A Critical Essay on Raimondo Pannikar Essay

Raimondo Panikkar is a Roman Catholic Priest who specializes in the survey of comparative doctrine of faith. He was born in Barcelona Spain on November 03. 1918. Possibly. the assorted inter faith matrimony of his female parent. who was a Catholic from Catalonia Spain. and his male parent who was a Hindu from a extremely situated caste Nair from South India. histories most for his involvement in comparative spiritual doctrine. His instruction besides contributed much in this. He was educated in a Jesuit school and he took up chemical science and doctrine at universities in Madrid. Barcelona and Bonn. After being ordained as a Roman Catholic Priest in 1946. and keeping doctor's degrees in Philosophy and Science ( Complutense University. Madrid 1945 and 1958 ) and divinity ( Pontifical Lateran University. Rome. 1961 ) . he left for India in 1953 to set about surveies in Indian doctrine and faith at the University of Mysore and at the Banaras Hindu University. He authored 40 books and about a 1000 articles covering with comparative doctrine and faith and has deliberated on rules and patterns of multi-faith. which includes among others. duologues between Christian-Hindu. Christian-Buddhist and Christian-Secularist. In the book Intrareligious Dialouges. Panikkar said â€Å"I left as a Christian ; found myself a Hindu ; and I return as a Buddhist. without holding ceased to be a Christian. † ( Panikkar. Paulist Press ; revised edition. July 1999. ISBN 0809137631 ) . Panikkar’s parts are widely quoted and to a great extent used to back up the theory of ( your household name 2 ) spiritual pluralism. interfaith and multi-faith surveies every bit good as spiritual comparative doctrine. THE WEBSITE HTTP: //WWW. RELIGIOUSTOLERANCE. ORG No affair how you describe yourself. you should happen your beliefs and patterns accurately represented in this web site. – ( ReligiousTolerance. org ) This site is a copyrighted side by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. In their Statement of belief the web Masterss said that they are a multi-faith group. As of 2008-FEB. we consist of one Atheist. Agnostic. Christian. Wiccan and Zen Buddhist. Therefore. the OCRT staff deficiency understanding on about all theological affairs. such as belief in a supreme being. the nature of God. reading of the Bible and other holy texts. whether life after decease exists. what form the hereafter may take. etc. ( ReligiousTolerance. org ) They proceed to recite cardinal points in their belief system in a slug manner. and among others. said that they In working towards a civilization that is comparatively free of favoritism on the footing of gender. race. sexual orientation. gender individuality. faith. national beginning. physical disablement. age. etc. ( ReligiousTolerance. org ) . On the left manus side of the web site there are clickable links of articles and essays that list among others. the major faiths of the universe. Non-theistic articles such as Agnosticism and Humanism. There are besides articles on Religious Ethical motives. Peace and Conflict. â€Å"Hot† Topics every bit good as Laws and News. Over-all the web site is apparent and straightforward. The interface is really easy to ( your household name 3 ) usage and really user friendly. The web site has patrons ads. but none of the usual annoyance pop-ups. and/or raging background music and other doodads that are found in other web sites. The articles in the web site presented in a logic manner. are easy to utilize and subjects are indexed clearly for easy referencing and retrieval. It is besides peppered with nuggets and quotation marks from spiritual leaders and other noteworthy characters. One such illustration is on the bottom portion of the web page. from Mahatma Gandhi â€Å"The demand of the minute is non one faith. but common regard and tolerance of the fans of the different faiths. ( Ghandi ) . The web site is a valuable resource for information in the major faiths of the universe. It is an first-class beginning of in deepness spiritual comparative articles every bit good as current issues impacting religion and pattern. WORKS CITED Pannikar. Raimondo. Intrareligious Dialouges: Paulist Press ; revised edition. July 1999. ISBN 0809137631 ) . Raimon-Panikkar. org Fundacion Vivarium Raimon Panikkar – Tavertet ( Catalunya ) Retrieved February 25. 2009. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. raimon-panikkar. org/index. html ReligiousTolerance. Org. Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Retrieved February 25. 2009. hypertext transfer protocol: //www. religioustolerance. org/

Effects Of National Culture Essay

Since 1988, our world has changed in a myriad of ways. As dictatorships have risen and fallen and new democracies have formed, the political culture of our society is much different than in the years of the late Cold War. In addition to political changes, new technologies, including the world wide web and satellite communications have allowed people in different nations to communicate much more effectively. This research in this paper is very outdated, not taking into account the new market, trade laws, interest rates, or other economical factors of today’s international business world. The article, â€Å"The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode,† was written in 1988 by Bruce Kogut and Harbir Singh, of the Stockholm School of Economics and the University of Pennsylvania, respectively. The authors believed there were several means of entry into foreign markets, including joint ventures, wholly owned greenfield (start up) investments, and by acquisition. The authors examined these methods in depth and analyzed the means by which the businesses not only started up, but operated in foreign markets as well. The authors reviewed statistics, data, and literature, and formed hypothesis as to which methods were being used most, and in what industrial sector(s). The first means that some businesses entered and operated in a foreign country is through the acquisitions method. The acquisitions method entails purchasing a sufficient amount of stock to control the primary shares of a certain company. This method might be considered â€Å"buying out† a foreign company already in existence. However, as currency exchange rates and interest rates fluctuate on a daily basis, this would be trickier in today’s market. For example, 20 years ago, the dollar, the Japanese yen, the Canadian dollar, and the Indian Rupee were worth very different amounts. More importantly, the Euro was not in use, as many of the countries in Eastern Europe in particular, were under communist control. Today, as countries have become more aware of these fluctuating rates, it might be harder or riskier to enter a market through the acquisitions method. In addition, free trade laws and regulations also regulate who can buy what and how much in a foreign market. The second means is a joint venture method in which two or more firms share the assets and profits of a certain company. Again, the same problems might exist as in the acquisitions method, with fluctuating currency exchange rates affecting profit. For example, if a business operated in both China and the United States, as economies changed and foreign tax laws changed, the company could fall under financial strain. The influence of firm experience on entry choice has played a prominent role in several of the studies employing the Harvard Multinational Enterprise Data Base. In their pioneering study on the ownership structure of American multinational firms, Stopford and Wells [1972] found joint ventures, relative to wholly owned activities, were less likely to be chosen, the more central the product to the core business of the firm and more experience the firm had in the relevant country. Similarly, they found that marketing and advertising intensity, as well as research and development intensity, discouraged the use of joint ventures. (Kogut & Singh 1988) This mindset would make sense, as it is hard to run a successful business in one culture, let alone worry about marketing, advertising, and research costs. It also would make sense that two countries might not respond the exact same way to a business plan and marketing techniques. The third means of entry is a greenfield, or start-up, investment, completely new to the foreign market. While some of the challenges of tax laws, currency exchange, and interest rates would also affect this means, the biggest obstacle might be the cultural barriers. Although the world is getting smaller each day thanks to the internet and satellite communications, hundreds of languages and dialects are still spoken throughout the world. This might lead to a communications problem if a foreigner attempted a greenfield investment. Besides language barriers, marketing and advertising techniques would need to be researched in order to be effective in a new country. The authors argue that joint venture is almost a cross between the two other methods, greenfield, and acquisitions. Many studies, as discussed later, have treated greenfield and acquisition as representing alternative entry modes, with joint ventures being only a question of the degree of ownership. This approach implies that entry and ownership involve two sequential decisions, the first deciding whether to invest in new facilities or to acquire existing ones, the second one on how ownership should be shared. Whereas such an approach is clearly defensible on both theoretical and empirical grounds, we treat joint ventures as a choice made simultaneously with other alternative modes of entry. (Kogut & Singh 1988) For this reason, joint ventures can be described as a gray area in foreign business acquisitions. For example, if a company bought out another one, or merged with another company, while retaining some of the business practices and/or staff, it would probably be considered a joint venture. The authors theorize that Greenfield entry is the best way, or at least that was what they believed in 1988. Due to the difficulty of integrating an already existing foreign management, cultural differences are likely to be especially important in the case of an acquisition. Indeed, empirical studies on mostly domestic acquisitions have shown that post-acquisition costs are substantial and are influenced by what Jemison and Sitkin [1986] call the organizational fit of the two firms. They define organizational fit as â€Å"the match between administrative practices, cultural practices, and personal characteristics of the target and parent firms† (Jemison and Sitkin 1986, p. 1471. Sales and Mirvis [1984] document in detail the administrative conflicts following an acquisition when both firms differ strongly in their corporate cultures. In contrast to the integration costs of an acquisition, a joint venture serves frequently the purpose of assigning management tasks to local partners who are better able to manage the local labor force and relationships with suppliers, buyers, and governments [Franko 1971; Stopford and Wells 1972]. Thus, a joint venture resolves the foreign partner’s problems ensuing from cultural factors, though at the cost of sharing control and ownership. Unquestionably, a joint venture is affected by the cultural distance between the partners. But such conflict should not obscure the original motivation to choose a joint venture because the-initial alternative of integrating an acquisition appeared more disruptive than delegating management tasks to a local partner. Of course, a joint venture may be troubled not only by the cultural distance of the partners, but also due to concerns over sharing proprietary assets. A wholly owned greenfield investment avoids both the costs of integration and conflict over sharing proprietary assets by imposing the management style of the investing firm on the start-up while preserving full ownership. (Kogut & Singh 1988) In 2008, businesses would face some of the same challenges as in 1988, such as the cost of integration, conflict of sharing proprietary assets, and administrative and management differences. However, as more and more businesses have gone global, most countries would have contracts and lawyers defining clear parameters on such details. The authors came to this conclusion by testing two hypothesis. The first focused on cultural differences. Kogut & singh (1988) said that, â€Å"The greater the cultural distance when the country of the investing firm and the country of entry, the more likely a firm will choose a joint venture or wholly owned greenfield over an acquisition. † This hypothesis primarily focused on the costs of running and managing a business from a greater distance. The second hypothesis as stated by Kogut & Singh (1988) stated that, â€Å"The greater the culture of the investing firm is characterized by uncertainty avoidance regarding organizational practices, the more likely that firm will choose a joint venture or wholly owned greenfield over an acquisition. † As with all unknowns, a foreign company could not be expected to know the exact way a business and marketing plan would be executed and responded to in a foreign market. Basically, the data found that uncertainty was the main reason companies tended to shy away from acquisitions and enter the market through a greenfield or joint venture method. This reason would still hold true today as the world market fluctuates and recessions come and go. The studies also noted that the methods of entry into a particular market varied depending on the product, service, or industry. There is a clear difference in industry patterns among the modes of entry. Joint ventures are relatively more frequent in pharmaceuticals, chemicals and electric and nonelectric machinery. Acquisitions occur primarily in natural resources, financial services, and miscellaneous manufacturing industries. Chemical and electrical machinery are especially attractive industries for greenfield investments. At a higher level of aggregation, acquisitions tend to be relatively more common than other modes of entry in nonmanufacturing sectors of the economy. (Kogut & Singh 1988) The article, since it was written 20 years ago, analyzed data primarily from the industrial sectors of resource, paper, chemical, petroleum, metal, rubber, machinery, electrical, transportation, and instrumentation. It had some analysis of data in communications, wholesale, financial, and other services. Now, in 2008, the list would include a lot of new data for technology, automobile, computers, and pharmaceuticals, to name a few. The list would also be inclusive of customer service outsourcing, a practice common among many technology and computer companies. Furthermore, new sanctions have been imposed on some natural resources. It may not be possible, for example, for a foreign company to come in and control an oil field, a diamond mine, or a rainforest. Such companies might be required to work jointly with a company in the nation they wish to do business, thus keeping it a joint venture somewhat. In 2008, any analysis of entry into foreign markets would also mention the oil trade, and the complexities that accompany it. As the recent conflict in Iraq has shown us, cultural differences and political challenges may hamper easy trade and setting up business in a middle eastern country. In the next few years, as new automobiles are developed to hopefully not be as oil-dependent, the market will change yet again. Another difference in automobiles are the influx of foreign cars to the United States, and the continual race to develop the most fuel-efficient car amongst competitors throughout the world. The article analyzed data primarily from the United States, Western Europe, and Japan. It found differences based on these countries. Again, there are strong differences among the modes of entry. For Japan, 46 of its 114 entries are joint ventures. Whereas Japanese acquisitions are not common, Japanese firms have a high proportion of the wholly owned Greenfield investments. Scandinavia and, especially France, also lean towards joint ventures. United Kingdom represents the other extreme; 111 of its 141 entriesare acquisitions, with the remainder evenly divided between joint ventures and greenfield. (Kogut & Singh 1988) Twenty years ago, the European Union was not in existence and many Eastern European Countries were under communist rule, thus meaning they had very different laws, regulations, and business practices than they do today. The Euro was not yet a currency, so trading and doing business amongst European nations was also very different. Also, the article makes little mention of a very new powerful force in the global market: China. As China has made tremendous economic and technological gains in this decade, it has begun to not only dominate the world market, but also branch out and do business in foreign countries. This relationship is reciprocal as European and American businesses are also looking to enter the Chinese market at the same time. Another item the article looked at which is very different today than 20 years ago is the size of businesses. They sought to understand whether or not larger businesses entered a market usually one way, while smaller businesses did something else. Obviously, while larger firms may have had more resources to acquire, smaller firms may have had the flexibility to do so more frequently. It stands to reason that the larger the investing firm, the greater its ability to acquire. Despite the logic, the empirical evidence is mixed. Dubin [1975] found that smaller firms tended to acquire relatively more frequently than large firms, though he did not control for other factors. In his cross-sectional tests, Wilson (1980) confirmed Dubin’s findings. However, these studies drew upon entry data of the largest corporations of the United States and other European countries. Caves and Mehra [I9861 study did not restrict their attention to entries of the larger corporations. Their results showed that the size of the entering firm is positively and significantly related to entry by acquisition over greenfield. Because acquisitions require generally more financial and managerial resources than joint ventures, size of the foreign firm’s assets should be positively correlated with the tendency to acquire. Conversely, acquisitions are discouraged, the larger the assets of the American partner, target firm, or investment size. (Kogut & Singh 1988) In 2008, this may or not be the same, as firms in certain industries may have grown and merged, while others may have decreased in size and split up into more specific companies. Also, the lending practices and investment practices are different today than they were 20 years ago, so a company may have more ways through which to acquire start-up capital necessary for operating in a foreign market. The article also examined why certain companies may enter a foreign market. Twenty years ago, not all countries possessed the technology, skills, or resources needed for some businesses. This caused companies to enter foreign markets to get what they were lacking in their own country. The previous empirical studies have assumed, however, foreign entry was usually for the purpose of market access or low cost manufacturing. Clearly, foreign entry into the United States may be motivated in order to source technology or purchase brand labels. The more diverse motives of investing in the American economy make it more difficult to sign the structural variables. For example, firms from R&D-intensive industries might joint venture if they possess the requisite technologies but lack the marketing depth. Or they may tend to acquire if they are investing for technology sourcing. Similarly, firms from marketing-intensive industries might engage in a joint venture if they possess the brand label but lack other resources along the value-added chain. Or they may acquire if they are investing for market penetration and lack label recognition. Stopford and Wells [1972] found that American firms pursuing an advertising-intensive strategy tend to full ownership of their overseas subsidiaries. Their data is drawn, however, from a time when American firms were investing overseas with clear strategic advantages. For our study, it is equally likely that foreign firms are investing in the United States for technology and brand label acquisition as for the exploitation of their proprietary assets. No prediction is made, therefore, on the signs of the coefficients for R&D and Advertising. (Kogut & Singh 1988). In 2008, as natural resources have been discovered in other parts of the world and new technologies have emerged, countries that were formerly primarily importers are not exporters, and countries that primarily exported, now import more from elsewhere. As the playing field changes every year, it’s important to note that countries will be continuing to search for the next best place or resource to help grow their company. Also, thanks to the internet and a computer-savvy generation, it is possible that some countries will not need outside help advertising or marketing, or with brand-name recognition. If the article were to be re-written today, obviously new data would need to be collected reflecting the changes of the last 20 years, including new industrial sectors, new companies, and more countries. The researchers would need to also differentiate between a few things. First, they would need to look at a specific industry, because, as they stated, the means of entry vary greatly depending on the industry. For example, one might enter a foreign banking market very different than had they entered a foreign market strictly to utilize their natural resources or labour force. Also, the article did not look enough at the cultural aspect of the business world. It would be remiss not to notice that there are some cultures who object to foreigners doing business in their country and would not respond to foreign business plans. For example, the United States and European nations might successfully acquire or start a business in China or Japan, yet not be as successful in a Middle Eastern Country. In conclusion, considering the article is over 20 years old, and the data was even older, the authors did a great job of analyzing data and investigating business trends and foreign market entry modes. It provides a great insight into the past and the mindset of the times, before new trade laws, instant communication, and most importantly, new products and services used by people worldwide. As societies change every day, as third world countries become first world, and new drugs are developed to cure a myriad of conditions, the only certainty is that 20 years from now, we will be in a very different business world as a result of our actions today. REFERENCES Caves, Richard. E. 1982. Multinational enterprise and economic analysis Cambridge, U. K. : Cambridge University Press. Dubin, Michael. 1975. Foreign acquisitions and the spread of the multinational fi. D. B. A. thesis, Jemison, D. B. & S. B. Sitkin. 1986. Corporate acquisitons: A process perspective, Academy of Management. Kogut, Bruce, and Harbir Singh. 1988. The Effect of National Culture on the Choice of Entry Mode. The Journal of International Business Studies k S. Mehra. 1986. Entry of foreign multinationals into U. S. manufacturing industries. In M. Porter, ed. , Competition in global industries. Boston: Harvard Business School. Sales, A. L. & P. H. Mirvis. 1984. When cultures collide: hues in acquisition. In Managing organizational Stepford, J. & L. Wells. 1972. Managing the multinational enterprise: Organization of the firm and ownership. New York: Basic Books.

Coral Divers Resort Case Analysis Essay

Strategic Recommendation: What do you advise Coral Divers to do? Core divers Resort (CDR) should focus on making their current business operation more efficient by keeping an eye on operating costs and partnering with adventure resorts for customers who wants adventure diving. The company financials cannot support any expansion for family oriented resort with the company being over leveraged with little cash and liquidity. Secondly, this strategy has ease of implementation and provides a profit increase of 10% with little capital expenditure Also, Greywell has built a lifestyle around the Coral Divers Resort business and enjoys it with his family. Selling the resort with his little equity in the business will not provide enough money for him to start a new business in another location. Focusing on being more efficient is more profitable for the company as the industry is in its maturity phase with stiffer competition and readily available substitutes. What do you think Coral Divers would like to accomplish over the next 5 years? Coral Divers is experiencing declining revenues and unprofitability for the past three years. Other resorts that have been able to specialize in certain segments of the diving industry, Coral Divers have been unable to distinguish themselves from other resorts. Coral Divers Resort (CDR) is looking to differentiate itself from other resorts in the New Providence, Bahamas region. The company is looking for opportunities in the diving industry to find a unique niche and gain a competitive edge that will lead to an increase its revenues. Strengths The resort has a beachfront location, the rich resource of the ocean is within close proximity and have developed a good reputation as a quiet and safe resort which appeals to vacationers looking to get away from busy tourist resort hotels. The diving instructors in the resort are certified by PADI and NAUI. Weakness It is a family- run one-service business that is inefficiently operated. It is heavily leveraged making it difficult to get funding for further expansion while facing stiff competition. Opportunities There are opportunities in the diving industry to find a unique niche market (adventure diving, family oriented resort) for Coral Divers and gain a competitive edge that will lead to an increase in its revenues like providing additional service to customers eg picking and taking clients to the airport and other educational services about scuba diving which requires less capital expenditure. Threats The bleaching impact of climate change on coral reefs makes them to lose their beauty, making diving less attractive for divers. The recent surge in airfares and the changing demographics are potential could reduce the customer base of diving resorts. Current Ratio The current ratio of CDR shows that the company is not able to service its current obligations. The resort’s short –term assets cannot cover its current obligations of $88,476. However quick ratio value of CDR will provide a clearer indication of the company’s liquidity and success in meeting its obligations. Quick Ratio CDR quick ration of 0.1875 suggests that the company has a very low ability to service its maturing short- term obligations. This ratio is a more  reliable variation of the current ratio because inventory, prepaid expenses, and other less liquid current assets are removed from the calculation. In other words, it shows how CDR can quickly convert its assets to cash without a loss in value if necessary to meet its short-term obligations? The resort’s low quick ratio makes it difficult for the resort to meet creditors requirement and obtain further funds for future business expansion since they operate a business that does not provide a steady and predictable cash flow. Favorable liquidity ratios are critical to creditors within the resort’s industry. Return on Assets The negative return on CDR’s asset shows that the company’s asset is not used effectively to generate profit and shows the business is not profitable. However, the assets in the resort are highly depreciated which is unusual and it is affecting the return on assets. CDR should reduce its depreciation expense since the resort is not fully booked in the low rental seasons of the year. The resort’s return on assets of -5.75% indicates there is a need for improvement in this area to ensure the company can remain competitive and continue to operate successfully. Return on Equity The percent rate of return on equity for Coral Divers Resort is -87.04%, which indicates that there is absolutely no profits earned based on the owner’s investment in the resort and it would be harder getting a positive return when extra capital is added to the resort. Debt to Total Assets CDR debt to asset ratio of 0.934 indicates that the company can barely meet its long-term obligations, remain solvent, and avoid bankruptcy. This shows that the company can barely withstand more losses without harming creditor interests making it really difficult to obtain additional financing for expansion. Debt to Equity The debt to equity ratio for CDR is 14.12 show which that the company is  heavily leveraged and that most assets the resort has is financed by debt. This creates issues around controlling stake in the company when more debt is added to the company. On what basis do customers choose Coral Divers or competitors? Scuba diving trips to Bahamas tend to be luxury items and therefore it is more likely people would travel during good economic conditions, the amounts of disposable income people have and the weather condition. Are the driving forces causing demand for this service likely to increase or decrease? The driving forces are likely to increase in the future, there has been increase in the population of scuba divers in the last 20 years and the economy is recovering from the last meltdown. Are the driving forces acting to make competition more or less intense? The driving forces are making competition more intense. There are 26 officials diving operators in Bahamas with different program offerings. Most of the resorts are well known for their high quality services and the brand awareness and recognition is present between the groups of tourists who choose to dive in the Bahamas. The capacity and additional services offered by the hotels for additional revenues makes the competition even harder. Will the driving forces lead to higher or lower industry profitability? The driving forces has the potential of leading to greater industry profitability due to the increase in the number of active high paying divers. Does this industry offer good prospects for attractive profits? The profits of the industry is limited, there is higher competition, and the scuba diving industry entering into the maturity phase. Although there is some industry growth, the current marketing appeal of a diving resort is facing high competitions from other leisure alternatives. Sustainable Competitive Advantage Tests: Does this business have a resource that is valuable/rare? The resort has a beachfront location, the rich resource of the ocean that is within close proximity and have developed a good reputation as a quiet and safe resort which appeals to vacationers looking to get away from busy tourist resort hotels. The diving instructors in the resort are certified by PADI and NAUI. Is the resource competitively superior? The resource of Coral Divers is not competitively superior when compared to its competition. Do they have a resource that is hard to copy? Coral Divers resource is easy to copy as anybody with a nice location, boats and the necessary certification from PADI can start a resort. Can the resource be made obsolete by the different capabilities of competitors? With the emergence of different types of diving, CDR’s resource is been made obsolete due to non-distinguishing brand, adventure diving and family oriented resorts Is the firm organized to exploit its valuable, rare, costly to imitate resource? Coral Divers has failed to exploit its resource due to increasing cost, negative return on equity and three years of loss Do you think this company has a sustainable competitive advantage? The company does not have a sustainable competitive advantage and would face stiffer competition in the future. Other resorts that have been able to specialize in certain segments of the diving industry (adventure diving, family resort) and have been successful over the past years as the industry continue to grow. How intense is the rivalry of existing competitors for consumer dollars? The rivalry is really intense; the additional services offered by the hotels for additional revenues makes the competition even harder. How likely/easy would it be for new competitors to enter this market? Anybody  with a nice location, and the necessary certification from PADI can start a leisure resort. Do customers have a lot of competitors to choose from or very few? There are 26 officials diving operators in Bahamas with different program offerings. Most of the resorts are well known for their high quality services and the brand awareness and recognition is present between the groups of tourists Are there any firms in other industries offering suitable substitutes? There are several firms and industries offering substitute e.g. movie, sports, game etc. Porter Five Forces Analysis Supplier Power The supplier power is minimal, the business is service based and is vertically integrated. Degree of Rivalry There is high degree of rivalry and cost of competition in the diving industry leading to lower profitability Buyer Power Buyer power is high, there is low cost in comparing price and services of resorts. Service and amenities provision to customers is really important. Threats Of Substitutes There are several substitutes ranging vacation elsewhere to other leisure activities like sports, golfing, boating, skiing and other technology products e.g. video games, and movies. Threat Of New Entrants Although it is easy to open a resort, there is medium threat of new entrants due to high competition and the industry being in maturity phase.

Lives of the Artists Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lives of the Artists - Essay Example Specifically, I will discuss what distinguished Brunelleschi’s work from that of his predecessors. Before he expounds on the biography of Brunelleschi, Vasari provides his own evaluation of the great architect’s work. Vasari says that Brunelleschi had a truly lofty genius and credits him with building the most beautiful, the tallest and the most remarkable structure among those that have ever been built either in his time or in the times of antiquity. His role as a father of the Renaissance style of architecture is explained in the following way: â€Å"he gave a new form to architecture which had been going astray for hundreds of years† (Vasari 110). In Vasari’s opinion, before Brunelleschi, men had spent fortunes in vain attempting to construct desirable buildings. Their efforts resulted in having buildings devoid of any sense of order since they were constructed using bad methods. Those buildings lacked grace in a shameful way and displayed poor design and â€Å"the worst kind of decoration† along with weird inventions. Brunelleschi managed to create new forms on the basis of Classical Roman architecture which he combined with the achievements of Tuscan and late Gothic architecture. Unlike his predecessors, Brunelleschi introduced the concept of order to the art of construction. In his view, based on multiyear observations of the remains of Roman architecture, proportion was the ground for beautiful constructions. It allowed constructing buildings with clear space and mass, which were easily comprehended, contrary to the complexity of the Gothic form. Building symmetrical and proportional buildings became possible due to the introduction of the linear perspective by Brunelleschi. These geometrical calculations helped to erect buildings that followed mathematical order. The method of perspective, according to Vasari, was

The theory of risk aversion and its utilization by the insurance Essay

The theory of risk aversion and its utilization by the insurance companies - Essay Example This paper outlines the theory of risk aversion, and explains how insurance companies are successfully utilizing this theory to receive substantial amount of profit conducting their activities. Risk aversion is a theory that explains why people are willing to buy insurance. Risk averse means is a situation whereby individuals are willing to pay some money in order to avoid playing a risky game; this takes place even when the expected game value is in this individuals favor. A risk averse individual tends to pay more than the expected value of a game that will let him or her avoid a risk Indemnity is a principle of insurance that states puts it clearly that an insured person will only get compensation if there is a risk occurrence. On the other hand if the event does not occur then the insured will not get any compensation whether money or property. In this case the insurance company will benefit a lot since all the premiums paid will remain as the company’s revenue. The pay off expected by the insured is always less than the premiums he pays; this puts the insurance company in a better position making it a booming business with minimal chances of loss occurrence The big advantage with the insurance company is that it can play games severally and leap much benefits associated with the law of large numbers. The more people the insurance company insures the more it the more it will collect money to cater for administrative costs as well as profits. There is also a numerical illustration in the paper, that helps to bring out the meaning of the theory of risk aversion. The mathematical example makes this theory more intelligible. o the insured it is also obvious that the bigger the pool the smaller the individuals risk of losing large amount of money ,at the same time the less the expected premiums. The Friedman-Savage sought to know why is it that people will buy both insurance and lottery tickets against losses. His view was that this behavior of people was making them both risk averse and risk loving. The answer to this is the fact that a section of the utility function is convex while the other part is concave. Individuals wish to play it safe across the lower range but very much willing to take gambling on the lower and upper parts Illustration A group of thirty people are willing to pay 120 pounds to avoid a risk of losing 15000 pounds. The group can all join together to form a mutual insurance company, collect 120 pounds from each member and pay 15000 pounds to anyone amongst the group who is unlucky and loses coming out ahead. The more people join this mutual insurance company the more the money for its administrative costs and more returns will be realized. By joining this mutual insurance company it shows that the participants are risk averse. The individual's elasticity is . Utility is an indicator of how many percentage points one thing changes as a result of a one percent change in something that affects it.

Reg Vardy PLC financial analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reg Vardy PLC financial analysis - Essay Example The company, which is named after founder Reg Vardy, is one of the leading motor retail groups in the United Kingdom. Reg Vardy was initially established as a haulage business at Houghton-le-Spring. Due to the success of the business, it diversified into the sale of vehicles (Yahoo! Finance 2005). Under the leadership of the founder's successor, Chief Executive Officer Sir Peter Vardy, the firm acquired franchises from a number of the finest motor and car manufacturers in the world. Through the course of the company history, Reg Vardy was appointed as the sole distributor of Aston Martin for the North of England. This was followed by the company's franchise of Ferrari and Rolls Royce. Reg Vardy was also awarded the main dealer franchise for other marques such as Jaguar/Daimler, Mercedes and BMW among others. (Company History 2005) In 1989, Reg Vardy became listed in the London Stock Exchange. The initial flotation has raised about 5 million and allowed for expansion outside North East Heathen. With this, the company expanded further as it acquired more dealerships from other volume marques. (Company History 2005) To finance its expansion binge, the company issued rights in 1998 and raised 26 million. The fund was used to acquire Trust Motor Group, the firm's largest acquisition to date. In the same period, the company also established Vardy Contract Motoring, which is focused on the contract hiring and leasing operations (Company History 2005). This year, Reg Vardy pushes through with its strategic acquisitions given the upcoming purchase of five dealerships from the Priory Motor Group. This highlights the company's strategy of acquiring performing and high quality business that accounts from payments of goodwill. (Reg Vardy PLC Annual Report 2005) So far, Reg Vardy sells about 200,000 vehicles annually and employs around 6,000 workers. It has also substantially increased its total franchises to 98 dealerships in 2005 from only 63 dealerships in 1998 (Reg Vardy PLC Annual Report 2005). The company continues to distribute new and used cars for Aston Martin, Renault, Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Citroen, Fiat, Mercedes and Jaguar. Its major shareholders include the Vardy family (28%), Deutche Bank (20.6%) and Aegon (3.59%). (Yahoo! Finance 2005) Financial Highlights Table 1 - Balance Sheet Balance Sheet (in millions) 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 Assets Current Assets Cash and Equivalents 39.2 24.3 45.5 39.7 12.0 Receivables 73.6 66.6 61.9 52.6 64.0 Inventories 243.2 247.5 174.8 123.1 128.2 Other Current Assets 14.5 12.0 15.0 6.5 8.5 Total Current Assets 370.5 350.4 297.2 221.9 212.7 Property Plant and Equipment-Net 180.9 181.7 154.8 162.0 165.6 Intangible Other Assets 3.5 3.2 1.3 1.3 1.8 Other Assets 3.5 3.2 1.3 1.3 1.9 Total Assets 555.0 535.3 453.3 385.2 380.3 Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity Current Liabilities Accounts Payable 186.2 184.3 146.9 96.5 78.8 Short-Term Debt 34.1 38.7 70.1 42.3 35.7 Other Current Liabilities 44.4 37.0 28.8 25.6 47.3 Total Current Liabilities 277.2 271.3 256.8 174.5 169.3 Long-Term Debt 47.9 49.7 12.7 53.0 57.1 Provision for Risks/Charges 5.4 1.2 1.4 2.8 4.0 Deferred Taxes 6.4 5.9 5.1 4.1 4.8 Other Liabilities 12.6 10.8 6.3 1.7 12.4 Total

Economic Tiger Feared Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic Tiger Feared - Essay Example Dubai developed to become an economic tiger by exploiting geographical, economic, and human factors in her environment. With the geographical location of Dubai being primarily a desert, this factor was a drawback in comparison to thriving economies of the world. In a bid to match international business trends, this factor was treated as strength by economic developers in Dubai. A favorable environment for investment drew international investors into Dubai. In the human factor context, the population in the economy comprises of both locals and internationals, thus enjoying a broad labor force in economic pursuits (De Blij, 2009). European Industrial Revolution and the revolution being experienced in India relate to relate to that of Dubai in terms of resource base, adequate labor supply and investment practices, and relatively stable political environment. Economic tigers should be tamed as opposed to being feared. This is because their vibrant economies are beneficial to other less performing economies. For instance, the developing economies have benefited from massive projects that are financed by tiger economies. On the same note, tiger economies can provide information and guidance on economic growth and development pursuits by sharing their strategies and policies with economies that have the potential to handle them. Other global powers that deem it necessary to tame tiger economies should engage in economic collaborations, engaging in practices that result in measures and policies that regulate rapid rates of economic growth and development to a point that outperforms many other economies around the

Patents and Copyrights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Patents and Copyrights - Essay Example In such a society, innovation would be stifled. In the scenario mentioned above, if Google obtained a patent for their new software, they may have market power and that may enable them to charge high prices for the software. However, Google may not charge whatever they want even though market power gives them the ability to set the prices. The seller will set the price in relation to the demand curve because if the price is set too high, a downward-sloping demand curve is imminent, hence a decrease in demand (Richard , 2012). In conclusion, the existence of a patent prevents others from producing and selling the patented product. It is on these grounds that a patent is considered a monopoly privilege granted by the government. Additionally, the monopoly grant has a prima facie impact on trade, because the monopoly conferred by the patent is the right to exclude others from manufacturing or selling the patented product. On the other hand, copyright is not a right to the exclusive use of a fact, an idea, or a combination, which by the natural law of property all are free to use; but only to the labor expended in the thing itself (Journal of Libertarian Studies,

Protein Extraction and Gel Electrophoresis Lab Report

Protein Extraction and Gel Electrophoresis - Lab Report Example The sodium dodecyl sulfate coats the proteins in proportion to their molecular weight and then confers the same negative electrical charge across all proteins in the sample. The rate of migration of a polypeptide in SDS-PAGE is inversely proportional to the logarithm of its molecular weight. This means that the larger the polypeptide, the slower it migrates in a gel. The molecular weight is determined by comparing the migration of protein spots to the migration of standards. Plots of log molecular weight versus the migration distance are reasonably linear. The proteins separated by SDS-PAGE are often recovered in a procedure that involves localizing the protein of interest on the gel following SDS-PAGE, eluting the protein from the gel, removing the sodium dodecyl sulfate from the eluted sample, and finally renaturing the protein for subsequent analysis. Proteins that are eluted from gels are used in varied downstream applications successfully, such as protein chemistry, determinatio n of amino acid composition, identification of polypeptides that correspond to specific enzyme activity, and other purposes.The analysis of protein concentrations is a significant assay in biochemistry research. The Bradford assay is one of the most widely used methods to determine concentrations of protein, relative to a standard. The technique is based on the formation of a complex between proteins in solution and the dye. This assay is commended for overall use, particularly for assessing concentrations of proteins for gel electrophoresis.... The proteins separated by SDS-PAGE are often recovered in a procedure that involves localizing the protein of interest on the gel following SDS-PAGE, eluting the protein from the gel, removing the sodium dodecyl sulfate from the eluted sample, and finally renaturing the protein for subsequent analysis. Proteins that are eluted from gels are used in varied downstream applications successfully, such as protein chemistry, determination of amino acid composition, identification of polypeptides that correspond to specific enzyme activity, and other purposes. The analysis of protein concentrations is a significant assay in biochemistry research. The Bradford assay is one of the most widely used method to determine concentrations of protein, relative to a standard. The technique is based on the formation of a complex between proteins in solution and the dye, Brilliant Blue G. This assay is commended for overall use, particularly for assessing concentrations of proteins for gel electrophores is. It is based on observations that absorbance maximum for acidic mixtures of Coomassie Brilliant Blue G-250 that do shift from 465 nm up to 595 nm at a time when protein binding occurs. The assay is effective because of the extermination coefficient of the albumin-dye complex solution is usually constant over a range of 10-fold concentration (Westermeier, Naven & Ho?pker, 2008). The dye reacts mainly with arginine residues but less with histidine, lysine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and phenylalanine residues. Seemingly, this examination is not all that perfect for acidic or basic proteins. However, it is somewhat sensitive to the bovine serum albumin, even more than most proteins, by a factor of two. Gamma globulin (IgG) is the protein standard of preference. The objective of this

Business ethics in promotion of alcohol based products Essay

Business ethics in promotion of alcohol based products - Essay Example The paper tells that the age of globalisation has virtually put organizations into head on competition against each other. Firms are trying to outpace each other using a mix of different strategies and varying products to understand the needs of the consumers and deliver them accordingly. Firms are essentially trying out various strategies in order to not only attract new consumers but to also retain the existing ones. The role of marketing communication and advertising assumes prime importance in this regard with the former being a media for transmitting the message from the companies to the target customers. The advent of multiple channels including the online channels has led to greater importance and scope of this aspect in marketing of goods and services. The aspect of marketing communications has however been a subject matter of debate with regards to the aspect of ethics in advertising. It has been stated that marketers in an attempt to outpace their competitors and to generat e greater attractiveness often indulge in unethical activities. The present study would analyse the ethical aspects that are into consideration in case of marketing of alcohol based products. The aspect of ethics in case of alcohol based products assumes considerable significance as the product is perceived as a threat for the health and there are various social stigmas attached to alcohol based products. This makes the promotion of these products a matter of debate. There are many nations like India that have completely banned any form of promotions with regards to alcohol or tobacco based products using any form of communication. However protagonist state that there is nothing unethical in marketing alcohol based products as they generate revenue and the livelihoods of a large number of individuals depend on the profitability of these companies. They argue that these are one of the most highly taxed products and hence it is nothing unethical about these companies unless they viola te the aspect privacy of individuals. Business organization on their part state that they have various community development programs that can help provide them with a socially responsible image. Companies are also putting up statutory warnings on products and commercials in order to make individuals aware of the ill effects of drinking. Critiques however slam this move and state that in spite of all such efforts and tall claims the business organizations are only engaged into profit making and do not have any other motive. Given the size of this industry they state that it has a lucrative opportunity to gain billions of dollars for the industry. They state that advertisements are normally made for promoting products among the customers and given the ill effects and the nature of alcoholic beverages it is not justified to have these products being promoted so as to pull customers and make them indulge into this habit. The effect of these commercials on students and kids along with t he growing number of use of alcohol among kids has also been stated as an example to showcase the unethical aspects in the promotion of alcohol based products. The present essay will try to give a critical analysis of the aspect of ethics in promotion of alcohol based products so as to have a comprehensive analysis of the topic. Analysis and Discussion The aspect of marketing and advertising of alcoholic products has been a subject matter of debate over the years. The issue amounts significance considering the fact that alcohol is considered injurious to health and worldwide organizations like WHO have effectively stated that alcohol consumption is injurious to health. Alcohol also has other bad effects including the fact that alcohol consumption has led to major accidents. Various studies conducted in this aspect have shown that the consumption of alcohol and its after

Modern Auditing Essay Example for Free

Modern Auditing Essay (Components of internal control) The chapter identified five components of internal control. Listed below are specific control policies and procedures prescribed by Suntron Company. 1. Management gives careful consideration to the requisite knowledge and skills personnel need at all levels of the organization. Control environment. Planning, executing, controlling, and monitoring and entity’s activity is what is used to develop an overall framework for an entity to meet its objectives. 2. General controls and application controls are established in the electronic data processing department. Control activities, IT should be independent and should not correct data submitted by user departments. 3. Management acts to reduce or eliminate incentives and temptations that might lead individuals to engage in dishonest or illegal acts. Control environment. Management leads by example, by demonstrating integrity and ethical behavior. 4. Management is alert to complaints received from customers about billing errors. Monitoring. Management may receive separate evaluations, such as from bank examiners. 5. Management gives special consideration to the risks that can arise from the use of information technology in the accounting system. Risk assessment. Management should consider the risk of fraud and the financial consequences that fraud presents. 6. Employees’ responsibilities are assigned so as to avoid any individual’s being in a position to both commit an error or irregularity and then conceal it. Control activiites. Inventory records should periodically be compared with inventory on hand. 7. IT management has designed controls to prevent unauthorized use of IT equipment, data files, and computer programs. Control activities. Controls that are designed to provide reasonable assurance that the recording, processing, and reporting of data by IT are properly performed for specific applications. 8. The processing of payroll includes a check on the total number of hours submitted. If more than 65 hours are reported in a weekly pay period, the transaction is printed on an exception report and put in a suspense file for additional review or additional authorization. Control activities. Computer routines that is in place to detect incomplete, incorrect, or unreasonable data. 9. Suntron’s internal audit staff periodically assesses the effectiveness of various ICS components. Monitoring. Reporting deficiencies to audit committee or full board of directors. 10. Policy manuals, accounting and financial reporting manuals, and a chart of accounts. Information and communication. Providing an understanding of individual roles and responsibilities in regards to internal control over financial reporting. have been developed and implemented. Required a. Identify the components of internal control to which each policy or procedure relates. b. For each item, identify one other policy or procedure for that internal control component that is not on the preceding list.

Alcoholic Authors Essay Example for Free

Alcoholic Authors Essay The prominence of alcoholism in American literature, at least in the first half of the twentieth century, and the relationship between great authors and alcoholism has become somewhat of a literary cliche. Icons such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Tennessee Williams, and Jack Kerouac are as famous for their work as they are infamous for their drinking habits. These authors have created a legend out of themselves just from their notorious habits of drinking. Of the seven native-born Americans awarded the Nobel Prize in literature, five were alcoholics. The list of other twentieth-century American writers also affected with alcoholism is very long. I researched these authors’ lives to find out how they all were infected with the same disease, alcoholism. Some said that drinking boosted their creative abilities, while others thought of it more of an escape from the confines of their own imagination, to which they were bound for all hours of the day. Drinking does fit the loner lifestyle that many of these authors had. It was viewed as a cure for writers block, an escape from their own minds, and most importantly, as a tool to cure the emotional hardships that they endured. It is not a coincidence that the greatest writers and artists also had very troubled childhoods and adult lives. Look at Edgar Allan Poe and Vincent Van Gogh; both were both severely troubled emotionally and depressed, and yet they still produced artistic and literary genius. So what is this connection between alcoholism and the great authors of the early 19th century? I will take an in-depth look at a few of the most influential alcoholic authors, such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Edgar Allan Poe, and Tennessee Williams. I will look at factors that may have led them to their alcoholic habits, such as their childhood, troubled lives, or depression. From there, I will then look at how alcohol affected their works, positively or negatively. And as we all know, alcoholism was also double-edged sword that led to the destruction of their careers, and ultimately to their deaths. I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I sometimes so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been the desperate attempt to escape from torturing memories, from a sense of insupportable loneliness and a dread of some strange impending doom. This quote by Edgar Allan Poe perfectly depicts why many of these great authors fell back into the grasp of alcoholism. Many were troubled spirits who had tough lives, and used alcohol as an escape from their woes. Poe’s depression was caused by his alcoholic father, the death of both of his mothers, the death of his loving wife, the separations of his siblings, and an abusive foster father. No doubt, these losses and hardships sculpted Poe into who he was as a person and author. He relied heavily on alcohol to ease his pain. Another notable case of hardships and emotional struggle that led to alcoholism was Tennessee Williams. As a child he was exposed to a very problematic family. His hard-drinking father favored his brother, as Williams was sensitive and seemed to be homosexual at a very young age. He was closest to his sister Rose, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and institutionalized. Later on, he had troubles dealing with his sexuality, which led to heavy drug and alcohol abuse. He married Frank Merlo, whom provided balance to his bouts of rage and alcoholic abuse. Williams sunk into even deeper depression after Merlo left him, because of his alcoholism. Williams won the Pullitzer Prize for Drama after writing, A Streetcar Named Desire in 1948. He wrote this largely based off of events from his own life, most vividly portraying his alcoholic habits through Stanley. Another example of a great author whose troubled life had led him to become an alcoholic is Ernest Hemingway. Like Williams, he was also an award-winning author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954. During his final years, Hemingway’s behavior was similar to his father’s before he himself committed suicide. Hemingway was diagnosed with the genetic disease Hemochromatosis, which causes mental and physical deterioration. His brother and sister also committed suicide as well. In addition to Hemingway’s mental illnesses, he was an alcoholic for most of his life. After his death, in the writing, â€Å"Ernest Hemingway: A Psychological Autopsy of a Suicide†, Christopher Martin talks about the possible causes of Hemingway’s suicide. He discovers after careful reading of Hemingway’s works, that they reveal the possibility of conditions such as, bipolar disorder, alcoholic dependence, traumatic brain injury, and narcissistic personality traits. Hemingway was obviously troubled mentally and emotionally, and relied heavily on alcohol. Hemingway is one of the most well known alcoholic authors to this day. It was a common trait amongst many of the alcoholic authors to have emotional hardships and struggles. There is no doubt that these authors’ works were affected strongly by their addiction to drinking. As discussed previously, some stated that it boosted creativity, immediately cured writer’s block, and even relaxed them from the pressure of writing. Dr. Donald Goodwin, the author of â€Å"Alcohol and the Writer,† performed research on the correlation between authors and alcoholism. He concluded that writing in itself does not encourage alcoholism. Instead, he suggests that creativity is inspired by insanity because, creative writing requires a rich fantasy life. Alcohol promotes this same fantasy life as it skews ones perceptions. Goodwin concludes that writing and alcoholism are products of the same lifestyle, rather than writing as a profession encouraging alcoholism. â€Å"Writing involves fantasy; alcohol promotes fantasy. Writing requires self-confidence; alcohol bolsters confidence. Writing is lonely work; alcohol assuages loneliness. Writing demands intense concentration; alcohol relaxes. † For example, William Faulkner, from the very beginning of his career, drank while he wrote. He claimed, I usually write at night. I always keep my whiskey within reach. Faulkner was also a Nobel Prize winner for his novels and short stories. Hemingway found whiskey as a sort of relief from his day to day routines, almost medicinal. Hemingway once stated, â€Å"When you work hard all day with your head and know you must work again the next day what else can change your ideas and make them run on a different plane like whisky? † This sort of mindset was one similar amongst many other great authors alike. In Goodwins book, he has a chapter titled, â€Å"The Loner Theory. † Alcoholism is basically a disease of individualism. People who are affected are those who, from early childhood, have a strong sense of being psychologically alone and on their own in the world. These people feel that they can get emotional release from drinking. We can see this individualistic character in many great authors. Goodwin goes on to compare writing and being drunk. He claims, â€Å"Writing and alcohol both produce trancelike states. A gift for creative writing may involve an innate ability to enter trancelike states. Being a loner, may facilitate trancelike states when it is time to write, and encourage drinking to overcome the shyness and ? isolation when it is time to relax. † This reasoning and logic is clearly evident in many of the author’s lifestyles. As much as these tendencies helped many of them produce creative work, it also led to many of their careers’ demise and eventually, death. The infamous drinking habits of Hemingway, Poe, Faulkner, and the like, all eventually led to their death or career demise. Many of these alcoholic authors were on a slow decline creatively. Many thought that their alcoholism deadened their creative thought process and rather turned them into more drab and emotional writers. Faulkner’s prose was slowed down by his sclerosis, while Hemingway’s style was drowned in emotions. Hemingway ridiculed his friend Fitzgerald when he went public in Esquire, talking about his downfall publicly. Hemingway was disgusted, and invited him to cast his, â€Å"balls into the sea—if you have any balls left†. Many authors attempted to get sober but found they could not write without alcohol. Many would just have one big hit and then decline from there, fighting sobriety and the ability to write without alcohol. Hemingway struggled to find happiness later on in life and eventually committed suicide. Faulkner died of a heart attack that was attributed to his heavy alcohol abuse. Edgar Allan Poe’s death was largely due to alcoholism. It is still a bit of a mystery as to how he died, but according to newspaper articles at the time it was due to cerebral inflammation, which is commonly linked with alcoholism. Many of these great authors were known for their great works as well as their drinking habits. Sadly, alcoholism led to many of their declining health in later ages. Their creative spark was slowly dulled over time by drinking, and many lived unhappy lives. There is an irrefutable link between many authors and alcoholism. Many of them happened to live in the same time frame, and were legends amongst the population largely in part to their drinking habits. Their alcoholic tendencies are all largely due to their loner lifestyles that they all shared. No doubt, they had great artistic minds. Many of them were award-winning authors who are icons American literature. However, their drinking habits are just as famous as was their work. Unfortunately, these habits eventually led many of them to their downfall. Many took their own lives, drank until they passed, or died because of other health complications due to alcoholism. Drinking was a cure for writers block, an escape from their own minds, and also a tool to cure their emotional downfalls that their troubled lives had brought upon them. It is not a coincidence that the greatest writers and artists also had very troubled childhoods and even adult lives. There is a direct connection between the tendencies of â€Å"loners† to be dependant on alcohol, and the tendencies of many authors to be loners. In conclusion, many authors had troubled lives and childhoods that led them to become emotionally scarred. This led to alcoholic habits. Next, many of them enjoyed working and writing while intoxicated. It suited their personalities. Alcoholism is an individualistic disease, and writing is typically an individual art form. Just as these authors found comfort in drinking, many of them drank their lives into the gutter; quite literally in Poe’s case. The same thing that they found comfort in, used as a tool for their writing, led them to demise. Their mental and physical health deteriorated, and ultimately many of them died unhappy. However, these authors were legends in literature. Hemingway, Faulkner, Poe, Fitzgerald, and Williams to name a few, all of these authors graced us with their genius, although some of them paid the price of their genius with mental and physical deterioration due to a life-long love affair with alcohol. Works Cited Dardis, Tom. (1989). The Thirsty Muse: Alcohol and the American Writer. Fields. Goodwin, Donald W. (1988). Alcohol and the Writer. Andrews McMeel Publishing Padgett, John B. (2006, August 17). William Faulkner: Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from http://www. mcsr. olemiss. edu/~egjbp/faulkner/wf-faq. html Sedaris, Amy. (2006, December 15). Great American Writers and Their Cocktails. National Public Radio, Retrieved from http://www. npr. org/templates/story/story. php? storyId=662497 Shone, Tom. (2009, 6 15). When Novelists Sober up. Intelligent Life Magazine, Retrieved from.

Marketing Plan For Lipton Ice Tea

Marketing Plan For Lipton Ice Tea In 2005, the tea industry reached the $1.7 billion category and it is expected to continue growing indefinitely (Mintel 2005). Market analysts believe the tea industry will continue to boom and is not expected to reach saturation level in the near future. The favorable movement in the tea industry can be attributed to two major factors: a) consumers need for convenience and time-saving services; and b) the positive press given to tea. American lifestyle and work habits have made convenience a necessity. As employers demand for productivity from their employees, consumers are more pressed for time. In addition, the shaky economy has made Americans fear for their jobs; thus, any product that can fill the consumers need for convenience and speed are almost automatically embraced into the American lifestyle (Mintel 2005). For the last decade, the health benefits of tea have gained wide coverage in the media. Studies continue to show the beneficial properties of teas, with health benefits ranging from lower cholesterol levels to improve arterial health and decreasing chance of cancer. This positive press has definitely catapulted the demand for tea (Mintel 2005). Both the need for convenience and positive press on tea have spurred an increase in sales of tea products, specifically ready-to-drink (RTD) teas sold in single-serve containers (Mintel 2005). Recognizing this trend, various companies in the tea industry have come up with innovative products to take advantage of the booming market for ready-to-drink teas. Lipton tea, one of the global leaders in refreshment brands, launched new products to meet the growing the need for ready-to drink teas and introduced innovative product line to capture the health- conscious market. For over a century, Lipton has been dominating the world tea market with the companys tea-based drinks including leaf tea, infusions and ready-to-drink tea. Its success has been attributed to the firms â€Å"strong focus on innovation and the expertise of its tea specialists- professionals in tea-growing, tasting, buying, blending and RD teams† (Wikipedia 2007). One of the main driving forces for Liptons success is the companys source of tea. Lipton teas are sourced from various plantations in well-know tea-producing countries such as India, Indonesia, Kenya and Sri Lanka. It maintains specialized tasting rooms in seven regional located across the globe. Presently, Lipton has about 30 different tea blends (Wikipedia 2007). As Lipton is a part of the Unilever global consortium, the company ensures that its tea producing farms do not only yield high-quality product but also protect and improve the natural environment and livelihood of workers and local communities. Liptons plantations in East Africa have been working with third party estates to ensure compliance with Unilevers sustainable agriculture guidelines and the Ethical Tea Partnership criteria (Wikipedia 2007). As part of Lipton teas drive to capture the booming market for ready-to-drink teas, the Anglo-Dutch Unilever Company entered into a joint agreement with American PepsiCo in 2003. Through the joint venture agreement, PepsiCo distributes or markets Lipton tea products, specifically Lipton Ice Tea in more than 60 countries where PepsiCo has established its corporate presence (Wikipedia 2007). â€Å"The 50-50 JV Pepsi Lipton International is the latest move in Unilevers Path to Growth strategy which has mostly involved the disposal of non-core businesses rather than support for existing brands† (â€Å"Unilever-PepsiCo† 2003). In a press statement, Unilever announced that the joint agreement with PepsiCo has two main goals: to move the Lipton brand into new distribution channels and into new markets. While Unilever claims that Lipton is the leader in the 16-billion liter world market for ready-to- drink tea, its presence remains slim in a number of key markets; thus, the agreement with PepsiCo is expected to address such concern (â€Å"Unilever-PepsiCo† 2003). Unilever stated that â€Å"the [50-50 JV Pepsi Lipton International] will target the ‘white space markets where Lipton has no current presence and it is anticipated that significant business opportunities will come from the key high-potential markets where Pepsi is already strong† (â€Å"Unilever-PepsiCo† 2003). PepsiCo is expected to build the sales of the Lipton ice tea in 60 countries including Brazil, Spain, Greece, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Albania, Romania, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, Turkey, Egypt, Saudi and the six Gulf States. The Pepsi Lipton International venture is a logical expansion of an earlier collaboration between the two companies. The Pepsi Lipton Tea Partnership was set up by the two companies some 10 years ago to expand sales in the North American market, and is now firmly established as the leading RTD tea player in both the United States and Canada. With the aim of achieving a similar level of market dominance in the rest of the world, the latest joint venture will aim to leverage the strengths of both parents. It will principally sell ready-to-drink tea concentrate to franchise bottlers for distribution by Pepsi. As the worlds largest tea producer, Unilever will bring the brand, knowledge of the tea industry and a substantial research and development capability to the JV; Pepsi will contribute access to its extensive bottling and distribution network with strong customer relations (â€Å"Unilever PepsiCo† 2003). Customer Analysis There are two major target markets for ready-to-drink ice tea. One group is the consumers on the go. These are the employees, students, and other consumers who lead a busy lifestyle. The hectic American lifestyle demands for optimize productivity with lesser time- consumption. Thus, there is a need for products that are accessible and readily available. Convenience has dominated the market, particularly the food and beverage industry. The other group is made up of health conscious consumers, specifically the baby boomers who patronize anything healthy. The positive reviews as well as the studies on the benefits of tea drinking have stirred an interest in tea drinking. Representing about 10 percent of the world market for tea (Wikipedia 2007), Lipton ice tea is poised to improve its customer base through a joint agreement with PepsiCo and aggressive marketing strategy. Recent report (Winslow 2006) that the main factor for the improving market performance of Lipton ice tea is its health benefits. Consumers believe that tea is very good for the body; thus, it is more logical to drink more tea and less soda pop and other drinks. Consumers drink Lipton tea because of its beneficial effects to ones health. Consumers consider drinking Lipton as a healthy habit. The 100 percent Natural Tea and 150 mg of protective natural antioxidants has made Lipton tea a major participant in the global tea market. â€Å"Many tea drinkers choose Lipton because it is really inexpensive and you can get it just about anywhere. It is surprising that more people do not drink tea, as they would longer, happier and healthier lives if they did† (Winslow 2006). Furthermore, some customers think that taking anti-oxidants are healthy, thus, customers drink a couple of gallons per week: â€Å"Tea makes you look younger too and gives you energy as well. You know it also costs a lot less to drink tea too, for 100 bags at $2.50 lasts you about 3- weeks. 2-quarts per day are possible when it is really hot out, of course it varies with the drinker† (Winslow 2006). Recognizing that majority of Lipton ice teas consumers are the health-conscious and on- the-go drinkers, Lipton continues to develop its product lines to make it more convenient, accessible and health-appealing to consumers. Brand Analysis and Positioning Lipton ice tea is produced to make it â€Å"great tasting and good for [consumers] because it is rich in protective antioxidants† (Unilever 2007). Lipton ice tea is marketed globally as â€Å"the perfect drink for active, healthy lifestyle† (Unilever 2007). It is available in 16 oz plastic bottles with select flavors sold in six-pack cases. Flavors available are: Iced tea Sweetened Lightly sweetened iced tea Iced tea Unsweetened Tea with no sugar and no added flavors Iced tea with Lemon Sweetened iced tea with a twist of citrus flavor Iced tea with Raspberry Sweetened iced tea with raspberry flavor Iced tea with peach Sweetened iced tea with peach flavor Iced tea Diet Sweet Tea Lightly sweetened with Splendid and no calories Iced tea Diet Lemon Lightly sweetened with a hint of lemon Iced tea Extra Sweet Very sweet iced tea, marketed as Southern Style in some areas Half Half Half sweetened ice tea and half lemonade Diet green tea with Mixed Berry Mellow tea diet and lightly flavored with mixed berry (Wikipedia 2007; Unilever 2007). The packaging and marketing strategy for Lipton ice tea is a reflection of Unilevers thrust for consumer welfare and sustainable development. To meet the growing demand for ice tea, Lipton continues to develop new products through its research and development department. New flavors are being added to cater to changing and adventurous tastes of consumers. More importantly, the Unilever-PepsiCo ensures that Lipton ice tea continues to expand its niche in the global market. According to Patrick Cescau, director of Unilever Foods: We [Unilever] have a strong presence in the developing and emerging markets yet there is plenty of ‘white space to move into. These markets are the next in our planned rollout and we see Pepsi as the best partner to help us achieve this. This new joint venture marks a truly significant step in the expansion of the brand, bringing it within the reach of many millions of new consumers.(â€Å"Unilever PepsiCo† 2003). Moreover the alliance between Unilever and PepsiCo is expected to â€Å"enable Lipton to strengthen its global position. At the same time, we are rounding out our portfolio with a strategic partnership in one of the fastest growing beverage segments and providing consumers with Lipton, the world leader in tea. (â€Å"Unilever PepsiCo† 2003). Direct Competitor Analysis One of the major competitors for Lipton in the world ice tea market is Nestle Refreshment Company, maker of Nestea Ice Tea, well-known competitor for Lipton ice tea. Like Lipton-Unilever, Nestle Refreshment Company has forged agreement with another soda manufacturer, Coca Cola, to form the Coca Cola/Nestle Refreshment Company (Sturdivant 1992). Nestles alliance with Coca Cola has the same purpose as the Unilever PepsiCo joint agreement: global distribution. The strong presence of Coca Cola/Nestle ice tea in the United States and some parts of the globe remains a threat to the goals of Unilever PepsiCo to make Lipton the most dominant player in the global ice tea market. Coca Cola/Nestle has two major products: Nestea sweetened with natural lemon flavor and diet Nestea with natural lemon flavor. Both are available in 12 ounce cans and in 16 ounce wide mouth glass bottles. In addition to the cans and bottles, Nestea is available in refrigerated cartons (as in milk cartons) in the refrigerated sections of grocery stores and convenience stores. The tea is preservative free and made from a brewed product taken back down to a tea powder. While Nestle Coca Cola continues to develop the packaging and marketing strategies for Nestea Ice Tea, there are no recent announcements of impending new products or new flavors of ice tea to be developed soon. There is a limited flavor of Nestea Ice Tea which is basically the original ice tea flavor. The company has not shown interest to capture the emerging demand for healthy ready-to-drink ice tea products. This can be a good opportunity for Unilever PepsiCo to exploit. Lipton Ice Tea can continue to expand its market niche by capturing the growing market for healthy ready-to- drink ice tea. Unilever PepsiCo can exploit the limited flavors of Nestea Ice Tea. Recommendations/Conclusions: With the expected growth of the billion dollar ready-to-drink ice tea market, Lipton Ice Tea is poised to capture a bigger share of the market with an aggressive marketing strategy: from packaging to advertising. Short Term Goals: Improve market presence by 20% Short-Term Objectives Aggressive Marketing Strategy Unilever can take advantage of the positive press on the health benefits of tea to boost the sales of its ice tea product line. The company can use recent studies on the health benefits of tea as the basis of its press releases and advertising campaigns. Improve Packaging Currently, the Lipton Ice Tea are available globally in two sizes: the 16-oz bottle and 2 liter bottle. Unilever can come up with other packaging sizes to ensure that consumers will have other choices and that Lipton Ice Tea will be easily and readily available to consumers. Improve Shelf Presence Unilever PepsiCo can make a deal with retailers ensure retail shelf space and prominent positioning for Lipton Ice Tea. â€Å"Although an average shopper may not notice what brands are positioned in prominent places on shelves or how much room is allotted to each manufacturer, †¦shelf space and positioning as make or break factors in introducing new products† (Sturdivant 1992). Long-Term Goals: World Number One ready-to-drink ice tea Long-Term Objectives: Product Innovation Unilever PepsiCo must continue its innovative research and development strategy to come up with new flavors and products. Unilever has extensive research facilities on product improvement. The company can use its resources and professional expertise to come up with new flavors that will suit the continuous demand for healthy ready-to-drink ice tea. With aggressive marketing strategy and product positioning, Lipton Ice Tea is poised to take the global lead in ready-to-drink ice tea industry.

Brotherhood in Mark Twains The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn :: Adventures Huckleberry Huck Finn Essays

Huckleberry Finn - Brotherhood " Batman and Robyn are the ultimate dynamic duo....", In the novel The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, Twain describes a "Batman and Robyn", like relationship that is formed by two of the main characters, Jim and Huck. Mark Twain brings the characters relationship to life with descriptive details of their attitudes and feelings towards each other. Jim, a fleeing slave, and Huck, who fakes his own death, are on a crusade for Freedom from different individual struggles. Throughout their journey they undergo many incidents that construct their relationship to become a treasured togetherness. Mark Twain's, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, reveals Jim and Huck as individuals growing together to mold a relationship which is extremely valid throughout the novel. Jim's relationship to Huck endows devotion, sensitivity, and brotherhood. Jim cherishes Huck as if he was his offspring, and presents Huck with the possibility of seeing him as a guardian. Throughout the novel Jim proves to be protective and caring as a father would be. Jim and Huck come upon a floating house boat, where they inspect the findings of a decease man on board, "Come in, Huck, but doan' look at his face" (Twain 50). Jim doesn't want Huck to stare at the dead man's face, which is a clear example of Jim shielding Huck from the ghastly sight. This also indicates Jim is concerned about Huck's response to the dead body and he uses a protective father portrayal to indicate this. One more significant illustration of the sprouting relationship between Jim and Huck is the amount of emotion Jim shows when he believes that Huck is gone forever. Huck performs a horrible prank on Jim, by pretending that he never was separated from him which contrasts with Jim's parental di sposition , "Heart wuz mos' broke bekase you wuz los' en I didn' k' yer no mo' what become er me en de raf" (twain 86). Jim is overcome with joy at the site of Huck, he begins to weep. Jim feels that Huck has taken advantages of his trust and friendship and Jim decides to confess to Huck that he would give anything up for him including his life, despite the fact that Huck is on opposing sides of society.

Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby - Nick Carraway, Detached or Dishonest? :: Great Gatsby Essays

The Great Gatsby Nick - Detached or Dishonest? The Great Gatsby is a difficult book to interpret, particularly because of the style in which it is written. Not only must the reader differentiate between the separate views of Nick as the narrator and Nick as the character, but he or she must also take into consideration at what time period, relative to this story, are these views being expressed. After all, Nick the narrator is presently evaluating the manner in which his character behaved the year before, as well as allowing his character to voice his opinion, as his opinion had been during that time frame. We learn to trust Nick as a narrator, because all the pieces of information he gives to us, received through symbolism, imagery, or personal reflection, lead us to make significant decisions regarding the other characters of the novel. His character, on the other hand, cannot be looked upon in the same manner; it can be seen as dishonest and hypocritical, yet it is these negative characteristics that humanize him, allowing rea ders to relate to him as a person. What Nick thinks as the narrator is not always the same as what his character portrays. In just the third paragraph of this book, we learn that Nick is "inclined to reserve all judgments (Page 5)," but that his tolerance, "has a limit (Page 6)." True, his opinions might not be expressed in words, but it is important to realize that those opinions still exist. The narrator's role is to make us aware of Nick's "judgments," for his character neglects to respond to such feelings. Various techniques allow us to draw our own conclusions, the most interesting one being symbolism. The "foul dust" mentioned throughout the novel serves to corrupt everything it encounters. It is this foul dust that represents the lives of Daisy, Tom, and Jordan. After all, they are all immoral characters. A word such as dust successfully gives off a negative ambiance, but for Nick to go the step further and declare such dust to be "foul" truly represents his disapproval of their actions. Thus, without proclaimi ng his opinion in the form of words, Nick presents it openly through symbolism for us to see. However, even though we know that Nick as the narrator, reflecting back on that summer, did not see the three to be honorable people, he still spent a great deal of time with them.

Stakeholder Relations :: essays research papers

Brief Many organisations are addressing the relationship they have with stakeholders. Select an organisation that is currently changing its policies towards stakeholders and, acting the role of a key stakeholder representative prepare a positioning statement/report that summarises key issues for your supporters. Background In 1875 J H Mills in Bristol opened a small family grocery store, and in 1900 became a limited company with 12 shops. J H Mills Ltd. turned into Gateway, in 1950, when a major finance house became the major shareholder. The J H Mills shops were then converted to become self-service type supermarkets. Throughout the late 20th century the amount of stores increased dramatically with takeovers and different acquisitions across the country. In 1996 Gateway food markets turned into Somerfield and was floated on the stock exchange and became a plc. The Somerfield group is made up of four separate businesses, which together operate over 1400 stores nationwide in the UK. Firstly, the Somerfield Stores division consists of around 1,000 stores incorporating Somerfield Stores and approximately 450 Kwik Save Stores. Somerfield is a modern high street retailer offering fresh foods, groceries, and household needs. The Kwik Save division was introduced to Somerfield when they announced their unconditional merger on March 20, 1998. Kwik Save's philosophy is to provide a full range of quality products at the lowest price on the high street. The idea was all about no frills low pricing. Somerfield started a  £1 billion programme to convert Kwik Save stores to Somerfield and also modernising the original Somerfield stores. Somerfield's third business is the Convenience division, a group of about 100 stores, ideal for 'top-up' shoppers, offering a range of groceries and provisions in a small store format located in convenient positions. The last of the businesses is Somerfield 24-7, a new, recent venture that allows people to shop for groceries without going into any of the supermarkets, by using the phone, Internet or interactive television and getting the goods delivered to their door. I am a representative for the employees of Somerfield plc. Report On Thursday November 11 Somerfield announced the sale of up to 490 stores and a reduction in its central office and distribution business. The board has decided to focus Somerfield operations on a potential  £30 billion neighbourhood food retailer market. Somerfield currently has approximately 10% of this market and believes it can increase its market share by further emphasising the importance of fresh food, improving the ease of shopping and developing a more responsive culture from its employees.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 27

Chapter 27 The angel and I watched Star Wars for the second time on television last night, and I just had to ask. â€Å"You've been in God's presence, right, Raziel?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Do you think he sounds like James Earl Jones?† â€Å"Who's that?† â€Å"Darth Vader.† Raziel listened for a moment while Darth Vader threatened someone. â€Å"Sure, a little. He doesn't breathe that heavy though.† â€Å"And you've seen God's face.† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Is he black?† â€Å"I'm not allowed to say.† â€Å"He is, isn't he? If he wasn't you'd just say he wasn't.† â€Å"I'm not allowed to say.† â€Å"He is.† â€Å"He doesn't wear a hat like that,† said Raziel. â€Å"Ah-ha!† â€Å"All I'm saying is no hat. That's all I'm saying.† â€Å"I knew it.† â€Å"I don't want to watch this anymore.† Raziel switched the channel. God (or someone who sounded like him) said, â€Å"This is CNN.† We came up to Jerusalem, in the gate at Bethsaida called the Eye of the Needle, where you had to duck down to pass through, out the Golden Gate, through the Kidron Valley, and over the Mount of Olives into Bethany. We had left the brothers and Matthew behind because they had jobs, and Bartholomew because he stank. His lack of cleanliness had started to draw attention lately from the local Pharisees in Capernaum and we didn't want to push the issue since we were walking into the lair of the enemy. Philip and Nathaniel joined us on our journey, but stayed behind on the Mount of Olives at a clearing called Gethsemane, where there was a small cave and an olive press. Joshua tried to convince me to stay with them, but I insisted. â€Å"I'll be fine,† Joshua said. â€Å"It's not my time. Jakan won't try anything, it's just dinner.† â€Å"I'm not worried about your safety, Josh, I just want to see Maggie.† I did want to see Maggie, but I was worried about Joshua's safety as well. Either way, I wasn't staying behind. Jakan met us at the gate wearing a new white tunic belted with a blue sash. He was stocky, but not as fat as I expected him to be, and almost exactly my height. His beard was black and long, but had been cut straight across about the level of his collarbone. He wore the pointed linen cap worn by many of the Pharisees, so I couldn't tell if he'd lost any of his hair. The fringe that hung down was dark brown, as were his eyes. The most frightening and perhaps the most surprising thing about him was that there was a spark of intelligence in his eyes. That hadn't been there when we were children. Perhaps seventeen years with Maggie had rubbed off on him. â€Å"Come in, fellow Nazarenes. Welcome to my home. There are some friends inside who wanted to meet you.† He led us through the door into a large great room, large enough in fact to fit any two of the houses we shared at Capernaum. The floor was paved in tile with turquoise and red mosaic spirals in the corners of the room (no pictures, of course). There was a long Roman-style table at which five other men, all dressed like Jakan, sat. (In Jewish households the tables were close to the ground and diners reclined on cushions or on the floor around them.) I didn't see Maggie anywhere, but a serving girl brought in large pitchers of water and bowls for us to wash our hands in. â€Å"Let this water stay water, will you, Joshua?† Jakan said, smiling. â€Å"We can't wash in wine.† Jakan introduced us to each of the men, adding some sort of elaborate title to each of their names that I didn't catch, but which indicated, I'm sure, that they were all members of the Sanhedrin as well as the Council of Pharisees. Ambush. They received us curtly, then made their way to the water bowls to wash their hands before dinner, all of them watching as Joshua and I washed and offered prayer. This, after all, was part of the test. We sat. The water pitchers and bowls were taken away by the serving girl, who then brought pitchers of wine. â€Å"So,† said the eldest of the Pharisees, â€Å"I hear you have been casting demons out of the afflicted in Galilee.† â€Å"Yes, we're having a lovely Passover week,† I said. â€Å"And you?† Joshua kicked me under the table. â€Å"Yes,† he said. â€Å"By the power of my father I have relieved the suffering of some who were plagued by demons.† When Joshua said â€Å"my father† every one of them squirmed. I noticed movement in one of the doorways to Jakan's back. It was Maggie, making signals and signs like a madwoman, but then Jakan spoke. Attention turned to him and Maggie ducked out of sight. Jakan leaned forward. â€Å"Some have said that you banish these demons by the power of Beelzebub.† â€Å"And how could I do that?† Joshua said, getting a little angry. â€Å"How could I turn Beelzebub against himself? How can I battle Satan with Satan? A house divided can't stand.† â€Å"Boy, I'm starving,† I said. â€Å"Bring on the eats.† â€Å"With the spirit of God I cast out demons, that's how you know the kingdom has come.† They didn't want to hear that. Hell, I didn't want to hear that, not here. If Joshua claimed to bring the kingdom, then he was claiming to be the Messiah, which by their way of thinking could be blasphemy, a crime punishable by death. It was one thing for them to hear it secondhand, it was quite another to have Joshua say it to their faces. But he, as usual, was unafraid. â€Å"Some say John the Baptist is the Messiah,† said Jakan. â€Å"There's nobody better than John,† Joshua said. â€Å"But John doesn't baptize with the Holy Ghost. I do.† They all looked at each other. They had no idea what he was talking about. Joshua had been preaching the Divine Spark – the Holy Ghost – for two years, but it was a new way of looking at God and the kingdom: it was a change. These legalists had worked hard to find their place of power; they weren't interested in change. Food was put on the table and prayers offered again, then we ate in silence for a while. Maggie was in the doorway behind Jakan again, gesturing with one hand walking over the other, mouthing words that I was supposed to understand. I had something I wanted to give her, but I had to see her in private. It was obvious that Jakan had forbidden her to enter the room. â€Å"Your disciples do not wash their hands before they eat!† said one of the Pharisees, a fat man with a scar over his eye. Bart, I thought. â€Å"It's not what goes into a man that defiles him,† Joshua said, â€Å"it's what comes out.† He broke off some of the flatbread and dipped it into a bowl of oil. â€Å"He means lies,† I said. â€Å"I know,† said the old Pharisee. â€Å"You were thinking something disgusting, don't lie.† The Pharisees passed the â€Å"no, your turn, no, it's your turn† look around the room. Joshua chewed his bread slowly, then said, â€Å"Why wash the outside of the urn, if there's decay on the inside?† â€Å"Yeah, like you rotting hypocrites!† I added, with more enthusiasm than was probably called for. â€Å"Quit helping!† Josh said. â€Å"Sorry. Nice wine. Manischewitz?† My shouting evidently stirred them out of their malaise. The old Pharisee said, â€Å"You consort with demons, Joshua of Nazareth. This Levi was seen to cause blood to come from a Pharisee's nose and a knife to break of its own, and no one even saw him move.† Joshua looked at me, then at them, then at me again. â€Å"You forget to tell me something?† â€Å"He was being an emrod, so I popped him.† (â€Å"Emrod† is the biblical term for hemorrhoid.) I heard Maggie's giggling from the other room. Joshua turned back to the creeps. â€Å"Levi who is called Biff has studied the art of the soldier in the East,† Joshua said. â€Å"He can move swiftly, but he is not a demon.† I stood up. â€Å"The invitation was for dinner, not a trial.† â€Å"This is no trial,† said Jakan, calmly. â€Å"We have heard of Joshua's miracles, and we have heard that he breaks the Law. We simply want to ask him by whose authority he does these things. This is dinner, otherwise, why would you be here?† I was wondering that myself, but Joshua answered me by pushing me down in my seat and proceeding to answer their accusations for another two hours, crafting parables and throwing their own piety back in their faces. While Joshua spoke the word of God, I did sleight-of-hand tricks with the bread and the vegetables, just to mess with them. Maggie came to the doorway and signaled me, pointing frantically to the front door and making threatening, head-bashing gestures which I took to be the consequences for my not understanding her this time. â€Å"Well, I've got to go see a man about a camel, if you'll excuse me.† I stepped out the front door. As soon as I closed it behind me I was hit with the spraying girl-spit of a violently whispering woman. â€Å"YoustupidsonofabitchwhatthefuckdidyouthinkIwastryingtosaytoyou?† She punched me in the arm. Hard. â€Å"No kiss?† I whispered. â€Å"Where can I meet you, after?† â€Å"You can't. Here, take this.† I handed her a small leather pouch. â€Å"There's a parchment inside to tell you what to do.† â€Å"I want to see you two.† â€Å"You will. Do what the note says. I have to go back in.† â€Å"You bastard.† Punch in the arm. Hard. I forgot what I was doing and entered the house still rubbing my bruised shoulder. â€Å"Levi, have you injured yourself?† â€Å"No, Jakan, but sometimes I strain a shoulder muscle just shaking this monster off.† The Pharisees hated that one. I realized that they were waiting for me to request water so I could go through the whole hand-washing ritual before I sat down to the table again. I stood there, thinking about it, rubbing my shoulder, waiting. How long could it possibly take to read a note? It seemed like a long time, with them staring at me, but I'm sure it was only a few minutes. Then it came, the scream. Maggie let go from the next room, long and high and loud, a virtuoso scream of terror and panic and madness. I bent over and whispered into Joshua's ear, â€Å"Just follow my lead. No, just don't do anything. Nothing.† â€Å"But – â€Å" The Pharisees all looked like someone had dropped hot coals into their laps as the scream went on, and on. Maggie had great sustain. Before Jakan could get up to investigate, there came my girl – still shrieking, I might add – a lovely green foam running out of her mouth, her dress torn and hanging in shreds on her blood-streaked body and blood running from the corners of her eyes. She screamed in Jakan's face and rolled her eyes, then leapt onto the table and growled as she kicked every piece of crockery off onto the floor where it shattered. The servant girl ran through screaming, â€Å"Demons have taken her, demons have taken her!† then bolted out the front door. Maggie started screeching again, then ran up and down the length of the table, urinating as she went. (Nice touch, I would never have thought of that.) The Pharisees had backed up against the wall, including Jakan, as Maggie fell on her back on the table, thrashing and growling and screaming obscenities while splattering the front of their white cloaks with green foam, urine, and blood. â€Å"Devils! She's been possessed by devils. Lots of them,† I shouted. â€Å"Seven,† Maggie said between growls. â€Å"Looks like seven,† I said. â€Å"Doesn't it, Josh?† I grabbed the back of Joshua's hair and sort of made him nod in agreement. No one was really watching him anyway, as Maggie was now spouting impressive fountains of green foam both out of her mouth and from between her legs. (Again, a nice touch I wouldn't have thought of.) She settled into a vibrating fit rhythm, with barking and obscenities for counterpoint. â€Å"Well, Jakan,† I said politely, â€Å"thank you for dinner. It's been lovely but we have to be going.† I pulled Joshua to his feet by his collar. He was a little perplexed himself. Not terrified like our host, but perplexed. â€Å"Wait,† Jakan said. â€Å"Festering dog penis!† Maggie snarled to no one in particular, but I think everyone knew who she meant. â€Å"Oh, all right, we'll try to help her,† I said. â€Å"Joshua, grab an arm.† I pushed him forward and Maggie grabbed his wrist. I went around to the other side of the table and got hold of her other arm. â€Å"We have to get her out of this house of defilement.† Maggie's fingernails bit into my arm as I lifted her up and she pulled herself along on Josh's wrist, pretending to thrash and fight. I dragged her out the front door and into the courtyard. â€Å"Make an effort, Joshua, would you,† Maggie whispered. Jakan and the Pharisees bunched at the door. â€Å"We need to take her into the wilderness to safely cast out the devils,† I shouted. I dragged her, and Joshua for that matter, into the street and kicked the heavy gate closed. Maggie relaxed and stood up. A mound of green foam cascaded off of her chest. â€Å"Don't relax yet, Maggie. When we're farther away.† â€Å"Pork-eating goat fucker!† â€Å"That's the spirit.† â€Å"Hi, Maggie,† Joshua said, taking her arm and finally helping me drag. â€Å"I think it went really well for short notice,† I said. â€Å"You know, Pharisees make the best witnesses.† â€Å"Let's go to my brother's house,† she whispered. â€Å"We can send word that I'm incurable from there. â€Å"Rat molester!† â€Å"It's okay, Maggie, we're out of range now.† â€Å"I know. I was talking to you. Why'd you take seventeen years to get me out of there?† â€Å"You're beautiful in green, did I ever tell you that?† â€Å"I've got to think that that was unethical,† Joshua said. â€Å"Josh, faking demonic possession is like a mustard seed.† â€Å"How is it like a mustard seed?† â€Å"You don't know, do you? Doesn't seem at all like a mustard seed, does it? Now you see how we all feel when you liken things unto a mustard seed? Huh?† At Simon the Leper's house Joshua went to the door first by himself so Maggie's appearance didn't scare the humus out of her brother and sister. Martha answered the door. â€Å"Shalom, Martha. I'm Joshua bar Joseph, of Nazareth. Remember me from the wedding in Cana? I've brought your sister Maggie.† â€Å"Let me see.† Martha tapped her fingernail on her chin while she searched her memory in the night sky. â€Å"Were you the one who changed the water into wine? Son of God, was it?† â€Å"There's no need to be that way,† Joshua said. I popped my head around Josh's shoulder. â€Å"I gave your sister a powder that sort of foamed her up all red and green. She's a bit nasty-looking right now.† â€Å"I'm sure that becomes her,† said Martha, with an exasperated sigh. â€Å"Come in.† She led us inside. I stood by the door while Joshua sat on the floor by the table. Martha took Maggie to the back of the house to help her clean up. It was a large house by our country standards, but not nearly as big as Jakan's. Still, Simon had done well for the son of a blacksmith. I didn't see Simon anywhere. â€Å"Come sit at the table,† Joshua said. â€Å"Nope, I'm fine by the door here.† â€Å"What's the matter?† â€Å"Do you know whose house this is?† â€Å"Of course, Maggie's brother Simon's.† I lowered my voice. â€Å"imon-Say the eper-Lay.† â€Å"Come sit down. I'll watch over you.† â€Å"Nope. I'm fine here.† Just then Simon came in from the other room carrying a pitcher of wine and a tray of cups in his rag-wrapped hands. White linen covered his face except for his eyes, which were as clear and blue as Maggie's. â€Å"Welcome, Joshua, Levi – it's been a long time.† We'd known Simon as boys, spending as much time as we did hanging around Maggie's father's shop, but he had been older, learning his father's craft then, and far too serious to be associating with boys. In my memory he was strong and tall, but now the leprosy had bent him over like an old woman. Simon set the cups down and poured for the three of us. I remained against the wall by the door. â€Å"Martha doesn't take well to serving,† Simon said, by way of apologizing for doing the serving himself. â€Å"She tells me that you turned water into wine at the wedding in Cana.† â€Å"Simon,† Joshua said, â€Å"I can heal your affliction, if you'll allow me.† â€Å"What affliction?† He lay down at the table across from Joshua. â€Å"Biff, come sit with us.† He patted a cushion next to him and I ducked in the event that fingers started flying. â€Å"I understand that Jakan used my sister as bait for a trap for you two.† â€Å"Not much of a trap,† Joshua said. â€Å"You expected that?† I asked. â€Å"I thought there would be more, the whole Pharisee council perhaps. I wanted to answer them directly, not have my words passed through a dozen spies and rumormongers. I also wanted to see if there would be any Sadducees there.† Just then I realized what Joshua had already figured out: the Sadducees, the priests, weren't involved in Jakan's little surprise inquisition. They had been born to their power, and were not as easily threatened as the working-class Pharisees. And the Sadducees were the more powerful half of the Sanhedrin, the ones who commanded the soldiers of the Temple guard. Without the priests, the Pharisees were vipers without fangs, for now anyway. â€Å"I hope we haven't brought the judgment of the Pharisees down on your head, Simon,† Joshua said. Simon waved a hand in dismissal. â€Å"Not to worry. There'll be no Pharisees coming here. Jakan is terrified of me, and if he really believes that Maggie is possessed, and if his friends believe it, well, I'd bet he's divorced her already.† â€Å"She can come back to Galilee with us,† I said, looking at Joshua, who looked at Simon, as if to ask permission. â€Å"She may do as she wishes.† â€Å"What I wish is to get out of Bethany before Jakan comes to his senses,† Maggie said, coming from the other room. She wore a simple woolen dress and her hair was still dripping. There was still green goo on her sandals. She came across the room, knelt down, and gave her brother a huge hug, then a kiss on the eyebrow. â€Å"If he comes by or sends word, you'll tell him I'm still here.† I sensed Simon was smiling under the veil. â€Å"You don't think he'll want to come in and look around?† â€Å"The coward,† Maggie spat. â€Å"Amen,† I said. â€Å"How did you stay with a creep like that all of these years?† â€Å"After the first year he didn't want to be anywhere near me. Unclean, don't you know? I told him I was bleeding.† â€Å"For all those years?† â€Å"Sure. Do you think he would embarrass himself among the members of the Pharisee council by asking them about their own wives?† Joshua said, â€Å"I can heal you of that affliction, if you'll allow me, Maggie.† â€Å"What affliction?† â€Å"You should go,† Simon said. â€Å"I'll send word about what Jakan has done as soon as I know. If he hasn't done it already, I have a friend who will plant the idea that if he doesn't divorce Maggie his place on the Sanhedrin might be questioned.† Simon and Martha waved to us from the doorway, Martha looking like a compact ghost of her older sister and Simon just looking like a ghost. And thus did we become eleven. There was a full moon and a sky full of stars thrown over us as we walked back to Gethsemane. From the top of the Mount of Olives we could see across the Kidron Valley to the Temple. Black smoke streamed into the sky from the sacrificial fires which the priests tended day and night. I held Maggie's hand as we walked through the grove of ancient olive trees and out into the clearing near the oil press where we camped. Philip and Nathaniel had built a fire and there were two strangers sitting by it with them. They all stood up as we approached. Philip glared at me, which baffled me until I remembered that he'd been with us at Cana, and seen Joshua and Maggie dancing at the wedding. He thought I was trying to steal Joshua's girl. I let her hand go. â€Å"Master,† said Nathaniel, tossing his yellow hair, â€Å"new disciples. These are Thaddeus and Thomas the Twins.† Thaddaeus stepped up to Joshua. He was about my height and age, and wore a tattered woolen tunic and looked especially gaunt, as if he might be starving. His hair was cut short like a Roman's, but it looked as if someone had cut it with a dull piece of flint. Somehow he looked familiar. â€Å"Rabbi, I heard you preach when you were with John. I have been with him for two years.† A follower of John, that's where I knew him from, although I didn't remember meeting him. That explained the hungry look as well. â€Å"Welcome, Thaddaeus,† Joshua said. â€Å"These are Biff and Mary Magdalene, disciples and friends.† â€Å"Call me Maggie,† Maggie said. Joshua stepped over to Thomas the Twins, who was only one guy, younger, perhaps twenty, his beard still like soft down in places, his clothes finer than any of ours. â€Å"And Thomas.† â€Å"Don't, you're standing on Thomas Two,† Thomas squealed. Nathaniel pushed Joshua aside and whispered in his ear a little too loudly. â€Å"He sees his twin but no one else can. You said to show mercy, so I haven't told him that he's mad.† â€Å"And so you shall be shown mercy, Nathaniel,† Joshua said. â€Å"So we won't tell you that you're a ninny,† I added. â€Å"Welcome, Thomas,† Joshua said, embracing the boy. â€Å"And Thomas Two,† Thomas said. â€Å"Forgive me. Welcome, Thomas Two, as well,† said Joshua to a perfectly empty spot in space. â€Å"Come to Galilee and help us spread the good news.† â€Å"He's over there,† said Thomas, pointing to a different spot, equally empty. And thus did we become thirteen. On the trip back to Capernaum Maggie told us about her life, about the dreams she had set aside, and about a child that had died in the first year of her marriage. I could see Joshua was shaken when he heard of the child, and I knew he was thinking that if we hadn't taken off to the East, he would have been there to save it. â€Å"After that,† Maggie said, â€Å"Jakan didn't come near me. There was bleeding right after the baby died, and as far as he knew it never stopped. He's always been afraid that someone might think that there's a curse on his house, so my duties as a wife were public only. It's a double-edged sword for him. In order to appear dutiful I had to go to the synagogue and to the women's court in the Temple, but if they thought I was going there while I was bleeding I would have been driven out, maybe stoned, and Jakan would have been shamed. Who knows what he'll do now.† â€Å"He'll divorce you,† I said. â€Å"He'll have to if he wants to save face with the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin.† Strangely enough, it was Joshua who I had trouble consoling about Maggie's lost child. She'd lived with the loss for years, cried over it, allowed it to heal as much as it would, but the wound was fresh for Joshua. He walked far behind us, shunning the new disciples who pranced around him like excited puppies. I could tell that he was talking to his father, and it didn't seem to be going well. â€Å"Go talk to him,† Maggie said. â€Å"It wasn't his fault. It was God's will.† â€Å"That's why he feels responsible,† I said. We hadn't explained to Maggie about the Holy Ghost, the kingdom, all the changes that Joshua wanted to bring to mankind, and how those were at odds, at times, with the Torah. â€Å"Go talk to him,† she said. I fell back in our column, past Philip and Thaddaeus, who were trying to explain to Nathaniel that it was his own voice he heard when he put his fingers in his ears and spoke, and not the voice of God, and past Thomas, who was having an animated discussion with empty air. I walked along beside Joshua for a while before I spoke, and then I tried to sound matter-of-fact. â€Å"You had to go to the East, Joshua. You know that now.† â€Å"I didn't have to go right then. That was cowardly. Would it have been so bad to watch her marry Jakan? To see her child born?† â€Å"Yes, it would have. You can't save everyone.† â€Å"Have you been asleep these last twenty years?† â€Å"Have you? Unless you can change the past, you're wasting the present on this guilt. If you don't use what you learned in the East then maybe we shouldn't have gone. Maybe leaving Israel was cowardly.† I felt my face go numb as if the blood had drained from it. Had I said that? So, we walked along for a while in silence, not looking at each other. I counted birds, listened to the murmur of the disciples' voices ahead, watched Maggie's ass move under her dress as she walked, not really enjoying the elegance of it. â€Å"Well, I, for one, feel better,† said Joshua finally. â€Å"Thanks for cheering me up.† â€Å"Glad to help,† I said. We arrived in Capernaum on the morning of the fifth day after leaving Bethany. Peter and the others had been preaching the good news to the people on the shore of Galilee and there was a crowd of perhaps five hundred people waiting for us. The tension had passed between Joshua and me and the rest of the journey had been pleasant, if for no other reason than we got to hear Maggie laugh and tease us. My jealousy of Joshua returned, but somehow it wasn't bitter. It was more like familiar grief for a distant loss, not the sword-in-the-heart, rending-of-flesh agony of a heartbreak. I could actually leave the two of them alone and talk to other people – think of other things. Maggie loved Joshua, that was assured, but she loved me as well, and there was no way to divine how that might manifest. By following Joshua we had already divorced ourselves of the expectations of normal existence. Marriage, home, family: they were not part of the life we had chosen, Joshua made that clear to all of his disciples. Yes, some of them were married, and some even preached with their wives at their sides, but what set them apart from the multitudes who would follow Joshua was that they had stepped off the path of their own lives to spread the Word. It was to the Word that I lost Maggie, not to Joshua. As exhausted as he was, as hungry, Joshua preached to them. They had been waiting for us and he wouldn't disappoint them. He climbed into one of Peter's boats, rowed out from the shore far enough for the crowd to be able to see him, and he preached to them about the kingdom for two hours. When he had finished, and had sent the crowd on their way, two newcomers waited among the disciples. They were both compact, strong-looking men in their mid-twenties. One was clean-shaven and wore his hair cut short, so that it formed a helmet of ringlets on his head; the other had long hair with his beard plaited and curled in the style I had seen on some Greeks. Although they wore no jewelry, and their clothes were no more fancy than my own, there was an air of wealth about them both. I thought it might have been power, but if it was, it wasn't the self-conscious power of the Pharisees. If nothing else, they were self-assured. The one with the long hair approached Joshua and kneeled before him. â€Å"Rabbi, we've heard you speak of the coming of the kingdom and we want to join you. We want to help spread the Word.† Joshua looked at the man for a long time, smiling to himself, before he spoke. He took the man by the shoulders and lifted him. â€Å"Stand up. You are welcome, friends.† The stranger seemed baffled. He looked back at his friend, then at me, as if I had some answer to his confusion. â€Å"This is Simon,† he said, nodding toward his friend. â€Å"My name is Judas Iscariot.† â€Å"I know who you are,† Joshua said. â€Å"I've been waiting for you.† And so we became fifteen: Joshua, Maggie, and me; Bartholomew, the Cynic; Peter and Andrew, John and James, the fishermen; Matthew, the tax collector; Nathaniel of Cana, the young nitwit; Philip and Thaddeus, who had been followers of John the Baptist; Thomas the twin, who was a loony; and the Zealots, Simon the Canaanite and Judas Iscariot. Fifteen went out into Galilee to preach the Holy Ghost, the coming of the kingdom, and the good news that the Son of God had arrived.