Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Invisible Man, by Ralph Ellison - Essay Example The narrator then walks away thinking that the man is not seeing him and he was almost killed by â€Å"figment of his imagination. According to the author another concept of invisibility comes out when was in a hole thus separated from the society and chooses to remain in the cave the narrator become invisible when he went underground mainly because he felt betrayed in the outside world and now he comes out not as an invisible person who always heeds the Whiteman’s instructions but on his own dignity and senses to get the power and a since of self-respect (Wells 34). Thus this brings out the fact that invisibility means separation from society. And also the fact that he lives underground and he is consuming the manipulated light and power company and lives for free consuming the power with his light bulbs (Wells 35). Invisibility is also brought up when the invisible man is accused by Dr.Bledsoe for betraying his trust to Jim Truebood and thus being given the an impression different from the true one in a way being told to value the white fox (Wells 75). He is then suspended from the university indefinitely in the true sense not to be taken back. He is invisible since he is called an enemy of the college and given an empty hope. The Author is also invisible in a way that when he is seriously injured at the hospital the doctors doesn’t seem to see who he is and out of ignorance they use him as a guinea pig for their electric machine, clearly indicating that Dr.bledsoe and the medical personnel are not adhering to the principle of equal respect to all meaning other figures in the society and especially the blacks were not seen or given full consideration in society (Wells 34). The narrator is invisible because he lacks the ability and powers to help him and is given empty hopes when in the real sense he was expelled (Wells 58). The invisible man is invisible since after

Political Science Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Political Science Paper - Essay Example They all came up with different views concerning political authority. Hobbes supported complete monarchy; Locke supported natural rights and Rousseau spoke of joint self-government in the name of "the general will" (Cohen and Fermon, p 281). This paper will discuss the social contract of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Burke; giving a clear understanding of human nature as viewed by the four philosophers and explaining whether the philosophers think that the congress is a â€Å"broken branch†. Question 1: A social contract of Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau, and Burke Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes wrote that, in the absence of political law and order, human life would result to be; solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short lived (Cohen and Fermon, p 205). This would give all individuals fundamentally the right to everything, and thus the freedom to murder, sexual assault and theft. Thomas Hobbes came up with the social contract whereby individuals came together and surrendered some of their individual rights so that others would relinquish theirs. It meant that an individual Y would give up on their right to kill for another individual Z to live. This resulted in the setting up of a state, an independent body which would create laws to control social interactions. Hobbes preferred a monarchy system. This meant that human life was thus no longer a warfare but peace towards all (Cohen and Fermon, p 206). John Locke John Locke's idea of the social contract was different from Hobbes' in several deep ways. It retained only the central notion that individuals within a state of nature would come together to form a state (Cohen and Fermon, p 243). Locke wrote that integrity linked people together in a state of nature, by The Law of Nature. They could not bring harm to one another in their lives or belongings. He stated that without the government to protect them against those looking to wound or enchain them; individuals would not be secured in their rights and freedoms. They would survive in panic. Locke quarreled that individuals would be in agreement to create a state that provided room for a government which would protect their lives, independence, and possessions of those who existed within it (Cohen and Fermon, p 244). Jean-Jacques Rousseau Rousseau's political theory differs in vital ways from that of Hobbes’ and Locke’s. Rousseau's theory of socialism stands out in his development of the "luminous conception† of the â€Å"general will† (Cohen and Fermon, p 2). In his easy of the social contract, he said that it was the foundation of political rights based upon unlimited popular dominion. Rousseau argued that liberty would only be achieved where there was direct rule by the citizens as a whole in lawmaking. This was because of the popularity of sovereignty being inseparable and absolute. Rousseau also maintained that the individuals were not familiar with their "real will," plus that an accurate society would not be bor n until a prominent leader arose to create new standards and ways of the individuals, he thought that this would be best achieved if a planned use of religion would be introduced. He termed the consummate leader as â€Å"the Legislator† (Cohen and Fermon, p 280). Edmund Burke Burke unlike Hobbes, Locke and Rousseau; spoke against democracy. He thought though it would be desired by many individuals in most regions, in his country Britain; he stated that it would be incept

Analysis of C Seasons Footwear Company

Analysis of C Seasons Footwear Company Introduction For the business world today, the aim of every company is to invest in an environment that is economically safe with the aim of working towards making profit, make maximum returns on investment and to kept the interest of the companys shareholders in mind and also to have the interest of customers in mind in order to gain competitive advantage by working on core competency of the organisation. The company is in the athletic footwear industry called C SEASONS. The company used a differentiated strategy for the sale of its sports footwear. This is going into the footwear market in a different way from other footwear making companies in order to have a competitive advantage over other athletic footwear industry. C Seasons Footwear Company has been in the footwear industry for the last five years supplying the best footwear to four different regions namely, North America, Europe Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. The BSG Online simulation was based on twelve industries that were into athletic footwear located in four regions (North America, Europe Africa, Asia Pacific and Latin America. It started with twelve companies and to compete with other company and make necessary decisions and design and implement a strategy that will provide a longterm return for shareholders over the next five years. The report will focus on company 25 (C SEASONS). According to Johnson, et al (2009) a differentiation strategy seeks to provide products or services that offer benefits that are different from those of competitors and that are widely valued by buyers. p.153. The aims and objectives of the BSG online simulation are: Becoming the market leader in the footwear making industry. To have a good shareholder returns. To have a high net profit at the end of the game simulation. Various report, tables and graphs would be used to help decision making processes. The table below shows the strengths and weaknesses for C Seasons on both the internet segment and wholesale segment of the business for the five years. Simulation Result. Year 1. In order to be the market leader, we decided that in year 1 we would be making a 1% charitable contribution, by doing this it would help reduce the tax payable by the company at the end of each financial year. The company would also be involved in workforce diversity programs. The company also decided that at the end of the year we would have certain percentage of our unsold stock on clearance sales. For the North American market clearance would be 25%, Europe Africa would be 25%, Asia Pacific would be 50% and 50% for Latin America. The company also had strengths in all regions in the models offered, rebate offers and advertisement. Some weakness were also identified such as the style and quality, delivery time and the wholesale price. At he end of the first year the company had an image rating of 66 and a credit rating of A. The net profit margin in the first year was 14.1% while return on equity was 22.8%. The current ratio in the first year was 2.74 while the asset turnover was 0. 93. Year 2 In year two the strengths of the company in the regions were the models offered and the rebate offers. The inventory clearance was left as the first year which the company believed would attract more customers. The weaknesses in year two were style and quality, wholesale price offered to retailers, the delivery time, celebrity appeal and free shipping. Return on equity in year two was 23.4% while the net profit margin was 16.4%. This was a 3.1% rise from the first year which points out that the company was selling well. Asset turnover in the second year was 0.93 while the current ratio was 4.11%. Year 3 In year three the strengths of the company in the three regions were the free shipping offered, rebate offers, celebrity appeal and the models offered. The return on equity in year three was 19.7%. Net profit margin 16.9%. Asset turnover was 0.57 while the current ratio was 5.37%. The company had some weaknesses in the third year of business delivery time, retail outlet, and advertising were the setback for the company. Year 4 In year four the company decided to pay shareholders, a sum of $0.50/share is to be paid to each shareholder per the number of share(s) they hold in the company. Shareholders were paid dividend as a sign of goodwill and also to show value for the money they have and would invest in the company. The company showed some strengths during the trading year such as the models offered, the free shipping offered, rebate offers and good advertising. The company also had some weaknesses in some of the regions such as the style and quality, retail outlet and the delivery time. The return on equity for year four as 10.3%. Net profit margin for the year was 10.5%, the reason for this was the dividend paid to shareholders during the year. The asset turnover for the year was 0.76 while the current ratio for the company was 7.32%. Year 5 In year five the current ratio for the company was 8.21% while the operating profit margin was 25.7% and net profit margin was 17%. In the fifth the company had some weaknesses such as wholesale price, style and quality and the retail outlet. The strengths during year five were free shipping offered, the good advertisement made, the delivery time, the rebate time offered and the celebrity appeal the business had. The asset turnover for year five was 0.72. Strategic Thinking a.) Strategic Analysis The basis strategy used in the simulation was a differentiation strategy â€Å"this seeks to provide products or services benefits that are different from those of competitors and that are widely valued by buyers† (Johnson et al, 2006) pg 153. C Seasons offered a good quality product and started with a slightly lower price for a quality product that it was producing. C Seasons used the PESTEL framework to analyse its external environment. â€Å"The PESTEL framework categorises environmental influences into six main types; political, economical, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors† Johnson et al (2006) pg 25. The aims was to achieve competitive advantage by offering better product or services at a reasonable price or enhancing margins slightly higher. Although, Seasons product may be identical, but possible to differentiate on the basis of the following Quality product Reasonable price Global brand Broad market Unique value Niche market Product differentiation is another strategy for gaining a market foothold, and to be successful, product differentiation must be valued by target customers. It must be protected by products, make duplication by rivals difficult or impossible Today, most successful and powerful companies grew out of business model that were elegant, compelling in their logic and powerful in economic potential as some variation of the value chain that support business. b.) Mission And Vision â€Å"A mission is a general expression of the overall purpose of the organisation, which, ideally, is in line with the values and expectations of major stakeholders and concerned with the scope and boundaries of the organisation† Johnson, et al (2006) pg 9. â€Å"A vision can also be described as desired future of the organisation. It is an aspiration around which a strategist might seek to focus the attention and energies of members of the organisation† Johnson, et al (2006) pg 9. Therefore, the mission of C Seasons will be to become ‘the major player in the market and the vision is ‘to produce the best footwear that are worn and cherished the world over by both children and adult. External Environment External environment examines opportunities and threats that exit in the environment. Both opportunities and threats exist independently of the firm (Adkins, March 2008). See appendices. Internal Environment The internal environments are those that the company can set up strategies for and make sure that the decisions are the right one for the company. See appendices. Value Chain Value chain analysis also highlights the mechanisms through which developing countries and their procedures have upgraded their activities and linked to producers and consumers in the global economy, or may do so in the future in a manner that can lead to a sustainable income growth. The results of this type of analysis should indicate the way to policy challenges confronting the private and public agents operating in or promoting the chain (Kaplinsky,2000). The VRIO framework was the foundation for internal analysis in order to lead to sustainable competitive advantage a resource or capability should be valuable, rare, imitable and organised. Decision Making And Personal Learning C Seasons decided not to take a bank loan in the first year of business, the reason for this was to see if the company could sustain itself without a loan or overdraft. At the end of year one the company had a total sales of $267,140m with a net profit of $37,666m. In year four the business decided to issue dividends to shareholders, a $0.50 was to be aid to each shareholders per the number of shares they hold. The reason for the dividend been paid to shareholders was as a result of increase in the businesses market share and profit. The reason why the net profit in year four was low was as a result of the exchange rate at the time which went up to $21,764m compared to $6,756m in year three. The company had problems with its style and quality during the first two years of business and were able to sort it out by year three. In order to generate net income on our investment, we signed a celebrity to endorse our product and also wear the footwear during shows and also placed some adversitment on TV and billboards. We tried to create a new concept with good features in order to meet customers aspiration at this period our firm started making sales. In all, this exercise have exposed me to know how business can be done in real life and make necessary strategic decision that will make the business more viable to operate. These also allowed me to have an in depth understanding of business practice and ability to have a longterm vision and generate positive customer and shareholder expectation. I was also able to know how to use the accounting ratios in calculating for businesses. Conclusion To gain return on investment, strategic decisions must be made in accordance with the set objectives, the report focused on developing strategic decisions which helped in comparing the simulation to a real life business. An important skill derived will monitor numerical information and analysing these statistics in order to forecast the future and successfully survive in the business. The various experienced gained during the cause of the simulation game and comparison of other group result to improve the firms decision making were utilised this included taking risks to ensure that the firm performance in the market is high. Charts and financial ratios were analysed during the course of the simulation exercise to complete the tasks, this helped the decision making process. Making use of resources and information that is available. Recommendations C Seasons is clearly the top of its industry, but no company is invulnerable. Seasons has several avenues of improvement. If they want to continue to build upon their lead and maintain their status in the industry, they need to take a hard look at their mission and define it in SMART terms. The ability to reach some of their target customers in such a fashion could be a huge marketing advantage. Seasons reputation will be more positive and if they can gain back customers lost due to negative publicity. People already associate Seasons with quality retail products. It would be even better to feel good about buying their product and not feel as if people are being exploited every time they purchase a Seasons product. Appendices The Summary of Internal and External Analysis Swot The SWOT summarizes the key issues from business environment and the strategies capability useful as a basis against which to generate strategic options and assess future courses of option(Harvard Business Essentials,2005). Its helps to generate strategic alternatives from a situation analysis, and can be applicable to either corporate level or business unit level and do appears in marketing plans The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into a strategic situation analysis. SWOT Profile The internal and external situation analysis can produce a large amount of information, much of which may not be highly relevant. The SWOT analysis classifies the internal aspects of the company as strengths or weaknesses and the external situational factors as opportunities or threats. In summary, the interaction of the internal and external analysis will result to SWOT important. e.g, the strengths can be leveraged to pursue opportunities and to avoid threats, and managers can be alerted to weaknesses that might need to be overcome in order to successfully pursue opportunities. Strengths In a SWOT analysis, the capabilities that enable Seasons company to perform wellcapabilities that needs to be leveraged. The company has introduced many innovative products giving it a competitive edge. Its global reach provides it an opportunity to tap growing global footwear market. The companys consistent innovations have enabled it to remain competitive and maintain market share Weaknesses In a SWOT analysis, the characteristics that prohibit Seasons company or unit from performing well and need to be addressed. The seasons company falls behind in brand awareness compared to its competitors because of lacking celebrity endorsements. The company faces intense competition from global players such as other competitors. Opportunities In SWOT analysis, the trends, forces, events, and ideas that Seasons company or unit can capitalize on. The global footwear market has shown positive growth in recent years. The North Americas and EU markets are expected to grow at CAGR of 4.3% and 3.2%, respectively, to reach values of $93.2 billion and $60 billion in 2010. The Asia Pacific region is set to grow more strongly in the 20052010 period, recording a CAGR of 4.7%. a positive outlook for the global footwear market would boost the revenue growth of the company. Threats In a SWOT analysis, the possible events or forces that Seasons company or unit must plan for or mitigate. The principal materials used in manufacturing footwear products are natural and synthetic rubber, plastic compounds, foam cushioning materials, nylon, leather, canvas, and polyurethane films used. As a result of rising oil prices, the prices of synthetic rubber and plastic based products has increased. Rising oil prices will further increase the prices for petroleum based products. Increasing raw material costs would increase the companys production costs and may affect its profitability. SWOT Analysis Limitations The classification of some factors as strengths or weaknesses, or as opportunities or threats was somewhat arbitrary. For example, a particular company culture can be either strength or a weakness. A technological change can be a either a threat or opportunity. But, the most important was that firms awareness of them and its development of a strategic plan to use them to its advantage. Competitive Environment The prospects for longterm industry wide growth in footwear sales are excellent. Athletic shoes have become the footwear of choice for children and teenagers, except for dressy occasions. Increased adult concerns regarding physical fitness are boosting adult purchases for use in exercise and recreational activities. Distribution Channels The ultimate customers for athletic footwear, of course, are the people who wear the shoes. But athletic footwear manufacturers have all refrained from integrating forward into retailing and making direct sales to the final user. Customer demand for athletic footwear is diverse in terms of price, quality, and types of models. There are customers who are satisfied with no frills budgetpriced shoes and there are customers who are quite willing to pay premium prices for topoftheline quality, multiple features, and fashionable styling. Wholesale Selling Price The higher your companys wholesale price to retailers, the higher the prices that retailer will charge customers. Consumers are quite knowledgeable about the prices of different brands, and many do comparison shopping on price before setting upon a brand to purchase. The Number Of Retail Outlets Retail outlets are essential in accessing the consumer market. The more retail outlets a company has carrying its brand of shoes, the more market exposure a manufacturer has and the easier it is for consumers to purchase the brand. Celebrity Endorsements Footwear companies can contract with celebrity sports figure to endorse their footwear brand and appear in company ads. Celebrity endorsements, along with the impressions and perceptions people gain from watching a companys media ads over time, combine to define how strong a brand image a company enjoys in the minds of athletic footwear buyers. Customer Rebates Manufacturers who give rebates provide retailers with rebate coupons to give buyers at the time of purchase. To obtain the rebate a customer must fill out the coupon and mail it to the manufacturers distribution warehouse, along with the receipt of purchase. The VRIO framework was used to evaluate how capable Seasons Value A resource is valuable if it helps the company to meet an external threat or exploit an opportunity. If a resource helps to bring about any one of these four things then its valuable Quality Service Seasons offer a quality service, and the good does whats designed for exceptionally well. Innovation Process innovation can influence efficiency rather than having a direct effect, because the company can have at least temporary monopoly on new product. Rare Seasons brand name is valuable but most of its competitors ,also have widely recognised brand names as well, making it not that rare. The Seasonls brand may be most recognised, but makes it more valuable not more rare. Uniqueness Its a prime locations, design, and intellectual property. Inimitability The inimitable resource are often result of historical, ambiguous or social complex causes. Intangible resources or capabilities like corporate culture or reputation are very hard to imitate and so inimitable e.g Seasons marketing strategy leads to distribution, partnership programme leads to customer relation management. Organised A resource is organised if the firm was able to actualise it. If analysis does turn up a valuable, rare and imitable resource that Seasons was not taking advantage of, then recommendations. Porters Five Forces The essence of formulating competitive strategy, writes scholar porter was relating a company to its environment. Every companys environment includes with customers, competitors, suppliers and regulators etc, and has impact on its profit potential (Harvard Business Essentials,2005). Both current and potential customer, each requirements for product quality, features and utility. Changes in the external environment may be related to competitors, suppliers, partners, customers, sociochanges, economic environment etc. The external analysis was use to examine opportunities and threats which do exists in the environment, and both opportunities and threat exists independently of the firm. The opportunities were favourable conditions in the environment, which produce the results for an organisation if agreed. But, the threats were conditions or barriers that may prevent the firms from reaching its objectives. Power Of Buyers The bargaining power of buyers was very high, as Seasons continue to market their products and differentiate their brands against competitors, so as to increase sales and market share. With the use of internet marketing, helps the company to improve accessibility and intimacy among users. It helps the brand entity plays its role in purchasing behaviour, strong identity will gives customers trusts and loyalty. Some of the online customers are sensitive to price and switching cost for the buyer was low. Power Of Suppliers The threats of bargaining power of Suppliers was very low, many suppliers in this industry, little differentiation among suppliers and makes it nonexistence. The suppliers dependent on the firm in order to survive can switch between suppliers quickly and cheaply due to geographical locations, cheap labours on various regions. In this industry, raw materials were abundantly present (Leather, rubber, cotton) etc, will help the seasons to standardise their input procedure especially to material used, labours, suppliers, services and logistics in some of the regions. Threats Of Substitutes The buyers propensity to substitute was very low. Consumers are not likely to substitute due to the performance specification of the product. e.g, a basketball player would not wear boots to play basketball. Therefore, there are no real substitutes for athletic footwear. Consumer substitutes for athletic footwear products are low because there are little alternatives to switch, some substitutes for athlete footwear could be boots, sandals, dress shoes or bear feet. Barriers To Entry Threats of entry was very low in the sense that, seasons is able to control their costs to retain performance advantage over emerging competitors in the industry. The capital injection into web site development is high and must be updated frequently with new promotions and added features to attract online shoppers. There are many proprietary product differences in the industry therefore brand identity has an immediate competitive advantage. The online footwear industry is highly abundant with hundreds on online merchants. Switching cost is low for the consumer, and may occur frequently depending on consumer preference and other factors affecting consumer, and may occur decision, (i.e. price sensitive consumers). Selling footwear online is highly competitive; however, barriers to enter into this ecommerce industry are quite low. Rivalry Among Existing Competitors The rivalry among existing competitors in the footwear industry was very high. Most individuals in North America have access to high speed internet and online purchasing has become the new trend for the twenty first century. Almost every large firm has a web site, and most of these web sites contain virtual stores which provide convenience to consumers. Competition is fierce in the footwear industry and those who dominate or lead the market do so with high capital expenditures, aggressive sales and marketing strategies, and strong brand identity. Pestle Analysis Political Analysis Political environment vary widely between countries and can alter rapidly. Government can of course create significant opportunities for organisations. It is important, however, to determine the level of political risk before entering a country (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples are the political stability of the country, tax policies, etc. Economic Analysis key comparators in deciding entry are levels of gross domestic product and disposable income which help in estimating the potential size of the market. However, companies must also be aware of the stability of a countrys currency which mat affect its income stream (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples inflation rate, interest rates, labour costs, etc. Social Analysis Social factor will clearly be important, for example the availability of well trained workforce or the size of demographic market segments old or young relevant to the strategy (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 218. Examples are income distribution, consumer behaviour, living standard. Legal Analysis Countries vary widely in their legal regime, determining the extent to which businesses can enforce contracts, protect intellectual property or avoid corruption. (Johnson et al, 2009) pg 219. Another external factor that C Seasons faced was other competitor, this was difficult because we new that other industries would have access to our details and would see what we were doing and try to target our business. The edge our industry had was that we spent more on advertising and reducing our delivery time to two weeks. Internal Environment Technology Capabilities All the industry under the simulation game has got one thing in common and that it we are all making athletic footwear. We all want to make the best footwear and so we would make sure that we use the best and very latest technology to produce the best footwear for the athlete or for the public that would wear them. Distribution This is how the footwear is distributed to the wholesalers and private customers. C Seasons was able to reduce delivery time from four weeks to two weeks which helped sales. Purchase Decision Purchase decision is what will determine the product a customer will purchase or buy, this would in turn reflect in the decision to be made by the company. In all cases, before customer makes a decision to purchase a particular product they would compare prices of the product with the value they hope to enjoy from such product. C Seasons was able to enhance the purchase decisions of its customers by making their footwear a high quality with good styling.

Aphrodite Invocation :: essays research papers

Oh Muse! With visions Thou hast filled my soul, With visions overpowering, for Thou Hast shown me Golden Aphrodite; now The blaze emboldens me; like coal To brighter burning fanned by Breath Divine, The Cyprian enflameth me with words, Seductive sounds, which swiftly would entwine My soul, as lime-twigs trap unwary birds. An Ancient Poet* spake the truth; he said When Cypris cometh swift, high-spirited Just like a Hero -- irresistible Her onslaught, nor may anyone annul Her summons; flouting Her is arrogance, A failure to respect the difference `Tween Gods and Mortals; nor can even They Resist Her Power. She is held at bay By only three: Athena, Bright-Eyed Maid, And Artemis, who haunts both wood and glade, And Hestia reject the Paphian's Dove, For They alone deny delights of Love. The Cyprian's summons is a challenge. Be Thou brave and answer it, for verily A God hath willed it; surely stinging grief Will be refusal's price, so seek relief, Conforming to the Paphian's Will. So spake the Poet Truths he would instill. Far-shining Aphrodite, hear our prayer! Thou Laughter-loving Lady, Paphian, Well-girded, Golden, Sea-born, Cyprian, Companion, Tender-hearted, or howe'er It pleaseth Thee to be addressed, attend, We ask, our words of praise, and send Thy Grace, because Thou art the source of all That's charming, graceful, all that doth enthrall In word or deed, in action, figure, face. For Thine is the allure that doth enlace Our hearts as one, for as the charmed is bound, So also is the charmer quickly found Surrendering, with yearning undisguised, The compromiser gladly compromised! But irresistible is even this, Seducer falling to seduction; bliss Repaid is twofold bliss, drawing tight The bonds about them both, in shared delight. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Now I call in ancient sounds: Aphrodite Khrusostephane Glukumeilikh' O he Kalligloute Thea Pandeme Hetaira su Morpho, ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Or whatever name doth please Thee, Hear! If ever I've appeased Thee, Now attend my prayer beseeching, See my hands toward Thee reaching, Know my love is everlasting! Lady, grant the gift I'm asking And appear before us, whether Now sojourning deep in Nether Regions with the Queen of Hades, Or in Heaven with Thy Ladies, Founts of all allure, the Graces, Fair Their form and fair Their faces! I request Thee, leave Thy station! Grant to us a visitation! Show to us Thy face delightful! Let us worship Thee as rightful, Shapely form that's Thine adoring! Hear our voices now upsoaring To the Heavens from our chorus! Please, we ask Thee, stand before us! Queen of Twilight, Queen of Morning! Deeds just done or now aborning Are Thy favorites; prized the clever Warrior of the bold endeavor! Dear to Thee the Sun that's rising, Thou reward for enterprising Souls, Thou prize of tasks completed, Thou in rivalry entreated To bestow Thy grace, advising, Bold advances galvanizing! Such Thy gift and such Thy favor,

Education Insurance Awareness Essay

An Overview In 1965, Yarri proposed the use of life insurance to insure against lifetime uncertainty resulting for the mortality risk of individuals. Premature death of a family head can bring serious financial consequences for the surviving family members because the family head’s earnings are lost forever leaving unfulfilled financial obligations, such as dependents to support, children to educate, and a mortgage to repay. Life insurance allows individuals and families to share the risk of premature death with many others and to alleviate the financial loss from the premature death of the rimary wage earner (Garman & Forgue, 2006). The purchase of life insurance is one of the most important purchasing decisions for individuals and families (Anderson & Nevin, 1975) and it is a critical component of a long-term financial plan (Devaney & Keaton, 1994). 2). Introduction to Child Education Insurance Policy A child education policy is a life insurance product specially designed as a savings tool to provide an amount of money when a child reaches the age for entry into college normally 18 years old and above. The funds can be utilised to partly meet a child’s higher education expenses. Also, if purchaser opts for a payor benefit rider, an education policy provides the assurance that, in the event of an untimely demise of the parents or legal guardian, the child will have access to funds to help finance his or her education expenses. Under a child education policy, the child is the life assured, while the parent or legal guardian is the policy owner. 3). Types of child education policies available in life insurance market. There are two main types, i. . an endowment or investment-linked policy. The difference between the two lies in the structure as well as the nature of investments. 3. 1) Endowment policy is an endowment policy combines a savings component with protection coverage. Endowment policy may be either participating or non-participating. As the name implies, non-participating policy do not participate in the life insurance fund’s profits but all insurance benefits are fully guaranteed. On the other hand, for participating policy, a portion of insurance benefits are guaranteed. However, the ultimate amount of benefits at maturity is not guaranteed as these depend on the performance of the insurance company’s participating life insurance fund. 3. 2) Investment-linked policy is an investment-linked policy combines the elements of investment and protection based on your requirement as the policy owner. It offers flexibility as you are able to increase or top-up your monthly premium contribution as your income improves. If you wish to be more aggressive with the instruments of investment, an investment-linked policy will also allow you to choose the types of funds your money will be invested in. However, like any other similar investment, there are higher risks involved and there are no guarantees on the returns, which may be higher or lower than projected. 4). Research Background An increasing trend of education expenses to enter college or university nowadays, a lot of parents using financial sources such as Employee Providence Fund or rely on borrowing from Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara to afford the study expenses of their son after leaving secondary school for a higher level of study. As an alternative source of financial protection against high education expenses, parents can purchase an education insurance starting from their children young age. Compare with withdrawal of lump sum of money from EPF (Employee Providence Fund) or make borrowing from PTPTN (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Tinggi Negara), a parents just need to pay for a small amount of premium and parents as a payer can be covered by insurance in case death or total permanent disablement occurred by paying for an extra insurance rider in the particular education insurance policy. Therefore, this research carried out to examine the level of awareness among parents in Sibu Region towards education insurance provide by insurance companies in Malaysia. This thesis aims to examine both the type and amount of life insurance purchased by households. To this end, comprehensive models of households’ demand for life insurance were developed, which included demographic variables (age, education, employment status, health status, number of children, marital status, and race), economic and assets variables (income, homeownership, debts, as well as portfolio elements such as liquid assets, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, bonds, stocks, individual retirement accounts, annuities, other miscellaneous financial assets, and nonfinancial assets), and psychographic variables (attitude toward risk, attitude toward leaving a bequest, and one’s expected life expectancy). The effects of these factors on either term or cash value life insurance purchased by households were examined separately. Research Objective General objective To examine the parent’s awareness towards education insurance. Specific Objective 1). To investigate whether parents had purchase education insurance or not for their children at their young age. 2). To identify from which channel of information that made parents aware of education insurance. 3). To identify whether insurance industry playing an effective role in promoting education insurance in life insurance market. ). To examine parents interest towards education insurance products administered by insurance company in insurance market. 5). The main purpose of this study is to examine whether demographic factors influence the purchase of education insurance among parents in Sibu Region. Research question 1). Do you know there is education insurance product in insurance market? 2). Had you purchased any education insur ance from any insurance company for your children? 3). Had any insurance agent approach or introduce and give explanation to you regarding education insurance? 4). Are you willing to purchase any education insurance for your children? 5). what type sources of information you needed to enhance the knowledge regarding education insurance? Problem statement Financing child’s education is one of the major investments that any wise parent is prepared to undertake. A sound university education is not only among the basic requirements to establish a good career; it can also form the foundation of your child’s intellectual maturity for life. We all start learning since birth and the brief period of academic education in our lives represents another landmark in a life-long learning process. But given the high cost of education and the competition to enter well-known universities, it is necessary to have an investment plan to fund our children’s brief sting of three to four years in university. With the limited places available in local universities, many Malaysian students have wisely invested in university education abroad. Faced with the rising costs of overseas university education, how can parents save and invest to finance the tuition fees, let alone the living costs. The depegging of the ringgit from the U. S. dollar last year is a welcome move for many Malaysian parents because under the flexible exchange rate system, the ringgit is likely to appreciate over the long term. This will help Malaysians reduce the cost of overseas education in popular countries such as the U. K. , U. S. and Australia (Charles Goh, www. fimm. com. my/pdf/investor/articles/09). One of the biggest worries for parents nowadays is how to fund their children’s education, which does not come cheap. In addition, as with everything else, education expenses, is it in foreign and local colleges/universities, private primary and secondary schools are expected to trend upwards in future (Elaine Ang, http://thestar. com. my/ September 18, 2010). The trend is upwards as far as education costs are concerned. In predicting the future, we can only use assumptions such as cost and inflation factors in child education planning. The general increase for local studies is about 3% per year and foreign about 5% and this applies to a general business degree of three years (Mike Lee, CTLA Financial Planners Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). An average increase of between 5% to 7% annually in education costs for studies locally and in countries such as Britain, United States, Australia, Canada and Singapore excluding foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Moreover, there are certain years where the increase can be in a lump sum instead of percentage depending on the circumstances. (Matthew Gan, E. T. Education Services Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). Some of the common mistakes parents make when saving for their child’s education fund are starting too late, saving without investing and not considering foreign exchange fluctuations for those who aim to send their children overseas. It is important to determine what the education costs are in current value and identify a suitable savings and investment vehicle. Some parents don’t even have a clue how much education costs (Yap Ming Hui, Whitman Independent Advisors Sdn Bhd managing director, 2010). Save and invest your money as early as possible. Let your money grow with your child, school fees for primary and secondary education range from RM15,000 to RM17,000 per annum with an average 10% increase in fees every two years (Rina Thiagu-Kler, Marketing manager Sri KDU, 2010). Because of less study and difficulties to obtain data regarding education insurance demand in Sibu Region. A brief interview conducted with Mr. Ten Kim Loong, Unit Manager of Kumpulan Elite Ten from Etiqa insurance agency on 2nd December 2011 where he indicated that most of the insurance product demanded by household within Sibu region is medical card and personal accident policy, it is because the premium affordable by policyholder, moreover among the clients approached did not know what policy to purchase and how much sum insured should be enough for protection need†. A discussion session also conducted with Mohamad Faizuli Bin Abd Karim, a financial planner from Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd reveal that among the prospects that approached by him saying that they are not interested in any of insurance products and they worried the premium payment can become an extra expenses as per we noticed the living standard and price of basic necessity good are very high nowadays. The Breakdown of Schooling Expenditure As shown in Table 2, the average cost of schooling overall was found to be RM1,782 per student per year. The cost in rural areas which averaged RM1,590 was about 22 per cent lower than urban areas.

Oprah’s Empire and Organizational Theory, Design and Change Essay

The Oprah Case was a brief view into the life of Oprah Winfrey and the empire she built. Born in Mississippi, Oprah had a gift for public speaking. She delved into journalism and landed her own day time TV show in Chicago. The broadcast television industry proved to be a wonderful source of revenue for Winfrey and here her empire began. Oprah then went into acting and found interest in producing. She founded Harpo, Inc. and began acquiring rights to film books. The Oprah Winfrey Show became a hit success propelling Oprah forward to be one of the world’s most influential people. She launched a website, oprah.com; a magazine, O, The Magazine; and began her own network, OWN. She organized several charitable organizations around the world and is recognized as the most generous celebrity as it relates to giving away her own money. There is a component in Emotional Intelligence by Travis Bradberry and Jean Greaves’ book that emphasizes the need for Self Awareness. With much o f Oprah Winfrey’s success being attributed to not compromising her beliefs for society, Oprah has to continuously guard against being mislead or possibly used by others. Although her intentions may be good, Oprah Winfrey’s tendency to be hard on herself if she neglects to reach success can cloud her talent to recognize her own efforts. There are three key indicators of Self-Awareness that Oprah Winfrey utilizes in order to maintain her public image and reputation. First, Oprah exudes self-confidence in order to effectively market anything that she endorses or supports. Because of this keen awareness of her self-worth, throughout any appearance, Oprah presents her viewers with a self-assurance which enables her to voice views that her followers can assess and take into consideration. Over the years, Oprah has become a beacon for making sound decisions despite the uncertainties and pressures of the media. Next, Oprah is aware of her strengths and limits, therefore, she is able to give an accurate self-assessment and accept candid feedback. Early on in her career she was able to learn that she was not able to operate as owner, president, and CEO. Knowing this, Oprah was able to profit more in the grand scheme of things because her limit was recognized and valued. As Tim Bennett acted as the President of Oprah’s Harpo Productions, he was able to give Oprah a new perspective and aid in her self-development with his expertise. Lastly, Oprah has a self-deprecating sense of humor that shows she doesn’t take herself too seriously. This is important in the candid feedback she receives from viewers, bloggers, and other forms of news. As a person in the media, Oprah is self-aware and realizes the need to trust yourself and not let negative energy hold you back from operating at your full potential. As a steward of her brand, it’s safe to say that Oprah Winfrey pays close attention to the quality of her message and products. Oprah Winfrey has a great gift of compassion, tenderness, and kindness. For balance, Oprah Winfrey promotes mature self-obedience, self-management, and personal responsibility. In doing this, Oprah utilized four core competencies to build her personal brand. First, she discovered what she wanted her brand to convey and laid out a development plan for herself, which included where she was presently and future goals. Oprah Winfrey is most successful because she was able to merge her passion of journalism with expertise. Next, Oprah created her brand by positioning herself as extraordinary in her niche of talk show hosting. The point of this is to tell her audience what she values and the benefits of watching her show. Besides tangible incentives, Oprah gives advice and offers community awareness through her many projects. Then, Oprah uses communication to allow her to gain the visibility to be looked to as a guru of opinions. Oprah attracted her viewers and followers by becoming accessible through forums, book clubs, mail, and social media. Lastly, Oprah has been able to maintain her brand through constant revisits and updates. Constantly Oprah goes back to everything she has created; her O magazine, OWN network, book club and everything that she has endorsed to refresh it with current information and maintain its reputation. The mission for The Oprah Winfrey Show was â€Å"to be a catalyst for the transformation in people’s lives.† In keeping with core competencies, the organization was able to continue to generate revenue by using the skills and abilities in value-creation activities that allowed all of the business subunits to achieve superior quality and consumer responsiveness. Because the mission was one of empowerment, Oprah’s team made sure that anything that was done supported that mission and by doing so it increased intrinsic value. Oprah’s following knew what to expect, they enjoyed it, and they kept coming back even bringing new consumers. Oprah was known to surround herself with high performing people. The business was demanding there were constant deadlines and long hours. Many were known to work from 15-17 hours in order to keep up. They had a code of excellence and anyone who could not meet that code did not last long. The type of environment that came from this fast-paced work style is in part related to the expansion strategy. Harpo was growing rapidly due to the corporate-level strategy. Oprah had harnessed a command in the daytime TV domain and used this base to expand into new media domains through related diversification. There are so many cultural differences such as diverse communication styles, different approaches to completing task and different attitudes toward conflict. As a leader within her brand and enterprise, Oprah has mastered the art of working around cultural differences and effectively coordinating outsourcing relationships. She has conquered working with different cultures by encouraging and rewarding creativity, creating a diverse workforce and educated staff and offering support while having fun. Oprah has also effectively coordinated outsourcing relationships with her many international projects, specifically her school in Africa. Benefits of outsourcing include higher performance, a better mitigation of risk and reduced confusion and wasted time. Oprah opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in 2007 with the goal in mind of giving children who are less fortunate the chance to better themselves with a proper and suitable education. In order to effectively accomplish this goal, it was a mission of Oprah’s to have access and acquire the best talent. Oprah has been able to enjoy the benefits of outsourcing because of her quality commitment and reputation. Throughout Oprah’s career, several conflicts within her organization have risen. Although conflict is perceived negatively, some conflict is good for an organization. Conflict can be beneficial because it can overcome organizational inertia and lead to organizational learning and change. This is extremely evident when Oprah’s Book Club introduced A Million Little Pieces by James Frey to the public. This is a great example where Pondey’s Model of Organizational Conflict is illustrated. Latent Conflict, the first stage of this model, surfaced in 2005 when Oprah introduced this book. In several ways, the work was an unconventional choice for the Book Club where potential for conflict was at a high risk. The book was a classified as a memoir, not the ordinary book for the Book Club. Frey’s memoir, an account of his descent into alcohol and drug addiction, offered a graphic, unsparing look at the consequences of his illness and at the long, difficult road to recovery. It was the first contemporary piece of writing that Winfrey had selected for the Book Club in more than two seasons. The second stage, Perceived Conflict, happen on January 8, 2006. The investigative web site The Smoking Gun delivered a devastating blow to Frey’s insistences of authenticity. The site revealed numerous instances of exaggeration in A Million Little Pieces. This brought many aware of this conflict and people began to analyze it. The conflict escalated when Oprah battled against what was being said. She stated, â€Å"that the underlying message of redemption in James Frey’s memoir still resonates with me. And I know that it resonates with millions of other people who have read this book and will continue to read this book.† In the third stage of Pondey’s Model, conflict is felt. Investigative reports showed that he had exaggerated his criminal past to the point of fancy. But he had also distorted the stories of others, including two high-school classmates who died in a car crash in 1986. Marianne Sanders, the mother of one of the deceased, called Frey’s account â€Å"flat-out lies.† What began as a small problem had now escalated into a huge conflict. On January 26, 2006, these issues came to a head when the talk-show host brought Frey back onto her show. Winfrey confessed that the facts that had come out about Frey’s past since the scandal broke had caused her to revise her opinion of his work. â€Å"I feel duped,† Winfrey told Frey. â€Å"But more importantly, I feel that you betrayed millions of readers.† Conflict had manifested. This is demonstrated in the fourth stage. In the fifth and final stage, the aftermath of the conflict is present. Conflict is resol ved in a way that leaves subunits feeling combative or cooperative. In this case, Winfrey also apologized to viewers for her own role in supporting Frey’s actions and attitude toward self-representation. The truth, it turned out, mattered to many people. In the aftermath of the controversy, Nan A. Talese/Doubleday, the imprint that had published Frey’s book, also issued an apology. Winfrey’s response in particular, spurred a large-scale conversation among publishers, authors, and journalists about the state of nonfiction writing. Oprah used her power and ability to manipulate decision making. She uses two tactics that has led to her success. The first tactic she uses is her ability to control the agenda. Oprah si involved in the majority, if not all, departments and committees of her empire. She likes to be on and involved in these committees and departments so that she can control business decisions, especially if the issues affect how and when to change the organization’s strategy and structure. Bringing in an outside expert is the second tactic. The biggest mistake Oprah made in the beginning was that she did understand that she needed infrastructure and systems in order to run a business. And it wasn’t until 1994 that she actually brought in someone to be president and organize the systems. She described herself as a crazy person, trying to do it all. In 1994, Winfrey hired Tim Bennett to serve as Harpo’s president. 8. Infrastructure 9. Organizational Life Cycle Oprah has put up her $5.6 million Gold Coast Condo on the market, and moved to California to run her network OWN. Her condo that sits on top of a huge building in downtown Chicago can be rented for $15,000 a month. Rosie O’Donnell’s current OWN talk show was being taped at Harpo, but no longer. The Rosie O’Donnell show has been moved to New York. The move resulted in low ratings and the lack of obtaining special guest for the show. It was a constant challenge trying to get people to come to the show, so they decided to move to a location that was convenient for special guest. This was never a problem for Oprah. Therefore, Harpo Studios is dark and inactive. Possibilities of putting it up for sale to those buyers who want to have their own production facility, or to those who want to tear it down to build a high-rise building are beginning to surface. Despite struggles with OWN, Oprah.com is still successful. What’s next for Oprah? The future of the Oprah Empire is a topic that many people find may be threatened. Much of Oprah’s target market is the baby boomer middle class. With her target market aging and the culture of broadcast journalism changing, where does this leave Oprah? Oprah’s future relevance will heavily rely on the diversification of her current and future business developments. Currently worth $2.7 Billion, Oprah has plenty of cushion room to reinvest in new strategies or add to her current ventures. With the stability of her magazine and online presence, Oprah has made her name an international staple touching the homes of millions around the globe. Her integration of technology into her business model has transcended generations inviting the more tech savvy to join the ranks. The real question is about the future of OWN network. While it is experiencing difficulty now, expect it to make a transition into a network that is developing future leaders with the power of persuasion. In the future as Oprah ceases to have a world presence, her legacy will remain.