the solution to make one liter. Use care when adding sodium hydroxide to water, since this is an exothermic reaction that generates considerable heat. Be sure to use borosilicate glass and consider immersing the container in a bucket of ice to keep the heat down. Use solid sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide to prepare solutions of those bases. Use concentrated (14.8 M) ammonium hydroxide for those preparations. Base Solution Peparations   Name / Formula / F.W. Concentration Amount/Liter Ammonium Hydroxide 6 M 405 mL NH4OH 3 M 203 F.W. 35.05 1 M 68 0.5 M 34 0.1 M 6.8 Potassium Hydroxide 6 M 337 g KOH 3 M 168 F.W. 56.11 1 M 56 0.5 M 28 0.1 M 5.6 Sodium Hydroxide 6 M 240 g NaOH 3 M 120 F.W. 40.00 1 M 40 0.5 M 20 0.1 M 4.0

Analysis of Financial Modeling Literature review

Analysis of Financial Modeling - Literature review Example We begin the chapter with the general idea of the VaR and the various approaches to the VaR, the historic application and the application of the same. We also include the evaluation of the VaR at the different possible approaches in the study; a final conclusion is made by the calculations carried out in the study. Introduction: The ‘value at risk’ is an extensively employed risk measure concept in the risk of loss on a particular portfolio of financial assets. For a specified portfolio, probability and time horizon, VaR is described as a threshold price such that the possibility that the market loss on the portfolio above the particular time horizon go beyond this value is the known probability level. VaR has different important uses in financial risk management, risk assessment, financial control, reporting of the financial statement and calculating the capital regulation by analyzing the Various concepts. VaR can also be used in non-financial aspects. The VaR risk ass essment defines risk as a market loss on a permanent portfolio over an unchanging time horizon, by analyzing the normal markets. There are many option risk procedures in finance. As a substitute of mark-to-market, which makes use of the market value to define loss, a loss is frequently defined as the transformation in principal value. For instance, if an organization hold a loan that decline in market price as the interest charge go up, but has no alteration in cash flows or credit quality, some systems do not identify a loss. Or we can try to integrate the economic price of possessions, which was not calculated in everyday financial statements, such as loss of market assurance or employee confidence, destruction of brand names etc. â€Å"VaR measures are inherently probabilistic† (Holton 2003, p. 107). Moderately assuming an unchanging portfolio above a fixed time horizon, several risk measures integrate the consequence of probable operation and believe the expected investme nt period of position. Lastly, some risk procedures adjust for the probable effects of irregular markets, rather than excluding them from the calculation.  

What does Campus Safety Mean Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What does Campus Safety Mean - Essay Example Among the measures that the university has ensured in order to keep students at a school, safe is a network of 24-hour emergency telephones, night transport and escorting services, adequately lighted sidewalks, and limited hostel access by strictly the hostel occupants. Students have been made aware of all these services that the campus offers and most have given feedback of effective measures taken to adhere to all of them. Complaints of shortages of personnel in activities such as night escort have been initially raised by some students and the university took it into an account and promised to improve on the same. Despite the installed measures that the university has enforced in its surroundings, it is also paramount that students take responsibility for their own security by not exposing themselves to scenarios that might promote insecurity. Such measures include using recommended pathways and avoiding trespasses, walking in at least a group of three and above when walking at night, taking into account the university’s measures that promote security such as calling for escort and using the 24-hour emergency phones and knowing self-defense mechanisms. These measures could keep a student off any security threats and help ease the pressure on the university in providing security for the students. In case of attacks, the victims have an opportunity to go through a healing process assisted by the MSU Counseling Center. With regard to this, the MSU Counseling Center has put some procedures and processes that are used to guide the counselors in assisting victims with diverse effects from various insecurity attacks or similar incidences. These include group counseling and testimonies, one-on-one counseling, group therapies, assurance of future security, and advice on actions to partake in case of future incidences.  

Drug War and Mexican Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Drug War and Mexican Economy - Essay Example The economy has had its times of rising and hard times as well. During the period of 1940 to 1960, various measures were put in place by the Mexican government to reduce the inflation rate and promote its growth. Such measures were both fiscal and monetary policies, as well as import substitution. This saw the economy rise but the effect was not to last long since in 1970; the populists abandoned these strategies for increased consumer subsidies and facilitated state ownership of public entities. This was together with uncontrolled state spending and over reliance on oil revenue thus raising the levels of inflation in the economy of Mexico. In the period between 1980 to 1990 several measures to prevent the increasing inflation rate and excessive borrowing were put in place, which included privatization of state owned companies, reduction of tariff and non tariff trade barriers among others (Library of congress, 20). This was crowned by the signing of the North America free trade agre ement in 1994. During this period, the gross domestic product was about 2.6% in contrast to the period 1983 to 1988, which was 0.1%. This trend has continued ever since set for the year 2001 when there was recession in the United States, which automatically affected the economy of Mexico negatively. ... The war against drugs use and the cartels for its trade has been a major challenge in Mexico for quite some time in the past and it is still ongoing. Several efforts have been put in place to eliminate the drug cartels operating within the country, some which have succeeded while others have not seeing that the drug cartels are still operating within the country and beyond. Some contributing factors for its thriving in Mexico are the availability of ready market for the drugs especially in the United States (Shirk, 6). Further, the availability of weaponry by the operators of these cartels has further boosted this illegal trade since they help offer security to the drugs while in transit and even to the people transporting them. The weapons are also used to eliminate anybody who tries to prevent the drug trade from taking place hence accounting for the numerous violent cases related to drugs. The major suppliers of the arms are from the United States and this therefore requires that the United States have to play a major role in the war against drugs in Mexico if at all the war against the drugs will be won. The effect of drug wars on the economy of Mexico Apparently, there is a great relationship between the economy of Mexico and the existing drug cartels in the country. The drug wars in Mexico affect the economy negatively in various ways, one of the major effect being the loss of foreign currency due to the reduced activity in the tourism industry (Schneider, Para 4). Due to the Mexican government’s rising attacks on the drug cartels in a bid to eliminate them in the country, the drug cartels that do not follow the rule of law are fighting back now more than ever especially with the increased supply of

Globalisation In The Banking Industry Finance Essay

Globalisation In The Banking Industry Finance Essay Banking industry is one of the crucial industries that influences the global economy. It is the industry that encourages the growth in investments by its funding. They are so many factors that drive change in the industry. Drivers of globalisation in banking industry are discussed below. Drivers of globalisation The drivers of globalisation are explained according to the yips model. Source: Based on G. Yip, Total Global Strategy II, FT/Prentice Hall, 2003, chapter 2. Applying this to the banking industry. Most particularly retail banking. The important factors that drive globalisation in the industry are issues regarding legal, customer relations and wishes, technological advancement and the crucial thing is profit. Legal regulations as a driver Operating globally may bring in a number of issues regarding legal that is with the laws of the particular country in which a bank is operating. There may be organisational problems within the bank or legal concerns. Global operations need good leadership with which they are able to respond to the government policies. The bank organising globally has to respond individually to the local governments regarding regulations or deregulations. This is essential component in the business because they have to change the interest rates and taxes on the services they provide to the customers. This effects their business with the customers. It doesnt mean only the taxes and interest rates counts when dealing with regulations and deregulations. Payments directive and financial services action plan in UK is one among them. Source: FUTURE OF BANKING IN A GLOBALISED WORLD, Chris Skinner, 2007. Mergers and acquisitions are highly effected by the regulations. Mergers may happen between two national banks or between two international banks. The terms and conditions followed at the time of merging depend on the regulations that are applied in a particular country. For instance consider the case of laws that guide mergers and acquisitions in European Union are related to the economical conditions of the joining partners. They state that the turnover of the individual participant should be more than 250 million Euros and their turnover together should be more than 5 billion Euros. The individual turnover of the bank operating abroad should be more than one third of the turnover of the bank. These regulations are concerned about the financial stability of the banks after the merger. If the banks are willing to merge, their strong financial conditions resist any adverse effects that come under their way. But in the case of small banks, those do not satisfy the conditions of merger , these regulations suffer them a lot. There were cases where small banks merged to form a big bank. But these regulations resist them from doing so. This is the case where legal activities control the banking industry. Source: www.nbs.sk Customer requirements as a driver Planning according to the customers preferences and delivering services up to the customers satisfaction has become the main formula for the success of the banks. It is important in every business to find out an influential customer, that is a customer who brings in more profits to the bank and also who inspires others to join the business with the bank. If that customer is met with all his requirements in banking, he will become the true ambassador for the bank. Of course the needs of the customers in dealing with the bank all over the world are same. They need quality of service and security for their savings. However the requirements of an influential customer vary according to his willingness and trust to invest in a bank. There may be social and cultural factors that influence the customers interests and requirements. Source: Exploring corporate strategy 7th edition, Gerry Johnson, kevan Scholes, Richard Whittington, 2004 Technology as a driver Internet has become a great boom to the banking industry. It gave the industry the opportunity to serve better to the customers and to develop cross-border communication with the employees and customers as well. It helps in providing privilege customers the advanced banking services, promoting services for new customers, making customer retention by continuously maintaining customer relations etc. Source: Internet marketing, David Chaffey, 2006 On the other hand, internet banking has raised security concerns about transfer of money online and third-party deposit services. To the customers using internet fraudsters send mails asking for account details and passwords pretending to be like bankers. The customers those respond to the mails will be targeted to get money. These types of actions alerted the banks to develop technology to counter the actions. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7091206.stm Profitability as a driver Obviously the ultimate aim of any bank is to make as much profit as they can. Generally to gain profits they concentrate on savings of the customers. They plan converting the short term savings of the customers into profits that yield more profits. In retail banking the long term profit yielding products for the banks are fixed deposits, house loans etc. Source: The business environment 5th ed, Ian Worthington and Chris Britton, 2006 In this present economic downturn of the world, the banks are facing the worst situation in the decade. To face these adverse effects the central banks of almost all the countries started repair work to fuel the economy by decreasing the interest rates there by encouraging the investors to do business with the banks. Source:http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/interactive/2008/oct/21/creditcrunch Localisation Localisation in case of banking industry means designing itself according to the rules and regulations of a particular country. Generally countries demand for localisation irrespective of the foreign bank, as they do not want to be dominated. Retail banking is one of the industries that undergo localisation primarily. However localisation is benefiting the banks in having a wide range of products globally there by analysing the customers tastes and concerns. It helps them to gain information regarding customers needs to be met locally. In recent days local governments are deregulating the rules to boost globalisation. Source: Global strategic management, Philippe Lasserre, 2002 ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES Any industry operating globally has so many factors that influence it in the external environment. Political Governments decision has an influential change in the prospects of the banking industry in a country. Governmental decisions have been a more important factor for the globalisation of the banking industry. Political stand over allowing the foreign countries to do business in their countries decides the extent of entry barriers into the country. Source: Corporate Strategy 4th ed, Richard Lynch, 2005 Economical Downing of the inflation is the main factor that reflects the fall in the economical condition . The one of the factors for decline in the economy are lower inflation occurring gradually. The one of the reasons for the decline in the retail price index excluding mortgage interest rates from 5.5 % in September to 4.7 % in October clearly states that the drastic situation faced by the banks. Inflation CPI down to 4.5%, RPI down to 4.2% Annual inflation rates 12 month % change Source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?ID=19 The central bank decreases interest rates which in turn reduces the interest rates of all the banks funding mortgages. Bank of England is planning to cut its interest rates drastically to 2 % as when it was in the initial days. Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4bd8c730-c16b-11dd-831e-000077b07658.html?nclick_check=1 Social Social trends in the banking, which means the sections of population those who utilise the banking products are essential in planning a strategy for the customers. For instance more than half of the people of Britain are aware of the banking products through dailies, televisions etc. Awareness and individual requirements of the customers are essential to plan a strategy for a bank. With the increased technology the banks are effectively communicating with customers, media and investors. In this way banks are always observed by the society in all means. Source: http://www.ginns.info/Retail%20banking.pdf Technology Technology is proven to be the best tool for the globalisation in banking industry. It plays a vital role in providing financial services to the customers. With use of sophisticated technology, the concerned bank can be able to find out the preferences of the customers. Basing on the preferences of the customer, the services are advertised for him through the mails etc. Also investing in ATM technology took the pain and pressure away from the banks. Now it is easy to access money from pay points etc. The customer is no need to go to bank stand there in queue for hours together to do transactions. Source: FUTURE OF BANKING IN A GLOBALISED WORLD, Chris Skinner, 2007 Legal Regulations of the banking system is mainly undertaken to control the financial conditions of the banks there by decreasing the domination of the foreign economy on the country. There are different ways in regulating the banks. UK and US banks follow risk based system to regulate the banks. Source: Banking regulations of UK and US financial markets, Dalvinder Singh, 2007 Opportunities and threats There are many opportunities of the banking industry. For instance the euro currency offers less cost borrowing or the chance to provide new debts to a large number of investors. According to the international monetary systems governments of different nations undertake rules that will influence firms. The financial position and the opportunities abroad attract the organisations to do business in their countries. The foreign exchange market that are used by many organisations provides the opportunity to gain profits. Source: International business 4th ed., Alan M.Ruman, Simon Collinson, Richard M.Hodgetts , 2005 Threats to banking industry are mainly related to technology. The technology used by the fraudsters by dominating the banking technology troubles the customers which in turn causes damages to the reputation of a bank. If a bank loses reputation in terms of security, its trustworthiness among the customers decreases. This damages the brand value which results in decrease in customer retention. Source: http://www.icc-ccs.org HSBC Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited founded in the year 1865 is one of the top banks in the world. It holds operations in nearly 85 countries all over the world. Its headquarters is located in the London. Strengths It has the shareholders number of nearly 2, 00,000 in 100 countries. They need different services and diversified requirements. Having dealt with all the diversified customers world wide, it is capable of estimating consumer tastes and concerns. Instead it confidently advertises itself as The Worlds Local bank, which reflects its adaptability to the local needs and cultures. It whole heartedly responds to the individual customer from which it gains required knowledge to serve the other customer with same needs. The awards and rewards it achieved are the measurements for its sincere contribution to the customers. HSBC won awards in all most all categories that are responsible for the banks success. The list of awards is given below HSBC generated revenue of 87,601 million dollars in the financial year that completed in December 2007. It was 25% high than previous year and the operating profit was 22,709 million dollars which was 6.9% high when compared to previous year. Net profit was 19,133 million dollars with an increase of 21.2% on 2006. The most of the profits it gained were from the developing economies. Source: http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1907489g=1 With the global experience it has, it can deliver a perfect solution for the complex supply chain network of the customer utilising HSBCs talented resources. Having well versed in utilising sophisticated technology, it follows online dealing with customers rather than going on papers. High level of information exchange can be done with speed and accuracy at the same time cost-effective measures are indulged in their business. Source: http://www.hsbc.co.nz/nz/corp/trade/eservices/supplychain.htm Weaknesses Even though it is a well established brand globally, it realised lately the advantages of performing under one brand name. The action was taken place in the year 1998. Until then it used to perform under various names in various countries. This might had created confusion among its customers who thought that their strong local brand was being taken over by some foreign bank. This misunderstanding caused some considerable loss to the bank. It suffered slight stagnation of revenue in 2006 when compared to the previous year due to increase in bad debts. Source: http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview/id/782667.html Financial analysis Here the financial analysis of HSBC is done by comparing three months and nine months profits with that of the previous year that ended in September 2006 respectively. Finance and other interest income lost by 727 million dollars and 1483 million dollars respectively. On as a whole it got 271 million dollars loss where it was 1,102 million dollars for the same period of three months that ended in September 2006. On the other hand it recorded 1,461 million dollars loss when compared to that of nine months that ended in Sep 2006. Source:http://www.hsbc.com/1/PA_1_1_S5/content/assets/investor_relations/hfc2008form10q_3q.pdf Competitors The main competitors of HSBC are Barclays Citigroup Royal bank of Scotland Barclays Barclay has 1,700 branches in UK alone and around 2,000 branches in Europe, Africa, Asia and the America. The bank also contributes financial products, corporate finance etc. It is one of the largest investing companies operating under the name Barclays Global Investors. In this year it owned North American investment banking and Lehman brothers for approx. one billion pounds. Citigroup It is one of the large financial companies in the world with 3,000 branches in America and Canada and more than 2,000 in several parts of the world. It is the first American bank to own 1 trillion dollars valued assets. Due to the financial downturn it faced in 2007 its CEO Chuck Prince left the job. Royal bank of Scotland It operates under the names of Royal bank of Scotland and NatWest. It has nearly 2,300 UK branches offering financial services. In the America it has Citizens Financial which is one of the USs largest foreign-managed bank. Following the shareholders demand UK government took 60 percent of stakes in the recent days of 2008. Source: http://www.hoovers.com/free/ Conclusion Here in this work the environmental influences on the banking industry are discussed. The main constituents in the banking industry are customer satisfaction, technological advancements, regulations and deregulations and most importantly profits. These four factors act as drivers of change in the banking industry. Out of all without losing the identity the banking industry should be able to adapt changes that occur locally. To discuss more extensively HSBC is considered as an example and the environmental changes on the bank are discussed. Out of all observations the bank is performing very well.

growaw Edna Pontellier’s Search for Self in Kate Chopins The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening Essays

The Search for Self in The Awakening    In The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, Edna Pontellier is a married woman with children. However many of her actions seem like those of a child. In fact, Edna Pontelliers’ life is an irony, in that her immaturity allows her to mature. Throughout this novel, there are many examples of this because Edna is continuously searching for herself in the novel.       One example of how Edna ¡Ã‚ ¦s immaturity allows her to mature is when she starts to cry when LeÆ’Vonce, her husband, says she is not a good mother.  ¡Ã‚ §He reproached his wife with her inattention, her habitual neglect of the children. If it was not a mother ¡Ã‚ ¦s place to look after children, whose on earth was it? ¡Ã‚ ¨(13). Edna, instead of telling her husband that she had taken care of her children, began to cry like a baby after her husband reprimanded her.  ¡Ã‚ §Mrs. Pontellier was by that time thoroughly awake. She began to cry a little ¡Kshe thrust her face, steaming and wet, into the bend of her arm, and she went on crying there, not caring any longer to dry her face, her eyes, her arms, ¡Ã‚ ¨(13,14). These tears made Edna look as if she was still a child and that she is tired of being treated as a child by her husband. These tears also showed her she did not like where she was, a sign of maturity. Her tears symbolize her first awakening.       Although the next morning, after Edna had cried the night before had to go and say good-bye to her husband because he was leaving on a business trip. Edna acted immaturely around him again when he gave her half the money he won the night before.  ¡Ã‚ §Ã‚ ¡Ã‚ ¥It will buy a handsome wedding present for Sister Janet! ¡Ã‚ ¦ she exclaimed, smoothing out the bills as she counted them one by one, ¡Ã‚ ¨(15). Edna is spoiled by all of her husbands money.       Another example of how Edna ¡Ã‚ ¦s immaturity allows her to mature is when Edna swam like a baby when she went swimming for the first time, and she had over estimated her power.  ¡Ã‚ §Once she turned and looked toward the shore, toward the people she had left there. She had not gone any great distance ¡Kshe made no mention of her encounter with death and her flash of terror, except to say to her husband,  ¡Ã‚ ¥I thought I should have perished out there alone.

Dream Children

An Analysis of Lamb’s Dream Children Or Charles Lamb as a Romanticist Charles Lamb was a famous English prose-writer and the best representative of the new form of English literature early in the nineteenth century. He did not adhere to the old rules and classic models but made the informal essay a pliable vehicle for expressing the writer’s own personality, thus bringing into English literature the personal or familiar essay. The style of Lamb is gentle, old-fashioned and irresistibly attractive, for which there is no better illustration than Dream Children: A Reverie. From the analysis of this essay we can find Lamb’s characteristic way of expression. Dream Children records the pathetic joys in the author’s unfortunate domestic life. We can see in this essay, primarily, a supreme expression of the increasing loneliness of his life. He constructed all that preliminary tableau of paternal pleasure in order to bring home to us in the most poignant way his feeling of the solitude of his existence, his sense of all that he had missed and lost in the world. The key meaning of the story shows the beauty that resides in sadness. There are remarkable writing techniques to achieve such an effect. Through the stylistic approach to Dream Children, we can see that Charles Lamb is a romanticist, seeking a free expression of his own personality and weaving romance into daily life. Without a trace of vanity of self-assertion, Lamb begins with himself, with some purely personal mood or experience, and from this he leads the reader to see life and literature as he saw it. It is this wonderful combination of personal and universal interests, together with Lamb’s rare old style, which make the essay remarkable. 1 Lexical Feature 1. Old-fashioned but elegant diction Lamb prefers to use archaic words in order to reach a certain distance between the author’s real life and his whimsies, such as: (1) and how in her youth she was esteemed the best dancer (esteemed here means admired, respected) (2) here Alice's little right foot played an involuntary movement, till, upon my looking grave, it desisted (desisted here means topped doing) (3) and how the nectarines and peaches hung upon the walls, without my ever offering to pluck them (pluck, also a poetic word, here means pick) (4) he had meditated dividing with her, and both seemed willing to relinquish them for the present as irrelevant (meditated here means thought, and relinquish means give up) 2. Repetition of the word here When regarding for beautiful things and fine actions, Lamb does not f orget to show to the readers the pictures of the children–real children until the moment when they fade away. He repeats the word here altogether eight times, to portray the children’s response. For example: (5) Here Alice put out one of her dear mother's looks (6) Here John smiled, as much as to say, â€Å"that would be foolish indeed. † With this repeating word, we can see these children almost as clearly and as tenderly as Lamb saw them. If we take the essay’s main purpose into account, we will find the more real they seem, the more touching is the revelation of the fact that they do not exist, and never have existed. Sentence Feature 2. 1 Loose structure and post-modification Generally speaking, the tone of this essay is relaxed and comfortable, which can be attributed to Lamb’s use of loose structure and post-modification. Let’s study the sentence below: (7) Children love to listen to stories about their elders, when they were children; to stretch their imagination to the conception of a traditionary great-uncle, or grandame, whom they never saw. If ap plied to daily communication, the former part of this sentence seems tediously long. However, here it gives us a sense of comfort and enjoyment, for in the essay it causes our sympathy with the author of the fondness of innocent children. Therefore, we do not feel weary. 2. 2 Cohesion Sentences in Dream Children are long, sometimes containing more than eighty words in one. The author makes them cohesive with the help of coordination, conjunctions, as well as some adverbs. For instance: (8) Then I went on to say, how religious and how good their great-grandmother Field was, how beloved and respected by everybody (Adverb then and the coordination how†¦how†¦how†¦ here function as cohesive devices. (9) but still she lived in it in a manner as if it had been her own, and kept up the dignity of the great house in a sort while she lived, which afterwards came to decay, and was nearly pulled down, and all its old ornaments stripped and carried away to the owner's other house, where they were set up, and looked as awkward as if some one were to carry away the o ld tombs they had seen lately at the Abbey, and stick them up in Lady C. ‘s tawdry gilt drawing-room. (Conjunction and here functions as a cohesive device. 3 Article Feature 3. 1 Narration enlivened by depiction of the children. As is illustrated in sentence (5) and (6), the author’s narration of the great-grandmother and his brother is enlivened by a certain depiction concerning the children. Incidentally, while preparing his ultimate solemn effect, Lamb has inspired us with a new, intensified vision of the wistful beauty of children–their imitativeness, their facile and generous emotions, their anxiety to be correct, their ingenuous haste to escape from grief into joy. This vision gives us an impression that they seem real, thus makes the revelation in the end touching and pathetic. 3. 2 Unexpected ending Dream Children begins quite simply, in a calm, narrative manner, representing Lamb as sitting by his fireside on a winter night telling stories to his own dear children, and delighting in their society, until he suddenly comes to his old, solitary, bachelor self, and finds that they were but dream-children. In the end of the essay, we read: (10) that I became in doubt which of them stood there before me, or whose that bright hair was; and while I stood gazing, both the children gradually grew fainter to my view, receding, and still receding till nothing at last but two mournful features were seen in the uttermost distance, which, without speech, strangely impressed upon me the effects of speech; â€Å"We are not of Alice, nor of thee, nor are we children at all. The children of Alice called Bartrum father. We are nothing, less than nothing, and dreams. We are only what might have been, and must wait upon the tedious shores of Lethe millions of ages before we have existence, and a name. † Reflecting upon the essay, we will surely be obsessed by the beauty of old houses and gardens and aged virtuous characters, the beauty of children, the beauty of companionships, the softening beauty of dreams in an arm-chair–all these are brought together and mingled with the grief and regret which were the origin of the mood. 4 Rhetorical devices Lamb introduces some rhetorical devices to make his essay vivid and profound, such as: (11) and how the nectarines and peaches hung upon the walls, without my ever offering to pluck them, because they were forbidden fruit, unless now and then (metaphor) (12) till I could almost fancy myself ripening too along with the oranges and the limes in that grateful warmth (empathy) Lamb’s use of Humor and Pathos in Dream Children/ Pathetic beauty presented by Lamb From 1820 through 1825 he contributed a series of essays to the  London Magazine  which were immensely popular. Though he wrote under the pseudonym Elia, these essays, like his letters, are intimate revelations of Lamb's own thoughts, emotions, and experiences of literature and life. He touches on few disturbing subjects. He prefers instead to look to the past for a sense of calm, stability, and changelessness. Yet beneath the wit, humor, and humanity of such essays as â€Å"A Dissertation upon Roast Pig,† â€Å"Witches and Other Night-Fears,† and â€Å"Dream Children,† one finds a gentle  nostalgia  and  melancholy. This bitter-sweet  tone remains the  hallmark  of Lamb's style. Bunyan once said â€Å"Some things are of that nature as to make One’s fancy chuckle while his heart doth ache†. The nature of things mostly appeared to Lamb in that way. Lamb does not frolic out of lightness of heart, but to escape from gloom that might otherwise crush. He laughed to save himself from weeping. In fact, Lamb’s personal life was of disappointments and frustrations. But instead of complaining, he looked at the tragedies of life, its miseries and worries as a humorist. Thus his essays become an admixture of beauty and pain as well as humour and pathos. Examples of his keen sense of humour and pathetic touches are scattered in all of his essays. Let’s focus our discussion on Dream Children: A Reverie. In Lamb’s  writing  wit, humour and fun are interwoven and it is humour which is most notable for its extreme sensitiveness to the true proportion of things. Lamb often brings out the two sides of a fact and causes laughter at our own previous misconceptions. Therefore it borders on the painful realization. Thus his humour is very nearly allied to pathos. They are different facets of the same gem. In his essay Dream Children: A Reverie Lamb talks of personal sorrows and joys. He gives expressions to his unfulfilled longings and desires. He readily enters into the world of fantasy and pops up stories in front of his dream children. He relates his childhood days, of Mrs. Field, his grandmother and John Lamb, his brother. He describes how fun he had at the great house and orchard in Norfolk. Of his relations he gives us full and living pictures – his brother John is James Elia of My Relations, but here is John L-, so handsome and spirited youth, and a ‘king’. John was brave, handsome and won admiration from everybody Charles’ grandmother Mrs. Field is the other living picture. She was a good natured and religions – minded lady of respectable personality. Narrator’s sweet heart Alice Winterton is the other shadowed reality. The dream children, Alice and John are mere bubbles of fancy. Thus Lamb’s nostalgic memory transports  us back to those good old days of great grandmother Field. But even in those romantic nostalgia the hard realities of life does not miss our eyes. Death, separation and suffering inject us deep-rooted pathos in our heart. Whereas Mrs. Field died of cancer, John Lamb died in early age. Ann Simmons has been a tale of unrequited love story of Charles Lamb. Notably the children are millions of ages distant of oblivion and Charles is not a married man but a  bachelor  having a reverie. In his actual life Lamb courted Ann Simmons but could not marry her, he wanted to have children but could not ha ve any. Thus he strikes a very pathetic note towards the end of his essay when he puts the following word into the mouths of his imaginary children, â€Å"we are not of Alice, nor of thee, nor are we children at all †¦ We are nothing, less than nothing, dreams. We are only what might have been†. Alice is here no other that Ann Simmons the girl Lamb wanted to marry, but failed to marry her. In fact, the subtitle of the essay – ‘A Reverie’ which literally means a daydream or a fantasy – prepares us for the pathos of the return to reality although the essay begins on a deceptively realistic note. Although Dream Children begins on a cheerful note, the dark side of life soon forces itself upon Lamb’s attention and the comic attitude gives way to melancholy at the end of the essay. Throughout the essay Lamb presents his children in such a way that we never guess that they are merely figments of his imagination – their movements, their reactions, their expressions are all realistic. It is only at the end of the essay that we realize that the entire episode with his children is a daydream. We are awakening by a painful realization of the facts. Lamb’s humour was no surface play. In fact, Lamb’s humour and pathos take different shapes in different essays. Sometimes it is due to his own unfulfilled desires, sometimes it is due to the ill-fortunes of his relatives and friends and on some other occasions it is due to his frustration in love etc. If his ‘Poor Relations’ begins humorously of a male and female poor relation, he later gives us a few pathetic examples of poor relations who had to suffer on account of poverty. Again in his ‘The Praise of Chimney Sweepers’ Lamb sways between humour and pathos while describing the chimney sweepers. Similarly the essay ‘Dream Children’  is a beautiful projection of Lamb’s feelings and desire to have a wife and children of his own. It is humorous that in his dream he is married and has two children of his own while he had a disheartening frustration in love. Thus Lamb has painted both the lights and shades of life in full circle. His is the criticism of life in pathos and humours Why is the essay entitled â€Å"Dream Children†? Ans: Charles Lamb entitled the essay â€Å"Dream Children† because he never married and naturally never became the father of any children. The children he speaks of in the essay were actually the creations of his imagination or fancy. 2. Who was Field? How does Lamb present her before his dream children? Ans: Field, pseudonym for the actual person, was Lamb’s grandmother. Lamb presents her as an ideal grandmother in an imaginary and inflated way before his â€Å"dream children†Ã¢â‚¬â€she was extremely pious, fearless and compassionate person besides being the best dancer of the area in her youth. 3. Why is the essay entitled â€Å"A Reverie†? Ans: The essay is subtitled as a ‘reverie’ because Lamb  never married and so he never had children. In the essay he created an imaginary picture of a happy conjugal life—a picture which finally dissolves into nothing as he comes back to reality. 4. How does Lamb present his brother John L—? Ans: Lamb’s elder brother, John L—in his youth was a handsome, high-spirited, strong and fearless person. He loved Lamb very much. But subsequently in his old age he became lame-footed and spent the rest of his life in utter hopelessness, irritation and pain. . Whom does Lamb refer to as â€Å"faithful Bridget† by side? Ans: Lamb had a sister, Mary Lamb, who did not marry since she had attacks of insanity. She has been referred to here as â€Å"faithful Bridget† because she never married and was Lamb’s only companion in his life. At the sudden breakdown of his reverie, he finds her s eated by his side. 6. What, according to you, is the most striking feature of the essay and why? Ans: The chief characteristic feature of the essay is the author’s mingling of pathos and humour. Lamb begins the essay in somewhat deceptive fashion, describing the incidents, full of humour. But gradually he reduces the tone towards the end describing the tragedies of his personal life. 7. How does Lamb present the autobiographical elements in the essay? Or, Why is the essay called a personal essay? Or, What type of essay is Dream Children? Ans: Dream Children is a personal essay. Lamb presents the characters and incidents from his own life—the sketches of his grandmother, Field, his brother—John Lamb, his sister—Mary Lamb, his tragic love-affairs with Ann Simmons. But Lamb is always playing with facts and fictions and transforms the real into the literary. 8. How does Lamb show his knowledge of child psychology? Ans: It is surprising that without ever having children Lamb had acute sense of how children react to the happenings in the world of the adults. By deceptively referring to the meticulous reactions of his dream children, he succeeds in catching the reader immediately. The aesthetic impact of the essay becomes more effective for this reason. 9. â€Å"†¦ till the old marble heads would seem to be live again†¦ o be turned into marble with them†Ã¢â‚¬â€Where does the expression occur? Explain the context. Ans: Lamb told his â€Å"dream children† that in his boyhood he would enjoy rambling in and around the great country house in Norfolk. He would gaze at the twelve marble busts of Caesars in such an intensely meditative way that it seemed to him after some time that those were coming back to life again, or that he w ould be himself transformed into marble with them. 10. Where does the expression â€Å"busy-idle diversion† occur? What does the author mean by this? Ans: Lamb told his â€Å"dream children† that in his boyhood he would enjoy rambling in and around the great country house in Norfolk more than the sweet fruits of the orchard. He would remain busy with this though he had no work to do. 11. â€Å"When he died though he had not been†¦ died great while ago†. Who is referred to as ‘he’? Why is he spoken of? Ans: Lamb loved his brother John L— very much. But very shortly after his death it seemed to him that death had created such an immeasurable vacuum in his life that it made impossible for him to comprehend the significance of the difference between life and death. 2. â€Å"†¦ such a distance there is betwixt life and death†Ã¢â‚¬â€Explain the significance of the line in light of the context. Ans: the immediate absence of his brother John Lamb created by his death forced Lamb to feel the gulf the difference between life and death. He understood that death created a permanent absence a s the dead cannot be restored to life. Again, death is unknowable and Lamb was forced to reflect on his brother’s absence in this way. 13. â€Å"†¦ the soul of first Alice looked out at her eyes with such reality of re-presentment that I came in doubt†Ã¢â‚¬â€Who was Alice? What does the word ‘re-presentment’ mean here? Ans: In the course of his day-dreaming when Lamb looked at his dream-daughter, her physical resemblance reminded him of his dream-girl Alice W—n, a fictitious name for Ann Simmons who did reciprocate his love. 14. â€Å"But John L—(or James Elia) was gone forever†Ã¢â‚¬â€Who was James Elia? Why does the author say this? Ans: At the end of his day-dreaming Lamb coming back to reality finds his sister (Bridget) Mary Lamb by his side; but he realises and remembers that his brother James Elia or John Lamb had died and would no more be with them. So he laments his loss thus. 5. â€Å"Here Alice put out one of her dear mother’s looks, too tender to be called upbraiding†Ã¢â‚¬â€What does the word ‘braiding’ mean here? What makes Alice react thus? Ans: While describing the great country house in Norfolk, lamb tells his â€Å"dream children† that the chimney piece of the great ha ll was decorated by the curving of the story of Robin Redbreasts. At the information  that a foolish person pulled it down, Alice’s countenance changed, which suggested that it should not have been done. The word ‘braiding’ here means castigation or censure. 16. How does Lamb record Alice’s reactions to his story-telling? Ans: While listening to Lamb’s personal tale, Alice reacts firs by spreading her hands when Lamb says how good, religious and graceful person Field had been. Alice reacts to it either in great astonishment or putting up some pious gesture. She also cries out When Lamb talks about his elder brother’s pain and death. 17. How does Lamb record John’s reactions to his story-telling? Ans: At the information of the great house being stripped off its ornaments John smiled, which suggested the foolishness of the work. He was trying to look brave and impress upon his father that he would not have been afraid of the ghosts like his father. At the end of the story, when Lamb was talking of his elder brother’s pain and death, John, like Alice, began to cry. Exercises 1. Give a pen-picture of Field. 2. How would you comment on the style of the essay? 3. â€Å"†¦ We are only what might have been, and must wait upon the tedious shores of Lethe millions of ages before we have existence and a name. †Ã¢â‚¬â€Explain the context. Or, What is the significance of the river Lethe here? Or, Why are the shores of Lethe called ‘tedious’ Or, Why should the ‘dream’ children wait for million years for their existence and name?

Popular Conspiracy Theories About Lincolns Assassination

Popular Conspiracy Theories About Lincoln's Assassination Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865) is one of the most famous Presidents of the United States. Volumes are devoted to his life and death. However, historians have yet to unravel the mysteries surrounding his assassination. The Assassination Abraham Lincoln and his wife, Mary Todd Lincoln attended the play, Our American Cousin at Fords Theatre on April 14, 1865. They were to be accompanied by General Ulysses S. Grant and his wife Julia Dent Grant. However, Grant and his wife changed their plans and did not attend the play. The Lincolns attended the play with Clara Harris and Henry Rathbone. During the play, actor John Wilkes Booth entered Lincolns State Box undetected and shot him in the back of the head. He also stabbed Henry Rathbone in the arm. After shooting the President, Booth jumped out of the box onto the stage, broke his left leg and yelled something that some eyewitnesses reported as, Sic Semper Tyrannus (As always to tyrants). Failed Assassinations by Co-conspirators Co-conspirator Lewis Powell (or Paine/Payne) attempted to assassinate Secretary of State William Seward, but only managed to injure him. David Herold accompanied Powell. However, Herold fled before the deed was finished. At the same time, George Atzerodt was supposed to have killed Vice-President, Andrew Johnson. Atzerodt did not go through with the assassination. Booth and Herold escaped the Capital and traveled to Mary Surratts Tavern in Maryland where they picked up supplies. They then traveled to Dr. Samuel Mudds house where Booths leg was set. Lincoln's Death Lincoln was taken to the Petersen House across the street from Fords Theater where he eventually died at 7:22 A.M. April 15, 1865. Secretary of War Edwin Stanton stayed with the Lincolns at the Petersen House and coordinated the efforts to capture the conspirators. Sentences of Deaths of the Conspirators On April 26, Herold and Booth were found hiding in a barn near Port Royal, Virginia. Herold surrendered but Booth refused to come out of the barn so it was set on fire. In the ensuing chaos, a soldier shot and killed Booth. Eight Lincoln conspirators were caught over the next few days and tried by a military court. They were found guilty on June 30 and given various sentences depending upon their involvement. Lewis Powell (Paine), David Herold, George Atzerodt and Mary Surratt were charged with conspiring with Booth along with various other crimes and hanged on July 7, 1865. Dr. Samuel Mudd was charged with conspiring with Booth and sentenced to life in prison. Andrew Johnson eventually pardoned him early in 1869. Samuel Arnold and Michael OLaughlen had conspired with Booth to kidnap President Lincoln and were found guilty and sentenced to life. OLaughlen died in prison but Arnold was pardoned by Johnson in 1869. Edman Spangler was found guilty of helping Booth escape from Fords Theater. He was also pardoned by Johnson in 1869. Pre-Assassination Abduction Was assassination the first goal? The general consensus today is that the first goal of the conspirators had been to kidnap the President. A few attempts to kidnap Lincoln fell through, and then the Confederacy surrendered to the North. Booths thoughts turned to killing the President. Up until recent times, however, there was a great deal of speculation as to the existence of an abduction plot. Some people felt it might be used to exonerate the hanged conspirators. Even the judge advocates feared talk of an abduction plot might lead to an innocent verdict for some if not all of the conspirators. They are believed to have suppressed important evidence such as John Wilkes Booths diary. (Hanchett, The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies, 107) On the other side, some people argued for the existence of a kidnapping plot because it bolstered their desire to connect Booth with a larger conspiracy masterminded by the Confederacy. With the abduction plot established, the question remains: Who was act ually behind and involved in the assassination of the President? The Simple Conspiracy Theory The simple conspiracy in its most basic form states that Booth and a small group of friends at first planned to kidnap the president. This eventually resulted in the assassination. In fact, the conspirators were to also assassinate Vice-President Johnson and Secretary of State Seward at the same time dealing a major blow to the government of the United States. Their goal was to give the South a chance to rise again. Booth saw himself as a hero. In his diary, John Wilkes Booth claimed that Abraham Lincoln was a tyrant and that Booth should be praised just as Brutus was for killing Julius Caesar. (Hanchett, 246) When Abraham Lincoln Secretaries Nicolay and Hay wrote their ten-volume biography of Lincoln in 1890 they presented the assassination as a simple conspiracy. (Hanchett, 102) The Grand Conspiracy Theory Even though personal Secretaries of Lincoln presented the simple conspiracy as the most likely scenario, they acknowledged that Booth and his co-conspirators had suspicious contacts with Confederate leaders. (Hanchett, 102). The Grand Conspiracy theory focuses on these connections between Booth and Confederate leaders in the south. Many variations exist of this theory. For example, it has been said that Booth had contact with Confederate leaders in Canada. It is worth noting that in April 1865 President Andrew Johnson issued a proclamation offering a reward for the arrest of Jefferson Davis in connection with the Lincoln assassination. He was arrested because of the evidence by an individual named Conover who was later found to have given false testimony. The Republican Party also allowed the idea of the Grand Conspiracy to fall by the wayside because Lincoln had to be a martyr, and they did not want his reputation sullied with the idea that anyone would want him killed but a madman. Eisenschmil's Grand Conspiracy Theory This conspiracy theory was a fresh look at the Lincoln assassination as investigated by Otto Eisenschiml and reported in his book Why Was Lincoln Murdered? It implicated the divisive figure Secretary of War Edwin Stanton. Eisenschiml purported that the traditional explanation of Lincolns assassination was unsatisfactory. (Hanchett, 157). This shaky theory is based on the supposition that General Grant would not have changed his plans to accompany the President to the theater on April 14th without an order. Eisenschiml reasoned that Stanton must have been involved in Grants decision because he is the only person other than Lincoln from whom Grant would have taken orders. Eisenschiml goes on to offer ulterior motives for many of the actions Stanton took immediately after the assassination. He supposedly left one escape route out of Washington, the one Booth just happened to take. The presidential guard, John F. Parker, was never punished for leaving his post. Eisenschiml also states th at the conspirators were hooded, killed and/or shipped off to a remote prison so they could never implicate anyone else. However, this is exactly the point where Eisenschimls theory collapses as do most other grand conspiracy theories. Several of the conspirators had ample time and opportunity to speak and implicate Stanton and numerous others if a grand conspiracy truly existed. (Hanchett, 180) They were questioned many times during captivity and, in fact, were not hooded through the entire trial. In addition, after being pardoned and released from prison, Spangler, Mudd, and Arnold never implicated anyone. One would think that men who reportedly hated the Union would relish the thought of toppling the leadership of the United States by implicating Stanton, one of the men instrumental in the Souths destruction. Lesser Conspiracies Numerous other Lincoln assassination conspiracy theories exist. Two of the most interesting, albeit incredible, involve Andrew Johnson and the papacy. Members of Congress tried to implicate Andrew Johnson in the assassination. They even called a special committee to investigate in 1867. The committee could not find any links between Johnson and the killing. It is interesting to note that Congress impeached Johnson that same year. The second theory as proposed by Emmett McLoughlin and others is that the Roman Catholic Church had reason to hate Abraham Lincoln. This is based on Lincolns legal defense of a former Priest against the Bishop of Chicago. This theory is further enhanced by the fact that the Catholic John H. Surratt, the son of Mary Surratt, fled America and ended up in the Vatican. However, the evidence connecting Pope Pius IX with the assassination is dubious at best. Conclusion The assassination of Abraham Lincoln has gone through many revisions during the past 153 years. Immediately following the tragedy, the Grand Conspiracy involving the Confederate leaders was the most widely accepted. Around the turn of the century, the Simple Conspiracy theory had gained a position of prominence. In the 1930s, Eisenschimls Grand Conspiracy theory arose with the publication of Why Was Lincoln Murdered? In addition, the years have been sprinkled with other outlandish conspiracies to explain the assassination. As time has passed, one thing is true, Lincoln has become and will remain an American icon lauded with an impressive strength of will and given credit for saving our nation from division and moral oblivion. Source Hanchett, William. The Lincoln Murder Conspiracies. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1983.

Meaning of the French Expression Le cinq àsept

Meaning of the French Expression Le cinq sept The informal expression le cinq sept refers to what could be considered a very French version of Happy Hour: the two-hour period after work, from 5 to 7 pm, when (some) people meet up with their lovers before going home to their spouses. Translation: an afternoon tryst. The reality of le cinq sept was openly acknowledged for perhaps the first time in Franà §oise Sagans 1967 novel La Chamade. Just for fun, I had my husband ask his students (aged 40 and up) about it, and they all said they were very familiar with le cinq sept, with one exception. The youngest said she didnt know it, then added a caveat: Mais je viens de me marier, alors qui sait ce qui va se passer dans vingt ans. Incidentally, the French translation of tryst is un rendez-vous galant - further proof that everything sounds better in French. Well almost: for happy hour, the correct translation is heure du cocktail or heure de lapà ©ritif, but instead they usually stick with appy hour. Different in Canada In Quà ©bec, le cinq sept has nothing to do with sex. It refers to a group of friends meeting up to have a drink after work, or before an evening outing to a play or some other entertainment. In this sense, le cinq sept might be translated by happy hour or, if it doesnt include alcohol, just something generic like afternoon get-together or rendez-vous. Source Sagan, Francoise. La Chamade. French Edition,  Pocket, 1990.

Customer Service Change at Wal-Mart Research Paper

Customer Service Change at Wal-Mart - Research Paper Example While all the steps are fundamental in the realization of the desired outcome, the coalition step is critical to account for. This is because it forms the foundation on which all the other steps are undertaken. The coalition step is meant to identify key potential stakeholders that are highly likely to make the whole process a success. In this respect, the chosen coalition of persons, experts, professionals, and stakeholders must be as powerful as possible in order to move the process towards the desired results (Ilozor, Peter,&Graham, 2012). Wal-Mart has a strong customer base and clientele. The coalition chosen for change purposes along this line must be in a position to understand the diversity and dynamism of this customer base and clientele (Rieley& Clarkson, 2001). The idea is to understand company trends in terms of performance, relative to the expectations of the industries it serves across the globe. For this purpose, the Wal-Mart’s coalition for change cannot be short of having evaluative skills in terms of understanding the environment that the company operates in all over the world. On the other hand, the focus of change in customer service is to enhance the company’s mode of handling its clientele or customer base.Therefore, a competitive team must be installed in the department chosen to handle change in customer service. On the same note, the coalition aspect of change management by Wal-Mart is to have a team that works together towards a common goal.This cannot be short of customer expectations.

Costa coffee Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Costa coffee - Essay Example Costa coffee Since coffee retailers in the UK largely depend on coffee producing economies therefore, governments of coffee producing economies also influence the operations of coffee shops in UK. For example, Venezuela was the largest coffee exports however, because of government price controls; growers consider growing coffee as not an economically viable option (BBC, 2010). UK government with the support of members of coffee associations is struggling to support the producers of coffee such as through farm certifications, direct-buying initiatives and quality improvement which supports the farmers to improve their position and long term sustainability (British Coffee Association). Economic Population of UK has grown over 60 million people and in 2006, the total population was 60.6 million as compared to 55.9 million in 1971. Moreover, it has been estimated that people above 65 years old will be more in number as compared to individuals below 16 by 2021. Poverty reduction has become an importan t target for UK and government has been able to lift 2.4 million people out of poverty including 800,000 children and government aims to halve child poverty by 2010 and eliminate poverty by 2020. Economic problems faced by coffee producing economies influence the coffee companies in UK because most of the companies are acquiring coffee from these economies. For example, Uganda farmers are facing increasing level of pests and diseases and extremely harsh weather conditions (Butler, 2011). Around 70 percent of the world’s coffee is grown on area less than 10 hectares and most of the famers, out of 25 million in 50 developing economies that produce coffee, sell coffee in small quantities to local traders, manufacturers or exporters. The manufacturers of Coffee in UK are buying green beans from international trading houses or exporters. However, Government of UK is encouraging the companies to buy coffee direct from the famers to access best quality coffee in the long term (Briti sh Coffee Association). Social Consumers are asking for fair deals from suppliers at coffee shops and according to a Concerned Consumer Index Survey, 54 percent of the participants have showed that coffee shops should consider social issues ahead of environmental issues such as treating workers in plantation fairly (Gibbons, 2010). UK Fair trade market has grown from ?493 million in 2007 to ?712.6 million in 2008 and according to survey 72 percent of people are aware that they can buy coffee through fair trade certification. In the period of six months, 36 percent of the people have bought coffee through fair trade and the trend of buying coffee through fair trader is further boosting (Mortimer, 2010). More than 60 million cups of coffee are consumed on average in the UK in one day (British Coffee Association, 2011). The coffee culture is continuously increasing in UK however, because of the economic downturn; consumers in the UK were giving preference to drink coffee at homes rathe r than at coffee shops (Euromonitor, 2011). Consumers in UK are more focusing on taste and quality of coffee and the increasing consumption of coffee at homes is evident from increasing household penetration of coffee pod machines (Euromonitor, 2011). Technological Between 2002 and 2005, the UK internet sales to households have increased by