To what extent can working conditions affect well-being in the Essay

To what extent can working conditions affect well-being in the workplace - Essay Example decades.The paper will be discussing the extent to which the working conditions in the organizations of today’s world are affecting the well being of the employees with detailed discussion from different perspectives. The working environment in an organization is the product of the behaviors, interactions and synthesis among the employees working in that organization. In this respect the concept of organizational behavior can be said to be occupying an important place. Deflecting its path away from the conventional disciplines in academics, the dimension of organizational behavior (OB) uses various attributes from different fields and applies them in the changing of different priorities of the organizations. OB is a field that investigates the impact that individuals, groups and the structure possess on the behavior within the organizations. This dedicated towards the purpose of applying such knowledge towards the improvement of the effectiveness of an organization. OB also directs towards understanding the behavior of the people, the process of management, the organizational context, organizational process as well as the execution of work as well as interaction with the external environment. OB also centers on the process of what people do in an organization and how that behavior affects the performance of the organization and also deals with the study and understanding of the individual’s behavior which leads to the enhancement in the predictability. The behavior of the people, process of management and that of the organizational contexts are based on the elements of environmental influence, the process of organization and the correction of work which leads to the improved performance within the organization and also to increase its effectiveness. At the initiation phase, the practices of the organizational behavior included psychological application to the workplaces followed by rigorous research concerning various problems evolving in the workplace. It

Spanish literature Essay Example for Free

Spanish literature Essay From Latin litterae (plural); letter is the art of written work. The word literature literally means: things made from letters. The body of written works of a language, period, or culture. Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value: Literature must be an analysis of experience and a synthesis of the findings into a unity (Rebecca West). The art or occupation of a literary writer. The body of written work produced by scholars or researchers in a given field. Printed material  Written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc. , esp works of imagination characterized by excellence of style and expression and by themes of general or enduring interest. The body of written work of a particular culture or people Written or printed matter of a particular type or on a particular subject Printed material giving a particular type of information. The art or profession of a writer Obsolete learning Writing in prose or verse regarded as having permanent worth through its intrinsic excellence. The entire body of writings of a specific language, period, people, etc. The writings dealing with a particular subject. The profession of a writer or author. Literary work or production. Any kind of printed material, as circulars, leaflets, or handbills. Archaic. literary culture; appreciation of letters and books. Creative writing of recognized artistic value  writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest,are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays. Written works (such as poems, plays, and novels) that are considered to be very good and to have lasting importance.

Accommodating Religion in the Workplace Essay -- Title VII, mitigating

The circumstances, images and fallout related to September 11, 2001 have caused many Americans to revisit their spiritual beliefs in attempt to process the horrific events of such an unimaginable day (Smith, 2003). In the years since the Fall of 2001, employees have developed an increasing desire to integrate their personal spirituality and religious beliefs with their professional lives (Cunningham, 2010). Managers are now faced with the difficult task of accommodating the varying spiritual beliefs of their workforce while tactfully mitigating religion-based issues in accordance with Title VII. Food Consumption When Maya failed to consume the majority of her dish after announcing her hunger at a recent business luncheon with colleagues, many were confused about her behavior after she went on to order desert. Maya’s choice not to eat the chicken and mashed potatoes accompanying her lunch could have been the result of a number of factors including: Maya’s choice to live a vegan lifestyle, specific food avoidances which include chicken and potatoes, serious allergies to ingredients used in the preparation of both items or religious beliefs related to the consumption or preparation of the food. Because Maya’s behavior was not connected to her personal work performance or her coworkers’ perception of her performance, management could choose to disregard the concerns of the other employees unless Maya elicits a conversation regarding her decision not to eat the food items. If Maya does feel that she owes her coworkers an explanation, a brief meeting with each would en able her to relay the circumstances behind her behavior. If her decision not to eat the food items was religion-based, Maya will likely need to be prepared to face qu... ...t deal to religious observers who wish to be free from discrimination"(Ruan, 2008, p. 3). Management’s ability to interject during times of disagreement and misunderstanding may help diminish the chances of belief-based discrimination within an organization. At minimum, organizations should strive to comply with Title VII in an effort to reduce the opportunity for future litigation related to the religious views in the workforce. Works Cited Cunningham, G. (2010). The influence of religious personal identity on the relationships among religious dissimilarity, value dissimilarity, and job satisfaction. Social Justice Research, 23(1), 60-76. Ruan, N. (2008). Accommodating respectful religious expression in the workplace. Marquette Law Review, 92(1), 1-32. Smith, J. (2003). Marketing that's good for the soul. Marketing Management, 12(1), 52.

South Korea Essay -- Essays Papers

South Korea History Korea’s original name, Choson, Meant â€Å"land of the morning calm.† The country’s history has been shaped by frequent invasions from its neighbors. Korean history is divided into three main periods: the silla (668-935), Koryo (935-1392), and Yi (1392-1910) dynasties. The name â€Å"Korea† is derived from the middle dynasty of Koryo. Foreign influence-direct and indirect-occurred throughout these dynasties. All of Korea’s foreign overlords-Mongolian, Chinese, and Japanese instituted a closed-door policy in order to solidify their rule. This isolation earned Korea the name of the Hermit kingdom. In 1910, Japan annexed Korea and enforced ruthless control, outlawing Korean culture and language. Despite resistance, several generations grew up more familiar with Japanese than with Korean customs. At the Yalta Conference at the end of World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union jointly established temporary administrative trusteeship over Korea until democratic elections could be held. Japanese forces south of the thirty-eighth parallel surrendered to the United States and forces in the north surrendered to the U.S.S.R. The Soviets blocked attempts to hold nationwide elections, and the two sides became deadlocked. When authorities in the north ignored a United nations resolution for supervised elections in 1948, a pro-Western government was established in the south (the republic of Korea). Later the Soviet Union established the Democratic Peoples’s republic of Korea in the north. In June 1949, U.S. troops withdrew. One year later, North Korean forces in vaded South Korea. A United Nations-backed coalition of sixteen member nations sent assistance to South Korea. The resulting war lasted three years and ended in a stalemate. On July 27, 1953, an armistice agreement was signed and a military Armistice Commission with five members for each side was set up to supervise the implementation of the armistice. Since neither the United States nor South Korea ever signed the agreement (although they respect the terms as members of the United Nations), a state of war is formally still in effect. The Society and Its Environment Few societies have changed as rapidly or as dramatically since the end of World War II as that of South Korea. When the war ended in 1945, the great majority of the people living in the southern ... ...d lineage continuity traditionally was, and to a great extent remains, a supremely important principle. This reflects Mencius’s view that of all possible unfilial acts, to deprive one’s parents of posterity is the worst. Historically, the Korean family has been patrilineal. The most important concern for the family group was producing a male heir to carry on the family line and to perform ancestor rituals in the household and at the family gravesite. The first son customarily assumed leadership of the family after his father’s death and inherited his father’s house and a greater portion of land than his younger brothers. Traditionally, the purpose of marriage was to produce a male heir to carry on the family line and not to provide mutual companionship and support for husband and wife. Marriages were arranged. A go-between or matchmaker, usually a middle-aged woman, carried on the negotiations between the two families involved who, because of a very strict law of exogamy, sometimes did not know each other and often lived in different communities. The bride and groom met for the first time at the marriage ceremony, a practice that ended in the cities by the 1930’s.

Food can be significant in people’s lives

Food can be significant in people's lives' for many different reasons – comparison of texts from food anthology. Titus Andronicus and Grandpa's Soup By samiyarahman Both Titus Andronicus and Grandpa's soup serve the purpose of entertaining the reader in Juxtaposing ways. Titus Andronicus is illustrative of the alarming horror that certain types of cooking and food reinforce, whereas Grandpa's soup is representative of the warmth and affection that certain types of food and cooking can bring.Themes portrayed in these texts such as death, mortality, celebration, esperation, love and hate are looked at from completely different angles through the literary techniques displayed by both writers, which will be analyzed and discussed in this essay. First of all, the celebratory atmosphere created in both texts highlight the horror/ happiness. For example, in Titus Andronicus, ingredients of human flesh and bones are mixed to produce delightful dishes.Literally, this is gruesome and ch aotic but for the characters cooking these dishes it connotes a sense of victory over defeating their enemies and ridiculing them, which they then celebrate. Similarly, in Grandpa's Soup the ingredients are given a voice to, making them almost onomatopoeic for example, ‘hoch', ‘loch' and ‘och'. The rhythmic tone signifies togetherness and similarity between the words indicative of the togetherness and strong relationship the character has with her Grandpa.The repetition of these ingredients throughout the poem adds emphasis to this idea, it seems as if it was pouring out of her mind – this is also reflected through the character's voice because it doesn't seem to be limited to a form, the poem sprawls and is shaped by the speech, which reflects the Joy and elebration in the poem. Death and mortality are also common themes in these poems presented to us in two completely different ways. Ruthless cannibalism in Titus Andronicus versus natural death in Grandpa' s Soup: Titus very easily and by giving clear instructions orders on how to kill Chiron and Demetrius.This implies that if he so effortlessly does this he is not at all moved or disturbed by it and that it is completely normal to him. The silence and reaction of others around him show that they are also unaffected by it, which forces out an extremely shocking response from the reader. In contrast, Grandpa's Soup signifies that Grandpa's cooking provides her with genuine pleasure not Just contentment or satisfaction but something greater therefore she goes onto talk about her fear of losing him, which overcasts a melancholic shadow over the whole poem.The writer understands that death is a natural process that she cannot stop but she goes on to say how it will affect her living life as she will be emotionally torn apart and carry the burden of pain throughout with the absence of her Grandpa and his remedial soup. There is evidence of figurative language that is very effective in outl ining and omprehending the character's point of view in Grandpa's Soup for example the simile ‘like a rich island in the middle of the soup sea'. The hyperbole assists in getting her ideas across.Describing the soup as a sea represents the depth of the character's feelings associated with the soup, and her Grandpa. This is reinforced by the yearning that is evident through her language, for example ‘he knows I will grow and pine for it. I will fall ill and desperately need it' this could be seen as deep emotive language that shows her desperation and strong will to hold onto her Grandpa forever and the fact that she draws from the semantic field of health shows that the soup is so important to her it's like a cure or a medicine for all her illnesses.The desperate people that have no peace in Titus Andronicus are reflective of the fast pace of the poem and how quickly events unfold throughout the poem leaving the reader with no time to digest it. The Juxtaposition is evid ent in, Whereof their mother daintily hath fed, Eating the flesh that she herself hath bred' shows that she has done such a catastrophic deed but in a way that is not imaginable and omething she herself was unaware about. The adverb ‘daintily screams out the disgust.This technique achieves maximum impact because soft words are used to convey a very powerful, strong meaning completely alarming the reader because it is such an unnatural, unusual situation. Also, the conversational and chatty lexis rather than it makes as if all the gruesomeness is very common and there is nothing to be shocked about. Both writers use iambic pentameter giving the texts life and a certain personality. For example in Titus Andronicus the iambic pentameter assists in building tension, uspense and the stress.Furthermore, in Grandpa's Soup it would be appropriate to say it sounds like a heartbeat when read aloud illustrating the love and affection that resides in the poem. The role of women in Titus A ndronicus seems very minor. Rape is the stigma attached to Lavinia therefore it is believed that her life is no longer valuable or even useful which is why she is subject to death after she gets Justice. Titus uses the killing of Chiron and Demetrius as a Justification for killing Lavinia. Additionally, Tamora Just follows instructions even though she is the empress but has no real oice.On the other hand, in Grandpa's Soup, the whole poem is a female narrator expressing her feelings and having the most important place in the poem. In conclusion, it can be said that the themes of these texts are highly comparable because both texts possess the same themes, which are given a completely different light in each one. Titus Andronicus is accurately representative of its genre: a revenge tragedy and Grandpa's Soup gets across the idea that food can form and trigger memories that last a lifetime and the nostalgia allows us to reconnect with omeone that may be gone but still alive in our tho ughts.Titus Andronicus sticks closely to its fictional identity however Grandpa's Soup allows the reader to bring to lite real teelings that are relatable to a wide audience. On the contrary, it can be argued that even though we can closely relate to Grandpa's Soup rather than Titus Andronicus, the concentration of the themes in Titus Andronicus allows us to understand the real meanings of those more in it rather than in Grandpa's Soup. When analyzing the texts it is important to consider the purposes of the texts and oth texts fulfill their purpose to entertain to a large extent.The various techniques such as fgurative language, word choices, form, structure and sound patterning are used by Shakespeare and Kay to get across certain attitudes and values have been extremely successful in doing so. Additionally, the backgrounds of the writers and the eras they were writing in seem to have largely influenced these poems. For example Kay may be giving a personal account of her experienc es giving it a timeless quality whereas Shakespeare's motivation may have been what sold or was popular at the time to spectators.

Acids And Bases Essays - Chemistry, PH Indicators, Free Essays

Acids And Bases Essays - Chemistry, PH Indicators, Free Essays Acids And Bases What substances turned into Acids? & What substances turned into Bases? Hypothesis: Procedure: Pour about three milliliters of your sample in each of three test tubes. Pour the same amount on a watch glass. In the first test tube put in two drops of methyl orange and record the color. In the second test tube, put in two drops of bromothymol blue and record the color. In the third test tube, add two drops of phenothalein and record the color. Using the watch glass sample, touch the tips of a red and a blue litmus paper and record the colors. Then touch the tip of a piece of pH Paper and record the color and match the color to the chart and record the pH. Methyl O Bromothymol B Phenothalein R Litmus B Litmus pH Paper Color Congo R AA- orange/red yellow clear red red pink(1) purple OJ- red/orange yellow yellow red pink Orange(4) purple HA- red yellow clear red red red(2) purple Bleach-orange yellow clear red red orange(4) purple Vinegar-red yellow clear red red red(1) purple SH-orange blue red blue blue brown(12) orange Mouth wash-red yellow/green sky blue red red red(1) purple Lemon J-red yellow clear red red red(2) purple Windex-Orange blue clear red blue orange(6) red Plax-orange blue lilac red red orange(6) peach PickleJ-red yellow clear red red red(4) brown Di gel- yellow blue lilac blue blue yellow(7) red Conclusion: Acids are chemical compounds made up of nonmetallic elements or polyotomic ions combined with hydrogen. They react with metals to release hydrogen and have a pH less than 7. That is why litmus paper turns red. So anything that turned red in my chart was an acid. Bases are compounds made up of metallic elements or polyotomic ions combined with hydroxyl radicals. They are formed when some metals react with water and have a pH above 7. They turn litmus paper blue. So anything on my chart that is blue under litmus is Bases. So from my results it was very easy to clarify which substance was an acid and which one was a base.

What men need to know about dressing for job interviews

What men need to know about dressing for job interviews Attention men: do you know the modern rules to dress for success? Times have changed, and with them the guidelines for dressing for job interviews have too. And in today’s volatile, talent-rich job market where one wrong move can send you to the bottom of the applicant pool, the stakes for making an impeccable impression on job interviews are higher than ever before. Along with your cover letter and resume, how you handle yourself on a first interview- which includes how you dress- is a critical component of your initial impression on potential employers and hiring managers, and we all know how powerful and lasting first impressions can be.So keep reading, get ready- and go shopping if necessary- to make sure you’re absolutely ready when you’re on your next job hunt.Dress for the environmentAn important (yet often ignored) maxim when dressing for job interviews is dressing appropriately for the environment. What does this mean? Simply put, a three-piece suit may not be the best choice for every situation. An interview at a prestigious law firm and an art gallery are different animals that likely require different wardrobes. There are times when a conservative outfit is practically a requirement, and times when a little creative flair will be appreciated and well received. When you’re on an interview, potential employers will not only be looking to see that your outfit is polished and professional, they’ll also be checking to make sure it’s appropriate for the setting and reflects good judgment.Bottom line- whether in a board room, theater, campground, classroom, or somewhere in-between, part of your prep for every interview is to research your target environment and audience and to pick out an outfit that appropriately fits the situation.Fit mattersIn times past, men had plenty of leeway when it came to clothing fit and many chose to opt for loose comfort. Today, a more tailored fit is in style, so much so that in some places you’ll look positively behind the times if your outfit is too baggy or loose-fitting. A well-tailored outfit radiates positive, professional poise whereas a baggy, ill-fitting one may send a subconscious message that you’re unprepared, disorganized, or careless (regardless of whether or not it’s true).Your best bet is to make sure your clothes reflect a neatly tailored fit- this doesn’t mean you have to buy a whole new wardrobe, but it may necessitate a trip to the tailor if you find yourself drowning inside of your current outfits.Don’t be a peacockSure, you want to stand out from the applicant pool when you’re on an interview, but do it with your amazing abilities and experience- not with an overly flashy outfit. Resist the urge to peacock your way through your interviews and save the loudly colored suits and shirts and wildly creative ties for your next party or social gathering (unless you’re absolutely certain it’s the right environment for it). Instead, opt for more subtle color palettes and fits. Trust us on this one- you may stand out with a wild outfit, but likely not in the way you want to.Comfort is keyJust as important as a carefully considered and appropriate outfit is reflecting the aura that you’re confident- which means feeling comfortable in your clothes. Make sure you’ve tried on your outfit in advance of the interview day, and make sure your choice of outfit makes you feel good about how you look and your chances of landing the job. Nothing wrecks a first interview quite like a complete lack of confidence and comfort, so be prepared and consider yourself forewarned.Use these tips to plan out your outfit so that when interview day comes, you’re ready to go. Looking great leads to feeling great, which then leads to putting your best foot forward- so you’ll already have a leg up on the competition. Good luck!

Is ACT Writing Important Expert Guide

Is ACT Writing Important Expert Guide SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Writing portion of the ACT has always been an optional portion of the exam. However, it was significantly revised in fall 2015 with the aim of better testing the kinds of analytical writing skills that are necessary for college work. Some colleges require or recommend that students take it for their application, and others don’t. With the recent revision of the SAT, the SAT Essay portion has also become optional. In light of this change, many colleges are changing their admissions policies and no longer requiring or recommending the SAT Essay or the ACT Writing section.But what does this whirlwind of change mean for you? Is the optional ACT Writing section still important? In this article I’ll break it down. First I’ll give a brief of overview of the ACT writing section and how it’s scored, which colleges require ACT Plus Writing, why schools require the Writing section and how they use it, and why other schools won’t require the Writing section going forward. Finally I’ll provide guidance on how to figure out if the ACT Writing section is important for you. ACT Writing: a Brief Overview On the ACT Writing section, you’ll be presented with an issue and then three perspectives on that issue. You then have 40 minutes to write a unified essay that addresses the following two tasks: Present and support your own opinion on the issue Explain how your opinion and at least one of the other three perspectives are related. The scoring system for the resulting essay is fairly complex. Two graders score your essay in 4 domains from 1-6, giving you a total potential score of 12 in each domain. Your scores between the four domains are then averaged to get your overall score from 2-12. For more on ACT Writing scoring, see our complete breakdown. It’s important to note that your score on the Writing section does not affect your composite score. However, it is a part of your English-Language Arts subscore, for which your English, Reading, and Writing scores (scaled to a 1-36 score range to calculate the ELA score) are averaged and rounded to the nearest whole number. The Writing section will also cost you an extra $16-17. It's a little-known fact that the first step in grading your ACT essay is solving an elaborate maze. Who Requires ACT Plus Writing? Most (over two-thirds) of colleges will not require the ACT Writing section for applicants in 2017 and beyond.However, there are quite few institutions that will continue to require it for applicants, especially amongelite-tier schools. The Ivy League is notably divided on the issue, with half requiring the ACT Writing section (Harvard, Princeton, Dartmouth, Yale) and half leaving it optional (Columbia, Cornell, University of Pennsylvania, Brown). Unfortunately, the ACT’s database of schools’ Writing requirements is very out-of-date and reports many schools as requiring the essay that have in fact dropped the requirement for 2017 applicants. For the most up-to-date information on a school’s position on the ACT plus Writing, check a school’s admissions website. Those schools that do require Writing have gone on the record with specific reasons for doing so. I’ll break those down in the next section. Why Do Schools Require the ACT Plus Writing? You may be curious about why some schools require the Writing section of the ACT in light of the fact that so many schools have made it completely optional.Based on public statements from school officials, there seem to be three main reasons why schools require the ACT’s optional Writing section: Consistency Many schools feel that the revised SAT essay is much better at testing the kinds of analytical skills important for college writing. For those schools that feel the SAT essay is worthwhile, it makes sense for them to also require the ACT’s Writing section for the sake of consistency. More Information Is Better Some college admissions offices have the philosophy that all of the information they can get is useful in evaluating applicants. The Writing section provides another data point on a student’s language and writing skills in addition to transcripts and admissions essays. Thus, schools that value having all the information that it is conceivably possible to obtain about a student tend to require ACT Writing. See Your Writing Skills Under Pressure The ACT Writing section gives admissions officers a unique chance to see how you use your analytical writing skills under time pressure. Your college admissions essays are polished and tightly edited pieces of writing, while your ACT Writing efforts will be much more raw and unvarnished. Again, it’s another data point for schools. The infamous Tower of Time Pressure. These reasons provide some insight as to why schools require ACT Writing- but how do they use your scores? How Do Schools Use ACT Plus Writing? If you are applying to schools that require ACT Writing, it’s important to know how they use it in evaluating your application. Is it a critical piece, a bit of extra fluff, or something in between? I spoke on the phone to admissions officers at different schools about how they use the ACT’s Writing section. Some themes emerged: Admissions officers feel that the ACT Plus Writing gives a more â€Å"rounded† picture of an applicant’s skills than the ACT without Writing. Essentially, they value having the additional information about an applicant’s language skills as part of their standardized test scores. However, they also stress that students are evaluated holistically, and their primary concern would be if a student’s essay score seemed inconsistent with the student’s other writing-based application materials. For example, if your application essay was phenomenal and you got straight-As in your English classes but then a overall score of 5/12 on the essay, that would be a red flag that something bizarre was going on. The general consensus is that schools do really look at the score, but it’s not a super-important part of the application unless the score seems inconsistent with an applicant’s other qualifications.However, your best bet if you are interested in a given school that requires the Writing section and you want to know exactly how they use it to evaluate applicants is to call the admissions office and ask. It’s also worth (re)stating that except for in the most selective tier of institutions, schools that require the ACT Writing section are in the minority. Most schools won’t require or even recommend the new optional essay, and they have their own reasons for doing so. UC Berkeleydoes require the ACT plus Writing. Why Don't Schools Require the ACT Plus Writing? There are three main reasons that schools have given for not requiring the ACT Writing section going forward: Consistency When the essay portion of the SAT was required, it made sense for schools to require the optional Writing section of the ACT for consistencies’ sake. Now that the SAT essay is optional, however, schools can re-evaluate their stance on the issue. Schools that have decided to not require the optional SAT essay have, in general, also removed their ACT Writing requirement to preserve consistency in testing guidelines between the two tests." The Writing Section Is Redundant Some schools feel that they already have sufficient evidence of an applicant’s writing capability through application essays and student transcripts in English. This is particularly true at institutions where multiple essays are required as part of the application. Requiring the ACT Writing Is a Burden to Underprivileged Students Some schools are concerned that the extra cost associated with the Writing section may be a deterrent to underprivileged students. University of Pennsylvania has stated that minority and first-generation college applicants are least likely to have a â€Å"complete testing profile.† They’ve eliminated the ACT Writing requirement in the hopes of attracting a more diverse applicant pool. A diverse applicant pool as represented by these decorative squashes. Is the ACT Writing Section Important for You? I’ve gone over how and why schools will require or not require the ACT Writing section going forward. But how does this affect you? Should I Take the ACT Plus Writing? This comes down primarily to whether or not you are applying to schools that require or recommend the ACT Writing Section. (I generally err on the side of treating recommendations as nicely-worded requirements in the college application process.) If you don’t take the ACT Writing section and later realize you need it, you will unfortunately have to retake the entire exam! So if there is even a chance you might be interested in a school that does require/recommend the Writing section, you should take it. This is especially salient if you are applying to top-tier schools, as about half of them require the ACT Writing section. If you know for certain that you are definitively not interested in a single school that requires or recommends the Writing section, go ahead and skip it. But only if you know you won’t change your mind! Another note here is that if you are very good at timed analytical essay-writing, you might also want to take the Writing section even if you are only applying to schools where it is optional. A stellar score will look good on your application even if it’s not required- in fact, it will show that you took some initiative. How Important Is My Score? The answer to this question is not completely clear-cut, as it does depend on the schools to which you are applying. What’s most important in general is that your Writing score is consistent with your other test scores. It certainly doesn’t have to be a perfect correlation- if you get a 36 for your composite and a 9/12 on writing, I wouldn’t stress too much. But if you have a 30 composite and an 6/12 on the essay, that may cause concern among admissions officers that you aren’t ready for college-level writing. How Can I Succeed on the ACT Writing Section? If you do need to take the Writing section, you can definitely learn the skills necessary to do well. Here are some general tips: Take a few minutes to plan out your essay before you start writing it! Be sure to discuss at least two of the perspectives in your essay, and definitely make your own opinion clear. Support all of the points you make with specific examples. Make sure your essay is logically organized and has an introduction and a conclusion. Write more than a page! For more on how to hit ACT Writing out of the park, see our step- by-step guide to writing an ACT essay, 15 tips to raise your essay score, or our guide to a perfect essay score. These kittens are proud of you! Key Takeaways Because the SAT has made the essay section of the exam optional, schools are taking the time to reevaluate their requirements for the ACT Writing section as well. Many schools have dropped the requirement entirely. However, elite-tier institutions are divided on the issue, with some continuing to require the Writing section and others dropping it. For those schools that do require the Writing section, it may not be clear exactly how they use it in evaluating your application. The general consensus among admissions officers I spoke to was that the Writing score provided valuable information, but that it was mostly used to check for consistency in an applicant’s language skills. In evaluating whether the ACT Writing section is important for you, consider the following: Are you applying to schools that recommend or require the ACT Writing section? Then take the ACT Plus Writing. Are you not sure where you’re applying yet? Take the ACT Plus Writing, because otherwise if you end up needing it later you will have to sit for the whole exam again. If you are taking the Writing section, how important is your score? Well, it’s most important that your score is generally consistent with the rest of your test scores and application profile. But the good news is that it’s very possible to learn how to write an excellent ACT essay. My final word, then, would be don’t ignore the Writing section and definitely prepare for it if you’re going to take it, but don’t stress too much about getting a perfect score. Nothing is truly perfect...except this puppy. What's Next? Wondering about the SAT essay? See our expert guide on the importance of the SAT essay. If you're not surehow important the ACT is for college admissions, see our guide. Prepping for the ACT? See our collection of free ACT practice tests, our comprehensive list of ACT guides, and our total guide to ACT test day. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this ACT Writing lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get your ACT essays hand-graded by a master instructor who will give you customized feedback on how you can improve. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

How UML and Agile Development fit together Essay

How UML and Agile Development fit together - Essay Example 2. How can software affect both product development and product management? In the current competitive environment, development of products that win the appeal of the customer is very important for success in the market. On the other hand, the success of any product is dependent upon the skills and competencies of the product manager; the latter is responsible for development of products. The product development and management process includes processes such as product requirement definition, release definition, and product life cycles. However, product development and management is complex and includes numerous stakeholders, responsibilities and processes. This means that contemporary product managers have to be heavily assisted by technology, including appropriate software (Gorchels 23). There is need for the right kind and combination of software to be applied for the desired product to be achieved. 3. List and explain the common tasks performed during software architecture. Some of the common tasks performed during software architecture include; Proposal development: A software architect develops proposals for new software based on new product needs or customer requirements. Design: This involves the design and creation of new software on the basis of proposals made. Software realization: This involves supervision of the whole process of software development from design through creation up to the point that the software is ready to be launched. Software validation: A software architect plays the role of validating software for a company especially when such software has been outsourced or is new. This involves ascertaining the effectiveness of the software and ensuring it is fit for purpose. Report writing: The software architect is charged with producing periodic reports during the course of software development. 4. What are the common inputs, constraints, and outputs found during architectural problem solving? Software design inputs are very helpful towar ds formalization of architecture requirements and constraints. Some of the common inputs in software design include use cases, usage scenarios, functional requirements, non-functional requirements, and technological requirements (Clements et al. 72). Some common constraints in software design include poor technology, fast changing scenarios and unanticipated functional or non-functional requirements. 5. Why is it important for software architects to be familiar with the discipline of requirement engineering? Requirements engineering is mainly concerned with the identification and communication of the purpose of a software-intensive system, and contents in which it will be used. Basically it acts as the bridge between the need of software users, customers, and other groups affected by a software system, and opportunities and capabilities provided by software (Malan and Bredemeyer 1). It is important for software architects to be familiar with requirements engineering because it provi des them with the opportunity to understand how to bridge the gap between what users need and system design to meet those needs. 6. What are the four main activities performed during requirement engineering? Explain. The following activities are performed during requirement engineering: Requirements discovery: Involves Requirements analysis: this involves

Not sure yet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Not sure yet - Essay Example The new â€Å"knowledge based† economy is defined by the World Bank (Report, 2003, p1) as that which relies â€Å"primarily on the use of ideas rather than physical abilities and on the application of technology rather than the transformation of raw materials or the exploitation of cheap labor†. This is a new determinant that propagates the idea of life-long learning. This change is bound to have an effect on the choice of an individual’s vocational education and training methods. We witness a contradiction and a replacement of the traditional view of life-long education of what Longworth (2003,p33) sees as being â€Å"about the development of the whole person† with that of its contemporary view of what Bagnall (2000) calls as ‘economic determinism’. This need has come about with the emphasis laid upon the currency in paid employment and an unavoidable need to sustain one’s employment and currency in the growing face of change. This paper shall argue that there is an imbalance in the view of lifelong learning and that the need for life-long learning changes with the change in time, industrial circumstances and that it also relevant to economic carve. But we shall argue that the traditional conception of lifelong learning as being a mode of personal fulfillment also holds an important role in setting the real purpose of life-long Education while this view is given less importance in today’s world. A balanced outlook between that individual and social obligation of life-long learning is desirable and this shall be the perspective of the paper while not forgetting that the use of these two perspectives as the purpose and end of the life-long education depends upon individual and circumstances. The change that has come about in the view in Lifelong learning however, shall be exemplified with the change in education system, policies and globalization

Assume you are employed in a small restaurant in Bolton and your Essay

Assume you are employed in a small restaurant in Bolton and your manager ask you to prepare a report describing following conce - Essay Example The major factors affecting the restaurant business are the price and quality. The price and quality are in turn determined by several factors such as demand and supply. This paper focuses on how different factors and concepts can affect the operations of a restaurant business located in Bolton. The concepts that will be considered include market demand and supply, concepts of elasticity of demand and supply, determination of equilibrium, business organisation and behavior, and the market structure. Market Demand and Supply Analysis of demand and supply gives insights into how markets operate. Additionally, the demand and supply concepts explain how sellers are able to allocate prices to goods and services. Restaurant businesses deal with provision of goods and services. The restaurant industry is greatly influenced by the supply and demand forces. In a restaurant business, there is a need for balancing of resources, which are often scarce. Understanding supply and demand factors and their application in the restaurant business is crucial since it affects the sales and purchases and, hence, crucial decisions in a business. Supply and demand varies from place to place as well as with time (Parsa, et al., 2005; Taylor and Weerapana, 2011). The supply in a restaurant business is determined by several factors, which include the price of the goods. Tastes and preference of the consumers is another factor affecting the restaurant business. The number of consumers varies and this determines the quantity of foods that restaurants require to make. Additionally, the income level of people living around the restaurant, who comprise the prospective customers, determines the quantities of foods restaurants require to prepare. In Bolton, the number of restaurants is quite high. The commodity price, which is in this case food, is determined by both supply and demand. The commodity prices greatly affect the profitability of restaurants. Commodities such as vegetables and meat are affected by food production. When the prices for commodities are low, restaurants can reduce the prices of their foods without compromising on the profitability of the business. However, when commodity prices are high, it becomes hard to attract customers through price reduction since this would lead to losses (Greco, 2005; Taylor and Weerapana, 2011). The supply and demand affect the price of commodities in restaurant business. If the supply of raw food is less, the demand will be more resulting in increased prices. High prices for raw foods will reflect in the restaurant menu. For the restaurant at Bolton, the manager must assess how the price of the different ingredients required will affect the sales. Additionally, the manager must consider the economic statues of the customers to determine the ingredients to use. If the customers are willing to pay much, the manager should focus on upgrading the ingredients to improve the quality. In Bolton, the economic situation is consid erably good and people are willing to spend much at eating out. Therefore, it would be advisable for the manager to focus on quality. Customers are likely to be interested more in the quality than in the price (McEachern, 2011). There must be ways of attracting customers and retaining them. Since the number of restaurants is considerably high, consumers will be tempted to try out different outlets. Therefore, a

Healthy Grief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthy Grief - Essay Example The five stages are: This stage involves an individual bargain with God to postpone his death. This stage is marked with a hope to achieve any position in the bargain with a promise of reformed lifestyle (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Ross model does not involve any interaction with joy at any stage. However, as it acknowledges the individuality of individual it does not ignore the chance of any joy. A unique individual may not necessary deny his death but welcome it with joy. It all depends upon the individual. The story of Job is about how a devoted Christian survived God’s test when Satan took away all of his life luxuries, his off springs and gave him a fatal skin disease. Job suffered great loss and so had great grief for his misery. However, he in his grief never cursed or blamed God for anything (Kroll, n.d.). This story exhibits that trails are God tests to gauge our love for him and are an opportunity for us to exhibit our faith in God (Kroll, n.d.). Job’s story indicates that joy is for those who remain strong and patient during God’s trial for them. Joy is the reward for passing the test. In this story, joy interacts at the end in the form of reward for Job. In Buddhism, there is no appreciation for grief and it does not allow to celebrated grief. Buddhism advice that grief and sufferings are bad things and one should eliminate its causes. According to Buddhism teachings, one should have equal love and compassion towards all sentient being so that strong affection will not work together to cause grief (Autumn, Workman & Newkirk, 1999). The research that I have conducted on grieving process strengthen my belief that grieving is a very personal experience. Personally, I like to celebrate grief alone so that it does not hurt or influence other people around me. I face grief with a headstrong approach and do not deny it. This research has not changed my views on handling grief but has strengthened

Word of God (The attributes and the perfections of God) Essay

Word of God (The attributes and the perfections of God) - Essay Example However certain Scriptures do make reference to physical features, this is called anthropomorphisms, and should not be taken literally (Swindoll p.180). In addition to God being spirit, he is described as "living and true God" (1 Thessalonians 1:19). God is life itself. Therefore, knowing God is life. He is also eternal. Isaiah referred to God as the "everlasting God" (Isaiah 40:28). God is not bound by space or time, He is endless; God has always existed and always will.Knowing God is eternal, it brings us peace to know the power of God, God manifests His power through one of His perfections known as omniscience, and this means 'God knows all'. God sees everything in present tense without effort. He knows the past and future as present (Swindoll p181). God is all powerful or omnipotent as has been rightly stated, "The voice of the LORD is powerful" (Psalms 29:4). The whole universe was created upon the spoken Word of God. One of the greatest displays of omnipotence is salvation (Rom ans 1:16). "I am not ashamed of the Gospel, because it is the power of God."Understanding God's power in creation is important, but we must recognize that 'God is active in His creation, but is not to be identified with it' (Swindoll p.183). Failing to understand this distinction could lead to Pantheism. God is omnipresent, He is everywhere at once but not diffused throughout the universe as pantheism teaches. Another attribute that gives believers security is the fact that God never changes. Believers can always stand on the promises of God. God is completely self-existing, He is free and independent; there is nothing he needs that we might offer. God's attributes are impossible to list, therefore we know God is inscrutable; there will always remain aspects of God that are a mystery beyond our comprehension (Swindoll p.185). God is always faithful. This gives us peace to know. Man will disappoint us but God's faithfulness will never fail. In addition to God's faithfulness, He is truth; God can never break a promise or lie, this goes against who he is, 'truth'. God is a Holy God, because Holiness is who He is. Therefore, he is completely separate from all that is unholy. God has shown love for man by sending His son as the ultimate perfect sacrifice so we may be seen righteous before a Holy God. John declared, "Jesus Christ, the Righteous one" (1 John 2:1) without the blood of the Righteous one, man would be hopeless. God's faithfulness means that He is completely dependable and will never let us down. There is a promise in the Word of God that speaks of God's faithfulness (1 Corinthians 10:13). "And God is faithful; He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." Many times when God wants to build our faith he has to break us down. This breaking down of oneself is how we continually understand that we must depend on Christ for all things. Mercy is another wonderful moral attribute of God. God's mercy is not achieved by human efforts,

Healthy Grief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Healthy Grief - Essay Example The five stages are: This stage involves an individual bargain with God to postpone his death. This stage is marked with a hope to achieve any position in the bargain with a promise of reformed lifestyle (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Ross model does not involve any interaction with joy at any stage. However, as it acknowledges the individuality of individual it does not ignore the chance of any joy. A unique individual may not necessary deny his death but welcome it with joy. It all depends upon the individual. The story of Job is about how a devoted Christian survived God’s test when Satan took away all of his life luxuries, his off springs and gave him a fatal skin disease. Job suffered great loss and so had great grief for his misery. However, he in his grief never cursed or blamed God for anything (Kroll, n.d.). This story exhibits that trails are God tests to gauge our love for him and are an opportunity for us to exhibit our faith in God (Kroll, n.d.). Job’s story indicates that joy is for those who remain strong and patient during God’s trial for them. Joy is the reward for passing the test. In this story, joy interacts at the end in the form of reward for Job. In Buddhism, there is no appreciation for grief and it does not allow to celebrated grief. Buddhism advice that grief and sufferings are bad things and one should eliminate its causes. According to Buddhism teachings, one should have equal love and compassion towards all sentient being so that strong affection will not work together to cause grief (Autumn, Workman & Newkirk, 1999). The research that I have conducted on grieving process strengthen my belief that grieving is a very personal experience. Personally, I like to celebrate grief alone so that it does not hurt or influence other people around me. I face grief with a headstrong approach and do not deny it. This research has not changed my views on handling grief but has strengthened

Feminist Art Review of Cindy Sherman Self-Portrait Essay

Feminist Art Review of Cindy Sherman Self-Portrait - Essay Example Perhaps the most seminal artist operating in this cultural milieu is Cindy Sherman. Sherman’s art presents a multitude of perspectives on the self, interrogating identity, experience, and femininity in the postmodern world. This essay examines Sherman’s self-portrait Untitled Film Still 53 arguing that it presents a comprehensive response to mainstream perspectives on identity and actively resists the male gaze. Analysis While Cindy Sherman’s work almost exclusively explores conceptual portraits, her most notable collection is the Untitled Film Stills, 1977–1980. Within the context of this collection critics have divided the portraits into a variety of themes, still it’s clear that are a number of concerns that underline all these modes of representation. One of the most emblematic portraits of this collection is Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #53. From a strictly literal perspective, this work is a photographic portrait of Sherman wearing a b londe wig. Her eyes are slanted indifferently to the left. She is standing in front of a concrete wall that is blurred from view by the brightness of a light and photographic development techniques. While this portraiture presentation is ostensibly simplistic in meaning, further analysis reveals a number of deeper meanings. In deconstructing traditional representations of identity Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #53 resorts to one of the most pervasive constructors of identity – the cinema. Indeed, it’s been noted that in the, â€Å"early work by Cindy Sherman†¦she reconstructs the codes of the representation of femininity in cinema† (Jones, pg. 90). Within the context of this portrait one witnesses the co-optation of many elements of film noir cinema. In these regards, the low-key lighting and blurred focus are much in-line with this genre. While the photograph represents a recreation of this 1940s and 1950s aesthetic, the nature of it being a second- order representation is such that it leads individuals to question the nature of these early and mid-20th century forms of gender and identity construction. It’s noted that, â€Å"The intellectual woman looks and analyzes, and in usurping the gaze she poses a threat to an entire system of representation† (Jones, pg. 67). Such an understanding reveals perhaps the central meaning behind this specific portrait and Sherman’s larger body of work, namely that the artist has implemented conceptual portraits in a post-modern paradigm to interrogate previously held notions of truth and reality. Another prominent investigation of identity in this portrait is through interrogation of the male gaze. Feminist theory contains a strong emphasis on the representation of women in television and film, with Laura Mulvey’s the gaze a prominent area of consideration. Within Sherman’s portrait it’s clear she is exploring this feminist concern in a variety of ways . One prominent understanding, as is characteristic of Sherman’s Untitled Film Stills, is that, â€Å"Sherman has posed herself as embodied object, photographically frozen within gendered positions of vulnerability† (Jones, pg. 323). When one examines this within the outward representation of the photographic image, one of the major considerations is the mid-20th century costume and body language. Sherman’

Zeus As Hero Essay Example for Free

Zeus As Hero Essay One of the reasons why Zeus is a hero is because he defeats his mighty and powerful father Cronos along with the titans, and shares the glory with his many brothers and sisters. On my opinion I think a hero is someone that does something without thinking of themselves. Someone that is willing to take the risk for the sake of someone else. A hero is someone that will always be willing to help and take any major risk. This paragraph will explain how Zeus is a hero because he has demonstrated Bravery, Sharing, and his powerfulness. This paragraph will determine why Zeus is brave and will give three example of him being brave. The first example of Zeus being brave was when Zeus defeated his father Cronos; this example is one of the greatest examples because it explains all three of Zeus’s characteristics. Zeus showed himself being brave because he faced one of the most powerful gods in the world. Not only that but Cronos eager to kill Zeus and swallow him whole. The second example of Zeus being brave is when Zeus caught lightning bolt to protect his best friend Pan, Zeus was then aware he was a god. The third and final example of Zeus being a hero is when Zeus transformed into a bull and dared to take Queen Europa out of her boundaries when she was specifically under many rules of her father and one day would become Queen. But, she luckily got to become Queen of Crete and built many ships for them and Zeus. These actions prove that Zeus is a true Greek hero. The next paragraph will show how Zeus is able to share, and examples will be given to show you why. This paragraph will determine why Zeus is able to share and will give three carefully detailed examples. The first example of Zeus being able to share is when he gives Crete a magnificent gift; King Minos was in desperate need of a wall, a warrior and an army. They pleaded to Zeus to give them these three wishes and Zeus put it all into one huge gift. He gave them Talus a great bronze giant that will protect Crete no more than a thousand years. Each nine years they would bless Zeus for his gift. The second example of Zeus being able to share is when he defeats the titans and frees his brothers and sisters, not only that but Zeus gives his brothers and sisters a part of the world. Poseidon got the sea, Zeus claimed the sky, Hades took the underworld, ECT The third and final example of Zeus being able to share is when he grants queen Europa’s wish. She is then freed from her father’s rules and became Queen of Crete. The next paragraph will tell you how Zeus is loyal in the storeys told about Zeus. This paragraph will identify why Zeus is loyal, It will provide three examples from multiple storeys in the book. The first example of Zeus being loyal was when he made Queen Europa Queen of Crete she became loyal back to him by building the ship that he had requested from her. The second example of Zeus being loyal is when he promised and did give each of his brothers and sisters a piece of the world everyone then worshipped Zeus for what he’d done. The third and final example of Zeus being loyal is when Zeus agreed with Rhea to go defeat his awful father Cronos and to reclaim his brothers and sisters and become king. The next paragraph will conclude why Zeus is brave, loyal and able to share. Zeus has many characteristics that make him a hero. He has demonstrated Bravery, being able to share, and loyalty in many of the myths. For example, Zeus defeats Cronos that trapped his many brothers and sisters and the many invincible titans. Therefore, Zeus is a true Greek hero.

Organizational Analysis of WalMart Store Inc

Organizational Analysis of WalMart Store Inc Introduction and brief overview of Wal-Mart store Inc. Wal-Mart store Inc. is not only the retail giant, but also is the largest grocery chain in the world. Wal-Mart store Inc. was founded in 1962. Samuel Walton and his brother J.L. Walton open their first Wal-Mart Discount City in Rogers, Arkansas (Wal-Mart History, 2010). For Wal-Mart store Inc., their common mission is: Save people money so they can live better (Wal-Mart corporate, 2010). Compared with their main competitors such as Target and K mart, Wal-Marts 2009 sales were almost 50% more. Because of its giant size and buying power, Wal-Mart can buy its products at very low prices, exchanging high purchase volumes for low cost then passing the savings onto its customers (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). Wal-Mart has 8,900 stores around the world in three different business segments of retail stores that including: Wal-Mart stores, Sams Club and Wal-Mart international. All of them offer different kinds of merchandises including electronic appliances, groceries, furniture, apparel and health beauty stuffs etc. For their business segment, they have over 54% of the companys stores are located in the United States, and the others international stores are mainly located in central and south America and China. The company mainly focuses on offering the lowest prices to attract its consumers. Wal-Mart totally earned $408 billion revenue in 2010, increase 1% compare to 2009 (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). REVENUE BY GEOGRAPHY  Ã‚  Ã‚   (USD) Annual FISCAL YEAR ENDING 31-1-2006 31-1-2007 31-1-2008 31-1- 2009 31-1-2010 Revenue International 59.2B 77.1B 90.6B 98.6B Revenue US 284B 303B Total Revenue 316B 349B 379B 406B 408B (Source: www.wikinvest.com/stock/Wal Mart_%28WMT%29/Data/Key_Metrics#Revenue_Breakdown) In 2009, Wal-Mart earned $255.7 billion in the domestic segment of the companys revenue. For Wal-Mart stores segment are further categories into three different formats including: Supercenters, Discount stores and Neighborhood Stores. For the Sams club, it is the second largest membership-only retailer club ( Costco is the first largest membership-only retailer) in United States belong to Wal-Mart Inc., their main customers mostly are offices, convenience stores, motels, restaurants and schools etc. (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). For now, Wal-Mart has total 3,121 international stores all over the world including in Mexico, Japan, Canada, China and countries in central and South America. However, recently Wal-Mart begins to slow down their growth rate in the United State and turn their main focus onto its international stores to develop growth. For international stores locations altogether earned total $98.6 billion revenue in 2009, compared to the sales of 2008, is increased 9.1% (Wikinvest Wal-Mart, 2010). Strategic History of the Industry The whole retail industry in the United States has over $4 trillion annual revenue. The main retail companies are including Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Kroger, Costco, and Target. Some of the large companies dominate some retail sectors such as mass merchandisers and grocery stores, other sectors like auto dealers and convenience stores are fragmented. However, retail industry still has many small and specialty retailers are single-store operations (Hoover, 2011). The economy deeply affects the retail demand. In other words, retail demand depends on the economy. Many different kinds of economic factors such as job growth, recession, personal income, consumer confidence and interest rates can strongly affect consumer spending behavior. When during recessionary periods, the bad economy can affect the retail sales growth rate slow drastically or even sales revenue decline. While the retail spending grows rapidly when in the period of strong economy growth, for example consumers will spend more on grocery when they have more income. However, the rising interest rates will affect consumer purchase behavior and consumer ability to finance large amount of purchase such as purchasing cars (Hoover, 2011). Strategic History of Wal-Mart Store Inc. In the early stage of strategic history for Wal-Mart, they always unchanged their vision always low price for their customers. Until 1990s, Wal-Mart announced that they planned to go global. They wanted to look for international markets for the reasons as following: First of all, Wal-Mart has facing very strong competition in United States such as Target and K mart. These two firms had aggressive expanding their business and had started sharing Wal-Marts market share. Secondly, the market in the United States is already saturated; it was becoming difficult for the company to continue its growth rate. Thirdly, the US population is accounted for only 4% of the worlds population and if they want to expand their global market, China had the potential massive growth due to their huge population of over 1.3 billion people. The last reason is, globalization opened up new markets in China and created opportunities for discount stores such as Wal-Mart (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004 ). On the other hand, Wal-Mart is using the strategy that cooperates with local suppliers to purchase their products, even though the organizational culture is standardized with the home country. This strategy is not only use to the products purchasing, but also adapted to the local cultures and stores decoration and designed are also changed to meet local taste all around the world (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004). Organizational mission statement As we know, the mission statement for Wal-Mart is every day low price. In order to insist their mission, Wal-Mart implemented three approaches in the market. First, it increased the local purchasing in order to reduce the purchasing costs and also suit consumers needs in different places. Secondly, it maintained a good relationship with their suppliers, satisfied them by paying within 3-7 days during its initial years. Thirdly, it established distribution centers (DC) and computerized its management system to improve efficiency and reduce costs (ICFAI, 2005). Business Level Strategy For these several years, Wal-Mart has been trying hard on expand its stores outside the United States. It through two different to expand their international business market: new store construction and acquisition. Acquisition strategy of supermarket chains had been a part of Wal-Marts entry and store expansion strategy in Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, China and Great Britain (The Wal-Mart Puzzle, 2008). Over all, the Wal-Mart strategies were including: multiple store segments, lower daily prices, lots of name-brand merchandise, reduce operating costs, emphasized customers satisfied service, wide selection products, disciplined expansion into new geographic markets, and using acquisition to enter foreign market (Wal-Mart Store Inc., 2010). However, no matter Wal-Mart are in which foreign country, their company vision always low prices is never changed. The companys low distribution costs and cost-efficient supply chain management are the big reasons why Wal-Mart is so success and at the same time reduce the products prices. Wal-Mart has get into distribution efficiency compare with their competitors because of its rural store locations. Current strategy for the major operations/functions of the company Current strategies for Wal-Mart are including low costs, high volume, increase customer satisfaction and expansion strategy. Wal-Mart creates name recognition and customer satisfaction, and combined the retailer with the reputation of offering the best prices. They also expand their new business segments to different sectors such as pharmacies, automotive repair, and grocery sales to increase their sales revenue. Expansion strategy: The company realized that building a new store will allow for increase market share value. After their success in the rural areas, Wal-Mart moved to urban areas and then moved to surrounding areas. The expansion strategy made Wal-Mart the number one retail store in the United States. As Wal-Mart continue its expansion domestically, the firm decided to go international. Furthermore, Wal-Mart realized that acquiring an existing retail firm is necessary for expand domestic and international markets. Therefore, Wal-Mart by acquire retail store which enable to expand locally and internationally. Always low prices make customers live better strategy is believed the strongest strategy used by Wal-Mart. The firm developed the idea of dealing directly with the manufacturer and with the power control by Wal-Mart will enable it to get the best deal from the manufacturers and suppliers. Organizational structure, culture, and control systems (Source: http://www.theofficialboard.com/org-chart/wal-mart-stores) Saving people money to help them live better was the mission for Wal-Mart. Hence, Wal-Mart negotiates different suppliers and understanding their cost structure in order to reduce the price. Wal-Mart has to be certain that the manufacturers were doing their best to cut down costs. Also, Wal-Mart believed in establishing a long-term relationship with their suppliers. Wal-Mart had 129 distribution centers located at different locations all over the US. Over 80,000 items were stocked in these centers. Wal-Marts own warehouses directly supplied 85 percent of the inventory, as compared to 50-65 % for competitors. Shipping costs for Wal-Mart is about 3 % which is lower than its competitors, 5%. The distribution centers ensured a steady and consistent flow of products to support the supply function (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004). Wal-Marts logistics infrastructure was its fast and successful transportation system. The distribution centers were serviced by more than 3,500 company owned trucks. To make its distribution process more efficient, Wal-Mart also uses a logistics technique called cross-docking. In this system, the finished goods were directly picked up from the manufacturing plant from suppliers, and then directly supplied to the customers. The system reduced the handling and storage of finished goods, eliminating the role of the distribution centers and stores (Wal-Marts Cost Leadership Strategy, 2004). SWOT Analysis for Wal-Mart Store Inc.. Strengths Reputation Brand Name: Wal-Mart is a powerful brand and pioneer in the retail industry with the wide spread network of stores. It has a reputation for low price, convenience and a wide range of products all in one store for customers. Wal-Mart has captured about 10% of the retail market in the U.S. and continues to expand. Wal-Mart stores continue to open all over the country making Wal-Mart a household name. Wal-Mart has also been widely acknowledged for its social responsibility actions. The company has donated to a variety of charitable organizations and has been accredited for bringing jobs and wealth to less developed communities. Offer Low Prices: Wal-Mart uses its enormous size and buying power to pressure its suppliers into extremely low prices, offering orders of high volumes of merchandise in exchange for low prices. The good thing about Wal-Mart is that its shifts the low cost advantage to customers and available the products at lower prices. It has loyal customer base because it meets the expectation of customer by always delivering the goods at lower prices at compare to its competitors. Expand Global Market: Wal-Mart has aggressively expands its international market over the past few years and has experienced global expansion. For example its purchase of the United Kingdom based retailer ASDA. Technology: Technology is strength to Wal-Mart with its inventory control system that was recognized as the most sophisticated in retailing. The technology linked all the stores to the headquarters and the companys distribution centers. It also enables the warehouse of which the goods are ordered, and direct the flow of goods to the store and proper shelves. Supply chain and logistics management: Supply chain and logistics management are one of the strengths of Wal-Mart. This allows Wal-Mart to utilize the Just- in-time inventory concept and avoid the pilling up inventory to save the extra cost for maintaining inventories in the warehouses. Human Resource: Wal-Mart always keen to provide training to their employees to improve the customer service level. The firm hire locally, provides training programs for its employees. Wal-Mart also gets its employees involve and encourage them to make use of words like: we, us, and ours. It also provides stock ownership and profit sharing with great contribution from the H. R of the firm. Wal-Mart was named one of the best 100 firms to work for. Cross-docking inventory system: Using the cross-dock technique, Wal-Mart was able to effectively leverage their logistical volume into a core strategic competency. Wal-Mart operates an extensive satellite network of distribution centers serviced by company owned trucks. Its satellite network sends point of sale (POS) data directly to 4,000 vendors. Each register is directly connected to a satellite system sending sales information to Wal-Marts headquarters and distribution centers. Weaknesses Employee turnover: Wal-Mart has high employee turnover which costs more money and time for company to train the new employee. Bad publicity: Wal-Mart is currently facing a gender discrimination lawsuit. Their female employees accuses that they were discriminated against in matters regarding pay and promotions. And also, Their female managers were accounted for the minority group in the company. Lock of flexibility: Wal-Mart sell very wide range kinds of products for example like clothes, food, pharmacy or stationary which lack of flexibility compare with other more focused competitors. Other competitors may have the ability to make changes and improve on a certain product lines when the needs of their customers change. Wal-Mart, however, may have too much merchandise and not be able to focus in on sectors that need to be improved. Some products have poor quality: Although Wal-Mart provides low price of products, however, customers sometimes complain about the poor quality of few products. Facing difficulty in International market: It is hard for Wal-Mart to expand their business out of US to totally different countries all around the world. Moreover, Wal-Mart has to facing different culture and customer behavior in different countries, for example Wal-Mart facing difficulty to expand the market in China. Opportunities Customers: Because Wal-Mart provides low price to their customers, so they are able to attract more customers. Furthermore, customers basically are able to purchasing everything in one store that satisfied their needs. Wal-Mart 24 hours stores also satisfied their customers. Diversified store types: Wal-Marts different store types and new locations provide more opportunities to exploit new market. Stores diversified from local, small-based sites to large super centers. International Expansion: No doubt that continued expand the international market is a huge opportunity for Wal-Mart. Wal-Marts oversea stores have experienced significant growth. There are actually tremendous opportunities for future growth in developing countries and Asian markets than in the United States such as China and India. Creating strategic alliances and licensing agreements with other global retailers are ways to move into different countries. Threats Competition: Wal-Mart faces different strong competitions locally and internationally. Wal-Mart main competitors are including Kmart, Target, Carrefour and Costco wholesale. In 2010, the Net Profit Margin for Wal-Mart is 3.59%, Target 4.22%, Costco wholesale 1.69%, Carrefour 0.38%, respectively (Hoovers, 2010). Target is Wal-Marts direct competitor in the US, offering a range of general merchandise in a similar store format (Wikinvest, 2010). Economy Recession: The revenue for Wal-Mart is affected by economy recession. Good economy is an opportunity for great business, because customers will have more money to spend. If the economy is great, there will be more jobs and people will shop more. However, if the economy is bad, there will be fewer jobs and people will shop less. Also, with the high price of gasoline and its effect on the economy, Wal-Mart will certainly be affected the most. Strategy imitation: Wal-Mart strengthens its competitive advantage on low-cost products. Other competitors may imitate their low-cost strategy to take over their market shares. Low Brand Loyalty: In the retail industry, customers would like to choose the product with the lowest price. In other words, customers do not care about the brand or which retail stores, if Costco has the exactly same chips that sell cheaper than in the Wal-Mart, then customers will choose to buy the chips in the Costco not Wal-Mart. TOWS MATRIX STRENGTHS WEAKNESSES Reputation Brand Name Bad publicity Offer Low Prices Lock of flexibility Expand Global Market Some products have poor quality Technology Facing difficulty in International market Supply chain and logistics management Employee turnover Human Resource Cross-docking inventory system OPPORTUNITIES OPPORTUNITIES-STRENGTHS OPPORTUNITIES-WEAKNESSES Customers Build on its already efficient distribution system to further expand in the U.S and globally. Wal-Mart should be awareness and strict to control of the quality of the product in order to keep their customers basis. Diversified Store Types Expand diversified store types to International market in order to increase profit in International market. Set higher employment standards through enhanced training to keep their employees have best performance. International Expansion Duplicated the successful delivery logistic management and the distribution centers into International market. Continue to build on cost efficient pricing and production due to expansion. Go into new markets and buy out their local retailers to gain market share. THREATS THREATS-STRENGTHS THREATS-WEAKNESSES Competition Buy raw materials or products from local suppliers to hold a better political status within the local community further to compete with their competitors. Human resource department should set a benefits long-term promotion program or standard and training program for their employees in order to decrease the employee turnover. Economy Recession Create their own brand of products and increase the quality of products in order to establish customers loyalty. Establish joint venture partnerships or long-term relationship with local retail companies to get the advantages in the International segment. Strategy imitation Develop strong RD and technology to enhance the competitive advantage and avoid imitation from other competitors. Low Brand Loyalty Five Forces Analysis for Wal-Mart Store Inc. Threat of entrances Low The threat of new entrance in the grocery and discount retailer industry is very low. New entrants have to face with the strong low-price competition among exist giant retail companies like Wal-Mart, Costco and Target. New entrants need to invest large amount of capitals to establish their brand recognition, service, and variety of product offerings that Wal-Mart, Target, and others competitors continue to improve on each day. In addition, existing companies can drop prices lower in order to force a new competitor out of the market. Therefore, the threat of entrances is low. Power of buyer-High Customers have many choosing opportunities and consider about products very details. They want the product now and they want it with the best service, best quality and reasonable price. Customers also enjoy increasing choice of products and choose one product that has the best quality and better price. For example, if customers find out Target sells an exactly product that has better quality and price than Wal-Mart, and then they will choose to buy it in Target instead of Wal-Mart. Power of Suppliers: Low The bargaining power of suppliers is very low. Wal-Mart is very famous on giving pressure to their suppliers to cut their price lower and lower in order to offer the lowest price to their customers. On the other hand, become the supplier of Wal-Mart is a very fierce competition. In 2004, about 10,000 new suppliers applied to become Wal-Mart vendors. However, only about 200, or 2%, were ultimately accepted by Wal-Mart (Gwendolyn Bounds, The Wall Street Journal). Therefore, the bargaining power of suppliers is low. Rivalry High The competition in the US grocery and discount retailer industry is very high. The main competitors for Wal-Mart in the local market are Kmart and Target. These companies also have to face competition from wholesalers such as BJs, Costco and even the international market such as Carrefour. Wal-Mart has adopted a cost leadership generic strategy. In the past, most companies have not been able to match Wal-Marts strategy everyday low prices. However, Wal-Marts barrier to entry (economies of scale) and strength (supply-chain management) can be easily imitated with sufficient resources. Therefore, retailers are in a fierce competition that see who can offer their customers the lowest price. Threat of substitute Low The threat of substitutes in this industry is low because only few companies have ability to offer such a variety of products available instantly and also low prices. One possible substitute is online shopping; however, customers usually do the online shopping for clothes or other stuffs but not for food or grocery shopping. Therefore, the threat of substitute is low. B. Strategic direction Key Strategic Issues Issue #1: Open too many new stores close to existing stores lead to new stores taking over the market shares from existing stores. Status Quo Wal- Mart depends on opens many new stores and expands into new market to increase the long-term sales and income growth. However, because of Wal-Marts large size of expansion, new stores are effects the sales on existing stores. For example, Wal-Mart builds a store relatively close to an already existing store, the new store might take away customers from the old store thus decrease the sales in existing stores (Wal-Mart, 2010). Evolutionary Change (Incremental Improvement) In order to solve this problem, Wal-Mart expands their business segment into international market instead of domestic market. For example, Wal-Mart opened 5 times number of stores in the international market in 2010 compared to domestic stores; most of stores are in Mexico, China, and Central America (Wal-Mart, 2010). Revolutionary Change (Huge/Drastic Change) Wal-Mart is also aggressively to open business segments in India if the country opens up the sector to foreign direct investment. India has retail market more than 1 billion; no doubt India is a huge opportunity for Wal-Mart. However, retailers that carry multiple brands (like Wal-Mart) are restricted to wholesale outlets in India. After Indias policy change, Wal-Mart is allowed to expand superstores and generate revenue in India (Wal-Mart, 2010). Specific tactics to implement the strategy Wal-Mart needs to establish long-term relationship or joint venture with local retail company to get into the market in India. Although in 2006, Wal-Mart announced that it had tied up with Bharti Enterprises Ltd. (Bharti) to get into the Indian retail sector. Bharti was a diversified company, and one of the biggest mobile telephone service providers in India (Wal-Mart and the Indian Retail Sector, 2007). However, because of the government policy, the small retailers groups and the Left parties against allowing the company into India are all the barriers that Wal-Mart has to face it. Issue #2: International competitors Status Quo In order to expand and improve the sales revenue for the economy recession especially in the domestic market, Wal-Mart has been aggressively expand its business segment into international market. However, the local big retailers or small retailers groups are against Wal-Mart to get into their market to take over the market shares because of its low price strategy (Wal-Mart, 2010). Evolutionary Change (Incremental Improvement) Improve its supply chain, logistic and technology segment to lower its delivery and operation costs in order to compete with local big retailers such as Britains Tesco, Frances Carrefour, and Germanys Metro (Wal-Mart, 2010). On the other hand, retail business segment is hard to create products differentiation, because commodity products are all the same for customers. The only way that gains the market shares for retail stores is not only low price but also quality of products. Therefore, Wal-Mart should awareness of its quality of products to attract more customers even in the international market. Revolutionary Change (Huge/Drastic Change) Wal-Mart should acquire and purchase the local retail companies in order to get into the international market. On the other hand, establish long-term relationship with local suppliers to have the win-win situation for their cooperation. Specific tactics to implement the strategy In the beginning of year 1, 2 and 3, Wal-Mart should first focus on improving its supply chain, logistic and technology improvement in order to compete with local big retailers on its lower operation, delivery costs and high quality of products. For the long-term tactics, Wal-Mart should deeply penetrate into the local market, understand different cultures and customers behaviors and then cooperate with local suppliers to establish long-term partnership. Personal assessment SWOT Analysis of myself in relation to the organization (What can I offer to the organization?). Strengths: International expansion (China): Wal-Mart is extremely aggressively penetrated into the market in China. Also, no doubt that China has 1.3 billion populations which accounted for the most majority population in the world, creates a huge business opportunity for Wal-Mart. Therefore, Wal-Mart needs a manager who can speak fluently Mandarin and English, and really understand about Chinese culture and Chinese customers behavior. Hence, I can offer Wal-Mart my knowledge to develop more opportunity in Chinas market in order to maximize the profits. Weaknesses: Lock of working experience: Even though I can speak fluently Mandarin and understand the Chinese culture and customers behavior; however, I still lack of working experiences. I do have some part time working experience such as working in starbucks, but do not have full time working experiences. Opportunities: Because of my professional knowledge (bachelor and master degree are both business management) are expertise on this field which can offer Wal-Mart a professional employees or manager. Moreover, my family also has business in China, Hangchow, which makes me has understanding and interested about China. I can provide Wal-Mart establish partnership with local suppliers and establish long-term relationship with them to compete with local retails competitors. Threats: Many applicants around the world: There is still having many talented applicants around the world apply to get into this company. Some of the applicants have high education degree and business knowledge and also have ability to speak many different kinds of languages. Therefore, I am in extremely fierce competition. Not every business segment in Wal-Mart is my expertise: I have weakened and lower advantages compared to local American because of the speaking and cultural differences. Furthermore, the company does business in many different retail formats, including supercenters, food and drugs, general merchandise stores, cash and carry stores, membership warehouse clubs, apparel stores, soft discount stores and restaurants. However, not every business segment in Wal-Mart is in my field of expertise. Financial Analysis 2010 Annual Sales (Figure2-1) (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) As you can see in Figure 2-1, this is 2010 annual sales for 4 main retail stores in the United States. They are including Wal-Mart, Target, Costco Wholesale and Carrefour. Wal-Mart has almost $400 billion sales in 2010. Compared to other competitors, annual sales for Wal-Mart was much higher than other companies. Carrefour annual sale in 2010 was around $100 billion. Annual sales for Target and Costco were just around $50 billion in 2010. 2010 Net Profit Margin (Figure2-2) (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) In Figure 2-2, net profit margin in 2010 for Wal-Mart was 2.98%. Target was higher than Wal-Mart which had 3.69% net profit margin in 2010. Other two competitors, Costco and Carrefour were both under 1.84% in net profit margin in 2010. Figure 2-3 (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) The Return on Asset ratio is useful in measuring how efficiently a company uses its assets to generate profit. By definition, ROA is calculated by dividing the Net Income by the total asset of a company. Refer to Figure 2-3, ROA for Wal-Mart from 2006 to 2010 are much higher than its competitors. Wal-Marts ROA were around 9% to 10% each year, compared to its competitors which were all much lower than Wal-Mart. This basically means that Wal-Mart utilizes its assets well enough to generate profit in comparison with their competitors. However, ROA in 2007 for Target is higher than Wal-Mart, Target 9.29%, Wal-Mart 9.05%. Targets major competitive advantage over Wal-Mart lies in its customer base: the average household income for Target customers is about $50,000 a year, whereas the average yearly income for a Wal-Mart customer is only $35,000 Figure 2-4 (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.edu/H/company360/competitiveLandscape.html?companyId=11600000000000) The return on Stockholders Equity (ROE) ratio measures the percentage of profit earned on stockholders investment in the company. In other words, return on equity  measures a corporations profitability  by revealing how much  profit a company generates  with the money shareholders have invested.  Ã‚   In Figure 2-4, ROE for Wal-Mart were around 20% from year 2006 to 2010, compared to other competitors which are higher than others. Figure 2-5 (Source:Hoovers,2011,http://0subscriber.hoovers.com.leopac.ulv.ed

The Renaissance (1400-1520 Ad) :: essays research papers

The Renaissance was â€Å"A revival or rebirth of cultural awareness and learning that took place during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, particularly in Italy,† according to Art In Focus. It followed the Middle Ages, and was basically a time of the revival of learning after the Middle Ages, or Dark Ages, a time with little increase of ideas, inventions or developments. During the Renaissance, art was a branch of knowledge. It was a way to show God and his creations, as well as a science, of anatomy and perspective. Also during the Renaissance there were many people who used art as a way to record discoveries and inspired people to take pleasure in the world around them. In 1452 AD, a genius named Leonardo da Vinci was born in a small town called Vinci. He was the illegitimate son of a local lawyer. When he was small he loved to draw pictures of plants, insects, flowers, animals, and birds. When Leonardo was in his teens his father took him to Florence, Italy, to study at the workshop of Andrea del Verrocchio. When Leonardo was twenty, he was so good at painting that he helped his art teacher finish his painting. Not only was Leonardo an artist, but he was also an architect, musician, sculptor, scientist, inventor, and mathematician. He kept detailed records of all of his inventions in his notebooks, which he wrote backwards so nobody could steal his ideas. One of his sketches in his notebook was of a skull. He used lines possibly to measure the length and the width of the human head. He might have done this to be able to paint the human head in proper proportion, and more life like. Leonardo painted very realistically, as you can see in the painting Ginevra de’Benci, which is of a young lady. Another advancement of Leonardo’s was to make his backgrounds very detailed and in proper aerial perspective. The techniques he might have used in his paintings are as follows: He would first cover a wood panel with gesso then, rough in the figures on the panels. The major forms were then modeled in a brownish tone. He would also use his fingers as well as his palms for the under molding. He would then use a fine â€Å"minever† brush for details. Leonardo was a genius in his approach to art and many other areas of study.

Toxoplasma Gondii Essay -- Disease/Disorders

Toxoplasma gondii are deadly parasites that infect millions of unknowing people around the world while causing anything from schizophrenia to abortions. An article in the Emerging Infectious Disease Journal relates that â€Å"T. gondii is an intracellular parasite in the phylum Apicomplexa† (Torrey and Yolken 1375). About ten thousand years ago humans started utilizing agriculture. The population density increased, creating opportunities for epidemic transmission of many kinds of parasites, including T. gondii. Currently, evidence suggests that the most prominent strain is the result of a cross between two parent offspring, an event that took place during this time period; however, according to many scientists exotic strains have existed for about one million years (Volkman and Hartl 353). At least fifteen distinct T. gondii strain types have been found throughout the world. The NE-II strain is more likely to be associated with premature birth and severe disease manifestatio ns. NE-II parasites are more common along the Gulf Coast and Pacific Coast than other areas of the country (McLeod). T. gondii reproduce both asexually and sexually (Volkman and Hartl 353). Asexual multiplication by cell division can occur in virtually any host cell as long as that cell is in a cat (Dubey). T. gondii is a wide spread parasite that can be deadly to some host while going unnoticed by others. Toxoplasma gondii can have devastating effects on people with weak immune systems. If untreated, congenital toxoplasmosis can have serious consequences for a child’s quality of life (McLeod). It states in the Gale Encyclopedia of Children’s Health, â€Å"Children and adults with weakened immune systems have a high risk of developing serious symptoms† (Davidson). C... ...."The Stanley Research Medical Institute.† n.pag., 2008. Web. 25 Apr 2012. McLeod, R. "Test Links Strains of Common Parasite to Severe Illness in US Newborns." Medical Xpress. National Institutes of Health, 2012. Web. 13 Apr 2012. . Torrey, E F., and Robert H. Yolkin. "Toxoplasma Gondii and Schizophrenia." Emerging Infectious Disease Journal. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nov. 2003. Web. 16 Apr. 2012. . Volkman, Sarah K. and Daniel L Hartl, "A Game of Cat and Mouth." Science 299.5605 (2003): 353. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 13 Apr. 2012 .

Humor of Flannery Oconnor

Aaron Kalman Professor Suppes Art of Literature 15 September 2012 Humor in â€Å"Good Country People† Flannery O’Connor has always liked to use various types of humor and irony in her stories centered around the dark, tragic, and uncomfortable ways of life. She uses these literary techniques to mask what she is truly trying to say. â€Å"Good Country People† by Flannery O'Connor is a prime example of humor and irony which makes fun of the simple, intellectual, as well as the incongruous people in the world. The most blatant and simple type of humor is found while observing the flat characters of Mrs. Freeman and Mrs.Hopewell. These two women begin the story by participating in routine gossip with one another. Their constant bickering and desire to feel superior to the other is humorous because of how uneducated they sound. O’Connor puts them in the category of â€Å"good country people† due to the fact that they are pure, simple, and honest. This is ironic because good country people are referred and compared to as trash multiple times in the story. Another example of irony includes when Mrs. Hopewell said that the Freemans were a â€Å"godsend,† but the reason she had hired them was that there were no other applicants.Despite Mrs. Freeman being extremely nosy, Mrs. Hopewell ironically refers to her as a â€Å"lady and that she was never ashamed to take her anywhere or introduce her to anybody they might meet† (O’Connor 379). O’Connor uses these two women to lighten up the mood of the story before introducing Mrs. Hopewell’s atheist and pessimistic daughter Joy. The humor that the author uses when describing Joy is more complex and tragic than any other character in the story. As a well-educated 32 year-old, Joy is not a pleasure to be around. Joy constantly suffers through tantrums and still dresses like a six year-old.While reading O’Connor’s description, it is hard not to lau gh at the way she acts towards her mother as well as visitors. Joy â€Å"slams doors, stomps noisily around on her wooden leg, and is in constant outrage† (O’Connor 378). An example of her disruptive behavior is when she associates Mrs. Freeman’s daughters, Glynese and Caramae, with Glycerin and Caramel. Joy changes her name to Hulga, which is ironically more suited to her personality. Her mother believes she does it to spite her, but Hulga really does it with the idea that her mother has to accept her by using the new name.This light humor becomes darker when Hulga gets ready to go on a date with the sadistic bible salesman, Manley Pointer. The bible salesman known as Manley Pointer contains a comical sense which makes taking him seriously extremely hard. First of all, the name he chooses to use is extraordinary in its own right. Manley Pointer has a cartoon character approach to him as he enters Mrs. Hopewell’s house. An example of this type of characte rization is shown when O’Connor states that the man â€Å"fell forward into her hall†¦as if the suitcase had moved first, jerking him after it† (O’Connor 382).Manley Pointer has a youthful and awkward approach to his customers mixed in with a hint of cleverness. Mrs. Hopewell states that â€Å"she never liked to be taken for a fool† (O’Connor 383). Her statement is ironic because of the slyness used by Manley to trick Mrs. Hopewell into inviting him over for dinner. As Manley fools Mrs. Hopewell, he begins his devilish act with Hulga. The climax of the humor in â€Å"Good Country People† occurs when Manley Pointer and Hulga go on a date.Manley and Hulga’s date begins with some comical light humor as Hulga tries to dress up in slacks, a dirty white shirt, and some vapex she finds in the medicine cabinet in order to seduce the bible salesman. This is humorous because its shows her ineptitude to do a basic task despite her having a PhD. Hulga thinks she is making Manley fall in love with her as he kisses her head to toe; however, ironically Manley is secretly seducing her. Her downfall occurs when she gullibly gives up her soul by entrusting Manley with her wooden leg. He then takes her leg and runs off into the distance with it, leaving Hulga stranded up in the hayloft.Satirically, the only person Hulga has ever given herself up to steals her life and breaks her heart. Throughout â€Å"Good Country People,† dark, uncomfortable, tragic as well as lighter and simple humor are all used by O’Connor. This and some situational and literal irony allowed all types of characters to be made fun of by the author. The ingenious humor and necessary irony by Flannery O’Connor in â€Å"Good Country People† are what make her story brilliant. Works Cited O’Connor, Flannery. â€Å"Good Country People. † Meyer, Michael, ed. The Compact Bedford Introduction to Literature. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.