Sex, Gender, And Gender - 1468 Words

Popular understanding reflects the view that sex refers to ones biological functions in comparison to gender, which is solely explained as a cultural impact in depicting ones identity. The conveying of these two concepts create implications in demonstrating the understanding of ones sex or gender as distinct elements, of personal characteristics and human traits. Sex and gender are two contrasting features constantly interrelating, in day-to-day lives. A concise narrowing will be drawn from this understanding throughout the essay, denoting the numerous aspects arising as implications of the current understanding of sex and gender. Conclusions that stem from the popular understandings of sex and gender will be discussed within essay, highlighting implications of gender roles, intersex individuals and biological elements creating distinction between males and females. Sex and gender were constantly contested and formulated by several theorists in ranging disciplines obtaining an interest of sex and gender distinctions. Several people commonly group sex and gender as comparable aspects, in stating that women are human females whereas men are human males. (first reader) However this perspective has been challenged and contested by feminist theorist in formulating and endorsing a clear concise distinction between the two concepts. Analytically sex depicts human females and males depending on biological features such as sex organs, chromosomes, hormones and other physicalShow MoreRelatedSex, Gender, And Gender847 Words   |  4 PagesThe meaning of sex and gender is often thought of as the same thing, when in fact it the meanings between these two words are different. Sex is the characteristics that are set apart from male and female. The characteristics include primary sex traits related to the reproductive system such as: hormones, chromosomes, the genitalia, and various other ways. However, the secondary sex traits that are not directly based on the reproductive system. These secondary traits consist of characteristics suchRead MoreSex, Gender, And Gender869 Words   |  4 Pagesthere was not a difference between a person’s sex and gender. Before learning about sex and gender throughout my school career, I would have defined sex as a category in which you are born into based on what reproductive organ you are born with, which is slightly correct. Yet, I would have defined gender in the same manner, using them interchangeably just as most people, not knowing how complicated the terms really are. The appropriate definition of sex referred to a person’s biological status andRead MoreSex, Gender, And Gender936 Words   |  4 Pagesconventional views, of sex and gender in today’s society. As a result, we often think of sex as biological and gender as social, which are terms that are often used interchangeab ly and are socially or culturally constructed. In other words, the terms male and female are referred to as sex categories, while masculine and feminine are considered gender categories. To demonstrate the prevailing views of sex and gender, in African Gender Studies, the author argues that, over time, sex tended to be understoodRead MoreSex, Gender, And Gender814 Words   |  4 Pagesroles of sex and gender in today’s society. As a result, we often think of sex as biological and gender as social, which are terms that are often used interchangeable and are socially or culturally constructed. In other words, the terms male and female are referred to as sex categories, while masculine and feminine are considered gender categories. â€Å"Over time, sex tended to be understood as the base and gender as the superstructure† (OyÄ›wà ¹mà ­, 2005, 12). For instance, in African Gender Studies, theRead MoreSex, Gender, And Gender915 Words   |  4 Pagesis the baby’s sex? This question is asked because, sex is biologically determined, from the second we come out of the womb, by our chromosomes, genitalia, reproductive organs, and hormones. People often group sex and gender together as if they are the same thing, but really they are two separate categories. Gender is a category that splits bodies into a binary system of women and men. Ultimately the two terms intertwine because, one’s biologically determined sex is assigned a gender role to playRead MoreGender : Sex And Gender Socialization992 Words   |  4 Pages Sex and Gender Socialization Before we learned this chapter, I didn t know that sex and gender are different to each other, all I know is that gender and sex have the same meaning which referred to male and female. Recently, I just learned the difference between sex and gender, which is sex is like our biological difference which what makes people male and female, while gender is what the society reinforces a person to be based on their expectations and behaviors of being a male and femaleRead MoreGender, Gender And Sex Matters904 Words   |  4 PagesGender and Sex Matters This class is all really interesting for me, except the two features I talked above, all the other topics are just too attractive and applaud me. The gender problems totally right, and I believe this happens in every country. When I translated â€Å"Sex† and â€Å"Gender† in the dictionary, it gives us the same meaning: male and female. Thus I ‘m really surprised when I found they have different meanings in class! As referred to by Allen, Sex is a biological classification while genderRead MoreSex and Gender1424 Words   |  6 Pagespotential to sustain a pregnancy helps us sort humans into male and female. Simple as pie. Which is good because sorting people by sex is something that is very important to most people. Watch nearly anybody go up to someone holding an infant and the first thing that she or he will ask the parent if the child is a girl or a boy. But why should it matter to anyone what the sex of the baby is? Even if it is easy to tell masculine from f eminine. Except, of course, that its not. Theres nothing at all simpleRead MoreGender Secrecy : Sex And Gender1244 Words   |  5 PagesAalap Pandya Valorie Ebert ENC1102-8:00 am 4 September, 2014 Poisson First Draft Gender Secrecy Sex and gender are commonly misconstrued to mean the same thing. Which causes stereotypes and expectations to be created on the idea that they are one. The stereotypes and expectations are as follows; boys should be dirty and aggressive who love action figures and the color blue, who have to grow up and have high status roles in society so they can be successful. Girls, on the other hand, should be delicateRead MoreSex and Gender1775 Words   |  8 PagesSex and Gender Sex and gender make up one of the most basic functions in our society. Gender helps delineate tasks and how we refer to people, and is reinforced for us throughout our lives (Lorber 2006). Gender interacts with sex in varying ways (Disch 2006). Those who are not strictly heterosexual male or female are not readily accepted and face adversity as they bend gender and defy sex. It has long been debated whether there is a difference between sex and gender, and if so, what that difference

The Decision Making Process Criteria - 1064 Words

ALTERNATIVE APPROACH In retrospect, if the following leadership decision-making process criteria would have been followed many children would not have been exposed to molestation. The Freeh report (2012) made more than 100 recommendations for change to be instituted by PSU including restructuring governance; administration and general counsel structure, policies and procedures. Additionally, the university culture needs to transform stressing values and ethics-based decision making. A process adjustment is required for compliance, risk and misconduct reporting. The athletic department must be integrated into an oversight and compliance process by the leadership. The programs involving children require greater management leadership with frequent accountability process to be established. Ultimately, the leadership itself that was involved in the case should be transitioned. Another primary recommendation of the report was to appoint an ethics officer to serve as counsel to the Pr esident and board on ethics issues and alignment with Penn State Principles. The officer is to establish a council and select a Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) with whom ethics initiatives are synchronized. The goal of this council is to emphasize and practice transparency at all levels while communicating openly and frequently with the university around issues. The university was also asked to establish the Penn State Rock Ethics Institute. The Ethics OfficerShow MoreRelatedDecision Making Cycle1030 Words   |  5 Pages § The principles involved in managerial decision making and effective problem solving. The Rational Decision Making emerges from Organizational Behavior. The process is one that is logical and follows the orderly path from problem identification through solution. The Rational Decision Making is a seven step model for making rational and logical reasons: Define the problem The very first step which is normally overlooked by the top level management is defining the exact problem. ThoughRead MoreThe Decision Making Process as It Relates to Planning1423 Words   |  6 PagesDecision making is the cognitive process leading to the selection of a course of action among alternatives. Usually the decision making process is implemented resulting from an identified problem that needs to be addressed and remedied. Each decision making process produces a final choice, which is called a decision. Planning is an integral part of the process. Without an organized plan, a final decision will be very difficult to achieve. Planning and decision making are very similar, yetRead MoreDecision Support Systems For Aide932 Words   |  4 Pageschoices when it comes to the use of decision support systems to aide in information reduction to make informed decisions. Of the many tools available, two in particular are useful in the presence of excessive information. The Pugh Matrix which can be used to consolidate information and show the relative difference in measurement criteria among different candidate choices. The decision tree is a useful tool for making decisions when there are layered decisions that must be made to reach a final resultRead MoreNascar Case Study923 Words   |  4 PagesCase study on NASCAR 1. How do you think good decision making has contributed to the success of NASCAR? Ans. Almost every company wants success. To have a successful company, we need to know about the decision making process, and how, and when it works. According to the text, â€Å"Decision-making process is a set of eight steps that include identifying a problem, selecting an alternative, and evaluating the decision’s effectiveness.† Not only does a manager need to know this term but they also needRead MoreDecision Making Process From A Manager s Point Of View1730 Words   |  7 PagesEssay A manager has to make and implement decisions as part of his role. Discuss the decision making process from a manager’s point of view. What is the role of intuition in decision making? Why do managers make wrong decisions? According to the essay question, as part of manager’s role, they have to grind and use their skills to make important decisions that will affect the future of their business. Decision-making is an important organisational process that impacts every level including, individualRead MoreThe Sustainability Of The Supplier1475 Words   |  6 Pagesbeen an important decision that affects the organisation objectives. So researches have been conducted and case studies have been explored and investigated to reach the optimal approach to select a supplier that satisfies both customers and stakeholders and to achieve the organisation goals. Therefore, a multi-criteria decisionmaking process should be adapted to execute supplier selection operation properly. Resources selection needs to go through many steps to assist decision-makers to do theirRead MorePlatform Strategies For Multiple Criteria Decision Making899 Words   |  4 PagesMultiple Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) Decision making is the study of identifying and choosing alternatives based on the values and preferences of the decision maker. Making a decision implies that there are alternative choices to be considered, and in such a case we want not only to identify as many of these alternatives as possible but to choose the one that best fits with our goals, objectives, desires, values, and so on. Decision making should start with the identification of the decision maker(s)Read MoreNascar Case Study937 Words   |  4 PagesCase study on NASCAR 1. How do you think good decision making has contributed to the success of NASCAR? Ans. Almost every company wants success. To have a successful company, we need to know about the decision making process, and how, and when it works. According to the text, â€Å"Decision-making process is a set of eight steps that include identifying a problem, selecting an alternative, and evaluating the decision’s effectiveness.† Not only does a manager need to know this term but they also needRead MoreDecision Making An Effective Decision1094 Words   |  5 PagesDecision-making is an important process. It can be a task, which needs a simple decision to be made or a difficult situation involving several issues. In difficult situations, there may be uncertainty and complexities, wherein there may be interrelated factors that could lead to high-risk consequences, the impact of the decision made could be very important. Every situation will have its own set of uncertainties and consequences. Interpersonal issues too come in the way of making an effective decisionRead MoreIntroduction And Objectives Of The Study. Introduction1149 Words   |  5 Pagesmeasuring the impact of each project and especially when there is more than one decision maker. The criteria being considered always vary from one contractor to another. Some may only consider the revenue and value of project, whilst some may focus on its financial of owner, knowledge of supervisor and so on. Construction projects often fail to achieve their time, budget, profitability and quality goals. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) is a new approach that can be used to analyse and assess project

Proportion of Work Demands and Level of Education Free Essays

School plays an important role in our life. Many of us will spend more than fifteen years at school in order to get the qualifications that are required to work in a specific field. Of course, those years are broken down into several levels, some of them being more liked than others. We will write a custom essay sample on Proportion of Work Demands and Level of Education or any similar topic only for you Order Now Two important steps that we go through are high school and college. Even though some people would think they are almost similar, yet there are significant differences between them. The cost of high school education is not the same as the cost of college education. Also, some differences apply from an academic point of view. Typically, the social environment also differs from high school to college, a fact that can be related to the question of freedom versus responsibility. It is true to say that college is more expensive than high school. Of course, it provides a higher level of education, but by having so high fees it does not give a chance to them coming from a family with a low income. Also, at college you have to buy your own books whereas in high school you borrow them from the school for a year. As they do for high schools, the government should pay for the books and then borrow them to students, as they do in high schools. Paying for the education you get is expensive, but many people have to pay even more. Many cities do not have colleges, so students who want to get a higher education have to move away to another city where they will be provided the education they need. This often involves paying for an apartment and for food, and sometimes for the bus , which is not, unlike high school, free. As you can see, college is a lot more expensive than high school. However, the cost is not the only think to consider when comparing high school and college, the relation between teachers and students are also different. At high school, they see their students lower than them., not as equals. To tell the truth, it is very hard for high school students to become friends with them because of the fact that they are seen as simple students who have nothing to learn to their teachers. However, at college, it is easy to have a friendly relation with a teacher because their students as equals. As college provides a higher level of education, the amount of work you have to do at home is a lot greater. At high school, where we get a more general education the time spent home doing homework is a lot smaller. This does not mean that you do not work at high school but it does mean that it is easier in that sense. Moreover, a big advantage of college, from an academic point of view, is that you have more choices. You can choose a lot of subjects related or not to your field of studies whereas at high school you cannot. There are also some differences between the social environment of students at high school and students at college. Since college students have more work to do at home, they have a limited freedom out of school and this makes it harder for them to see their friends during the week. However, at high school they have known their friends for a while whereas at college they often have to make new friends, because many of theirs have moved away to another city. This can be really hard for some people, but for other people this is a good opportunity to meet a lot of new people, which means a lot of new experiences to benefit of. Before concluding, it would be important to mention that often college students have a whole new set of responsibilities to deal with. Since many moves away from home, they have to live in an apartment, pay their bills, buy their own food, make their own meals, clean up their apartment themselves, etc. For most of them, this is something new and they have to learn how to deal with it and this normally takes a while. Compared to them, high school students have almost nothing to care about except for school, because they live at home with their parents, who do most of those things for them. It is obvious from what has been said that college and high school both have their advantages and their inconveniences. Attending the former is more expensive than attending the latter. Then, at college, you are considered to be more like adults whereas at high school you are looked upon as simple students of a lower class. Also, high school students do have fewer homework and more free times, but at school they are not really free in many ways. Finally, attending college engages being a lot responsible, because you have a lot of things to care about. As you can see they differ a lot but have at least two things in common: they are both there to give students a good education and they both represent many years they will never forget. How to cite Proportion of Work Demands and Level of Education, Papers

Animal Cruelty leads to Human Essay Example For Students

Animal Cruelty leads to Human Essay Animal cruelty encompasses a range of different behaviors harmful to animals, from neglect to malicious, brutal killings. Studies show that animal cruelty may lead to more serious forms of crime, like heavy drug use, violent outbursts, and most common, cold blooded murder. Many studies in psychology, sociology, and criminology during the last twenty-five years have demonstrated that violent offenders frequently have childhood and adolescent histories of serious and repeated animal cruelty. A web page that goes by the name Animal Alliance says most cruelty investigated by humane officers, is unintentional neglect, and can be resolved through education. (3) I was slightly shocked when I saw this comment. Anyone who puts an animals life in their hands, has a responsibility to it. You dont just forget to feed him/her, or forget to show them love unless it is intentional, it get so much worse, though. These people arent just forgetting to feed their pets, or give them attention, theyre kicking and beating them, poisoning and butchering these poor creatures, and what makes me sick to my stomach, is that some of these people do it for fun!! I recently ran across a link to a web page that contained a online petition to put a cats killers to justice with maximum sentence. This is the article I found on this brutal torture of an innocent creature. ***WARNING*** (graphic details) On October 10, 1999, a beautiful female cat came willingly to the four boys who stopped on the side of the road and called to her. Her trust was rewarded by unthinkable terror and cruelty being used as a tug-of-war toy until the boys heard something pop, having her legs broken, being jumped up and down on like a trampoline. Even when her pitiful battered body was mercifully dead, her suffering was not at an end. The boys then placed her ravaged body under the wheel of their car, braking over her, as they drove off to find other amusement. Once the Chesapeake Animal Control conducted their investigation and performed a necropsy, criminal charges were filed against 3 of the 4 boys involved. If these charges are found to be accurate, these boys are not only in violation of the laws of the State of Virginia, but are also in need of immediate psychiatric intervention. (1)*** Another horrific article I ran across was even worse. It was about a dog who to was also a victim of rancid brutality. Here is that story. ***WARNING*** (graphic details) Jose, Marcus, Richard and Lance are accused of obtaining a video camera, pressing the record button, luring Scruffy from his home, and then torturing and killing him in an unspeakably monstrous act of cruelty. In the videotape that the police and media have in their possession, four men are shown torturing and killing Scruffy in lurid detail. The quality of the tape is very good, and the police have been able to obtain photographs of the men in the tape. In this tape, one of the four men is shown to elevate Scruffy off the ground by the neck, and then begin this horrific abuse by choking him. This 6 pound little dog did not have a fighting chance against these men. Scruffy, still alive, was then placed in a trash bag. The four men shown in the tape then doused the trash bag with what appeared in the video to be lamp oil, took a cigarette lighter, and set Scruffy on fire. Scruffy, at this point in the video, began to run wildly in pain and agony around the trees while the four men watched and laughed. When the flames finally went out, Scruffy was still alive, but his torture was not over. Next, the men decided to try to decapitate Scruffy with a shovel. After slamming the shovel into Scruffys neck and not being able to attain their goal, they realized that Scruffy was more of a fighter than they had expected. .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 , .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .postImageUrl , .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 , .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:hover , .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:visited , .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:active { border:0!important; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:active , .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4 .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .u8b69f24689fe637d0d939a830aa4daa4:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Flight Of The Phoenix Essay The men then opened Scruffys mouth and began to pull his jaws apart, as if trying to rip his face in two. Using the shovel in place of a club, the men then beat Scruffy until his tiny body gave out, and he died. Throughout the videotape the four men are all shown laughing and having a good time as they are carrying out these unspeakable tortures. (1) *** After I read these stories I was disgusted, revolted, down right sickened by the realization that these men needed

Stereotyping in the Film the Birdcage (1996) free essay sample

With the exception of academics and serious students in film or cultural studies, most movie-goers regard the viewing of films (with the exception – sometimes – of documentaries) as simply an entertainment activity when, very often, central to the experience is the swallowing of messages that the creators of the film wish to advance. Since films are often very expensive to produce, the films that find financial backing must also meet with the approval of a society’s elite, moneyed class. It is most often the case, then, that subtle messages and affirmations about the political, social and personal norms the dominant class wishes to endorse and inculcate are embedded in films that reach a wide segment of the population. Richard Dyer, Professor of Film Studies at Kings College London, in his essay Stereotyping (1), argues that one of the most common methods by which the dominant economic class attempts to reinforce the worldview it wishes to have embraced by the people, is the employment of stereotypes, which are often one-dimensional, static characterizations of people in various social roles or members of classes of people. We will write a custom essay sample on Stereotyping in the Film the Birdcage (1996) or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These stereotypes range from the flattering depiction of Hero or Faithful Servant, for example, to the cartoonish, demonic or depraved portraits of a â€Å"typical† member of a group of people whose behavior or values the dominant class finds antithetical to their interests. Dyer argues that learning to recognize the use of stereotypes in films is provides some self-defense against being oblivious to the attempt to influence one’s thinking and opinions. One such group which has long been the target of such propaganda via stereotyping in films is the homosexual community. It was with the rise of capitalism that homosexuality began to be seen as leading to lifestyles that were not conducive to the provision of good, stable, obedient workers. One of the most influential frameworks for analysis of human relations and the evolution of social norms and political structures from the late 19th century through the present has been Marxist analysis, based on the works of Karl Marx (1818-1883). Dyer employs Marxist analysis, with a nod to sociological terminology (role, individual, type, member) to illustrate that stereotyping in film can occur through the use of iconography â€Å"Iconography is a kind of short-hand—it places a character quickly and economically. P. 32), structurally (â€Å"†¦. by the function of the character in the film’s structure {whether these be static structures, such as the way the film’s world is shown to be organized, materially and ideologically, or dynamic ones, such as plot. P. 33}, and through typing – the opposite of individuation of characters, instead ascribing of attributes to a person based on the idea they are a certain â€Å"type,† and we can understand all we need to know about them by being familiar with that type. While we, generally, think of stereotyping in a negative light, one consideration clearly of great importance to Dyer is the idea that some aspect of typing –insofar as the typing reflects the positive attributes of gay people – should not be discarded entirely, since the recognition for the audience, of some level of commonality in the experience of being gay will serve to illuminate for viewers the struggles faced and the oppression experienced, hopefully leading to more support in the larger society for improved status and equal civil rights for gay people. In analyzing the use of stereotypes in The Birdcage (Mike Nichols, 1996), I will argue that, while the use of stereotypes by the filmmakers was clearly done with the intention of exposing the stupidity of so many of society’s prejudices, the film does not entirely succeed in leaving the audience with anything close to real motivation for re-thinking approval for the established social idea that gays are somehow â€Å"other† and, at best, sympathetic clowns. The audience simply gets its laughs and goes home. A remake of the French film La Cage aux Folles (Jean Poiret and Francis Veber, 1978), Birdcage is set in drag club called The Birdcage in South Beach, Florida. We learn very early in the movie that Armand Goldman, played by Robin Williams, owns the club and his partner, Albert, played by Nathan Lane, appears regularly as Starina, the shows star drag queen. The plot of the movie develops when Armand’s son Val becomes engaged to Barbara Keeley, the daughter of the hypocritical, ultraconservative Republican Ohio Senator Kevin Keeley, who is seeking re-election as the co-founder of the Coalition for Moral Order. In light of the engagement, the young couple decides that it is finally time for the two families to meet. However, Val requests that Armand and Albert must conceal their homosexuality for this meeting. Stereotyping is not just employed in presenting the characters in Birdcage; the sets also are highly stereotyped and function almost as additional characters. The film open s with the camera panning around from the outside the club, and the viewer gets a quick look at the outside environment. They see bright lights in the night, palm trees, and pedestrians milling about the streets or waiting in line, all in scantily clad outfits and bathing suits. Sequences similar to this occur numerous times throughout the movie when showing the outside environment. Whether they’re at the beach or in the streets, day or night, the surrounding people are dressed in skimpy clothing, small bikinis, or Speedos. This aspect of the environment is emphasized when the senator and his family are stuck in traffic right outside of the club, approximately seventy-five minutes into the film. While all the cars are stuck in traffic, people are chaotically climbing in and out of open-roofed cars or roller-skating by. Women and men in skimpy and brightly colored bikinis, thongs, and Speedos continuously pass the senator’s idled car while the family stares, aghast, and Mrs. Keely states, â€Å"This is less like Palm Beach than I imagined. † Despite the fact that no indication is given that there is any special occasion being celebrated in South Beach, the carnival-like atmosphere and setting depicts the gay generated environment in a one-dimensional, stereotyped manner. While the sexual orientations of the pedestrians is not defined, these sequences are stereotypical cues that the sultry, brightly colored, free-wheeling Florida locale surrounding the drag club, an environment where all the citizens present themselves flamboyantly and provocatively through their dress is to be seen as the typical environment for such a club, a â€Å"gay paradise. † The home of Armand and Albert, located above The Birdcage, is abundantly decorated with stereotypically gay ornamentation. Every available surface is purposefully adorned with lit candles, decadent glass sculptures, flouncy lamps, poufed pillows and homoerotic artwork. The walls are either bright yellow or covered in obnoxious, loud, jungle-themed wallpaper. The significance of the iconographically gay character of the setting is emphasized when Val makes clear that the decor poses as big a pitfall for the senator’s visit, as does the presence of drag queen, Albert. Approximately thirty-six minutes into the film, Val insists that they redecorate prior to the Keeley’s arrival. Armand does not understand what is wrong with the decor, and Val points out to a nude sculpture of Neptune, a portrait of a man in drag without his wig, numerous primitive sculptures depicting exaggerated male erections. At first, an offended Armand replies â€Å"But this is art! † and casually turns the erect sculptures around to face the wall, but eventually, out of love for his son, he gives in and clears his home of the many â€Å"gay signaling† items he possesses, completely redesigning it into a setting similar to a Catholic monastery (Armand is Jewish. ). The most ridiculously, screamingly stereotyped character in Birdcage of Armand’s spouse, the drag queen star, Albert. It is no accident that the character, Albert, is the embodiment, not only of the drag queen type, but also of the worst stereotyped version of a woman: shrill, melodramatic, self-absorbed, vain, overly emotional, and prone to hysterics, suspicion and jealousy. The viewer is introduced to him five minutes into the film while he is in a fit of hysterics. Albert, suddenly devastated by the recognition that he is no longer young and beautiful, and convinced Armand is losing interest in him, is extremely upset and refuses to prepare for his nightly stage performance. The audience immediately sees that Albert is overreacting by the melodramatic way he behaves in this scene. As Armand attempts to enter the dressing room, Albert, who was previously hiding under some sheets, wailing and lamenting his sorrows to the couple’s housekeeper Agador, squeals and barricades the door because he doesn’t want Armand to see him in his â€Å"hideous, hideous, fat and hideous† state. Even in the chaos of Armand trying to break into the room, Albert’s shrieks are completely audible over the ruckus. Once Armand enters the room, Albert begins to make melodramatic claim after melodramatic claim: â€Å"I’m in such pain! It’ll never pass! I hate my life. † â€Å"Never mind about me feelings. † â€Å"Don’t use that tone to me†¦that sarcastic, contemptuous tone that means you know everything because you are a man, and I know nothing because I was a woman†, â€Å"I was adorable once, young and full of hope and now look at me! I’m this short, fat, insecure middle-aged little thing! † Such behavior and sentiments are typically attributed to the stereotypical, emotionally unstable and utterly dependent woman, Albert’s character embodies the classically drawn stereotype of a melodramatic, overly emotional, ridiculous gay man who might as well be considered a woman. While Albert’s raging hysterics, melodramatic behavior and â€Å"prissiness† was on full display in this particular scene, his diva-like self-absorption and hysterical reactions are carried throughout the entire film, with the exceptional surprise when he rises to the occasion and â€Å"saves the day,† later in the film Fifty minutes into the film, in an attempt to win the favor of Barbara’s parents, Armand tries to teach Albert how to portray himself as a straight man. This attempt, however, is completely unsuccessful. No matter how hard he tries, Albert cannot walk without swishing his hips while holding out the palms of his hands, his posture is too upright, and the register of his voice is too high. The fact that Albert is incapable of pretending not to be a flamboyant, over-the-top, and extremely feminine person tells the viewer that his â€Å"gay-ness† is what completely defines his entire personality and every aspect of his behavior, and further sets the stereotype in stone. Structurally, the characterization of the relationship between Armand and Albert is reduced by its definition as reflecting a cartoonish parody of the stereotypical traditionally defined roles played by â€Å"husband and wife. † While it is clear that the Albert has a more feminine personality than Armand, the film also depicts Albert as the â€Å"mother† and caretaker of the household. For example, twenty minutes into the film, Armand is silently reading the newspaper and drinking coffee in the kitchen, Albert is feverishly folding the laundry, babbling about matters such as how ratty Val’s shirt is and how he got a pork roast for dinner instead of fillet minion. This scene and many others show how this movie depicts the roles of a gay relationship as being identical to the stereotypical gender roles of a heterosexual couple. There is no question that the creators of this film intentionally employed thoroughly stereotyped characters. There is little to no individual character development whatsoever. However, since these stereotypes are so over-the-top and blatant, there must have been a conscious effort on the part of the filmmakers to feed into such stereotypes. This film is merely a lighthearted nod towards the ridiculous stereotypes that much of society today believes to be completely realistic depictions of homosexuals. Therefore, such obvious stereotyping does not outweigh the comedy or the quality of the film, but rather define it.

The Killing Of Mudeye Essays - Goldfinger, Free Essays, Term Papers

The Killing Of Mudeye Essays - Goldfinger, Free Essays, Term Papers The Killing Of Mudeye READING JOURNAL This novel is about the killing of a small adolescent troubled boy whom was labelled Mudeye because he was a real victim. I think that Ned is guilty because he has made Linton Begg even weaker because he refused to hand out a friendship to Mudeye. He did this because he was to good to be his friend and he didnt want to be payed out for hanging around with someone so low and not liked. Ned, Mudeye and Goldfinger have many things in common that include the desire to be popular, the lack of happiness, they all are smart, they are all rich, Goldfinger and Mudeye both have strengths such as Mudeye being smart at writing and Goldfinger needing to get a better mark. They are all good at their work and they all have problems with insecurity. I think Ned could have saved Linton Begg because he could have become his friend and helped him to be more secure. He also could have stopped people from hurting him mentally as well. Ned didnt help Linton because had his own insecurities and was too selfish to help. The killing of Mudeye is like a game in life and death where people are rewarded or punished. This is because there is a leader of the game, Goldfinger, and he rewards and punishes people. Goldfinger especially does this to Mudeye. He punishes him to excess. When he stole Mudeyes glasses he punished Mudeye by making him beg. He also rewarded him into their group by making him have a joint and getting him sick. The punishment to Mudeye was a reward to Goldfinger. He loved to see people weaker than him. He gained strength from watching them suffer. The novel is largely about jealousy. It is about Ned being jealous of Goldfinger because he is so good and has the best looking girl in the school and Goldfinger is followed by everyone. There is even jealousy of Mudeye from Goldfinger because Mudeye is such a good writer and Goldfinger gets jealous; he makes Mudeye do his work so he can get a better mark. Goldfinger is also jealous because Mudeye is liked more by one of the teachers then Go ldfinger is and so Goldfinger tries to get back at that teacher. He wants to punish them. When Linton Begg writes, I am only born to suffer he is really speaking the truth because his whole life was about suffering and being picked on and not liked by anyone. His life was a total suffering right up to where he hung himself. He had a problem, though it was Schizophrenia, where he heard voices and was always depressed. He was like this because of his parents as well because they didnt like him and didnt care about him. They didnt want him in their lives. Mudeye is killed by his mental disorder but also his insecurity. He really did get the mental disorder because he was so insecure and nobody wanted to know him not even his mother and father. He was alone and marginalised continually by everyone. The Killing of Mudeye is about reconciliation with the past and Ned does achieve it very well because he is really disturbed when he relives his whole school life. He decides to face where the killing of Mudeye is done and it makes him feel a lot better. His son had helped him to because he found a friend like Mudeye and didnt care and it made his father feel better. Linton Begg dies and a lot of the people in the book did get what they want even Ned who faces all his problems real well. Linton Begg also ends up happy because all his pain is gone and he is finally free. Bibliography the killing of Mudeye (book)

Just follow the instuctions below Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Just follow the instuctions below - Essay Example However, the environmental impact, the melting of the arctic circle, the increase of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere cannot be denied and the Vice President has helped to bring this issue to wide attention around the world. Power Steer - Michael Pollan Mr. Pollan decided to conduct some very up close and personal research regarding the care, feeding and eventual slaughter of cattle. He did this by purchasing an eight month old calf and besides his research also intended to hopefully sell him at a profit at the end. A he states, â€Å" I wanted to find out how a modern, industrial steak is produced in America these days, from insemination to slaughter.† (Pollan 1) The beginning was a bucolic environment for the steer, idling and eating in green pastures besides it mother as it weaned from milk to grasses. Then as it is introduced to commercial feed as well as the accelerated growth hormones, the calf matures quickly. Pollen gives and overview of the industry but also person alizes it by visits to #534 (his steer) at the Pokey Feedlots. These feedlots help to restrict the animal’s movements toughening the muscle. ... cientists call the planet's â€Å"primary productivity.† (Manning 37) One of the first primary concentrated sources of the energy is agriculture and the most predominant plants that have been cultivated are rice, wheat, and corn. This domestication of plants and the concentration of their energy wealth is an important concept for human survival on a grand scale, and it is based on the richness of the soil. The mineral energy in the soil is what translates into this abundant plant energy and must be conserved. AS usable land ran out, the 1960’s brought the green revolution to the land concentrating more energy in the soil by irrigation and chemical methods, tripling production of crops. Of course this all came at a greater cost in the increase use of machines and fuel to run them. He ends this article buy â€Å"voting twice† once at the polls and then voting to take his energy usage into his own hands by, â€Å"†¦which was to rack a shell and drop one cow el k, my household's annual protein supply.† (Manning 45) Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out - William E. Rees This article explores the limit and fundamental flaw in human technology that it cannot override our natural situation as a biological entity. Rees review the flow of energy and materials throughout the natural as well as the political environments of the planet. One of the basic flaws here is that the economic environment is usually separated from the actual ecosystem surrounding it creating untenable methods of production. Conventional political models often do not take into account the invisible confections between cities and the resources that may be quite distant and in different political and biological environments. Rees advises that we rethink the

Dance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Dance - Essay Example Revelations uses the idea of repetition very well since it has minimal basic information that gets expanded and decorated in several ways. The entire piece is also rhythmically soothing. In the entire span of the dance the opening theme of the dancers standing together with their arms rising and falling like swans gets repeated severally. This movement is then developed differently with each scene such as to create variation. In the first scene, the dancers start out together then all of them spread but still sticking to a similar routine. The second scene starts out similarly, but for its development, only three dancers remain on stage. The motions of the dancers are rhythmically soothing as they sway in a manner that makes one want to join in. Revelations soothing rhythm reminded me of water as it flows through a river. In some instances the water flows gently but in the course there are also rapids that break the easy flow with sharp, jerky movements. Dancing in the Rain is spread out and busy as there are several dancers each one of them following a unique pattern. In the entire course of the dance, variation is also widely used with no seeming restrictions as to what movements the dancer can incorporate or not. At one point in the dance, two male dancers are dancing concurrently but each one of them sticking to his routine. At another point in the dance, we see a dancer who focuses on moving his feet as he pulsates his chest. Immediately after him, there steps in another dancer who does a summersault effortlessly and synchronizes it into the rhythm of the dance. Dancing in the Rain reminds one of the workings of a well-oiled machine. Like any machine, different parts serve different functions but all work together seamlessly. It is in line with this that those movements though different, all are in harmony. A careful examination of both Dancing in the Rain and Revelations

Sub-human working conditions in Qatar Research Paper

Sub-human working conditions in Qatar - Research Paper Example The world cup is the most widely viewed sports event in the world and requires a lot of preparation by host countries to be in a position to stage the world cup owing to the high number of spectators, reporters, business people, and players who come to the host country for the world cup. Qatar has been making these preparations since 2010 when it was selected to host the 2022 world cup but there are rampant cases of inhuman working conditions for workers making preparations in stadia and other facilities in the country. It is from this understanding that this study aims at enumerating why FIFA and football associations should force Qatar to stop the "sub-human" working conditions. Workers involved in infrastructure development for the 2022 world cup are exposed to harsh working conditions including withheld payments, working in 122-degree heat for a long time with no provision of food or water, and their passports were confiscated to ensure they do not leave the country (Kwok & Wallis, 2008). Workers cannot be able to help their families and pay obligations for their jobs to recruitment agencies with 36% interest payment rates affecting their families and their person negatively (Manfred, 2014). For a country that will host the world cup, these conditions are unacceptable owing to the high benefits to be received by the country and the high following that the world cup has globally. This will taint the name of the world cup and FIFA, if the football associations and FIFA do not take the steps to correct the situation in Qatar in terms of working conditions. The intolerable working conditions in Qatar have led to the death of at least 1200 workers in different infrastructural development in preparation for the world cup with 400 of them from Nepal, 00 from India, and others from Philippines, Pakistan, Kenya, and other parts of the world. This is in accordance to a report by The International Trade Union Confederation (Manfred,

Promotional Strategies in the Branded Denim Industry

Promotional Strategies in the Branded Denim Industry The global fashion apparel industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy in terms of investment, revenue, trade and employment generation all over the world. Apparel industry has short product life cycles, tremendous product variety, volatile and unpredictable demand, long and inflexible supply processes. The industry has been in a transition over the last 20 years. Some of the major contributors are: Significant consolidation in retail, Increasing use of electronic commerce in retail, and Wholesale trade Given below is a diagram of the types of markets for the fashion industry globally/ India as can be seen comes under Emerging Fashion market. viewer.png Figure: Global Fashion Market. The Indian Fashion Industry Fashion Industry growth in India is mainly driven by the growing exposure of domestic designers at international forums, but growth is also supported by other factors such as the launch of focused business education courses for emerging designers and the establishment of an industry association. The Indian fashion industry has gained international acclaim and recognition at several global forums. This has also helped attract a large number of international clients to the country Rising affluence has increased brand awareness among Indian consumers. According to theNielsen Global Luxury Brands Study, India is among the most brand conscious countries in the world, with 35% of Indian survey respondents reporting to buy designer brands India is considered an attractive market for luxury brands; about 50 premium and luxury brands, including Jimmy Choo, Gucci, Christian Dior, and Chanel, have opened stores in India in recent years. Consumer spending on fashion products has grown at 7.1% annually from 2002 through 2007 Denim Industry in India Denim Brands in India Jeans the working class garment has something about it which has fascinated the poor and the rich alike, and has survived fashion trends and technology changes for over a century. The jeanswear market in India is currently pegged at approximately Rs 6,000 crore the bulk of it in the unbranded market according to recent reports. However, the branded segment is believed to be growing at a faster pace, with brands giving tough competition to one another. According to industry sources, the total size of the jeans market in India is about 40-45 million pairs of denims out of which 44 million pairs are in the value segment(less than Rs 1,000). The Indian retail market size of jeans (men`s and women`s) in 2007 was Rs 3,080 crore with a healthy growth of 18 per cent over last year as per research conducted by Technopak. According to an Indian expert, denim production in India in 2006 was estimated to be at 400 million metres, of which 250 million metres was for domestic consumption and the rest for exports. The Indian denim market is still in the nascent stages but it`s definitely a growing market which is growing in the right direction. Brand-conscious market With changing lifestyles, the organised players are coming up with contemporary designs to target the youthful, stylish, trendy and fashionable consumers. Today`s consumer is educated and very well informed about different brands and knows what to buy and what not to buy. Indian consumers are no longer price conscious rather they are willing to spend money on high-end denim brands. Denims are not only restricted to jeans, shirts, jackets and skirts, but are also a popular choice for accessories like bags, belts and caps. In denims, low rise, slim fit and twisted fit are in vogue. Ripped, brushed, torn, bleached, laser finishes acid and ice-washed are enough to tempt the brand conscious customers. The organised denim players are not only catering to the premium class, but are also catering to the upper-middle and mid-segments as well. Today`s customer is definitely brand conscious and asking for brands. Consumers are looking at innovations rather than just a pair of jeans and T-shirt. The key to catching up with these changes is to innovate, as the Indian denim customer is more variety driven, says Shah. The brand has been quick to gauge that the young Indian consumers were getting bored with just a five pocket pair of jeans and hence Pepe Jeans today is a one-stop destination for the young premium segment customer with its exhaustive range of fashion wear, club wear, and evening wear along with the core jeans. India is an emerging nation and has a huge potential to harness the untapped market. The denim industry has registered impressive growth in the last five years. This growth has also changed the consumer preferences- he has become more discerning and fashion conscious. Major players in the denim market A number of players, both Indian and international, have entered the Indian market. The brands of both categories that were studied are listed below: Indian Players The Indian players include the following: Spykar has established itself as the Indian youth icon and the brand of the Generation Next in the Indian apparel industry, with a vast and staggering array of designer wear- from the first manufactures of Cargo in India unto the authentic five pocket Jeans to fashionable denims, fatigues, jackets, tees, shirts, etc. to trendy bags, belts, caps, wallets, socks and other accessories like shoes, deodorants, junk jewellery, eyewear. Having provided clothing for the last 15 years to the brand conscious youth, Spykar Lifestyle intends to now offer complete styling solutions to patrons through the Spykar Style Lab, with a reach to 3 million customers, influencing the youth culture across India. The brand Deal: was born in the year 2000 and is today an innovative international design company, manufacturing jeans and casual clothing as well as accessories. It is present in over 22 states with 400 points of sale. From the beginning, Deal jeans team turn their back on the style-dictator and consumer fore-casters of the fashion establishment and lead their own tastes lead them. It is for this reason that Deal became the leader in developing the styles, manufacturing methods, fabric and quality control and guaranteeing an outstanding quality product Levi Strauss (India) Pvt. Ltd (LSIL) is a Bengaluru based, wholly owned subsidiary of Levi Strauss Co. (LSCO.). The company markets the Levi`s ®, Dockers ® San Francisco Levi Strauss Signature ® brands in India. The company was established in 1994 and brought authentic American jeanswear to India by launching the iconic Levi`s ® brand. It has since built a strong retail and distribution network spanning more than 250 cities and 750 outlets backed by an equally strong sourcing base. The company, with strength of about 200, is headquartered in Bengaluru. International players The International players studied are the following: Pepe Jeans London: Pepe Jeans London originated from the fashionable Portobello area of London in 1973 as a result of the efforts of three NRI brothers. In a very short span, the brand became the best selling denim brand in England. The company entered the Indian market in 1989 and today is amongst the premium brands in India in this segment. Pepe Jeans is an absolute casual wear brand and sells everything one would associate with such as casual cotton shirts, denim shirts, lightweight jeans, T-shirts, shirts, jackets, cotton casual pants and accessories such as bags, caps, belts, wallets, wrist bands, etc. Lee Cooper: Founded in London in 1908, Lee Cooper offers a wide range of lifestyle jeans and products to men and women of all ages. In 2006, Lee Cooper International entered into an equal joint venture with India`s largest retailer, now known as Lee Cooper India Pvt. Ltd, under which the first franchisee store was opened. At present, the company has 31 exclusive brand outlets, 50 shop-in-shops and 250 selling points in India. By the end of this fiscal, it will double the selling points and add 24 new stores to its kitty. The company aims to grow to 100 stores within the next two years. An investment of about Rs 35-40 crore has been earmarked for retail expansion this year. The competitors at each segment are given below: Super Premium Segment (Rs. 2000+)- brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Hugo Boss, AN Jeans, Rocky S Jeans Premium Segment (Rs. 1000-2000)- Pepe, Levis, Lee, Wrangler Middle Segment (Rs. 500-1000)-Most Indian brands cover both Middle and Premium categories Economy Segment (Rs. 300-500)-Ruf n Tuf, Newport, Impact, Thunder as well as in store labels like Westsides SRC and 2Fast4U that are priced between Rs. 375 to Rs. 600 Benefits of this study to the organizations: As compared to the booming international denim market, India is still emerging. Indian brands haven`t enjoyed much success. International brands, which are present in India, are doing extremely well. Competition is increasing with the presence of a number of denim brands in India. To stay ahead of competition, the players will have to raise their standards to international levels; only then will they be able to make a strong foothold in the country. Every company is coming up with aggressive marketing, promotional campaigns and constant publicity to make their brand popular. Various companies have been successful in the Indian market using different approaches and different strategies. For example Pepe Jeans London works on a 360 degrees approach on the marketing communications strategy, involving both above the line and below the line activities. Billboards print advertising in both national and regional newspapers and all lifestyle magazines constitute Pepe`s above the line strategy. The companies in the denim market have to ensure that they have strategies that are successful and make a positive impact on the target segment due to all the competition and the challenges that they face in this environment. With the Indian youth becoming increasingly fashion conscious and with spending power being consistently on the rise, making life easier for the fast-growing premium category of jeanswear brands. On the other hand, it has been tough times for other segments of the business one of the underperformers being a mass-market jeanswear brand. This study helps analyze the promotional strategies of five different popular denim brands in India. This study helps to recognize the success or failure of the brands through the perception that consumers have towards the brand. The study helps recognize the weak points in the strategies. Chapter 2 Research Design This chapter details the procedures that were used for obtaining the information needed to structure the marketing research. It provides details such as the Purpose, Aim of the study, and Scope of the study, Objective of the study, Research methodology and Data collection. Aim of the study: The aim of this study is to observe and evaluate the promotional strategies that are used by Levi Straus, lee and Pepe jeans, Spykar and Deal . Scope of the study: The study was aimed at understanding and analyzing the promotional strategies implemented by Levi Strauss, Lee, spykar, Deal, Pepe Jeans The research was conducted in the geographical area of 1 city- Bangalore North (Karnataka). Objectives: It will present the promotional activities used by the major players in Branded Denim industry. It will present the awareness of the promotional strategies that the consumers have. Further the study will generate some suggestions that could be implemented by the companies. Research methodology: An analytical study, descriptive and quantitative in nature was undertaken to study the promotional activities used in the Branded Denim industry. Based on the data and knowledge gathered thus, a tool in the form of a questionnaire was prepared to elicit primary data for the study. The customers of the company have been used as the respondents for the study. Questionnaire method was adopted to gather necessary primary data. Secondary data was gathered from previous other records, journals, papers and books. The data collected by the study is compiled, classified and tabulated for the purpose of analysis. Analysis was done using averages for data consolidation and interpretation. Methods of data collection: Survey- Through a closed and structured questionnaire administered to 50 respondents of Bangalore City in the area of New BEL Road (Bangalore North). Sources of Data collection: The study required data to be collected from both primary sources and secondary sources. * Primary research -also known as field research, which involves the conduction and compilation of research for the purpose it, was intended. Questionnaires were used to collect the primary data. * Secondary research -also referred to as desk research, is initially conducted for one purpose, but often used to support another purpose or end goal. Secondary research was collected from Internet sites, books, journals, magazines and research materials provided by other research. Sample design: This refers to a set of rules or procedures that specify how a sample is to be selected.   We have used simple random sample  which is a subset of  individuals  (a  sample) chosen from a larger set (a  population). Each individual is chosen  randomly  and entirely by chance, such that each individual has the same  probability  of being chosen at any stage during the sampling process Sample size: The number of elements in the obtained sample. The sample size for this study is 50 respondents. Sampling bias: This refers to the notion that those selected are not typical or representative of the larger populations that have been chosen from. Here we were limited to north Bangalore so it does not reflect the bigger side of the actual population. Limitations: The limitations of the study are as follows: Questionnaires are impersonal, so it is difficult to understand the answers given by the customers also there is a chance that the questions may be misinterpreted, rendering the answer useless to the study. Questionnaires also invite people to lie and answer the questions very vaguely which they would not do in an interview. Though a lot of effort was put in at designing the questionnaires, some peoples preferred answers may not have been included, and this also does not allow for much detail. The research was limited to the city of Bangalore (north Bangalore) The research did not include the infrequent customers of the company, so a lot of valuable input could have been lost Chapter 3 Analysis and Interpretation Q. No. of Male and Female Respondents. Gender No of Respondents Male 26 Female 24 Total 50 Interpretation: From the above chart it is quite evident the numbers of male respondents exceed female respondents. Q. Average age of Respondents. age No of Respondents Less than 20 1 20-30 42 30-40 6 40-50 0 Above50 1 total 50 Interpretation: From the above chat it can be interpreted that the highest range of respondents belongs to the age group of 20-30. Q. what are the different occupation of the respondents. occupation No of Respondents students 31 professional 17 businessman 2 unemployed 0 total 50 Interpretation: From the above chat it is clearly visible that the maximum numbers of respondents are students, followed by professionals. Q Salary of the respondents. salary No of Respondents Less than 2lakh 28 2-4 lakh 15 4-6 lakh 6 Above 6 1 total 50 Interpretation: Since the most respondents are students and are just employed the salary range is below 2 lakh and for professionals it is 2-4 lakhs. Q Do you buy anything of these brands (Levis, Lee, Spykar, Pepe jeans, Deal). Response No of Respondents yes 43 no 07 Total 50 Interpretation: It can be clearly interpreted that 43 out of 50 Respondents have tried one of the brand and rest have not. Break-up of the different brands bought by the sample group: Brand name No. of respondents Levi Lee Spykar Pepe Deal 16 15 6 12 1 Total 50 Q Other than the brand you purchase from, Are you aware of the promotional activities followed by other brands. Responses No of respondents Yes 40 No 10 total 50 Interpretation: From the above chart it can be understood that the people are aware about the promotional scheme of the other brands even if they do not purchase products from the other brand. Levi Q. Why did you buy this brand? Characteristics Number of Respondents Good Service Good Quality Price Design Brand Name Discount Schemes 1 3 10 2 Total 50 Interpretation: it is clearly visible from this chart that most of the people are going for Levis because of the brand name. Q. Would you like to purchase this brand again? Willingness to purchase Number of respondents Yes No 15 1 Total 16 Interpretation: It is clearly visible that all those who have purchased this brand want to go again for this brand. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes available in this brand? Awareness Number of respondents Yes 16 No 0 Total 16 Interpretation: all the respondents are aware of the promotional schemes of Levis. Q. As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics responses Advertisement 3 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 3 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 10 Total 16 Interpretation: It is found that most consumers are aware of the promotional schemes that Levis has in the form of sales promotions. They also seem to be aware of promotions through advertising and social media networks. Q. If yes how were you made aware? Mode of Awareness No. of respondents Newspapers O Magazine Ads 6 Television Ads 0 E-Mailer from store 2 Word of mouth 9 Others 1 Total 16 Interpretation: it can be interpreted that people are aware of Levis promotional skills because of tools like newspapers and various emails that are being send from the store. 12. What according to you makes the brand more attractive than others? Characteristics Number of Respondents Quality 1 Price 0 More sizes 4 Better customer services 2 More designs 4 Brand Name 5 Brand Ambassador 0 Total 16 Interpretation: From this table we can see that consumers are attracted to the brand due to its brand name- the perception towards the brand is positive and also they feel that more designs are available in this brand Lee Q. Why did you buy this brand? Characteristics Number of Respondents Good Service Good Quality Price Design Brand Name Discount Schemes 1 2 1 3 8 0 Total 15 Interpretation: The graph shows that maximum people bought the jeans from this brand due to the brand name. Followed by the designs available, and no one bought the jeans due to the discount schemes available Q. Would you like to purchase this brand again? Willingness to purchase Number of respondents Yes No 13 2 Total 15 Interpretation: From the table it is obvious that a large number of the respondents would buy jeans from this brand maybe because they have a positive perception towards the brand Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes available in this brand? Awareness Number of respondents Yes 12 No 3 Total 15 Interpretation: From the table it can be seen that most consumers are aware of the promotional schemes available in this brand Q.As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics responses Advertisement 5 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 4 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 6 Total 15 Interpretation: Most of the consumers are aware of the sales promotion schemes like discount offers, seasonal sales, followed by advertising and social media networking. Q.. If yes how were you made aware? Mode of Awareness No. of respondents Newspapers O Magazine Ads 2 Television Ads 0 E-Mailer from store 2 Word of mouth 7 Others 1 Total 12 Interpretation: In this we can see that most consumers were made aware of the available promotional schemes through word of mouth followed by e-mailer from store as well as magazine ads. None were aware of the television ads of the brand. Q. What according to you makes the brand more attractive than others? Characteristics Number of Respondents Quality 1 Price 1 More sizes 2 Better customer services 2 More designs 4 Brand Name 5 Brand Ambassador 0 Total 15 Interpretation: As can be see, the brand is found to be attractive due to the brand name and the positioning of the brand, followed by the fact that consumers perceive that plenty of designs are available in this brand. Better customer service also seems to have made an impact on the consumer. Spykar Q. Why did you buy this brand? Characteristics Number of Respondents Good Service Good Quality Price Design Brand Name Discount Schemes 0 2 4 0 0 0 Total 6 Interpretation: The primary reason that the respondents seem to have bought the jeans was since they perceived the jeans to be cheaper than the other branded jeans. The next reason was since the jeans were perceived as good quality. Hence Spykar can be said to be a value for money brand. Q. Would you like to purchase this brand again? Willingness to purchase Number of respondents Yes No 3 3 Total 6 Interpretation: Only have the consumers who bought the product have the willingness to repurchase the product. The reasons could be that they were dissatisfied with the design, or with the service. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes available in this brand? Awareness Number of respondents Yes 0 No 6 Total 6 Interpretation: Out of the six respondents who had purchased the jeans from this brand, none were aware of any promotional schemes that were conducted by the company. Q. As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation Since no one was aware of the promotional schemes, this table was Not Applicable Q. If yes how were you made aware? Since no one was aware of the promotional schemes, this table was Not Applicable Q. What according to you makes the brand more attractive than others? Characteristics Number of Respondents Quality 1 Price 3 More sizes 0 Better customer services 0 More designs 2 Brand Name 0 Brand Ambassador 0 Total 6 Interpretation: The main reason that people seem to go for this brand is the price since the jeans are more pocket friendly as compared to the other branded jeans. Pepe jeans Q. Why did you buy Pepe jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Good service 0 Good quality 2 Price 1 Design 8 Brand name 1 Discount Scheme 0 total 12 Interpretation: From the above graph it can be easily interpreted that more people are going for the design in pepe jeans than the other factors. Q Would you like to purchase goods and services from this store again? Responses No of respondents Yes 10 No 2 Total 12 Interpretation: From the above chart it is clearly seen that people are willing to purchase the goods and services as they are happy with their experience. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes and offers available in the store? Responses No of respondents Yes 5 No 7 Total 12 Interpretation: From the above chart we can easily understand that people are not much aware of the promotional schemes carried out by Pepe jeans. Q. As per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics Responses Advertisement 4 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 3 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 5 Total 12 Interpretation: Most of the consumers were aware of the sales promotion strategy followed by Pepe Jeans followed by Advertising. Q .If yes, how you were made aware? Characteristics No of respondents News paper 2 Magazine 1 Television advertisement 5 E-mail 0 Word of mouth 4 total 12 Interpretation: From the above chart its clear that tools like television ads and words of mouth plays a very important role in creating awareness for Pepe Jeans. Q. what according to you made the brand more attractive from the other leading brands of jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Quality 2 Price 1 More fashionable 1 Better customer services 0 More diverse design to choose from 2 More customized product 2 Brand name 4 Brand ambassador 0 total 12 Interpretation: From the above pie chart it can be concluded that the quality, more customized products and more diverse design to choose from are some of the features that makes this brand attractive as compared to others. Deal jeans Q. Why did you buy Deal jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Good service 0 Good quality 0 Price 1 Design 0 Brand name 0 Discount Scheme 0 total 1 Interpretation: Price is the only characteristics that pull the customers to stores. Q. Would you like to purchase goods and services from this store again? Responses No of respondents Yes 1 No 0 Total 1 Interpretation: The person who has bought the product is satisfied and is ready to try the product again. Q. Are you aware of the various promotional schemes and offers available in the store? Responses No of respondents Yes 1 No 0 Total 1 Interpretation: The person seems to know about the promotional schemes that are carried out by Deal jeans. QAs per your knowledge what type of promotion activity is undertaken by the organisation characteristics Responses Advertisement 1 Publicity 0 Personal selling 0 Social media networking 0 Sales promotion(discount offers, seasonal sales, loyalty programs) 0 Total 1 Q. If yes, how were u made aware? Characteristics No of respondents News paper 0 Magazine 0 Television advertisement 1 E-mail 0 Word of mouth 0 total 1 Interpretation: The person is aware of the product through the television ads. Q what according to you made the brand more attractive from the other leading brands of jeans? Characteristics No of respondents Quality 0 Price 1 More fashionable 0 Better customer services 0 More deserve design to choose from 0 More customized product 0 Brand name <

Presidential Theory Essays -- essays research papers fc

I disagree with Stephen Hess’ contention that modern President’s are woefully miscast in the role of manager of the Executive Branch. The Office of The President in its infancy acted strictly as a Chief Executive, by enforcing Congressional legislation that had been passed into law. As the government continued to develop, The President took on more responsibility acting in the capacity as Chief Administrator; by initiating legislation through a top-down process. Today, the President has developed into a combination of the aforementioned roles. The President manages his White House staff, as well as the nation, in order to attain a less hectic, more structured, effective leadership. Constitutional empowerment, presidential character, and public expectations have always and will continue to shape the fundamental managerial role of President of The United States. The blueprint of the Office of The Presidency can be traced back to1777, when the state of New York passed their Constitution. The Constitution of the state of New York gave only the â€Å"Governor† ultimate executive power, stressed the importance of a strong chief executive, granted reprieves and pardons, as well as the establishment of the State of the Union address. The Final aspect of the NY Constitution found in the Constitution today, which clearly is a managerial task, is the power of the Presidential veto. By exercising this power, the President is clearly managing Congress, for if not in the best interest of the nation, it is the President’s responsibility to block the legislation, and give constructive feedback to Congress, with hopes of seeing a revised edition before him as soon as possible. All of the aforementioned aspects of the New York state Constitution can be found in Article II of the Constitution of the United States of America. The Constitution is the building block for the President’s role as Chief Executive. Through the vesting clause of Article II- paragraph one- executive power is placed exclusively in the President’s hands. Article II-Section III authorizes the President â€Å"†¦ to give Congress information of the State of The Union and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient†, known commonly as the annual The State of the Union address. Through the State of the Union address the President demonstrates another important aspect of h... ...uing Executive Orders that are backed by the force of said laws. The President still supervises the implementation of laws by directing administrative agencies, such as the Department of Interior and the Department of Defense. The President’s responsibilities have remained the same since 1788, yet they have been added to with every newly elected President. Although the evolution of the Presidency is an interesting subject and I respect Professor Hess’ opinion, it is clear to me that The Office of The President of The United States of America, has since its infancy, and will continue to be in the future, a strong, decisive, informed, position, in which only the most brilliant, motivated, and disciplined are able to manage. Works Cited 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The American Presidency Origins and Development. Sidney M. Milkis & Michael Nelson, Congressional Quarterly 1994. pages 82, 263, 293. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Organizing the Presidency, Stephen Hess. Brookings Institute 2002. 3.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  www.encarta.com 4.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Power of the Modern Presidency, Erwin C. Hargrove. Alfred A. Knopf, INC 1974, pg. 304.

Comprehensive Proposal for the Development of an Early Childhood Education Program Essay

Do you realize how important the first few years of your child’s life are? We at Lighthouse Learning Academy understand how important these years are. The early years are when the foundation for your child’s life is being implemented. That is why at Lighthouse Learning Academy we provide programs from ages 6 weeks through 12 years old. Our Early Care program services infants from 6 weeks through 24 months. This program is designed to make sure that each child’s physical and developmental needs are met. Daily schedules are adjusted to meet each child’s sleeping and eating patterns. At the appropriate time, toddlers are introduced to different concepts and skills that will help them as they prepare to move to the next program. Our Preschool program serves children from the age of 2 through 5 years of age. Each age group will be divided into classrooms. Once the child is 4 years of age (by September 1st), he/she will enter our stated funded Pre-K program. Each class will use a theme based curriculum designed to introduce concepts and skills based on each child’s age and development. Daily schedules will be designed with a balance of teacher-directed and child-directed activities. Lighthouse Learning Academy understands that we serve a community that works various and long hours. We gladly provide before and after school care for families that require assistance. During the after school program we provide various activities and projects to enhance life skills as well as, an established time for children to do homework and tutoring is also available if your child needs help. Transportation services are available to and from local elementary schools. Lighthouse Learning Academy hopes to make getting to and from work less strenuous for working parents by providing the operating hours of 5:30 am to 6:30 pm. Being that we set out to service our community, the vision of Lighthouse Learning Academy is to make it possible for all children, youth, and families to reach their potential in a safe, nurturing, and affordable environment. Our mission at Lighthouse Learning Academy is to afford children with the premier quality early care and education, to serve as an accommodating system and source for families, strengthening the communities that we serve, and to work interchangeable with other networks and services to make certain that high quality preschool education remains safe and affordable for all families. We believe that from infancy, and through the school years, we are helping to chart a successful outcome for our children. We work with parents from pregnancy to make sure that their children are placed in a compassionate, encouraging, and nurturing environment. We offer a curriculum that focuses on all of the developmental domains, and an age specific method that helps children move forward from one milestone to the next in a way that has been confirmed to establish a strong basis for lifelong learning. We believe that there is a vital link between these values and the ongoing commitment of our staff. Therefore, our staff is encouraged and supported as they further their educational understanding of early childhood education. Lighthouse Learning Academy staff members serve as coaches and mentors to each other; enabling them to share ideas, experiences, and up to the minute knowledge of new research, policies and best practices. In addition, we provide on going skill set training for staff through meetings, newsletters, and state specified trainings. We do our best to provide parents with resources pertaining to high quality health and dental care, as well as nutrition, cognitively stimulating home environments, access to services, strong social connections, and safety precautions for children. New parents, or parents that are new to our neighborhoods, can rely on us for information and support during life’s transitions. Lighthouse Learning Academy is one of the strongest advocates for children and families in the area that we serve. We are aware of the responsibilities that we have to our families and children to be a voice for affordable, high quality preschool services. We take pride in working with local support agencies, legislatures, and school systems to provide safe, strong, and constant services for children from birth through the school years. We take pride in our parents, our staff, and the valuable chance that we have to be a part of your child’s development. The influence that we can have as partners for children is beyond measure. At Lighthouse Learning Academy we think that all children have a right to respect, in spite of their skill levels. We provide an environment that is safe yet thought-provoking, and a curriculum that challenges them through creativity and learning through play. Consequently, our program supports the following philosophy about children and their growth: 1. Each child has a unique learning style, learns at a different pace, by different methods and at different ages of maturation. 2. A positive attitude develops in children, who can fulfill their goals, complete tasks on their own, and work with others and receive positive feelings from others. 3. Children learn self-discipline through understanding, commitment, and reinforcement. 4. Children gain their independence by being allowed to do things for themselves as they are capable of, but keeping in mind new skills. In a safe, caring, respectful environment, children have the greatest chance to grow and develop. Such a setting should be the basis of all childcare programs. We, as educators, should do our best to create an environment that is rewarding, inspiring and supporting of all possible learning and growing opportunities. An encouraging learning environment is provided through a well design physical environment, the instructional materials, equipment, relationships established between everyone, and daily routines. It is in this environment that each child’s growth takes place. The basis for creating learning environments that promotes growth comes from the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC’s) philosophy of child development and learning that contains developmentally appropriate practice. A developmentally appropriate learning environment: (1) Provides learning centers that encourage mixing of multiple content areas, the library should contain a variety of books such as big books, picture books, books with words for teacher to read, books covering a wide range of topics, headsets with audiotapes; in blocks there will be large unit blocks, hollow blocks, different types of vehicles, pencil, paper and books related to construction. (2) Provides both active and quiet activities, the library should be an area for children wanting to read alone or quietly listen to a book read by the teacher or enjoy music through head sets; while the block area promotes lots of movement to complete projects. (3) Provides materials that encourage awareness and knowledge of diversity through books about different cultures, as well as dolls of different races, and musical instruments from a variety of cultures. (4) Ensures that children have easy access to materials. (5) Makes sure that there are plenty of materials available. (6) Offers children the chances for isolated and group play in view of an adult. (7) Makes sure that there is adequate space for individual, small- and large-group experiences, both inside and outside. (8) Displays classroom materials and children’s art at children’s eye level. (9) Promotes literacy in the environment through a variety of sources for print and audio. The infant room through the 4 year old room will be comprised of teachers that are highly qualified. This program employs qualified persons who are 18 years of age or older, who have been taught in Early Childhood Education, and who show the personal characteristics for working with children†¦. Employees working with school-age children have been trained in early childhood, child development, or a related field. The amount of schooling will vary depending on the level of responsibility of the position. Employees of a large group of children should have at least a CDA or an associate degree in Early Childhood Education. The Pre-K classrooms will have a Lead Teacher and an Assistant Teacher. The Lead Teacher will be required to possess a two- or four-year degree in the early childhood field. All assistant teachers must possess at least a CDA. Teaching is full of many responsibilities, roles, and challenges. As an early childhood educator, you will be required to wear many hats. As a teacher, you should be prepared to be flexible. It is important to remember that your job description may change if you are needed in other areas to fill in. Early childhood teachers assist learning by providing activities and materials that children find appealing. By supplying a developmentally appropriate environment, interesting materials, and time to explore, and play, children find learning easy and fun! Teachers have to communicate with many people throughout the day, ranging from parents to administrators, as well as the children. Early childhood teachers must be ready to communicate with all of these people. You should feel at ease opening up, asking questions, and sharing your experiences. Paperwork, lesson planning, preparing materials and the environment, require teachers to have strong management skills. Managing a classroom requires organizational skills, and commitment. There are many balloons floating in the air and it is your task to keep them up! Discipline is the guidance, encouragement, and support that adults use to influence children. Appropriate discipline helps children learn how to interact and develop self-control. The staff at Lighthouse Learning Academy understands these concepts and uses the following discipline strategies: First and most importantly, the staff creates a positive and safe environment in which all competencies can be fostered and where there is little opportunity for misbehavior. Secondly, teachers always model appropriate behavior, both verbal and non-verbal, including body language. Teachers set limits, which reflect realistic expectations for the age and development of each child. When there is conflict between children, teachers will utilize Dan Gartrell’s Five Finger Formula. The five finger formula involves five steps. The first step is to cool everyone down. No one can negotiate when they are upset. The second step involves having everyone involved to agree what the conflict is about. Thirdly, you would want to involve everyone in coming up with possible solutions to the problem. Fourth, you would want every to agree on the solution. And finally, you must try out the solution that everyone agreed upon. This technique teaches children how to solve problems on their own. If these strategies are not successful, a child may be removed from the group and guided to a quite area with an independent activity. If your child continues to have problems, we will contact you. We will do our best to work with you to correct the behavior issues. If there is still no change in the behavior, a short suspension may be used at the judgment of the director. If a child is not adapting or benefiting from our program, we reserve the right to disenroll the child from the program, also at the discretion of the programs director. Communication between the parent and the caregiver is important to having a successful child care arrangement. After an adjustment period, your child should be able to make the move from home to child care fairly easily. The staff will be providing support to you by discussing your child’s progress and will recognize the parent as the primary caregiver. A tour of the center is a vital part of the orientation process. It is at this time when you will meet the staff members that will be responsible for educating your child as well as view the classroom environment. We suggest that you bring your child along so that, he/she can become familiar with the teacher and the classroom. A tour can be arranged at anytime, just call to set up a scheduled time or just drop in. Our staff welcomes you with open arms. Lighthouse Learning Academy will distribute monthly newsletters so that you will be aware of what is happening with our program. The newsletter will inform you of the themes that will be introduced to your child each month. It will also detail ways in which you can assist the program, as well as upcoming events. Teachers may opt to send home either weekly or a monthly newsletter, keeping you aware of the happenings in the classroom. Through newsletters we are able to keep you updated of the programs effort to make sure that your child’s light shines. Assessment is the method of collecting data about children in order to determine where they are developmentally and to make decisions about their education. Teachers obtain useful data about children’s skills, and progress by observing, documenting, and reviewing children’s work over time. Ongoing assessment that happens in the context of classroom activities can provide an accurate and fair picture of the children’s abilities and progress. The purposes for assessment in programs for young children are: instructional planning and communicating with parents. This helps to determine, what are the child’s strengths, needs, and learning processes, as well as how is this child doing, and how will this child’s instruction and guidance be planned? Another purpose is identification of children with special needs. This allows for assessing whether the child’s needs can be met in the program and if not, how does this program need to be adapted, or what program is required? The third purpose is program evaluation and accountability. This assessment allows for assessing whether the program, as now implemented, is meeting its goals and objectives? One of the assessment techniques that we use is the student portfolio. The portfolio is a system for the collection of the child’s work. Work samples are products of children’s work that mirrors situations in the learning environment, rather than manufactured instructional situations. The collection of work samples along with the recorded observations of children’s interactions and comments shows the child’s progress over time and in a variety of settings. The key to the use of information collected through this approach is the teacher’s knowledge of child development and skill as an observer. Parent conferences will provide you with the opportunity to discuss and learn about your child’s portfolio and how it is used in assessing your child’s development. Observations will also be used as an assessment tool. Observations can be an assessment tool used while a child is playing usually in his/her natural environment. The observer is able to see the interactions between the children as well as noting speech and language, and motor skills. Lighthouse Learning Academy wants to make sure that your child will receive the individualized attention that they deserve, so we have established groupings of children for care which comply with the following staff ratios for every age group. For infants to one and a half year olds, the teacher-child ratio will be 3 to 6 infants for 1 teacher. There is a maximum of twelve infants in one room. If there are more than six infants, another teacher will be placed in the classroom. For one year olds that are walking, the ratio will be 1 teacher to 8 children, with a limit not to exceed sixteen children. For two year olds, the ratio will be 1 teacher to every ten toddlers, with no more than twenty in the classroom. For the three year old classroom, the ratio will be 1 teacher for every 15 children, with no more than thirty. And in the four year old room as well as the pre-k program, the ratio is 1 teacher to eighteen children. In the pre-k program there are always two teachers. Children may be mixed in age groups only during early morning arrivals and late afternoon times of departure. When mixing age groups, you must go by the staff: child ratio and group size based upon the age of the youngest child in the group. During rest time the staff: child ratio may be doubled the number of children as long as there is one staff member in the classroom. Lighthouse Learning Academy prides itself on providing a safe learning environment for your child. But we know that accidents and injuries will occur. If an accident occurs at our center, we will follow the following guidelines depending on the severity of the injury. First and foremost, our staff and teachers are trained to apply first aid to minor injuries such as cuts, scrapes, and bruises. The director will report to you at the end of the day or during the day based on the nature of the injury. If your child is seriously injured and it requires medical attention, you will be notified immediately and emergency personnel will be contacted. In cases where you child has to be taken to the emergency room, we require you to sign an authorization form so that we may act during your absence. This form is provided in your enrollment package. References Decker, C. A. , Decker, J. R. , Freeman, N. K. , & Knopf, H. T. (2009). Planning and administering early childhood programs (9th ed. ). Columbus: Pearson. Gartrell, Dan. Guidance Matters. March 2006, retrieved on October 16, 2010 from http://www. naeyc. org/files/yc/file/200603/GuidanceBTJ. pdf.

TerraCog

Terracotta management failed to respond to competition in its market. Although competitor introduced a new GAPS with satellite imagery to the market, Terracotta team dismissed the threat and decided not to take a responsive action. However, quickly the new GAPS succeed and gained a significant market share. Eventually, Terracotta president decided to pursue a development of a directly competing product, and named the project Aerial. Unfortunately, the projected high costs of this project questioned its profitability and doubt its wisdom.The key managers of the company were not able to decide whether to execute the project or not, and Emma Richardson, the new executive vice-president, needed to push the group toward a decision. The analysis we have done indicates that Terracotta case is an outcome of two major problems. The first problem is the existence of a poor decision making process, and the second is the lack of departmental cooperation and harmony. Alternative Courses of Action : We believe that Richardson should postpone the launch of Aerial, and focus on creating a more efficient decision making process and increasing departmental cooperation.Since time is crucial in this case, we see a need to decrease the time of decision making process and re-defining communication channels between the departments. We also argue that the size of this team as well as the fact that the teammates came from four different departments created complex communication channels that slowed down decision making. In this case, small groups can undertake better the urgent tasks. Hence, we think that Richardson should break the complex process of launching a new product into micro-processes.We believe that by brainstorming with the heads of every department separately, defining criteria and performance tankards, and listening to each team's requirements and reservations, Richardson will be able to clarify for the teams their importance to the company and motivate them to act toward the company's goal. Commitment to a common goal is more easily achieved if the number of team members is small (Essentials for an Effective Team, To keep the work on track and to increase departmental cooperation, 2006).Richardson should conduct update meetings every other week with all the departments' heads. The agenda of these wide department meetings should be clear and exclude decisions making. The different decisions should be made within smaller groups that include only the relevant teams. To increase harmony among the departments, Richardson can open department wide meetings with a short speech about similar past experiences of the company to remind the teams how they worked well together and performed successfully when they cooperated.Recalling past experiences may increase sense of belonging and help to put the big picture in mind before discussing current issues. Moreover, Richardson can invite the teams' mangers to have lunch together before department wide meetings. So cializing with each other right before getting to business can cool things down, ease the tension, and increase departmental cooperation. We believe that if the heads of the different departments will understand the importance and the needs of other departments, working together will become easier and more efficient.Another way to increase departmental cooperation is by sharing information on the processes each department went through. For example, while discussing the price of a new product, Tony could provide specific details regarding production's costs to explain why further lowering of costs is impossible. While this alternative might be time consuming, sharing information can help the teams to understand better the different points of view of the different departments. Recommended Course of Action: We believe that a combination of the alternatives above would be the best way to address the situation in this case.First, we recommend postponing the launch of the current prototyp e. Launching Aerial on its current form will damage the company's reputation and can lead the company to a big loss. We assume that if Aerial wont provide its users a significant advantage, customers wouldn't pay more than the Bird's price to buy it. Second, in order to accelerate the decision making process, Richardson should redesign the current communication channels in the company. Decisions need to be made in smaller teams, and wide department meetings need to be designated for updates only.Third, to increase departmental cooperation and harmony, Richardson should establish a process of sharing information between the departments. Furthermore, structuring time for socializing can ease the stress and increase harmony among the departments. We believe that this alternative course of action will lead to minimum damage in Terracotta position, ND allow the company to improve its productivity and ability to respond faster to competition in the future. Implementation: First, Richardso n should invite all the people who were present in the last two meetings to announce her decision.This meeting should be friendly and short, and most important, clear and motivating. Richardson should open the meeting with demonstrating an appreciation for the hard work done by all the departments. Then, the announcement of her decision to postpone the launch of Aerial should be followed by a short explanation about the upcoming changes: From now on, once a week, every department should email a rife description of the progress they made at the past week to the entire company.This weekly update emails will enable an efficient way to share information between the departments. In addition, wide department meetings will take place every other week, and once a month these meetings will include a friendly lunch prior to the meeting. After the meeting, Richardson should meet with the heads of design and development department. In this meeting, they need to agree and define the requirements to develop a product that is superior to the Birds, on minimum costs and time, and draw a realistic schedule to move forward.Now, when the new product is in its first stages of creation, and there is a general idea of what specifications and characteristics it will have, as well as an expected time for launching, Richardson should meet with the UP of Sales, to create marketing plan for the new product. The production team will work alone on costs estimating for the new product, and the sales team in consultation with finance department will determine a pricing and develop a â€Å"go- to market† plan. Moreover, Richardson should set clear limits to the continuance of commitment to the project for every department.Determining what criteria and performance standards Justify continued investment in the project can help the team avoid escalation of commitment (Team Decision Making Pitfalls and Solutions, n. D). Whenever disagreements on to what level the teams should commit to a specific task will arose, they could refer to the performance's standards and make a decision accordingly. The process will be managed by Richardson from the top, and the heads of every department will make decisions that are relevant to their departments' areas of knowledge and responsibility, and report to Richardson, who ill manage the whole process. TerraCog Terracotta management failed to respond to competition in its market. Although competitor introduced a new GAPS with satellite imagery to the market, Terracotta team dismissed the threat and decided not to take a responsive action. However, quickly the new GAPS succeed and gained a significant market share. Eventually, Terracotta president decided to pursue a development of a directly competing product, and named the project Aerial. Unfortunately, the projected high costs of this project questioned its profitability and doubt its wisdom.The key managers of the company were not able to decide whether to execute the project or not, and Emma Richardson, the new executive vice-president, needed to push the group toward a decision. The analysis we have done indicates that Terracotta case is an outcome of two major problems. The first problem is the existence of a poor decision making process, and the second is the lack of departmental cooperation and harmony. Alternative Courses of Action : We believe that Richardson should postpone the launch of Aerial, and focus on creating a more efficient decision making process and increasing departmental cooperation.Since time is crucial in this case, we see a need to decrease the time of decision making process and re-defining communication channels between the departments. We also argue that the size of this team as well as the fact that the teammates came from four different departments created complex communication channels that slowed down decision making. In this case, small groups can undertake better the urgent tasks. Hence, we think that Richardson should break the complex process of launching a new product into micro-processes.We believe that by brainstorming with the heads of every department separately, defining criteria and performance tankards, and listening to each team's requirements and reservations, Richardson will be able to clarify for the teams their importance to the company and motivate them to act toward the company's goal. Commitment to a common goal is more easily achieved if the number of team members is small (Essentials for an Effective Team, To keep the work on track and to increase departmental cooperation, 2006).Richardson should conduct update meetings every other week with all the departments' heads. The agenda of these wide department meetings should be clear and exclude decisions making. The different decisions should be made within smaller groups that include only the relevant teams. To increase harmony among the departments, Richardson can open department wide meetings with a short speech about similar past experiences of the company to remind the teams how they worked well together and performed successfully when they cooperated.Recalling past experiences may increase sense of belonging and help to put the big picture in mind before discussing current issues. Moreover, Richardson can invite the teams' mangers to have lunch together before department wide meetings. So cializing with each other right before getting to business can cool things down, ease the tension, and increase departmental cooperation. We believe that if the heads of the different departments will understand the importance and the needs of other departments, working together will become easier and more efficient.Another way to increase departmental cooperation is by sharing information on the processes each department went through. For example, while discussing the price of a new product, Tony could provide specific details regarding production's costs to explain why further lowering of costs is impossible. While this alternative might be time consuming, sharing information can help the teams to understand better the different points of view of the different departments. Recommended Course of Action: We believe that a combination of the alternatives above would be the best way to address the situation in this case.First, we recommend postponing the launch of the current prototyp e. Launching Aerial on its current form will damage the company's reputation and can lead the company to a big loss. We assume that if Aerial wont provide its users a significant advantage, customers wouldn't pay more than the Bird's price to buy it. Second, in order to accelerate the decision making process, Richardson should redesign the current communication channels in the company. Decisions need to be made in smaller teams, and wide department meetings need to be designated for updates only.Third, to increase departmental cooperation and harmony, Richardson should establish a process of sharing information between the departments. Furthermore, structuring time for socializing can ease the stress and increase harmony among the departments. We believe that this alternative course of action will lead to minimum damage in Terracotta position, ND allow the company to improve its productivity and ability to respond faster to competition in the future. Implementation: First, Richardso n should invite all the people who were present in the last two meetings to announce her decision.This meeting should be friendly and short, and most important, clear and motivating. Richardson should open the meeting with demonstrating an appreciation for the hard work done by all the departments. Then, the announcement of her decision to postpone the launch of Aerial should be followed by a short explanation about the upcoming changes: From now on, once a week, every department should email a rife description of the progress they made at the past week to the entire company.This weekly update emails will enable an efficient way to share information between the departments. In addition, wide department meetings will take place every other week, and once a month these meetings will include a friendly lunch prior to the meeting. After the meeting, Richardson should meet with the heads of design and development department. In this meeting, they need to agree and define the requirements to develop a product that is superior to the Birds, on minimum costs and time, and draw a realistic schedule to move forward.Now, when the new product is in its first stages of creation, and there is a general idea of what specifications and characteristics it will have, as well as an expected time for launching, Richardson should meet with the UP of Sales, to create marketing plan for the new product. The production team will work alone on costs estimating for the new product, and the sales team in consultation with finance department will determine a pricing and develop a â€Å"go- to market† plan. Moreover, Richardson should set clear limits to the continuance of commitment to the project for every department.Determining what criteria and performance standards Justify continued investment in the project can help the team avoid escalation of commitment (Team Decision Making Pitfalls and Solutions, n. D). Whenever disagreements on to what level the teams should commit to a specific task will arose, they could refer to the performance's standards and make a decision accordingly. The process will be managed by Richardson from the top, and the heads of every department will make decisions that are relevant to their departments' areas of knowledge and responsibility, and report to Richardson, who ill manage the whole process.